France should take a leaf from China's strides

French companies are seeing Africa with fresh eyes as the continent's economy starts to take off

Omar Bongo, former president of Gabon, once said, "(Francophone) Africa without France is like a car without a driver. But France without Africa is like a car without petrol."

Bongo, who died in 2009 after 42 years in power with French support, made the statement to emphasize the entrenched relationship between France and its former African colonies.

Africa is very important to France for a variety of historical, political, economic, cultural, strategic and geographic reasons. Africa is a near neighbor with strong historical and cultural ties. It accounts for 3 percent of France's exports and remains an important supplier of oil and metals - uranium from Niger, in particular. At least 240,000 French nationals live in Africa. French engagements with Africa have played an important role in sustaining its image as a major power.

Strategically, successive French presidents since World War II have tended to view Africa as an extension of Europe with its untapped reservoirs of raw materials vital to Europe's economy. Even after winding up its colonial empire in Africa, France has tried to keep its former colonies fully under its influence and control. However, noticeable signs of change in relations between France and its former colonies in Africa began to appear in the post-Cold War era. Most of France's former colonies are members of the Franc Zone, which is a dubious currency system managed by the Bank of France.

France is also making much of its role as well-intentioned military peacekeeper. It intervened militarily in Africa 19 times between 1962 and 1995. Despite some slowdown after 1995, according to reports, in February 2013, of 10,025 French military personnel deployed overseas, 4,610 were in West Africa, 2,180 in central Africa and 270 were involved in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

Successive presidential administrations, from that of Jacques Chirac, through those of the hyperactive Nicolas Sarkozy to the Elsyee's current incumbent Francois Hollande, have been forthright in admitting their desire to enforce peace, even regime change, where either French interests, lives or humanitarian imperatives dictated.

Africa enables France to still command global authority and influence to an extent not offered anywhere else in the world. As demonstrated by the crises in Mali and Central African Republic in 2013 and 2014, Paris is still seen as a key military player in the continent. More than 7,000 French troops are currently committed to sub-Saharan Africa and France's White Paper on Defense Policy, published in April 2013, explicitly recognizes "a particular role for Africa" in national defense and security strategy. Under the new strategy France is expected to maintain at least four military bases in Africa.

The French are concerned that the growing presence of emerging powers in Africa, particularly China, endangers France's privileged political and economic relations with its former African colonies. Since independence it has been able to count on the support of its former colonies in any international forum.

The difficulty for France is that it has been complacent and has lost a significant proportion of its market share to emerging economies. China is the main reason for this loss of a commercial foothold. It has seen its market share in Africa rise from 3.4 percent to 12.5 percent from 2000 to 2010. Companies from India and Brazil have also helped to weaken France's position.

Economics and trade are the most apparent aspects of the enhanced presence of emerging powers in Africa, and this has had an impact on French economic interests. No wonder French companies are now seeking to leave their traditional spheres of influence and capture a share of the growth of large English and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. France has undoubtedly redoubled its efforts to court African contracts. There are more than 5,000 French companies operating in Africa.

Although there is competition between France and the emerging powers, there are also opportunities for partnerships. For example, in specific fields where French technology is advanced, Chinese and French firms could work on joint projects with Chinese companies providing the hardware (infrastructure) and the French providing software (advanced technology). In a couple of sectors where French companies have strong expertise, partnerships have been established with Chinese companies to get access to major public contracts, as Chinese parastatals and large private firms are reliable partners, rarely short of money and hungry for foreign technology.

For instance, in Beijing on April 25 last year, in the presence of French President Hollande and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Luc Oursel, the president and CEO of the uranium and nuclear energy group, AREVA, signed a series of key agreements with China National Nuclear Corp and China General Nuclear Power Corp for the development of a Franco-Chinese strategic civil nuclear partnership. Similar agreements were signed during President's Xi's recent visit to France in March. Deal-making and commemorations of a half-century of French diplomatic ties with China were the order of business during President Xi's three-day visit as part of his European tour. France wants its relations with China to flourish.

Recent developments in the oil sector are also very significant. In September 2011, the Ugandan government approved a joint-venture project involving France's Total, the Chinese oil major, CNOOC, and Ireland's Tullow Oil for the exploitation of three oil blocks in the Lake Albert rift basin. Most French companies that have been able to take advantage of opportunities offered by Chinese interests in Africa are large globalized ones with considerable finances and expertise.

The author is a professor at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/30/2014 page9)