US embassy cable - 05PARIS8311

UNCLAS PARIS 008311 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EB/IFD/OIA (SCHOLZ & ROSELI) AND EUR/ERA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EINV, ETRD, ECON, KTFN, FR 
SUBJECT: NEW FRENCH ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES ON THE WAY, 
INCLUDING ASSET FREEZING 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
1.  (SBU) French Interior Minister Sarkozy's anti-terrorism 
bill, approved by France's National Assembly on November 29, 
has moved to the Senate for final approval with surprising 
speed.  The Bill will authorize video surveillance of more 
public places and give the government increased powers to 
review telephone, e-mail and travel records for persons of 
interest.  End Summary. 
 
Overview 
-------- 
2.  (U) Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's anti-terrorism 
bill -- the fourth addition to France's anti-terror laws 
since 2001-- is intended to strengthen France's current 
legal arsenal by authorizing video surveillance of public 
places, especially nuclear and industrial sites, as well as 
airports and railway stations.  France currently has 60,000 
video cameras in public areas compared with four million in 
Britain.  The bill also would require telephone operators to 
keep extensive records and allow greater government access 
to e-communications. 
 
3.  (U) The new arsenal would allow flight passenger lists 
and identification information to become accessible to 
counter-terrorism officials.  It also calls for stiffer 
prison sentences for "criminal association with a terrorist 
enterprise" from 20 to 30 years and for an extended period 
of detention without charge from four to six days.  In the 
private sector, the new draft bill permits increased 
surveillance by facilities and individuals that could be 
targets of terrorism and requires Internet cafes to retain 
detailed information about their clientele. 
 
Freezing Terrorists' Assets: A major breakthrough 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
4.  (SBU) Following up on the EU Justice and Home Affairs 
Council attended by Sarkozy last July, the new draft bill 
would empower the Minister of the Economy to freeze for a 
renewable period of six months all or part of funds, 
financial instruments and economic resources belonging to 
individuals committing or attempting to commit acts of 
terrorism or to companies directly or indirectly controlled 
by these individuals.  The minister also would have the 
power to ban, for a renewable period of six months, any 
movement or transfer of funds, financial instruments and 
economic resources benefiting individuals or corporations. 
The minister's decisions would be enforceable on the day of 
their publication in the "Journal Officiel."  The measure 
would grant explicit national authority to freeze assets, 
currently lacking in French law, and plug up a loophole 
concerning the freezing of resident versus EU-member assets. 
 
A Consensual Approach 
--------------------- 
5.  (U) Presenting a united front in the face of the 
terrorist threat, the National Assembly approved the new 
bill by an overwhelming majority of 373 out of 577 members. 
Socialists abstained while the 27 members from the Communist 
and Green parties voted against the measure.   In order to 
strike the right balance between security and respect for 
civil liberties, National Assembly members introduced 142 
amendments, 63 of which were adopted.  The amendments are 
designed to ensure that the most "sensitive" of the measures 
introduced, particularly video surveillance and longer 
police detention, will be reappraised in 2008, that the 
rights of victims of terrorism are strengthened, and that a 
Parliamentary Committee to oversee the activities of 
intelligence services will be set up.  Sarkozy has pledged 
to work with Parliament to establish such an oversight 
committee by February 15, 2005. 
 
What next? 
---------- 
6.  (SBU) Far from being a divisive issue, debate in the 
National Assembly showed the level of consensus that the 
fight against terrorism enjoys in France.  The Sarkzoy draft 
bill is expected to sail smoothly through the Senate.  The 
adoption of the bill will only require one reading by both 
houses as it is discussed under an emergency procedure.  It 
is expected to become law early next year.  The only 
opposition expressed has been from the French Data 
Protection Agency CNIL, as well as some Magistrates' and 
Human Rights organizations, who fret about the possible 
impact of the new anti-terrorism package on civil liberties. 
STAPLETON