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 003540 
 
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. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - NATO - Parliamentary Assembly - 
Middle East - Olmert in the U.S. 
PARIS - Friday, May 26, 2006 
 
 
(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: 
 
NATO - Parliamentary Assembly 
Middle East - Olmert in the U.S. 
 
(B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: 
 
Dailies all report the visit to South America of President Chirac. 
For right-of-center Le Figaro he is: "presenting his government's 
diplomatic actions as a counterweight to the U.S. in the region." 
The appointment of conservative Islamist Abdelaziz Belkhadem to form 
the new Algerian government by President Bouteflika is widely 
analyzed in the French press as: "an insurance policy for 
Bouteflika's future." (Left-of-center Liberation) 
 
The spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly starts in 
Paris today until May 30th. It elicits relatively little commentary 
for the time being aside from communist l'Humanite that qualifies 
NATO as a "political and military tool of the U.S." (See Part C) 
 
A small piece in left-of-center Le Monde notes that the "French army 
is concerned about the "Iraqization of Afghanistan." "The French 
military sees the attitude of the Taliban forces... with the 
increase in the number of suicide bombings - a method that does not 
jibe with the Afghan mentality - as influenced by the methods used 
by the insurgents in Iraq." The French Defense Ministry believes 
that one of the reasons for the recent rise in violence is that the 
Afghan army, thanks to the training it has gotten from the Americans 
and the French, is leading more sophisticated operations in 
difficult areas outside Kabul where drug trafficking is prominent." 
An article in the Thursday edition of left-of-center Liberation 
details the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle's hunt for 
Taliban off the shores of Pakistan. One French military 
representative is quoted in the article: "Even if we did not go into 
Iraq, it is important for us not to leave the Americans all alone 
here." 
 
The result of the visit of Israeli PM Ehoud Olmert in Washington is 
called a "smokescreen" in the Thursday edition of right-of-center Le 
Figaro. The daily notes that PM Olmert had difficulty in "hiding the 
jubilation he felt at being received with ceremony at the White 
House... His desire to please even prompted him to be overly 
flattering of President Bush, which did not seem to be to the 
latter's liking." Today's press focuses on Mahmoud Abbas' ultimatum 
to Hamas to recognize Israel within 10 days or face a national 
referendum on the issue. According to left-of-center Liberation, 
Mahmoud Abbas is "opening the door to a resolution of the 
Palestinian crisis... just one day after Ehoud Olmert's return from 
Washington where he received a very warm welcome." (See Part C) 
 
Left-of-center Le Monde's front page asks: "The American stick or 
the European carrot: What will Iran choose?" Two full pages are 
devoted to the question. The article relates the history of the 
crisis with Iran over its nuclear program, the creation of the EU 3 
and the evolving role of Washington in the negotiations with Iran. 
"If Jacques Chirac had had his way," the piece notes, "the initial 
European troika would have been a carbon copy of the 
Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis that was formed following the U.S.'s 
decision to go to war in Iraq, but Russia refused." 
 
Right-of-center economic supplement Le Figaro Economie reports that 
Enron's top executives: Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling were found 
guilty on Thursday of fraud and conspiracy. "The wheels of the 
American justice system are slow... but a verdict was finally 
rendered after four years of investigation and four months of 
hearings." According to Liberation the "Trial proves the American 
justice's willingness not to show any leniency towards corrupt 
executives... Skilling faces up to 185 years in prison and Lay 165." 
 
 
In an interview in center-right business daily Les Echos Mexican 
president Vicente Fox says: The American immigration law could serve 
as an example for Europe." Fox outlines why he supports the American 
immigration proposal. 
With WTO members struggling to strike a deal by mid-June, both of 
the economic dailies: center-right Les Echos and centrist La 
Tribune, say that: "The EU is still waiting for a sign, an overture 
from the U.S. concerning a reform of the Farm Bill... And the EU 
Trade Commissioner's latest proposals have been casually cast aside 
by the Americans." 
 
(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: 
 
NATO - Parliamentary Assembly 
 
"The Atlantic Alliance's Planetary Ambition" 
 Michel Muller in communist l'Humanite comments (05/26): 
"Discussions concerning the domination of an American-led NATO vs. 
an independent European Defense, which is France's preference, today 
appear completely outdated... The idea that this political military 
alliance is still essential to ensure international peace and 
security is appealing. But in reality it is merely an illusion... 
and NATO's initial purpose has been radically altered from being a 
organization devoted to the defense of its member states to a 
military and political tool... of the U.S." 
 
Middle East - Olmert in the U.S. 
 
"Going it Alone" 
Catholic La Croix's Jean-Christophe Ploquin writes (05/26): "The 
U.S. is approaching a danger point. With the visit of Israeli PM 
Ehoud Olmert, it has ratified the principle of a unilateral approach 
to establish the boundaries of Israel... Olmert has given himself a 
few months to negotiate an agreement with the leader of the 
Palestinian Authority... maybe he is in fact hoping that the Hamas 
government will fall apart on its own... As for the Bush 
Administration, it has pragmatically given even more weight than 
before to the rule of might in the Middle East. It has stomped on 
the UN resolutions that called for negotiations... and ripped in 
half the Road Map, inspired by the Europeans and supported by the 
entire international community." STAPLETON