France's dream of a subservient club of north Africans looks dead in the water, says Nasreddin Qassem During his visit to Algeria last week, French Prime Minister François Fillion signed two agreements, both hailed as ground breaking, on peaceful nuclear cooperation and defence. The first agreement covers the development of nuclear energy for peaceful and research purposes, the transfer of nuclear technology, and the mining of uranium. The second paves the way for Algeria to buy arms, especially helicopters and frigates, from France. The success was clouded by Fillion's failure to get the Algerian president to attend the Paris summit that is expected to launch the Union for the Mediterranean. The summit is scheduled for 13 July, one day before the national day celebrations in France. Most French analysts agree that Fillion failed to provide Algeria with the reassurances it has requested during a meeting held in Algiers two weeks ago. Both the agreements Fillion signed were finalised during a visit by the French president to Algiers in December 2007. Fillion met with President Abdul- Aziz Bouteflika for two hours to explain French views on the union. His offer to establish "exceptional partnership" with Algeria was seen by many as an attempt to convince Algeria to join the union. But Algeria is still thinking about it. Fillion has at one point admitted that a Mediterranean Union is "unimaginable" without Algeria. Still, the Algerian president was evasive. When asked about whether he would attend the Paris summit, Bouteflika said, "We'll talk about it later." Algeria has not been entirely negative about the union, but so far has stopped short of endorsing it full-heartedly. For one thing, Algeria fears that the union would be used to put more pressure on Maghreb countries. Why, some Algerians ask, do we need to replace the Euro-Mediterranean Forum, which has achieved so little, with another organisation? There is a difference, however, between the two. The forum was confined to countries bordering the Mediterranean, while the union allows other European countries to take part. This seems to have puzzled the Algerians. "Algeria has no idea whether it should be talking to Paris or to Brussels," the French prime minister said. Algeria is also concerned about travel regulations. With a large community living in France and Europe, Algeria finds the visa regulations imposed by France and other EU countries quite alarming. In addition, Algeria is afraid that the union would be used as a vehicle to bring about normalisation with Israel, a task in which the Euro-Mediterranean Forum had failed. The union, some Algerians say, is perhaps Europe's way of keeping Turkey out of the EU. Furthermore, there is the matter of lodging. There has been speculation that the union's secretariat would be situated in Morocco, the supporting offices in Tunisia, and the presidential offices in Egypt. If so, then what exactly is left for Algeria? The French prime minister admitted that some initial talks have been held in this regard, but said that everything could come up for discussion at the Paris summit. France wants the union meeting to be a fancy affair, with events overlapping with the 14 July festivities. The French president has worked hard to persuade his European partners, especially Germany, to join the union, and he needs the support of countries on the southern Mediterranean to look credible now. But he may have miscalculated in one aspect. With all the colonialist baggage involved, it is hard for the Algerians to take part in the French national day celebrations. Algeria won its independence from France after a seven-year struggle during which 1.5 millions Algerians died and thousands of villages were destroyed. Some Algerians still want France to apologise for its actions; others want retribution for those who committed crimes against humanity. So although France may be thinking of the future, the Algerians have not yet forgotten the past.
