Surprise at Chirac’s farm trade about-turn

At a summit of 52 African nations in Paris on 21 February 2003, the President of France, Jacques Chirac, urged rich countries temporarily to stop subsidising agricultural exports to African countries, saying cheap imports were destabilising their markets. France has led opposition to reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy and has resisted rapid liberalisation of farm trade in the Doha world trade round talks.