Paris, scene of a spectacle as fascinating as it is disconcerting this weekend. The Francophonie Summit, once a showcase of French influence, has turned into a farewell ball for a fading influence.
Emmanuel Macron, maestro of an out-of-tune orchestra, tried to conduct an impossible symphony. In front of him, a sparse audience of 19 African heads of state, far from the crowds of yesteryear. The absent ones? Numerous and heavy, from Senegal to Morocco, signing with their silence the end of an era.
Behind the scenes, a strange waltz was playing. Here, we are reinstating a Guinean putschist. There, we are courting a Rwandan autocrat. A diplomatic pas de deux where principles seem to have lost rhythm.
During this time, certain journalists, although accredited to the Quai d’Orsay, were refused entry. Pattern ? “No more room.” An explanation that rings hollow in the face of the rows of empty seats at the final press conference.
This summit, a mirror of a Francophonie in search of identity, poses a crucial question: in this new concert of nations, what part does France intend to play?
