Citizen engagement, entrepreneurship and innovation, higher education, culture and sport are the main talking points at this week's Africa-France summit in the southern French city of Montpellier. No heads of state or prime ministers from the continent have been invited, but rather a whole host of young entrepreneurs, artists and civil society members. In Perspective, we spoke to Nathaniel Powell, an Honorary Researcher at the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University. His research has centred on the relationship between France and Africa in the post-colonial era, with a particular focus on French security policy.