France accused of sabotaging drc’s bid for oif secretary-general

The International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) is set to elect its next Secretary-General on November 15-16, 2026, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The elected official will lead the organisation for a four-year term.

We have discovered that France under President Macron is allegedly preparing to support former Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Julien Ciolos as a candidate to replace Rwandan Louise Mushikiwabo at the helm of the OIF.

While France shows diplomatic smiles toward the Democratic Republic of Congo’s candidate, former Culture and Arts Minister Juliana Amato Lumumba, it is working behind the scenes to promote Ciolos’s candidacy among its traditional allies in Francophone Africa and beyond.

The move appears to be a way for France to avoid choosing between the Rwandan and Congolese candidates, caught in a diplomatic dilemma.

How can France equate the DRC’s candidacy with that of Rwanda, a country that has already served two terms and whose commitment to the Francophonie is questionable, given its ideological distance from the French language?

Objectively, the DRC should not be compared to Rwanda, a country that has questioned the use of French and has already completed two terms at the OIF’s helm.

Moreover, with 100 million French speakers, numerous Francophone universities, and a vibrant French-language media landscape, the DRC is the beating heart of the Francophonie.

If France refuses to acknowledge these assets and instead humiliates the DRC by blocking its path to lead this cultural, political, and civilisational space, then the DRC must draw the necessary conclusions and respond in kind.

If Juliana Lumumba is not elected OIF Secretary-General due to French duplicity, the DRC should take strong measures against France.

As the world’s largest Francophone country, the DRC deserves respectful treatment from France.

With 90 member states, leading the OIF is not merely a ceremonial role. The Secretary-General wields significant, if subtle, influence over the diplomatic balance among Francophone countries in Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

That is why the position requires an experienced, unifying, and highly motivated figure. Juliana Amato Lumumba meets all these criteria.