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Lucia A Keegan  09/11/2006 05:38:30 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS        PARIS 06061

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

DISSEMINATION: POLOUT
CHARGE: PROG

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

VZCZCFRI379
OO RUEHXK RUEHC RUEHZL RUCNDT
DE RUEHFR #6061/01 2540843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110843Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1174
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0887

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006061 
 
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