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 000413 
 
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 - GWOT - Bin Laden Video 
Angela Merkel to France Kosovo: Death of Ibrahim Rugova 
PARIS - Monday, January 23, 2006 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
GWOT - Bin Laden Video 
Angela Merkel to France 
Kosovo: Death of Ibrahim Rugova 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Domestic and European issues dominate today's front pages as 
Angela Merkel heads for Paris and her meeting with President 
Chirac. The Franco-German tandem is said to be "flailing" 
according to Liberation, an opinion shared by Le Journal du 
Dimanche. (See Part C) 
 
Le Figaro leads with the "New Tension in the Battle for 
Russian Gas" while all outlets report that Ibrahim Rugova's 
untimely death is a "setback" for Kosovo, with commentators 
suggesting that "nationalist movements could try to move in." 
(See Part C) 
 
Saturday's Le Figaro carries an op-ed by Bruno Tertrais of the 
Foundation for Strategic Research, defending the "virtues of 
French Nuclear Deterrence" and praising President Chirac's 
speech last Thursday. Tertrais believes that the concept of 
deterrence requires its credibility to be explained to public 
opinion, "something that had not been done since June 2001." 
"The legitimacy of deterrence must be maintained in public 
opinion and the military, especially in a context where 
terrorism is considered the principal danger." 
 
The global war on terror and the latest message from Bin Laden 
elicit two op eds in Le Figaro. General Marcel Valentin 
(former commander of the SFOR in Kosovo) criticizes the use of 
traditional military bombings to fight terrorism, while Renaud 
Girard depicts Bin Laden as an "ace communicator." (See Part 
C) 
 
Catholic La Croix devotes its lead to PM Villepin and the 
promises he has made. One report is devoted to his image in 
Great Britain, "marked by his Iraq stance." "The majority in 
Great Britain does not appreciate Villepin. But among the 
initiated, those who follow international events closely, 
Villepin is well known and appreciated. Most of all, his 
`Iraqi period' is present in every one's mind, when he led the 
battle against the war." 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
GWOT - Bin Laden Video 
 
"Of Military Effectiveness in the Face of Terrorism" 
General Marcel Valentin (former commander of the SFOR in 
Kosovo) in right-of-center Le Figaro (01/23): "I do not agree 
with an opinion piece (in Le Figaro of January 2) promoting 
the French Navy as a major means to fight terrorism and 
turning cruise missiles into anti-terrorism prime choice 
instruments. While bombings are effective against traditional 
armies, they are not adapted to the fighting against 
terrorism; in such cases they may in fact be counter- 
productive. After the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in 
Nairobi and Dar es-Salaam, the U.S. bombed Khartoum and 
terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. Those bombings did 
nothing to decapitate the terrorist network they were 
targeting; neither did they manage to avoid 9/11. In the past 
15 years, no country has been as bombarded as Afghanistan or 
Iraq. Yet in these two countries, terrorists have never been 
as numerous and terrorism as dangerous." 
 
"Bin Laden, A Master Communicator" 
Renaud Girard in right-of-center Le Figaro (01/23): "Bin Laden 
is an ace communicator. His talent resides in the mystery 
surrounding his life and the factual truths of his message. A 
message that is aimed at the politically frustrated masses in 
the Arab-Muslim world. One of his qualities is his great 
patience. His worldwide notoriety was due to Clinton and Bush 
when they made him America's number one enemy. In this new 
role. he was able to appear as an equal of the U.S. President. 
Making great use of diplomacy, he has just offered a truce to 
the U.S. Militarily speaking, Bin Laden carries practically no 
weight. He knows it and does not care, because he has 
understood that traditional military operations have become 
mere appendages of a more global war, which is a media war 
aimed at winning public opinion." 
 
Angela Merkel to France 
 
"The Star" 
Gerard Dupuy in left-of-center Liberation (01/23): "It is 
clear that the pivotal role played by the Franco-German axis 
cannot function properly if either of the two countries does 
not meet economic growth performances. But nothing proves that 
Merkel wishes to resurrect the special relationship that 
existed on both sides of the Rhine. Her East-German roots do 
not push her in that direction. And coincidentally, President 
Chirac's speech on nuclear deterrence has played against him 
in German public opinion. Merkel has shown, both in Moscow and 
in Washington that she will not let etiquette keep her from 
speaking her mind. During her visit to Paris, she will be 
scrutinized like no other German Chancellor ever before." 
 
"Chirac And Merkel Will Not Be Dining Together" 
Gilles Delafon in right-of-center Le Journal du Dimanche 
(01/22): "Behind the formal accolades the truth will not be 
easily hidden: the Franco-German relationship is flailing. 
Besides the disagreement on the domestic VAT, President 
Chirac's nuclear posture and his threatening message to 
terrorists was not to the liking of the Germans. Although 
Berlin has tried to diplomatically emphasize the `continuity' 
of the relationship, the German press blasted the French 
President for his sortie. The reasons for the malaise in the 
Franco-German relationship are due, for the most part, to the 
internal French political makeup. Merkel knows she is facing a 
waning Chirac but she is in the dark as to the outcome of the 
Villepin-Sarkozy rivalry.. Everyone in Germany is convinced 
that nothing is to be expected from the French side until 
¶2007. Until then, it is difficult to see how President Chirac 
will be in a position to dispel the image of a country without 
plans for the future." 
 
Kosovo: Death of Ibrahim Rugova 
 
"Rugova's Death Upsets Talks on Kosovo's Future" 
Right-of-center Le Figaro (01/23): "The Balkans seem to be ill- 
fated. The death of Ibrahim Rugova came days before the start 
of talks on the future status of Kosovo. The UN has just 
decided to postpone the talks and no one can hide the concern 
rising from the situation. Not the Albanians of Kosovo, who 
are losing the man who embodied their hopes for a peaceful 
independence. And not the international community, which is 
calling on the Kosovars to remain calm. A period of 
uncertainty is beginning just when Kosovo was hoping to reach 
its dream of independence, through peaceful means. Beyond 
Kosovo, it is the entire Balkans, which has started its slow 
move toward the EU, which could be threatened by this period 
of uncertainty." STAPLETON