Can Macron’s Kenya visit revive French influence in Africa?

France’s President Emmanuel Macron has hosted a high-level meeting of heads of state and business leaders alongside his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, as Paris continues to pivot to other parts of the continent due to its strained relations with French-speaking West African countries. The conference, which was held on Monday and Tuesday in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, was France’s first Africa summit in an English-speaking country. Recommended Stories list of 4 items end of list Due to colonialism, French influence on the continent has been strongest in central and West African Francophone countries, which include those in the arid Sahel region separating the Sahara from the coastal south. However, as insecurity has continued to rack Sahelian countries from Mali to Niger over the last decade, anti-French sentiment has grown due to failed French military interventions and beliefs that Paris was interfering in the affairs of its former colonies. France’s influence has shrunk dramatically across West Africa in recent years, with some countries turning to alliances with Russia. Now, France says it wants to “overhaul” its engagement with African countries by pivoting to Anglophone countries where it lacks a colonial legacy. The summit in Nairobi was once such an attempt. …