Leaders of French-speaking countries hold summit in Tunisia

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA
Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Leaders of French-speaking countries are gathering on the Tunisian island off the Mediterranean coast for a summit amid a soaring cost-of-living crisis across Africa, Europe and the Middle East due to the war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the presidents of eight African nations were attending the biannual gathering of the 88-member International Organization of Francophonie on the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia. The group represents more than 320 million French-speaking people around the world. Security is tight in the North African country that has been in the grip of a political and economic crisis.