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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 000541 
 
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 - Palestinian Election Results 
PARIS - Friday, January 27, 2006 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
Palestinian Election Results 
 
B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
The overwhelming victory by Hamas is today's number one front- 
page story. For Le Monde, "The International Community is 
Faced with a Dilemma," Le Figaro headlines: "Hamas: The World 
is Alarmed." Liberation calls the vote "An Electoral Bomb" and 
France Soir asks: "Is It Possible for Terrorism and Democracy 
to Co-exist?" La Croix explains: "Why the Islamists Won the 
Elections." Some editorialists suggest the U.S. should have 
set conditions for Hamas before and not after the elections, 
while most commentators acknowledge that although the Hamas 
victory upsets the game plan in the Middle East, Hamas "will 
have to change." A number of commentators see the victory as a 
"slap in the face" for President Bush. (See Part C) For Mark 
Henry reporting from Jerusalem in Le Figaro "The nightmare has 
become reality: the landslide victory by Hamas has plunged 
Israel in a stupor. and confirmed the notion here that Israel 
has no Palestinian interlocutor, thus confirming Israel's need 
for a unilateral stance vis-a vis the territories." 
 
La Croix interviews Alain Dieckhoff of the CNRS on the Hamas 
victory: "I do not think it is possible to disassociate Hamas 
and the Palestinian Authority. Isolating the Palestinian 
government could lead to an acceleration of the crisis the 
Paleatinian Authority is facing and which is reflected in 
these results. But despite its victory, Hamas cannot 
monopolize all the power: it needs to share it with Fatah. The 
U.S. will probably ask Egypt to send the appropriate message 
to Hamas." 
 
Liberation interviews Jean-Francois Legrain, a researcher at 
CNRS, who says: "This is obviously a protest vote. The 
Palestinians chose to sanction the lack of peace and the 
absence of a state. Israel's unilateral stance has rid the PLO 
of its only reason for being: negotiating. It is difficult to 
imagine Hamas and Fatah cooperating, because they are so 
different. A union government does not seem viable to me." 
 
Le Parisien interviews Olivier Roy, an expert on the Middle 
East: "The peace process may be stalled a bit longer because 
of the Hamas victory. But in the mid to long-term, this will 
force Hamas to revise its stance. If Hamas continues with its 
war ideology, it cannot govern. I believe it will choose 
compromise with Israel." 
 
On a separate subject, Liberation interviews Walid Jumblatt, 
Lebanon's anti-Syrian leader who speaks up for an 
international court to try political assassins: "In view of 
the new Iran-Syria-Lebanon axis, we must continue to fight for 
an independent Lebanon. even if attacks will continue.  Al- 
Qaeda's interests and Syria's are the same: Damascus has 
exported many combatants to Iraq to fight the Americans. They 
are now coming to Lebanon. I do not wish for an Arab 
mediation: what Arab country would want a change of regime in 
Syria? But thankfully, there is Chirac, France and the 
agreement with the Americans to try to set up an international 
court." 
 
Le Monde reports on the implementation of the new EU-5 
gendarmes force (FGE) launched with France, Italy, Great 
Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal. Based in Vicence, 
Italy, the force will play a transitional role after military 
operations but before civilian forces take over. It will have 
a crisis management role. If needed, the UN and NATO will be 
able to call on the FGE. Defense Minister Alliot-Marie hopes 
the force will soon engage in operations, "in order to bolster 
the idea of a European defense." 
 
La Croix reports briefly that the European Parliament would 
like to "question Rumsfeld and Cheny in connection with 
alleged CIA secret prisons," according to Sarah Ludford, Vice 
President of the EU Commission, but La Croix explains that 
Brussels has no legal power to force such individuals to be 
questioned. 
 
Communist l'Humanite carries a full-page report on the Dick 
Marty interim report on alleged CIA prisons and Europe's so- 
called "alignment" with America's "reasons of state." "The 
investigation by the courageous Swiss Parliamentarian has the 
merit of showing how many European capitals are implicated in 
the affair, which implies a de facto submission to America's 
`reasons of state.'" 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
Palestinian Election Results 
 
"Time to Make Choices" 
Pierre Haski in left-of-center Liberation (01/27): "The 
landslide victory by Hamas has swept Fatah out of the picture 
and upset all the cards in the Middle East. The men who hold 
the reins in Hamas will have to make important choices very 
soon. The first test will be their attitude towards Israel's 
next elections. In 1996, prior to those elections, Hamas had 
perpetrated a series of terrorist attacks, which had played 
into the hands of Netanyahu, who still today would gain from a 
similar cycle of violence. A truce would, on the other hand, 
give a dynamic push to the peace process. Besides the 
Israelis, the West will also be watching Hamas closely. It is 
to be hoped that the Palestinians, who have chosen to upset 
the cards, will not regret their choices." 
 
"Danger of War in Palestine" 
Pierre Rousselin in right-of-center Le Figaro (01/27): "After 
these results, the international community must demand from 
Hamas that it recognize Israel and stop calling for its 
destruction. But the masters of Gaza are not going to convert 
to pacifism overnight. Actions will have to speak for 
themselves. Still, like the PLO in its days, Hamas is 
evolving. Instead of calling for violence, its members need to 
prove they can govern. There is a need for moderation: 
otherwise Hamas will turn the PLO into a war machine against 
Israel. The irony of the situation has not escaped anyone: the 
international community must help Hamas to govern. The U.S. 
does not want to play that game. Out of principle Washington 
does not want to deal with a terrorist organization. That's 
all fine and dandy, but maybe the Americans should have put 
conditions on Hamas's participation in the election process, 
not in their participation to the government. Now it's a bit 
late. No matter what, proof is in that in the Middle East 
democracy in itself is not enough to fight terrorism or to 
spread Western values. Europe is being less categorical and 
refuses to cut communications with the Palestinian Authority. 
There is the danger of a civil war or of a war, plain and 
simple: the transition taking place in the region is a very 
perilous one." 
 
"A Somber Day" 
Guillaume Goubert in Catholic La Croix (01/27): "No one other 
than Iran was happy about the results in the Palestinian 
elections. It is indeed a somber day when a movement calling 
for the destruction of Israel and for terrorism comes to 
power. This leads us to think back to all the missed 
opportunities since 2000. where the tiniest bit of daring and 
courage might have led us back on the road to the 
negotiations. Now we must think fast how to keep the region 
from igniting. Still, the relative calm surrounding the 
elections and the fact that Hamas chose to participate in the 
electoral process are to be saluted." 
 
"The Americans Annoyed, The Europeans Make a Face" 
Pascal Riche in left-of-center Liberation (01/27): "For 
President Bush, who has reiterated that democracy in the 
Middle East would destroy terrorism, these election results 
are a slap in the face. More so because it follows the 
election of a radical Islamist in Iran. But like the 
Europeans, Washington hopes that once faced with reality, 
Hamas will choose moderation and truce." 
 
"Bush Does Not Talk to Terrorists" 
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (01/27): "The U.S. 
is apparently closing the door on the Palestinian government 
and by the same token on what is left of the Peace Process. 
The American Administration's stance is first and foremost 
dictated by the law: as long as Hamas is on the list of 
terrorist organizations it is prohibited for any American 
citizen to provide any assistance whatsoever to it. Yet 
American diplomacy discreetly encouraged Israel to allow Hamas 
to take part in the elections, including those candidates that 
are on the Israeli security's wanted list. In parallel, USAID 
provided some 1.9 million dollars to Fatah under the table. 
The result of these efforts is a slap in the face to the 
Americans but it is also a challenge. From Iraq to Palestine, 
Bush's crusade to promote democracy has the unfortunate 
tendency to put Islamists in power." 
 
"A Surprise Win" 
Gilles Paris in left-of-center Le Monde (01/27): "The warnings 
from Washington, Israel and the EU about too big a political 
role for Hamas may have played into the hands of Hamas: indeed 
its members could not accept to participate in the elections 
in the name of democracy and at the same time not expect to 
hold a power proportionate to the results." 
 
"Bush Suffers a Blow" 
Thomas Cantaloube in right-of-center Le Parisien (01/27): "Has 
the U.S. fallen into its own trap? By pushing Hamas to take 
part in the democratic process, the White House finds itself 
having to deal with an organization it has qualified as 
`terrorist.' Nevertheless President Bush tried to give the 
election results a positive spin during his impromptu press 
conference. Still, the results look like a harsh blow to the 
Bush administration's foreign policy." STAPLETON