US embassy cable - 05PARIS2040

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR DRL AND OHI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KIRF, FR 
SUBJECT: FRANCE: RACIST AND ANTI-SEMITIC ACTS UP SHARPLY IN 
2004 
 
 
1.  (U) Summary: The National Consultative Commission on 
Human Rights (NCCHR) stated that racist and anti-Semitic 
incidents increased from 833 in 2003 to 1,565 in 2004.  The 
2004 figures eclipse the 1,313 acts registered in 2002 and 
represent the largest number of incidents recorded in a 
single year since the commission began tracking such 
statistics in 1990, according to NCCHR's annual report titled 
"The Fight Against Racism and Xenophobia," which was 
presented to the Prime Minister on March 22.  The report 
indicates that racist incidents increased from 232 in 2003 to 
595 in 2004 and anti-Semitic incidents rose from 601 to 970 
over the same two years; however, the report noted that such 
incidents decreased dramatically in the fourth quarter of 
2004 and hoped the trend would continue into 2005.  End 
Summary. 
 
Methodology 
----------- 
2.  (U) The NCCHR -- an independent body in the Office of the 
Prime Minister, which has nongovernmental as well as 
governmental members -- admits that its numbers are not 
exhaustive and only reflect available statistics at a given 
time.  Many acts may go unreported, and the motives of some 
may be reclassified at a later date.  The commission also 
notes that these statistics do not include acts of 
discrimination.  With these caveats, the NCCHR explains that 
it breaks down racist and anti-Semitic occurrences into two 
categories: "actions" and "threats."  It classifies "actions" 
as acts against persons that require an ITT (authorization by 
a medical doctor for a person to miss work for a certain 
number of days based on severity of injury) or against 
"property presenting a degree of certain gravity."  "Threats" 
include menacing words or gestures, graffiti, letters, 
pamphlets, offensive demonstrations, and other acts of 
intimidation. 
 
Anti-Semitism 
------------- 
3.  (U) The NCCHR reports that there were 970 anti-Semitic 
incidents registered in 2004, a steep increase over the 601 
in 2003 and greater than the previous high of 932 in 2002. 
Of these occurrences, 200 were classified as actions and 770 
as threats.  Disturbingly, the number of anti-Semitic 
incidents occurring in schools nearly tripled.  The report 
remarks that individuals of "Arab-Muslim background" 
comprised 104 of the 209 individuals questioned for 
anti-Semitic acts.  The number of anti-Semitic incidents in 
recent years is significantly higher than those recorded 
during the 1990s, and the sharp up-tick beginning in 2000 has 
often been attributed to the Second Intifada, the war in 
Iraq, and other events in the Middle East.  However, the 
report notes that 2004's increase does not correlate to 
current events and warns that "anti-Semitism is becoming 
established in a continuous and lasting manner." 
 
Racism and Xenophobia 
--------------------- 
4.  (U) The 595 racist acts (169 actions and 426 threats) 
recorded in 2004 represent an increase of more than 150% over 
the 232 committed in 2003.  Many of these incidents took 
place on the island of Corsica, where separatist elements are 
blamed for xenophobic actions against immigrants, mostly of 
North African descent.  On mainland France, the police 
attribute 44% of violent actions and 59% of threats to the 
extreme right.  The report also notes an increase of 251% in 
the actions targeting Islam. 
 
Re-emergence of the Extreme Right 
--------------------------------- 
5.  (U) While responsible for 90% of the acts between 1994 
and 1999, extreme right activity, as a percentage of 
occurrences, was 14% in 2002 and 18% in 2003.  However, 2004 
marked a resurgence in the extreme right, which was 
implicated in 30% of the racist and anti-Semitic incidents. 
The NCCHR noted a shift, remarking that right-wing elements 
seemed to be targeting individuals of Arab-Muslim background 
(292 acts) more often than those of Jewish origin (169 acts). 
 
Desecrations 
------------ 
6.  (U) In 2004, there were 65 attacks on Jewish (32) and 
Muslim (33) religious sites or cemeteries, desecrating 46 
religious buildings and 485 graves, often with neo-Nazi 
slogans or symbols.  These numbers are up from 44 in 2003.  A 
quarter of these incidents took place in Alsace, which has 
historical and geographic ties to Germany, and the NCCHR 
posits that some of these desecrations may be linked to the 
60th anniversary of World War II events. 
 
Government Action 
----------------- 
7.  (U) The report praises the government's actions in the 
fight against racism and anti-Semitism, pointing to strong 
and clear political leadership and the implementation of 
concrete measures.  Within the report, the Ministry of 
Interior states that there were 334 individuals arrested in 
2004, 209 for anti-Semitic acts and 125 for racist and 
xenophobic acts.  Furthermore, the Ministry of Interior sets 
forth three priorities for 2005 in the report: a mobilization 
of all government actors, with prefects putting into place 
security plans and mayors providing additional protections 
for religious sites and cemeteries; the further 
implementation of the recommendations of last summer's Rufin 
report; and the elimination of all groups that incite hatred 
and violence, including breaking up neo-Nazi groups and 
working with prefects and mayors to prevent hate groups from 
being able to meet.  The Ministry of Justice indicates that 
95% of the legally actionable anti-Semitic incidents were 
pursued.  However, the NCCHR criticized the Justice Ministry 
for a lack of information on judicial proceedings regarding 
other forms of racism and commented that, despite adequate 
laws and sensitized judges and prosecutors, effectiveness in 
preventing racist and anti-Semitic incidents in 2004 was 
weak. 
 
Comment 
------- 
8.  (SBU) The increase in racist and anti-Semitic incidents 
in France had been well-publiziced throughout the year, and 
the dramatic rise in the number of incidents outlined in the 
855-page report did not come as a surprise.  The escalation 
is nonetheless worrying, particularly in light of intense GOF 
efforts to fight the trend, including legislation passed in 
recent years to increase penalties for hate crimes, expanded 
protection for religious sites and cemeteries, numerous 
tolerance and education programs, and vociferous denunciation 
at the highest political levels of racist and anti-Semitic 
acts.  The French, to some degree, may be uncovering the 
problem because they are fighting it.  The Minister of 
Interior points out that the rise in rates should be viewed 
in the context of the recent emphasis on fully recording all 
such events.  In addition, the Ministry of Interior states, 
victims have become more likely to make acts known to 
authorities and heavy media attention has perpetuated a 
copycat phenomenon. 
 
9.  (SBU) Comment Continued: The report also ponders the 
paradox of rising incidents concurrent with national polls 
that show French society improving in several key areas, 
including becoming more sensitive to racism and 
anti-Semitism, supportive of measures to fight all forms of 
racism, and increasingly viewing immigrants as a "source of 
cultural enrichment."  (There was a decrease, however, in 
those viewing Islam in a positive light.)  The report does 
point to the significant decrease in racist and anti-Semitic 
acts in the last quarter of 2004, a trend that seems to be 
continuing into 2005.  End Comment. 
Wolff