French NGOs angry over drastic cuts to overseas aid budget

France's announcement of a cut in its development aid has prompted an angry response from French NGOs working abroad, especially in the Middle East and Africa. 

A child's arm is measured at a center set up by World Food Programme and Action Against Hunger, in the village of Beraketa, in the far south of Madagascar. AP - Laetitia Bezain

"It’s a real dampener," says Olivier Bruyeron, the president of Coordination SUD, which brings together 180 French associations and NGOs internationally.

He was reacting to the announcement of an €800 million cut announced by the government as part of a broader savings plan of €10 billion.

Coordination SUD's members include NGOs such as Action contre la faim (Action Against Hunger), Handicap International and Médecins du Monde.

Few details have emerged so far, except that  €600 million will come from programs carried out under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and €200 million from the Ministry of the Economy, according to a source at the Ministry of the Economy on Monday.

Quoted by French news agency AFP, the source indicated that voluntary contributions to the United Nations, which covers various development programs, "could be part of the savings".

Fears for Gaza

Louis-Nicolas Jandeaux, campaigner for the NGO Oxfam, told AFP that he considers the situation "particularly serious" .

He is worried these cuts will affect the United Nations agency for refugees in Palestine to save lives in Gaza, funding for the fight against hunger in East Africa and many other missions.

France announced at the end of January that it was not planning a new payment to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the first quarter of 2024, after accusations that employees could have been involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.

• France suspends development, budget aid to Niger following military coup

• Cutting UN funds to Gaza puts 'hundreds of thousands' at risk, says EU

Another diplomatic source told AFP that other savings could come from the reduction of programs carried out with countries affected by coups d'état in Africa, especially in the Sahel, and in the reduction of funds granted to the French Development Agency.

In addition to the negative effect on aid programs, NGOs and associations have criticised the government's doublespeak.

"This cut in development aid goes against the political commitments made by the government," insists Bruyeron.

Tenth global contributor

In 2022, France paid out $16 billion in public development aid, according to the OECD annual report published in April 2023, and even congratulated itself on having become the fourth largest international donor behind the United States, Germany and Japan. Annual figures for 2023 are expected in April.

This record amount for France, however, represents 0.56 percent of its gross national income, making it the tenth global contributor to development aid, still far from the United Nations objective of having each developed country pay back 0.7 percent per year of its GNI.

France itself committed in a law of August 2021 to repay this percentage each year from 2025.

In 2022, only Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway and Germany have reached this target.

(with AFP)