Francophonie summit in Phnom Penh to choose secretary-general amid Congo-Rwanda feud

A summit set against a regional war

The 20th summit of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) is due to convene in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. RTBF and Le Soir give 15 and 16 November as the dates, while AP describes a three-day meeting running through Monday. Leaders of the organisation's 53 full members are expected to attend, and AP counts 90 member states and governments in the loose confederation once associate members and observers are included. Cambodia will take over the chairmanship from Emmanuel Macron, who held it in 2024 when France hosted.

Macron's visit and protests at home

Macron is set to attend the summit and hold bilateral talks there. Before leaving for Malaysia on Monday, 16 November, he is scheduled to visit the Angkor complex near Siem Reap. There he and King Norodom Sihamoni are to mark the completion of a temple restoration backed by France, the West Mebon. The trip comes as France faces wide protests. The French Interior Ministry said more than 600,000 people marched in early November, demanding higher wages and backing the student movement. AP reports that the unrest has brought thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries and schools set alight.

Congo and Rwanda at the centre

The vote is overshadowed by the conflict between Kinshasa and Kigali. Rwanda backs the incumbent, Louise Mushikiwabo, who has led the organisation since 2019 and is seeking a third four-year term. RTBF describes her as close to President Paul Kagame and notes that she was Rwanda's information minister and then foreign minister between 2009 and 2018. Congo's government opposes her candidacy, suspecting her of using the post to advance Rwanda's diplomatic agenda. Congo, the United States and United Nations experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebel group, one of many armed groups competing for control of mineral-rich eastern Congo, while Rwanda denies backing armed groups in Congo. Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya has restated on X his country's opposition to her re-election and said Kinshasa would draw its conclusions from the result. AP reports that Congo has threatened to leave the OIF if Mushikiwabo is re-elected, and RTBF points to persistent rumours that withdrawal could follow. With more than 110 million people, Congo is the most populous French-speaking country, according to AP, with over 40 million more people than France.

How the secretary-general is chosen

This will be the first time the OIF holds a vote for its secretary-general, a four-year post. Until now every secretary-general has been picked by consensus, and all but Michaëlle Jean, the former governor general of Canada elected in 2014, have been African. Under rules adopted in March 2022, members first try to agree, and a simple-majority vote applies if they fail, according to RTBF. An African diplomat quoted by La Libre gave members about 48 hours to find common ground and said he doubted they would, warning that a secret ballot would follow otherwise. Four candidates are in the race. Juliana Lumumba, 71, is the daughter of independence leader Patrice Lumumba, who was killed on 17 January 1961, and RTBF notes she was Congo's culture minister from 1998 to 2001. A West African insider called her hearing before OIF ministers in Paris on 30 June unconvincing. The two outsiders are Coumba Bâ, a former Mauritanian minister, and Dacian Ciolos, a former Romanian prime minister and European commissioner, whom La Libre's interlocutors describe as serious and respectable candidates.

What is due on Monday

Leaders are due to decide on Monday, 16 November, who will run the organisation for the 2027-2030 mandate. The timeline below lays out the summit's known beats. RTBF also says the OIF has already lost three founding members, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, in the past year. A Congolese exit would therefore add to a list of departures that already weighs on the organisation.