No more waste at the French Development Agency (AFD)? Heard this Wednesday by parliamentarians, its future leader, Christophe Lecourtier, raised the possibility of a gradual cessation of financing to China, in a context of budgetary restrictions and growing criticism. Proposed in March by the Élysée to succeed Rémy Rioux, in office for ten years, the current French ambassador to Morocco saw his candidacy validated by the Foreign Affairs committees of the National Assembly and the Senate. The High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP) must still make a decision before its official appointment.
Before parliamentarians, Christophe Lecourtier outlined the broad outlines of his strategy, pleading for “more prioritization and selectivity for greater impact”. “This implies (…) to clarify the geographical footprint of the AFD based on an objective assessment of our interests and the comparative advantages of the Agency in each country”he detailed. Concretely, the diplomat intends to better distribute resources: “This will probably mean fewer countries, while preserving Africa, obviously. As much as possible, I will strengthen the concentration of budgetary resources on the poorest and most vulnerable countries”he explained.
Among the avenues mentioned, that of excluding Beijing from the beneficiaries. “This will also involve reassessing our positioning in large emerging countries, and particularly in China. (…) As soon as the conclusions of our review are concluded, I will not hesitate to initiate an orderly cessation of AFD financing to China”he said, while several parliamentarians have criticized projects financed in this country in recent years. Since 2004, AFD has indicated that it has “financed 48 projects for an amount of 2.2 billion euros” in China. The agency specifies to intervene “only with loans at market conditions to the State”then returned to local authorities. She further emphasizes that “since 2022, France has no longer declared any financial flows for the benefit of China as official development assistance”.
Successful reviews
“Virtuous globalization has given way in recent years to a brutalization of international, political, economic and commercial relations”believes Christophe Lecourtier. And to add: “Noting this without drawing consequences would be worse than a mistake, it would truly be a mistake. » According to him, “the objectives of cooperation everywhere give way to objectives of influence measured against national interests”. Beyond the Chinese case, the future boss of the AFD also wishes “sectoral prioritization based on a limited number of sectors in each country”a sign of a more global strategic refocusing.
This shift comes at a time when public development assistance is going through a zone of great turbulence. In 2025, the government cut around two billion euros from its envelope, or almost a third of the budget, before planning a further reduction of 700 million euros for 2026, out of a total of 3.7 billion. A decision taken in the wake of significant criticism of the effectiveness and usefulness of this spending. Several political leaders, like Sarah Knafo, have denounced in recent months the “mismanagement” of certain projects financed by the AFD, calling for an overhaul of the system. They are beginning, it seems, to be heard.
