Mandela death weighs on African leaders gathered in Paris

Paris (AFP) - The death of Nelson Mandela weighed on African leaders as they gathered in Paris Friday for a summit focused on security and France's military intervention in the Central African Republic.

Some 40 African leaders have flown into the French capital for two days of talks on security and economic issues, as Paris looks to revive its influence on the continent in the face of the growing clout of China and other developing economies.

President Francois Hollande was to open the summit at 1300 GMT with a tribute to Mandela, who died late Thursday aged 95.

"His death will no doubt weigh on the summit," Congo-Brazzaville President Denis Sassou Nguesso told AFP.

"It will be a form of tribute to Mandela, who spent his life fighting for the freedom of African peoples and for peace," he said.

Even before Mandela's death, the summit looked set to be overshadowed by France's military operation in CAR, which has degenerated into sectarian blood-letting.

France, which already had 600 troops stationed in its former colony, is to send in another 600 to back up an African force of around 2,500 after the United Nations issued a green light for the operation on Thursday.

It will be France's second military intervention in Africa this year, after Hollande sent more than 4,000 troops to oust Islamist rebels in control of northern Mali in January.

Having once ruled much of western, central and north Africa, France has been a major player in the continent's post-colonial history, sending in troops more than 20 times since the early 1960s.

Still, French officials said one of the goals of the summit is for Paris to shed its image as Africa's policeman and that Hollande would tell African leaders they must ensure security themselves on the continent.

"It is up to Africans to take responsibility for their own security," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on the eve of the summit.

"Unfortunately many of these countries do not have the necessary forces and the African continent has not yet organised itself to have a common force," he said.

The leaders will on Friday hold talks on cross-continent security issues like terrorism, piracy and trafficking, including efforts to set up an African Union-run reaction force to deal with unrest.

Sources in the French presidency said Paris may announce plans at the summit to help the force be "quickly operational", either by contributing directly or through the European Union and United Nations.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon and EU leaders are also to take part and a separate mini-summit on the CAR crisis will be held on Saturday.

Boosting trade

Hollande has vowed to break with France's old way of looking at Africa -- a system dubbed "Francafrique" that saw Paris use its economic influence and military muscle to prop up dictators or back up rebellions in its own interests.

Officials say the CAR intervention highlights Hollande's different approach, as France secured UN Security Council backing for a mission that will mostly be carried out by African troops.

But France is hardly retreating from Africa.

Of about 7,500 French soldiers deployed overseas as of December 1, more than 5,300 were at a string of bases across western and central Africa, according to defence ministry figures.

Running costs have been put at 400 million euros ($540 million) per year and rising.

On Saturday, the leaders at the summit will turn to economic questions, with France pushing a new partnership plan with Africa drafted by Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici.

With China now Africa's largest trading partner and countries like India and Brazil scaling up their presence, France is anxious to tap into the continent's rapidly growing economies.

It already has a strong presence in Africa -- which accounts for three percent of French exports -- but its share of the African market has been falling for decades.

Hollande said ahead of the summit that the goal was to double trade with Africa, which he said would create 200,000 jobs if done within five years.

More than 500 African and French business leaders were to take part in trade talks on the sidelines of the summit, which was also to discuss endangered species and climate change.