The French leader and President Bola Tinubu will review expanding cooperation in trade, security, agriculture and regional stability during the visit planned for later this year.
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Nigeria later in 2026 as Abuja and Paris move to strengthen their strategic and economic relationship.
France’s Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Marc Fonbaustier, announced the planned state visit during France’s National Day celebration in Abuja on Tuesday.
No specific date or detailed itinerary has been released, but the ambassador said the trip would take place in the autumn.
Macron’s visit will come nearly two years after President Bola Tinubu travelled to France for a state visit in November 2024.
According to Fonbaustier, the two presidents will use the forthcoming meeting to assess progress under the Nigeria-France cooperation roadmap and determine the priorities that will shape relations between both countries in the coming years.
Trade, investment, food security, environmental protection and the fight against terrorism are expected to feature prominently in the discussions.
Trade and investment take centre stage
Fonbaustier said the growing relationship was already producing commercial partnerships involving French and Nigerian companies.
He cited business arrangements involving Carrefour and HyperCity, hospitality companies Accor and Shoreline, and Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice as indications of expanding economic ties.
The ambassador also praised Nigerian businessman Abdul Samad Rabiu’s initiative to establish a House of African Worlds in Paris, describing the project as another bridge between Africa and Europe.
France is equally supporting agricultural programmes through the French Development Agency, particularly projects designed to strengthen food production, agricultural value chains and access to markets in northern Nigeria.
The cooperation extends beyond Nigeria, with both countries working through ECOWAS to confront food insecurity and other development challenges across West Africa.
Terrorism and regional security
Security will also be a central issue during Macron’s visit as terrorist groups continue to threaten communities across the region.
Fonbaustier said Nigeria and France were collaborating to help West African countries improve their capacity to fight terrorism.
He argued that regional stability required a strong Nigeria, while Nigeria also needed a united and coordinated region to overcome worsening insecurity.
The ambassador described the bilateral relationship as a “partnership between equals,” insisting that France’s engagement with Nigeria was based on consultation, mutual respect and shared interests rather than interference.
Macron’s longstanding Nigeria connection
Macron’s relationship with Nigeria predates his emergence as French president.
Fonbaustier recalled that Macron spent six months in Nigeria as a student more than two decades ago, an experience he said helped shape the French leader’s understanding of Africa and his subsequent policy towards the continent.
Macron later returned to Nigeria as president in July 2018, holding talks with then-President Muhammadu Buhari and visiting the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos.
His forthcoming state visit is expected to build on Tinubu’s 2024 trip to Paris and further define France’s evolving political and economic relationship with Nigeria.
