Peace Corps or adoption army?

In an interview with Le Parisien, The French Secretary of State in charge of foreign affairs and human rights, Rama Yade, has announced she is creating some sort of Peace Corps for international adoption.

Each year we adopt in France 3 000 to 4 000 children, but painfully. Between 2006 and 2007, we recorded a decline of over 20% of international adoption in France for example while in Italy it increased by 9%.

So in order stay competitive with the Italians, who obviously manage to do better in recruiting children for international adoption, the French will now train an army of young volunteers to facilitate adoption by French families. The younsters will be will be sent out to several third world countries, to begin with Cambodia, followed by four other countries in October and the remaining 74 countries in 2009 and onwards. They will stay on site for two years.

The project will be funded both by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European private companies.

The interview appeared in an article called: Des Peace Corps à la française afin d’aider les familles, which roughly translates to: French Peace Corps to help the families. It is clear the French are most of all interested in their claims for children, not so much in the interest of the children involved. France, now preceding the Council of the European Union, is expected to push forward new European legislation to expedite international adoption. The push for faster and more adoptions is supported by Italy, that like France is facing a growing demand for children.

According to another article in Le Parisien, French celebrities Gerard Depardieu and Johnny Hallyday support the project. With that support Hallyday, who together with his wife, Laetitia, already adopted a girl from Vietnam, will soon see his family extended, The girl had demanded a brotther.