French President Emmanuel Macron has underlined the need to acknowledge there were more than Western actors involved in the slavery and trade of Africans.

President John Mahama of Ghana had broached the subject of reparations for slavery, which Ghana is currently championing. 

Macron pledged support for the initiative, noting that France had criminalised slavery.

He, however, cautioned that the reparations discussion should acknowledge the involvement of various actors beyond Western powers.

The West was involved in slavery and trade of humans from Africa for about 400 years, but abolished, criminalised and embarked on an enforcement crusade of same globally, thereafter. It is generally believed the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ended in 1867, even though others argue for 1873.

Concerning the enslavement and sale of Africans, the Trans-Saharan Slave Trade is less mainstream, and the enslavement and sale of Europeans by North Africans is even more obscure.

While the sale of humans and exploitation of labour are not completely a thing of the past, they have been driven underground, and are absolutely illegal in the West, and other parts of the world.

An estimated 50 million people worldwide were living in modern slavery in 2021, per the 2022 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery report, a figure indicating a significant increase of 10 million people compared to the previous 2016 estimate. 

Presidents Mahama and Macron had extensive bilateral talks at the Élysée Palace, discussing security cooperation, economic development, and regional stability on the sidelines of the 2025 Paris Peace Forum.

They sat down on the sidelines of the 2025 Paris Peace Forum on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

The meeting opened on a solemn note, with President Macron offering condolences for the recent passing of Ghana's former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings.

Both leaders praised the Paris Peace Initiative and the strengthening of relations between Ghana and France.

A key focus of the talks was Ghana's request for French assistance in combating piracy in its territorial waters. President Mahama sought support to protect Ghana's maritime integrity from increasing piratical threats in the Gulf of Guinea.

The two leaders also discussed a French concessionary loan for Ghana's health sector that was awaiting parliamentary approval. President Mahama asked his French counterpart to use his influence with the International Monetary Fund to secure Ghana’s access to the facility from the French Development Bank, noting Ghana's improved debt-to-GDP ratio.

President Mahama, in his capacity as the African Union (AU) Champion of African Financial Institutions, advocated for collaboration to renegotiate loan agreements with lower interest rates for infrastructure projects. 

He emphasised Ghana's role as home to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat and the need for enhanced road infrastructure to facilitate intra-African trade.

Mr Mahama highlighted Ghana's ambitious one-million-coders programme, which has already registered 200,000 students.

He requested French support to train additional French language teachers to improve language education in Ghanaian schools.

President Macron noted several upcoming opportunities for collaboration, including the VivaTech Summit in Nairobi in May 2026, where Ghana could showcase its digital innovation capabilities, the African Union-European Union summit in Angola, and the June 2026 G7 summit, where France would advocate for increased support for Ghana.

The leaders discussed the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region, particularly terrorist incursions in Mali and other countries of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). 

President Macron commended President Mahama's leadership in the subregion, and Ghana's economic reforms, pledging continued French support for Ghana's development agenda.