France and Gabon sign three agreements on defence and minerals

France and Gabon signed three agreements during a meeting in Paris, including a letter of intent on the transfer of the "Général de Gaulle" military camp and a memorandum of understanding to transform Gabon's manganese value chain.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Gabonese counterpart, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, looked on as officials sign the agreements during a ceremony at the Élysée Palace.

Macron's Elysee Palace office said there was "a convergence to move towards a timetable for local processing of part of the manganese production". France maintains a military base in Libreville but has reduced its presence from more than 1,000 to 100 or so soldiers, as part of an army restructuring.