Francophone summit opens in Cambodia amid dispute between Rwanda and DR Congo

Leaders of French-speaking nations gathered in Cambodia this weekend for a three-day summit overshadowed by a dispute between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda over who should head their organisation, a rift that threatens to split the group.

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) is meeting in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, through Monday. The body is a loose confederation of 90 states and governments where French is spoken or widely used, counting 53 full members, five associate members and 32 observers.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who chaired the previous summit in 2024 and will hand the chair to Cambodia, arrived on Saturday and held talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet, The Associated Press news agency reported. About 20 leaders are expected to attend, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Vietnamese President To Lam, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.

On Monday, leaders will select the organisation's next secretary-general for a four-year term. Rwanda's Louise Mushikiwabo, who has led the OIF since 2018, is seeking a third term.

The DRC, which accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 armed group in the country's east, has threatened to leave the OIF if she is re-elected. Congo, the United States and United Nations experts say Rwanda supports M23, one of about 100 armed groups active in the mineral-rich region. Rwanda denies the allegations.

On Saturday, the DRC withdrew its candidate, Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of independence hero Patrice Lumumba, and threw its support behind Romanian former Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos to allow "consensus around a unifying candidacy". Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said Mushikiwabo would stay in the race. Mauritania's Coumba Ba, a former minister, is also running, the AFP news agency reported.

Macron's office said most members agreed on the need for consensus and that he would take the matter up with his African counterparts. France is the biggest contributor to the OIF's 2026 budget of 71.7 million euros ($79m). Rwanda has said Macron asked Kagame to withdraw its candidate and that Kigali refused, AFP reported.

The stakes are high for the organisation. The DRC has a population of more than 110 million, roughly 40 million more than France, and is the most populous country where French is an official language. Its exit would be a blow to a body that already lost Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which announced their withdrawals in March 2025 following suspensions over military coups.

The summit's slogan is "Reinvest in Peace for Shared Prosperity and Lasting Stability". Activists see the gathering as a chance to press Cambodia, a de facto one-party state, on rights. UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews urged delegates to push for the release of detained activists, saying, "No one should be detained for defending human rights, reporting on matters of public concern, or voicing critical opinions."

Macron arrived as France faces widespread protests at home. He is due to visit the Angkor World Heritage Site on Monday before leaving for Malaysia.