As the first round of France’s presidential election approaches on April 10, development actors say the outcome will have a significant impact on the country’s approach to overseas aid and multilateralism.
Incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, the front-runner in the polls, has presided over a historic increase in France’s official development assistance. He is widely seen as having moved France toward greater multilateral engagement, as well as greater partnership and less paternalism in its relations with its former colonies.
In sharp contrast, Macron’s closest rival favors a more self-interested, and less multilateral, approach.