Tshisekedi walked out of the Francophone heads of state retreat in Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron failed to mention the conflicts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo DRC in his speech. He also boycotted a luncheon hosted by Organisation internationale de la Francophonie head and former Rwandan foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo on Saturday noon.
Before becoming the organization’s chief, Mushikiwabo served for years as Rwanda’s foreign minister
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie OIF; sometimes shortened to the “Francophonie” or International Organisation of La Francophonie in English is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a lingua franca or customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are francophones (French speakers), or where there is a notable affiliation with French culture. The organization comprises 88 member states and governments; of these, 54 states and governments are full members, 7 are associate members and 27 are observers. The term francophonie also refers to the global community of French-speaking peoples, comprising a network of private and public organizations promoting equal ties among countries where French or Belgian people or France or Belgium played a significant historical role, culturally, militarily, or politically.
The walk-out staged by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi nearly overshadowed the summit of French-speaking countries held in Paris over the weekend.
To protest French President Emmanuel Macron’s opening speech for not mentioning the war in eastern Congo, Tshisekedi boycotted the summit’s heads of state retreat, in an embarrassing moment for French diplomacy. Kinshasa considered the omission of the war in eastern DRC in Macron’s statement an attempt by Paris to appease Kigali.
Congo and the United Nations say Rwanda’s troops and M23 rebels are fighting side by side on its territory.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday evening, Macron denied taking sides, saying he encouraged both countries to reach an agreement in talks mediated by Angola.
Before the summit opened, Macron held meetings with the leaders of Rwanda and Congo separately.
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