The seventh Francophone summit has opened in Vietnam -- the biggest gathering of its kind ever. Once dismissed as a pale imitation of the Commonwealth, Francophonia is growing in stature, with some unexpected countries showing an interest in taking part, as Jonathan Fryer reports.

When France lost its colonial hold over Vietnam in 1954, both its language and its culture took a nosedive in the region. In Communist North Vietnam, Russian and Chinese became the fashion, while in the South, the growing American presence led to a rapid switch to English.

These days, only a small percentage of mainly elderly Vietnamese can converse in French at all. But that has not stopped Hanoi hosting the seventh Francophone summit , which both the Vietnamese and the French hope will be a landmark in the development of the organisation.

Set up in 1986 by the then President Francois Mitterrand, largely as an attempt to resist English-language world domination, Francophonia now intends to move strongly into the economic and political fields, rather than just educational co-operation and culture. The Vietnamese are particularly keen that the organisation should help promote development, in the way that the Commonwealth already does. A majority of the forty-nine current members are poor developing countries, notably former French colonies in Africa. But Francophonia also includes rich countries like Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, as well as France itself.

What is more, the membership is growing in Europe, as central and eastern European countries look for new co-operative arrangements in a post-Communist world. Bulgaria and Romania are already members. Moldova is likely to be accepted into membership this week. Poland and Albania are expected to be welcomed in as observer members. And an application from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will be discussed.

The BBC's South-East European commentator, Jonathan Stoneman, says that in some cases, the link to France is rather tenuous: "Their claim to being francophone is rather a historical one. In most cases -- I'm thinking particularly of Romania and Albania -- French was the language of the elite and of diplomacy before Communism came in. And it was a language that they kept going, though it is not a language you hear spoken in the streets every day. So they're not francophone in the sense of many of the African francophone countries."

Jonathan Stoneman says Eastern European applicants have their eyes on the future as well: "They all tend to be the ones who are in line for membership of the European Union and NATO, but not yet. And they think that it will do their cause no harm if they stay on the right side of France."

The host, Vietnam, has other priorities, according to a Hanoi-based British journalist, Jeremy Grant : "It's the biggest international conference that Vietnam has ever hosted. And so it's of enormous importance to Vietnam, in terms of getting a profile on the international stage. They've asked the French and the Francophonia organisers of the summit to give it an economic focus, rather than anything else, which means that will get rather a lot of profile for quite a small political cost."

But with the international media present in large numbers, it might be hard for Vietnam to hide some things it would rather not have put in the limelight, as Chris Greene of the BBC Vietnamese section explains: "Vietnam is finding the first summit of the French-speaking nations to be held in Vietnam means that attention focuses on all aspects of the country's record, not just those parts the government wishes to show off. Last week, a prominent French journalist used a meeting of French-speaking journalists to call for the release of the imprisoned Vietnamese writer, Doan Viet Hoat."

President Jacques Chirac

Human rights are bound to be an issue for discussion, even if they do not figure formally on the agenda. The French President, Jacques Chirac, is himself likely to raise them, not least in bilateral discussions with other heads of state present at the Hanoi summit. But in the past, Mr Chirac has avoided disagreements over human rights damaging France's relations with other countries, especially in Africa.

That may be why Nigeria, which is currently suspended from the Commonwealth because of its poor human rights record, has reportedly expressed an interest in becoming associated with Francophonia. General Abacha's government recently paved the way by promoting French in schools.

But a formal application for membership from Nigeria could prove to be a diplomatic nightmare for the first Secretary-General of Francophonia. He is due to be appointed the Hanoi meeting, and is likely to be the former UN Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©