Christophe Bigot

DRC, Rwanda
Who is Stockholm's candidate for EU Great Lakes representative post?

Among the candidates that member states have put forward for the post of European Union special representative for the Great Lakes region is Swedish diplomat Johan Borgstam.

DRC, Rwanda
Paris lines up alternative candidate for post of EU representative for Great Lakes

After Kigali's anger at the Belgian diplomat put forward, France is about to propose an alternative candidate to represent the EU in the Great Lakes region.

West Africa
Macron dismisses his foreign ministry's Africa director

Christophe Bigot's hold on his position as the French foreign ministry's Africa head had been shaky for months before his sacking on 12 December. In the end, it came down to his handling of the Niger coup.

DRC
DR Congo security chief seeks to reboot Paris-Kinshasa relations

Jean-Louis Esambo, who just took over as head of DR Congo's Conseil National de Sécurité, is seeking to rekindle relations with French intelligence and diplomatic services.

DRC
French foreign ministry's Africa director expected in Kinshasa

Christophe Bigot, head of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Africa and Indian Ocean Division (DAOI), will arrive in Kinshasa on 8 November.

Algeria
French foreign ministry's Africa director expected in Algiers

The French foreign ministry's top Africa diplomat Christophe Bigot is expected in Algiers over the next few days to discuss the situation in Niger.

France
French foreign ministry reshuffles Africa team amid Sahel crisis

Since the coup in Niger, interest in the French foreign ministry's activity in Africa has increased. Several changes within the DAOI have just been put into place.

Africa
French foreign ministry keeps its Africa director Christophe Bigot for another year

The French foreign ministry's Africa director Christophe Bigot will stay on for another year, while his deputy Clément Leclerc will likely leave the department to head the French consulate in Geneva.

Palace Intrigues
Alassane Ouattara, Laurent Gbagbo, Emmanuel Macron, Teodoro Obiang, William Ruto, Dadju

Intrigues big and small: every Tuesday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

Ivory CoastOuattara, Bédié and Gbagbo to meet in Yamoussoukro

Equatorial GuineaMacron suggests meeting with Obiang to end Paris private mansion dispute

KenyaRuto administration's appointment of Kenyatta's cousin ruffles the ex-presidential family's feathers

France/AfricaRapper Dadju tours Africa, from Libreville to Abidjan

Equatorial Guinea, France
Paris attempts to break deadlock in Malabo over luxury mansion

France's top Africa diplomat Christophe Bigot has just returned from a short trip to Malabo, where he met Teodoro Obiang Nguema in the hope of resolving the ongoing dispute over a Paris building currently occupied by the embassy of Equatorial Guinea which has been seized by the French state.

Ethiopia
Paris and Berlin seek to act in unison in the Horn

The French and German foreign ministers are due in Addis in a week's time for talks with the Ethiopian government. Paris and Berlin are doing their best to adopt a common diplomatic stance in the region.

Djibouti, France
Special envoy from Paris to renegotiate military cooperation with IOG

In order to successfully renegotiate France's defence cooperation treaty with Djibouti, the French foreign ministry has been relying in recent weeks on a special envoy.

Nigeria
Presidential hopeful Kwankwaso lobbies in Paris and Washington

Former Kano governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a candidate in next year's presidential election in Nigeria, visited Paris at the end of November before flying to Washington.

Sudan
Darfur governor Minni Minnawi pleads his case on international tour

After Doha, Paris and London, the governor of the Darfur region, Suliman Arcua Minnawi, aka Minni Minnawi, is expected in Washington in November.

Africa
Paris dissolves its Sahel task force

Created in the wake of the Pau Summit in January 2020, France's Sahel task force will be dissolved in its current form to be fully integrated into the foreign ministry's Africa directorate.

France, Turkey
Paris and Ankara to resume strategic dialogue on Africa

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is set to relaunch France and Turkey's strategic dialogue on Africa. Although they are rival powers on the continent, the two countries have been engaged in sustained discussions since early 2022.

Africa, France
French foreign ministry changes nearly entire Africa and Indian Ocean senior line-up

Three of the Africa and Indian Ocean department's four deputy directors are on the out, as are their respective deputies. The unit's director, Christophe Bigot, however, is to remain in place.

Spotlight | Guinea
Military rapprochement between Conakry and Paris picks up pace

Unlike in neighbouring Mali, relations between Paris and Conakry haven't particularly suffered from the coup. The interim president Mamadi Doumbouya has now asked for French support to secure the Mali-Guinean border, and although Paris is inclined to help, it remains concerned about the human rights situation in the country.

Senegal
Ambassador Philippe Lalliot to stay on in Dakar

The ambassador of France to Senegal and Gambia, Philippe Lalliot is to stay on for an additional year on top of the standard three-year mandate.