South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has met French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, with discussions centred on strengthening political, economic, and strategic ties between the two countries. The three-day visit also covers regional security in Africa and global issues, and comes weeks after South Africa was notably absent from the G7 summit in Évian — an exclusion initially attributed by Pretoria to U.S. pressure, though Ramaphosa later walked back that claim. Beyond the bilateral talks, Ramaphosa is scheduled to co-chair education discussions at UNESCO and attend commemorations marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Delville Wood, where more than 2,500 South African soldiers lost their lives during the First World War.