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Lucia A Keegan  09/11/2006 03:58:08 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS        PARIS 06056

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: POL
    INFO:   ODC AGR PAO AMB DAO ECON STRASBOU DCM FCS SCI
            ORA UNESCO

DISSEMINATION: POLOUT
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: POL/MC:JROSENBLATT
DRAFTED: POL:RWALLER,JMUNIR
CLEARED: POL:BTURNER

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DE RUEHFR #6056/01 2540812
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110812Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1165
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0884

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL LE SY IS FR
SUBJECT: FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON UNIFIL 
 
REF: PARIS 5811 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: On Sept. 7, the French National Assembly 
debated France's participation in a reinforced UNIFIL.  Prime 
Minister Dominique de Villepin hailed the lifting of the 
Israeli blocade of Lebanon, noted the despatch of a French 
interministerial team to assess reconstruction efforts, and 
called upon Iran to take responsibility for its nuclear 
activities.  He stressed that Iran's response to the 
international community's offer was unsatisfactory, adding 
that the impasse could only be solved through political 
means.  The PM underscored Pres. Chirac's call for a new 
meeting of the Quartet, and (in a clear reference to USG 
policy) said that war was not the proper response to 
terrorism.  Among the representatives of the four major 
parties who responded afterwards, Francois Bayrou of the 
centrist UDF argued that UNIFIL's mandate was too fuzzy, and 
that the Government of Lebanon's reticence to forcibly disarm 
Hizballah would produce a "UNIFIL II" just as ineffective as 
its predecessor.  Several speakers took the opportunity to 
argue for holding the line against cuts in the defense 
budget.  End summary. 
 
PM Villepin Calls upon Syria and Iran to Comply with UNSCRs 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Embassy Poloffs and Pol FSN attended the September 7 
debate in the French National Assembly over France's 
participation in UNIFIL, in a special session called at the 
behest of President Chirac.  PM Dominique de Villepin opened 
the proceedings by delivering the government's statement, in 
which he described an arc of crisis stretching from Somalia 
to Afghanistan, with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at its 
heart.  He underscored President Chirac's August 28 call for 
a new Quartet meeting (see Paris 5811), noting that now more 
than ever, the Israelis and Palestinians are incapable of 
reaching a solution by themselves.  Suggesting that "France 
knows better than anyone" the importance of the cultural and 
religious motivations that sustain the region's crises, 
Villepin implicitly critized the USG for disregarding Pres. 
Chirac's counsel on Iraq.  As a result, Iraq has become "a 
new home of crisis that destabilizes the region and nourishes 
terrorism."  He also took aim at the Global War on Terror, 
saying that the use of military means was not the answer to 
terrorism.  (Note: Reuters reported these remarks under the 
headline "Villepin disputes the American strategy for the 
Near East.") 
 
¶3. (U) Returning to his main theme, Villepin reviewed 
France's response to the Lebanon crisis.  He hailed the 
lifting of the Israeli blockade of Lebanon (scheduled for 
later that afternoon) and announced the despatch to Beirut of 
an interministerial French team to evaluate reconstruction 
efforts. He praised PM Siniora's "courage and spirit of 
responsibility" for deploying the Lebanese Armed Forces to 
the south of the country for the first time in forty years, 
while noting that French-Israeli relations remain "solid and 
confident" and that Paris and Tel Aviv maintain a 
"constructive dialogue."  Turning to Hizballah's backers, he 
called upon Syria to fully comply with UNSCRs 1559, 1595 and 
¶1701.  With respect to Iran's nuclear ambitions, he called on 
Iran to assume its responsibilities, reiterated that Iran's 
response to the international community's offer was 
unsatisfactory, and stressed that there is no solution other 
than a political one to the current impasse. He concluded by 
noting that it was the National Assembly's approval of the 
government's military law (which set out the military budget 
until 2008) that permitted France, and Europe, to play an 
important role on the international stage. "This is an area 
in which we have made real progress in these last few years: 
Lebanon demonstrates it.  But we still have further to go," 
Villepin said. 
 
The Parties Chime In 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Though largely pro forma (there was no vote at stake), 
the ensuing debate allowed representatives of four major 
parties to stake out their positions.  Francois Bayrou of the 
centrist UDF party, though largely supportive of the French 
deployment, chided the government for accepting a UNIFIL 
mandate encased in language that was too "vague, diplomatic 
and fuzzy."  Noting the huge risks to UNIFIL, Lebanon and 
Israel if Hizballah did not disarm, Bayrou worried that the 
Government of Lebanon's reticence to use force against 
Hizballah would ultimately render the reinforced UNIFIL as 
ineffective as its predecessor.  In contrast to Bayrou, who 
spoke at length about Israel's right to exist and lambasted 
(with much applause) FM Douste-Blazy for referring to Iran as 
a source of regional stability, Communist Party 
representative Marie-George Buffet tried to lay the blame for 
the recent Lebanon conflict at Israel's door.  She criticized 
UNSCR 1701 for lacking, among other things, any reference to 
the plight of the Palestinians and advocated only using 
political means to pursue the disarmament of Hizballah. 
 
¶5. (U) Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) member Bernard 
Accoyer joined Bayrou and Villepin in arguing for a strong 
defense budget.  He praised the government's handling of the 
Lebanon crisis, and lauded President Chirac's role in 
securing a ceasefire.  Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of the 
Assembly's socialist bloc, rounded out the session by deeming 
the government's proposal for an international conference on 
the Near East "premature and unrealistic." 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
 
STAPLETON