DE L’ELDORADO GAZIER AU CHAOS

The report details how France's economic diplomacy and financial support for gas projects in Mozambique, specifically in the Cabo Delgado region, have contributed to a cycle of debt, corruption, and violence. It highlights the 'tuna bonds' scandal involving the CMN shipyards and the subsequent militarization of gas sites, which has led to significant human rights violations and the displacement of local populations. The document further argues that these projects are 'climate bombs' that contradict France's international climate commitments and threaten the biodiversity of the Quirimbas biosphere.

• Mozambique possesses approximately 5,000 billion cubic meters of gas, the 9th largest reserves globally, with planned investments of at least $60 billion for exploitation.
• A 2013 contract between the Mozambican government and the French company Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) for a tuna fishing fleet was a cover for an illegal defense program to protect gas installations, leading to a corruption scandal and hidden debts of $2 billion.
• The 'tuna bonds' scandal caused Mozambique's public debt to surge from 55% of GDP in 2014 to 140% in 2016, leaving the country dependent on future gas revenues to repay creditors.
• In the Cabo Delgado province, an insurgency has caused at least 1,100 deaths since October 2017 and displaced over 100,000 people, with tensions exacerbated by inequalities and human rights violations linked to gas projects.
• Gas operators, including Total and ExxonMobil, have influenced the militarization of the region by requesting additional troops and paying a portion of the salaries for special forces protecting the Afungi peninsula installations.
• French-licensed weaponry has ended up in the hands of private paramilitary groups, such as the Dyck Advisory Group (DAG), which used Gazelle helicopters to attack insurgents, resulting in the wounding of six children in Macomia.
• Gas projects have caused the displacement of 556 families, often leaving them without access to the sea or arable land, and creating ethnic tensions by relocating Muslim populations into Catholic villages.
• The three developing gas projects are estimated to emit greenhouse gases equivalent to seven years of France's total emissions or 49 years of Mozambique's emissions.
• The gas industry threatens the biodiversity of the Quirimbas National Park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve located only eight kilometers from Block 1, endangering species such as humpback whales and northern bottlenose whales.

APA

Marchand, C., Mollière, C., Philippot, L., Renaud, J., Cubizolles, M., Bhatnagar, D., Shaw, S., Race, M., Lemos, A., Ribeiro, D., Rawoot, I., Fortin, T., Mauger, Z., Sales, C., & Teuling, I. (2020). DE L’ELDORADO GAZIER AU CHAOS. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/De-leldorado-gazier-au-chaos_les-Amis-de-la-Terre_rapport_FR.pdf

Chicago

Marchand, Cécile, Catherine Mollière, Lorette Philippot, Juliette Renaud, Marion Cubizolles, Dipti Bhatnagar, Sara Shaw, et al. DE L’ELDORADO GAZIER AU CHAOS. Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/De-leldorado-gazier-au-chaos_les-Amis-de-la-Terre_rapport_FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Marchand |first1=Cécile |last2=Mollière |first2=Catherine |last3=Philippot |first3=Lorette |last4=Renaud |first4=Juliette |last5=Cubizolles |first5=Marion |last6=Bhatnagar |first6=Dipti |last7=Shaw |first7=Sara |last8=Race |first8=Madeleine |last9=Lemos |first9=Anabela |display-authors=etal |title=DE L’ELDORADO GAZIER AU CHAOS |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/De-leldorado-gazier-au-chaos_les-Amis-de-la-Terre_rapport_FR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{marchand2020leldorado, author = {Marchand, Cécile and Mollière, Catherine and Philippot, Lorette and Renaud, Juliette and Cubizolles, Marion and Bhatnagar, Dipti and Shaw, Sara and Race, Madeleine and Lemos, Anabela and Ribeiro, Daniel and Rawoot, Ilham and Fortin, Tony and Mauger, Zelda and Sales, Christophe and Teuling, Ike}, title = {{DE L’ELDORADO GAZIER AU CHAOS}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/De-leldorado-gazier-au-chaos_les-Amis-de-la-Terre_rapport_FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }