Financial Crisis Is Forcing Paris To Abandon Its “Economic Narcissism”

French companies launch a race to grasp the new projects in Algeria, at a time when the Algerian government showed a strong desire to diversify its economic partners, and resort to the black continent, and France will be forced to choose between granting the Algerian products the visa to enter its market, or lose its share of the projects which are confirmed by official figures, as declining year after the other, because France is living a financial hardship, that forced it to abandon its “economic narcissism” even circumstantially.

Deputy Chairman of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Riad Amour, told Echorouk that the strategy of partnership with France is based on the transfer of expertise and technology, which the government focuses on to take advantage of the French potential and contribute to the development of vital sectors of production in Algeria, like the mechanical industries, medicines and the food industry.

In contrast, the spokesman explained that the French market refused, until now, to import the Algerian products, arguing that the latter lack the standards that are required by the European Union, which France is one of its members, making the Algerians dealers try at the first stage, to target the immigrants category, appealing to nostalgia for what is an Algerian-made product.

“Target will be in the second phase exportation to the French, and it will be achieved only through quality improvement and diversification of the Algerian products, and bring them into line with the specificity of the French society in particular, and the Europeans in general.”

“Transition from the French market to European markets, and African traders is embodied through Algeria’s search for interest, wherever it exists, whether in France or any other country. Main endeavour of the government today is lifting the exports outside the hydrocarbons, in collaboration with a number of African countries, this is why projects were launched to facilitate the movement towards these countries by land and air, and Africans recognize the quality of the Algerian Products and consider it less expensive, which opens wide horizons for Algerian exporters in the future.”

“Lifting of quota for Algerian exports to France requires accurate studies, and modern distribution networks, which will not come, only through further effort. The delay in the project of Peugeot factory, which agreement is not yet signed officially due the difference on the axes of the negotiations and the conditions between the two parties, will be adjudicated in the coming days.”

Not far from that, France is seeking, through its embassy in Algeria, to pave the way to the Algerian-French partnership, through the promotion for French traders and sending publications that confirms that France is still the first partner of Algeria, which is guaranteed by the latest number of the magazine “Binetna”, which summarized the cooperation agreements’ relationships that were concluded between the months of July 2015 and July 2016, over 10 pages, and gave great importance to the work of the high-level joint committee that was created last April, and which noticed a large controversy.