Gabon France relations under the spotlight as president oligui begins state visit

French-Gabonese ties are once again in the international spotlight as President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema arrives in Paris this Monday, July 20, for an official state visit. The small but resource-rich Central African nation, a key oil producer with significant mineral wealth, has long maintained a uniquely close partnership with France—one that persists despite shifting dynamics in Paris’s broader African policy.