National Website: 2005plusdexcuses.org

Quick Background

GCAP France has completed a one-page brief including background information.

National Coalition

If you want to get involved, please contact:

Michel Roy
Secours Catholique
michel-roy@secours-catholique.asso.fr
00 33 1 45 49 75 67

Nathalie Péré-Marzano 
CRID 
n.pere-marzano@crid.asso.fr
00 33 1 44 72  07 71 

This coalition is composed of about a hundred organisations with different views (associations, trade unions, religious…) which chose to act together all throughout the year 2005.

Led by Agir ici, the CCFD (Comité catholique contre la faim et pour le développement = the Catholic committee against hunger and for development), Cités Unies France (CUF), the CFDT, Coordination SUD, the CRID (Centre de recherche et d’information sur le Développement = the development information research center) and the Secours Catholique-Caritas France, the coalition « 2005 : plus d’excuses ! » calls on the French government and more generally the world leaders to prove their determination in eradicating extreme poverty.

The campaign’s actions and mobilisations are based on the four following demands:

• Cancelling the debt of the poor countries ;
• Giving better and more official development aid and establishing an international tax;
• Establishing fair trade; and
• Fighting tax evasion

All throughout 2005, united actions will be organised so as to interpellate the political decision-makers on these thematics. In January, a “good resolutions” post card was sent to the President of the French republic. It reminded him of the promesses France had made concerning the nation’s support for the fight against poverty. Other actions will be put forward, just before the G8 and the United Nations summit on the millennium, on the 1st of July 2005 as the first global white band day, for example for there are other key dates during the year.

Read the French civil society organisations’ recommendations for 2005 (pdf)

Events in 2009

CRID will organize an event on October 12, 2009 in Paris. Such event will take the form of a Civil Society Summit and will try to bring the attention of the French policy makers to the close links existing between Migration, Development Cooperation and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The CSO Summit, entitled “MDGs facing the crisis”, will be held in the Paris city hall and feature six international speakers. Representatives from all GCAP member organizations are expected to attend.

CRID is also committing to participating in Stand Up and Take Action mobilization events organized by ATD ¼ Monde, which is part of the French GCAP coalition.

Events in 2007

Conference: Health for Development - Challenges and Responsabilities

On the 12th and 13th of December 2007, the French National Coalition of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (AMCP France) is organizing a conference focusing on the health MDGs.

This meeting between civil society and government officials will be an opportunity to point out the many improvements to be made both by the French government and by all actors involved in the health development for the achievement of the health MDGs.

See the invitation Health MDGs Invitation Letter - AMCP France

See the position paper of the GCAP French coalition on the Health MDGs Position Paper Health MDGs - AMCP France

Events in 2005

WHITE BAND DAY II

Wake-Up to Poverty! on Saturday 10th. September

This second day of global GCAP mobilisation will see the national coalition 2005: PlusD'Excuses organise a press conference with Chirac to hand over the signatures collected to date from the campaign.

There are also plans for building wrapping.

For more information on this event and how you can get involved please contact Nayla Ajaltouni n.ajaltouni@ccfd.asso.fr, 0033 144 82 8186, 0033 662 53 3256

FRIDAY JULY 1, WHITE BAND DAY

In Paris, Trocadero’s buildings will be wrapped with two white bands, with the Eiffel tower in the backdrop. At the same time, two small demonstrations - one symbolising the north and the other the south – will take place in Trocadero’s gardens. In the Trocadero gardens at 6 o’clock PM, people will dress in white and wear the white band and form a symbolic human chain and march with huge white bands to express their solidarity with the countries of the south. The whole event will take place in a festive atmosphere, the sounds of percussions giving it rhythm. At Montparnasse, place Raoul Dautry, at 10 PM, the traditional/customary Friday evening’s roller ride will be wearing the colours of the Global call to action against poverty. The participants will be wearing white. Around France, at least 43 towns will be rallying for the 1st July at an important place of town, for example it will be The Old Harbour at Marseilles, the statue of the Republic (place Carnot) in Lyon, the Trocadéro in Paris, the place du Capitole at Toulouse. In most towns, a giant white band will be uncovered and put in sight symbolically, a human chain will be formed, in Nancy the meeting place will be the Place Maginot and there will be percussions and also a Tibetan mast around which people will hang white scarves! In Grenoble, there will be an exhibition at the place of the rallying.