The carpet in the press room of this year’s G20 is a lurid shade of fluorescent green, designed perhaps to make up for the lack of windows in the basement of the “Palais des Festivals” on the seafront in Cannes. The articles the world’s press were disseminating from here were not so bright, as the G20 wrapped up without any show-stopping news.
Leaders had hoped to immediately shore up emergency funds for the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and/or International Monetary Fund, meaning countries could borrow money and avoid Greece’s fiscal troubles spreading. But the resources for this “firewall” did not materialise, amid rumours, confirmed and denied, that Merkel and her cheque book had left ahead of time.
A side drama involving the IMF emerged as Italy acquiesced to have them keep an eye on their fiscal reforms — an indignity that the G20 doesn’t trust them to do it themselves.
G8 and G20 headlines are often dominated by protests, but this year they were limited to the days preceding the event itself. Many demonstrations took place: campaigners against food price speculation, nurses unions coming together from around the globe, an army of clowns, bank busters dressed as ghost busters. But the authorities kept a tight grip not just on when they could happen, but where — the majority were confined to the nearby town of Nice, 20 miles away.
An estimated 15,000 protestors were matched almost one to one by 12,000 police. Checkpoints and steel barricades protected the G20 and the centre of Cannes, leaving the lines of luxury shops free to remain open, although they were completely devoid of customers. In the bay, frogmen swam in between super-yachts and police patrolled on jetskis.
Given that protestors’ demands focused on financial sector reform, the irony that this year’s G20 took place in the super-rich’s summer playground and inside a casino was not lost. Many of their demands were swept off the table as the Greek saga unfolded, but one idea did break through thanks to a true double-Bill. On the first day of official G20 business, Bill Gates and Bill Nighy gave a boost to the Robin Hood Tax proposal.
Gates did back-to-back briefings on his “innovative finance” smart ideas, including a small tax on financial transactions that could raise $50billion a year for development and climate change. Nighy said in an interview with the Guardian: “This is a key moment for Robin Hood Tax. It is possible there will be a group of pioneer countries that will come out in favour here”. He also rounded on the proposal’s critics, saying “the other complaint is that all the bankers will move to Switzerland, but there was an article in the Economist recently showing that bankers are moving back because Geneva is so dull”.
By the final day’s press conference, Sarkozy was able to announce that a group of G20 countries were taking this forward, giving him some success, although other countries remained opposed. Cameron took to the stage after Sarkozy and repeated the mantra through gritted teeth that agreement had been reached to resolve the euro crisis, bolster the IMF and avoid protectionism — but all at a later date.
So in summary, there were agreements, agreements to make agreements, some disagreements and a lot of unfinished business for the G20 to pick up in Mexico next June.
Simon Chouffot is a freelance journalist and media specialist.
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