US embassy cable - 05PARIS4019

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 004019 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA; 
EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC; PM; OSC ISA 
FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR ITA/EUR/FR 
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA; 
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, FR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - ERDOGAN IN WASHINGTON -RUN-UP 
TO THE G8 - A/S FRIED IN PARIS - NATO AND DARFUR 
PARIS - THURSDAY, JUNE 09, 2005 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
1. ERDOGAN IN WASHINGTON 
2. RUN-UP TO THE G8 
3. A/S FRIED IN PARIS 
4. NATO AND DARFUR 
 
(B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
PRIME MINISTER DE VILLEPIN'S SPEECH YESTERDAY ON STRATEGIES TO 
BOOST EMPLOYMENT IN FRANCE DOMINATE HEADLINES. RIGHT-WING 
ORIENTED DAILIES LABEL DE VILLEPIN'S SPEECH AS "NOT BAD" 
(POPULAR RIGHT-OF-CENTER FRANCE SOIR) AND "ATTACKING THE 
RIGIDITY OF LABOR LAWS," (ECONOMIC LA TRIBUNE) LEFT-WING 
DAILIES INSIST THAT THE PLAN PROMOTES "PRECARIOUSNESS" (LEFT- 
OF-CENTER LIBERATION) AND THE "SOCIAL RIFT." (COMMUNIST 
L'HUMANITE) 
 
ANDRE FONTAINE, FOR LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE, PENS AN OP-ED ON 
THE AMERICAN REACTION TO THE APPOINTMENT OF DE VILLEPIN, THE 
VICTORY OF THE `NO' AND EUROPEAN CONSTRUCTION. "PRIOR TO THE 
CONFLICT IN IRAQ. DE VILLEPIN, EMBODIED THE RESENTMENT, ON THE 
OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC [THAT CAME ABOUT AFTER FRANCE'S 
THREAT OF VETO AT THE UN]. TODAY, DE VILLEPIN'S RISE TO POWER 
IS VIEWED UNENTHUSIASTICALLY ON THE BANKS OF THE POTOMAC. THE 
VICTORY OF THE NO VOTE IS CERTAINLY TO GEORGE BUSH'S LIKING 
SINCE IT PROVES THAT `OLD EUROPE' IS FOR THE TIME BEING DOWN 
FOR THE COUNT." 
 
RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO CARRIES AN ARTICLE BY GEORGES 
MALBRUNOT ON SECRET MEETINGS IN AMMAN OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS 
BETWEEN SUNNI GUERILLAS AND AMERICAN OFFICIALS IN ORDER TO 
STABILIZE IRAQ WHILE POLITICALLY INTEGRATING THE ARMED FACTION 
OF THE SUNNI POPULATION. "WHEN ASKED TO COMMENT ON THESE 
MEETINGS, THE STATE DEPARTMENT DID NOT RESPOND." 
 
BILATERAL MEETINGS IN WASHINGTON BETWEEN PRESIDENT BUSH AND 
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR ON TUESDAY AND TURKISH PRIME 
MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN YESTERDAY ARE WIDELY REPORTED. (SEE 
PART C) 
 
SUMMARIZING BLAIR'S' TRIP TO WASHINGTON, LEFT-OF-CENTER LE 
MONDE'S CORRESPONDENT IN NEW YORK, CORINNE LESNES, WROTE: 
"THOSE IN BRITAIN WHO SAY THAT THEIR PRIME MINISTER RARELY 
GETS MUCH FROM MR. BUSH DESPITE HIS INDEFATIGABLE SUPPORT OF 
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, WILL BE COMFORTED IN THEIR POSITION BY 
THE LACK OF RESULTS PRODUCED FROM BLAIR'S VISIT TO 
WASHINGTON." HOWEVER, POPULAR RIGHT-OF-CENTER FRANCE SOIR 
TAKES A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VIEW CALLING PRESIDENTS BUSH'S 
PROMISES TO TONY BLAIR DURING HIS TRIP TO WASHINGTON 
"ASTONISHING" AND GOING SO FAR AS TO WONDER IF THE PRESIDENT 
HAS NOT BECOME A SUPPORTER OF ANTI-GLOBALIZATION. ECONOMIC LES 
ECHOS, FOR ITS PART, STATES THAT "BUSH AND BLAIR ARE ON THE 
SAME WAVELENGTH" AND THAT "TONY BLAIR DID NOT GO HOME EMPTY- 
HANDED." 
 
PRIME MINISTER BLAIR'S MEETINGS WITH PRESIDENT BUSH, INTENDED 
TO NEGOTIATE ISSUES THAT WILL BE AT THE HEART OF TALKS DURING 
THE UPCOMING G8 IN SCOTLAND, PROMPTS LEFT-OF-CENTER 
LIBERATION'S WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT TO ANALYZE THE U.S. 
ADMINISTRATION'S CLIMATE CHANGE POLICIES. (SEE PART C) 
 
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DAN FRIED'S VISIT TO 
PARIS CONTINUES TO GET MEDIA ATTENTION TODAY IN ANOTHER 
POSITIVE STORY RELAYING THE U.S. DESIRE FOR A STRONG EUROPE. 
A/S FRIED IS EXTENSIVELY QUOTED IN LIBERATION BY VERONIQUE 
SOULE IN AN ARTICLE ENTITLED: "WASHINGTON IS WORRIED ABOUT THE 
CRISIS IN EUROPE." (SEE PART C) 
 
IN ECONOMIC DAILY LES ECHOS, EDITORIALIST JACQUES HUBERT- 
RODIER ANALYZES CHANGES IN NATO IN LIGHT OF ITS INVOLVEMENT IN 
AFRICA, NAMELY IN SUDAN. (SEE PART C) 
 
RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO REPORTS ON BRITISH DIPLOMACY'S 
OVERTURES TO HAMAS. "ISRAEL IS ALARMED TO WITNESS THE EUROPEAN 
AND AMERICAN SOFTENING OF THEIR POSITION ON HAMAS. THIS 
ILLUSTRATES THE AWKWARD POSITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL 
COMMUNITY WITH REGARD TO THE DEMOCRATIC OPENING OF THE 
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES." 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
ERDOGAN IN WASHINGTON 
 
"ERDOGAN AND BUSH BURY THE HATCHET" 
NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT JEAN-LOUIS TURLIN IN RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE 
FIGARO (06/09): "THE MEETING BETWEEN BUSH AND ERDOGAN WAS 
ESPECIALLY USEFUL IN THAT IT PRESENTED AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT 
THE TENSIONS CREATED BY THE INVASION OF IRAQ BEHIND THEM. 
WASHINGTON COUNTS ON ANKARA ON A NUMBER OF FRONTS, STARTING 
WITH THE STABILIZATION OF IRAQ. FOR GEORGE BUSH, TAYYIP 
ERDOGAN IS AN IMPORTANT ALLY IN THAT HIS COUNTRY IS THE ONLY 
MUSLIM STATE TO BE PART OF NATO AND TURKEY SUPPORTS THE 
INITIATIVE FOR THE BROADER MIDDLE EAST. IN RETURN, ERDOGAN 
NEEDS GEORGE BUSH'S BACKING CONCERNING TURKEY'S DESIRE TO 
BECOME PART OF THE EU AND, IN A MORE IMMEDIATE FUTURE, WITH 
THE OPENING UP OF THE TURKISH PART OF CYPRESS." 
 
RUN-UP TO THE G8 
 
"BUSH UNDER PRESSURE OVER THE CLIMATE" 
PASCAL RICHE IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION (06/09): "BY CURTLY 
REFUSING TO RATIFY THE KYOTO PROTOCOL. GEORGE W. BUSH THOUGHT 
THAT HE WAS RID OF THE ISSUE FOREVER. BIG MISTAKE! THE 
PRESIDENT HAS CEASELESSLY BEEN UNDER PRESSURE ON THIS QUESTION 
SINCE HE TOOK OFFICE. THE WHITE HOUSE HAS CONTINUED TO HAMMER 
THE SAME MESSAGE AND TUESDAY, WITH TONY BLAIR BY HIS SIDE, 
GEORGE BUSH SAID THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS A SERIOUS LONG-TERM 
PROBLEM, THE INNUENDO BEING `WE ARE IN NO RUSH' AND THAT THE 
U.S. WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE INFORMATION MEANING `NOTHING IS 
PROVEN.'" 
 
"GEORGE W. BUSH PART OF THE ANTI-GLOBALIZATION MOVEMENT?" 
SACHA BALIT VANDERBROUCK IN POPULAR RIGHT-OF-CENTER FRANCE 
SOIR (06/09): "LEAVING BEHIND HIM HIS TENDENCY TOWARDS 
UNBRIDLED GLOBALIZATION. THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, HAND-IN-HAND 
WITH TONY BLAIR, PROPOSED TO DO AWAY WITH THE DEBT OWED BY THE 
WORLD'S POOREST COUNTRIES DURING THE UPCOMING G8 SUMMIT. THE 
ISSUE REMAINS THE FINANCING OF THIS PROPOSAL WITH LONDON AND 
WASHINGTON SUPPORTING DIFFERENT MEASURES. GEORGE W. BUSH HAS 
ALSO FOUND OUT THAT HE IS AN ECOLOGIST. RECOGNIZING THAT 
CLIMATE CHANGE IS A SERIOUS ISSUE. HE HAS DISCOVERED 
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND NATURE PRESERVATION ALL IN ONE 
FELL SWOOP. PERHAPS THIS STEMS FROM A DESIRE TO RESTORE HIS 
IMAGE WHICH HAS BEEN TARNISHED OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS." 
 
A/S FRIED IN PARIS 
 
"WASHINGTON IS WORRIED ABOUT THE CRISIS IN EUROPE" 
VERONIQUE SOULE COMMENTED IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION 
(06/19): "INSTEAD OF RE-OPENING OLD WOUNDS, ASSISTANT 
SECRETARY DAN FRIED WAS IN PARIS TUESDAY TO EXPRESS THE DEEP 
 
SIPDIS 
CONCERN IN WASHINGTON OVER THE CRISIS IN EUROPE THAT WAS 
SPARKED BY THE DOUBLE NO VOTE TO THE CONSTITUTION. INDEED, 
WASHINGTON IS WORRIED THAT IF EUROPE CLOSES IN ON ITSELF AS A 
RESULT OF AN INTERNAL CRISIS, IT WILL DIVERT ITS ATTENTION 
FROM BROADER INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. FRIED'S PRO-EUROPEAN STANCE 
REFLECTS THE NEW POSITION OF THE U.S. ADMINISTRATION SINCE 
BUSH'S RE-ELECTION. BUT THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT THE NEO- 
CONSERVATIVES HAVE COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED AND FOR THEM A 
WEAKER EUROPE IS EXCELLENT NEWS AS IS THE HUMILIATION OF 
JACQUES CHIRAC." 
 
NATO AND DARFUR 
 
"WHEN NATO TRANSFORMATION TAKES PLACE BY WAY OF AFRICA" 
JACQUES HUBERT-RODIER IN ECONOMIC LES ECHOS (06/09): "AFTER 
TAKING PART IN PEACE KEEPING OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN AND 
CONTRIBUTING TO TRAIN THE IRAQI ARMY, [NATO] WHICH HAS 
EXPANDED TO THE EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES FROM THE ANCIENT 
SOVIET BLOCK, HAS NOW GROWN TO 26 MEMBERS, AND IS PURSUING A 
NECESSARY TRANSFORMATION WITH THE END OF THE COLD WAR. IT HAS 
DISCREETLY ADDED TO ITS LIST OF REASONS FOR CONTINUING TO 
EXIST HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTIONS.  IN THIS WAY, NATO PROVES 
ITS ABILITY TO SURVIVE THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL AND THE 
DISMANTLING OF THE WARSAW PACT IN 1991 THAT HAD LINKED THE 
EASTERN EUROPEAN SATELLITE COUNTRIES TO THE USSR.  NATO 
ASSISTANCE LIKE THAT ASSISTANCE OF THE UNITED NATIONS OR OF 
EUROPE TO THE AFRICAN UNION, ARRIVES AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT FOR 
THIS REGION. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT EVEN THE INDIRECT PRESENCE 
OF NATO IN AFRICA IS THE CONSEQUENCE NOT ONLY OF ITS 
TRANSFORMATION, STARTED TWO YEARS AGO, BUT ALSO OF THE END OF 
AN ERA IN AFRICA IN WHICH ONLY FORMER COLONIAL POWERS PLAYED A 
ROLE. TODAY, OTHER POWERS, LIKE CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES, 
HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY. TO UNDERSCORE THE URGENCY OF THE 
SITUATION, WASHINGTON HAS SOUNDED THE ALARM BY REFERRING TO 
ATROCITIES IN THE REGION AS "GENOCIDE," A TERM, HOWEVER NOT 
USED BY NATO AND THE MAJORITY OF THE NONGOVERNMENTAL 
ORGANIZATIONS ON THE GROUND.  THE UNITED STATES HAS TONED DOWN 
ITS OPPOSITION TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT. TO TRY WAR 
CRIMINALS. IN EXCHANGE FOR THE APPROVAL OF OTHER MEMBERS OF 
THE SECURITY COUNCIL OF NATO'S PRESENCE IN AFRICA."  WOLFF