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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PARIS 008689 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR ECA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OEXC SCUL FR
SUBJECT:  REINVIGORATING PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CULTURAL AND SPORTS 
PROGRAMS - THE PERSPECTIVE FROM FRANCE 
 
 
¶1.  Mission France is pleased to have the opportunity to 
provide an overview of those cultural programs that best 
support our MPP goals and objectives. While France - and Paris 
in particular - is center to the cultural world, hosting 
thousands of these events each year without our involvement, 
there remains an important role for the USG to play. Our 
sponsorship of U.S. music, dance, sports and some visual arts 
programs is a highly effective way for us to convey positive 
images of our society, break down stereotypes and create a 
favorable climate in which substantive policy discussions can 
take place. With resources (financial and personnel) at an all 
time low, our ability to hone in on key programs is essential 
to the success of our overall strategy. 
¶2. Question A. Which of your mission objectives benefits from 
cultural programs or could be better supported by cultural 
programs, including sports programs? 
All of our MPP goals and objectives are well served and 
benefit from our cultural programs. While our activities are 
more directly linked to the MPP goal of "improving 
international public opinion of the U.S.", they also serve as 
a foundation for achieving other mission objectives such as 
"prevention and response to terrorism", "close ties with 
allies and friends", "multilateral agreements", and "trade and 
investment." It is no secret that since our engagement in Iraq 
in early 2003, our interactions in the world arena have had 
negative consequences for our image, particularly in France. 
The French public now generally questions our honesty and our 
commitment to democratic values and principles. The right 
cultural programs can directly counter these negative opinions 
by presenting positive aspects of the U.S. and demonstrating 
that our country is an open, just, and fertile society where 
creativity and personal initiative and effort are encouraged 
and rewarded. Our diversity and our respect for other cultures 
and religions can also be highlighted, particularly among 
audiences normally inaccessible to us. Indirectly, cultural 
programs also create a more propitious environment for 
engaging our interlocutors on issues of U.S. policy and help 
foreign governments obtain the voter support they need to 
cooperate with us. 
¶3. B. What kind of specific cultural or sports programs or 
initiatives are, or would be, most effective in supporting 
these objectives? 
-- Music and dance performances and festivals are by far the 
most effective way for us to reach out to the French public: 
they showcase U.S. talent; elicit positive emotional group 
responses (at the end of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band 
concert every member of the audience was standing, clapping 
and dancing); surmount obstacles posed by language thus 
enabling us to reach a public not normally accessible through 
other programs (i.e., theatre or speaker programs); and 
generate long-term goodwill towards the U.S. Because music and 
dance performances programs are very expensive (transportation 
of artists and instruments, hall rental, lodging, etc.) and 
time consuming in their organization, the wisest investment 
generally speaking, is the program that provides the broadest 
appeal. These would be the more `popular' performances 
designed to appeal to a younger, diverse audience and to 
underscore U.S. democratic values, such as jazz, blues, modern 
dance, rap (in contrast with `elite' programs for a reduced 
audience intended to dispel the stereotype of the U.S. as 
fostering `trash' or `mass' culture (e.g., opera, classic 
ballet.) Clearly, performances that can combine the two 
objectives and audiences, such as the Jazz Ambassadors or 
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, provide the best avenue for 
outreach. If the performers are also willing to participate in 
other outreach outside the official cadre of their 
performance, such as master classes (such as the artists in 
the Blues-Sur-Seine Festival), then we have a truly well 
rounded and effective cultural program. 
-- Festivals are very popular in France and another excellent 
vehicle for outreach as they gather a broad spectrum of public 
over a period of several days and give us great visibility. 
They can be limited to one genre (music, dance, film) or 
incorporate various genres. Post regrets that the Festival 
Fund Grants Program is no longer available. It was very 
successful in France and provided access to an additional 
source of funding. 
-- Sports programs are also an extremely effective way to 
reach out to all types of French audiences without language 
barriers. Basketball is by far the most popular of US sports 
here, and American basketball teams and players are well known 
by French fans, who are often very diverse in their 
backgrounds, ranging from the elite to the lower socio- 
economic classes. French players in the NBA are idolized in 
France.  Our basketball athletes can be excellent US 
ambassadors and role models to young audiences, and would be 
particularly valuable in our collaboration with schools and 
community or civic associations working with disadvantaged 
youth in urban areas. 
Because some professional athletes also associate themselves 
with a cause or charity, they can help us highlight American 
civic involvement and our extensive private charitable 
contributions to other countries. Despite the controversy 
generated by the media regarding his suspected drug use, Lance 
Armstrong's successive victories in the Tour de France and his 
association with the fight against cancer were an excellent 
way to showcase our country. Other sports, such as tennis, 
while more `elitist' in image, are very popular and worth 
exploring. 
-- Visual Arts programs can also work well in France. The 
French love photography and professional exhibits that 
represent American landscapes (natural or urban) draw a 
substantial crowd from both upper and middle classes. The 
Ground Zero photo exhibit, which was a more modest `home- 
grown' version of a full professional exhibit, attracted large 
crowds because of its historic and emotional content. Paper 
shows, because they are a bit `light' in terms of their 
artistic appeal, do not stand on their own as well. They 
therefore work best when keyed for thematic content (`Earth 
Day' or even `60th Anniversary Commemoration of the UN' will 
elicit considerably less interest than `Rosa Parks' and other 
civil rights commemorative paper shows.) Because of their 
relative cost and lighter weight, they are much more 
affordable to posts and more practical for transportation and 
lending purposes to smaller institutions, libraries and 
schools, which are all eager consumers. 
-- Institution-to-Institution Exchanges and partnerships such 
as IPAM (International Partnership Among Museums) can be 
excellent vehicles for creating strong links between France 
and the United States. They also help establish professional 
networks while helping to giving the French greater access to 
lesser known regions of the U.S. Sister Cities have developed 
museum partnerships, artist and student exchanges, and other 
programs that increase tourism and encourage a positive 
attitude towards the U.S., particularly among young people. 
Unfortunately, the success of these programs is completely 
dependent on the will and financial capabilities of each side 
of the partnership. If one partner is less involved than the 
other frustration sets in and the Mission finds itself called 
upon to fill in for that partner, a role we are unable to 
take. 
-- Film can be a good vehicle of communication but we are much 
more constrained in this case by language and by the message 
conveyed by the film. It is often difficult to find American 
films that do not portray the U.S. or some aspect of our 
society/culture in a negative light. In addition, the 
offerings in France are so overwhelming and our `value added' 
so negligible that we have a hard time attracting distributors 
for screenings. We can and do, of course, associate ourselves 
with the Deauville American film Festival. 
-- Videos can be more useful than films in terms of outreach. 
While they have the same language constraints, because they 
are provided by the Department their message about the U.S. 
has already been determined to be positive. In addition, they 
are more practical to use and can be loaned regularly to 
schools where English is taught. Like paper shows, they are 
most valuable when combined with a speaker program. 
-- Theater is a more complicated endeavor, as it generally 
involves greater expense and organization. In addition, a 
language barrier usually exists, so we risk limiting our 
audience to English speakers who are already `US-friendly.' 
The returns on investment are much less than for other 
programs listed above, though this does not mean that we 
should not associate ourselves with the right program when it 
comes to our attention. 
¶4. C. What constraints does your Mission face in effectively 
utilizing cultural, arts, and sports programs? Are there art 
forms, sports or cultural expressions that do not engage 
audiences in your country? Are there other constraints that 
limit the effectiveness of these kinds of programs in your 
country? Do you face internal staffing or funding constraints? 
-- Our greatest constraint is `resources,' both in terms of 
funding and staffing. Cultural programming in France, 
particularly the type that draws large audiences, is extremely 
expensive. Post simply does not have the budget that permits 
it to organize these programs on a regular basis and still 
maintain support for other PD programs such as speakers, 
education, civil society and alumni programs, also key 
elements of our outreach strategy. 
Because France attracts so much interest in and of its own, we 
are also faced with competition from outside entities (both 
from the private sector and from other government institutions 
such as UNESCO, World Monuments Fund, alumni groups, etc.) 
which call on us to provide funding and/or staffing in order 
to organize events during the year. 
Mission France consists of not only Paris but also our two 
Consulates General (CGs) and five American Presence Posts 
(APPs). These seven satellite posts are very well keyed in to 
the needs and interests of the populations in their area and 
propose a number of excellent cultural programs. They must 
compete with Paris for funding. 
The USG budget cycle makes it extremely difficult, if not 
impossible, to fund projects taking place in the early fall or 
beginning of our fiscal year. We must therefore turn down a 
number of projects that take place in that period of the year. 
Staffing is also a significant constraint. There are only two 
American officers sharing all aspects of programming in the 
cultural section and only one Foreign Service National for 
Arts & Entertainment (Sports falls within the portfolio of 
another FSN who must also meet the responsibilities of an 
increasingly demanding education portfolio). In addition to 
organizing planned events, staff must respond to numerous 
other demands, including invitations to the Ambassador for 
sponsorship or participation in external events, review and 
requests for grants, drafting of briefing memoranda and 
remarks/speeches for front office participation, 
representation, translation, and clerical support. The 
official French 35 hour workweek also limits us and means that 
work handled outside of these normal hours (including the 
number of official events taking place in the evening) must be 
compensated by comp-time off later on. The APPs and CGs are 
also limited in their staffing. 
-- Language is a handicap for some of the programs, whether 
the language is English or Arabic. French is the common 
language for all socio-economic and ethnic groups. Only those 
French individuals with special knowledge of the U.S. and/or 
thematic interests (foreign policy or American Studies) can 
take advantage of English-language programs. Arabic is rarely 
used. 
-- Direct references to religion in programming (such as 
religious Muslim musical groups) are not appealing to French 
audiences which are mostly secular (even when they are of Arab 
or Muslim extraction). The only religious offerings that have 
traditionally appealed to the French have been musical Gospel 
groups, though in this case religion is considered to be 
collateral to the musical entertainment. 
-- Direct references to political or policy messages (as in 
some film and video offers) come across as `propaganda' and 
undermine our attempts to draw audiences towards us through 
cultural events so that groundwork may be laid for a 
subsequent substantive discussion. More often than not, they 
create a negative backlash. 
-- We often decline participation in film or music festivals 
due to the presence of one film or artist whose message about 
the U.S. or one aspect of our culture or society is negative 
(e.g. a film about the death penalty in a two-day film 
festival organized by one of Paris' city halls.) 
-- France does not rely on our offer for cultural programming 
to plan events. Therefore, most cultural institutions and 
venues - even those in the provinces - book their programming 
a long time in advance and are not always available for our 
programs. They have the luxury of picking and choosing so 
offers from Washington, which generally arrive months or weeks 
prior to the intended performance date, cannot be placed, or 
are placed in less than optimum fora. With some rare 
exceptions we normally need to work with at least one year of 
notice for major events. 
-- Offers from Washington that require us to name the U.S. 
performer (particularly those musical or dance groups 
appealing to younger, more diverse public) can be very 
difficult for post to respond to. This is particularly so when 
dealing with relatively new artists appealing to younger 
crowds (hip-hop, rap, etc.). As with speakers, our knowledge 
of who may be willing to travel to France and perform at USG 
rates is minimal. In addition, there is the concern of 
`message.' 
¶5. D. How have you been able to partner with the private 
sector in your country to sponsor cultural/sports events, or 
to overcome resource (staff and funding) constraints? 
In the past, post has already partnered with other entities 
(Franco-American friendship groups, city halls, independent 
associations, museums, sports organizations, etc.) as a 
relatively simple and inexpensive way to take advantage of an 
association with events already underway. This partnership has 
taken the form of partial funding for programs via grants and 
the patronage or presence of our Ambassador at an event. While 
these partnerships are more often than not `minimal' or 
`symbolic' in terms of our contributions, they are 
nevertheless an important component of our engagement in 
France. (In the case of one of the most successful festivals 
and points of outreach for Muslim and disadvantaged youth in 
France, the Blues-sur-Seine Festival which costs about 750,000 
USD to mount, our contribution consisted of 5,000 USD This is 
an equivalent amount to what we pay to bring a speaker for 
presentations to elite groups.) 
We continue this type of collaboration but have also more 
recently begun exploring partnerships with the private sector 
in order to obtain sufficient funds to organize special events 
(other than the Fourth of July events for which private 
donations have already been `de rigeur.') The complexity of 
regulations and ethical limitations to these collaborations as 
well as our relative inexperience in this area make it 
necessary for us to proceed with caution. In the case of the 
recent Preservation Hall Jazz Band program in France, for 
example, post reached out to French subsidiaries of American 
companies for funding and obtained promises from two. To date, 
these funds have not been made available to us. Nevertheless, 
we are convinced that these types of partnerships are the way 
of the future and will continue to pursue them.  This is an 
avenue to not only obtaining necessary funding, but also 
creating awareness among private enterprises of the importance 
of cultural outreach in enhancing the U.S. image overseas. 
 
Hofmann