France will erect a monument in the Republic of Congo's capital to remember the African men and women who gave their lives to liberate France from Nazi occupation during the Second World War, French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Friday.
“In Brazzaville, which was the capital of Free France, a memorial will be built to honor the memory of these women and men, these African heroes, who had never set foot on the soil of France but gave their lives to free it,” Macron said in Congo's capital.
Macron is visitng the Republic of Congo as part of his ongoing African tour, which he started in the Gabonese city of Libreville on Wednesday. He made a brief stopover in Angola on Friday, taking part in an agricultural economic seminar before visiting Joao Lourenco, his Angolan counterpart.
Later in the day, Macron landed in the Congolese capital. According to Paris, his visit is intended to usher in a new era in French relations with Africa. Denis Sassou Nguesso, his Congolese counterpart, greeted him at Maya Maya Airport.
The French leader's visit takes place against the backdrop of rising anti-French sentiment in Africa and the strengthening of the positions of Russia and China on the continent.
As a Sputnik correspondent reported on Friday, hundreds of people gathered in the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui, to protest against the West's attempts to interfere in the country's internal affairs and its demands to stop cooperation with Moscow.
The day before, a rally was held in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, against Macron's visit to the country.