French Development Agency (AFD) round table
Water–land–population : an impossible equation in the Sahel?

Saturday 10^th October –  2.30 pm

French Development Agency (AFD) round table

Water–land–population : an impossible equation in the Sahel?

The French army has been confronting jihadist groups in the Sahel for more than seven years. But although these operations have been taking up considerable resources, and in spite of the deployment of thousands of  peacekeeping troops in Mali, epicentre of the crisis, nothing seems able to contain the spiral of violence on the ground. This spiral, initially confined to the north of Mali, has now spread to the centre of the country, and to neighbouring Burkina Faso. Niger and Chad are also affected, as is the north of Ivory Coast. But what is nurturing this violence? Why are so many of the region’s young men joining the ranks of these groups?  What is the impact of climate in this crisis? Or the impact of the massive growth in population throughout the region?  Aside from military action, which is necessarily limited in time, what can be done to try to stabilise this region which is so close to Europe?

The ID4D website (part of the AFD group), which specialises in analysing sustainable development issues, is organising a round table to try to find some answers to these questions. Participants will include the Burkina Faso journalist Rachid Assade Zongo (Savane Médias), her French colleague  Morgane Le Cam (Le Monde’s former Burkina Faso correspondent) and Christian Bouquet, an academic specialising in West Africa.

Moderated by Thomas Hofnung, editor in chief of the iD4D blog.

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Auditorium
1, rue de la Bretagne

Free admission