The French and Ivorian presidents had lunch together at the Élysée Palace, two weeks after the investiture of Alassane Ouattara, 78, by his party to be his presidential candidate.

A meal at the end of which neither Emmanuel Macron nor Alassane Ouattara made any comment, the Ivorian head of state contenting himself with posting photos of this meeting on social networks. 

This Friday, September 4, 2020, I had a working lunch with my French counterpart, @EmmanuelMacron.

pic.twitter.com/hCN0ZUEstD

- Alassane Ouattara (@AOuattara_PRCI) September 4, 2020

Emmanuel Macron has not, until now, publicly expressed himself on the turnaround of his Ivorian counterpart, who announced in March his decision to give up running for a third term.

He changed his mind in August after the death of a heart attack of his Prime Minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, whom he had invested as a candidate for his party.

"The two heads of state gave an overview of the economic and political situation in Côte d'Ivoire," the Ivorian presidency said in a statement.

"They noted the need to maintain the peace and stability found. In this context, the presidential election of October 31, 2020 must contribute, according to them, to strengthening this peace and stability", according to the text.

The Ivorian presidency also specifies that Alassane Ouattara notably "thanked" President Macron "for France's assistance in the fight against terrorism as well as for his support in the context of electoral assistance, a pledge of the confidence of France as to the current process ".

The two men were also due to discuss the crisis in Mali after the coup that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta on August 18.

A tense political climate

Before this meeting, two opponents had asked France to react to the Ivorian president's candidacy for a third term.

The former rebel leader and ex-Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, declared candidate despite his exile in France and a condemnation by the Ivorian justice, denounced in an open letter the "deafening silence" of France, considering that it was " incomprehensible and (...) would be worth complicity " 

Pascal Affi N'Guessan, who came second in the 2015 ballot and again presidential candidate on October 31, urged President Macron to come out of "silence" and "not to endorse the institutional coup" perpetrated according to him by Alassane Ouattara.

The announcement of the outgoing president's candidacy sparked demonstrations that degenerated and resulted in some fifteen deaths.

And researcher François Patuel, specializing in Africa, told France 24 that militias had been reported in some cities of the country, raising fears of further violence.

Like the previous one, the 2016 Constitution limits presidential terms to two.

But supporters of Alassane Ouattara claim that the change of the Constitution has reset the counter to zero, while his opponents deem this candidacy unconstitutional.

The independent electoral commission (CEI) of Côte d'Ivoire announced Thursday that it had received 44 candidacy files, including those of Laurent Gbagbo, still in Belgium, and Guillaume Soro, who resides in France.

She claims to have sent them to the Constitutional Council, which now has 15 days to disclose the list of validated candidacies but can do so before. 

France is worried about a rise in tension in Côte d'Ivoire ten years after the post-electoral crisis which left 3,000 dead, after the outgoing Laurent Gbagbo refused to recognize the victory of Alassane Ouattara.

With AFP

The summary of the week

France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 application

google-play-badge_FR