Macron Visits Madagascar to Strengthen Economic and Diplomatic Ties
France and Madagascar announced plans on Wednesday to bolster economic cooperation through a series of high-profile projects, including a major hydroelectric dam, as President Emmanuel Macron began a two-day state visit to the Indian Ocean island nation.
The trip marks the first official visit by a French president in two decades and signals an effort to reinforce bilateral relations despite lingering disputes rooted in the colonial era. Following talks with Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina, Macron outlined several forthcoming agreements spanning energy, digital technology, infrastructure, and tourism.
Key among them is financing from the French Development Agency (AFD) and a loan from the French treasury to support the long-delayed construction of a hydropower dam in Volobe, in eastern Madagascar. A French official also told Agence France-Presse that a deal is expected for French energy giant EDF to acquire a stake in Madagascar’s hydroelectric company, CGHV.
Macron emphasized a potential partnership on rare earth minerals, critical for renewable energy technologies, given Madagascar’s extensive reserves. Rajoelina, meanwhile, called for further investment in the island’s "immense potential." France is already Madagascar’s largest trading partner.
Strategic Stakes in the Indian Ocean
The visit comes as France faces challenges to its sovereignty over several Indian Ocean territories, alongside growing competition from China and Russia in the region. Madagascar, a Francophone nation of 30 million people, disputes France’s control of the nearby Scattered Islands, which remained under French rule after other African colonies gained independence. Similarly, the neighboring Comoros claims Mayotte, a French-administered island. Both territories hold strategic importance in the Mozambique Channel, a vital shipping route rich in oil and gas.
Addressing Colonial Legacies
Another key theme of Macron’s visit is the fraught legacy of French colonization. Madagascar, the world’s fifth-largest island, boasts rich biodiversity and natural resources but struggles with widespread poverty. Macron has pledged to repatriate cultural artifacts taken during colonial rule, though plans to return the skull of King Toera—decapitated by French troops in 1897—were postponed due to disputes over the restoration of his desecrated tomb.
Before departing on Thursday, Macron will attend a summit of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), where he is expected to advocate for Mayotte’s inclusion—a move opposed by the Comoros. The visit may also touch on the case of Paul Maillot Rafanoharana, a dual national serving a 20-year sentence for an attempted coup in Madagascar, whose solitary confinement has drawn international scrutiny.