Macron asks for unity and consensus before the Francophonian leader's election

O President of France, Emmanuel Macron, today asked for unity and consensus on the eve of the election of the new Secretary-General of the International Francophony Organization (IPO), a source of tension between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

The expansion and openness of Francophonia “force us to build a consensus to preserve the union,” said the French President, in a speech at the opening of the 20th OFI Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital.

“ We must ensure the preservation of what constitutes its strength: its unity,” Macron added, before saying: “The Francophony we desire is not a Francophony of isolation or internal fractures.”.

The organization consists of 90 States and governments, including 53 full members, including four Portuguese-speaking African countries: Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Members of the full right should define, on Monday morning, during the closing of the summit, the next leader among four candidates: the current occupant, Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo (in office since 2018), Congolese Juliana Lumumba, former Mauritanian minister Coumba Ba and former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.

In recent months, the process has exacerbated tensions between the two rival neighbours in the Great Lakes region: the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo) and Rwanda.

After eight years and two terms of office of Louise Mushikiwabo, Kinshasa, who accuses Kigali of supporting the armed rebel group M23 in the eastern provinces of DRCongo, opposes the re-induction of Rwandan leadership of the OFI.

The country – which holds second place in the number of French speakers, only behind France (57.3 million, according to the OFI) – threatened to abandon the organization if the current Secretary-General is re-involved in office.

A way out like this would be a shock for the OFI, which in 2025 has seen three Sahel countries (Burquina Faso, Mali and Niger) abandoning the organization.

On Saturday, Kinshasa declared she was ready to withdraw Lumumba's candidacy in order to encourage the formation of a consensus and to consider "a joint approach in favour" of Dacian Ciolos' candidacy.

In a speech given after Macron’s speech, Mushikiwabo stated that unity “does not presuppose uniformity of positions”.

Highlighting her leadership of the OFI since 2018, the leader defended “amplifying and accelerating achievements” and broadening “the scale” of the organization’s projects, especially in the areas of training, entrepreneurship, as well as “above all” betting on creating jobs for youth.

Rwanda confirmed on Saturday that Louise Mushikiwabo will maintain her candidacy.

Although consensus is the traditional method of designation in the OFI, the organization adopted, in 2022, a procedure for a simple majority vote.