Oligui Nguema in front of Antoinette Sassou Nguesso: genuflection or courtesy ? Oligui Nguema devant Antoinette Sassou Nguesso : génuflexion ou courtoisie ?
English version A photo of the Gabonese president leaning toward Congo's First Lady has set observers talking. Just weeks after Libreville backed, before the French courts, the referral of the Congolese First Lady to trial, this photo looks very much like a gesture of appeasement. Behind the word "genuflection" lies the entire relationship between Libreville and Brazzaville. An image that gets people talking The scene unfolds in an elegant living room: grey tufted sofas, drawn curtains, large bay windows. Seated is a woman in a dark dress with white patterns, presented as Antoinette Sassou Nguesso, wife of the Congolese president. Standing before her, in a midnight-blue Mao-collar suit, CBON leans far forward to shake her hand, all smiles. That was all it took for the photo to circulate with a cutting caption: "Oligui Nguema genuflecting in Congo." It is a strong word. It suggests submission, allegiance, almost the humiliation of a head of state before the Sass...
