By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
The South African presidency announced on Thursday that France rescinded President Cyril Ramaphosa’s invitation to the upcoming G7 summit following pressure from the United States.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told AFP that France withdrew the invitation after the U.S. threatened to boycott the June summit in Évian-les-Bains if South Africa participated.
“We’ve learnt that due to sustained pressure, France has had to withdraw its invitation to South Africa to attend the G7 meeting,” Magwenya said. “We are told that the Americans threatened to boycott the G7 if South Africa was invited.”
The development marks a new low in the strained relations between Pretoria and Washington. President Donald Trump has previously imposed heavy tariffs on South African goods, criticized the country’s land reform policies as discriminatory against whites, and clashed with Ramaphosa’s administration over its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
According to the South African presidency, French President Emmanuel Macron had extended a personal invitation to Ramaphosa during the G20 summit held in Johannesburg last November—a meeting Trump himself boycotted.
Despite the diplomatic setback, Magwenya emphasized that South Africa’s bilateral relationship with France remains strong. He also struck a measured tone regarding the broader relationship with Washington, asserting that the current tensions are transient.
“The diplomatic relationship between USA and South Africa predate the Trump administration and they will outlive the current White House term of office,” Magwenya said. “Notwithstanding all of these developments, South Africa remains committed to engage constructively with the US.”
