US embassy cable - 05PARIS3195

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 003195 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR ECA/PE/V/R/E (CAROL GRABAUSKAS; STEVE TAYLOR); 
EUR/PPD (LILLIAN DEVALCOURT) 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC, SCUL, FR 
SUBJECT: FY 2006 IVLP- NOMINATION AND PART I BIODATA FOR MR. 
ERIC BERNIGOLLE - ALTERNATE CANDIDATE FOR INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM. 
 
REF: 
 
START FIXED-FORMAT TEXT (PLEASE DO NOT EDIT): 
: The following data is in a fixed format which enables 
: automated processing in Washington and should not be 
: edited except by means of the Post-EVDB software. 
EXPORT-SOURCE: POST-EVDB 
VERSION: 3.0.7 
POST-EMAIL: PaillardS@state.gov 
TRANSMITTING-POST: PAS Paris 
TRANSMITTING-POST-ID: 14544 
EXPORT-TYPE: BIO DATA 
START NOMINATION: 
ECA-OFFICE: E/VGE 
PROG-AGENCY-NAME: 
POST-PROJ-ID: 289 
ECA-PROJ-NO: 
PROJ-NAME: FY 2006 - INDIVIDUAL Program - Eric Bernigolle 
(Alternate) 
START MEMO PROJ-DESC: 
 
END MEMO PROJ-DESC: 
PROJ-TYPE: Individual 
PROG-TYPE: IV Grant Visitor 
FY: 2006 
DEPART-POST: 
SESSION-DATE: 
RETURN-POST: 
NO-OF-PART: 1 
RANK-ORDER: 17 
START MEMO POST-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO POST-RCMD: 
 
END MEMO POST-RCMD: 
ECA-OFFICE-ID: 1047 
PROG-AGENCY-ID: 
PROJ-TYPE-ID: IND 
PROG-TYPE-ID: 29 
NOMINATING-POST-ID: 14544 
FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 
STATUS: N 
ORIGINATOR: P 
SUBJ-DISC: Peace & Security 
START BIO: 
PREFIX: Mr. 
F-NAME: Eric 
M-NAME: 
L-NAME: Bernigolle 
SUFFIX: 
POSITION-CODE: 0 
PRINCIPAL?: No 
M-ADDR1: Senat 
M-ADDR2: 15, rue Vaugirard 
M-ADDR3: 
M-CITY: Paris 
M-STATE: 
M-CNTRY: France 
M-ZONE: 75006 
M-ZIP: 
M-PHONE: + (33) 1.42.34.23.26 
M-FAX: 
M-EMAIL: e.bernigolle@senat.fr 
M-CNTRY-ID: FR 
M-ADDRTYPE: B 
GENDER: M 
DOB: 06/22/1966 
MAR-STAT: S 
BIRTH-CITY: Toulouse 
BIRTH-CNTRY: France 
CITIZ-CNTRY: France 
RES-CNTRY: France 
START MEMO POSITION: 
Adviser for European and International Affairs for the UMP 
party Senate Group, since January 2003 
END MEMO POSITION: 
START MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
 
END MEMO OTHER-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
1996-2002 - Adviser for Legal and European Affairs for the 
Centrist Union Party 
END MEMO PREV-POSITIONS: 
START MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
None 
END MEMO US-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
Morocco, the UK, Spain, Italy, Poland - vacation over the last 
10 years 
END MEMO OTHER-TRAVEL: 
START MEMO EDUCATION: 
- 1995 - Graduate level degree in EU law, University of 
Toulouse 
- 1993 - Graduate degree in EU public law and EU affairs, 
University of Toulouse 
- 1992 - Graduated from the Institute of International Studies 
and Developing Countries, University of Toulouse 
END MEMO EDUCATION: 
START MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
 
END MEMO MEMBERSHIPS: 
START MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
 
END MEMO PUBLICATIONS: 
START MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
 
END MEMO SPEC-CONSID: 
FIRST-LANG: French 
ENGL-READ: 3 
ENGL-SPEAK: 3 
ENGL-COMP: 3 
START OTHER-LANGS: 
OTHER-LANG: Spanish 
OTHER-LANG-ID: QB 
READ: 0 
SPEAK: 0 
COMP: 0 
END OTHER-LANGS: 
START MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
Given these changes in the role of the French Senators and 
their personal staffers, and given the Senate's growing focus 
on EU Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Security issues, in which 
it acts as the "unofficial" GOF think tank, we would think it 
timely to nominate Mr. Bernigolle either for a European 
program on Defense and Security issues or for a program on 
U.S. policies. 
If dates would turn out to be a problem, we would like to 
suggest that Mr. Bernigolle be nominated for a single program 
focusing on U.S. institutions in general, and on the U.S. 
Senate in particular.  French Parliament used to have an 
exchange program with its U.S. sister institutions, whereby a 
staffer of the French Senate or National Assembly would go on 
a one-year internship in the U.S. Senate.  That program has 
been discontinued by the French at a time when the need for 
such exchanges had become key for French Parliamentarians. 
Both houses look to the U.S. as an example of the kind of role 
they would like to play in French politics. 
END MEMO NOM-POST-OBJ: 
START MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
 
END MEMO NOM-POST-RCMD: 
START MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
 
END MEMO VIS-OBJ: 
START MEMO VIS-REC: 
 
END MEMO VIS-REC: 
NOMINATING-OFFICER: Florence Radovic 
START MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
We first met Mr. Bernigolle during a visit to the French 
Senate by Robert Zoellick, USTR, in 2004.  Mr. Bernigolle 
caught the political and public service bug early and spent 
five years (including 3 at the post graduate level) studying 
political science, international affairs and EU public and 
private law.  Upon graduation, he was asked to join the 
centrist party of the Senate to be their political adviser on 
EU affairs.  When the party merged with the larger center- 
right RPR Party to become the UMP, he became the political 
adviser on EU and Security affairs for a party whose 
membership equals half of the 331 Senators. 
Mr. Bernignolle is one of a handful of UMP advisers who are 
"political" appointees rather than permanent staffers.  His 
role is therefore broader in scope than that of a more 
technical permanent staffer.  More specifically, he makes 
complicated issues simple and understandable to all.  Mr. 
Bernigolle acts as personal adviser on EU, foreign affairs and 
security issues to the Chairman of the UMP Senate Group, 
Josselin de Rohan.  The closeness of their working 
relationship is key to our nomination since Mr. de Rohan has 
slated his adviser for a much broader role in the EU Council 
in a "political" capacity in the years to come.  In the 
meantime, Mr. Bernigolle would like to find out as much as he 
can about Congressional control in the U.S. particularly 
regarding the budget.  The French parliament has attempted to 
come on its own over the past five years by exercising its 
full budgetary powers, but the process has been slow in 
coming.  The role and workload of French Senate has also 
changed of late, leading them to set up teams of personal 
staffers U.S.-style, something that would have been totally 
unthinkable a few years ago. 
END MEMO NOMINATING-JUSTIFICATION: 
NOM-OFF: ECON - U.S. Embassy Paris, France 
SPEAKER?: No 
NOTIFY-EMB: No 
MEDIA?: No 
HOME-STAY: No 
HOME-HOSP?: No 
E-I-TYPE: 
NOMINEE-ID: 576 
PERSON-ID: 475 
BIRTH-CNTRY-ID: FR 
CITIZ-CNTRY-ID: FR 
RES-CNTRY-ID: FR 
FIRST-LANG-ID: FR 
E-I-TYPE-ID: 
NOM-POST-ID: 14544 
NOM-FUNDING-CNTRY-ID: 0 
NOM-STATUS: N 
DS2019-ACTION: 1 
DS2019-SUBJECT: 
SPONS-FUNDS: 0 
SPONS-AGENCY1: 
USGOVT-AGENCY1: 
US-AGENCY-AMT1: 0 
USGOVT-AGENCY2: 
US-AGENCY-AMT2: 0 
INTL-ORG1: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT1: 0 
INTL-ORG2: 
INTL-ORG-AMOUNT2: 0 
VIS-GOVT-AMT: 0 
COMMISSION: 0 
OTHER-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-AMOUNT: 0 
VIS-CAT: 
END BIO: 
END NOMINATION: 
END FIXED-FORMAT TEXT: 
 
  WOLFF