Manganese and military base to lead France-Gabon talks

Manganese processing and the future of a French military camp in Gabon will be the main issues when Gabon's President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema visits France, officials from both countries said on Friday.

Oligui Nguema is due to travel from Monday for a three-day visit with business leaders and political officials. He is expected to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. Gabon presidency spokesman Théophane Nzame-Nze Biyoghe said the trip would allow the two presidents to follow up on agreements signed in Libreville last November.

Oligui Nguema came to power in an August 2023 coup that ended 55 years of rule by the Bongo dynasty. He won nearly 95 percent of votes in elections in April 2025.

The source report said French influence is waning in francophone Africa, especially in the Sahel region, but that Libreville remains a close partner of Paris. Alongside formal events and a meeting with the Gabonese diaspora in France, the talks are expected to focus first on local processing of manganese, which is used in steelmaking.

Gabon is one of the world's biggest manganese producers. It announced last year that it wanted to ban exports of raw manganese from 2029 and build a local processing industry. Macron's Elysee Palace office said there was "a convergence to move towards a timetable for local processing of part of the manganese production".

France has a military base in Libreville, but has reduced its presence there from more than 1,000 soldiers to about 100 as part of an army restructuring. Gabon is expected to take over the land and plans to use it to train defence and security forces. The Elysee said France was ready to respond to Gabon's priorities and objectives.

The report also said concerns have grown over repression in Gabon. Social networks have been cut off since February 17, and the country's main opposition leader has been in jail since April over fraud and breach of trust allegations.