Chirac! Visas!
Nasr El-Kaffas reports from Algiers on French President Jacques Chirac's historic visit to France's former colony
French President Jacques Chirac's three-day visit to Algeria -- the first official visit by a French leader since Algeria gained independence in 1962 -- marks a significant turning point in the history of Franco-Algerian relations.
The visit, which began on Sunday, occurred at a crucial juncture. Against the backdrop of the mounting US threat against Iraq, it signals an affirmation of France's vehement opposition to US policy on this issue and Paris's determination to pursue a peaceful solution. As Chirac said, war is a sign of failure and will only cause further pain and misery for the Iraqi people.
Upon his arrival, Chirac rode in an open-top vehicle escorted by a motorcade from Mauritania Square, in the heart of the Algerian capital, to Sophia Square, where thousands of spectators had turned out to greet him, carrying flowers and waving Algerian and French flags. There, hundreds of journalists were on hand to see Chirac being handed the keys to the city by his Algerian counterpart President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika before crossing Zigot Yusef Street on foot to the Capitol Building. The French president also visited the famous Bab Al-Wadi district, where he paused to observe the progress that had been made in the public works project there since his unofficial visit to Algiers in December 2001, a month after the disastrous floods that had claimed thousands of casualties.
The following day, President Chirac was invited to Al-Sanubar Palace for an extraordinary joint assembly of the two houses of the Algerian parliament held in honour of the French president's visit. In his address to parliament, Chirac said that the historical relations between the two countries since the 19th century had created a bond of friendship between the two peoples that was strong enough to withstand the political differences that occurred during certain phases of their shared history. While it was important to face the tragedies wrought under the 132-year French colonial occupation of Algeria, he said, it was equally important to reestablish bases of Algerian-French relations to meet the demands of the future.
Presidents Bouteflika and Chirac signed a joint statement calling for continued political dialogue between Paris and Algiers through regular consultation. The statement declared that the two leaders would hold a yearly summit and that their foreign ministers would meet twice a year. It also expressed a resolve on the part of both countries to promote economic and commercial cooperation in a manner that conforms with the current Algerian economic reform programme. The presidents signed three economic cooperation agreements to implement development projects valued at 95 million euros for housing, water supply and banking.
Upon addressing the Algerian parliament, Chirac focused on French-Algerian economic relations, which he described as a "strong, equal and developing relationship", demonstrated by the fact that the volume of trade between the two countries in 2002 was double that in 1999. The last three years saw another positive development, he said. A vital component of French- Algerian relations involves the movement of people between the two countries. In order to facilitate this migration, Chirac proposed plans to make it easier for Algerians to obtain visas to France.
Stressing the need to sustain French-Algerian relations, Chirac said that this was his fourth meeting with Bouteflika since October. Upcoming meetings between the two countries will focus on implementing the partnership agreement signed by Algeria and the European Union last year and exploring further ways of promoting peace and cooperation in the Mediterranean.
In addition, Chirac stated that France was fully prepared to assist in ensuring the success of the Algerian economic revival programme announced in 2001. This, he said, would enhance economic relations between the two countries by contributing to the development of Algeria's infrastructure.
The Algerian press praised the first visit by a French president to Algeria since independence. Al-Khabar stated that the visit represented "the end of the era of rancour, which had almost led to the rupture in their relations". According to the official Al-Sha'b , the visit marked "an important stage in the process of building a true economic partnership and in putting the past behind us".
Back home, criticism of the achievements of the visit awaited the French president, reported Reuters. The French press noted that Chirac's pledge to make it easier for Algerians to visit France -- home to two million people of Algerian origin -- would conflict with his policy of issuing fewer visas in a crackdown on illegal immigration.
Announcements of the 95 million-euro aid deal were criticised by an Algerian writer in the French-language Le Matin newspaper as insufficient and reminiscent of hand-outs granted by Paris in colonial times.
Others said that Chirac had not publicly addressed allegations of torture by Algerian security forces and skirted issues such as the troubled Kabylie region, scene of anti-government protests in 2001 in which over 100 protesters were killed.
"If the trip has been a success, it is by no means an unmitigated one," said right-leaning French daily Le Figaro.
Algerian opposition leaders criticised the fact that much of the excitement caused by the visit was expressed by Algerian youths who chanted "Chirac! Visas!" as he arrived on Sunday. The triumph of Chirac's visit "is linked to his ability to let the population flee", Said Saadi of the Rally for Culture Democracy (RCD) told French radio, saying that the outward migration was failing to alleviate widespread poverty in his country.
Algerian-French relations have improved markedly over the past four years since Bouteflika's arrival to power. In July 2000, the Algerian president undertook a visit to France, which was shortly followed by a return visit by his French counterpart. A debt of 61 million euros owed by Algeria was forgiven as a result of this exchange of visits.
With an export volume to Algeria of 3.4 billion euros and import volume from Algeria of three billion euros, France is Algeria's most important trading partner. For France, trade with Algeria is greater than that with China, Russia and Brazil. France's volume of trade with Algeria nearly doubled in the past three years. French investments in Algeria have soared even more dramatically, climbing from 106 million euros in 1999 to 565 million in 2002.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 6 - 12 March 2003 (Issue No. 628)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/628/re6.htm