Nice under siege for France-Africa summit

Over 4,000 police and army personnel have been drafted in to ensure the summit goes off without a hitch. But if Friday evening’s rehearsal, of how they would block access to the Promenade des Anglais route from the airport as delegations arrive, is anything to go by then motorists are going to suffer and the advice must be - avoid the centre of Nice if possible.

This is Nicolas Sarkozy’s first Africa summit, three years after the French President pledged to “shake up” France’s ties with Africa. Among those attending are South Africa’s Jacob Zuma, Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.

Although the focus of the summit is on the role of the private sector in Africa, other topics on the agenda include the participation of African countries in international institutions, global warming and the environment, and France’s role in strengthening security in Africa.

Among those keeping a close eye on proceedings is Human Rights Watch, a leading independent organisation dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. It has called on countries represented in Nice to make a public commitment to independent national and international justice for serious human rights violations. The France-Africa summit was originally scheduled to be held in Egypt in February, but concerns over the Egyptian government’s invitation to President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan led to it being re-scheduled for end of May in Nice. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Mr Bashir's arrest in March over atrocities in Darfur, accusations he denies. France said it would carry out the ICC warrant for his arrest, whereas several African nations, including Egypt, have said they would not.

For residents of the Côte capital it’s a case of hunkering down and waiting till the roar of helicopters over-head has died down and the police presence on the streets is back to normal, ie Wednesday. CL