President Jacques Chirac and the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, got what they wanted from the 20th France-Africa Summit: a ceasefire pledge by the seven countries at war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the former Zaire. "I hope they will not change their minds straight away," Mr Annan said after the ceasefire was announced at the end of the summit.
With 49 countries represented and 34 heads of state present, the Paris meeting was the largest ever held, and the first attended by a UN Secretary-General. Mr Chirac and Mr Annan had worked together to prevent a US bombardment of Iraq last February. Their mediation in the DRC conflict looks equally fragile.
The belligerents have until December 8th, when they are to meet again in Lusaka, to think about signing an accord. If they miss that opportunity, they will have yet another chance at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in Ouagadougou on December 17th and 18th.
Yesterday, leaders of the Congolese rebellion cast further doubt on the ceasefire's chances when they vowed to continue fighting until the DRC's self-proclaimed president, Mr LaurentDesire Kabila, is overthrown.
War broke out in the DRC on August 2nd when ethnic Tutsis of Rwandan origin and Banya-mulenge soldiers launched a rebellion against Mr Kabila in the east of the country. At the same time, fighting broke out in the capital, Kinshasa.
The governments of Uganda and Rwanda - who supported Mr Kabila when he overthrew the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997 - have turned against him and now support the rebels. Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia and Chad have sided with Mr Kabila in the four month-old conflict.
Mr Kabila was the most awkward guest at the two-day Paris summit. Both Mr Chirac and the Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, had praised the British Lords' refusal to grant immunity to the retired Chilean dictator, Gen Augusto Pinochet. Before leaving Kinshasa for Brussels and Paris, Mr Kabila demanded assurance that he - unlike Gen Pinochet - would not be arrested for crimes against humanity.
Mr Kabila is accused of responsibility for the deaths of up to 200,000 Rwandan refugees in former Zaire during the military offensive that brought him to power. Witnesses of the slaughter were either murdered or imprisoned, and Mr Kabila prevented a UN commission from investigating the massacres. Last August, anti-Tutsi declarations by Mr Kabila's ministers and advisors led to lynchings in the streets of Kinshasa.
For 30 years, Mr Kabila had fought against Mr Mobutu from his refuge in the mountains of eastern Zaire. His gold-trafficking, hostage-taking followers adopted a pseudo-Maoist ideology and called him "Kabila source of light" or "Kabila creator".
Encouraged by the precedent in Britain, individuals and human rights groups last week filed four suits against Mr Kabila, but the Paris tribunal decided there was insufficient evidence to press charges.
The French Foreign Ministry said that ruling heads of state cannot be prosecuted. "Are there two categories of international criminals as far as our leaders are concerned?" an editorial in Liberation asked angrily. "Those who are `useless', without power, whose crimes deserve to be punished, and those who are `useful' . . . who are granted impunity for political, diplomatic or commercial reasons?"
The controversy made Mr Kabila a pariah in Paris. At the summit opening, Mr Chirac barely brushed the dictator's hand and would not look him in the face in front of the cameras. Nor did he meet Mr Kabila on the steps of the Elysee - as he did other heads of state - before the gala dinner.
After their last meeting on Saturday, Mr Kabila was ushered out of the presidential palace through the back door. France did not bring Mr Kabila to power, Mr Chirac noted in a thinly veiled criticism of the US, which Paris blames for the overthrow of Mr Mobutu. French commentators said the summit - and the promise of a ceasefire - were a reminder to the US that France remains influential in Africa.
The theme of the summit was supposed to be African security. In his opening speech, Mr Chirac noted that one quarter of sub-Saharan African countries are involved in wars. Participants in the 1994 France-Africa Summit at Biarritz agreed to create an African intervention force under the auspices of the UN and the Organisation for African Unity. Only France has offered funding, and the force has not yet materialised.
Mr Annan begged the meeting to think about the state in which they are leaving the continent for future generations. He criticised "too many leaders who recognise only the power of the strongest."
Libya expressed "surprise" yesterday at not being invited to the summit but said it would have declined anyway.
"Libya is surprised at not being invited even though it is an important African state and pays great attention to the African continent's affairs," said Libyan state radio, monitored in Tunis.