France and Madagascar

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Political relations

Relations between France and Madagascar are strong and friendly thanks to the historical, cultural and economic ties that bind our two countries and the solidarity between Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) member countries.

French presence

Website of the Embassy: www.ambafrance-mada.org
Consulate: Antananarivo
French community: 16,287 registered, almost half of whom dual nationals.
Malagasy community in France: approx. 100,000

Visits

  • 20-21 July 2020: visit to Antananarivo by Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
  • 11-13 November 2019: visit to Paris by the Malagasy Prime Minister, Mr Christian Ntsay, for the Paris Peace Forum.
  • 23 October 2019: visit to La Réunion by Prime Minister Ntsay for the “Choose La Réunion” business forum organized by the French Presidency.
  • 9-10 October 2019: visit to Lyon by the President of Madagascar, Mr Andry Rajoelina, for the sixth replenishment conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
  • 13 September 2019: visit to Paris by Ambassador Laurence Fischer for the launch of the high-level alliance for sport in Africa, organized by President Rajoelina.
  • 17 June 2019: visit to Paris by Division General Léon Jean Richard Rakotonirina, Minister of National Defence, for the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. Meeting with Ms Florence Parly, French Minister for the Armed Forces.
  • 28 May-3 June 2019: official visit to France by Mr Andry Rajoelina, President of the Republic of Madagascar. Meetings with President Macron, the President of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, and the Minister of the Interior, Mr Christophe Castaner.
  • 13-14 February 2019: visit to Paris by Mr Naina Andriantsitohaina, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar. Meeting with Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
  • 18-19 January 2019: visit to Antananarivo by Mr Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Meeting with Mr Andry Rajoelina, President of the Republic of Madagascar.
  • 11 November 2018: visit to Paris by Mr Eloi Alphonse Maxime Dovo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar, to attend the commemorations of the centenary of the end of the First World War and the Paris Peace Forum.
  • 13-14 March 2018: visit to Antananarivo by Mr Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Meetings with the President of the Republic of Madagascar, Mr Hery Rajaonarimampianina, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Henry Rabary-Njaka.
  • 2 March 2018: meeting in Paris between Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and his counterpart, Mr Henry Rabary-Njaka.
  • 28 June 2017: visit to Paris by the President of the Republic of Madagascar, Mr Hery Rajaonarimampianina. Meeting with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron.
  • 26-27 November 2016: visit to Antananarivo by the President of the French Republic, Mr François Hollande, and several French Ministers, for the 16th Francophonie Summit. Meeting between the two Presidents.

Ambassadors


French Ambassador to Madagascar: Mr Christophe Bouchard
Malagasy Ambassador to France: Mr Rija Rajohnson

Economic relations

France is a major economic player in Madagascar as:

  • Its leading trading partner, with €999 million in 2018, including €14.6 million in exports from La Réunion;
  • Its leading customer, receiving 22% of Madagascar’s exports in 2017;
  • Its fourth-largest supplier in 2017;
  • Its second-largest bilateral donor, behind the United States. In 2017, French official development assistance (ODA) for Madagascar totalled €75.2 million, including €48.5 in bilateral assistance. This aid is primarily delivered via the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency), which authorized almost €310 million in loans and grants for Madagascar between 2014 and 2018;
  • Its leading source of tourists, with close to 150,000 French visitors in 2016: almost half of all tourists.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

The French cultural and scientific network is extensive in Madagascar: French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), French Research Institute for Development (IRD), international technical experts working at the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar (IPM), the Institut Français of Madagascar, 29 Alliance Française branches and 23 approved schools (11,000 pupils enrolled for the 2017-2018 academic year), fifth-largest French-teaching network of the Agency for French Education Abroad (AEFE) in terms of student numbers.

Decentralized cooperation is very active between France and Madagascar. In 2017, Madagascar was the leading destination of ODA from French local government bodies, with a total of €4.7 million (€3.8 million in 2018). The second France-Madagascar Decentralized Cooperation Meetings were organized in Antananarivo from 5-7 March 2018, with 450 participants from the two countries.

Other cooperation

Relations with the European Union

Following five years of political crisis (2009-2013), relations were fully re-established between the EU and Madagascar on 19 May 2014, when the Council of the European Union recognized the return to the constitutional order. Regular high-level political dialogue between the EU and Malagasy authorities has fully resumed, with Article 8 dialogue chaired by the President in 2017 and 2019. The issue of respect for human rights remains sensitive. Concerning cooperation, the country was allocated €492 million under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) for 2014-2020, with three focal sectors:
(i) governance and strengthening of public policy;
(ii) infrastructure in support to economic development; and
(iii) rural development.

Trade relations between the EU and Madagascar are considerable. The EU is Madagascar’s leading trading partner, representing a third of its trade. In August 2009, Madagascar signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, at the same time as Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe. The EPA took effect in 2012, and Madagascar has dismantled tariffs for 80% of imports from the EU since 1 January 2014. It was the first EPA to be implemented in Africa.

Updated: February 2020

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