After a break, new countries are expected to join the International Organization of La Francophonie during the 19th Summit which is being held in France on October 4 and 5. Candidates whose link to the French language is not always obvious.
The decision must still be validated by the States, but there is little suspense left: Ghana and Cyprus, until now “associated members” of the International Organization of Francophoniewill be elevated to the rank of full members.
The candidacy study committee, responsible for evaluating applications for membership and change of status, issued a favorable recommendation in this regard, announced the OIF during a press conference in preparation for the 19th Summit of la francophonie which is being held in Villers-Cotterêts and Paris on October 4 and 5. In addition to these two countries, five states or regions have obtained a green light to enter the Francophonie as observers, a necessary step to hope to become a full member and have voting rights within the organization: Polynesia French, Angola, Chile, Saarland (Germany) and Nova Scotia (Canada).
At first glance, the link of some of these countries with the French-speaking world is not always obvious: in Cyprus, only 6% of the population is French-speaking, according to the OIF, and Greek and Turkish are official languages, while In English-speaking Ghana, French speakers remain marginal (1%). What then of Chile or Angola?
From a language-based cooperation agency to an international organization
On his websitethe OIF nevertheless reminds us: “ The Francophonie is, first of all, women and men who share a common language, French. » It is clear by observing the list of these 88 membersand even of these 54 “by right”, that this is far from being the case. If the French language is the original basis of the OIF, its daily use or its presence in the Constitution is not a prerequisite. Even if ” the place it occupies » remains one of the main criteria studied to join the circle, specifies Oria K. Vande weghe, spokesperson for the secretary general. “ For some countries, the French language is an official language among others, in other countries, there is significant interest in strengthening the French language “, she explains.
This is the case of Cyprus, believes the OIF, which has made learning the French language compulsory as a second foreign language. “ Ghana typically is a country surrounded by French-speaking countries who, since his first membership [en 2006, NDLR], has always wanted to strengthen the French language out of interest in regional integration, particularly economic. »
Francophile and French-speaking, President Nana Akufo-Addo declared that “ goal is to live, one day, in a bilingual Ghana, with French and English “. A proximity with French-speaking countries which can also explain the candidacy of Angola, bordering the DRC, and also the only Portuguese-speaking country which is not a member of the OIF. On the other hand, Serbia and Kosovo, which also wanted to become full members, did not receive the approval of the committee, “ particularly on the criterion of the French language, which was very insufficient », Underlines the spokesperson.
The integration of countries with tenuous links with the French-speaking world is not new. We can cite Albania, only 2% French-speaking, member since 1999, Moldova 1%, member since 1996. Or countries like Vietnam (1970) or Cambodia (1991), also a candidate for the organization of the next summit, for whom the presence in the OIF is explained by the colonial past more than by the vitality of the French language.
Also readLa Francophonie: from linguistic space to institutional organization
“ From the beginning of the 1990s, France imposed a broad opening in terms of membership in the OIF, analyzes Frédéric Turpin, historian and author of France and the political Francophonie, History of a difficult rallying. With a view to controlling a globalization deemed too wild, Jacques Chirac wanted to develop the OIF as a very large international organization. From there, we favored the large organization aspect of intergovernmental cooperation over the cultural and linguistic aspect of the former Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), rather than remaining focused on a few French-speaking states, necessarily limited in scope. from a numerical point of view and from the point of view of the capacity to influence, because to influence globalization, it is better to have an organization that brings together as many people as possible. »
Contested applications and membership criteria in question
Broader acceptance criteria to which were also added, with the signing of the Bamako agreements in 2000, a certain number of values that the members are supposed to share. Now, according to the OIF regulationswhen a State sends a request for membership, an observation mission is sent on site to examine the criteria relating to the use and promotion of the French language and cultural and linguistic diversity but also related criteria to sharing and promoting democracy, rights and freedoms.
In this respect, the entry of Qatar in 2012 directly as an associate member without going through the observer box as is the rule, and after intense lobbying particularly with African countries, had made the opponents pointing the finger at the economic interests underlying this integration. Qatar then argued that it welcomed many French-speaking expatriates and that it had financed a French-language public radio station, while the OIF insisted on the emirate’s desire to develop French teaching.
Before the Yerevan Summit in 2018, it was the candidacy of Saudi Arabia, accused of human rights violations, which sparked an outcry, leading to its withdrawal. A situation which had also led the current secretary general of La Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwaboto propose a moratorium on new memberships and changes of status in order to “ conduct a deep reflection on the membership criteria », recalls Oria K. Vande weghe.
Today, the procedure is intended to be “ more detailed “, according to the spokesperson, but reflection on the relevance of the extension of the Francophonie remains on the table, indicates the spokesperson for the Secretary General: ” The criteria must be clear, it must make sense, and we must not continue to expand for the sake of expanding. »
The OIF questions in particular the relevance of incorporating non-state entities into the organization, as is the case in Saarland or Nova Scotia. “ This raises questions in terms of international law, underlines Oria K. Vande weghe. When the organization finds itself suspending a state, is it conceivable that provinces or regions will suspend sovereign states? » Without risking harming the credibility of the international organization.
A mix of genres that weakens the Francophonie?
For Frédéric Turpin, it is always the same logic of openness that prevails. “ There is this double problem of thematic openness (economy, development aid, human rights, good governance) which means that a certain number of States should frankly not be in it or be suspended, not only for coups. Because there are not only democracies in the OIF. And this problem of geographical extension which weakens the aspect “French-speaking”that is to say the defense of a language and the cultures attached to it », Estimates the historian, who recalls that many African countries had criticized this enlargement.
A mixture of genres which sometimes makes the objectives of the organization difficult to read and its voice inaudible. “ Enlargement is not a problem in itself, estimated Bertin Leblancspokesperson under Michaëlle Jean and author of a behind-the-scenes comic strip*. But the OIF has become a social club, a Chamber of Commerce more than a political club or a zone of influence », regrets the one who had split in 2023 with aforum on “ the lost illusion » of the Francophonie, in which he described the organization, “ diplomatic tool poorly defined since its origins “, as “ brain dead “.
Since the coups d’état in several major countries of French-speaking Africa, communication has been cut with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. And the words of the Rwandan secretary general, considered difficult to hear on the conflict in the DRC, the east of which is grappling with a rebellion supported by Kigali.
But Louise Mushikiwabo’s spokesperson rejects any loss of political weight: “ Perhaps the method has changed, with fewer announcements, fewer condemnations, but more actions and more direct work with States, she says. Guinea, which was also suspended from the organization after the overthrow of the Alpha Condé regime, has just been reinstated on September 24. “ We have deployed a real field mechanism to support the transition and the return to constitutional order », underlines Oria K. Vande weghe.
Beyond the new membership requests, which testify to “ a certain attractiveness » of the organization, according to her, “ signals show renewed interest » in terms of member involvement, particularly at the budgetary level, after they have accepted the increase in contribution scales. In 2024, the OIF’s budget was only 67 million euros, not even the equivalent of that of a medium-sized French city.
*Bertin Leblanc: Elements of language, Cacophony in Francophonie, editions La Boîte à bubbles