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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000147 
 
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 - Iran Middle East - 
Palestinian and Israeli Elections 
PARIS - Tuesday, January 10, 2006 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Iran 
Middle East - Palestinian and Israeli Elections 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
No single story leads today. Instead today's headlines range 
from "Avian Flu: The Epidemic Progresses" for Le Figaro; 
"Sharon's Successor" and "Olmert to Follow Sharon" (Liberation 
and Le Monde) to "What Europe Expects for France" (La Croix). 
In the economic press, La Tribune headlines "Financial Markets 
Start the Year with a Roar" while Les Echos titles "Growth and 
Employment: The French Morose." Les Echos publishes the result 
of a poll indicating that 72 percent of respondents are 
pessimistic about employment opportunities. Both Les Echos and 
La Tribune report on the good prospects for EADS, the parent 
company of Airbus: "EADS Confident Despite Boeing's Return" 
(Les Echos); "EADS's Order Book Full" (La Tribune). 
 
In other news, Le Monde and Le Figaro report on a story 
developed by a German language Swiss weekly, SonntagsBlick, on 
January 8, indicating that the Swiss government intercepted a 
confidential fax transmission between the Egyptian Foreign 
 
SIPDIS 
Affairs Ministry and its London Mission, written in French, 
reporting that "the Egyptian government `had its own proof' 
that Romania allowed the CIA to interrogate 23 Iraqi and 
Afghan citizens on its territory." Le Monde adds: "the note 
also indicates that similar interrogation centers exist in 
Ukraine, Kosovo, Macedonia and Bulgaria." According to Le 
Monde, the Swiss government is investigating the leak. Le 
Figaro reports that the German weekly could be liable under 
the Swiss military penal Code for revealing the story. It also 
reports that the five nations mentioned in the confidential 
note "continue to adamantly deny the existence of CIA prisons 
on their territory." 
 
Coverage of the French hostage's return to France is 
widespread in written outlets and the electronic media. All 
reports emphasize his "discretion" about the conditions of his 
detention and release and on the different versions 
circulating about whether he escaped or was released. 
 
Iran's stance on resuming its sensitive nuclear work is 
reported in Le Figaro in an article entitled "A New 
Provocation From Tehran," while several regional editorials 
comment on Iran's "nuclear threat." (See Part C) 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Iran 
 
"A New Provocation From Tehran" 
Maurin Picard in right-of-center Le Figaro (01/10): 
"Yesterday, Iran crossed a new boundary. Ignoring the warnings 
from the international community, Tehran announced it was 
resuming its research activities on nuclear production. The 
international community believes that although research does 
not mean production, Iran may be returning to proliferation 
activities. Under the present conditions it is highly unlikely 
that the negotiations with the EU-3 will resume as scheduled 
on the 18th. If Iran does not back down, the next step will 
most probably be an ultimatum to Iran: either it stops its 
nuclear activities or the issue will be brought before the 
UN." 
 
"A Complicated Middle East" 
Jean-Claude Kiefer in regional Les Dernieres Nouvelles 
d'Alsace (01/10): "The International Atomic Energy Agency, 
although an arm of the UN, carries no weight with Tehran. 
Neither does the EU-3. The Mullahs seem also to be ignoring 
the U.S. Iran is fanatical enough to use the bomb to attack 
Israel and pro-Western Arab nations. This alone could incite 
Egypt and Saudi Arabia to also develop their own atomic 
weapon. As if the Middle East weren't complicated enough." 
 
"A Fanatical Regime" 
Jean-Francois Montremont in regional Le Courrier Picard 
(01/10): "Those who hold the reins in Iran are so locked into 
their paranoia that they have created a parallel army with 
more sophisticated weapons than the traditional Iranian army, 
in whom they have very little confidence. If by mishap a 
tactical nuclear bomb were to come out of the Ispahan nuclear 
laboratory, it would be handed to the `Guardians of the 
Revolution,' the militant group from which comes the current 
President of Iran. The dangerousness of the regime is clear to 
all. And the idea that the U.S. might one day be tempted by a 
military adventure similar to the Iraqi adventure is 
frightening." 
 
Middle East - Palestinian and Israeli Elections 
 
"Instabilities" 
Gerard Dupuy in left-of-center Liberation (01/10): "The 
Israeli and Palestinian elections are close in time but far 
apart in nature. Despite the fact that Olmert will be 
replacing Sharon, the Israeli elections seem to be emphasizing 
Israel's political and institutional stability. Conversely, 
the Palestinian campaign indicates a chaotic situation. A year 
after his election, Abbas seems unable to stop the melt down 
of the Palestinian Authority and its institutions. The 
internal fights among the Palestinian candidates do not bode 
well for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. And herein 
lies the ambiguity of Sharon's policy: the pullout from Gaza 
held the potential for a peaceful end to the conflict, but the 
brutality of Sharon's Palestinian policy did such a good job 
in destroying his enemy, that Abbas is too weakened to be able 
to take advantage of the opportunity. Abbas, after Arafat, has 
been incapable of resisting Sharon's deluge. The Palestinian 
elections will not fulfill the hopes they have elicited. This 
is also Sharon's contradictory legacy, which his successor 
will need to resolve in order to move forward." 
 
"Israel's Lesson in Democracy" 
Left-of-center Le Monde in its editorial (01/10): "Since 
Sharon's hospitalization, there are daily medical bulletins on 
his state of health. Such transparency would be inconceivable 
in France regarding the President's state of health. We all 
remember the lack of information that filtered out during 
Chirac's recent stroke. Israel, which could easily hide behind 
the proverbial `national security' argument, is giving 
everyone a fantastic lesson in democracy." STAPLETON