France supports ongoing talks between Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the French foreign ministry has said, as the cash-strapped North African country mulls an IMF bailout.
The French government issued a statement after Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna met on Tuesday May 30, 2023 in Paris with her Tunisian counterpart Nabil Ammar.
“Madame Colonna reaffirmed France’s full support for the economic reforms that will be decided by Tunisia to ensure its development and preserve its social model, as well as its support in the ongoing discussions with the IMF”, indicates the press release, thus leaving to hear that the said reforms, which are causing controversy in Tunisia, are not dictated by foreign donors but decided by the Tunisian government itself.
The role of France in Tunisia is essential because many large French companies are present there. France is Tunisia’s leading customer and supplier and it is the second largest investor in our country (it has just been overtaken in recent months by Italy). Last November, Tunisia signed a $200 million financing pact with France to support its budget.
In April, Tunisian bonds fell to record lows amid renewed political crackdown by President Kais Saied and concerns over his warning that he would not accept any ‘dictates’ on the terms of a bailout of the IMF.
However, Tunisian bonds rallied earlier this month on hopes the country could secure a $1.9 billion stalled support deal with the IMF.
