P A N G A E A

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By Klisman Murati

The WORLD CUP WORLD AFFAIRS PLAY-OFFS Catalogue

(FINAL 16)

2018 / Volume 1 / Issue 6

P A N G A E A W I RE

Principal Author Klisman Murati

Series 2018 Volume 1 Issue 6 21st May 2018 – 21st July 2018

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FRANCE VS enlightenment deeply influenced Croatian society, which subsequently lead to the The Final creation of Jacobin clubs in and Dubrovnik. The relationship between France and Croatia share a long and very cooperative relationship. During the expansion of Napoleon Bonaparte's Unlike some pairings which for the most part is , large parts of Croatia were one-sided meaning one country influencing controlled by the French leading to the the politics, culture, rad end history of the creation of the Illyrian Provinces. French rule in other with very little going in the other the Illyrian Provinces was short-lived, yet it direction. France and Croatia share a significantly contributed to greater national somewhat more mutually responsive and self-confidence and awareness of freedoms, collaborative relationship with one another. especially in the Slavic nations as exampled in The two nations share among other things post Yugoslavian independence Croatia, and language, cultural, historical, intellectual, Slovenia. religious and kinship ties. Modern relations Historical ties After the collapse of , Croatian- The connection between France and Croatia French relations reached an all-time high. began with the spread of monasteries in France recognized Croatia on 15 January 1992 Croatia by French Benedictine monks during and established diplomatic relations with the 800s AD and early 900s AD. In 925 AD, Zagreb in April 1992. As well as support from Croatia was elevated to the status of Kingdom Great Britain, and the Nordic nations, French and the notion of quickly followed. intellectualism was also a major force which Over the coming centuries Croatian nobility supported Croatian statehood. This movement assumed French practices to great helped mould the opinions of the French controversy. This contributed to wide spread people and political classes of the legitimacy political and social elitism among the nobles and necessity of the Croatian state by listing and . The nobility regarded the the country in its dictionaries and atlases. peasant class as some unseen and irrelevant Since then, both nations have been strong substrata of people which lead to high political and military allies, both of whom share causality revolts and beheadings as well as membership in several organisations including sporadic periods of intense domestic violence. the European Union, United Nations, North This strained ties with French culture and lead Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), World the people of Croatia to denounce French Trade Organisation (WTO) and the elitism. International Organisation of Francophone However, during the French Revolution, the Nations. Furthermore, the French have full principles of the enlightenment spread quickly access to the Croatian labour market and vice- throughout Croatia and the wider region versa. quickly gaining intellectual capital, the ideas of

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The views of France and Croatia converge on the main European and international issues, including development and the European integration of the Western , in the Want to learn more about how framework of the Brdo-Brijuni Process and the Pangaea Wire can help you and Berlin-Vienna-Paris process. your business interests? Email us Bilateral Economic Relations at [email protected]

Trade between France and Croatia amounted to €535 million in 2015 (+16.3% compared to 2014). France, which accounted for 2.3% of Croatia’s total trade in 2014, is the country’s tenth-largest trading partner. France had a trade balance surplus of €192 million in 2015, Interested in booking Murati as a compared to €159 million in 2014. Croatia is speaker for your event and want to the South Eastern European country with learn more about his content and which France has the largest trade surplus. fees? Email us at French exports to Croatia reached €364 million [email protected] in 2015 (+17% compared to 2014) whereas they had been stagnating or falling for over a decade. France is Croatia’s 12th-largest supplier with 2.3% of the country’s imports (12th-largest supplier in 2013 with 2.1% of imports). Despite an increase in French imports from Croatia (+14.6% compared to 2014) which amount to €171.3 million, our balance still shows a large surplus (€192.7 million), making Croatia an exception in the region.

Despite a diversified sectoral presence (agro- and agri-business, infrastructure, banking, distribution), France has not yet reached the “critical mass” but is getting there. France is the seventh-largest investor in Croatia, with €651 million of FDI stock through four major businesses (Société Générale, Bouygues, Alstom, Lactalis).

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P A N G A E A

W I R E

By Klisman Murati