Diomaye Faye And Emmanuel Macron’s Meeting: A Turning Point In Franco-senegalese Relations?

Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the president of Senegal, made his first trip to France on Wednesday since being elected in March of this year. President Faye is having lunch with Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Thursday after being invited to France as part of the Global Forum for Vaccine Sovereignty and Innovation. The agenda also includes trade agreements between the two nations, the CFA franc, and the French military’s involvement in the nation.

Senegal’s desire to choose its own course was deemed “incompatible with the entrenched presence of foreign military bases” on Senegalese territory by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in May.

Bassirou Diomaye Faye visited a number of surrounding nations, including Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone, before departing for Paris on his first trip outside of Africa.

The meeting between Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Emmanuel Macron may reduce tensions related to the Senegalese political unrest that preceded the new president’s ascension to office. The legal dispute between Ousmane Sonko, the leader of the Pastef, and the previous Senegalese government occurred between 2021 and 2024. It caused multiple bouts of turmoil, which resulted in hundreds of arrests and dozens of deaths.