FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

French media cover MC14 in Yaoundé with particular engagement, the CBAM being a European policy largely championed by France. Le Monde headlines 'The WTO Faces the Climate Challenge,' presenting the carbon border adjustment mechanism as a historic advance in the fight against climate change — and a legitimate competitiveness tool for European industry. The editorial frames France as a balancing power between trade interests and climate imperatives.

Les Échos analyze implications for French exporters: the CBAM covers aluminum, steel, cement, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen, but the most exposed French sectors (agriculture, luxury) are not directly affected. Le Figaro highlights the geopolitical dimension: the CBAM is a European sovereignty tool forcing trading partners to align with EU environmental standards.

France 24, with its international coverage, gives significant space to African voices contesting the CBAM — an angle metropolitan French media minimize. The repressed post-colonial prism is visible: France defends the CBAM while grudgingly acknowledging that least-developed African countries could be disproportionately affected.