The meeting, which will include international economic groupings, is unashamedly a French bid to solidify and broaden relations with African nations.

Macron wants to move beyond the former French colonies to countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

It takes place against a backdrop of waning French public support for France’s gendarme role in Africa and leaders of the continent questioning the value of a series of summit meetings with Western development  partners.

Nevertheless they will fly to Paris – the only Western capital from which large quantities of COVID vaccine have been shipped by a  donor country to developing countries.

In week where we learn that 140 million doses of that vaccine supposed to go to the poorer countries via the COVAX programme will be retained to deal with India’s surge of infections, the summit participants know they will be talking to representatives of the largest vaccine financiers.

The summit will see a rare visit to France by Rwandan President Paul Kagame. This means the still smoldering issue of France’s role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is unavoidable.

Important as it is, other African leaders will also want to move beyond making up the $300-billion shortfall caused by the pandemic.

They want to leave the summit with heartening news for their people about addressing critical shortfalls in potable water, schools and healthcare facilities.

Even though the leaders of countries with which France has active disputes, such as Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso have not been invited, Macron cannot expect to escape pointed question about colonial legacies like the Central African franc, which Africans say binds currencies of former dependencies  too tightly to the French economy.

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They’ll improve informations sharing and  pay into a maritime security fund, hoping that this will boost development.

38 of the 54 African countries have coastlines.

90% of African imports come by sea, making maritime security paramount.

Pirates and smugglers have been able to slip between territorial waters with little trouble.

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso hails the binding African Union agreement  signed by 43 countries as

historic.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta says it shows Africa’s

ability to put together a continent-wide strategy.

No fewer than 18 heads-of-state were at the Togo summit.

Maritime security analyst at the Institute for

Security Studies Timothy Walker says the Togo deal cannot be the final step. There is still a lot of  work to do.

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The fighting comes weeks after President Denis Sassou Nguesso won an election after a constitutional referendum removed age and term limits that would have barred the 72-year-old from running

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The intermittent gunfire was heard in the capital as police battled  militia known as the Ninjas.

These were one of the main anti-government forces in the 1998-99 civil war.

They signed 1999 ceasefire agreements but took up arms again in the early 2000s to demand a role in military and political decisions. A peace deal was signed in 2003 between the militia and government.

In the run-up to last October’s referendum 18 people died  in clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces.

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Voters are going to the polls in six African countries today in what’s being dubbed the continent’s super Sunday.

African Union Commission President Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s calling for free, and transparent voting processes accepted by electors.

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Denis Sassou Nguesso’s odds on favorite to win a third consecutive term as president of Congo Brazzaville.

In Niger, opposition  leader Hamad Amnadou was let out of prison to seek medical treatment in France.

Incumbent Mahamadou Issoufou is the favorite to win the run-off .

Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi stands out among African peers by stepping down after two terms. Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou and businessman Patrice Talon to contest the succession.

Zanzibaris are voting in elections annulled lat year because of violence.

Senegalese President Macky Sall has called a referendum aimed at reducing presidential terms from seven to five years.

In the archipelago of Cape Verde is having parliamentary elections.

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