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> On one side, France in particular, but many other "developed" nations as well have stepped in to build the infrastructure and provide clean water to places wh

by sofixa 1y ago

> On one side, France in particular, but many other "developed" nations as well have stepped in to build the infrastructure and provide clean water to places where it was problematic. > Only to monopolize water distribution one way or the other, resulting in people not able to afford the water at the end, while losing their previous precarious access to dirty but natural sources as well. > Nestle, Danone are the poster child of these predatory moves. I've heard of Nestlé monopolising water in developing countries, but didn't know Danone nor France itself (private companies, Swiss or French, aren't "France") being involved. Do you have concrete stories you can share?

makeitdouble 1y ago
For Danone it's more of a growing ambition. They've depleted water sources in France at multiple times and have declared aiming for more engagement on the African market for the next decades [0]. Their involvement is more in partnership with Veolia which holds the main contracts [1], so I should have put Veolia forward for more clarity, but I see Danone as just not being good enough at this game to be shunned at the bigger players' level. > nor France itself (private companies, Swiss or French, aren't "France") These companies aren't existing in a vacuum, and the French government will protect these interests when shit hits the fan. Veolia in particular is basically a private arm managing a critical field that should be government managed in any other setting. It would be like saying that Lockheed Martin is a private company that doesn't involve the USA, when the government will bend over backward to protect these interests. [0] https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/02/23/danone-prepare-son-avenir-en-afrique_4870125_3234.html https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/02/23/danone-pr... [1] https://www.veoliawatertech.com/fr/ressources/articles/danone https://www.veoliawatertech.com/fr/ressources/articles/danon...
sophacles 1y ago
Governments go to bat for their companies all the time. Via diplomacy, war, etc. Have you ever heard the justification for US bombs being dropped... 90% of the time its "to protect US interests", aka the US companies' ability to do business there. Trade deals exist to make it easier for one nation's businesses to profit in another nation. Foreign aid is similar - it's a nation paying it's own businesses for stuff to be delivered to another country... a nice combination of marketing, subsidy and to some extent "the first one's free kid". Trying to separate the government of a nation and it's businesses is not so simple as "a government did it" or "a company did it".

by sofixa 1y ago

makeitdouble 1y ago

For Danone it's more of a growing ambition. They've depleted water sources in France at multiple times and have declared aiming for more engagement on the African market for the next decades [0]. Their involvement is more in partnership with Veolia which holds the main contracts [1], so I should have put Veolia forward for more clarity, but I see Danone as just not being good enough at this game to be shunned at the bigger players' level. > nor France itself (private companies, Swiss or French, aren't "France") These companies aren't existing in a vacuum, and the French government will protect these interests when shit hits the fan. Veolia in particular is basically a private arm managing a critical field that should be government managed in any other setting. It would be like saying that Lockheed Martin is a private company that doesn't involve the USA, when the government will bend over backward to protect these interests. [0] https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/02/23/danone-prepare-son-avenir-en-afrique_4870125_3234.html https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2016/02/23/danone-pr... [1] https://www.veoliawatertech.com/fr/ressources/articles/danone https://www.veoliawatertech.com/fr/ressources/articles/danon...

sophacles 1y ago

Governments go to bat for their companies all the time. Via diplomacy, war, etc. Have you ever heard the justification for US bombs being dropped... 90% of the time its "to protect US interests", aka the US companies' ability to do business there. Trade deals exist to make it easier for one nation's businesses to profit in another nation. Foreign aid is similar - it's a nation paying it's own businesses for stuff to be delivered to another country... a nice combination of marketing, subsidy and to some extent "the first one's free kid". Trying to separate the government of a nation and it's businesses is not so simple as "a government did it" or "a company did it".