Less than 200 million people in the world speak French as their first or second language — hardly three percent of the world’s population. It is the ninth language in the world and losing ground as globalization rides on the vehicle of English. Is this a justifiable reason to see the francophone movement as futile and ineffective? Or should the 9th Francophone Summit, the first in an Arab nation, scheduled in Beirut later this month and now postponed for a year, be considered an opportunity to promote Arab and other Third World country causes?
In a world organizing around economic blocs to protect selfish interests, the francophone movement can proudly claim missions well beyond the mercantile. Its composition of 52 states (Hanoi Summit 1997) tells a lot about the good intentions of the main sponsors of the event. Three quarters of the participating nations are underdeveloped, or developing, nations. More than 20 countries have Muslim communities, including six Arab nations.
The forum is by itself a revived North-South dialogue attempted unsuccessfully a quarter of century ago by such statesmen as Chancellor Willy Brandt and President Valery Giscard D’Estaing. It is no secret that the North-South dialogue never went far as it tackles such delicate issues as the unfair exchange between rich Northern countries and poor Southern ones. As globalization becomes a source of worry to non-industrialized nations, the francophone movement fits in as a moderating factor, capable of formulating and proposing action plans to balance excesses.
No wonder that France, a natural leading nation of this movement, is now the first donor of development aid in the world with nearly 0.5 percent of its gross national product devoted to assistance. This is eight times more than the United States and twice as much as the overall average of the rich G-7 countries.
On the political front, the bargaining power of the Third World has been weakened upon the disappearance of the Second World — the former Eastern European bloc. The community of French speaking nations is a potential source of empowerment for Third World countries who can call on France as one of the first nations to draw up a declaration of human rights in 1789.
In line with this tradition, Arab nations are already including on their agenda the issue of violations of the basic human rights in Palestine. Supported by nearly 50 countries from five continents, they are calling on European nations and Canada, fellow members of the Francophone movement, to participate more actively in the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict and to balance the unfair American position. The opportunity is further crystallized by the recent major development in the Bush administration announcing the right of the Palestinian people to an independent state.
No summit of any kind can take place for many months and years to come without mentioning the problem of terrorism. No doubt the Beirut meeting will clarify the position of the participating nations which have expressed their firm stands against terrorism.
There is, however, another positive dimension in such a diverse gathering. It is a civilized and peaceful encounter between Christian countries and Muslim ones and will benefit all. As suspicion grows that international Zionism is trying to provoke confrontation between the two civilizations, Christianity and Islam, the francophone movement is a collective affirmative action against such diabolic plans.
The theme of the ninth summit meeting is dialogue of civilizations. Lebanon is the ideal place to make such a meeting as this country has ultimately proven to be on the side of coexistence and religious tolerance. The country has withstood, at great pain, the very plot to polarize Islam and Christianity to which the whole world should not succumb. The francophone movement and the Beirut meeting deserve the full support of all Arab nations, no matter what second language may have they adopted.