As you conclude your main leader on the Union for the Mediterranean, “it may be the start of something exciting” (“Club Med,” July 12, 2008). Mare nostrum it has been since Roman times, after all. But that is about all one can say at this stage about Nicolas Sarkozy’s pet project. It may be the start of so many things, like a three-speed Europe, for instance. But there is one thing that you do not mention at all, which may be truly exciting in the long run: a new beginning for Africa. The continent has been in turmoil for a couple of decades, and it surely needs a boost from Europe to start moving in the right direction. The focus for Club Med should remain Northern Africa, but countries further south should not be forgotten for a moment. And this is where France may indeed offer much more than pomp. The horror of its colonial past must be mended in a meaningful way, anyhow.