South Africa disinvited from G-7 in France after US pressure: Pretoria

JOHANNESBURG - The US put pressure on France to disinvite South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in the French town of Evian in June, the South African presidency told AFP on March 26.

It marks the latest episode after months of fractured ties over a range of issues, from South Africa’s genocide case against US ally Israel to US President Donald Trump’s disputed claims that white Afrikaners are being persecuted.

“We’ve learnt that due to sustained pressure, France has had to withdraw its invitation to South Africa to attend the G-7 meeting,” Mr Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for the president, told AFP.

“We are told that the Americans threatened to boycott the G-7 if South Africa was invited.

“So, South Africa will not be partipating in this G-7 meeting.”

Mr Trump has clashed repeatedly with the South African government, hitting the country with high tariffs, berating Mr Ramaphosa in the Oval Office over discredited claims of a “white genocide” and boycotting a Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Johannesburg in November.

Mr Trump imposed 30 per cent tariffs in 2025 on most South African exports – the highest for sub-Saharan Africa.

The US Supreme Court has since overruled Mr Trump’s tariffs policy.

The US President has also criticised South Africa’s racial justice policies, enacted to address historic inequalities left by the legacy of colonial rule and apartheid but condemned by the American leader as discriminatory against whites.

The Trump administration has additionally clashed with Mr Ramaphosa’s government over South Africa taking Israel to the International Court of Justice for allegedly committing genocide in its war in Gaza.

Since snubbing the 2025 G-20 summit, South Africa has been excluded from the work of the group, for which Washington holds the rotating presidency in 2026.

It was during that G-20 in South Africa that French President Emmanuel Macron personally invited Mr Ramaphosa to take part in the G-7, Pretoria recalled.

The G-7 grouping of industrialised nations often widens its work to other invited countries, such as Brazil, India and South Korea in 2026.

South Africa was invited in this way to the G-7 organised by Canada in 2025.

“This will have no impact on the strength and close nature of our bilateral relationship with France,” the presidency spokesman said.

“Notwithstanding all of these developments, South Africa remains committed to engaging constructively with the US.

“The diplomatic relationship between USA and South Africa predates the Trump administration, and it will outlive the current White House term of office.”

New ambassador to US

Pretoria earlier in March summoned the new US ambassador to explain “undiplomatic remarks” about South African racial policies and court decisions.

In his first public address, conservative envoy Brent Bozell labelled an apartheid-era chant “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” as “hate speech” and criticised policies meant to empower black South Africans.

While controversial in South Africa, courts have ruled it does not constitute hate speech and should be considered in the context of the struggle against white-minority rule that ended in 1994.

The new ambassador appeared to later backtrack, saying the US government respected the independence and findings of South Africa’s judiciary.

Washington in March 2025 expelled Pretoria’s ambassador Ebrahim Rasool after he criticised Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again movement.

A replacement has yet to be named.

On March 26, the presidency spokesman said Mr Ramaphosa was “getting closer to appointing the South African ambassador to the US who will form part of the team that’s currently engaging with US counterparts”. AFP