Overview
- South Africa said Thursday that France pulled President Cyril Ramaphosa’s G7 invite after U.S. pressure that included a boycott threat.
- France’s foreign minister rejected that account, saying Kenya was chosen to fit a streamlined focus on geo‑economic issues and to build toward a May Africa summit in Nairobi.
- A White House official denied asking France to exclude South Africa and said Washington welcomes Kenya’s participation.
- Hours later, Ramaphosa said he had no information of pressure from any country, contradicting his spokesperson’s claim to AFP and SABC News.
- The Evian meeting runs June 15-17 with Kenya as the African partner, set against U.S.–South Africa strains over tariffs, South Africa’s ICJ case on Israel, and disputes over racial policy rhetoric.