NAIROBI, Kenya May 13 – Media executive and summit moderator Marie Lora-Mungai has spoken out about the now-viral moment involving French President Emmanuel Macron at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, saying the incident has largely been misunderstood online.
The brief exchange, which quickly circulated across social media platforms globally, showed Macron interrupting proceedings during a youth forum session at the University of Nairobi to call for silence from attendees as a speaker addressed the audience.
“Excuse me, everybody. Hey, hey, hey,” Macron said as he walked onto the stage and took the microphone from the moderator.
“I’m sorry guys, but it’s impossible to speak about culture to have people like that super inspired coming here, making a speech with such a noise.”
The French President described the disruptions as disrespectful and urged delegates holding side conversations to continue them outside the hall or in designated bilateral meeting rooms.
“So this is a total lack of respect,” Macron stated.
The hall fell silent after the remarks, with sections of the audience applauding before the session resumed.
However, in a Facebook post published after the clip went viral, Lora-Mungai offered a behind-the-scenes account of what happened, saying the atmosphere inside the venue had been far louder and more chaotic than many viewers realised.
“You’ve probably seen it pop up in your feeds,” she wrote.
“And yet, I’ve been amazed by how this tiny, inconsequential exchange in real life made its way around the world.”
Lora-Mungai explained that the session was being held in the open hall of the University of Nairobi, where thousands of delegates, business leaders and government officials were moving through the venue during the summit.
“From the moment the doors opened, the place got crowded, busy, and loud,” she said.
“People were excited to see each other, galvanized by the presence of multiple heads of state in such close proximity, and fan-girling over top business figures like Aliko Dangote.”
According to the moderator, Macron was not merely attending the summit as a guest but was co-convening the event alongside President William Ruto, making his intervention unsurprising given the circumstances.
She said she was initially confused when Macron approached the stage earlier than scheduled because he was only expected to speak later during a highly choreographed programme.
“I gave him the mic, and he asked the room to be quiet — that part you saw,” she wrote.
“Having done several events with President Macron, this was totally in character for him and also completely justified. The space was, indeed, noisy.”
Lora-Mungai added that the moment was never intended to become the focus of the summit, noting that Macron’s later remarks on a proposed law on cultural restitutions were supposed to be the main highlight of the session.
“But at least we got good TV,” she concluded.
The Africa Forward Summit brought together more than 30 African leaders, business executives, creatives and entrepreneurs in Nairobi as France seeks to strengthen economic, cultural and political ties across the African continent.
