VZCZCXRO3254
OO RUEHPA RUEHROV
DE RUEHFR #6178/01 2571407
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 141407Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1335
INFO RUEHAB/AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN IMMEDIATE 1006
RUEHPC/AMEMBASSY LOME IMMEDIATE 0888
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA IMMEDIATE 1082
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0899
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/13/2016 
TAGS: PREL PHUM UNSC CD TO IV FR
SUBJECT: MFA COMMENTS ON COTE D'IVOIRE, TOGO AND CHAD 
 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah B. Rosenblatt.  Reas 
ons 1.4b,d 
 
¶1.  Summary:   MFA AF DAS-Equivalent Bruno Foucher on 
September 12 said President Chirac would call attention to 
the financial cost of French support for Operation Licorne in 
Cote d'Ivoire in upcoming UN meetings and indicate the 
possibility of an adjustment to French force deployment if 
the peace process remains in gridlock.  Regarding the 
September visits of the Togolese and Chadian Presidents to 
France, Foucher said there were no major developments, 
however he voiced satisfaction that Faure had gained 
legitimacy as head of state and that Deby had also managed to 
consolidate his position.  End Summary. 
 
Cote d'Ivoire: Status Quo Not Worth the Price Tag 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2.  (C) MFA AF DAS-Equivalent Bruno Foucher told Africa 
Watcher on September 12 that French President Chirac would 
aim next week at the UN to underscore French dissatisfaction 
at the high fiscal burden posed by continuing French military 
presence through Operation Licorne in support of the UN 
Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI).  The Licorne deployment 
has cost France about one billion euro since the crisis 
erupted in 2002, according to Foucher.  Chirac, he indicated, 
hoped to capitalize on a joint UNSC-African Union Peace and 
Security Council (PSC) meeting in New York on September 19 in 
order to jump-start the reconciliation process in Cote 
d'Ivoire.  But without real headway towards a political 
resolution, France would look to draw down the costly Licorne 
force and could envisage alteration of the Licorne and UNOCI 
mandates when next reviewed by the UN Security Council (UNSC) 
in December 2006, according to Foucher. 
 
¶3.  (C) Foucher offered a positive assessment of the 
September 8 Communique of the International Working Group in 
Abidjan, positing that it had adumbrated a path forward for 
Cote d'Ivoire after the parties inevitably miss the target of 
elections in October 2006.  Foucher said the international 
strategy now should entail:  i) reinforcement of the Prime 
Minister's authority; ii) ending the implicit duality between 
the powers of the President and Prime Minister; and iii) 
establishing a High Level Consultative Committee that would, 
in effect, be a means to remove difficult parties from the 
government while advancing dialog.  Foucher said France would 
look favorably on allowing Gbagbo to maintain his 
presidential title as a ceremonial function without actual 
governing authority. 
 
Togo:  Faure Gains Credibility as Head of State 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (C) Foucher was highly satisfied by developments on Togo. 
 President Faure's September visits to France and to the 
European Union had been a success.  Faure's meeting with EU 
Commission President Barroso was especially pivotal, for it 
accorded Faure legitimacy as head of state.  Contrary to 
media reports, Faure's talks with the French had not covered 
the supposedly imminent nomination of a Prime Minister, 
Foucher claimed.  One cause for concern, according to 
Foucher, was Faure's unilateral announcement to schedule 
legislative elections for 8 June 2007.  This was a misstep, 
inviting opposition indignation, because Faure was supposed 
to coordinate a joint announcement with the opposition, 
Foucher said.  Another turning point for Togo watchers could 
be Faure's November 2006 trip to Germany, Foucher suggested. 
 
 
Deby in Paris 
------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Foucher said Chadian President Idriss Deby had 
visited France in September in a personal capacity.  Deby 
nonetheless had meetings with President Chirac, FM 
Douste-Blazy, Minister-Delegate for Cooperation Girardin, 
Minister of Defense Alliot-Marie and Minister of Interior 
Sarkozy.  Deby's position was noticeably stronger than six 
months ago, he declared.  Foucher called attention to the 
thousand or so Chadian rebels who had just crossed the border 
with Sudan to return to Chad.  He speculated that these 
rebels were mostly of the Tama ethnicity and they had been 
left in the lurch by Sudanese President Bashir, who had 
discontinued his support.  Deby was making headway in 
bringing Zaghawa rebels back into the fold, thanks to 
increased availability of funds, giving Deby greater 
 
PARIS 00006178  002 OF 002 
 
 
negotiating latitude.  Foucher nonetheless discounted the 
notion that Bashir had ended his designs on destabilizing 
Chad.  Foucher further mentioned that a cabinet reshuffle in 
Chad was in the works, 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment:  Given Deby's close ties to Chirac, it is 
unlikely that the Chadian President would call on Minister of 
Interior Sarkozy without Chirac's consent.  Foucher, who is 
awaiting his transfer to Chad as the next French ambassador, 
insisted that French policy in the region would not change 
should Sarkozy succeed Chirac as French President in 2007. 
Foucher's comment runs contrary to the received wisdom that 
current French policy on Chad is based on Chirac's personal 
ties to Deby.  While Sarkozy is seeking to expand his own 
African base, he cannot expect and perhaps would not even 
wish for Chirac's unrivaled network of friendships built over 
decades of contact with Africa.  Significant changes in 
French African policy remain likely once Chirac steps down as 
President, regardless of his successor. 
 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
STAPLETON