This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 008499 
 
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 
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA; 
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Iraq - Legislative elections 
Iran 
PARIS - Friday, December 16, 2005 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iraq - Legislative elections 
Iran 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Although only the second of today's top international stories, 
the elections in Iraq are the lead for Le Figaro which 
headlines "Iraq: Democracy Settles in." Le Figaro reports that 
President Bush called the Iraqi elections "a major step 
forward toward American objectives: to have a democratic Iraq 
capable, of governing and defending itself, a country that 
will be an ally in the war on terrorism, that sets a strong 
example for other countries in the region ...such as Iran or 
Syria." The article notes that his recent campaign to explain 
US objectives in Iraq is "bearing fruit," and slide in his 
public support seems to have stopped. For Liberation "The 
Iraqis Voted en Masse." Jean-Pierre Perrin reports on 
Washington's support for Allawi while Le Monde reports on 
President Bush's interview on Fox news, which it titles 
"President Bush Acknowledges Having Made `Tactical Errors.'" 
Several regional editorials praise the "progress of democracy" 
which according to Jean Levallois of La Presse de la Manche is 
"a clear message sent to the international community, but even 
more so to the terrorists." (See Part C) 
 
Le Figaro interviews Christopher Gelpi of the University of 
North Carolina at Duke, who contends: "U.S. public opinion is 
on the brink of shift regarding troop withdrawal from Iraq." 
 
Le Figaro carries an op-ed inviting Europe to re-call its 
Ambassadors from Iran further to Ahmadinejad's latest 
revisionism statements. Another op-ed uses the example of Iran 
and the EU-3s diplomatic failings to oppose the roles of 
diplomacy to the military. (See Part C) 
 
Liberation reports that for a number of French citizens "it 
may not be a Merry Christmas" because of the need for visas to 
enter the U.S. "The Embassy in Paris is swamped with requests" 
because France is not able to provide the required biometric 
passports due to a conflict with its national printing agency. 
Liberation carries a letter to the editor entitled: "U.S. 
Visas of Mistrust" that bemoans all the documents required in 
order to get a visa: "I realize that when we are in the U.S. 
Consulate we are on foreign territory, but still I do not 
understand how the Foreign Ministry accepts such invasion of 
privacy without a multilateral agreement. So yes, in the end, 
you don't have to go to the U.S. We can boycott the U.S. or 
hope our ministry can put an end to this scandalous procedure 
between two developed democratic and supposedly `friendly' 
nations for as long as biometric passports remain unavailable 
in France." 
 
The confrontation between Paris and London over the EU budget 
is a major story. But in Catholic La Croix the Vice President 
of the EU Commission on Budgetary issues explains: "even if 
there is no agreement in Brussels, this will not necessarily 
lead to budgetary chaos. We still have another year to find an 
agreement." 
 
Economic Les Echos reports on European defense industry 
alliances as Defense Minister Alliot-Marie gave the go-ahead 
to the consolidation of the French naval military industry 
sector. In his editorial, Patrick Lamm writes: "this 
consolidation makes perfect sense because the theatres of 
operation are increasingly moving to the seas and coastal 
areas. The merger between Thales and DCN will give them more 
opportunities, even if they still have to deal with the world 
leaders, Northrop Grunman and General Dynamics." Separately La 
Tribune reports that France's Areva could get four contracts 
to build nuclear plants in China taking them away from 
Westinghouse. 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iraq 
"Iraqis Send a Message to the Terrorists" 
Jean Levallois in regional Presse de la Manche (12/16): "In 
Iraq, democracy continues to make progress. Hope is marching 
on. Under bombs, with tears and blood, and despite the blind 
terror of the terrorists, Iraq is electing its government. The 
conditions under which the Iraqis are going to the ballots are 
terrible, as each time before. But the gesture of all Iraqis 
who are choosing to vote speaks for itself. It is a message 
sent to the international community, but even more to the 
terrorists." 
 
"Defying the Terrorists" 
Andre Schlecht in regional l'Alsace (12/16): "Now that they 
are free of their dictator, the Iraqis know what they must do. 
In a country where the physical risks of participating in a 
democratic election are high, the number of candidates and the 
obvious mobilization of voters are proof that all understand 
the value of their newly found liberties. Ignoring the cries 
of the extremists who denounce democracy as an instrument of 
the devil, no single group, ethnic or religious, has called 
for a boycott of the elections. This increasing belief in 
political reform is a courageous cry of defiance to the 
proponents of obscurantism and the henchmen of the former 
dictatorship." 
 
"Washington Votes for Allawi" 
Jean-Pierre Perrin in left-of-center Liberation (12/16): 
"There is a big step from elections to the country's unity. 
Each community is indeed voting more for its own future than 
for Iraq's. And this is what worries Washington, just when it 
is beginning to plan for its troop withdrawal. There is the 
fear that a new government dominated by the Shiites, far from 
resolving the situation, might play into the hands of the 
Sunnis. Hence Washington's calculations of a return of Allawi 
and a possible coalition with liberal Sunnis." 
 
"President Bush's Third Election" 
Olivier Picard in regional Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace 
(12/16): "For the history books, the legislative elections 
taking place in Iraq will probably have more impact for 
President Bush's legacy than the other two elections, his own. 
President Bush is `taking responsibility' in order to better 
control things. He has even consulted the Democrats, a gesture 
he has not made since the beginning of the intervention in 
Iraq. The fact is that the war no longer amuses our Texas 
cowboy, who would like to bring back the GIs home and dares to 
say it out loud. But he knows it will be a long process, and 
even France is no longer that eager to see the U.S. Army 
abandon Iraq to absolute chaos. In truth, President Bush is 
suffering from the Nixon syndrome. thirty-three years later, 
and even if the two situations are not exactly alike." 
 
Iran 
 
"European Ambassadors Should Leave Tehran" 
Researcher Therese Delpech in right-of-center Le Figaro 
(12/16): "It is time we recognized who is Ahmadinejad, to draw 
the necessary conclusions. There is a time when diplomatic 
statements must take a back seat to non-ambiguous action. 
Ahmadinejad is convinced he can do as he pleases, especially 
with the Europeans. namely because everyone is acting as if 
they did not know how dangerous he is. Through this attitude 
Europe helps to re-enforce Ahmadinejad's position in Iran as 
well as abroad. We must therefore move to a higher level of 
reaction: we must recall our ambassadors. This is all the more 
important because revisionism is banned by law in several 
countries, including France. The EU-3 must also act in 
connection with Iran's violation of the NPT. This is also the 
opportunity for Austria to explain to the world the 
involvement of Ahmadinejad in the assassination of the Kurdish 
leader, Ghassemlou in Vienna in 1989. We must remember two 
things: Ahmadinejad has no way to fulfill his promises to the 
Iranian people. Therefore the danger is real of him continuing 
on this road. The second is that the Europeans have zero 
credibility in Tehran because they have demonstrated their 
inability to implement their threats. This is the time to 
change that." 
 
"The Diplomat and the Soldier: a New Hierarchy" 
Jean-Jacques Roche in right-of-center Le Figaro (12/16): "The 
patent failure of European diplomacy when it comes to Iran and 
the nuclear crisis cannot be explained exclusively by the 
election of a populist president and the disappearance of the 
threat of a U.S. military intervention. The troika was 
probably wise in privileging a diplomatic approach; but its 
approach is anachronistic when it opposes negotiations to the 
use of force and when it continues to uphold a hierarchy that 
is outdated and which places the diplomat above the soldier. 
Because of new threats, international intervention has become 
the norm and replaced the very conservative concept of non- 
intervention. Even if the soldier is sometimes working blind, 
the diplomat is even less well-equipped to deal with 
terrorists. Hence today's negotiations have become arm- 
wrestling matches where one doesn't hesitate to strike in 
order to convince the other to negotiate. Diplomacy has become 
coercive, as it did in Kosovo.  Today diplomacy would like to 
be preemptive. But faced with a distant enemy, diplomatic 
negotiations appear so ill-equipped that military doctrines 
must prepare for more frequent uses of force despite the 
obvious risks of collateral damage."  STAPELTON