French President Emmanuel Macron interrupted a session at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday, to ask the audience to remain quiet.
Macron, who was initially seated off-stage, stepped in during a panel discussion on culture and entrepreneurship after repeated noise from attendees disrupted the session.
“There is a total lack of respect,” the French leader told the audience, urging those engaged in side discussions to either remain silent or continue their conversations outside the hall or in designated bilateral meeting rooms.
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He also defended the speakers on stage, describing them as “super inspired” contributors whose presentations deserved the audience’s attention.
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Commentator on social media has however aired various opinion on the incident after the video trended.
@Dm_KE_ while sharing his opinion said, “He is yet to get the real noise from Kenyan Genzs, we dont care about mediocrity and no politician owns us here.”
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@DailySunbeam, while also reacting write on X, “Where did he even get the audacity to tell us to be quiet..like does he wven know how as Kenyans we appreciate.”
However, taking sides with Macron, @WillSmithSpeak wrote on X, “Why don’t you blame the attendees who were talking whil at the conference? Macron did nothing wrong. They lacked common sense, respect and good manners.”
@Seanylls also wrote: “The attendants are an embarrassment.”
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@Vasanapaonter, while reacting suggested they take the conference to another location. He wrote on X, “They should take that amazing conference to Paris beautiful country.”
The Africa Forward Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together more than 30 African heads of state and government, alongside business executives, investors, and young entrepreneurs from across the continent.
The gathering is part of France’s renewed diplomatic and economic engagement with Africa and replaces the former Africa-France Summit format.
Macron arrived in Kenya on Sunday and explained his decision to host the major Franco-African summit in an English-speaking African country, describing it as part of efforts to broaden France’s engagement across the continent.
