PARIS, April 19: Although French companies say they fully expected to be excluded from the attribution of the first contracts for the post-war reconstruction of Iraq, French authorities say they expect “inevitably” to be included in future contracts, indeed receive important sub-contracting work.
Serge Sebahi, of the Franco-Iraqi Association for Economic Cooperation, an important quasi-official lobbying group with close links to the French government, says that it is his understanding that although the US government will hand out the first contracts — for example, the $680 million building and public works contracts accorded to San Francisco-based Bechtel — that Iraqi authorities themselves will soon decide with whom they want to work.
“Once the Iraqis are able to regain their liberty,” he stresses, “then, they won’t forget those who didn’t let them down in the past. And, among those are the several French industrial groups — in construction, telecommunications and water supply — who have made their reputation over the years working in close harmony with Iraq.”
One trump card possessed by the French, he also says, is their Security Council veto, which, he notes, “they put to good use in blocking the UN authorization for the US attack on Iraq, and which they could also pull out again when Washington insists on lifting the UN sanctions on Iraq that presently prevents the United States from selling Iraqi oil to pay for the contracts presently being awarded in large part to US companies.”
“France has demonstrated that it isn’t afraid to pull out its veto, and it’s a tactic it could very well make use of again.”
For the moment, says Mr Sebahi, a French citizen and one of the important figures in Franco-Iraqi economic relations, “it’s my understanding that President Chirac just isn’t ready to give in to the US pressure that the sanctions be lifted immediately.”
CONSTRUCTION GIANT: Meanwhile, Vinci, the French group that is the world’s largest construction company says, through its chairman, that it expects to be accorded contracts to take part in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq, because, in his eyes, “it’s not so much nationality, but a question of competence, also of there being a durable peace.” For Antoine Zacharias, he says he’s “not terribly worried” about the decision by the US, and to a lesser extent the Great Britain, reserving the major reconstruction contracts for American and British companies.
“No,” he says, “evidently they’re not going to be able to hand them out, generally speaking, according to nationality, but rather they’ll be obliged to do so as a function of competence.”
And, speaking of competence, Mr Zacharias points out that not only is Vinci the world leader in construction and public works, it also has wide-ranging experience in the Middle East. “Right now,” he points out, “in Egypt alone, we’re building a dam on the Nile, a subway line in Cairo, as well as some liquefied national gas reservoirs.”
“We’re also in Lebanon,” he adds, “where we’re also working on a dam.” And given such exposure in the Middle East, he notes that “for the moment, in spite of the war with Iraq, it’s had absolutely no impact on our work, although it’s clear that the war does have a bearing on the overall economic climate, indeed the confidence of investors and their willingness to invest (in infrastructure).”
“But,” he adds, “if we do return to Iraq, it won’t be under any circumstances. We’re certainly not going to send our employees into a war zone, or place them in a situation where their personal security would be at stake. No, let’s not make any mistake about it, we’ll consider returning to Iraq only if can be assured that this country will be able to experience, at last, a durable peace. Only then, and certainly not before.”
