US embassy cable - 05PARIS6579

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006579 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE AND S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, FR 
SUBJECT: "FRANCE HASN'T KNOWN A DECADE WITHOUT TERRORISM" 
SAYS C/T HEAD 
 
REF: A. PARIS 5539 
 
     B. PARIS 4750 
     C. PARIS 5203 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JOSIAH ROSENBLATT, FOR REAS 
ONS 1.4 B/D 
 
1. (C) Summary: Although he acknowledged the danger of being 
"pessimistic by profession," Christophe Chaboud, the Ministry 
of Interior's new counter-terrorism head, told POL M/C and 
Poloff September 23 that he believed terrorism was a serious 
and evolving long-term threat.  France had been a victim of 
terrorism since the 1950s, said Chaboud, and he predicted 
that it would be fighting terrorism for decades to come.  He 
said the GOF had been impressed by the British response to 
the London bombings in July, and would present to the 
legislative branch in mid-October a number of new C/T 
proposals based on some UK counter-terrorism approaches.  End 
summary. 
 
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TERRORISM: AN EVOLVING THREAT 
----------------------------- 
 
2. (C) On September 23, POL M/C and Poloff met with 
Christophe Chaboud, the head of UCLAT (Counter-terrorist 
Coordination Unit).  UCLAT is the Ministry of Interior's 
nexus for all counter-terrorism operations, analysis and 
exchanges.  Chaboud said he arrived in his position in late 
May after a 20-year career with the DST, France's internal 
security service.  Within the DST, Chaboud said he worked in 
Paris for many years but also overseas, including several 
years in Mexico and Lebanon.  In addition to its domestic 
tasks of coordinating operations and analyses, Chaboud said 
UCLAT works closely with its counterparts in the G-5 (France, 
the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany) to coordinate cross-border 
operations and facilitate information sharing.  The G-5 works 
very well together, said Chaboud, in large part due to the 
shared experience of terrorism.  UCLAT also has reinforced 
exchanges with the Benelux countries, said Chaboud. 
 
3. (C) Saying he has been "pessimistic since the 1990s," 
Chaboud told POL M/C he believes terrorism began to evolve in 
1998, with the release of the bin Laden fatwa targeting Jews 
and "Crusaders."  This fatwa legitimized terrorist operations 
beyond those that had been conducted in the name of political 
and ethnic grievances.  The fatwa internationalized and gave 
a modern ideological base to Islamic extremism, said Chaboud. 
 Terrorist groups that had previously focused on political 
and nationalist goals took on the ideology of Islamic 
extremism.  One example of this, said Chaboud, is the GSPC, 
the Algerian-based terrorist group that in recent years has 
worked to reinvent itself as a al-Qaeda linked transnational 
organization (ref B).  Although its current reasons for 
conducting terror attacks differ from its more nationalistic 
rhetoric of the 1990s, the GSPC's primary targets are still 
Algeria and France, said Chaboud.  (Note: French press 
reported on September 26 that authorities arrested 9 people 
in the Paris and Normandy regions suspected of links with the 
GSPC and of being in the initial stage of planning a 
terrorist attack in France.  The suspected ringleader, Safe 
Bourrada, had been convicted in 1998 for his logistical 
support of the 1995 GSPC attacks in France.  End note.) 
 
4. (C) POL M/C asked Chaboud for his analysis of Islamic 
extremism in France given France's significant Muslim 
population. (ref A)  Chaboud said Muslims in France were 
susceptible to extremist ideologies and "vulnerable to 
radicalization."  However, he did not believe any significant 
levels of Islamic extremism existed in France.  The RG 
closely monitored Muslim-majority areas after the London 
bombings in July, said Chaboud, and did not find any 
broad-based support, although there were isolated "cries of 
joy."  Chaboud said Islamic extremism was a "contagion" 
threat that could spread between small groups, usually 
because of the influence of an individual with experience in 
jihadist circles in Afghanistan and now, Iraq.  (Note: In 
interviews with the French press, Chaboud has reiterated GOF 
concern that the conflict in Iraq serves as a recruiting tool 
and an attractive force for some French Muslims who turn 
towards extremism.  Chaboud said Iraq has become a training 
ground for those wishing to learn terrorist tactics. 
Terrorism investigating judge Jean-Francois Ricard took up 
this subject in a recent AP interview in which he said that 
French militants were returning from Iraq with the goal of 
conducting terrorist attacks in France.  End note.) 
 
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NEW C/T PROPOSALS 
----------------- 
 
5. (C) Chaboud said the Council of Ministers would likely 
approve a number of new C/T proposals in early October, and 
would submit these proposals to the legislature in 
mid-October.  They include the expansion of surveillance 
cameras in public transport, a reinforcement of penalties for 
terrorism-related crimes, and new regulations on government 
access to cellular phone and other personal transaction 
details (ref C).  Chaboud said that some of the proposals, 
such as mandating government access to telephone and flight 
information, would simply legalize what was already current 
practice by intelligence and security services.  Current 
restrictions on information-gathering mean that French 
intelligence obtains information under the table through its 
long-standing relationships with companies, said Chaboud. 
 
6. (C) Other C/T proposals were drawn from lessons learned 
after the London bombings, said Chaboud.  He said the GOF was 
impressed with British use of surveillance cameras to quickly 
progress in the investigation.  France needed this capacity, 
said Chaboud, because of what it believed to be the increased 
possibility of simultaneous attacks and series of attacks. 
Those involved in the London attacks planned on committing 
others soon afterwards, said Chaboud, and the British 
government was successful in stopping more attacks because 
they quickly identified the perpetrators.  He said the GOF 
believed surveillance cameras also had a deterrent effect. 
Chaboud added that French crisis response needs to focus its 
planning on the prospect of simultaneous attacks.  Above all, 
France wants to reinforce the investigative and surveillance 
tools used by its intelligence and police forces. 
 
7. (C) Chaboud said he was pleased with the recent visit by 
French officials to the U.S. to discuss PNR and no-fly list 
issues.  France did not have no-fly lists like the United 
States, preferring to target specific individuals instead of 
issuing lists of possible suspects, said Chaboud.  Still, he 
said France was open to other methods that balance privacy 
and counter-terrorism concerns, and he hoped that the French 
officials would come back from the U.S. with suggestions. 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
STAPLETON