#Virginie Wagon

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this Week # 151 (Year 3/Week 47):

4 by terrific documentarian Lauren Greenfield:

🍿 “…If I could have anything I want for Christmas, I would say $300 million to take care of what we have in Vegas…”

The Queen of Versailles - Wow! A surprising story of grotesque, vacuous, monstrous 1% couple, who are still relatable like "normal" people. A 70-year-old Florida billionaire and his trophy wife set up to build the largest home in America just just before the 2008 crash, then get caught up in the unfortunate downturn of the economy. (It reminded me of myself!). The excess accumulation of the very rich, an unspoken indictment of American capitalism - A fascinating Reality Television. Ostentatious, gaudy and revoltingly overdone, it's hard to stop watching. 8/10.

🍿 Lauren Greenfield has made a whole career of observing decadent rich people. Her Generation Wealth was more autobiographical, detailing her personal story and how she came to focus on documenting obscene consumption, excessive wealth, and indulgent greed. Traveling all over the globe, visiting the hot spots of materialistic affluence and corrupt obsessions. It was negatively reviewed, but I loved it. 8/10. (Photo Above).

🍿 Magic city was a 20 minutes stand-along short about the legendary Atlanta strip club, where (mostly) black patrons shower the naked dancers with so many dollar bills, that they have to collect it in garbage bags. Expanded from her 'Generation Wealth'.

🍿 Her latest was The Kingmaker, about super-corrupt dictator-wife Imelda Marcos (Still alive today at 94). An international power-player, friend and alley to all the evil figures of the second half of the 20th century: From Nixon and Mao, Reagan and Castro, to Sadam and Gaddafi, Kissinger and Duterte, a who's who gallery of plunderers, mass killers and unindicted world class criminals. She had access to the Marcos family, and showed how hopeless "democracy" plays in third countries like The Philippines - The same as first countries like The USA and Israel. 8/10.

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Another insightful documentary: “Today I learned” about Norman Finkelstein, a controversial holocaust scholar and polemic activist, whose support for the oppressed Palestinian people made him a pariah in traditional political circles. American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein follows his travails. Born to parents who both survived the Warsaw uprising, as well as the concentration camps, he developed a deep, unhealthy opposition to fascism, and especially when practiced by Jews. His lifelong campaign against the Israeli Apartheid made him an enemy of all mainstream opinion holders, and marginalized his efforts for last 40 years. Absolutely worth a watch - 7/10.

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My 3rd by Kelly Reichardt, the revisionist western Meek's Cutoff. Based on a real incident that happened during the Oregon Trail of 1845, when a bigoted, racist frontier guide led a wagon train into the wilderness. Formatted in the old Academy ratio, like the Westerns of old. Realistically dour, unromantically dirty, it's a slow nightmare into a lost place.

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3 by French director Justine Triet, two with Sandra Hüller:

🍿 I've seen 2 movies with Sandra Hüller before, 'Toni 'Erdmann' and 'I'm your man'. And of course she plays Rudolf Höss's wife in my most anticipated film of the year, Jonathan Glazer's 'The Zone of interest'. In the intriguing Anatomy of a fall she plays a calculated widow who's accused of murdering her husband. It's obvious that she's guilty, but it is never specified. A granular, subtle exposition told via the usually-stale genre of courtroom drama. It's not a murder mystery but an analysis of a failing marriage and a mother-child relationship.

🍿 "My life is a fiction. I can re-write it as I will"...

I loved her previous drama, Sybil, even more. The magnificient Virginie Efira is a complex, vaping shrink, quitting her career to return to her first passion of writing. But she's taking on a desperate Adèle Exarchopoulos as one more patient, and gets obsessively involved in her life until reality and perception collide. Similar in some themes to 'Anatomy of a Fall', it too deals with intellectuals who steal from the reality around them. Even the names are the same, the child is called Daniel, and the lover 'Malesky'. It's smart, tense, messy and sensual. 9/10.

🍿 Two ships, was an early 30 minutes short of hers, about a quick hook up between two broke characters. Not too pretty, or sympathetic.

I planned on also seeing her 'In bed with Victoria', but didn't have the time this week. I'll watch it tomorrow.

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The Satyr (1907), one of the earliest surviving pornographic films, supposedly from Argentina. An explicit hard core short, about a horn-wearing, horny devil who fucks a naked nymph good. “Close ups of genitals”.

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Rhinoceros, based on Eugène Ionesco avant-garde play. A lame theatrical comedy with Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, trying to recreate their frantic interactions from 'The Producers'. The whole town is inexplicably turning into rhinoceros, like a bad version of 'The invasion of the body snatchers'. But the original absurd play explored conformity and mob mentality when fascism rises, and the American movie was a dated thin-soup farce, with no charm or heart.

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The kill room, a silly, new dark-comedy thriller with gallery owner Uma Thurman joining eccentric bialy baker Samuel Jackson to launder money through art. But like 'The Producers' above, the scheme gets complicated when the worthless painting become hot commodities. Too bad that the third actor, the supposed cold-heart killer 'Bagman', gave a specially atrocious performance. 6/10.

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2 cliche-ridden atrocities I couldn’t finish, both featuring British-American love affairs:

🍿 Another with Uma Thurman, who plays the first female POTUS [How many actresses played that role, but no real women ever achived it!?] I read a positive review of Red, White & Royal Blue, the LGBT fantasy romcom between the son of the American president, and a British prince "Harry". It didn't sound like it was made for me, but I thought I'll give it a try and see how long I can last. The answer was 1 hour. It was a blatant Royalty-Porn, Ultra-Wealth-Porn, Glamour-Porn, a make wish fairy tale for 16 year old gay boys. But it was made so badly. Even a Rachel Maddow cameo couldn't save it.

🍿 Another cheesy, saccharine "romantic comedy", Love, actually, that is usually mentioned positively. But I could barely stand 20 painful minutes before having to turn it off: Superficial, trite, overly-sentimental, awful piece of shit.

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(My complete movie list is here)

[peter-ash]

[cbjustmusic]

Dolly Parton performing “My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy” on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1970. _________________________ My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy Songwriter: Dolly Parton

From a shack by a mountain stream To a room in New Orleans So far from my Blue Ridge Mountain home The men I meet ain't warm and friendly Like the one in old Virginie Oh they ain't real like my Blue Ridge Mountain boy I was just a little past eighteen When I came to New Orleans I'd never been beyond my home state line There was a boy who loved me dearly But I broke his heart severely When I left my Blue Ridge Mountain boy Life was dull in my hometown Lights were out when the sun went down And I thought that city life was more my style But nights get lonely away from home And it's easy to go wrong The men ain't kind like my Blue Ridge Mountain boy New Orleans held things in store Things I'd never bargained for And every night a different man knocks on my door But late at night when all is still I can hear a whippoorwill As I cry for my Blue Ridge Mountain boy Oh but I can never go back home Since the boy I love is gone He grew tired of waiting for me to return They say he married last October But I never will get over Oh the sweet love of my Blue Ridge Mountain boy Blue Ridge Mountain boy

[robinhoodrevisited]

Setting The Stage (pt.5)

Nottingham Town. Marketplace. (Bertha’s boys are twirling colourful ribbons and some let them sail into the crowd. Bertha drives the wagon in behind them, with Little John walking with a cloth over his face next to it. Walt, a young ginger haired boy, is on Titus’ shoulders, announcing to all:) Walt: “Bertha’s Circus Maximus! Ladies and gentlemen, it’s your lucky day! Bertha’s Circus Maximus is in town! Place your bets here to add some extra excitement!” (Bertha stops the wagon. Titus puts Walt down. Gizmo places the point of his short sword onto a table and stands with his chest out. Bertha leans over to Little John, looking at Gizmo.) Bertha: “The ladies love him.” Walt: “Get going and show me your money! Place your bets; be a winner!” (With much of the crowd and castle guards distracted, Marcus covertly exits the wagon, turns and helps Abby down. They smile at each other for a moment before heading quickly towards the castle. As they leave, Indra steps out from the wagon with a dour look on her face.) Bertha: (To John and Indra:) "Right, you two stay here out of sight. Let Gismo and Titus bring in the crowds, my boys will know what to do." Little John: "Are you sure you're alright meeting the Sheriff alone?" Bertha: "Oh don't worry about me, I can handle Vaisey." (Little John nods and Bertha too heads for the castle. Indra meanwhile stands and watches the so called gladiators pose and flex their muscles with derision.) Indra: "These men would not last a day in my army." Little John: "Yeah well luckily they don't have to. All they need to do is give 'em a good show." 

Nottingham Castle. Great Hall. (Bertha enters under the balcony, escorted by two guards. The Sheriff is standing in front of the table, waiting. Bertha bows with a flourish.) Sheriff: “No need for that, Bertha. (Bertha looks up.) I don’t expect it from old acquaintances.” Bertha: “You look well, Vaisey.” Sheriff: “Sheriff... Vaisey. Let’s not dispense with all formalities. Now, the last time we spoke, I told you that if I ever saw you in Nottingham again, that I would kill you, but... here you are.” Bertha: (Shrugs slightly.) “In my defence, I heard you were no longer sheriff.” Sheriff: “Why shouldn’t I be? I merely took a long overdue vacation.” Bertha: (Trying to recover gracefully:) “I was told you’d moved on to better things.“ Sheriff: “Well, unfortunately for you, it was a lie. (Chuckles. Bertha bows and the Sheriff snaps his fingers.) I assume you’re here to alleviate the locals of their purses.“ Bertha: “I go where the audiences are.” Sheriff: “No, you go where men are prepared to gamble... on your fixed fights.” Bertha: (Steps to Sheriff. Offended:) “Fixed? My fights are for real.” Sheriff: (Chuckles.) “Let’s not insult each other, Bertha.” Bertha: (Quick sigh.) “Actually I’ve heard the Prince intends to marry his beloved." Sheriff: (Scoffs:) “Beloved.” Bertha: “And what better entertainment could there possibly be for the happy couple than my gladiators battling it out?” (The Sheriff considers this.) Sheriff: "Hm, the Prince does enjoy displays of violence. There'll be copious amounts of blood I hope?" Bertha: "Buckets of it." Sheriff: "Indeed. Well I certainly like the idea but don't think this gets you off the hook." Bertha: (Leans in:) "How much do you want?" Sheriff: (Holds up two fingers.) "Two thirds of whatever you make." Bertha: "Done." Sheriff: (Grins:) "Welcome back, Bertha." Bertha: "Thank you, Sheriff." Nottingham Town. Marketplace. (Little John watches Walt from around a corner, out of sight of any guards, as Titus and Gizmo set up a large pole for the ring. Walt is throwing rocks at an unseen target.) Titus: “Who’s got the rope? It has to go over there.” Gizmo: “Right, then.” Titus: “You ready?” Gizmo: “Ready.” Titus: “Right. Heave! (The men pull the rope to raise up the pole, then one of the boys, playing, falls into Gizmo’s arm. Gizmo drops the rope and Little John sees the pole falling right onto Walt, runs in and snatches Walt away. They fall to the ground and the pole slams down next to them.) That was close. Someone give me a hand over here!“ (Little John sits up with a groan.) Little John: “Walt, are you hurt?” Walt: (Awed:) “You saved my life!” (Little John tries to stand, but his foot slips out from under him and he sits down hard.) Little John: “What? Oh. I saved you from a sore head.” Walt: “No, I was nearly dead.” Little John: (Scoffs.) “Very well.” Walt: “Now I have to save your life in return.” Little John: “No, no. There’s no need.” Walt: “No, I have to!” (Little John looks at the boy’s bright face and sighs.) Little John: "How about this; you tell me more about Bertha and we'll call it even, deal?" Walt: "OK. Well Bertha saved me too. All of us really, none of us had anyone. We'd have starved to death. She clothes and feeds us, everything." Little John: (Smiles:) "She sounds like quite the woman." (Walt nods and notices the smile on Little John's face but says nothing.)

Sherwood Forest. Near Locksley. (The gang and the villagers hide behind the trees. Prince John’s elite guard come through below. Robin shoots the leader with an arrow and then he, the gang and the villagers charge the soldiers. Will pulls a soldier off his horse, then punches him. Robin pulls out his sword and begins cutting down soldiers. Next to Robin, Djaq blows a pipe dart at one of the outriders. He falls to the ground and the other starts forward.) Robin: (to Djaq:) “Look out! (The second outrider has turned his horse around and is getting ready to fight. Robin points at him with his sword.) Look out! (Two villagers run downhill, a rope tied between two long tools, and knock down several soldiers with it. Much fights one. Allan pulls off the other outrider. Robin uses his sword and blocks a soldier, then runs him through. Marian pulls a soldier off his horse, then runs behind Allan to fight more. Allan attacks with his dual swords. Marian wounds a soldier, then runs to defend Allan’s back and just manages to deflect a knife headed to her left side. Much fights on. Will knocks out a soldier with his axe handle. Allan punches out a soldier. More soldiers are cut down, the time for merely disarming and disabling now over. Robin surveys the bloody scene. Breathing hard:) Right, start stripping the soldiers. We need as many uniforms as possible.”

Kirklees Abbey. Interior. (People are gathered in the abbey to witness the wedding of Prince John and Isabella. The Prince stands by the altar as the Abbot starts a prayer.) Abbot: "Beatae Mariae semper Virgini, Beato Michaeli Archangelo, Beato Joanni Baptistae, Sanctis Apostolis..." (As the Abbot continues, Isabella appears at the rear of the Abbey. She has yet to be noticed by the congregation or Prince John. Isabella is visibly shaking and although it could be easily mistaken for the jitters, she knows deep down that it's real fear she's experiencing. Fear of once again being confined to the role of wife, a role of subservience. Isabella's entire soul is screaming at her to flee but, as a young girl turns and spots her she realises her chance to run has come and gone. As more of the congregation turn to watch her, Isabella makes the long, slow walk towards the altar. As is tradition with most Royal weddings, the Prince does not turn to watch his bride's approach. As Isabella reaches the altar she casts one last, desperate glance behind her. Hoping against hope that someone will come and rescue her. But no one comes. Turning back to face the Prince, she returns his jubilant smile with the best she can muster, before the abbot begins the ceremony.)

At The Edge Of Sherwood Forest. (On top of the hill overlooking Nottingham, Marian puts on the scarf, mask and hood of the Nightwatchman. Beside her are Nyko, Djaq & Matthew, a young village volunteer who are also wearing outfits similar to Marian's.) Marian: "Now are we clear of the plan? Our job is to cause as much disruption and distraction to allow Robin and his group clear entry into the castle." Djaq: "We draw the Sheriff's attention so that he and his guards chase us and leave their posts." Nyko: "And you're sure these disguises are necessary?" Marian: "Oh, yes. The sight of the Nightwatchman will definitely grab the Sheriff's attention." Matthew: (Grinning:) "I still can't believe it, Lady Marian is the Nightwatchman." Marian: (Smiles:) "I haven't been 'Lady Marian' for a long time. Now remember to make sure they see you but keep your distance." Djaq: "Marian, the Sheriff already knows you're the Nightwatchman." Marian: (Nods:) "Which is exactly why you cannot let him catch you. If he does... (Marian doesn't finish the thought but pulls her mask up to cover her eyes.) Just don't get caught. Good luck everyone." (Marian begins running down the hill towards Nottingham as Matthew, Nyko and Djaq begin pulling on their own masks.)

Nottingham Town Gates. (Robin, several villagers, Gisborne and Much are dressed in Elite Guard uniforms. In front of them, Will & Allan walk side by side towards the town gates where Blamire is stationed. Realising that the Captain is not an imbecile, Robin, Gisborne and Much are strategically placed behind the villagers.) Allan: (To Will:) "Let me handle this one. (Will nods, to Blamire:) All right, you got us fair and square like. (Nods back to the villagers dressed as guards:) You've got some good men working for you, caught us no problem." (Blamire begins to scan the villager/guards faces. Sensing that their ruse is falling apart, Will speaks up.) Will: "Yeah, not like the last lot. Those guys were... (Looks pointedly at Blamire:) All wet." (Blamire's attention is caught by this and the Captain immediately loses his cool, punching Will hard in the face.) Blamire: (Pulling Will up by the hair:) "Mock the memory of my men again and I shall run you through myself. (Releases Will:) As it stands, all prisoners are required to be part of the Prince's wedding reception." Allan: "Reception? You mean they're already married?" Blamire: "That's right. (Smirks:) It turns out Isabella's taste in men is better than I was lead to believe. (Will holds Allan back as he lunges at Blamire. To the Villager/guards:) Take the prisoners back to the castle. They'll need their rest before they take on the gladiators. (To the guards behind him:) Open the gates!" (Blamire steps aside to allow everyone through as Allan glowers at him. Robin, Gisborne and Much avoid the Captain's gaze as they pass.) Nottingham Town. Marketplace. (Gizmo calls to the crowd as the boys shout for some last-minute bets.) Gizmo: “Gather round! It’s almost show time! (He gives the crowd a moment to assemble.) Put your hands together for Bertha of Bath!” (Gizmo points at Bertha with his sword. Bertha comes out with a scowl, looking for the Sheriff. She catches his eye and the Sheriff nods. Bertha climbs into the ring.) Bertha: “Ladies, Gentlemen... (bows to the Sheriff) ... honoured guests... (raises a finger) ... Tonight, you are truly in for a treat! You may have thought the ancient art of the gladiator was gone, but no! (Cracks whip.) Tonight... you’re in for a dazzling display of their swordplay! All we need now are the happy couple Prince John and his blushing bride Isabella!” (The crowds part to make way for the arrival of the Prince and Isabella. Little John and Indra come out, watching as they pass. Nodding to each other, John and Indra quickly don their masks.)

[reseau-actu]

L'argent chinois coule à flots sur le continent africain, ce qui ne manque pas d'alarmer les institutions internationales et les pays occidentaux. D'autant plus au regard de l'opacité et des pratiques de la Chine.

Sur la place Tiananmen, face à la Cité interdite, d'immenses parterres de fleurs jaunes et violettes s'étalent devant le Grand Hall du Peuple. A Pékin, ce 3 septembre 2018, l'immense structure de béton, lieu traditionnel de rassemblement des élus du Parti communiste chinois, accueille pour deux jours le Forum Chine-Afrique. A l'intérieur, l'immense hémicycle rassemble des milliers de délégués des deux continents venus écouter le discours d'ouverture du président chinois, Xi Jinping.

Les leaders africains sont tous là, excepté le monarque du Swaziland. Le Sud-Africain Cyril Ramaphosa, l'Ivoirien Alassane Ouattara, le Nigérien Mahamadou Issoufou, le Kenyan Uhuru Kenyatta ou encore le Sénégalais Macky Sall et le président du Rwanda, Paul Kagame, ont été reçus en grande pompe à leur descente d'avion, à l'aéroport de Pékin. Inauguré en 2000,  le Forum Chine-Afrique en est déjà à sa huitième édition. Les 53 leaders africains écoutent solennellement Xi Jinping leur vanter la grande famille sino-africaine et se réjouissent des milliards de dollars d'investissements qu'il leur promet.

Le discours de Xi Jinping aux Africains

  Pékin met sur la table 60 milliards de dollars de plus pour le développement économique des Etats africains. De cette somme globale, 15 milliards de dollars financeront des programmes « d'aide gratuite et de prêts sans intérêts », souligne Xi Jinping. La précision est d'importance quand la Chine, premier partenaire commercial de l'Afrique, est accusée d'entraîner à nouveau l'Afrique sur la voie du surendettement.

Surendettement, le retour

Les dirigeants occidentaux, le Fonds monétaire international (FMI), la Banque mondiale et les ONG montent d'ailleurs au créneau. Durant les années 1980 et 1990, les politiques d'effacement de dettes engagées par les pays riches, sous l'égide des deux institutions multilatérales, ont permis des progrès substantiels : d'un ratio de près de 100 % du PIB, l'endettement des pays les plus pauvres avait été ramené à 30 % en 2013.

Or nous sommes revenus à 50 % en 2017, a alerté en janvier dernier la Banque mondiale . , africains essentiellement, présentent un degré élevé de surendettement. L'Afrique risque de tomber de Charybde en Scylla. Et le coupable n'est autre cette fois que la Chine, source croissante de financement pour l'Afrique, dont les méthodes s'avèrent pour le moins douteuses.

La Chine ne fait pas partie du Club de Paris ni du Comité d'aide au développement de l'OCDE. Il est difficile de savoir très précisément ce qu'elle réalise réellement en Afrique

En matière de statistiques, les chiffres avancés par le FMI et la Banque mondiale ne peuvent rendre compte de l'exacte situation. « La Chine ne fait pas partie du Club de Paris ni du Comité d'aide au développement de l'OCDE. Il est difficile de savoir très précisément ce qu'elle réalise réellement en Afrique. Bien souvent, Pékin se retranche derrière le secret d'Etat pour ne pas divulguer ces chiffres », observe Bradley Parks, directeur exécutif de AidData. Ce centre de recherche, basé au sein du Collège de William et Mary, en Virginie (Etats-Unis), a pourtant élaboré une vaste  base de données sur les financements à l'étranger de la Chine sur la période 2000-2014 .

L'Afrique est au coeur des projets d'investissements chinois à l'étranger. - AidData

« Nous avons rassemblé les statistiques officielles du FMI, de la Banque mondiale, analysé leurs rapports économiques sur chaque pays, consulté les sites Web des différents gouvernements, analysé les prospectus publiés lors d'une émission obligataire d'un pays ou d'une entreprise », détaille-t-il. Au total, sur la période analysée, les financements chinois en faveur de l'Afrique ont atteint, selon AidData, 121,6 milliards de dollars - contre une aide américaine de 106,7 milliards de dollars. La Johns Hopkins University, via son  projet de recherche Cari (China Africa Research Initiative), avance même le chiffre de 143 milliards de dollars de prêts des institutions publiques et des banques chinoises aux gouvernements africains entre 2000 et 2007.

Aide ou prêts ?

En Afrique subsaharienne, recense AidData, la Chine a notamment financé un boulevard périphérique de 320 millions de dollars autour d'Addis-Abeba, une ligne ferroviaire à 3 milliards de dollars entre Addis-Abeba et le port balnéaire de Doraleh, à Djibouti, une autre ligne à 4 milliards de dollars entre Nairobi et le port de Mombasa ou encore une route à 600 millions de dollars entre Port-Gentil et Libreville, au Gabon. L'argent chinois coule à flots mais pas pour des raisons d'aide publique au développement.

La ligne ferroviaire Nairobi-Mombasa

  « Seulement 43 % des financements chinois peuvent être définis comme une aide au développement sur la base des paramètres de l'OCDE. Le reste constitue des prêts commerciaux qui ont peu à voir avec une quelconque aide au développement », remarque Bradley Parks. Ainsi, les emprunteurs africains doivent souvent rembourser leurs dettes chinoises en moyenne plus rapidement (16 ans) que les prêts obtenus auprès de l'AID, une des filiales de la Banque mondiale (38 ans). « La Chine n'octroie pas d'aide publique au développement, car elle se considère elle-même comme étant un pays en développement. Elle contribue au développement de l'Afrique », explique Jean-Joseph Boillot, chercheur associé à l'Iris et auteur de « Chindiafrique. La Chine, l'Inde et l'Afrique feront le monde de demain ».

La Chine utilise des pots-de-vin, des accords opaques et l'utilisation stratégique de la dette pour tenir les Etats d'Afrique captifs de ses souhaits et de ses demandes

Les prêts de la Chine à l'Afrique ont avant tout des motivations commerciales, voire stratégiques, et s'insèrent bien souvent dans le vaste projet de Pékin des nouvelles routes de la soie. Leur stratégie va même au-delà, selon l'administration américaine. « De manière délibérée et agressive, ils ciblent leurs investissements dans la région pour obtenir un avantage concurrentiel sur les Etats-Unis, a fustigé John Bolton, conseiller à la Sécurité nationale du président Trump. La Chine recourt à des pots-de-vin, des accords opaques et l'utilisation stratégique de la dette pour tenir les Etats d'Afrique captifs de ses souhaits et de ses demandes », a-t-il même dénoncé dans son  discours à la Heritage Foundation, en décembre dernier.

Corruption et clauses secrètes

L'analyse dans le détail de ces financements montre que ces prêts sont pour la plupart destinés à des projets construits par des sociétés d'Etat chinoises. En outre, « les projets financés sont assez souvent localisés sur les territoires d'où est originaire le chef de l'Etat en exercice. Une nouvelle étude publiée par AidData montre une corruption locale plus répandue autour des sites de projets chinois actifs  », observe Bradley Parks. Le cas du Kenya en est une parfaite illustration (...)

Corruption au Kenya

En mai 2017, en présence du président, Uhuru Kenyatta, le pays n'est pas peu fier d'inaugurer une nouvelle ligne de chemin de fer réalisée et financée par Pékin. Pour ce projet, il a obtenu deux prêts de la Chine de 1,6 milliard de dollars chacun. L'un est un prêt concessionnel classique avec un faible taux (2 %) sur 13 ans, dont une période de grâce de 7 ans. Le second, lui, est un prêt commercial avec un intérêt plus élevé et lié au marché interbancaire londonien. La ligne relie la capitale, Nairobi, au port de Mombasa en quatre heures. De couleur crémeuse, chapeautés d'un toit orange, les wagons peuvent transporter plus de 1.200 passagers quotidiennement dans un sens et dans l'autre.

Près d'un an plus tard, en août dernier, le directeur de l'Agence foncière nationale, Mohammed Abdalla Swazuri, et le directeur de la Compagnie ferroviaire nationale, Kenya Railways, Atanas Kariuki Maina, sont arrêtés. Soupçonnés de corruption, ils auraient alloué des terrains publics à des personnes avant de les indemniser pour ces mêmes terrains lorsque ceux-ci ont été utilisés pour la construction de la ligne de train. Quelques semaines plus tard, sept responsables de la China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), le constructeur de la ligne, sont arrêtés à leur tour pour avoir corrompu les enquêteurs kényans justement chargés de l'affaire de corruption dévoilée en août.

La Chine ne manque pas aussi d'assurer ses arrières. Bien souvent ses contrats contiennent des clauses plus ou moins secrètes de garanties qui lui livreraient des gisements de matières premières ou des infrastructures si l'Etat africain concerné vient à faire défaut sur les prêts que lui a fournis Pékin. Au Kenya, par exemple, la Chine prendrait le contrôle du port de Mombasa si Nairobi ne peut rembourser les emprunts finançant sa ligne de chemin de fer entre la capitale et le port. En Zambie, comme le relate John Bolton, où le gouvernement est endetté à hauteur de 8 milliards de dollars auprès de la Chine, cette dernière pourrait, selon l'opposition, prendre le contrôle de l'EDF local, Zesco, si le gouvernement zambien venait lui aussi à faire défaut sur sa dette auprès de la Chine.

« Françafrique » version chinoise

La Chine avec ses pratiques douteuses est-elle donc la nouvelle malédiction de l'Afrique ? « Les Chinois ne font que répliquer ce qu'a fait la France avec la Françafrique ou les Etats-Unis avec l'Amérique du Sud. On ne peut pas les excuser, mais il ne faut pas pour autant en faire des boucs émissaires », avance Jean-Joseph Boillot. Les milliards de dollars déversés par la Chine sur le continent noir ont permis de soutenir la croissance. « La Chine a permis de générer une croissance endogène des pays africains. Grâce à elle, l'Afrique s'est sortie de sa trop forte dépendance à ses matières premières », ajoute le chercheur. Que ce soit le formidable développement de la téléphonie mobile, la révolution des transports et la construction d'infrastructures désenclavant une partie de leur territoire, les pays africains le doivent en grande partie à la Chine.

Les leaders africains ne manquent d'ailleurs pas de vanter les avantages de l'argent chinois. Déjà en 2008, le président sénégalais de l'époque, Abdoulaye Wade, dans le « Financial Times » avait souligné que « la Chine a aidé les nations africaines à construire des projets d'infrastructure en un temps record... un contrat qu'il faudrait cinq ans pour discuter, négocier et signer avec la Banque mondiale prend trois mois avec les autorités chinoises ».

Les Chinois vont vite et sont pressés. Cela tombe bien, les Africains aussi

« Les Chinois vont vite et sont pressés. Cela tombe bien, les Africains aussi », témoigne Jean-Joseph Boillot. « Tout ce que nous faisons avec la Chine - j'insiste là-dessus - est parfaitement maîtrisé, y compris le volet financier, le volet de la dette »  a assuré Macky Sall , le président du Sénégal, en septembre à Pékin.

  C'est là le signe que les leaders africains sont plus enclins à surveiller d'un peu plus près les projets que leur vend Pékin. En novembre dernier, la Côte d'Ivoire a ainsi annoncé la mise en place d'un comité de suivi des financements chinois. Il aura la charge d'ausculter la conduite d'une quinzaine de projets financés par l'empire du Milieu.

Comme les nations occidentales par le passé, La Chine n'est pas à l'abri de désillusions sur des projets dont la rentabilité n'est pas forcément assurée. Cette puissance a cependant une vision à long terme qui ne correspond pas toujours aux impératifs plus court-termistes des Etats occidentaux ou des institutions multilatérales. La Chine continuera sans nul doute de tisser sa toile sur le continent africain et d'y étendre son influence.

Richard Hiault

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Clara s’en va mourir de Virginie Wagon, ARTE 2012

Costumière, Habilleuse

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