Macron Begins Historic Visit To Madagascar To Deepen Ties And Strengthen French Presence In Indian Ocean.
French President Emmanuel Macron has commenced a significant two-day visit to Madagascar, marking the first official visit by a French head of state to the island nation since President Jacques Chirac’s trip in 2005. The visit, which began on Wednesday, aims to revitalise bilateral relations and reinforce France’s strategic presence in the Indian Ocean, despite lingering disputes rooted in the colonial era.
President Macron, accompanied by First Lady Brigitte Macron, received a warm welcome at Ivato International Airport, where schoolchildren lined the tarmac waving French and Malagasy flags. The presidential couple later travelled to the capital, Antananarivo, for meetings with Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina and key business leaders.
City authorities had visibly prepared for the visit by sprucing up public spaces, clearing homeless residents from makeshift shelters and removing street vendors. However, not all locals were impressed. *“What hypocrisy,”* said Feno, a 22-year-old student. *“Walk three streets down and you’ll find the real Antananarivo.”*
The French government views this visit as an opportunity to reassert its influence in the Indian Ocean, a region where geopolitical competition is intensifying due to the strategic interests of China and Russia. France maintains several overseas territories in the area, including Mayotte and the contested Scattered Islands — small islets claimed by Madagascar. These territories lie in the resource-rich Mozambique Channel, a key corridor for global maritime trade.
While Paris has proposed a “co-management” model for the Scattered Islands, many in Madagascar, including President Rajoelina, are expected to push for full sovereignty. The situation echoes the United Kingdom’s 2024 agreement to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Experts say these territorial disputes are about more than borders. *“It’s about national identity, resource access, and political leverage,”* explained Denys-Sacha Robin, a maritime law expert at the University of Paris-Nanterre.
Beyond geopolitics, economic cooperation is also high on the agenda. France is Madagascar’s largest trading partner, and discussions are under way for French energy giant EDF to partner with Madagascar’s hydroelectric company CGHV on a major dam project. The deal is expected to boost energy infrastructure and investment in the island nation, which, despite its rich biodiversity and natural wealth, struggles with widespread poverty.
President Macron’s visit also highlights the sensitive legacy of French colonialism. Although he has promised to return cultural artefacts taken during the colonial era, plans to repatriate the skull of King Toera — executed and decapitated by French troops in 1897 — were delayed. The king’s descendants have requested that his tomb be restored before the remains are returned.
Calls are growing in Madagascar for France to more openly acknowledge and examine its colonial past. *“There must be a commission to fully expose the abuses of that era,”* said Jeannot Rasoloarison, a historian at the University of Antananarivo.
Macron is also set to advocate for closer collaboration between Madagascar and French territories in the region, such as Reunion and Mayotte, in areas including health, maritime security, and economic development.
On Thursday, the French president will attend a summit of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) in Antananarivo. He is expected to push for the inclusion of Mayotte, a French department, in the regional body — a move currently opposed by Comoros, which claims sovereignty over the island.
Human rights are also likely to feature in Macron’s discussions, particularly the case of Paul Maillot Rafanoharana, a dual national sentenced in 2021 to 20 years in prison over an alleged coup plot. He remains in solitary confinement in Madagascar, while his co-accused, Philippe François, was transferred to France last year.
As Macron’s visit unfolds, it underscores France’s determination to forge stronger ties in a region of growing strategic importance, while also grappling with the legacies of a complex and sometimes painful shared history.
