Ruto gets G7 seat as Ramaphosa is locked out amid US pressure row

France has formally invited President William Ruto to the G7 leaders' summit in Evian-les-Bains, placing Kenya at one of the world's most important policy tables as South Africa finds itself excluded for the first time in years.

The summit, scheduled for June 15 to 17 in France, will bring together leaders of the seven major economies, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, alongside invited guests from India, South Korea, Brazil and Kenya.

South Africa, a regular guest at past G7 summits, was left off the list.

Pretoria says the French embassy in South Africa communicated the decision about two weeks before the announcement, informing the government that Washington had threatened to boycott the summit if South Africa attended.

"We've accepted the French decision and appreciate the pressure they've been subjected to," said Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

France denied acting under US pressure.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the decision to invite Kenya was tied directly to joint preparations for the Africa-France Summit, which Kenya will co-host with France in Nairobi on May 11 and 12.

"We did not succumb to any pressure, we made a choice consistent with our decision to hold a streamlined G7 focused on geo-economic issues," Barrot said.

A White House official corroborated the French position, saying the decision followed discussions among G7 members.

"The French, in their capacity as 2026 G7 host, expressed a desire in January to invite an African nation to the June G7 leaders' summit in Evian. After discussion among G7 members, it was collectively determined that Kenya should be invited to the summit. The United States welcomes Kenya's participation," the official said.

Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'Oei attended a preparatory G7+ Sherpas Meeting in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, earlier this week.

Sing'Oei confirmed that President Ruto, alongside the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, is expected to articulate Africa's perspective at the summit.

The broader context around South Africa's exclusion runs deeper than the G7 alone.

US President Donald Trump criticised South Africa's foreign policy and domestic race laws during his second term, boycotted last year's G20 summit in Johannesburg, and excluded South Africa from G20 meetings this year.

Relations between Washington and Pretoria have deteriorated sharply, a strain that appears to have carried into the G7 guest list process.

China, which France had tried to invite through diplomatic channels, will be absent from the summit.

French officials said Paris would engage Beijing separately, adding that a confrontation was not in China's interest either.

At the core of France's push is a drive to prevent a 'massive financial crisis' by urging China to boost domestic demand and reduce its destabilising exports, and by calling on the US to curb its deficits and on Europe to produce more and save less.

Those ambitions will be tested against a backdrop of energy shocks, trade disputes and rising geopolitical tensions.

For Kenya, the invitation arrives as the country prepares to co-host the Africa-France Summit in May, has already participated in preparatory G7 processes at the senior diplomatic level, and is now confirmed as one of four non-member nations attending the June summit.