How France Fumbled Its Africa Ties and Set Off a Geopolitical Crisis

Shortly after a military coup in a West African country, senior U.S. officials traveled to Paris for a discreet meeting with French counterparts. In an ornate office in the Élysée Palace, President Emmanuel Macron’s top Africa diplomats proposed four prominent politicians as potential successors to the country’s ousted pro-French leader, according to a person familiar with the meeting.