France has withdrawn its invitation for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to attend the G7 leaders’ summit scheduled for June in Évian-les-Bains.
South Africa’s presidency initially attributed the decision to sustained pressure from the United States, including an alleged threat by Washington to boycott the meeting if South Africa participated.
The invitation had been extended personally by French President Emmanuel Macron during the G20 summit in Johannesburg last November.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told AFP that the French government communicated the withdrawal about two weeks ago due to US pressure.
He said the Americans had threatened to skip the summit if Ramaphosa was invited. South Africa is not a G7 member and will therefore not participate in this year’s gathering.
Hours later, Ramaphosa downplayed the development. He stated there had been no sustained pressure from the United States or any other country and that South Africa had not attended every past G7 summit.
He added that the country is not a member, so not receiving an invitation should not come as a surprise.
French officials denied that US pressure influenced the decision. They said France chose to invite Kenya, along with India, Brazil and South Korea, to represent broader perspectives at the June 15-17 summit in Évian-les-Bains. South Africa’s participation remains off the table.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
