Kenya – Visit by Chrysoula Zacharopoulou (September 4 and 5, 2023)

Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will be visiting Kenya on September 4 and 5.

Ms. Zacharopoulou will represent France at the first Africa Climate Summit organized by the African Union and Kenya. Following on from the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact held in Paris this past June, which brought together more than 40 heads of State and government, including Kenyan President William Ruto, she will present France’s initiatives and priorities for reforming the international financial system in order to step up climate action and increase climate finance.

On the sidelines of the summit, she will meet with several heads of State and government, including Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. These meetings will offer an opportunity to further strengthen our bilateral relationships and to discuss the most important cooperative projects, particularly those relating to climate action, food security, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship.

Along with former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Danish Development Minister Dan Jorgensen, Ms. Zacharopoulou will also visit a climate change adaptation project that receives French support in the Mukuru informal settlement. During a visit to a school in the Kibera neighborhood, the Minister of State will emphasize France’s commitment to school meal access ahead of the high-level meeting of the School Meals Coalition in Paris announced by President Macron at the Ambassadors Conference.

Brazil – Brazil joins the International Partnership for Information and Democracy (September 1, 2023)

France welcomes Brazil’s August 31st announcement that it was joining the International Partnership for Information and Democracy launched by President Macron in September 2019 with Reporters Without Borders (RSF). During her visit to Brazil this past February, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna had in-depth discussions with the Brazilian authorities on challenges to the freedom of information and the fight against disinformation. Together they agreed to make this area one of our joint priorities as part of the revival of our bilateral relationship.

The International Partnership for Information and Democracy, which now has 51 member states, was created to promote an environment that ensures reliable information for citizens so that they can form educated opinions at a time when massive online disinformation is undermining trust in democratic institutions and processes. The Partnership also aims to encourage businesses to structure the global information space and communication in a way that respects the principles of transparency, responsibility, neutrality and human rights.

Together with Brazil, France reiterates its staunch and unwavering commitment to the freedom of the press, the freedom of expression and the protection of journalists worldwide. Access to independent, reliable, quality information is an essential prerequisite for the proper functioning of democracies, the rule of law and the international system, and for the fight against the spread of information manipulation.

Q&A

France condemned the coup d’état in Gabon. What about the elections that preceded it? Do you have any contact with the coup plotters? Have they shown any animosity toward France or French interests in Gabon? Do you have any recommendations for French citizens in Gabon?

As the Prime Minister and the government spokesperson stated on August 30, France condemns the military coup that is under way in Gabon. We are monitoring the situation very closely.

We reaffirm our commitment to democracy and particularly to free and transparent elections.

French citizens living in Gabon were instructed by our Embassy to exercise caution. We are not aware of any specific threats against our citizens.

Can you give us any details about the incident early this week involving French citizens on the border between Morocco and Algeria? Are you in touch with the Algerian authorities? Do you have any comment? Do you have any advice for French citizens about the border between Morocco and Algeria?

We learned of the death of one of our citizens and the imprisonment of another French national in Algeria.

The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Center and our embassies in Morocco and Algeria are in close contact with the families of our fellow citizens, to whom we are offering our full support. We also expressed our condolences.

We are in contact with the Moroccan and Algerian authorities. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has been notified. It will be up to the courts to fully illuminate the circumstances surrounding this tragedy.