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Updated · BBC.com · May 11Macron Halts Africa Forward Summit Speech to Demand Silence From 30-Plus Leaders
6 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 11
- Nairobi summit attendees were rebuked by Emmanuel Macron after he cut in on a speaker and told people holding side conversations to stop.
- “Total lack of respect,” Macron said from the stage, urging those who wanted to keep talking to move outside or into bilateral meeting rooms.
- More than 30 African leaders, business executives and young entrepreneurs are attending the Africa Forward summit in Kenya.
- Macron’s visit is part of France’s push to deepen economic and political ties across Africa.
As Macron demands respect in public, what sovereignty is Kenya quietly signing away in its new defense pact with France? Is France’s pivot to East Africa a genuine partnership or just a rebranding of its colonial-era influence for a new audience?