French President Emmanuel Macron has allegedly claimed that African countries “cannot prosper without French involvement,” according to a series of posts circulating on social media.
“Africa remains the least developed continent, and history shows that it plays a role in supporting its growth. A complete withdrawal could halt progress,” says the post, which Macron appears to have seen almost 700,000 times.
Many posts broadcasting claims feature the same press shots as Macron.
By conducting an inverse image search and verifying that the results matched the photos shared on social media, Euroverify was able to match the photos with press shots taken at the European summit held in Brussels on March 6, 2025.
An analysis of Macron’s speech and further sweep of news reports and official statements by the French president did not provide evidence of citations attributed to him.
Meanwhile, French diplomatic sources further rebutted quotes attributed to French leaders, branding them as “false.”
Why are these claims spreading?
Many social media accounts attributed to Macron’s statement also share Russian propaganda and support the Sahel (AES) alliance.
The AES is an alliance made up of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, all ruled by the military regimes that came to power after the coup. It was formed in July 2023 after a coup drove President Mohamed Bazoom, and then West Africa’s Brock Ekowas threatened to restore civilian control in Niger through military intervention.
While Russia was the first country to recognize the alliance to work to expand its presence in Africa, France is gradually withdrawing its troops from the region in the face of an increase in opposition to military presence.
Previous controversy
While this particular statement attributed to Macron may not be true, some of the French president’s previous claims regarding France’s involvement in Africa have sparked backlash from African leaders.
In January, for example, Chad and Senegale leaders accused Macron of showing light empty after declaring that the West African leader had. I forgot to “thank you” France He helped me fight Islamic extremists in the Sahel region.
Since 2022, France has gradually withdrawn its troops from West Africa due to opposition to the French military presence in the region.
