Name: France and Gabon seek ‘new beginning’ in relations
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T18:12:09.773Z
Duration: 2 min 4 s
Description: French President Emmanuel Macron began a state visit to Gabon to renew diplomatic, military and economic ties with President Brice Oligui Nguema’s post-coup government. France has reduced its military presence but remains a key partner, backing projects like the Transgabonais railway renovation.

French President Emmanuel Macron began a state visit to Gabon to renew diplomatic, military and economic ties with President Brice Oligui Nguema’s post-coup government. France has reduced its military presence but remains a key partner, backing projects like the Transgabonais railway renovation.

Libreville

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Gabon, where he was welcomed by President Brice Oligui Nguema, to reinforce diplomatic, military, and economic ties between the two countries. The visit comes after Gabon's 2023 coup and the renewal of a two-year defense pact, with France reducing its military presence and focusing on training Gabonese forces.

Macron emphasized the importance of cooperation based on trust and equality, highlighting shared values and France's support for Gabon's political transition. The French Development Agency is also involved in rehabilitating Gabon's railway infrastructure, with a renovation plan set to replace significant sections of the Trans-Gabonais railway by 2027.

France and Gabon seek ‘new beginning’ in relations

Greeted by military parade and clamoring crowds, French President Emmanuel Macron touched down in Gabon on Sunday to shore up diplomatic, military and economic ties. Unlike several countries in the Sahel which have scaled back or severed their relationships with France in the past several years, Gabon's government has maintained them. Despite the coup that pushed previous head of state Ali Bongo out of power in 2023, the current president, Brice Oligui Nguema, welcomed his French counterpart. Your presence reflects our shared desire for a new beginning, to build cooperation based on trust, dialogue and equality with a win-win vision. And last April, the leader has renewed a defence pact with France for two years. And Paris has reduced its military presence to 100 troops down from 1,200 in the 2000s. The soldiers present are currently training Gabonese forces. The Elysée wants to ensure its economic interests as well. Gabon is a country rich in hydrocarbons and magnanese, elements that are integral to fuel production, as well as timber. On Monday, Macron underlined the importance of the two countries working together. August 30th, 2023, was a turning point in Gabon's political history, and you have ushered in a new era based on renewal, inclusiveness and plurality of opinion, values that our two countries deeply share. That is why France has supported the transition from the very beginning. In helping to improve infrastructure as well, the French Development Agency is involved in the rehabilitation of the Trans-Gabonais, the country's railway line. A renovation plan launched in 2024 plans to replace the 270 of the 648 kilometers of sleepers and rails by 2027.

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