The Mediterranean and Africa

I want to issue a call to all the people of the Mediterranean to tell them that it is in the Mediterranean that everything is going to be played out, that we have to overcome all kinds of hatred to pave the way for a great dream of peace and a great dream of civilization. I want to tell them that the time has come to build together a Mediterranean union that will form a link between Europe and Africa.

What was done for the union of Europe 60 years ago, we are going to do today for the union of the Mediterranean.

I want to issue a call to all Africans, a brotherly call, to tell Africa that we want to help it, to help Africa to vanquish illness, to vanquish famine, to vanquish poverty, to live in peace. I want to tell them that we are going to work together on decisions concerning a policy of controlled immigration and a policy of ambitious development.

To put it in context, here is an earlier statement of Sarkozy:

"I think that the French people expect a new France (...) a France where the expression 'ethnic Frenchman' will no longer exist."

I suspect the Le Pen supporters essential to Sarkozy's victory aren't going to be very happy with Sarkozy for very long. I'm sympathetic to the idea of African development—but there is a lot of investment in human capital, and technical innovations, needed to make that idea at all practical. I question whether Sarkozy has the vision to pull this off—or come even close.