FRENCH CIVILISATION

DOWN AND OUT IN AFRICA? FRANCE AND AFRICA IN THE 1990s

Introduced by Professor Roy May, Director of the African Studies Centre, University of Coventry, on 18 January 1999

The debate over France's role in Africa has been a vigorous one since Mitterrand assumed the Presidency and the `projet socialiste' of Cot failed to disturb established interests. Despite spasms of Afro-pessimism, economic uncertainty, the collapse of sub-Saharan African economies, aid failure, human rights critics and two very critical assessments, the Hessel and the Michalof Reports, by the late 1990s, France was still in Africa. The view of M. Aurillac in 1987 that France claimed its world power status because of its independent nuclear deterrent, its permanent seat on the Security Council and its continuing presence in sub-Saharan Africa, still seemed to resonate.

However, as the millennium approaches, the debate has re-emerged as `Adieu Afrique'. The factors of this include the increased competition from the US. As Peter Schroeder puts it, the Cold War has been replaced by the Cold Peace, economic competition between the `great' powers. This economic presence of the US, strengthened by Clinton, has been reinforced by US military presence, particularly by a training role and more recently in pressing the African Crisis Response Initiative peacekeeping training initiative.

At the same time, there has been a large drop in French aid, from 0.64% of GNP (1994) to less than 0.45% in 1998. Tied aid still applies to 25% of this and informed critics point out that the poverty alleviation and gender direction of this aid is still poor and that despite the recent reforms (the creation of the Inter-ministerial Committee for International Cooperation and Development (ICICD) 1998), the constitution-sanctioned executive domination of the aid process still provides the President with an important foreign policy lever.

There is also a big drop in the number of troops in Africa (in the order of 12,000 to 6,000) and the closure of the strategically significant base in the Central African Republic. However, France's reliance on Chad as the key to its central African interests is threatened by Idris Deby's increasingly closer links with Gadaffi. There is also support for African peacekeeping initiatives. Despite this, it is interesting that French troops and transport helped to install Senegalese troops into the African peacekeeping force in Guinea Bissau; it is too soon to argue that `knee-jerk' military reactions are over.

Whilst there is much debate about the changing economic fortunes of sub-Saharan Africa, it is clear that there are many other opportunities for France in Eastern Europe, the Mahgreb and South East Asia, and a much greater involvement in South Africa.

In his address to the recent Franco-African summit in Paris, President Chirac said, "France is not one of these countries which from time to time rediscover Africa. We don't just pop in for a visit when there is a crisis, economic turmoil or a natural disaster ... make no mistake, France will not abandon Africa". My judgement concurs with this, for historical, cultural, nationalistic and political reasons, the disengagement has a long way to go and one can only concur with the comments by M. Aurillac mentioned above.

Roy May

Discussion centred on the possible devaluation of the CFA franc; the disadvantages of francophone Africa's enforced trade with France; the fact that the construction of artificial borders for new countries containing several ethnic groups does not prevent a sense of belonging to the same race (Rwanda being an exception because anglophone and francophone interests and cultural origins are totally different).

Anne Whitmarsh