US embassy cable - 05PARIS8076

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 008076 
 
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 
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ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, KMDR, FR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Climate Change - Montreal 
Conference Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona 
President Bush's Policies 
PARIS - Tuesday, November 29, 2005 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Climate Change - Montreal Conference 
Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona 
President Bush's Policies 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Several stories are featured on today's front pages: domestic 
immigration issues as the government looks into solutions 
after the recent suburban violence, and the climate change 
conference in Montreal, with Le Monde headlining "The World on 
Alert Over Global Warming" and La Tribune which headlines: "In 
Montreal, the World Stuck on Climate." (See Part C) 
 
President Chirac's 73rd birthday is also widely featured, with 
commentaries ranging from his thirty years of leadership as 
Prime Minister, Minister and President, "a French exception" 
according to Liberation, to a critical editorial by Jean-Marie 
Colombani in Le Monde: "The Difficult end of the Reign of 
Jacques Chirac." Colombani writes: "Of course there is a sort 
of unhealthy joy in the European and especially in the 
American media at the French misfortunes. When the New York 
Times headlines `Paris is Burning' is it not only exaggerated 
it is factually untrue but barely more so than when the French 
media announce the umpteenth `fall' of America after hurricane 
Katrina. Jacques Chirac appears to be as weakened by the 
events in the suburbs as George Bush was by hurricane 
Katrina." 
 
The postponement of Saddam's trial is widely and factually 
reported, while President Bush and his attempts to "change the 
subject" as he turns from Iraq to "illegal immigration" is a 
major story in Le Figaro (See Part C). 
 
The conclusion of the Euro-Mediterranean conference in 
Barcelona elicits wide coverage and several editorials 
including in the regional press. (See Part C) 
 
Le Monde, which originally reported on allegations of a 
"Guantanamo-style prison" in Kosovo quotes former KFOR 
commander General Valentin, previously quoted in Le Figaro: 
"Unless I was deaf and blind this detention center has only 
held people arrested by KFOR under UN resolution 1244. All 
American prisoners wear orange jumpsuits. When it comes to 
being able to tell the difference between a bearded Albanian 
and a Taliban I believe that Mr. Robles made an assimilation 
between the two."  A small item in Liberation entitled: "The 
EU Asks Washington for Answers" states: "The European Justice 
Commissioner, Franco Frattini, revealed yesterday that he has 
asked the U.S. for explanations about the alleged existence of 
secret CIA prisons in Europe, but that he has received no 
 
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answer to date." 
 
Catholic La Croix devotes a report to biometrics and how this 
technology is invading our daily lives. The article reports: 
"since last month, the U.S. requires visa waiver country 
citizens to carry a biometric passport to enter the U.S. 
without a visa." The article also notes that the biometric 
system required by the U.S. "is among the most sophisticated." 
In a separate sidebar, La Croix reports on the latest figures 
for foreign students going to the U.S., published by the 
International Institute for Education, titled "The American 
Dream Losing Steam." The article notes that high education 
costs but also the difficulty of getting visas have impacted 
on the figures. 
 
Le Parisien interviews Jean-Louis Bourlanges, a European 
Representative, on France's influence in Europe: "Since the 
`no' vote to the EU Constitution, France has indeed lost some 
of its influence: it is no longer a reference. No one listens 
to us anymore. The British idea of Europe as a free trade zone 
is replacing the French idea of a political entity with strong 
institutions. and which on the international level stands 
separate from the U.S. France and its vision lost much with 
the nomination of Barosso who perfectly embodies the British 
vision: he is liberal, pro-Atlantic and has a timid idea of 
Europe's construction." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Climate Change - Montreal Conference 
 
"Hot Potatoes" 
Pascal Aubert in centrist La Tribune (11/29): "Constrain or 
convince? That is the question facing the international 
community, which remains divided in the face of global 
warming. Once again in Montreal, the international community 
will be hard pressed to stand united against a plague that 
does not differentiate between North and South. Everyone 
agrees that climate change is a danger for the eco-system and 
that human activity is a multiplying factor - the U.S. rallied 
to this idea a few months ago. On all other issues, and 
especially on how to deal with the changes, everyone 
disagrees. A few months after the Kyoto Protocol went into 
effect, the limitations of voluntary emission reduction have 
become apparent. Everyone knows that to reach the goals set, 
the price to pay will be a slower economy and limiting 
industrial production: two things that public opinions are not 
ready to accept. It is illusory to believe that technological 
progress is enough to curb the trend, as the U.S. believes. 
The challenge is not only to governments, it is also to every 
individual." 
 
"Climate Change and World Changes" 
Bernard Le Solleu in regional Ouest-France (11/29): "Not only 
the U.S. but also China and India are staying out of the fight 
against global warming. The case of China, with its record 
growth and many incidents affecting pollution, makes it easier 
for the Bush administration, which can say: what is the good 
of Kyoto, if emerging nations, which are huge polluters, do 
not join in? Russia is also a source of concern: Putin seems 
more interested in selling his oil and gas at low cost. 
Lastly, the plan to reduce emissions to the 1990 levels is 
unrealistic. But all is not lost: the Bush administration will 
not last forever and France is planning to build a new nuclear 
reactor in Cherbourg. The climate is changing and the world is 
moving. But is it moving in the right direction? The answer in 
the next century." 
 
"Negotiations on Post-Kyoto" 
Laurent D'Ersu in Catholic La Croix (11/29): "Europeans and 
Canadians consider it essential to reach a new agreement by 
2010. But they are facing opposition from the U.S., which has 
rejected Kyoto and has also indicated that it will reject all 
discussions in Montreal on future climate negotiations. 
Because of the risk of a U.S. veto, the EU is only targeting a 
`discussion process.'" 
 
President Bush's Policies 
 
"Bush Takes On Illegal Immigration" 
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (11/29): 
"President Bush needs to change the subject. The war in Iraq, 
the manipulation that preceded it, his falling popularity 
ratings and the rebuff he has been meeting with abroad are all 
banding together to weaken the U.S. President, who is 
beginning to be labeled `a lame duck' three years before the 
end of his term. The President has therefore decided to open a 
new front: that of illegal immigration. But after the many 
initiatives which have turned against him, one wonders whether 
this latest one is indeed a wise choice." 
 
Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona 
 
"Arabs and Europeans Divided on Terrorism" 
Francois Musseau in left-of-center Liberation (11/29): "An 
atmosphere of fiasco permeated the Euro-Mediterranean summit 
in Barcelona. Until the last minute, the members of this ten 
year-old group had to haggle over the terms to be used in the 
`anti-terrorist code of conduct.' The text, which states that 
`terrorism can never be justified,' had to be diluted after 
the ritual fight between Europeans and Arabs on the debated 
question of legitimacy (or not) of armed resistance to an 
occupier. The divergence between Israel and Arab countries 
kept the 35 nations from co-signing the slightest declaration 
on the prospect for peace in the Middle East. A commitment for 
liberalization of agricultural products and services between 
the two zones was made, and the prospect for a free trade zone 
by 2010 was emphasized. But a diplomat indicated this was not 
`a reasonable time frame.'" STAPLETON