US embassy cable - 05PARIS402

UNCLAS PARIS 000402 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/MTA/MST (WHITTEN) 
STATE PASS USTR (HOOKER) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, FR, WTO 
SUBJECT: WTO SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS AND MARKET ACCESS 
PRIORITIES: FRANCE 
 
REF: 04 STATE 270998 
 
1.  (SBU) This message responds to reftel request for views 
on the French services market with input from Embassy ECON, 
FCS and Ag sections.  Following is a ranking of services 
sectors in France.  The estimates cited below are intended as 
a broad and very general gauge of market potentials and 
market access conditions.  As requested reftel, we have 
ranked sectors with a numerical value and a high, medium or 
low ranking.  The numerical value reflects our assessment of 
the priority U.S. service providers do/would assign (1 = top 
priority; 5 = low priority for U.S. service providers).  The 
high, medium or low verbal ranking reflects our assessment of 
how open the French market is in each sector.  An openness 
ranking of "high" means that we have not been made aware of 
particular complaints regarding market openness.  A "medium" 
or "low" ranking indicates that we are aware of a desire for 
some degree of improvement in market openness. 
 
--Legal services (2/low) 
--Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services (1/low) 
--Taxation services (2/high) 
--Architectural services (2/low) 
--Engineering and integrated engineering services (2/low) 
--Urban planning and landscape architectural services (2/low) 
--Computer and related services (1/high) 
--Research and development services (2/high) 
--Real estate services (2/medium) 
--Rental/Leasing Services (1/medium) 
--Advertising services (1/high) 
--Market research and public opinion, polling services 
(1/high) 
--Management consulting services (1/high) 
--Technical testing and analysis services (including energy 
related testing services) (3/high) 
--Services incidental to agriculture, hunting and forestry, 
and fishing (4/medium) 
--Services incidental to mining (5/high) 
--Energy services (including land site preparation, drilling 
and plugging) (4/high) 
Services incidental to energy distribution (3/low) 
--Placement and supply services of personnel (2/high) 
--Investigation and security (2/high) 
--Related scientific and technical consulting services 
(2/high) 
--Maintenance and repair of equipment (4/high) 
--Building-cleaning services (4/high) 
--Photographic services (4/high) 
--Packaging services (4/high) 
--Printing, publishing (2/high) 
--Convention services (1/medium) 
--Courier services (Express Delivery) (1/high) 
--Telecommunication services (2/medium) 
--Audiovisual services (2/high) 
--Construction and related engineering (2/high) 
--Distribution Services, including: commission agents' 
services, wholesale trade services, retailing services, and 
franchising (2/high) 
--Educational Services, including: higher education services, 
adult education, other education services (4/medium) 
--Environmental services (wastewater treatment, sanitation, 
protection of ambient air and climate, remediation and clean 
up, noise and vibration abatement, and biodiversity 
protection) (2/high) 
--Insurance services (2/low) 
--Banking and other financial services including securities 
(retirement accounts exist, with some U.S. firms actively in 
the market, e.g. Fidelity, but private sector management of 
government-sourced pension funds per se is not permitted) 
(1/high) 
--Tourism and travel-related services, including: hotels and 
restaurants, catering, travel agencies and tour operators 
services, and tourist guides services (1/high) 
-- Recreations and sporting services (other than audiovisual 
services), including: entertainment services (including 
theatre, live bands and circus services), news agency 
services; libraries, archives, museums and other cultural 
services; sporting and other recreational services (2/high). 
 
Wolff