Accompanied by a delegation of about 50 businessmen, French president François Hollande begins this Wednesday 1st July a 2-day tour in 3 African countries: Benin, Angola and Cameroon. This lightning tour targets countries with which France has weakened relationships. The last visit from a French head of state to Benin dates back to 1983, 1999 for Cameroon and 2008 for Angola.

François Hollande's visit to Benin, which comes shortly after the nomination of the Beninese businessman Lionel Zinsou as the head of government, former speech writer for the current French chief of diplomacy Laurent Fabius, will be mainly focused on political relations. The French leader wishes to commend the strength of the democracy in Benin, especially as current president Thomas Boni Yayi has pledged to not seek a third term in 2016, in accordance with the constitution.

Mr Hollande will visit 2 sites hailed as models of the French - Beninese relationship: a French-Beninese research centre testing for a new vaccine against malaria and a small scale solar energy storage facility of the French group Bolloré.

In Angola, the second producer of crude oil in Africa, the stakes are essentially economic. The 50-odd delegation accompanying François Hollande is looking to generate contracts worth a billion of euros. The French petroleum group Total, which extracts 15% of its global crude from Angola, should be signing 2 important agreements, with one concerning the commercialization of solar lamps. Accor is looking to sign contracts for the construction of 50 hotels, whilst the civil and engineering group Eiffage is seeking to sign the delivery of 300 gateways/footbridges.

In Cameroon, Mr Hollande's visit will be officially centered on politics and security matters with the country playing a key role in the fight against the Nigerian armed Islamist group Boko Haram. The French president will also meet all the political parties and women heading NGOs. The Kribi port project would be part of the discussions.

Since 2012, François Hollande has visited fifteen or so sub-Saharan African countries, a sign of the growing interest for this region which is rich in natural resources and showing strong economic growth.