48 African countries are sending delegations, and 43 of them are led by their heads of state or government (36 presidents, two kings and five prime ministers).
This is a far cry from the first such summit, held in Paris in 1973. Then French President George Pompidou played host to just ten African delegations, all of them from former French colonies. This summit was not even a French idea - the initiative came from the then President of Niger, Hamani Diori.
Gradually the summit has grown in size, and ceased to be an exclusively francophone affair. The first non-francophone countries to attend were three former Portuguese colonies (Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe) in 1976. The first appearance by an Anglophone country was from Liberia (then chairing the OAU) in 1979.
Mozambique first sent a ministerial delegation in 1982. As from the 19th summit, in 1996, the Mozambican delegation has been headed by the President (first Joaquim Chissano and now Armando Guebuza).
The Cannes summit is taking as its theme "L'Afrique et l'equilibre du monde" (Africa and the World Balance). It was preceded by a "Forum Afrique-Avenir" (Forum on Africa's Future), held on Monday in Paris, on the initiative of French President Jacques Chirac.
Addressing this preparatory meeting, before an audience of African scientists, businessmen and artists, Chirac claimed "The world needs Africa, just as Africa needs the world. The future of humanity is also being played out on the African continent".
Th conclusions from the "Afrique Avenir" Forum will be read out at the summit's plenary session on Thursday morning. Much of the conference will be devoted (behind closed doors) to three themes discussed in working groups - on raw materials in Africa, on "the place and weight of Africa in the world", and on "Africa and the information society".
This will be Chirac's last appearance - at least as head of state - at a Franco-African summit. French Presidential elections are due late this year, and so by the time the 25th summit is held, in 2009, there will be a new occupant of the Elysee Palace, either the right-wing candidate and present Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, or the Socialist Party hopeful, Segolene Royal.
In his early years in office, Chirac presided over a fall in French aid to Africa. By 2002, French Official Development assistance (ODA) had fallen to a mere 0.3 per cent of Gross domestic Product (GDP). But in the last five years that tend has been reversed - French ODA is now about 0.5 per cent of GDP, and the current pledge is that it will reach the United Nations target for industrialized countries of 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2012.
Chirac is also the main enthusiast for a tax on airline tickets to supplement development aid - particularly to boost spending on the health services of poor countries. Other developed countries, particularly the United States, opposed the idea. So France decided to demonstrate its feasibility by pushing ahead on its own.
Thus an extra tax has been levied on all air tickets purchased ion France as from 1 July 2006 - ranging from one euro per economy class passenger on domestic flights to 40 euros for a first class ticket on an intercontinental flight.
The money thus raised goes to an international facility for purchasing medicines, known as Unitaid, in order to reduce the cost of drugs against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The other founding members of Unitaid, which was officially launched last September, are Britain, Norway, Brazil and Chile.
The new tax collected 50 million euros in 2006, and is expected to reach 230 million this year.
Inevitably Chirac leaves behind him unfinished business in Africa. One delicate issue is the French military presence in Ivory Coast, where an attempted coup in 2002 effectively cut the country in half. A French military force of 4,00, known as Operation Licorne was deployed to separate the rebel fighters in the north from forces loyal to President Lauren Gbagbo.
The Licorne contingent now works alongside the United Nations force in Ivory coast, ONUCI. Nonetheless there has been deep suspicion in Africa as to French motives. Gbagbo (who will not be present at Cannes) regards the French intervention as depriving his government of possible victory over the rebels.
Nonetheless, currently nobody is openly calling for the Licorne force to be withdrawn, and the French government argues that if French troops pull out of Ivory coast, then ONUCI might collapse as well.
France has also been drawn into the conflict over the Sudanese region of Darfur - largely because the conflict has spilled over Sudan's borders into Chad and the Central African Republic, both of whom have called on Paris for assistance.
France is providing some limited military backing for the Chad and Central African governments, but hopes that a regional agreement can be patched up in negotiations between Sudan, Chad and the CAR. Since all three presidents - Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Idriss Deby of Chad, and Francois Bozize of the CAR - will be present at Cannes, there is a strong possibility of some back-room diplomacy, encouraged by the French hosts.
France wants an international force deployed along the Sudan-Chad border, but it is not clear which countries might provide troops for this. The idea seems unlikely to acquire much backing until the proposed joint UN/African Union force in Darfur becomes a reality - which depends on some degree of cooperation from the Sudanese government.
One area where there will be no advance is the crisis in French relations with Rwanda. After a French judge claimed that Rwandan President Paul Kagame had given the order to shoot down the plane carrying his predecessor, the Hutu supremacist Juvenal Habyarimana, the event used as the excuse to spark off the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi minority, Rwanda cut all relations with France.
The Rwandans suspect that the French government of the time was complicit in the genocide, and has demanded a proper investigation.
There is no sign that relations between the two countries will come out of the deep freeze any time soon. The Rwandan foreign minister recently put his government's position very clearly: "France is intent on destroying our government, and we do not see any need for keeping any relationship with a hostile country".
SOURCE: AIM
