Tshisekedi walk-out overshadows summit of Francophone countries

A walk-out staged by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi nearly overshadowed the summit of French speaking countries held in Paris over the weekend.

To protest French President Emmanuel Macron’s opening speech for not mentioning the war in eastern Congo, Tshisekedi boycotted the summit’s heads of state retreat, in an embarrassing moment for French diplomacy.

Tshisekedi also skipped a luncheon organised by Louise Mushikiwabo, the head of the Organisation of Francophone Countries, on Saturday noon.

Before becoming the organisation’s chief, Mushikiwabo served for years as Rwanda’s foreign minister.

Kinshasa considered the omission of the war in eastern DRC in Macron’s statement an attempt by Paris to appease Kigali.

Congo and the United Nations say Rwanda’s troops and M23 rebels are fighting side by side on its territory.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday evening, Macron denied taking sides, saying he encouraged both countries to reach an agreement in talks mediated by Angola.

Before the summit opened, Macron held meetings with the leaders of Rwanda and Congo separately.