PARIS // No great powers of observation have been required to notice the anti-French sentiments of some of the protesters involved in the upheaval in Tunisia.
Among the banners seen prominently in photographs flashed around the world, one bore a slogan calling the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, an accomplice in the discredited dictatorship of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali.
It took Mr Sarkozy, and much of France, the best part of a month to appreciate that more than half a century after Tunisia's independence, the former colonial power and its leaders were still viewed with suspicion by many of what were Mr Ben Ali's subjects.
The feeling extends from Tunis to the large Tunisian communities of Paris and such cities as Nice, Lyon, St Etienne and Lille. And it is shared by Maghrebins from or having family roots in Morocco and Algeria, free of French rule since 1956 and 1962 respectively.
More than 2.5 million immigrants from the Maghreb are thought to live in France but the number of people with North African roots is at least three times higher.
Tarek Mami, the director of the Paris-based FranceMaghreb radio station, who is of Tunisian origin, said: "There have been serious problems with French press coverage of events in Tunisia. Initially they reported the riots against unemployment or rising food prices but without any analysis.
"When it became obvious we were dealing with a social revolution, the French press again avoided deep analysis and sensationalised what was happening by dwelling on such things as the gold taken from the country by Ben Ali's wife."
Only later and still inadequately, Mr Mami felt, did the French mainstream media begin to catch up with the internet, especially social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, in offering a reasoned explanation of events.
Mr Mami, who estimates his station is heard by 120,000 French Arabs daily, blames the media shortcomings on a tendency to view North Africa through French or more generally western eyes.
Maghrebin observers in France also feel successive presidents - François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac and Mr Sarkozy - have approached the region with blinkered vision.
While France may pride itself on helping its former colonies improve education, health and infrastructure, its leaders are seen as ignoring the democratic aspirations of the people. This distrust is aggravated by the alienation felt by France's large immigrant population. There is widespread acceptance that those of Arab origin, even if born and educated in France, suffer discrimination in jobs and housing; Maghrebins watch with dismay the intermittent surges in popularity of the far-right, anti-immigration Front National.
Among the French, in turn, there is resentment at the lack of respect shown by immigrant families towards national values and institutions, from derisive whistling by French-Algerians when La Marseillaise is played at football stadiums to the supposed "Islamification" of society.
French officialdom's failure to understand the true nature of the Tunisian uprising was belatedly acknowledged by Mr Sarkozy in a press conference at the Elysée Palace this week.
The president admitted he had underestimated the depth of popular anger in Tunisia and the scale of support for the protest movement.
Earlier in the crisis, French ministers had enraged Tunisians opposed to Mr Ben Ali with comments supporting his regime.
Only when Mr Ben Ali was preparing to flee the country, after 23 years in power, did France join in international criticism of his government's heavy-handed response to protests.
Ministers had previously highlighted positive aspects of the regime's work. Mr Sarkozy's foreign minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie, went as far as to say France was prepared to make its internationally recognised security service skills available as the Tunisia authorities sought to quell the revolt.
Vincent Geisser, a specialist in Arab affairs at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, told France 24 television the French response to the events had been "unrealistic and shocking to many".
Now, in his attempt to make amends, Mr Sarkozy has promised emergency aid to the interim government. He said France's traditional closeness to Tunisia had left it unable to step back and take a clear view.
"Behind the emancipation of women, the drive for education and training, the economic dynamism, the emergence of a middle class, there was a despair, a suffering, a sense of suffocation," he said of life in Tunisia. "We have to recognise that we underestimated this."
Mr Sarkozy added that colonial powers lacked legitimacy when passing judgment on the internal affairs of former territories. "I do not want France to be likened to a country that has kept its colonial habits," he said.
Agence France-Presse has now reported that French public prosecutors have begun investigating the Parisian property interests of Mr Ben Ali and his entourage. The move follows the commencement of civil legal proceedings by three groups, including the Arab Commission for Human Rights, which estimate the value of these assets at €3.6 billion (Dh18.1 billion).
But it remains to be seen whether France's recognition of the clamour for freedom in Tunisia will be enough to impress its own Maghrebin communities, let alone the people of the North African state and its neighbours.
At Radio FranceMaghreb, Mr Mami said France would be judged by its actions. "It has a responsibility to show it is concerned about ordinary people in the region, and their right to freedom and justice, and not just French political and business interests," he said.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
No%20Windmills%20in%20Basra
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Diaa%20Jubaili%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Deep%20Vellum%20Publishing%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
Kill%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
Sweet%20Tooth
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