The summit's opening session took place at the historic Villers-Cotterêts castle in France on October 4. A closed-door meeting of Heads of State is scheduled for Saturday, October 5.
The summit is being held under the theme, 'Creating, Innovating, and Entrepreneurship in French.'
Earlier, on October 3, Foreign Ministers from Francophonie member states convened to discuss issues affecting member countries.
Topics of discussion included the ongoing war in Lebanon, which is currently engaged in conflict with Israel and security challenges in Haiti among others.
It was agreed that the next Francophonie Foreign Ministers' meeting would be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2025, with Rwanda being the only nation that applied to host the event.
Several Heads of State who had initially confirmed their participation did not attend.
These included King Mohammed VI of Morocco, who was represented by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, and Tunisia's President Kaïs Saïed, who was represented by Prime Minister Kamel Madouri.
Other included Cameroon's President Paul Biya, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Djibouti's President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Togo's President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Angola's President João Lourenço, Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and Comoros' President Azali Assoumani, who recently survived a knife attack.
Guinea's President Mamadi Doumbouya also did not attend, despite Guinea recently being released from sanctions previously imposed by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).
The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) comprises 88 member states, united by the shared goal of promoting the French language.
IGIHE
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/president-kagame-first-lady-attend-dinner-hosted-by-macron
