France has defended its decision to disinvite South Africa, a member of the G20, from the upcoming G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, saying it chose to invite Kenya instead as Nairobi prepares to host the Africa-France Summit in May.
- •News of the development first broke when Pretoria attributed the decision to boycott threats from the United States, which did not attend last year’s G20 Summit in Johannesburg.
- •President Cyril Ramaphosa later backtracked, and the US State Department has denied having pressured France.
- •In September 2024, Kenya and France announced that Nairobi will host the first Africa-France Summit in May 2026, the first such event held outside Francophone Africa.
Trump’s Washington and Pretoria are engaged in a prolonged diplomatic and economic spat over multiple issues, including the former’s accusations of a ‘white genocide’ in South Africa, and the latter’s stance on multiple issues including Israel’s conflicts in the Middle East, as well as its closeness with Iran and China.
In March 2025, Washington expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the US, leaving a diplomatic gap that has not been filled. Pretoria has also summoned the new US ambassador Brent Bozell over remarks about ‘undiplomatic remarks’ related to the country’s policies.
The Group of Seven, an informal but influential grouping of nations that make up almost half of global GDP, includes France, the UK, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the US. It also invites other countries to participate. In addition to Kenya, this year’s invitees include India, South Korea, and Brazil.
