US embassy cable - 05PARIS7510

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007510 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PA/OBS/BS, EUR/PD 
 
E. O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, OPRC, OIIP, FR 
SUBJECT: FY06 TV CO-OP NOMINATIONS 
 
 
1.  We are pleased to nominate two TV co-op project ideas 
for consideration under FY06 funding. 
 
THE GENERAL CONTEXT 
 
2. The bilateral relationship was strained by differences 
over Iraq, and while relations have improved, the French 
media has an ingrained tendency to portray the United 
States as a bullying, hegemonic power, and a 'unilateral' 
nation when it comes to the United Nations, military 
intervention in Iraq, climate change, or trade 
considerations.  'Fortress America' is yet another view: an 
America that wages war to fight terrorism, abuses detainees 
and treats Muslims as potential terrorists.  Another common 
charge is that the United States wishes to see a weak 
European Union, the better to retain its super power 
status.  Many thoughtful French contacts are worried about 
these perceptions and have argued that France and the 
United States must strive to explain and understand each 
other better given the charged atmospherics. 
 
3. Set against the national media's take on the U.S.-French 
relationship, there is the regional television scene that 
rarely looks at the United States.  The regional, 
autonomous stations are well watched by their respective 
publics and take a very local focus in their news 
programming.   We have been working on expanding our ties 
with the local television stations throughout the country 
to learn about their programming and to see how we could 
cooperate on programs of mutual interest.   The following 
TV co-op proposals are the results of these efforts and 
will serve to increase better understanding of the United 
States, its society, and its policies. 
 
PROPOSAL ONE:  'ALLAH BLESS AMERICA: A PROFILE OF ISLAM IN 
THE UNITED STATES' BY AN INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER IN 
COOPERATION WITH FRANCE 3 TELEVISION BASED IN MARSEILLE 
 
4.  Documentary filmmaker Jean-Louis Boudart produced a 
moving 52-minute documentary entitled 'Beyond the Brooklyn 
Bridge' in 2004.  It shadowed two American students who 
wished to go beyond cliches to better understand Arab and 
Muslim culture.  The shooting of the piece took place in 
New York, Marseille, in the south of France, and Fez, 
Morocco.  The result was a superb portrait of both 
intellectual receptivity and young America's openness to 
new ideas and cultures.  It aired on France 3 television in 
Marseille, France's third largest city and home to one of 
France's largest and youngest Muslim populations, mostly 
first and second-generation immigrants from North Africa. 
 
5. Boudart is talented, open-minded and highly 
professional.  He would like to profile American Islam, 
which he knows is the fastest growing religion in the 
United States, and produce a portrait that, we expect, 
would show America's religious pluralism and broad 
acceptance of differences.  He would like to interview 
American converts to Islam, as well as Muslim immigrants 
and second generation Muslims, to see how they live their 
faith and how they are viewed by mainstream Americans in 
the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Are Muslims 
excluded from the American way of life?  Are they potential 
terrorists or new religious pioneers?  Boudart has reached 
an agreement with France 3 in Marseille to air this 
proposed documentary upon his return. 
 
PROPOSAL TWO:  'LESSONS LEARNED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC: 
AMERICAN THOUGHTS ON A GROWING EUROPE' BY FRANCE 3 
TELEVISION BASED IN ALSACE 
 
6. Unique in its internationalist-slant, France 3-Alsace is 
the only television channel in France to specialize in 
European issues.  It is headquartered in Strasbourg, which 
is home to the Council of Europe, with one office in 
Brussels.  For the past eight years, France 3 Alsace has 
produced a show called 'Europeos,' which is also broadcast 
on the national France 3 network and via 75 regional 
channels throughout Europe.  It focuses on trans-European 
issues, specifically the challenges and consequences of 
'the European construction' on the daily life of citizens. 
Some 400 programs are produced annually. 
 
7. Daniel Riot, Chief Editor of 'Europeos,' is eager to 
undertake a program on the American perspective of the 
construction of Europe.  He wants to go beyond the U.S. 
government's viewpoint, though he is interested in 
'eurocrats' and bureaucrats and American policy.  Little 
European airtime is devoted to analysis of why many 
Europeans believe America wants a 'weak Europe,' not- 
withstanding our policy statements.  Realistic American 
attitudes towards the strengthening European power also 
receive scant treatment.   His program would focus on 
several questions:  Is America afraid of losing its 
dominant status, or is it excited about the opportunities 
that a strong Europe presents? What are those 
opportunities? And, how is a developing Europe changing the 
lives of Americans and Europeans at the grass roots level? 
Recent polls have indicated Americans are in favor of a 
Europe playing a larger role on the international stage. 
Such a program would help persuade a skeptical Europe that 
the U.S. indeed supports a strong Europe. 
 
8.  As the program explores these issues, it will also look 
at immigration and multi-cultural America.  As a country 
built by immigrants, America has grappled for 200 years 
with integrating minorities into society. Europe today 
faces a similar, albeit different, challenge, especially 
with the growing Muslim population in France. What can 
Europe learn from American examples?  From the post-Civil 
War South to modern-day integration, America has no 
shortage of examples. Mr. Riot wants to demystify this 
question and hear candid opinions from citizens of both 
sides of the Atlantic about their evolving societies.  He 
would like to seek out minorities in the U.S. to interview, 
including first- and second- generation Muslim immigrants, 
as well as Americans who have converted to Islam. 
STAPLETON