From our special envoy to Yerevan, Antoine Lawson
The ballet of heads of state, which began on Thursday in Yerevan, where the 17th summit of the Francophonie will take place, on October 11 and 12, 2018, should end this Friday with the election, by consensus, of Louise Mushikiwabo supported by the France to the detriment of Canadian Michaëlle Jean. The 54 full members should, in fact, appoint the Rwandan general secretary of the organization for the next four years.
Behind the scenes of the Summit of the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) and the assizes of the Union of the French-speaking press (UPF), the opinions are divided, and one still speculates on the departure of Canadian Michaëlle Jean , appointed Secretary General of La Francophonie on November 30, 2014 in Dakar, becoming the first woman appointed to this position. It is the same consensus, or almost, that should come out of the Yerevan summit to designate “Kagame’s protégé” to lead the Organization.
From Paris with a long stopover in Moscow, aboard one of the aircraft that transported the press in the Armenian capital, the discussions were passionate, even tense between journalists from the Caribbean, and fervent supporters of Michaëlle Jean , and their French and African colleagues … but in all courtesy.
This summit is also the occasion of the reunion between the heads of state and governments sharing the French. It is after all a great meeting, a highlight with the main issue, the election of a general secretary of the organization.
Thursday, just after the traditional protocol of welcome reserved for heads of state, Michaëlle Jean declared that “an organization that ruse with the values and the principles is already a moribund organization”, in a barely veiled attack. And knowing how to let go … by Canada, in particular. The wine was drawn and the audience still applauded.
“The balance sheet of my mandate is also your balance sheet,” she said. The rest of his remarks were critical, particularly on the theme of the non-respect of democracy and governance, the rise of nationalist withdrawal and inequalities.
“Are we ready to face the big issues? (…) Which side of the story do we want to be? “She asked herself. Almost sibylline remarks, followed by a harsh criticism of real politik and “small arrangements between states”.
The polyglot evoked the beginnings of the Francophonie on the ruins of colonization. It evokes the passage from a language of domination to a language of sharing. And to insist on the dignity of peoples. “We are every day standing up and hard at work, all but tired,” before quoting Léopold Sédar Senghor, founding father of the OIF.
The Canadian woman did not fail to address a few words to the victims of the Armenian Genocide and to the diaspora, which gave Armenia the “dimension of the world”. “Today, it is the world that comes to you,” she says, on behalf of the peoples of La Francophonie.
It was noted the presence of the Central African President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who greeted, in the gallery, the work done by the outgoing secretary general. He assures his peers of the total adherence of his people to the universal values of democracy and the rule of law.
Like a country song, several French-speaking women from around the world took turns on the podium to talk about a fight dear to Michaëlle Jean: gender equality and women’s rights.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun shared with the audience the particular political and community situation of his country, with power shared between Christians, Sunnis and Shiites. And to invite the generations to protect the linguistic wealth of the world at the time of social networks.
Only the Nigerian head of state Mahamadou Issoufou spent a lot of time on the environment. “We have to manage our planet responsibly,” he pleaded, insisting on the necessary respect of the Paris climate agreements. A vibrant plea.
After talking about Canada’s commitment to its African partners, including Mali, for example, in favor of women’s rights, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a big tribute to Michaëlle Jean for her remarkable work, and in particular his ardent defense of the cause of women.
“If Francophones do not agree on everything, they have developed in their dedicated space culture of consensus,” said the Canadian Prime Minister. A reference to the recent debate around the appointment of the Secretary General of the organization.
Finally, for Emmanuel Macron, French must be a language of struggle against obscurantism and for the common destiny of Francophones. He recalls that if English is a language of use, of consumption, French has a little something more. According to him, this is a “language of creation”.
the French head of state also pleaded for the creation of a congress of French writers, recalling that this has never existed in 50 years. Before proposing to launch a project for a revision of the OIF Charter to adapt it to the new challenges of today’s world.
Difficult in such circumstances not to pay tribute to Charles Aznavour whose music is distilled in the halls of most hotels in Armenia. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian spoke in French and expressed his emotion. It pays tribute to Charles Aznavour, eternal bond between France and Armenia.
The evening of Thursday, October 11 was punctuated by a big concert in Yerevan attended by heads of state and most journalists accredited at the Summit of the Francophonie, not forgetting those present at the 47th international meeting of the French press together for three days in Tsaghkadzor, a city located about sixty kilometers from Yerevan, around the theme “Media and Migrations”. Pending the official designation of the new Secretary General of La Francophonie.