France Urges South Africa's G20 Inclusion Despite US Bar

France has reaffirmed South Africa's status as a full member of the Group of 20, urging its inclusion in the upcoming summit despite a decision by United States President Donald Trump to bar the country from the event. The G20 gathering, set for December in Florida at Trump's Miami-area Doral golf club, has become a flashpoint in international diplomacy, highlighting tensions between Washington and Pretoria.

The exclusion stems from diplomatic frictions that have escalated over the past year. Trump announced last year that he would not invite South Africa, a longstanding G20 member and the only African nation in the bloc, citing unspecified issues. South African officials described the move as punitive and based on false information, including Trump's repeated assertions of widespread violence against white farmers, which have been widely debunked. This follows South Africa's omission from the Group of Seven summit hosted by France in June at Évian-les-Bains, where Kenya was invited as a guest instead. South Africa, not a G7 member, has attended such meetings in the past but was not extended an invitation this time.

French Ambassador to South Africa David Martinon addressed the...