Paul Biya
Paul Biya of Cameroon has the unenviable record of being one of the oldest presidents in the world. He is 87.
A lot of the time, Biya is sick and spends those periods in Switzerland, getting some of the best medical care available. Meanwhile, Cameroon is one of the world’s poorest places.
But he enjoys so much support from France despite the fact that Biya oversees terrible state crimes against English-speaking citizens in Cameroon’s north.
Last week, after he condemned violence in northern Cameroon, French president Emmanuel Macron was asked why France supports Biya and other dictators.
Macron responded: “France has a complicated role in Africa. When France says a leader has not been democratically elected, Africans tell us: why are you meddling? I put pressure on everyone, I work with the African Union to put pressure.”
