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Lucia A Keegan  07/13/2006 05:05:15 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
UNCLAS        PARIS 04793

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: ECON
    INFO:   UNESCO ECSO FCS SCI ENGO SCIO TRDO ESCI POL ORA
            AMB AGR LABO DCM ECNO

DISSEMINATION: ECONOUT /1
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: ECON:TJWHITE
DRAFTED: ECON:VBELON
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCFRI650
RR RUEHC RUEHPO
DE RUEHFR #4793 1940953
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130953Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9486
INFO RUEHPO/AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO 0032

UNCLAS PARIS 004793 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON 
APPLICATION 05-999048 
 
REF: (A) STATE 81335 
 
(B) PARIS 4714 
 
¶1.  In addition to checking with the French Prefect for French 
Guiana and with French Customs (ref B) regarding the bona fides of 
end-user Amazonie Loisirs for license application 05-999048, Post 
Blue Lantern Action Officer also contacted the French Foreign 
Ministry, which in turn requested an interagency review to 
determined whether Amazonie Loisirs was fully authorized to import 
and sell these items.  On July 12, the French Foreign Ministry 
shared with us the comments they received from Christophe Jacquot, 
an expert on defense trade controls in the 
Defense Ministry. 
 
¶2.  Following is an unofficial translation of his assessment: 
 
I received your request for information concerning the 
classification of the material that the company Amazonie Loisirs, 
based in French Guiana but unknown to anyone in my service under 
that name, would like to import from the United States. 
 
As for the authorization to trade (commonly referred to as an AFC or 
"autorization de fabrication et de commerce"), having looked over 
the items on the list you sent, it appears that certain materials do 
fall under the 1st and 4th categories defined in article 2 of the 6 
May 1995 decree, itself a modification of the 18 April 1939 decree, 
which lays out the regulation of war materials, weapons and 
ammunition. This would require that the company, which does not 
currently possess an AFC, hold authorization to trade these 
materials -- authorization issued by the Ministry of Defense, 
Strategic Affaires Directorate, Division for Sensitive Transfers 
Regulation -- which would allow the company to import these 
materials under an authorization to import weapons of war (AIMG or 
"autorisation d'importation de matriel de guerre"). 
 
Once the company obtains an AFC, they must apply to French Customs 
to receive an AIMG after review by the Defense Ministry, the Foreign 
Ministry and the Interior Ministry. 
 
Sincerely, 
Arms Regulator Christophe JACQUOT 
 
End unofficial translation. 
 
¶3.  The interagency review, initiated by our contacts in the Foreign 
Ministry, took several weeks.  In order to facilitate and expedite 
their review of this case, in late June, we faxed the "Demande de 
Commerce" included in the license application package, sent to us by 
PM/DTCC, to the MFA, which in turn faxed it to the Defense Ministry, 
among others.  Apparently, the "Demande de Commerce" document is all 
that is needed to trade in items which fall under Categories 5, 6, 
and 7, under French defense trade regulations.  However, Mr. Jacquot 
has determined that many items listed in Amazonie Loisirs' order 
(ref A) fall into categories 1 and 4, whereas Amazonie Loisirs is 
currently only authorized to import items under categories 5, 6, and 
¶7.  For items in Categories 1 through 4, both an AFC and an AIMG are 
needed.  Category 1 items are weapons of war firearms (generally, 
anything 9mm caliber or over), Category 4 items are defensive 
weapons of war (such as 357 magnum -- generally, reserved for the 
French national police), Category 5 items are hunting weapons, 
Category 6 items are knifes and similar hand-held weapons, and 
Category 7 items are shooting and sporting firearms, such as target 
rifles.  Given the Defense Ministry's determination that many of 
these bolt action rifles, semi-automatic rifles, lever action rifles 
and pistols of these calibers fall into Catagories 1 and 4 of French 
defense trade regulations, Amazonie Loisirs does not/not have the 
necessary French Government authorizations to import these items. 
Thus, the GOF requests that we not approve this license 
application. 
 
Stapleton