The International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) is set to elect its next Secretary General on 15 and 16 November 2026 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a four-year term.
It has emerged that France, under President Macron, is quietly positioning former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos to take over from Rwanda’s Louise Mushikiwabo at the head of the OIF.
While Paris publicly shows diplomatic warmth toward the candidate of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Juliana Amato Lumumba, a former minister of Culture and Arts, it is simultaneously working behind the scenes to promote Ciolos’s candidacy within France’s traditional sphere of influence in Francophone Africa and beyond.
Some observers suggest that France, facing a dilemma between supporting Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo, who has completed two terms, and Congolese Juliana Lumumba, is opting for a third candidate to break the deadlock.
How can France justify pitting the DR Congo against Rwanda, a country that has just served two consecutive terms and shows ideological distance from the French language? The DR Congo, with over 100 million French speakers, numerous Francophone universities and media outlets, stands as the vibrant heart of the Francophonie.
Objectively, the DR Congo should not have been weighed against Rwanda, which has questioned the use of French and already benefited from two mandates.
If France fails to recognise these assets and instead demeans the DR Congo by manoeuvring to block it from leading this cultural, political and civilisational space, then Kinshasa must draw the necessary conclusions and retaliate accordingly.
Should Juliana Lumumba lose the OIF secretary-general election due to French duplicity, the DR Congo must take strong measures against France.
As the world’s largest Francophone nation, the DR Congo deserves fair treatment from France.
With 90 member states, the OIF leadership is far from ceremonial. Whoever holds the post subtly influences the diplomatic balance among Francophone countries in Africa, Europe and the Americas.
That is why the role requires an experienced, unifying and highly motivated figure. Juliana Amato Lumumba meets all these criteria.
