France Disinvites South Africa From G7 Summit After US Pressure

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer attend the upcoming G7 summit in Evian, France, after the invitation was withdrawn, the presidency confirmed on Thursday.

According to presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, the decision followed sustained pressure from the United States, which reportedly objected to South Africa’s presence at the gathering of leading global economies.

“We’ve learnt that due to sustained pressure, France has had to withdraw its invitation to South Africa to attend the G7 meeting,” Magwenya told AFP.

US Pressure Behind South Africa’s Removal From G7 Guest List By France

Magwenya said Washington had made its position clear to Paris, warning of potential consequences if South Africa remained on the guest list.

“We are told that the Americans threatened to boycott the G7 if South Africa was invited,” he added.

The development marks a further deterioration in relations between Pretoria and Washington, which have been strained for months over political and diplomatic disagreements.

Growing Rift Between South Africa And United States Over G20 Dispute

Tensions between the two nations escalated sharply in November last year when US President Donald Trump announced that South Africa would be excluded from the next G20 summit.

Trump stated that he would block South Africa’s participation in the 2026 G20 summit, scheduled to take place in Miami, and suspend all financial support to the country.

The announcement followed South Africa’s decision not to symbolically transfer the G20 presidency to a senior US Embassy representative at the conclusion of this year’s summit in Johannesburg.

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“The United States did not attend the G20 in South Africa because the South African government refuses to acknowledge or address the horrific human rights abuses endured by Afrikaners and other descendants of Dutch, French and German settlers,” Trump posted.

“To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them… At the conclusion of the G20, South Africa refused to hand off the G20 Presidency to a senior representative from our US Embassy, who attended the closing ceremony.

“Therefore, at my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the great city of Miami, Florida next year.”

“South Africa has demonstrated to the world that they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately,” Trump added.

Diplomatic Fallout Signals Deepening International Divide

The withdrawal of the G7 invitation underscores widening divisions between South Africa and Western powers, particularly the United States, as disagreements continue to shape global diplomatic engagements.

The G7 summit, set to take place in the French town of Evian in June, brings together leading industrialised nations along with selected guest countries. South Africa’s absence is expected to draw attention amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.