Get Guardian on GoogleFrance’s renewed push to deepen economic ties with Africa is confronting a continent increasingly determined to exercise greater control over the extraction, processing and trade of its natural resources, Executive Director of Panel 54, a Pan-African podcast, Minns, has said.
Minns, in an assessment of France’s changing strategy in Africa made available to newsmen on Wednesday, said African countries were taking a more active role in negotiating the terms of foreign investment and seeking greater value from their natural wealth.
He said the development represented a significant shift in the relationship between African countries and foreign investors, adding that France would have to recognise the changing dynamics as it seeks new economic partnerships across the continent.
“Over the last few years, increasing impetus has been placed on the sovereignty of African nations over the extraction and processing systems of their resources,” he said
According to him, African countries were increasingly taking “a more driving role in deal-making” and establishing terms designed to ensure that they benefit more equitably from their natural resources.
Minns said the issue had become central to France’s emerging Africa strategy as Paris seeks to expand beyond its traditional focus on Francophone West Africa and deepen engagement with English-speaking countries in East Africa.
He cited the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, as a demonstration of the shift, describing it as the beginning of a major French “pivot” towards a different part of the continent.
The development comes after years of deteriorating relations between France and several West African countries, including Mali, where French forces ended Operation Barkhane before eventually withdrawing from the country.
Minns said France’s changing geographical focus should not be interpreted as an abandonment of Africa, but as an attempt to reposition itself on the continent while preserving its strategic and commercial interests.
He said the Africa France was engaging with today was “a different place” from the continent it encountered when it began its latest phase of withdrawal from parts of Africa.
For France to establish new partnerships, he said, it would need to adapt to the changing investment and resource environment and negotiate on terms that reflect the growing expectations of African countries.
“If France can use its fresh start to adapt to this new reality and enter the market on the most up-to-date trading terms, it will find itself a popular trading partner,” he said.
The Nairobi summit, according to Minns, demonstrated the scale of France’s economic interest in East Africa, with the country seeking about 250 deals and agreements with East African trade partners, while President Emmanuel Macron announced major investment commitments.
He said Kenya’s selection as host further reflected France’s growing interest in East Africa and the region’s economic potential, citing the country’s reported 4.6 per cent gross domestic product growth in 2025.
However, Minns acknowledged that France’s renewed engagement would face resistance from Africans who remain wary of renewed Western influence on the continent.
“Not everyone will welcome the move,” he said, adding that France’s new approach remained unproven.
He nevertheless argued that the scale of the investment commitments indicated that the initiative was more than symbolic, describing it as “a strategic push to become a core partner to East Africa.”
For African countries, the key issue will be whether the emerging partnerships translate into greater local benefits through resource processing, investment, trade and job creation, while allowing governments to retain greater control over their natural wealth.
Minns’ assessment is that France is returning to an Africa that has changed significantly, with African countries increasingly seeking a stronger role in determining how their resources are developed and who ultimately benefits from them.
