Macron faced a public backlash after he interrupted an Africa summit panel in Kenya by stepping onto the stage and demanding silence from the audience, according to videos that circulated widely online. The episode took place at the Africa Forward Summit at the University of Nairobi, where Macron was also joined by Kenyan President William Ruto and other officials as France sought to present a new approach to the continent.
The summit’s Monday confrontation centered on what Macron described as disruptive behavior, as he criticized attendees for not allowing speakers to present. He later accused parts of the audience of a “total lack of respect” and said the crowd had been disrupting speakers during a presentation that included artists and young entrepreneurs.
Macron’s intervention escalated quickly. After displaying frustration with the noise in the room, he walked onto the stage, asked the speaker to hand him the microphone, and told the audience he would “restore order,” addressing the crowd in English while he criticized them for talking over speakers and causing disruptions.
The response to Macron was divided. Some people applauded his intervention, but other participants and critics condemned the manner of his response, including one Senegal-based student who compared his conduct to a teacher scolding children. Thierno Mbaye, a history student in Dakar, told The Associated Press that the French leader “acted like a schoolteacher scolding children,” describing the episode as an inappropriate display of authority.
Criticism also extended beyond Kenya and beyond the summit venue. In France, Danièle Obono, a lawmaker for the hard-left party France Unbowed, said on X that Macron could not help but behave “like a colonizer” when he sets foot on the African continent.
The confrontation unfolded during a broader diplomatic effort by France to frame its renewed engagement with Africa as a partnership of equals, a shift away from the colonial power role that has long shaped perceptions. The summit, which is set to close on Tuesday with a declaration expected to be signed by 30 heads of state, is part of France’s push to spotlight policy changes for the continent.
Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at geopolitical risk consultancy Control Risks, said the summit setting is also tied to France’s wider setbacks in West Africa, where France has withdrawn most of its troops following criticism from leaders and opposition parties in former colonies. She said Macron is using the summit and a turn toward eastern Africa to signal that France’s strategic priorities follow where it finds goodwill, while raising questions about whether that engagement amounts to a genuine equal partnership or “merely convenient rhetoric.”
The summit’s political messaging has already been under strain for days. Before the Africa Forward Summit, Macron faced backlash after a Sunday news conference with Ruto in which he said, “we are the true Pan-Africanists.” The remark went viral on social media, drawing criticism over what some see as an attempt to claim authority over pan-Africanism—an ideology that seeks African unity and the elimination of colonialism.
Among those critical of the statement was Farida Nabourema, a Togolese human rights activist, who in an open letter on Monday said pan-Africanism is “not a brand” and “neither is it a diplomatic posture,” adding that it is “a political philosophy” that rejects what she described as three centuries of France’s policies including slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism. Alioune Tine, founder of the Afrikajom Center think tank, also argued that Macron’s “true” framing could be interpreted as a reply to pro-Russian pan-Africanist voices online.
Macron has sought to address the framing publicly as negotiations proceed. On Tuesday, he said Paris would be respectful of each African country’s independence and added that “sovereignty and autonomy is shared, and your success is our success.” France, meanwhile, has said the summit reflects a new policy direction for the continent, including an announcement on Tuesday of $27 billion in investment across sectors such as energy, artificial intelligence and agriculture.
The French presidency and Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Associated Press.