THE visit a few days ago of French President François Hollande was occasioned by the need to involve the Philippines in the campaign against climate change. Being a victim of the most devastating typhoon ever recorded in history, the Philippines would be a highly credible partner in the protection and preservation of the natural environment.
In the course of the visit, President Hollande offered to be of assistance to the Philippines in the mobilization of resources for its development, signing with our own President Benigno Aquino deals in infrastructure and tourism amounting to P4.7 billion, or €92 million, for building and operation jointly by French and Philippine firms. President Hollande also agreed to two more projects the Philippines put forward for possible French-Philippine collaboration in the future.
With a gross domestic product of $2.3 trillion (purchasing-power parity) in 2013 and a population of 63.7 million, France has a per-capita income of $35,784 (10 times ours). France is one of the world’s most industrially advanced countries.
Our links with France go deep in history. In the 19th century France was home to many young Filipinos studying in Europe. Our national hero Jose Rizal wrote his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo in France, where he stayed when he was in exile. Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo also enjoyed French hospitality. Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto were profoundly influenced by Rousseau, Montesquieu and Napoleon Bonaparte.
At this juncture in history, we can learn a thing or two from French experience not just in economics but also in politics and culture. In politics, France is governed by a combination of the Presidential-Parliamentary system, with a president elected directly by the people and a prime minister elected to that position by the dominant party in parliament. Cumbersome from one viewpoint, the French system might offer lessons on how to improve our own broken presidential system.
There is another aspect of French politics that can be of interest to us. France is a nationalistic, independent-minded country. A member of the Western alliance, it refuses to be subservient to American globalism in its foreign relations. It has its own nuclear-deterrent force, the force de frappe. Only recently was it reinstated in the command structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Perhaps, we can learn from France how to forge and pursue an independent foreign policy.
We certainly can benefit from an exposure to French culture. France is an acknowledged seat of the arts, theater, fashion, cuisine and sports. The Louvre is the world’s greatest museum of the arts, the French Quarter the home of accomplished, struggling and simply lost artistic souls. In fashion, our designers can derive inspiration from the great French couturiers, as well as move forward on their own.
In the field of sports, France is a great center of football, a regular host to the World Cup, the culminating tournament of this global athletic event. French interest in this game might just wean us away from our fascination with basketball, a game we cannot hope to win internationally ever.
We have President Hollande to thank for awakening us to the challenges of climate change; also for strengthening our relations with France, and for making us conscious of the great opportunities for cooperation with France in various fields of human endeavor in the years ahead.
Image credits: jimbo Albano
1 comment
French president Hollande’s foray into Asia is remarkable in that it is just one of the regular undertakings of European nations to try to re-establish an foothold of some kind on the national level, like they did in centuries past, in order to take advantage of the relative simple-mindedness of Asian countries (or rather, governments). There is no real partnership if one partner is 10 times the economic or geographical or military-power size of the other partner. Somehow, someone will be taken advantage of, down the line, after some wining and dining.