The French foreign ministry has told the United States it is unacceptable to exclude South Africa from the 2026 G20 Summit in Florida. This follows the withdrawal of an invitation for President Cyril Ramaphosa to the G7 Summit in Evian, which South Africa attributes to US pressure but France denies. France has instead invited Kenyan President William Ruto to the G7.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has denied that US President Donald Trump pressured French President Emmanuel Macron to withdraw President Cyril Ramaphosa's invitation to the G7 Summit in Evian in June. Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that France's ambassador to South Africa, David Martinon, informed the presidency of the withdrawal, citing sustained US pressure including a threat to boycott the summit.
"The reason we were given was that it was due to sustained pressure from the US, including a threat to boycott the G7 Summit," Magwenya said. Barrot insisted: "We have not yielded to any pressure, but have made a choice consistent with our decision to hold a streamlined G7 focused on geo-economic issues."
France invited Kenya to the G7 in preparation for the Africa-France summit in Nairobi on 11 and 12 May. A White House official stated that G7 members collectively decided to invite Kenya.
Separately, a French diplomat told the US that excluding South Africa from preparations for the 2026 G20 Summit, hosted by the US in Florida, is unacceptable. South Africa hosted the G20 in Johannesburg last year, which Trump boycotted, and now faces exclusion from the upcoming event. Bilateral ties remain frosty after US claims of a "white genocide" in South Africa, denied by Pretoria.
Magwenya said South Africa remains committed to resetting relations with the US and maintaining strong ties with France.
