PARIS, France — Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, for talks aimed at reshaping relations between the two countries, long marked by both cooperation and controversy.
The meeting, held over a working breakfast on the sidelines of the Entrepreneurs’ Meeting of France, focused on “cooperation programs and the strengthening of the renewed partnership between Senegal and France, particularly in the areas of investment, trade, defense, and security,” according to a statement from Dakar.
The discussions come ahead of an intergovernmental seminar scheduled for September in Dakar — the sixth of its kind and the only format of its type between France and a sub-Saharan African nation.
That gathering is expected to define the strategic priorities of the bilateral partnership.
The dialogue occurs at a delicate moment in Franco-Senegalese ties.
President Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko have both criticised the existing framework, echoing long-standing activist complaints that the relationship sustains colonial-era dynamics.
In July, France handed back its last military installations in Senegal, ending a decades-long troop presence.
The move was widely interpreted as a powerful symbol of Dakar’s determination to reorient the partnership on its own terms.
At the same time, the Elysée has shown willingness to redefine relations.
In November 2024, Macron formally acknowledged France’s responsibility in the 1944 massacre of African soldiers at Thiaroye — an admission praised by Faye, who has invited him to Dakar for the second commemoration of the event on December 1, 2025.
Unlike the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — where Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have severed ties with Paris — Senegal is pursuing a more pragmatic course.
Authorities in Dakar are auditing public finances and cooperation agreements but have reiterated their intention to build “win-win” relationships with France and other partners, focusing on the development of national resources.
Despite political frictions, France remains Senegal’s largest foreign investor, accounting for 16 percent of foreign direct investment in 2023, and is a key donor in international development financing.
It is also a vital supplier, providing 12 percent of Senegal’s imports in 2023, though China overtook it as Senegal’s top trade partner in 2024.
According to the French Treasury, more than 270 French companies currently operate in Senegal, employing over 31,000 people, 86 percent of them Senegalese.
Analysts say those economic ties, coupled with potential French support in debt negotiations, will shape the upcoming talks in Dakar.
