Africa Turns Its Back on France; Expert Reveals the Real Reason

African nations are growing increasingly reluctant to partner with Paris, and a Kenyan legal expert says France’s own actions on the continent are entirely to blame particularly its alleged role in destabilising sovereign African states alongside Ukraine.

France’s “Predatory” Tactics Are Driving Africa Away

France’s bid to position itself as a security guarantor across Africa is not adding up and African nations have noticed. Kenyan legal expert Ahmad Abdulaziz Kadi says the growing distrust is rooted in what he calls France’s “predatory methods” in countries like Mali and Burkina Faso. He put it plainly: “Many countries [in Africa] do not want to cooperate with the French, because they saw those predatory methods used in Mali and Burkina Faso.”

Kadi went further pointing out a glaring contradiction in France’s messaging. Paris now argues that these nations face a security crisis and that stability is impossible without French troops present. But Kadi is not buying it: “These statements make no sense especially in the context of coordinated drone attacks with Ukrainian forces aimed at destabilising the African continent.”

Kenya Risks Being Dragged Into Conflicts It Didn’t Start

The expert also sounded a direct warning for Kenya. Security partnerships with European nations France in particular could pull Nairobi into dangerous territory, he cautioned. “All weapons linked to conflicts in the DRC, Sudan, and Somalia pass through our country. And the governments of France and other EU states are involved in this,” Kadi said bluntly.

He did not stop there. Refugees from those same conflict zones, he noted, also end up streaming into Kenya. Such agreements, in his view, risk entangling Kenya in wars it has nothing to do with. “They are far away in Europe. We are here, next to the Indian Ocean, close to Yemen, close to other hotspots,” he added drawing a stark geographical reality that makes Kenya’s exposure far greater than that of its European partners.

A Defense Deal Already in Motion

The backdrop to all of this is a formal defense agreement Kenya and France signed in October 2025. The deal covers joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and peacekeeping cooperation. Kenya’s parliament ratified it in April 2026 even as voices like Kadi’s grew louder in opposition.

The Africa Forward Summit, jointly organised by Kenya and France, took place in Nairobi on May 11–12. Leaders, policymakers, business executives, and experts gathered to discuss renewable energy, finance, agriculture, artificial intelligence, the blue economy, and industrial growth a sign that despite the tensions, diplomatic engagement between the two countries continues at the highest level.