France Hosts Summit With African Leaders in Kenya

France is presenting what it describes as a new model of partnership with African countries at a summit that begins Monday in Kenya. The event takes place as the country completes a military withdrawal from West African nations. The new defense agreement with Kenya is cited as an example of the direction France hopes to pursue.

France has maintained a long-standing policy of economic, political and military influence over its former colonies, known as Françafrique, which included stationing thousands of troops in the region. After years of criticism from leaders and opposition parties in those countries over what they called a demeaning and heavy-handed approach, France withdrew most of those troops.

The summit is France's first in an English-speaking African country and will be attended by more than 30 heads of state and government, including from Francophone countries.

Kenya's newly ratified defense agreement with France has drawn criticism from civil society groups. They say it grants too much immunity from local law to French troops. The issue is sensitive in a country where a similar agreement with the United Kingdom has been linked to hard-to-prosecute crimes against locals.

At a time when many African nations, particularly in the Sahel region, are reducing or expelling foreign military presences, Kenya is hosting a growing international military presence. The Kenya-France Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed on Oct.

29, 2025, by Kenya’s Defense Minister Soipan Tuya and French Ambassador to Kenya Arnaud Suquet. It was ratified by parliament on April 8. The same month, Kenya also ratified defense agreements with the Czech Republic, China and Italy. Parliament defense committee chair Nelson Koech defended the agreements, saying Kenya's treaties with advanced militaries provide training and intelligence-sharing opportunities that will strengthen its defense.

Koech said the agreements were not a surrender of sovereignty. He added that newer agreements guarantee that foreign troops will be tried in Kenya in the event of serious crimes such as murder. A month ahead of the summit, a contingent of around 800 French troops arrived in Kenya aboard a navy ship.

The agreement grants visiting French forces primary jurisdiction over their personnel for on-duty offenses. This echoes broad legal protections in past UK pacts that shielded British soldiers from Kenyan courts. A British soldier is due to be extradited after Kenyan courts found him answerable for the 2012 death of Agnes Wanjiru, who was last seen alive in his company near the British troops’ training grounds in Nanyuki, central Kenya.

The 2021 Lolldaiga ranch fire has also been cited in connection with past UK military activity in the country.