Shorn of influence in its former colonies in ​West Africa, France will seek to deepen ties elsewhere on the continent next week at an Africa summit in ‌the Kenyan capital Nairobi, its first in an English-speaking country.

With a year left in his presidency, French President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to showcase a “renewed partnership” with Africa, an aide at the Elysee Palace told reporters.

Monday and Tuesday’s summit, which will be attended by heads of state, business executives and heads of multilateral development ​banks, follows repeated setbacks for France in former colonies where it has for decades wielded influence.

A series of coups in the ​Sahel region since 2020 have brought to power military officers who have expelled French troops and invited in ⁠Russian mercenaries.

France also handed over control of its last major military facility in Senegal last July after Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who ​is expected to attend the Kenya summit – said French bases were incompatible with the country’s sovereignty.

“It does feel like a rebranding of how France ​is positioning itself on the continent,” said Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at the Control Risks consultancy who is based in Senegal.

“It is moving away from some of its former colonial partners, security partners, towards countries where it has more of a cultural, a different footprint.”

–Reuters–