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Relations between France and the Central African Republic (CAR) have been restored, the French Foreign Minister said on Friday during a visit to Bangui, which has become a key Russian ally.
Jean-Noel Barrot’s visit to the CAR, a former French colony, was the first by a top-level French official in seven years.
It followed a relaunch of diplomatic ties in April 2024 by CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, after a falling-out over Moscow’s growing influence in the landlocked African country of 5.3 million.
After meeting the Central African president, Barot said, “My visit marks the full restoration of relations between our two countries… following a period of tension.”
France maintained influence and soldiers in the mineral-rich CAR following independence in 1960, but has gradually lost ground to Russia.
In the face of the CAR’s long-standing instability, Touadera has come to rely more and more on mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group, who benefit in return from lucrative contracts in the gold, diamond and logging industries.
