title: Françafrique

text: The term was derived from the expression , which was used in 1955 by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Ivory Coast, who advocated maintaining a close relationship with France, while acceding to independence. Close cooperation between Houphouët-Boigny and Jacques Foccart, chief advisor on African policy in the Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou governments (1958–1974) is thought to have contributed to the "Ivorian miracle" of economic and industrial progress.


title: Françafrique

text: The term was subsequently renamed by François-Xavier Verschave and was used as the title of his 1998 book, , which criticises French policies in Africa. Verschave and the association Survie, of which he was president until his death in 2005, re-used the expression of Houphouët-Boigny to name and denounce the many concealed bonds between France and Africa. He later defined Françafrique as "the secret criminality in the upper echelons of French politics and economy, where a kind of underground Republic is hidden from view".


title: Françafrique

text: Verschave also noted the pun in the term , as it sounds like "" (a source of cash for France; is French slang for 'cash'), and that "Over the course of four decades, hundreds of thousands of euros misappropriated from debt, aid, oil, cocoa... or drained through French importing monopolies, have financed French political-business networks (all of them offshoots of the main neo-Gaullist network), shareholders' dividends, the secret services' major operations and mercenary expeditions".


title: Françafrique

text: When Charles de Gaulle returned to power as French President in 1958, France had already been severely weakened by World War II and by the conflicts in Indochina and Algeria. He proceeded to grant independence to France's remaining colonies in sub-Saharan Africa in 1960 in an effort to maintain close cultural and economic ties with them and to avoid more costly colonial wars. Compared to the decolonisation of French Indochina and Algeria, the transfer of power in sub-Saharan was, for the most part, peaceful. Nevertheless, de Gaulle was keen on preserving France's status as a global power (or ) and as a bulwark to British and American influence in a post-colonial world. Thus, he saw close links with France's former African colonies as an opportunity to enhance France's image on the world stage, both as a major power and as a counterbalancing force between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The United States supported France's continuing presence in Africa to prevent the region from falling under Soviet influence. Similarly, the United Kingdom had little interest in West Africa, which left France as the only major power in that region.


title: Françafrique

text: On August 24, 1958, in Brazzaville, President Charles de Gaulle recognized that African states had legitimate demands in terms of independence, but that they should go through a period of political learning in the French Community, an organization encompassing France and its colonies. A referendum was organized on September 28, 1958, to decide on the faith of the African states in question. Voting "yes" meant joining the French Community and engaging on a path to independence, while voting "no" meant immediate independence. De Gaulle had also warned that states voting "no" would commit "secession", and that France would pull out their financial and material aids. All voted yes but Guinea, led by Ahmed Sékou Touré, head of the Democratic Party of Guinea. On October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed its independence, and Sékou Touré became its first ever president. At the time, France was still processing its defeat in Indochina, and feared uprisings in Cameroon and other African nations. Paris feared that Guinea could incite similar movements in the region, so they decided to engage in political and economic retaliation. Though Sékou Touré had send a letter to De Gaulle on October 15, 1958, asking for Guinea to stay in the CFA franc zone, France banished them from the monetary union in the wake of their independence. Resolutely isolated, Guinea got closer to Eastern Bloc countries in the context of the Cold War. They started working on a new currency with the help of foreign experts, but France saw this as a threat to the stability in the region and its influence there. Therefore, in 1959, France launched operations to undermine the regime in place. Among the methods of destabilization used, one called "Operation Persil" involved introducing a large quantity of fake bills of the new currency in the country to cause inflation and disturb the economy. Nevertheless, with the help of the USSR and China, Sékou Touré's regime held on power until his death in 1984.


title: Françafrique

text: To implement his vision of France's , de Gaulle appointed Jacques Foccart, a close adviser and former intelligence member of the French Resistance during World War II, as Secretary-General for African and Malagasy Affairs. Foccart played a pivotal role in maintaining France's sphere of influence in sub-Saharan Africa as he put in place a series of cooperation accords that covered political, economic, military and cultural sectors with an ensemble of African countries, which included France's former colonies in sub-Saharan Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Republic of the Congo and Senegal), former United Nations trust territories (Cameroon and Togo), former Belgian colonies (Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo) and ex-Portuguese (Guinea-Bissau) and Spanish (Equatorial Guinea) territories. France's relationship with this whole ensemble was managed by the Ministry of Cooperation, which was created in 1961 out of the old colonial ministry, Ministry for Overseas France. The Ministry of Cooperation served as a focal point for France's new system of influence in Africa and was later merged with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999. Foccart also built a dense web of personal networks that underpinned the informal and family-like relationships between French and African leaders. These accords and relationships, along with the franc zone, allowed France to maintain close ties with its former colonies in sub-Saharan Africa that were multi-layered, involving institutional, semi-institutional and informal levels.


title: Françafrique

text: Foccart continued to serve as chief adviser until he was replaced with his younger deputy, René Journiac, by French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Upon becoming President of France in 1995, Chirac again sought Foccart's counsel and even brought him on his first trip to Africa as French President. Foccart continued to play a role in Franco-African relations until his death in 1997.


title: Françafrique

text: During his 5 years in power George Pompidou did not break with the Gaullist tradition. Françafrique was very strong under the leadership of Jacques Foccart, and these years consolidated a system of networks between France, French companies, and African elites.


title: Françafrique

text: When Valéry Giscard d'Estaing came to power in 1974, he intended on breaking with the practices of de Gaulle and modernize relations between France and Africa. Despite these intentions, he faced several obstacles. First of all, the networks of Françafrique endure thanks to René Journiac, Foccart's successor, who maintained strong ties with South Africa despite Apartheid, but also with Congo, Gabon, and Niger, whose raw materials were essential to France. He was also confronted with the political instability of African states, which led him to play the role of "policeman of Africa", i.e. to intervene militarily, notably in Chad and Zaire, to lend a hand to local leaders. Finally, the last obstacle was that the French president was involved in corruption cases revealed by the Canard Enchainé in October 1979. Jean-Bedel Bokassa, emperor of the Central African Republic, is said to have sent him suitcases of diamonds on several occasions. Silent about the affair at first, he finally spoke out as new evidence emerged and declared that the gifts received were all sold and the money collected paid to NGOs. More than the facts, it is above all the symbolism of the affair that shook Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.


title: Françafrique

text: During François Mitterrand's 14 years in power, two dynamics confronted each other. First, there was the imperative to defend French interests in the African region. This is in line with the political choices of Mitterrand's predecessors, even though he was a socialist, unlike de Gaulle and Pompidou. Nevertheless, there was a change of doctrine in terms of foreign policy concerning Françafrique. Mitterrand made public financial and material aid distributed by the French state conditional on the democratization of African countries.


title: Françafrique

text: Additionally, unlike his predecessors who maintained strong ties with South Africa, Mitterrand denounced the crimes of Apartheid.


title: Françafrique

text: When Jacques Chirac was the French Prime Minister from 1986 to 1988 during the "cohabitation", he consulted Foccart on African issues.


title: Françafrique

text: In 1995, after several attempts Jacques Chirac was elected president of France. Along with him he brought Jacques Foccart who had been his advisor on African matters during his time as mayor of Paris and Prime Minister. Generally speaking, Chirac continued French diplomatic efforts to maintain the special ties with Africa that de Gaulle had built earlier. He was thus opposed to the devaluation of the CFA franc as well as to the reform of the Cooperation, because this was for him an abandonment of French solidarity on the African continent. He was appreciated by the African political leaders in place, but he did not make the issue of human rights a priority in his foreign policy, as shown by his proximity to the authoritarian regime of Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire.


title: Françafrique

text: Nicolas Sarkozy has worked to transform the Franco-African relationship. He attached the "African cell" of the French state to the diplomatic cell, thus closing the page on decades of official and unofficial networks once woven by Jacques Foccart. However, he also caused indignation when, in a speech on July 26, 2007, at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, he declared that "the African man has not entered history enough" and that "the problem of Africa is that it lives too much in the present in nostalgia for the lost paradise of childhood."


title: Françafrique

text: The five-year term of François Hollande is marked by an ambivalence in French foreign policy on Africa. Indeed, when he came to power he promised the end of Françafrique and also declared that "the time of Françafrique is over: there is France, there is Africa, there is the partnership between France and Africa, with relations based on respect, clarity and solidarity." However, under Hollande military troops are deployed in the Sahel, and ties are built of maintained with more or less occult networks. He is also shown in the presence of many African dictators such as Idriss Déby or Paul Biya, recalling the difficulty of France to break clearly with Françafrique as its interests are embedded there. This is not without recalling the hopes and delusions associated with the Mitterrand years in these matters.


title: Françafrique

text: In August 2017, Emmanuel Macron founded the Presidential Council for Africa, an advisory body composed of people from civil society, members of the African diaspora for most. While its supporters see this institution as a way to bring together civil society personalities around issues related to Africa rather than officials or business leaders, other see it as a new bridge between African elites, the Diaspora, and French interests in the Africa.


title: Françafrique

text: In April 2021, President Macron visited Chad for the funerals of President Idriss Déby, who died while commanding military forces fighting rebels from the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) on the frontline. Idriss Déby ruled Chad from 1990 to his death, and he was succeeded by his son and army general Mahamat Déby who staged what some called an "institutional coup d'état". Following that, the official visit of the French head of state contributed in legitimizing his authoritarian regime. Indeed, France has a lot to lose if Chad becomes unstable since the country is one of France's most important partners in its fight against terrorism in the Sahel region. Therefore, maintaining strong diplomatic ties with Chad is a priority for France.


title: Françafrique

text: Decisions on France's African policies have been the responsibility (or in French) of French presidents since 1958. They along with their close advisors formed the "African cell", which made decisions on African countries without engaging in broader discussions with the French Parliament and civil society actors such as non-governmental organisations. Instead, the African cell worked closely with powerful business networks and the French secret service.


title: Françafrique

text: The African cell's founding father, Jacques Foccart, was appointed by President Charles de Gaulle. He became a specialist on African matters at the Élysée Palace. Between 1986 and 1992, Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of President François Mitterrand and a former AFP journalist in Africa, held the position of chief advisor on African policy at the African cell. He was nicknamed (translated as 'Daddy told me'). He was appointed as a diplomatic advisor on Africa but the difference in titles was only symbolic. Subsequently, Claude Guéant served as Africa Advisor to President Sarkozy. In 2017, President Macron appointed Franck Paris to the same role.


title: Françafrique

text: The franc zone, a currency union in sub-Saharan Africa, was established when the CFA franc (or ) was created in 1945 as a colonial currency for over a dozen of France's African colonies. The zone continued to exist even after the colonies had achieved their independence in the early 1960s, with only three African countries ever leaving the zone, mostly for reasons of national prestige. One of the three countries, Mali, rejoined the zone in 1984. The CFA franc was pegged to the French franc, and now the euro, and its convertibility is guaranteed by the French Treasury. Despite sharing the same exchange rate, the CFA franc is actually two currencies, the Central African CFA franc and the West African CFA franc, which are run by their respective central banks in Central and West Africa. The foreign exchange reserves of member countries are pooled and each of the two African central banks keeps 65% of its foreign reserves with the French Treasury.


title: Françafrique

text: The franc zone was intended to provide African countries with monetary stability, with member countries such as Ivory Coast experiencing relatively low inflation at an average rate of 6% over the past 50 years compared to 29% in neighboring Ghana, a non-member country. Moreover, the fixed exchange rate between the CFA Franc and the French franc has changed only once in 1994 when the CFA franc was considered overvalued. However, this monetary arrangement has enabled France to control the money supply of the CFA franc and to influence the decision-making process of the African central banks through their boards.


title: Françafrique

text: The parity of the CFA franc to the euro has allowed French companies and French people to buy African resources (e.g., cocoa, coffee, gold, uranium, etc.) without having to pay any foreign currency. It also serves as a guaranty for French investments in the region as the CFA franc is pegged on the euro which means that there is little risks of monetary fluctuations. Many French corporations such as TotalEnergies, Orange, or Bouygues have used this free movement of capital to bring back profits made in these 14 countries, without any typical risks associated to foreign currency exchanges.


title: Françafrique

text: Critics of the CFA franc also point to the structure of the CFA franc to euro convertibility as being unfair since the economic cycles happening inside the Eurozone differ from those happening in the UEMOA and the CEMAC. This indirectly leaves the 14 African states subject to EU dynamics in terms of monetary policy. Nonetheless, while the European Central Bank's main mission is to control inflation in the EU, most African states' present priorities are creating jobs and investing in infrastructures, which are policies driving inflation. Therefore, some say that the convertibility of the CFA franc is a disservice to the development of African nations.


title: Françafrique

text: In the early 1960s, French governments had developed a discourse around the concept of , or "post-independence relationship". This concept was linked to the effort of spreading French influence across the world such as promoting French language and culture, securing markets for French goods and projecting French power. It was to be achieved outside of a traditional colonial context whereby sovereign states such as France and the newly independent African countries would work together for mutual benefit. The concept of also appealed to France's sense of historic responsibility to advance the development of its former colonial "family". To that end, France signed cooperation accords with its former colonies, which provided them with cultural, technical and military assistance such as sending French teachers and military advisors to work for the newly formed African governments. The accords also allowed France to maintain troops in Chad, Djibouti, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Senegal, and to establish a framework that would allow France to intervene militarily in the region.


title: Françafrique

text: In the aftermath of World War Two, France took steps to create a military nuclear program. In principle, this would have allowed it to protect itself from the Soviet threat in the East, but also to guarantee peace in Europe and a certain independence from the United States. However, in order to do this, France needed a stable supply of uranium, and so they signed a cooperation agreement with Niger in the early 1960s to get access to the African state's uranium reserves. This agreement was a priority for then President Charles De Gaulle who wished to compete with the largest nuclear powers.


title: Françafrique

text: From 1970 to 1981, the French military cooperation budget constituted 11 to 19% of the entire budget. Under President de Gaulle, French aid and assistance were made contingent on the signing of these accords. For example, when Guinea refused to sign the accords, France immediately withdrew its personnel from Guinea and terminated all assistance to that country. The implementation of these accords was the responsibility of Jacques Foccart, Secretary-General for African and Malagasy Affairs under Presidents Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. In 1987, France was the largest source of development aid to sub-Saharan Africa, providing up to 18% of total aid to the region, followed by the World Bank (13%), Italy (8.5%), United States (6.8%), Germany (6.8%), and the European Community (6.4%). All French aid was provided through the Ministry of Cooperation. France has benefited from its aid, trade and investments in Africa, which has consistently generated a positive balance of payment in France's favour.


title: Françafrique

text: After decolonisation, France established formal defence agreements with many francophone countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These arrangements allowed France to establish itself as a guarantor of stability and hegemony in the region. France adopted an interventionist policy in Africa, resulting in 122 military interventions that averaged once a year from 1960 to the mid-1990s and included countries such as Benin (Operation Verdier in 1991), Central African Republic (Operation Barracuda in 1979 and Operation Almandin in 1996), Chad (Opération Bison in 1968–72, Opération Tacaud in 1978, Operation Manta in 1983 and Opération Épervier in 1986), Comoros (Operation Oside in 1989 and Operation Azalee in 1995), Democratic Republic of Congo (Operation Léopard in 1978 and Operation Baumier in 1991 when it was Zaire, and Operation Artemis in 2003), Djibouti (Operation Godoria in 1991), Gabon (1964 and Operation Requin in 1990), Ivory Coast (Opération Licorne in 2002), Mauritania (Opération Lamantin in 1977), Republic of Congo (Opération Pélican in 1997), Rwanda (Operation Noroît in 1990–93, Operation Amaryllis in 1994 and Opération Turquoise in 1994), Togo (1986), Senegal (prevent a "coup d'état" in 1962) and Sierra Leone (Operation Simbleau in 1992). France often intervened to protect French nationals, to put down rebellions or prevent coups, to restore order or to support particular African leaders.


title: Françafrique

text: A central feature of was that state-to-state relations between French and African leaders were informal and family-like and were bolstered by a dense web of personal networks (or in French), whose activities were funded from the budget. Jacque Foccart put in place these networks, which served as one of the main vehicles for the clientelist relations that France had maintained with its former African colonies. The activities of these networks were not subjected to parliamentary oversight or scrutiny, which led to corruption as politicians and officials became involved in business activities that resulted in state racketeering.


title: Françafrique

text: The blurring of state, party and personal interests made it possible for the informal, family-like relationships of the Franco-African bloc to benefit specific interest groups and small sections of French and African populations. For example, major French political parties have received funding from the recycling of part of the budget, which secretly made its way to the party's coffers via Africa and from Elf, a French state-owned oil company, when it achieved its strategic objectives in Africa. African leaders and the small French-speaking elites to which they belonged also benefited from this informal relationship as it provided them with political, economic and military support.


title: Françafrique

text: The regime was at its height from 1960 to 1989 but after the Cold War, it has weakened due to France's budgetary constraints, greater public scrutiny at home, the deaths of pivotal figures and the integration of France into the European Union. Economic liberalisation, high indebtedness and political instability of the former African colonies have reduced their political and economic attractiveness, leading France to adopt a more pragmatic and hard-nosed approach to its African relations. Furthermore, many of the dense web of informal networks that bound France to Africa have declined.


title: Françafrique

text: The pre-1990 aid regime of the old , which has made the sub-Saharan African countries economically dependent on France has now given way to a new regime that is supposed to promote self-sufficiency as well as political and economic liberalism. France has also adopted the "Abidjan doctrine", which has internationalised the economic dependency of African countries by having them first reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before receiving French aid. This in turn has decreased the French government's ability to manoeuvre freely to pursue its own distinctive African policy. As a result, the old Franco-African bloc has now splintered, with France adopting a new style of relationship with its former African colonies.


title: Françafrique

text: France has made efforts to reduce its military footprint in Africa by making multilateral arrangements with African and European states. French President François Hollande started his tenure with a commitment to non-interventionism. However, a year later, France intervened in Mali at the request of the Malian government, sending 4,000 troops (see Operation Serval, then Operation Barkhane). According to a 2020 study, "France's commitment to multilateralism is genuine yet not absolute – meaning that French policy-makers do not shy away from operational unilateralism if conditions on the ground seem to require swift and robust military action, as long as they can count on the political support of key international partners."


title: Françafrique

text: The French Development Agency (AFD) and "Caisse des Dépôts et des Consignations" (CDC) signed a strategic alliance charter in December 2016, one of the financial drivers of which is the creation of a €500 million investment fund. This fund is used to finance infrastructure projects in Africa, in various sectors (energy, telecommunications, etc.). Some critics, however, point to the fund's strategy of creating opportunities and opening the market to mostly French companies, thus feeding capital transfer bridges that are the roots of Françafrique.


title: Françafrique

text: The arrestation of Senegalese opposition leader and member of Parliament Ousmane Sonko for allegations of rape, in Senegal, in March 2021, shook the country. Senegalese people, especially young ones, critiqued the lack of transparency of the proceedings, and saw this as a political maneuver orchestrated by President Macky Sall to suppress the opposition before the next presidential elections in Senegal. Protesters took to the streets, and days of chaos ensued. Among their grievances, people blamed Sall for leaning too much towards France, giving too many opportunities to French companies when local businesses could step in. To manifest this frustration protesters targeted French corporate symbols such as Auchan supermarkets, Orange stores, and TotalEnergies gas stations. Some protesters also committed looting and destroyed property. These companies were accused by protesters of reaping benefits from the hands of Senegalese people.


title: Françafrique

text: On December 21, 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced in a press conference that they had signed a new cooperation accord replacing that of 1973. This agreement replaced the West African CFA franc with the Eco, the new currency for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This will only apply to countries belonging to the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) which includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo, and not to member states of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC from its French appellation), which use the Central African CFA franc and includes Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo.


title: Françafrique

text: A bill approving the new cooperation accord was ratified on November 10, 2020, by the French National Assembly, and then by the French Senate on January 28, 2021. The text is composed of three main reforms: the change of currency from the CFA franc to the eco, the abolition of the obligation to centralize 50% of the CFA franc reserves at the Banque of France, and the withdrawal of French representatives from the UEMOA's governing bodies (e.g., BCEAO's board, UMOA's banking commission, etc.).


title: Françafrique

text: In June 2021, Emmanuel Macron announced that Operation Barkhane was drawing down to be gradually replaced by the international Takuba Task Force. As of 2021, France retains the largest military presence in Africa of any former colonial power. The French presence has been complicated by other expanding spheres of influence in Africa such as those of Russia and China. In 2016, China's investment in Africa was $38.4 billion versus France's $7.7 billion. Russia has been seen as expanding opportunistically in Africa, with both official military agreements, and the mercenary Wagner Group to which the Kremlin has denied links. Macron has accused Moscow and Ankara of fueling anti-French sentiment in the Central African Republic. One of the main emphases of France's continuing links in Africa is opposing Islamist militants in the Sahel.


title: Françafrique

text: Many former French colonies have experienced a growing anti-French sentiment in the past 30 years. This feeling, particularly present among the younger generations who have not experienced colonization or the period of independence, is also reinforced by events such as the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, the civil war in Côte d'Ivoire or the crisis in Libya. While the older generation is more likely to support strong ties with France because they believe it brings stability, the younger generation sees it as a brake on the development of African states and businesses. It is worth noting that this anti-French sentiment is aimed more at France's African foreign policy than at the French people themselves.


title: Françafrique

text: The Sahel is an area of land that serves as a demarcation line between Western and Central Africa. It is situated between the nations of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso, which are all former French colonies. In 2012, militant groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda attempted to seize parts of Mali with the intent to take control of other areas within the region. Due to these pertinent issues, the involvement of France has increased in order to provide military assistance to Sahelian countries. This is defined by Operation Serval, which was a French effort under the leadership of former president Francois Hollande in order to prevent Islamist militants from seizing Bamako, Mali. The success of this operation was short-lived as militant groups began to appear in neighboring nations, including Chad and Burkina Faso. By 2014, the French military sent over 5,000 troops to the Sahel under Operation Barkhane as a means to support governments throughout the region in their struggle against Islamist groups. As a result of these operations, French forces have only expanded their oversight throughout the Sahel.


title: Françafrique

text: The ongoing conflict between French-backed forces and Jihadist militant groups continues to have detrimental consequences, which have led to increased rates of death and displacement within the Sahel territories. In 2021 alone, almost 6,000 people died due to conflict-related deaths in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. There are also increasing security concerns for coastal nations such as Benin and Senegal as militant groups advance further within the region's borders.


title: Françafrique

text: While the support of the French military continues to be a source of protection for countries in the Sahel, recent developments suggest that this reality may soon change. Despite the initial demand for military backing and aid in 2013 and 2014, public opinion has shown less enthusiasm for France's current involvement in the Sahel. People have grown increasingly critical of the French government's action, or lack thereof, in preventing further casualties and attacks by Islamic militant forces. Many have also opposed the strategy of the French military and its lasting presence, which echoes its former colonial past in these territories.


title: Françafrique

text: In February 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the official withdrawal of military forces within Mali. His decision follows escalating tensions between the French and Malian governments, the latter of which rose to power through a series of military coups in both 2020 and 2021, respectively. Colonel Assimi Goïta is currently serving as interim president of Mali, with the intention to not hold elections until 2024, with the initial goal of not holding elections until 2027. Under Goïta's rule, Mali has signed a deal with the Wagner Group, a Russian military contractor, which has only heightened France's desire to distance itself from the area. These issues, alongside the removal of the French ambassador in the midst of electoral controversy, played a significant role in the nation's decision to remove its officials from Mali.


title: Françafrique

text: While a complete withdrawal of French troops in Mali is now evident, it raises further questions regarding the social and political instability within the Sahel region. Many governments, including Mali and Burkina Faso, lack the infrastructure necessary to combat militant groups from advancing their agendas, which leaves the ability to secure their borders in tandem. Subsequently, the French government is now searching for a means to continue its military presence in a neighboring country as a way to address military concerns while simultaneously furthering its influence upon the region.


title: Françafrique

text: France's economic interests in Africa have remained important since the end of the Cold War. More than 40,000 French companies are active in Africa, dozens of which are large multinationals such as TotalEnergies, Areva, or Vinci. In fact, France's exports to Africa have increased from 13 billion dollars to 28 billion in the last 20 years, while French foreign direct investment has increased tenfold, from 5.9 billion euros in 2000 to 52.6 billion in 2017. However, it is important to note that while these investments and economic flows have increased, France's market share has drastically decreased since the early 2000s. Indeed, while French exports to Africa have doubled, the total size of the market has quadrupled (from 100 billion dollars to 400); France's market share has therefore been divided by 2 in 20 years.


title: Françafrique

text: While France remains a crucial player in the African market, its position has been compromised by other foreign investors such as China, who have recently showcased their interest in the continent. From 2010 to 2015, Chinese investors granted $2.5 billion in loans for infrastructure to Côte d'Ivoire alone. And their sights are set on the entirety of Francophone Africa as they seek new opportunities for development in the private sector. By the end of 2017, China's capital increased at a rate of 332% throughout the region. This leaves China in an economically advantageous position, thereby making their monetary gain a legitimate threat to French investors.


title: Françafrique

text: Although France's influence may be weakening throughout Francophone Africa, there also remains strong social and economic ties that link these nations together. One prime example can be displayed through the already established business deals with the French private sector in order to increase development in West Africa. An additional factor that connects France to its former colonies is their usage of the French language. Francophone African nations are placed at an economic advantage within European countries such as France, Switzerland, and Belgium due to their shared linguistic identities.


title: Françafrique

text: With increasingly younger populations, African countries are viewed as the ideal candidates for long-term investment by international actors. This sentiment directly reflects France's approach to its former colonies, which comprise over half of its primary trade exports. This includes West African countries such as Senegal and Cameroon, which continue to play an integral role in supplying natural resources, hardware, and manufactured goods. Despite these staggering numbers, France remains in a vulnerable position as it renounces its title as the top investor in the region. The prospect of foreign backers and the appeal of Intra-African trade opportunities have encouraged West African nations to reclaim their economic agency from their former occupiers. Ultimately, these circumstances have contributed to France's declining economic influence.


title: Françafrique

text: Currently, French companies are less linked to Africa, or at least to the countries that were formerly colonies of France. France's main economic partners in Africa are indeed the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), Nigeria, South Africa, and Angola. Some critics of French foreign policy in Africa question the deep commitment that France has with the former French colonies, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, given the low financial and commercial interest that the countries of the CFA franc zone represent for French companies.


title: Merina people

text: The Merina people (also known as the Imerina, Antimerina, or Hova) are the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. They are the "highlander" Malagasy ethnic group of the African island and one of the country's eighteen official ethnic groups. Their origins are mixed, predominantly with Austronesians arriving before the 5th century AD, then many centuries later with Arabs, Africans and other ethnic groups. They speak the Merina dialect of the official Malagasy language of Madagascar.


title: Merina people

text: The Merina people are most commonly found in the center of the island (former Antananarivo Province). Beginning in the late 18th century, Merina sovereigns expanded the political region under their control from their interior capital, outwards into the island, with their king Radama I ultimately helping unite the island under their rule. The French fought two wars with the Merina people in 1883–1885 and in 1895, colonized Madagascar in 1895–96 and abolished the Merina monarchy in 1897.


title: Merina people

text: They built innovative and elaborate irrigation infrastructure and highly productive rice farms in high plateaus of Madagascar by the 18th century. The Merina people were socially stratified with hierarchical castes, inherited occupations and endogamy, and one or two of the major and long serving monarchs of the Merina people were queens.


title: Merina people

text: Austronesian people started settling in Madagascar between 200 and 500 CE. They arrived by boats and were from various southeast Asian groups. Later Swahili-Arabs and Indian traders came to the island's northern regions. African slaves were brought to the island's coasts between the 13th and the 18th centuries. The Portuguese traders were the first Europeans to arrive in the 15th century, followed by other European powers.


title: Merina people

text: This influx of diverse people led to various Malagasy sub-ethnicities in the mid-2nd millennium. The Merina were probably the early arrivals, though this is uncertain and other ethnic groups on Madagascar consider them relative newcomers to the island. The Merina people's culture likely mixed and merged with the Madagascar natives named "Vazimba" about whom little is known. According to the island's oral traditions, the "most Austronesian looking" Merina people reached the interior of the island in the 15th century and established their society there because of wars and migrant pressure at the coast. Merina people were settled in the central Madagascar, formed one of the three major kingdoms on the island by the 18th century – the other two being Sakalava kingdom on the west-northwest and Betsimisaraka kingdom on the east-northeast.


title: Merina people

text: These early Merina settlers through their industriousness and innovative abilities built vast irrigation projects that helped drain the plateau marshes, irrigate arable lands, and grow rice two times every year. They emerged as the politically dominant group and a wealthy kingdom towards the close of the 18th century. The capital of their kingdom remains the capital of contemporary Madagascar.


title: Merina people

text: Oral history traces the emergence of a united kingdom in the central highlands of Madagascar – a region called Imerina – back to early 16th-century king Andriamanelo. By 1824, a succession of Merina kings had conquered nearly all of Madagascar, particularly through the military strategy, ambitious treaties and political policies of Andrianampoinimerina (circa 1785–1810) and his son Radama I (1792–1828). The colonial British empire recognized the sovereignty of the Merina kingdom and its control of the Madagascar island in 1817. Radama I welcomed European traders and allowed Christian missionaries to establish missions on Madagascar. After him, the Merina people were ruled by Queen Ranavalona I ruled from 1828 to 1861, Queen Rasoherina from 1863 to 1868, and Queen Ranavalona II ruled from 1868 to 1885.


title: Merina people

text: The Swahili Arab traders expanded their opportunities to trade and European colonial powers such as the French trader Joseph-François Lambert signed a disputed lease with King Radama II for plantation lands for sugarcane cultivation and industries along the Madagascar coastal plains. The Merina people called the Malagasy living along the coasts as "Cotier". These operations and plantations were worked by the forced labor of imported slaves. The largest influx of slaves was brought in by the 'Umani Arabs and the French. The Makua people from Mozambique were one of the major victims of this demand, slave capture and export that attempted to satisfy this demand. The slavery was abolished by the French administration in 1896, which adversely impacted the fortunes of Merina and non-Merina operated slave-run plantations.


title: Merina people

text: The dominance of the Merina kingdom over all of Madagascar came to an end with the first Franco-Hova War of 1883 to 1885, triggered by the disputed lease signed by Radama II. At the war's end, Madagascar ceded Antsiranana (Diégo Suarez) on the northern coast to France and paid 560,000 gold francs to the heirs of Joseph-François Lambert, a Frenchman who had been promised lucrative trade privileges under King Radama II that had later been revoked. The French declared Madagascar as a protectorate in 1894, which the then Merina Queen refused to sign to. The Second Franco-Hova War followed in 1895, when the French military landed in Mahajanga (Majunga) and marched by way of the Betsiboka River to the capital, Antananarivo, taking the city's defenders by surprise. In 1896, the French annexed Madagascar, and in 1897 the Merina people became the residents of the colony of French Madagascar.


title: Merina people

text: In early 20th century, the Merina people led an anti-French nationalist movement. The group, based in Antananarivo, was led by a Malagasy Protestant clergyman, Pastor Ravelojoana. A secret society dedicated to affirming Malagasy cultural identity was formed in 1913, calling itself Iron and Stone Network (in local language, Vy Vato Sakelika – VVS). Repressed at first with numerous arrests over 1915 and 1916, the movement re-emerged in the 1920s through communists who gained concessions by partnering with the French Left in France.


title: Merina people

text: A famine in 1943-44 led to an open rebellion in Madagascar. The 1946 constitution of the French Fourth Republic made Madagascar a "territoire d'outre-mer" (overseas territory) within the French Union. Madagascar gained full independence in 1958 as the Malagasy Republic. The Merina people faced competition from other ethnic groups. The first president of the Republic, Philibert Tsiranana, was a coastal Malagasy of Tsimihety ethnicity, and he was able to consolidate his power with a winner-takes-all system, while the Merina nationalists of the Congress Party for the Independence of Madagascar was weakened by rifts between leftist and ultranationalist factions. The Merina form much of the elite and educated middle-class of Madagascar. They are influential in the economy, universities and government organizations of Madagascar.


title: Merina people

text: The Merina dialect of the Malagasy language, also called as Hova or Malagasy Plateau or just Malagasy, is spoken natively by about a quarter of the population of Madagascar; it is classified as Plateau Malagasy alongside the Betsileo, Bezanozano, Sihanaka, Tanala, Vakinankaritra dialects. The Hova is one of two official languages alongside French in the 2010 constitution putting in place the Fourth Republic. Previously, under the 2007 constitution, Malagasy was one of three official languages alongside French and English.


title: Merina people

text: Merina is the national language of Madagascar. An estimated 7.5 million people were fluent in this language in 2011, according to Ethnologue. It is written in Latin script, introduced by the Christian missionaries. Merina is the language of instruction in all public schools through grade five for all subjects, and remains the language of instruction through high school for the subjects of history and Malagasy language.


title: Merina people

text: King Radama I welcomed Christian missionaries to establish missions on Madagascar in the 1810s. The Merina nobles were among the first to convert to Christianity. The London Missionary Society established numerous missions along the coast of Madagascar in the 1820s. Those who converted were offered scholarships in London and apprenticeship in Manchester.


title: Merina people

text: Due to the influence of British missionaries, the Merina upper classes converted to Protestantism entirely in the mid-19th century, following the example of their queen, Ranavalona II. The early spread of Protestantism among the Merina elite resulted in a degree of class and ethnic differentiation among practitioners of Christianity. The French preferred Catholic interpreters and the former slaves of the Merina people converted to Catholicism. The ruling and noble class, however was Protestant. The nobility attempted to intervene, by expelling certain Christian missions. This dynamic ultimately created religious sect divisions in contemporary demographics.


title: Merina people

text: Among all the Malagasy ethnicities, the Merina historically have had a highly stratified caste system. The overall society, like many ethnic groups in Africa, had two categories of people, the free locally called the "fotsy" who had ancestors with Asian Malagasy physiognomy, and the serfs or "mainty" who had ancestors with African physiognomy mostly captured in other parts of Madagascar. However, the fotsy-mainty dichotomy among Merina is not based on physiognomy, states Karen Middleton, but whether they have a family tomb: "fotsy" have family tomb, "mainty" are those without one or those who have established a recent tomb. The Merine people were divided into three strata: the "Andriana" (nobles), the "Hova" (freemen), and the lowest strata called "Andevo" (slaves).


title: Merina people

text: Each strata had been then hierarchically subdivided. The "Andriana" are divided into six sub-strata, each had an inherited occupation, and were endogamous.


title: Merina people

text: The nineteenth century records show that "Andevo" or slaves were imported blacks, and they constituted about a third of the Merina society. The Merina society sold highland slaves to both Muslim and European slave traders on Madagascar coast, as well as bought East African and southeast African slaves from them for their own plantations between 1795 and 1895. Marriage and any sexual relations between the "fotsy" and "mainty" were a taboo. According to a 2012 report by Gulnara Shahinian – the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, the descendants of former slave castes continue to suffer in contemporary Madagascar Merina society, and inter-caste marriages socially ostracized.


title: Merina people

text: The "Vazimba" feature prominently in Merina oral history and popular imagination. It has been speculated that the Vazimba were the original population of Madagascar, descended from Southeast Asian seafarers who may have had pygmy physical characteristics. Among some Malagasy, the Vazimba are not believed to be human at all, but rather a form of supernatural creature possessing magical powers ("mahery").


title: Merina people

text: In the first seven years of their lives, boys are typically circumcised in a ritual wherein relatives request the blessings and protection of the ancestors. The Merina people also ritually kill their cattle with unusual violence, cook and consume beef prepared thereafter ceremoniously.


title: Merina people

text: The Merina believe their land to be "tanin'drazana" (the land of the ancestors) and show reverence to their ancestors by burying them in family tombs typically located in the ancestral village of origin. Many believe that ancestors can intervene in events on Earth, for good or for ill, and this belief shapes the actions and thoughts of many Malagasy.


title: Merina people

text: The cuisine of the Merina is so heavily dominated by rice that the term for eating a meal is simply "to eat rice". This staple of the diet is so central to the Merina that it is considered to be "masina", or holy, and a common Merina belief holds that the eating of rice is the key to moral behaviour, and the French who occupied Merina lands were often looked down upon for eating bread over rice. Beef also plays a large part in the Merina diet, and according to Merina oral history, it was a servant of King Ralambo who discovered that cows were edible and shared this knowledge with the king, who in turn informed the rest of his kingdom.


title: Merina people

text: Rice, cassave and potatoes are staple crops of the Merina people. They also grow onions and other supplements, while cattle, pigs and animal husbandry is also a significant occupation. Many Merina people have moved into urban areas, where they operate factories and run businesses.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The economy of Bihar is one of the fastest-growing in India. It is largely service-based, with a significant share of agricultural and industrial sectors. The GDP of the state was ₹7,45,310 crores (US$94 billion) at the current market price (2022–23).


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The state also has a small industrial sector. As of 2021 agriculture accounts for 24%, industry 15% and service 61% of the economy of the state For the period 2002–2007, average growth rate of Manufacturing in the state was 0.38%, against the national average of 7.8%. Bihar has the lowest GDP per capita in India, but there are pockets of higher per capita income like the southern half of the state and its capital city, Patna, had per capita income greater than that of Bangalore or Hyderabad in 2008.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The Magadha economy, under Mauryan royal government, depended mainly on agriculture and the state owned large farm lands for cultivation. The other income of the state came from the taxes levied on agriculture, land, trade, and industrial products such as handicrafts. Mauryan agriculture had two type of landholdings, one were the Rashtra type of holdings which were the direct descendants of the holdings of the former tribal oligarchies who had been subjugated in pre-Mauryan times. The Rashtra landholdings were independent of the state machinery in their internal functioning and administration. Their only obligation was the regular payment of the Rashtra taxes to the state. The second major type of landholdings were the Sita landholdings. These were formed by clearing forest lands with the help of the tribesmen whose tribal way of life had been systematically and annihilated by the Mauryan statecraft. Rice, Wheat, Coarse grains, Sesame, Pepper, Saffron, Pulses, Linseed, mustard, vegetables and fruits of various kinds and sugarcane were grown. The state owned huge farms and these were cultivated by slaves and farm labourers. Water Reservoir and dam were built during this period and they were measured and distributed. The chief industries were mining, metallurgy, jewellery, pot making, textile. The trade was regulated by the state. Artisans and the craftsmen were specially protected by the state and any offences against them were severely punished. Guilds were powerful institutions during this period and they provided economic, political and judicial powers to craftsmen. The chief of the guild was called Jesthaka. A few guilds issued their own coins. These guilds also made donations to learned Brahmans and to the destitute. The Mauryan empire supplied western countries with Indigo and other medicinal substances, cotton, silk. Trade was carried out in both land and sea. Godowns, Warehouses were built and special provisions were made to protect the trade routes. The state controlled the weights and measures.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: In the 1540s Sher Shah, the ruler of Bihar and northern India, introduced measures that included laws to ensure that peasants were not cheated and that all were treated equally irrespective of religion and class. Sher Shah built the Grand Trunk Road stretching from Bengal to Peshawar, which is in use even today. He introduced a coin named rupia, to which the modern Indian Rupee system can be traced and also introduced the levy of custom duties. The empire stretched from Bengal in the east to Indus in the west. Sher Shah divided his empire into 47 sarkars which were further subdivided into parganas for ease of administration. The reforms were an indication of the economic sophistication of the Bihar region during Muslim government.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: During colonial period the rural as well as the urban economy of Bihar saw a gradual change and challenge for its sustainability. The villages here were never just an agri-based model, rather a holistic and integrated system which gave all its people a respectable job and sufficient income out of it. These small-scale industries were directly processing the agricultural output and helping the villages to be self-sustainable and providing the product, food, services to the cities as well. The famous cities of Bihar such as Magadh (Gaya), Patliputra, Sitamarhi, Purnea, Bhagalpur, Chhapra, Ara acted as a prime places for the development of the state economy.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: But with the advent of the external traders and successive invasions as well as the internal weaknesses, the village economy started to degrade. The cheaply available British finished products such as clothes made the rural economy to deteriorate.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The sugar and vegetable oil industries were flourishing sectors of undivided Bihar. Until the mid fifties 25% of India's sugar output was from Bihar; 50% of horticulture products were produced here. Rice and wheat were around 29% and Bihar was truly an agriculture power house in the days after independence. Dalmianagar was a large agro – industrial town. There have been attempts to industrialize the northern half of the state between 1950 and 1980: an oil refinery in Barauni, Barauni Fertiliser Plant, Barauni Thermal Power Station, a motor scooter plant at Fatuha , and a power plant at Muzaffarpur,


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Bharat Wagon and Engineering at Muzaffarpur and Mokama.There are many factors behind the economic decline of Bihar. Many in Bihar blame the freight equalisation scheme, poor political vision, under-investments in the key sectors of agriculture, infrastructure and education. Others view cultural and political factors as reasons behind economic decline, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. 'state incapacity by design', where the ruling establishment under Lalu Prasad and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) deliberately limited government presence through reduced hiring and expenditures, in an attempt to ensure that upper castes did not benefit. Such a strategy also had value when looked at through the lens of electoral politics, as it enabled the crystallization of a number of poorer and historically oppressed groups into vote banks that would


title: Economy of Bihar

text: see Lalu Prasad as their champion . Along with it the terrible governance that came with the Yadavs of Bihar being in power bought the economy to its knees.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The government, between 1947 and 2000, supported the industrialisation of the southern half of the state rather than the north was the major cause of the lack of industrialisation in north Bihar. The undivided Bihar government developed important industrial cities like Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, and Ranchi in the south. The north remained the agricultural heart of the undivided state. The two regions complimented each other.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Indian government data from 1980 to 1990 ("see Economic Indicators below") also show that the GSDP of the undivided Bihar grew by 72% in this period despite the socio-economic problems of the state. The data also shows that the state GSDP grew by 49% between 1980 and 1985, which means that the economy was one of the fastest growing in the country during the early 1980s as well. In 1980 undivided Bihar had a population of 70 million. In the 1980s, the five-year plan called for $4 billion in investment in Bihar. By 1987, the $4 billion translated into $12 investment per person. Economists claimed that a huge budget deficit is spurring inflation, eroding the standard of living of the poorest sections of the people of Bihar. In agriculture, the largest sector, the government failed to invest in the production of agriculture and instead opted to import food grains from other parts of India. This decision helped facilitate problems faced by agricultural workers in the late 1980s and paved for the victory of Lalu Prasad in 1989.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Lalu Prasad's, support of social justice ensured that politics was dominated by Mandal politics and caste rather than development during this period. Also, the criminalisation of politics during this time created a business unfriendly climate and contributed to the economic collapse. The biggest crisis business faced was with organised kidnapping, which was linked to the ruling RJD. The resulting crisis led to a flight of capital, middle class professionals, and business leaders to other parts of India. The flight of business and capital increased unemployment and this led to the mass migration of Bihari farmers and unemployed youth to more developed states of India.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Bihar's share of revenue from the Central pool declined by Rs. 5,000 crores as the centre's revenue collection had gone down. This, coupled with the fact that the government failed to get its plan allocation released because it could not contribute the matching non-plan grant, aggravated the financial crisis. The division of Bihar in 2000, when the industrially advanced and mineral-rich southern-half of the state was carved out to form the separate state of Jharkhand, had a strong impact on development in the north mainly through a loss of revenue. Divided Bihar produces 60% of the output of the undivided Bihar.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: In the non-agricultural sector, the growth rate in Bihar was 6.62% against 6.61% for India as a whole during the 1980s. During the 1990s when the growth rate in Bihar was 3.19%, while for India it rose to 7.25%. This change was reflected in the per capita income as well. Per capita income in Bihar grew by 2.45% during the 1980s, against 3.32% per cent in India as a whole. In the 1990s, per capita income grew by 0.12% per cent in Bihar, as against 4.08% per cent in India. The growth rate in agriculture was 2.21% during the 1980s against India's 3.38%, during the 1990s it was 2.35% in Bihar while at the all-India it stood at 3.14%. The economic indicators ("see below") shows that there was a serious recession between 1990 and 1995, which resulted in an employment-development-crime crisis between 1995 and 2004.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: After Nitish Kumar came to power, the Finance Ministry under Sushil Kumar Modi gave priority to create investment opportunities for big industrial houses like Reliance. Improvements in law and order, with a more proactive bureaucracy led to a gradual improvement in the economy of the state. NDTV dubbed this as the "Quiet Transformation". In January 2009, Nitish Kumar was awarded the CNN IBN Indian Politician of the Year award for helping put Bihar on the sustainable development and growth track. Again in January 2009, the ASSOCHAM Investment Meter stated that the private sector invested over Rs 304 crore in Bihar during the third quarter of 2008.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: After November 2005, the government of Bihar has introduced several laws, which it hopes, will provide a positive contribution to the future development of the state's industries.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The government is working on the expressway from the Purvanchal border through Bihar to Jharkhand, and has also expanded the highway from Hajipur to Muzaffarpur from a two-lane to a four-lane highway. The central government funded north-east corridor expressway will run through the northern part of the state making the north better connected with the rest of India. The state now spends (2007–2008) Rs 2,222.08 crore on roads, compared with Rs 51.2 crore between 2003 and 2004. In September 2008, $420 million (USD) loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was provided to the government to improve nine state highways. The loan would be used to convert nine state highways into double-lane roads covering a total stretch of . The government's aim is to convert these roads into double-lane traffic corridors as per international standards and bids have been invited for the conversion of these roads in accordance with international bidding procedures. The ADB had also given its consent for development of stretch of state highways into two-lane roads as per international standards under Bihar State Highways Project (BSHP). BSHP will be executed in two phases. The nine roads have been included in its first phase. World Bank India Director Onno Ruhl has said that the Bank would double up its assistance to Bihar from current $500 million, in the next couple of years. Recently Bihar is going to develop its First 4 Lane expressways from Amas (Aurangabad) – Darbhhanga airport 265 km. Second major expressways will be from Raxual – Kolkata 650 km via Patna. Third expressways proposed is a 6 Lane expressways from Buxar – Bhagalpur expressways which will be connected with poorvanchal expressways. A new expressways proposed is from Gorakphur – Darjeeling 580 km expressways, of which a major of its proportion will pass through Northern Bihar. Patna Ring Road 135 km 4/6 lane is also upcoming expressways in Bihar. Many more important National highways have been converted into 4 lane or is under construction. Patna – Gaya 4 lane, Buxar – Patna four Lane, Sasaram – Arah four lane, Gaya – Rajgir four lane, Patna- Bihar Sharif four Lane, Mokama – Begusarai – khagaria four Lane, Mokama – Bhagalpur four Lane, Begusarai – Muzaffarpur four Lane, Chapra – Hajipur four lane are important one.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Even many major bridges over River Ganga are under construction, after total completion of this bridges North – South Bihar will have 36 lanes connectivity. Bakhtiyarpur – Tajpur 4 lane Ganga bridge, Munger Ganga Bridge, Sultanganj – Aguwani ghat 4-lane bridge. New bridges parallel to Gandhi setu, Vikaramshila setu Bhaglalpur, Digha – Sonepur is under construction. Two mega bridges—Kacchi Dargha – Bidupur Bridge, which is a 6-lane bridge over River Ganga is 9.6-km-long cable stayed bridge is proposed to be completed by 2024. Another mega 6-lane bridge over River Ganga Mokama – Simaria 6-lane bridge over River Ganga also expected to be completed by 2024. Other important bridges include 6-lane Koilwar Bridge over River Sone, Kosi Mahasetu over Kosi and the longest 10.2 km Bheja – Bakaur 2-lane bridge over River Kosi in Bihar.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Bihar also has the largest growing mobile phone market in India. Bihar registered the maximum increase in annual telecom subscribers, marking a growth of 88.2 per cent in fiscal 2007–08 as compared to the 51.1 per cent in 2006–07. The total number of mobile phones in Bihar increased from 57,73,370 in 2006–07 to 108,69,459 in 2007–08.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: For industrial development, the NDA government has cleared a total of 135 proposals worth Rs 71,289.64 crore, submitted by big entrepreneurs for setting up medium and large industries. The proposals are related to sugar mills, ethanol, engineering and medical colleges and power production in the state. A sum of Rs 602.54 crore had already been spent on various activities pertaining to the cleared projects, which are likely to create job opportunities for over 114,000 people. The proposals include opening of 23 new sugar mills and the expansion of seven existing ones, apart from the production of ethanol in two sugar mills and five sugarcane juice production plants. The projects regarding five power plants, 12 food-processing units and 15 steel-processing and cement plants have also been cleared by the state.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Older industrial Project is also witnessing expansion and modernisation. The Oil refinery at Barauni's expansion is undergoing from present 6 MMT to 9 MMT p. a. A Polymer Park is also under construction in Barauni Refinery. The closed HFC fertilizer factory at Barauni is also being reopened with investment of thousands of crores and is expected to produce urea by 2024. Pepsi company has invested 500 crores to start its bottling plant in Barauni.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Power generation in Bihar has also seen a surge in production reaching 7700 MW in 2021. NTPC Barh 660*5 MW, NTPC Nabinagar,- 3300 MW, NTPC Barauni-470 MW, NTPC – Railway Aurangabad 660*3 MW, NTPC Buxar – 1400 MW are major power projects in Bihar going Underconstruion and expansion.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: To boost investment construction of New Airport at Darbhhanga in Bihar under Udan scheme of Central govt making it most successful airport under this scheme provides connectivity to all major cities of India including – Delhi, Mumbai, Banglaore, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmadabad, Jaipur etc. The expansion flight connectivity to Mumbai, Bangalore, and other cities of India has been scheduled from Gaya airport is under way. The process of Land acquisition for Purnea Airport in semanachal the most backward regions of Bihar is under way. A civil enclave with an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers is under construction at Bihta in Patna District to ease the burden over Patna Airport. The expansion of Terminal at Patna airport to accommodate annual 8 million passengers is under construion. Patna airport is the 14th most busy airport of India.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: There has been an improvement in tax collection by the state government. Tax collection growth in the first half stood at 265%. Patna witnessed a growth of 43.09% in personal income tax collections at Rs 559 crore.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has also led to a dramatic fall in the number of migrant workers in India's Punjab state.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Under Presidents rule (February to November 2005) and the current NDA government (Nov 2005 till date), the state's GSDP is growing on average by 12% per annum. And from 2004 to 2007, the state's GSDP had grown by 22%. The growth rate has resulted in visits by Indian business leaders to Patna, making commitments to invest in the state's fast-growing economy. ("see Economic Indicators below")


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Despite the global credit crisis, automobile sales and the real-estate sector continued to grow in Bihar. Auto sales grew by 45% to 1,33,000 in the last 11 months of 2008, against 92,147 sold in 2007. Due to the global credit crunch, many Indian states have reported a decline of 20–25 percent in the automobile sales. Deputy Bihar Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said ""The rise in sales figure of vehicles in the state at the rate of 45 percent shows that the recession has not affected the sector at all in the state"". November 2008 reported 19,729 vehicle sales in different categories, whereas 15,326 vehicles were sold in the same period of the prior year. The revenue collection department in Bihar has registered a growth of 28.02 per cent in revenue collection until November 2008. The department collected Rs 192.01 crore in 2008 against Rs 149.99 crore in 2007. Also the real-estate sector earned Rs 37 crore in revenue from flat registrations in October and November 2008 alone. Altogether 3,139 flats were registered, which indicates there is good cash flow. The real estate sector has been badly hit by the global recession in other parts of India, which have compelled the builders to slash rates and offer attractive packages to push through their sales. The small industrial base, brought on by political mismanagement in the 1990s, the small-scale nature of the loans sector, and that employment is generally with public sector, or semi-government-owned businesses, are all key factors in Bihar avoiding the recession. The service sector, which is the other large employer, is not as mature as other Indian states and caters for a large market. Modi added that the rate of real estate properties had increased tremendously since it was the middle-class population who dominated the state. Another factor was that a huge number of development projects had been launched in Bihar since the NDA government came to power in 2005, which had drawn many construction companies, builders and suppliers. In 2008 alone, the state government was investing Rs 13,500 crore (135 billion Rupees) on development projects.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Standing crops worth Rs 800 crore were destroyed in the five northern districts of Saharsa , Supaul , Madhepura , Araria and Purnia . Three lakh hectares of cropland were submerged under flood water. Up to 3,500 people have been reported as missing


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Indian Railways announced contracts to manufacture electric locomotives in Bihar. The electric locomotives will be manufactured at a factory in Madhepura and the diesel ones at Marora. Five multinational companies have been shortlisted for two separate contracts, jointly worth an estimated $8 billion (Rs 37,600 crore), to manufacture and supply locomotives for the Indian Railways. In the past, Indian Railways manufactured locomotives at the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in West Bengal or from state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, and diesel locomotives from Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi. These factories now have developed capacity issues. Germany's Siemens AG, Bombardier Transportation India Ltd, a unit of Canada's Bombardier Inc., and France's Alstom SA is attempting to secure an order to build and supply at least 660 electric locomotives for the railways. General Electric Co. (GE) and Electro Motive Diesel Inc. (EMD) will compete for the second contract—to build and supply 1,000 diesel train engines for the national transporter.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Patliputra was the largest city and headquarters of Patna district, Patna division, and Bihar state. It lies on the main line of the Eastern Central Railway and is well connected by road. It is estimated that the city has a population of 1.8 million people, and the district has a population of 5.6 million.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Patna district alone contributes more than 27% of state's GDP of $104 Billion. The GDP of Patna is around $30 Billion, which is very high compared with other important cities of India.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: During the 17th century, Patna was the centre of international trade. The British opened a factory in Patna in 1620 for the purchase and storage of calico and silk. Soon it became a trading point for saltpetre, and other European countries like the French, the Danes, the Dutch and the Portuguese began to compete in the lucrative business. Various European factories and godowns started mushrooming in Patna and it acquired a trading fame that attracted far off merchants, as observed by Peter Mundy in 1632, who calls this place, "the greatest mart of the eastern region".


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The city is known to manufacture pulses, shoes, scooters, masur, chasra, electrical goods and cotton yarn. The city exports these manufactured products as well as vegetables, purval, and milk. Patna is a major importer of cotton, iron, foodgrains, rice, wheat, wool, and dalhan. Rice accounts for more than one third gross area sown. Other important foodgrains grown are maize, pulses and wheat. Non-food crops consist mostly of oil-seeds, cash crops such as vegetables, water-melons etc., are also grown in Diara belt.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Patna is one of the few district of the State which have a network of irrigation canals. Attention has been paid to the provision of irrigational facilities. Besides the various irrigational projects executed in the districts, tube wells under the Patna-Barh-Ekangasarai-Bihta Emergency River Pump and Technical co-operation Administration Schemes were installed in the districts.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The city is one of the best fishing grounds in India. The spawn of rehu, cattla and hilsa is collected from the river Ganges, which is in demand in other parts of Bihar and West Bengal. The fishing season begins in October, and the peak months are in December, January and February, when a variety of fish can be seen in the fish market. There are a large number of rivers & streams, ponds and low-lying fields in the district where water accumulates in the rainy season and these have considerable potential for development of fishery. The Fisheries Development Schemes of the district are managed by the district Fisheries office located in Patna under the administrative control of the Director of Fisheries, Government of Bihar.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Even though Bihar has the lowest per capita income in the country at Rs 50,745 against the national average of Rs 1,35,000, in 2020. Patna recorded a per capita of Rs 1,12,280 in 2017–18 . The per capita income of Begusarai district was Rs 45,540 and munger with Rs 37,000 were second and third in per capita income districts of Bihar. The per capita level for 2007 was higher than Bangalore or Hyderabad, which are both leading centres for global software development.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: After decades of neglect, the new government of Nitish Kumar worked to make improvements in the economy of Bihar. The NDA government has raised financing and backing for major projects to improve the entertainment sector in the city. It is expected that in 2009 new multiplexes, malls, parks, restaurants will all open in the city. China and U.S are already doing brisk business in Patna. The government is investing 300 Crores on two projects; one to replicate the Delhi Haat in Patna, and the other to create a Buddha Park.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: In June 2009, the World Bank ranked Patna as the best city in India, out of 17, to start a business. The World Bank also ranked Patna 2nd for the enforcement of contracts, 9th in dealing with construction permits, 15th for paying taxes and registering property, 10th for trading across borders, and 15th for closing a business. Overall, the city was placed 14th.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Basic civic amenities have not improved in the city as of January 2009. Garbage is being dumped in open spaces across the city. In terms of drinking water, almost half the total four lakh estimated households do not have a legal water connection. Moreover, frequent leakage in the existing pipelines still continues at different city localities. The city pumps 110 million litres of untreated sewerage into the River Ganges. Poor condition of sewerage system, which in some areas, runs very close to the drinking water pipeline, also affects the quality of drinking water.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Patna Metro is under construction project in Patna Bihar with an investment from 60% from JICA, Japan and rest 20% from state and Central govt respectively. Total cost of project is 13,500 crores and is expected to start by 2024. Electric Bus is another civic amenity introduced in Patna. A chain of scores of flyovers have been constructed in Patna and many more are Underconstruion.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Ganga Path – Marine Drive 21 km is also under construction in Patna, of which 1st phase is expected to start by 2022. AIIMS – Digha elevated corridor and Atal Path are some major roadways of Patna for seamless traffic.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Bihar has significant levels of production for the products of mango, guava, litchi, pineapple, brinjal, cauliflower, bhindi, and cabbage in India. Despite the states leading role in food production, investment in irrigation and other agriculture facilities has been inadequate in the past.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The Indian Business Directory states that the Bihar sugar industry has flourished in the last couple of years due to the efforts taken by the state government to revive the industry. The Sugar Industry has been helped by the climate of the state, which is very suitable for the growth of high-grade sugarcane. The main benefit of the industry is that it provides employment to many people, especially in the rural areas. Further, it provides facilities of transport and communication, and also helps in the development of the rural areas by mobilizing the rural resources. The total number of sugar mills in Bihar sugar industry is 28 out which only 9 are operational. The total area under sugarcane production is 2.30 lakh hectares and the total production of sugarcane is around 129.95 lakh M.T. The location of the sugar mills of Bihar Sugar Industry are Samastipur, Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, West Champaran, Chorma, Dulipati, and Supaul. The industry can be divided into 2 groups—the unorganized sector, which comprises traditional sweeteners manufacturers, and the organized sector, which consists of sugar factories. The producers of traditional sweeteners are considered to be a part of the rural industry and they manufacture khandsari and gur. These are consumed mainly by the rural people and are produced in substantial quantities. The total production of sugar in Bihar Sugar Industry was 4.21 lakh tons in 2002–2003 and in 2003–2004, the figure stood at 2.77 lakh tons. Again, in 2004–2005, the figure was 2.77 lakh tons. The state government, in order to boost the Sugar Industry in Bihar has decided to privatize the state-run sugar mills that have not worked for many years. The state government has also approved the proposal for the setting up of 15 new sugar mills in the state which will bring in an investment of Rs. 3,771 crore in Bihar Sugar Industry.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Bihar has emerged as brewery hub with major domestic and foreign firms setting up production units in the state. Three major firms – United Breweries Group, Danish Brewery Company Carlsberg Group and Cobra Beer – are in the process to setting up new units in Patna and Muzaffarpur in 2012. This sector however received a major setback with Statewide ban on Alcohol sale, consumption and production in Bihar by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2015.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The state is very rich in cattle population. There are 50,000 footwear artisans in the state. The state has tanneries in the private sector. More tanneries & footwear units are to be set up in the private sector.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The total number of weavers in Bihar is more than 90,000. Bhagalpur is known as leading silk city. Gaya—another major weaving centre—around 8000. There are strong traditional handloom clusters in the districts of Bhagalpur, Gaya, Nalanda, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Siwan, Patna. Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services is preparing Project Report for Textile Parks and also for Cluster Development Programmes. However, most of textile centres in state are on decline, producing low value goods.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Now gaya is developing very fast in textile sector, approx 10,000 looms are running and several new projects are coming soon.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Shuttel less and hitech technology is also adopting very much, and in Nalanda Rajgir is also developing in textile sector.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The small-scale industries have contributed to Bihar's economic upsurge. The total investment of SSI's is Rs 88.75 crore. Small/artisan-based industries are generating 5.5 lakh mandays in the current fiscal till December.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The SIS, an unlisted security company, has the largest manpower in the Asia-Pacific region with projected revenue of Rs 2,000 crore. The SIS has over 10,000 foreign nationals as its staff members. The Patna registered company achieved this through the acquisition of Australian guard and mobile patrol services business of American conglomerate, United Technologies Corp (UTC). The deal closed in August 2008. It includes "Chubb Security" which is Australia's largest and oldest security company. Chubb Security earned $400 million last year. The SIS is reportedly funding the acquisition through a mix of debt and internal accruals. The SIS, ranked among India's top three security services firms, has 30,000 employees in India and it is expected to add up to 80,000 by 2012. Its 2,500-odd clients include Tatas, Birlas, Reliance, SBI, PNB, ICICI, Hyundai, American Express, Essar, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Idea and Wipro, to name a few. Chairman/ Managing Director Ravindra Kishore Sinha said, ""From pedestrian Patna setting to the panoramic skyline of Sydney, it has been a long and rewarding journey," he said, adding the SIS remains "rooted, registered and taxed in Bihar"


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Sudha, a dairy co-operative, is one of the most successful government companies in India. The Co-operative was founded by IAS officer from Bihar, Ram Chandra Sinha. The co-operative's revenues from a range of milk and milk products has risen from $73.5m in 2001–2002 to $136m in 2007 and in 2018 it was reported $279.6m in 2018 it was reported $279.6m. The co-operative had 6,000 outlets covering 84 towns in the state and over 260,000 milk farmers are members of the co-operative in 2007–08 which is now 2231 retailers, 25 plants (19 of dairy products with total Capacity of 3.1m Litre/day). Sudha also sells its products to other Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Delhi.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Husk Power Systems (HPS) is a Bihar-based start-up that provides power to thousands of rural Indians. HPS has created proprietary technology that cost-effectively converts rice husks into electricity. The organization uses this technology to produce, own, and operate 35–100 kW "mini power-plants" that deliver electricity as a pay-for-use service to villages of 2000–4000 inhabitants in the Indian "Rice Belt. In 2009, the company won an inaugural global business plan competition sponsored by venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Cisco Systems. The company will receive a $250,000 investment from DFJ and Cisco to help take the technology to the next level.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The company has since received two rounds of financing from the Shell Foundation. Two of the key founders of HPS are graduates of the top-ranked Darden School of Business (University of Virginia).


title: Economy of Bihar

text: IOC Barauni in the Bihar state of India was built in collaboration with the Soviet Union at a cost of Rs. 49.4 crores and went on stream in July 1964. The initial capacity of 2 million tonnes per year was expanded to 3 million tonnes per year by 1969. The present capacity of this refinery is 6.00 million tonnes per year. A Catalytic Reformer Unit (CRU) was also added to the refinery in 1997 for the production of unleaded motor spirit. Projects are also planned for meeting future fuel quality requirements.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Hajipur is the only twin city of Patna and lies nearest to the capital and shares most of its government works, headquarters, educational institutions in the name of the capital city. Being another district headquarters, it is equal to the capital in terms of powers. It is one of the railway zones in the Indian railway system i.e. East Central Railway zone; it comprises the following railway divisions: Samastipur, Danapur, Mugalsarai, Dhanbad & Sonepur.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Zonal, comprises following LIC division: Muzaffarpur, Patna-1, Patna-2, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh, Berhampur, Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar & Sambalpur.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Eastern region headquarters of Indian power major NTPC is situated at Patna; the following are the major power plants under this region: Kahalgaon, Talchar & Farakka. Upcoming power plants in the region are as follows Barh(Patna), Nabinagar(Aurangabad).


title: Economy of Bihar

text: In terms of income the districts of Patna, Munger and Begusarai in Bihar were the three best-off districts out of a total of 38 districts in the state, recording the highest per capita gross district domestic product of Rs 31,441, Rs 10,087 and Rs 9,312, respectively in 2004–05.The North Bihar districts is severely affected by flood every year impacting loss of human capitals and livelihood for thousands of people.In financial year 2021–22 the top three districts interm of income was Patna ,Begusarai ,and Munger district with per capita income of Rs.1,31,100 ,Rs.51,400 and Rs.44,300 with state average of Rs.50,555.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: The state has a per capita income of $610 a year against India's average of $2,200 and 30.6% of the state's population lives below the poverty line against India's average of 22.15%. However, Bihar's GSDP grew by 18% over the period 2006–2007, which was higher than in the past 10 years.


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Barauni in Begusarai and Hajipur, remains major industrial town in the state, linked to the capital city through the Ganges bridge and good road infrastructure. The level of urbanisation (10.5%) is below the national average (27.78%). Urban poverty in Bihar (32.91%) is above the national average of 23.62%. Also using per capita water supply as a surrogate variable, Bihar (61 litres per day) is below the national average (142 litres per day).


title: Economy of Bihar

text: URBANISATION:- Number of towns in Bihar has increased from "130 in 2001" to "199 in 2011" and "207 in 2017".


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Total Urbanised Districts = 38 Total Urbanisation %age = 11.3% Compared to Urbanisation %age of INDIA at 31.2%


title: Economy of Bihar

text: Capital City, Patna along with District of Muzaffarpur and East Champaran district remained Most Prosperous districts (Top 3). Whereas Districts of Sheohar , Sheikhpura district & Arwal Remained Least Prosperous ( Bottom 3). In financial year 2019–20 Patna was having highest per capita income in Bihar followed by Begusarai district and Munger district.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Maria Rowena Amelia Villena Guanzon (, born August 29, 1957), is a Filipina lawyer, public servant, and politician who notably served as Philippine Commission on Elections commissioner from 2015 to 2022 under President Benigno Aquino III and President Rodrigo Duterte. She had been an audit commissioner before taking office at the Philippine Commission on Elections in February 2015.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Guanzon was mayor of Cadiz City in Negros Occidental until 1992, and also served as chief of staff to late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, whom she still considers a role model.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Guanzon was born on August 29, 1957 to the prominent Guanzon family of Negros Occidental, known for its sugarcane plantations or . Her father is now-retired Regional Trial Court judge Sixto Roxas Guanzon, while her mother, Elvira Causing Villena, is a lawyer and former Cadiz vice-mayor.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Guanzon attended Silliman University High School in Dumaguete. She then took up economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and upon graduation proceeded to earn her law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law, graduating in the top ten of her class and receiving a dean's medal.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Guanzon also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where she was an Edward S. Mason fellow and class marshal.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Provisional Government of the Philippines, which was formed after the 1986 People Power revolution that ousted the Marcos regime and led to the exile of Ferdinand Marcos.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: At 28, the appointment made Guanzon the youngest mayor in the Philippines. She was appointed after several other candidates had declined to be mayor of Cadiz, fearing violence from local strongman Armando Gustilo, who had played a key role in the Escalante massacre just a few months earlier, in September 1985. Due to the constant harassment by Gustilo and his supporters, she had to carry firearms for defense, even during social occasions and public events.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: The provisional government soon proposed a new constitution, and its ratification in February 1986 meant that appointed local government posts would be replaced by elected officials from the 1988 Philippine elections. Guanzon ran and then won the seat she had been appointed to, as Cadiz City mayor.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Guanzon taught Election Law and Local Government at the University of the Philippines College of Law in UP Diliman.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: On March 8, 2013, she was appointed commissioner to the Commission on Audit (COA), promising "to give priority to gender and development" upon her appointment. The COA commissioners at the time were Chairperson Ma. Gracia M. Pulido Tan and Commissioner Heidi L. Mendoza, and Guanzon's filling of the third seat made the COA an all-women-led agency.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: On April 28, 2015, Guanzon was named a commissioner to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for a seven-year term, lasting until February 2022.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: During the 2022 Philippine presidential election, Guanzon notably presided over the disqualification cases filed against presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos that were raffled to the COMELEC First division. Days before retirement, Guanzon publicly named fellow commissioner Aimee Ferolino as "the one delaying the decision in favor of Marcos" before leaving the post. Guanzon claimed that Ferolino was purposely delaying her resolution regarding the disqualification case for Guanzon's vote to not be counted because of pending retirement. Guanzon publicly expressed dismay against Ferolino, and mentioned that an "influential senator" was also interfering with the case. Meanwhile, Ferolino lambasted Guanzon for "mind conditioning" the public against her and reiterated that "she needed more time". Eventually, the First Division decided to junk the petition in favor of Marcos after Guanzon's retirement.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Rowena Guanzon campaigned for the P3PWD Party List during the 2022 House of Representatives elections although she was not among the official nominees of the organization. The partylist won a single seat.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: On June 14, 2022, all of P3PWD's nominees withdrew and a new set of nominees was named with Guanzon as its first nominee. The Commission on Elections approved the substitution and Guanzon took oath on June 23. Guanzon's assumption of her position as P3PWD representative was halted by a temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court taking action on the petition of Ronald and Ducielle Marie Cardema of the Duterte Youth.


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: Guanzon's published works include "Issues and Problems in the Enforcement of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004", Philippine Law Journal (Dec 2008); "Constitutional Challenges to the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004", Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (March 2009); "The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act: Issues and Problems", Journal of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines; and "Legal and Conceptual Framework of Battered Woman Syndrome as a Defense", Philippine Law Journal (Vol. 86, No. 1 December 2011).


title: Rowena Guanzon

text: The U.P. Law Center also published Guanzon's book, "The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act Notes and Cases" in 2014. Guanzon is currently writing textbooks on "The Local Government Code for the University of the Philippines" and "The Auditing Code of the Philippines Casebook".


title: Garden City, New York

text: Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census.


title: Garden City, New York

text: The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead, with the exception being a small area at the northern tip of the village located within the Town of North Hempstead.


title: Garden City, New York

text: In 1869, the Irish-born millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart bought a portion of the lightly populated Hempstead Plains. In a letter, Stewart described his intentions for Garden City:


title: Garden City, New York

text: The central attraction of the new community was the Garden City Hotel. It was replaced by a new hotel in 1895, designed by the acclaimed firm of McKim, Mead & White. This hotel was destroyed by fire in 1899 and then rebuilt and expanded, before being replaced again in 1983. The hotel still stands on the original grounds, as do many nearby Victorian homes. Access to Garden City was provided by the Central Railroad of Long Island, another Stewart project which he undertook at the same time. This railroad, in conjunction with the Flushing & North Side Railroad, ran from Long Island City through Garden City to Farmingdale (with a spur to the location of the Stewart's brickworks in Bethpage), and then to Babylon. It opened in 1873, with a branch to Hempstead.


title: Garden City, New York

text: Stewart's wife, Cornelia, founded the Cathedral Schools of St. Paul (for boys) and St. Mary (for girls), a Bishop's Residence and the Gothic Cathedral of the Incarnation, which is today the center of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, as well as the final resting place of Alexander Turney Stewart and Cornelia Stewart. This elaborate memorial was completed in 1885. Mrs. Stewart died the following year. In 2008, the Cathedral of the Incarnation underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation and rehabilitation project, which was completed in 2012.


title: Garden City, New York

text: Voters selected Mineola (in the town of North Hempstead) to be the county seat for the new county of Nassau in November 1898 (before Mineola incorporated as a village in 1906 and set its boundaries), winning out over Hicksville and Hempstead. The Garden City Company (founded in 1893 by the heirs of Alexander Turney Stewart) donated of land for the county buildings just south of the Mineola train station and the present-day Incorporated Village of Mineola, in the Town of Hempstead. The land and the buildings have a Mineola postal address but are within the present-day village of Garden City, which did not incorporate, or set its boundaries, until 1919. The early village did well due to its proximity to Hempstead, which was at that time the commercial center of Long Island. In time, thanks to the railroad and to automobiles, as well, Garden City's population increased.


title: Garden City, New York

text: In its early years, the press referred to Garden City as "Stewart's Folly" due to the lack of residents that Stewart had envisioned would populate his project.


title: Garden City, New York

text: In 1910, Doubleday, Page, and Co., one of the world's most important publishers, moved its operations to the east side of Franklin Avenue and had its own train station called Country Life Press added nearby. The Doubleday company purchased much of the land on the west side of Franklin Avenue, and built estate homes for many of its executives on Fourth Street. In 1916, company co-founder and Garden City resident Walter Hines Page was named Ambassador to Great Britain.


title: Garden City, New York

text: The area to the west of Garden City, named Garden City Estates, was established in 1907. It was merged with Garden City with both incorporated as the Village of Garden City in 1919. Garden City's growth promoted the development of many nearby towns, including Stewart Manor, Garden City Park, Garden City South and East Garden City.


title: Garden City, New York

text: The Village is home to three golf courses, the first having been laid out under the direction of Devereux Emmet in 1896, now called the Garden City Golf Club. Subsequently, the now-named Cherry Valley Club (originally Salisbury Club) and Garden City Country Club were opened. For a short time in the late 1920s a fourth course existed, the Old Westbury Golf Club (initially the Intercollegiate Golf Club), east of Clinton Road.


title: Garden City, New York

text: Aviation played a big role in the history of the Village. The Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome, west of the Estates section, hosted the Second International Aviation Meet in 1911, which featured the first official airmail service. Other airfields included the Washington Avenue Field and the Hempstead Aerodrome, which ultimately became Roosevelt Field before being replaced by the Roosevelt Field Mall in the 1950s.


title: Garden City, New York

text: In the 1920s, the community continued to grow, with houses built in Garden City Estates as well as the eastern section of Garden City. Housing construction slowed after the 1929 stock market crash. But in the 1930s, hundreds of houses were built to accommodate a population boom, though Garden City used a strict zoning code to preserve Stewart's vision. The Village retained a sense of orderly development, true to its rigorously planned roots.


title: Garden City, New York

text: Starting in the 1930s many branches of well-known New York City stores, including Best & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor, opened along Franklin Avenue; earning the name "Fifth Avenue of Long Island." All of these have subsequently closed due to relocation to nearby Roosevelt Field Mall or closure. The large buildings have been rebuilt as office space.


title: Garden City, New York

text: After World War II, following a trend of urban residents moving to the suburbs, Garden City continued to grow. Post-war construction filled out the present borders of Garden City with many split-level and ranch-style homes, with construction occurring in the town's far eastern, northern and western sections. The Waldorf School of Garden City was founded in 1947 (one of the first Waldorf schools in the United States), originally as a part of Adelphi University. The village's new public high school was also constructed in 1956, supplementing the original Cherry Valley school, which had opened in 1925.