Sassou Nguesso visits France to sign agreements with Macron
Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso began a two-day visit to France on Friday.
The Élysée Palace announced that several agreements will be signed, including the modernization of the Congolese capital’s corniche and the establishment of an “academy to combat environmental crimes”.
The Élysée explained that, on the regional level, an upcoming meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Sassou Nguesso will focus on “the crisis in the Great Lakes region” and discuss “ways to help resolve the tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, with the aim of reaching an agreement that could guarantee Kinshasa’s sovereignty over all Congolese territory”.
For its part, the Congolese embassy in Paris considered France “the second largest donor to Congo,” noting that approximately “200 companies” present in Congo “are either affiliated with French companies, have French management, or have French shareholders”.
Nguesso’s visit comes amid ongoing investigations into “illicit gains” against him and his family in France. Last March, the Parisian apartment of Congolese First Lady Antoinette Sassou Nguesso was searched.
In 2007, the French non-profit organization Sherpa, which is active in the fight against corruption, filed a complaint with the French judiciary against Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, accusing him of “illicit gain.” The complaint is still under investigation by French courts.
