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 France |  DR Congo |
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DR Congo–France are the bilateral diplomatic relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and France. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie and the United Nations.
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France | DR Congo |
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DR Congo–France are the bilateral diplomatic relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and France. Both nations are members of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie and the United Nations.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2023) |
In 1961, France sent colonel Roger Trinquier to support the coup d'etat of Mobutu Sese Seko. [1]
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing decided to send the French Army to Zaïre in 1977 to help Mobutu, whose régime threatened to crumble before rebels of the Congolese National Liberation Front in the Shaba I war. France intervened again the following year in the Shaba II war.
In the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Mobutu Sese Seko authorized France to use the Kivu region as a base for Operation Turquoise, a French military operation to put an end to the massacres in Rwanda.
On January 28, 2025, demonstrators in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), attacked several foreign embassies, including those of France, Belgium, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and the United States. These protests were in response to the escalating conflict in the DRC's eastern regions, which has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned the attacks, stating that they were "unacceptable" and assured that measures were being taken to ensure the safety of French personnel and citizens. [2]
French is the official language of the DRC, and both France and the DRC are full members of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (International Organization of French Speakers).
Several Alliances françaises and Instituts français operate in the RDC (notably the Institut français in Kinshasa), as well as the lycée Français René Descartes de Kinshasa. France has also trained certain Congolese administrators at the École Nationale d'Administration. [3]
France committed at the end of President Kabila's second to the European Union and the United Nations Security Council that it would enforce human rights, democracy and the Congolese constitution. [4]
France provides Congo-DRC with food and medical assistance. French food aid has increased since the food crisis of 2008, reaching 17 million euros between 2008 and 2012. [5]
France primarily imports food and agricultural products from the DRC, whose primary imports from France are pharmaceuticals and mechanical equipment. [6]
The DRC receives support from French experts to help it improve its budgetary and administrative performance, in accordance with the debt reduction and development contract (C2D) between the two countries. [7]
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Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga, often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the first and only president of Zaire from 1971 to 1997. Previously, Mobutu served as the second president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1971. He also served as the fifth chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 1967 to 1968. During the Congo Crisis, Mobutu, serving as Chief of Staff of the Army and supported by Belgium and the United States, deposed the democratically elected government of left-wing nationalist Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Mobutu installed a government that arranged for Lumumba's execution in 1961, and continued to lead the country's armed forces until he took power directly in a second coup in 1965.
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Antoine Ghonda Mangalibi was the foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from June 30, 2003, until July 23, 2004.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) face discrimination and legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal for both males and females in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, although LGBTQ individuals may still be targeted for prosecution under public indecency provisions on occasion.
The Pentacost Martyrs Stadium, or commonly referred to as the Stade des Martyrs, is the national stadium of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the Kinshasa commune of the capital Kinshasa. With a seating capacity of 80,000, it is the largest stadium in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the fourth-largest stadium in Africa. It serves as the home stadium for the Congolese football national team, Association Sportive Vita Club, and Daring Club Motema Pembe, making it the largest multifunctional venue in the country.
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The Congolese National Liberation Front was a Congolese left-wing armed opposition group and political party that was founded by rebels of Katangese origin and composed of former members of the Katangese Gendarmerie. It was active mainly in Angola and Zaire during the 1970s.
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Democratic Republic of the Congo–United States relations are the international relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United States of America.
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has an embassy in Moscow and an honorary consulate in Yekaterinburg. Russia has an embassy in Kinshasa. The relations between the two countries were established on July 7, 1960, and restored since November 30, 1967.
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Democratic Republic of Congo formerly known as Zaire is a country located in central Africa. Its the second largest country in Africa and 11th in the world.
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Democratic Republic of the Congo–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Kingdom. The Democratic Republic of the Congo maintains an embassy in London and the United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Kinshasa.
Democratic Republic of the Congo–Turkey relations are the bilateral relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Kinshasa since 1974, and the DR Congo opened its embassy in Ankara in 2011.
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