US embassy cable - 05PARIS3923

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003923 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ETTC, ETRD, FR, CU 
SUBJECT: FRANCE: SUPPORT FOR CONTINUED SUSPENSION OF TITLE 
III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT 
 
REF: A. STATE 96300 
     B. PARIS 2405 
 
Classified By: Acting DCM Thomas White, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary and comment: France adheres to the EU's 
Common Position on Cuba, and the GOF monitors the human 
rights situation in Cuba closely.  MFA officials have 
consistently stressed that they share both the U.S. 
assessment of the human rights situation and the U.S. goal of 
supporting peaceful evolution to democracy, even if our 
approach on methods for achieving this end differ.  French 
support at the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva has been 
crucial in securing the last several resolutions criticizing 
the Castro regime's human rights record.  Legislation against 
French persons or entities as a result of implementation of 
Libertad Act Title III would be detrimental to 
Franco-American relations and could also have negative 
effects on our relations with the EU.  Based on France's 
solid record of criticizing the Castro regime and seeking to 
change the state of human rights in Cuba, both through the EU 
and bilaterally, as well as the negative ramifications of 
implementation, post recommends a waiver of Title III of the 
Libertad Act.  End summary and comment. 
 
France/EU On Human Rights Situation in Cuba 
------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) As an EU member, France supports the EU Common 
Position of 1996.  This position was strengthened in 2003 in 
response to the arrest of 75 dissidents by the Castro regime. 
 In January 2005 the EU voted to suspend the sanctions 
imposed in 2003.  MFA sources indicate that France was not 
entirely supportive of the decision to suspend sanctions 
against Cuba, but that it had been an extremely important 
issue for Spain.  MFA officials have noted that they have not 
been impressed with the Castro regime's response thus far, 
though they are expected to vote for continued suspension of 
the sanctions when member states meet to review the EU Common 
Position.   After the 2003 crackdown, France suspended 
bilateral police assistance outside of efforts to combat 
narco-trafficking. 
 
Past Six Months of France's Cuba Policy 
--------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) France has continued its criticism of the Castro 
regime and been particularly helpful in the international 
arena during the past six months.  In December, the Prime 
Minister invited dissident Elizardo Sanchez Santa Cruz to 
Paris to attend the 2004 French Human Rights Prize ceremony, 
an award he received in 1996.  Unfortunately, Sanchez Santa 
Cruz was not granted an exit permit by Cuban authorities. 
During the 61st Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, France 
once again co-sponsored the resolution against Cuba and was 
instrumental in lobbying Francophone African countries to 
vote in favor of the resolution or abstain (ref B).  In 
April, USAID Assistant Administrator Adolfo Franco held a 
productive meeting with MFA officials in Paris and discussed 
the human rights situation in Cuba in depth.  At that 
meeting, MFA officials emphasized that they had increased 
their contacts with dissidents and that the issue of human 
rights is raised in every meeting with the GOC.  They noted 
that France had taken the lead in criticizing the GOC for 
persecuting the wives of political prisoners and believed 
their intervention had helped improve the situation.  Most 
recently, numerous French parliamentarians expressed interest 
in the May 20 dissident conference; however, the intense 
campaign occurring in France at the same time for the EU 
Constitutional referendum prevented them from attending. 
France joined with other EU countries to roundly denounce the 
harassment and deportation of several European leaders and 
officials who had attempted to attend the conference. 
 
French Investments in Cuba 
-------------------------- 
 
4.  (U) According to the MFA, foreign direct investments in 
Cuba totaled around USD 6 billion at the end of 2004, with 
France ranked a distant fourth place among international 
investors with 6 percent of the total (behind Spain at 25%, 
Canada at 20%, and Italy at 19%).   Around 40 French firms 
have a presence in Cuba, but only 18 French firms have 
established subsidiaries or operate under mixed status.  Most 
investments are made by large multinational enterprises, in 
sectors such as tourism, telecommunications, energy, 
agricultural foods, and banking. 
 
5.  (U) According to information from the French Finance 
Ministry, the tourism industry accounts for the largest 
investments in Cuba, which include those by hotel/resort 
operators such as Accor, which operates one hotel in Havana 
and two in Varadero; and Pansea Hotels & Resorts, which 
operates a hotel in Havana.  Club Med left Varadero in May 
2003 and has not yet followed through with another complex in 
Holguin.  (Note: In July 2003, a Cuban-American woman sued 
Club Med in a Florida court claiming the French company had 
built the Varadero hotel on property confiscated from her 
family by the Cuban government.  Club Med sold the property 
to the Spanish hotel company Grupo Pinero in 2003.  End 
note.)  The aviation firm Air France operates 7 flights 
weekly, and tour operators Nouvelle Frontiers and Fram 
Voyages book thousands of visitors each year.  Energy company 
Total maintains operations in Cuba(having left the 
exploration business, it concentrates on off-shore 
exploitation and retail distribution of petroleum products). 
Pernod Ricard maintains the monopoly to export Cuban rum 
worldwide through Havana Club International, its joint 
venture with Cubaron; it plans to open a distillery in Havana 
in 2004.  Perrier-Vittel, through its subsidiary Los 
Portales, sells more carbonated and non-alcoholic beverages 
in Cuba than any other firm.  Established in 1998, it sold 
7.2 million cases in 2003.  The banks Societe Generale and 
BNP Baripas provide financial services.  Oceor, a subsidiary 
of the Caisse d'Epargne, received authority in 2003 to open 
an office in Cuba.  Bouygues Batiment has become the largest 
foreign construction firm in Cuba over the last six years, 
with seven hotels built in Havana, Holguin and los Cayos. 
Telecommunications firm Alcatel controls about half the 
fixed-line distribution and all of the radio installations; 
it is interested in the mobile telephony market as well. 
 
6.  (U) Engineering firms Babcock, Spie, Alstom (modernizing 
thermal plants and a gas refinery), Schneider Electric 
(supply services), and BEICIP-Franlab (industrial and energy 
engineering) all have participated in projects in Cuba. 
Devexport has diverse interests in electricity engineering, 
mining (nickel), transport, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. 
Altadis, a joint venture with Spain, holds 50 percent of the 
marketing share of Habanos cigars, and is forming a mixed 
enterprise with Cubatabaco to produce smaller-sized cigars. 
Maritime port operator CMA-CGM has entered into a joint 
venture with Coral Container Lines for transportation 
services in Santiago de Cuba.  Peugeot, Citroen, and Renault 
sell directly to the Cuban automotive market, accounting for 
35 percent of all new vehicles sold.  Trading firms Sucden 
(which also was studying in 2004 a project for rehabilitating 
a sugar refinery), Louis Dreyfus, and Soufflet operate on the 
primary market in Cuba to trade primary goods (sugar, 
cereals, grains and milk products).  Paper producer Seribo 
acquired a 15 percent stake in Bagacem to process sugar-cane 
husks. 
WOLFF