Paper short abstract:

Realities and controversies of the Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa. Case of Frenh nuclear group (Areva) in Niger.

Paper long abstract:

In Africa, the concept of social responsibility is new and quite simplistic. For multinationals, the practice of social responsibility is limited to the supply subsidiaries of certain goods and social services to the communities of their settlement area. It is the case for example of Bouygues in Côte d'Ivoire, Total in Nigeria and Areva in Niger. The problem is that it does not exist, in Africa, a legislative environment favorable to a social responsibility model. This weakness of legislative laws gives rise to adaptations of the role and commitment of the company towards society. Multinationals ignore issues related to compliance with environmental standards, the fight against corruption and social dialogue. For some, the multinational's social responsibility is "the tree that hides the forest." It is neither more nor less than a publicity tool to appear in line with societal aspirations (Renouard, 2008; Coutrot, 2003).

The case of French nuclear group (AREVA) is a good example. His social responsibility contrast with stakeholders critics against him (pollution, degradation environment, groundwater contamination, etc.) and certain realities observed in the field (armed conflict, poverty, social inequalities, disintegration of the local economy). This paper proposes to shed light on the issues and controversies related to the practice of Areva social responsibility and the need to go to public regulation. Because of conflicts between Areva and its stakeholders, public regulation could help enroll more actions of the group in the process of industrial development socially responsible.