Analyse
After Nairobi and the AFD freeze: can France maintain its role in Africa without its soft power instruments?
The freeze on AFD credits since June 16, 2026 reveals a deep tension between the diplomatic ambitions France displayed in Nairobi and the means actually deployed. Beyond international solidarity, it is French national interest itself that is at stake: economic influence, employment for young graduates, normative leverage. Combined with the rise in tuition fees for foreign students, this withdrawal raises an unresolved strategic question deliberate rupture or constrained adjustment at a time when other powers are consolidating their presence across the African continent.