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Bono and Geldof crack down on France
18-Jun-2008
Written by: Marshall Burns
Bono and Geldof are campaigning to have France live up to the promises it made at the G8 summit in 2005
Rockers Bono and Bob Geldof, formerly of Boomtown Rats, have challenged French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday to increase the aid that they promised in the G8 summit in 2005, reported Reuters.
The two rockers have played an active role in the Live 8 concerts held to support aid to the world’s poorest countries. That they haven’t kept their promises was “a disgrace,” according to Reuters.
The aid that has been given over the years to Africa was to be doubled by 2010 and so far they have only delivered 14 percent of that promise. “It’s a disgrace that the rich world, France included, has failed so utterly and miserably,” said Geldof, according to Reuters. According to a report by DATA, an advocacy group, said that France is among the worst, actually giving less between 2006 and 2007 by $66 million, said Reuters. Geldof said of this “That’s the measure of the failure of the political class of this country.”
Japan is the best of the G8 countries according to the DATA report, having already given all it pledged to give while Italy is worse than France even. President Sarkozy inherited the commitments from his predecessor though he has yet to do anything about them but pledge to level them by 2012, two years after it is supposed to happen according to the G8 summit.
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