French President Emmanuel Macron will pay a state visit to Nigeria this fall, French Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS Marc Fonbaustier announced Tuesday, in a trip expected to review and deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Fonbaustier made the announcement during France’s National Day celebration in Abuja, saying the visit would come two years after President Bola Tinubu’s own state visit to Paris. He said the two leaders would use the trip to assess progress made under their bilateral roadmap and outline priorities for future cooperation, without giving specific dates beyond a window between late September and November.
The ambassador cited growing commercial ties as evidence of deepening cooperation, pointing to partnerships involving retailer Carrefour and Nigeria’s HyperCity, hotel group Accor and Shoreline, and Canal+’s acquisition of pay-TV operator MultiChoice. He also highlighted collaboration on agriculture through the French Development Agency, aimed at strengthening food security in northern Nigeria and across the wider ECOWAS region, alongside continued security cooperation on counterterrorism efforts in West Africa.
Fonbaustier described the relationship as a partnership between equals built on mutual respect and non-interference, and noted that Macron’s approach to Africa was partly shaped by six months he spent living in Nigeria as a student 24 years ago. Analysts say the visit reflects a broader French push to strengthen ties with Anglophone Africa alongside its traditional Francophone partnerships, at a time of shifting geopolitical dynamics across the region.
