François-Xavier Verschave was primarily known as one of the founders of the French NGOSurvie, over which he presided since 1995, and as coiner of the term Françafrique, an expression for a specific type of neocolonialism which has been imposed upon the former colonies of the French Empire by France. Verschave also researched the concept of global public goods and the economic theories of famous historian Fernand Braudel. Survie was created in 1983 by the Manifeste des 54 prix Nobel as an NGO advocating against underdevelopment.
Biography
An economist by training, François-Xavier Verschave was responsible from 1983 for economic policy and employment policy at Saint-Fons municipality, located in the suburbs of Lyon. President of Survie since 1995, he was also editor of its monthly newsletter Billets d'Afrique et d'ailleurs.
''La Françafrique''
François-Xavier Verschave forged the term Françafrique as a parody of the term "France-Afrique" used by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, former president of Côte d'Ivoire, to boast of the good relations between the imperial power and the newly independent countries. Verschave's famous books La Françafrique and Noir silence have become standard works for anyone interested in the Rwandan genocide specifically, and generally the dissimulated policies followed by the French Republic in former colonies, in particular by opponents - who haven't always been political adversaries - French presidentJacques Chirac and right-wing MPCharles Pasqua, involved in the Angolagate. After the publication of Noir silence, which also criticized Jacques Chirac's role in the Françafrique, Verschave was targeted by Denis Sassou-Nguesso, head of the Republic of the Congo, Idriss Déby, president of Chad, and Omar Bongo, president of Gabon since 1967 and Africa's longest serving ruler at the time. Represented by a controversial lawyer Jacques Vergès, they all accused him of "offense toward a foreign state leader", on the basis of the 1881 law on the Freedom of the Press, a crime which is reminiscent of lese majesty, as the attorney general observed. However, Verschave was acquitted; the crime of "offense toward a foreign state leader" was judged contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights. The author of Noir silence accused Omar Bongo of crimes against humanity, Idriss Déby of corruption and of being an "assassin", and Sassou Nguesso of corruption. Because of the alleged charges, the trial was only based on Verschave's "good faith", and not on the truthfulness of his allegations. Thereafter, he was not allowed to prove his allegations, which was judged contrary to the ECHR. However, the trial did permit various opponents of the Françafrique to testify: Ngarlejy Yorongar, opponent of Hissène Habré and then Idriss Déby, who spoke of the "eleven times" he was arrested and "tortured" during Déby's eight-years long rule. MP Charles Pasqua also sued Verschave for "libel", which resulted in the author paying symbolic damages of one franc.
