Macron’s Kenya Summit Rebuke Sparks Colonialism Debate Across Africa

French President Emmanuel Macron is facing mounting backlash after interrupting a panel discussion at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi and publicly scolding audience members for making noise during a session featuring artists and young entrepreneurs.

Video from the summit showed Macron suddenly walking onto the stage, taking the microphone and condemning what he called a “total lack of respect” toward speakers. Speaking in English, he told attendees to either listen quietly or leave the hall for “bilateral rooms.”

The remarks quickly went viral and triggered criticism across Africa and France, with opponents accusing Macron of displaying a paternalistic and colonial attitude. Zimbabwean politician Fadzayi Mahere said the French leader was “talking down” to Africans, while Kenyan-Canadian lawyer Miguna Miguna wrote that Africans did not need Macron’s “permission to speak in Africa.”

French lawmaker Danièle Obono accused Macron of behaving “like a coloniser,” while some Kenyan civil society groups described the summit as a “reengineering of imperialism.”

The controversy overshadowed the summit’s economic agenda, where Macron announced a USD 27 billion investment package focused on energy, artificial intelligence, infrastructure and agriculture. More than 30 African leaders attended the Nairobi summit, co-hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto.

Macron had already sparked criticism after declaring France and its allies were the “true Pan-Africanists.” Togolese activist Farida Nabourema responded that Pan-Africanism historically opposed “slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism.”

Analysts said the episode highlighted France’s struggle to rebuild influence in Africa after military withdrawals from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal, amid rising Russian, Chinese and Turkish influence on the continent.