Sudan will no doubt be the hot topic of discussion at the Franco-African Cannes, writes Gamal Nkrumah I have never been any good at guessing games but it does not take a genius to recognise that the humanitarian situation in Darfur is now critical, and that the crisis of Darfur will top the agenda at the Franco-African summit scheduled to take place today in the French Mediterranean resort of Cannes. The city, famous for its international film festival, will play host to a number of African leaders including President Hosni Mubarak and his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan Al-Beshir. The criteria for invitations is not entirely clear. But, now that I have got the hang of it, after writing for years on African affairs, I believe that the Libyan leader Muammar Al-Gaddafi will steal the show. Another star, this time waning as opposed to shooting, will no doubt be none other than French President Jacques Chirac. A new French president will be elected in May and so the Cannes hullabaloo will probably be one of Chirac's last performances before he bows out of the political game. Chirac will be remembered in Africa for his rigour which was regarded as a challenge for both Africa and France because first the United States and now China have come to play far more serious roles in the African continent at both the political and economic levels than the old European colonial masters -- France and Britain. Chirac will once again be making a bold attempt to keep France squarely on the African political map. How effective he would be at this remains to be seen. Africa is of growing political and economic importance in the international arena. And Sudan is, after all, part of the African continent. Even the country's politicians are starting to take notice. Understandably, the Sudanese have traditionally had little to do with either France or with Francophone Africa. However, in recent years, and because of the Darfur crisis, open hostilities and political tensions have arisen between Sudan and two of its Francophone neighbours -- Chad and the Central African Republic. Matters came to a head last year when the two countries fought a brief border war and Chad broke off diplomatic relations with Sudan. Today, the headers of these countries are barely speaking. Chadian President Idriss Deby will also attend the Cannes summit, but I am certain that he would be sidelined by the Sudanese officials. As far as the vast majority of the African Union (AU) leaders are concerned, Sudan's rulers have no good excuses for not dealing squarely with the crisis in Darfur. Let us hope that the African leaders' deliberation in Chad pull millions of Sudanese out of the vicious cycle.
