French President Emmanuel Macron, on a visit to Kinshasa, held a press conference with his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi. A long-awaited conference in which Macron was expected to make a clear statement on “Rwanda’s involvement in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo”.
However, Macron only issued strong warnings, including to Kigali, stating that the DRC “must not be a spoils of war”.
Macron did not talk about sanctions, but he called on everyone to “take their responsibilities, including Rwanda”.
It should be recalled that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also condemned this support, but Kinshasa expects Paris to take concrete measures against Kigali.
The French president has been accused of bias in favour of the Rwandan president, even though he tried to play the role of facilitator for a meeting between the heads of state of the DRC and Rwanda, especially since the rebels resumed their advances after this meeting.
Despite Kigali’s denial, the DRC accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebellion, which has seized large swathes of territory in North Kivu province since 2022. This support has been confirmed by UN experts and denounced by several Western chancelleries.