French was once the most dominant foreign language in Rwanda, and it could get a much-needed boost this week when President Emmanuel Macron visits the east African country where English has risen to favour in recent times
French was once the most dominant foreign language in Rwanda, and it could get a much-needed boost this week when President Emmanuel Macron visits the east African country where English has risen to favour in recent times
Macron visit could boost French-speaking in Rwanda Macron s trip, the first by a French leader since 2010, follows a quarter-century of diplomatic tension between the two countries over France s role in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. FILE: French President Emmanuel Macron. Picture: AFP
4 days ago
KIGALI - Rwandan comedian Herve Kimenyi was forced to abandon his stand-up nights in French because no one would turn up, and focused instead on the English-language routine that drew audiences in Kigali. We realised that whenever we have an anglophone comedy night, everybody was there. But when we have a francophone night, attendance was low, said Kimenyi of his Comedy Knights troupe and their shows in the Rwandan capital.