US embassy cable - 05PARIS7532

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 007532 
 
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TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, FR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - President Bush to South 
America - Bush Presidency Paris Social Unrest 
PARIS - Friday, November 04, 2005 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
President Bush to South America - Bush Presidency 
Paris Social Unrest 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Without exception today's front pages are exclusively devoted 
to the social unrest which has been gripping the Paris suburbs 
for almost a week. "Enough" is the banner headline of France 
Soir and Le Parisien, while Le Figaro puts the emphasis on the 
population's "Anger." Liberation, La Croix and l'Humanite 
suggest what changes need to be made. (See Part C) 
 
Le Figaro reports extensively on the relationship between the 
Bush Administration and South America. (See Part C) Les Echos 
carries an op-ed by New York correspondent David Barroux 
titled: "President Bush's Blind Man's Poker." (See Part C) 
 
Liberation devotes a report to "Iraq's Kurds and Their Desire 
for Independence." "They never stop thinking about it, but 
rarely speak of it. Or if they do, as little as possible. 
Iraq's Kurdish leaders know this is a sensitive issue. But 
independence remains the goal for 4 million Kurds." 
 
Several outlets (La Croix, Le Figaro) report that the EU will 
investigate the allegations that the CIA has established 
"detention centers" in Eastern Europe. Poland is reported as 
having denied any contact with the Americans in view of 
establishing such centers. 
 
Le Figaro reports the capture of the alleged "brains" behind 
the Madrid bombings, Mustafa Setmarian Nasar in Pakistan. 
"Setmarian was using the Iberian peninsula as a base for 
Jihadists among whom are individuals suspected of having taken 
part in the attacks in New York." 
 
A two-page spread in Liberation traces the "Fall of An 
Ambassador." It is the story of the indictment of former 
French Ambassador Serge Boidevaix in connection with the `oil 
for food' scandal. 
 
The President of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, was interviewed 
by Le Monde during his visit to Paris yesterday. Asked to 
comment on the possible membership of Turkey to the EU, the 
Cypriot president said: "If Turkey gears itself towards Europe 
it is better for us than seeing Turkey turn its back on 
Europe. But this hinges on one important condition: Turkey 
must fulfill its obligations to Europe and therefore to 
Cyprus." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
President Bush to South America - Bush Presidency 
 
"Bush in Hostile Territory" 
Lamia Oualalou in right-of-center Le Figaro (11/04): "The 
American model is no longer a winner in South America. A 
decade of a disorganized liberalized economy orchestrated by 
the IMF and the World Bank, with the White House blessing, has 
left Latin American populations on their knees. Latin America 
feels as though it has become the victim of organized looting 
by international institutions and its elites. First it was the 
Spaniards, now the Americans." 
 
"Latino Versus Yankee" 
Thomas de Rochechouart in right-of-center France Soir (11/04): 
"Beyond the personal antagonism pitting Bush against Chavez, 
what is at stake is much more important: the political future 
of the entire Latin American continent. The U.S. has always 
exercised a dominant influence over the continent. It is the 
Monroe doctrine at work: America belongs to the Americans and 
the U.S. guarantees its security. But in the past several 
years this hegemony has been questioned. The economic crises 
in Argentina and Brazil have tarnished the image of the U.S. . 
A new axis of opposition led by Chavez and Castro is rising 
and their anti-U.S. stance could well include Bolivia and 
Mexico. The U.S. could find itself in a face-off with 
Venezuela, Brazil Bolivia and Mexico, its traditional ally. A 
new American revolution of a sort." 
 
"Criminal Court Divides the Americas" 
Lamia Oualalou in right-of-center Le Figaro (11/04): "Mexico 
has once again shattered the myth that it lives in the shadow 
of the U.S. By ratifying the article which signs the ICC's 
existence, Mexico is enjoying the use of this symbol. It has 
also refused to sign an immunity agreement with Washington. A 
slap in the face for its American neighbor, despite the 
increasing efforts made by the Bush administration to get the 
project aborted. through a series of blackmailing threats to 
cut aid. The rebellion of several South American countries 
will cost them dearly. In the U.S., Congressmen are sounding 
the alarm: by cutting aid, especially military aid, the Bush 
administration is running the risk of seeing other countries, 
like China, step in." 
 
"President Bush's Blind Mind's Poker" 
David Barroux in right-of-center Les Echos (11/04): "A year 
ago, George Bush was elected President. Today his horizon is 
full of dark clouds. Mired in Iraq, with an approval rate at 
its lowest, and Congress putting spokes in his wheel, the 
President has only one option: a poker play in the form of a 
sharp swerve to the right." 
 
Paris Social Unrest 
 
"The Suburbs Thirty Years Later" 
Alexis Bezet in right-of-center Le Figaro (11/04): "The 
figures speak for themselves. Every couple of years, like 
today, our suburbs explode and call attention to themselves. 
Soon after, France forgets. Could not our politicians deal 
with the root of the problem? It is France's unbridled 
immigration policy which has taken us to where we are today. 
It is urgent to control the flow of both legal and illegal 
immigration. And so we must be firm, adopt a preventive 
approach without turning to band-aid solutions. And of course 
concentrate on education. Most of all we need courage: our 
situation today is the result of thirty years of blindness. It 
may take as long to cure the problem." 
 
"France's Intifada?" 
Patrick Sabatier in left-of-center Liberation (11/04): "We can 
but smile at the headlines of the foreign press calling our 
suburban violence `our own Intifada.' But we must denounce 
those who are quick to call it a civil war. This violence is 
the doing of a minority. Two mistakes are to be avoided: 
falling into the trap of escalation, violence, repression; the 
second is to give into the temptation of abandoning a 
territory which our own politicians have undermined by their 
inaction." 
 
"A Presidential Waste" 
Francois-Xavier Pietri in centrist La Tribune (11/04): "The 
prospect of the presidential election is indeed making people 
crazy. It is certainly making the political class totally 
inoperative. The battle for power within the government 
between Interior Minister Sarkozy and PM Villepin has totally 
hidden from view the real problems of our suburbs." STAPLETON