French President Emmanuel Macron will embark on an official state visit to Nigeria this fall, aimed at expanding diplomatic, economic, and security ties between Paris and Abuja.
​The upcoming visit was announced by the French Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Marc Fonbaustier, during a reception marking France’s National Day in Abuja.
​Speaking at the event, Ambassador Fonbaustier described the planned visit as a major milestone that comes two years after Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s historic state visit to Paris in November 2024.
​”I am pleased and honored to announce that, two years after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s State visit to Paris, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, will travel to Nigeria for another State visit this fall,” Fonbaustier revealed.
​The visit is expected to build on a series of existing defense and trade agreements while reinforcing cooperation across several critical sectors.
Both nations will review their joint efforts to combat regional terrorism. Ambassador Fonbaustier emphasized that regional stability heavily relies on a strong Nigeria and a united West Africa.
The leaders will assess active commercial partnerships, including recent collaborations in retail, hospitality, and media (such as alliances between Carrefour and HyperCity, Accor and Shoreline, and Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice).
Fonbaustier stressed that France’s relationship with Nigeria is built on mutual respect and equal partnership, without external interference.
​President Macron’s personal history with Nigeria adds a unique dimension to the upcoming trip; the French leader spent six months in the country as an intern 24 years ago an experience the ambassador noted helped shape Macron’s modern vision for French-African relations.
​President Macron last visited Nigeria in July 2018, during which he held talks with former President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja and made a cultural stop at the historic New Afrika Shrine in Lagos.
