VZCZCXRO3944
RR RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHFR #6679/01 2830954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100954Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2049
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1356
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0198

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006679 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/WE, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAO OPRC FR
SUBJECT:  MEDIA WRAP-UP: IRAN/DPRK NUCLEAR GAMBIT; THE WEST AND 
ISLAM COLLIDE. OCTOBER 6, 2006 
 
PARIS 00006679  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) In lieu of daily media reaction reporting, Embassy Paris 
offers this report of the week's major international stories.  Two 
major stories emerged in the first week in October:  the nuclear 
gambit of North Korea and Iran and questions linked to criticisms of 
Islam.  Media coverage of Islam and the West overwhelmed most other 
stories and continued to fuel a national debate on freedom of 
speech, interpretations of religious texts and, more widely, about 
Muslim sensitivities which appear to have been exacerbated by 
terrorism and an undeclared "clash between civilizations." 
President Chirac's call for Turkey to recognize the "Armenian 
genocide" was widely debated, but contrary to past reporting, Islam 
was not invoked to oppose Turkey's EU membership.  Similarly, 
comments about Washington's support of Turkey's integration into 
Europe was absent from the debate.  Washington was, however, harshly 
criticized for its Iraq policy in articles which quoted freely from 
Bob Woodward's new book.  End Summary. 
 
DPRK AND IRANIAN NUCLEAR GAMBIT: DELAYING TACTICS? 
 
¶2. (SBU) France's prompt rejection of Teheran's proposal that France 
participate in a nuclear consortium despite FM Douste-Blazy having 
previously courted Iran by referring to it as "an important regional 
player" was carried by all media outlets.  Left-leaning Liberation 
noted that FM Douste-Blazy suggested Iran's offer might be 
considered only after Iran suspended its enrichment program.  FR3 
television, however, showed the FM's spokesman reacting to the 
offer:  "France is not accepting this deal.  Iran must first suspend 
its uranium enrichment process, then the international community 
halts its sanctions process, then we negotiate."  Liberation added 
the Iranian offer demonstrated to what extent Tehran counted on 
Paris to put an end to the crisis and wondered whether this "was 
once again Tehran's way of trying to gain some time and to test the 
West, as is its habit, or whether it was indeed serious." 
 
¶3. (SBU) North Korea's announcement that it was planning a nuclear 
test led analysts to once again discuss Pyongyang's motivations in 
light of previous efforts to force direct negotiations with the U.S. 
Left-leaning Liberation asked whether this was "the latest gamble" 
from a regime in dire straits or whether it was "a gesture of 
deterrence."  The editorial in regional Les Dernieres Nouvelles 
d'Alsace similarly stated: "North Korea escapes all logic.  This is 
why the West is at a loss as to how to interpret this latest 
announcement.  Is it a form of deterrence?  Is it a domestic 
message... or is it a call for negotiations in order to get more 
food aid in exchange for a new moratorium?"  Right-of-center Le 
Figaro highlighted China's conundrum:  "For China's diplomacy, which 
made a serious commitment to Washington and Seoul to bring North 
Korea to reason, this incident is a major slap in the face... China 
can no longer hide its lack of effectiveness." 
 
ISLAM AND THE WEST, TURKEY AND THE EU 
 
¶4. (SBU) A wide range of commentaries and interviews followed the 
Pope's remarks on Islam, an op-ed by a French High School teacher 
now in hiding (following a Fatwah issued after he argued that Islam 
promoted violence), and the Berlin Symphony's cancellation of a 
Mozart Opera.  "Can We Still Criticize Islam?" was the leitmotif for 
reporting and analysis this week.  Popular daily Le Parisien and 
left-leaning Liberation argued that the fallout from these three 
incidents demonstrated "the growing tension in Europe over Islam and 
its values."  For Pascal Riche, of Liberation, such criticism which 
was once the prerogative of the far right, has spread to the wider 
political spectrum and become more aggressive, and more global 
because of terrorism and the rise of a 'radical' Islam.  In a 
Europe-1 radio interview, philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was adamant 
on the need for distinguishing between Islam and Islamists, but 
faulted the proponents of appeasement because they only served to 
further silence moderate Muslim voices.  The controversy offered 
left-leaning thinkers a chance to comment on anti-Americanism in the 
Muslim world:  "There are more Muslims who are angered by the 
aggressive, arrogant and cynical policies of the U.S. than Muslims 
who are angry with the West for reasons of religion" according to an 
expert in Liberation. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In the wake of President Chirac's speech in Yerevan 
calling for Turkey to recognize the "Armenian genocide," 
commentators speculated that "a new diplomatic tug-of-war between 
Paris and Ankara was brewing."  While right-of-center Le Figaro's 
editorial praised President Chirac "for breaking with a diplomatic 
taboo" and "for emphasizing the requirements of European democracy," 
Catholic La Croix deplored Chirac's lone message, and the lack of a 
 
PARIS 00006679  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
unified European stance.  Former German Foreign Affairs Minister 
Joschka Fischer warned in Le Figaro that a rupture in EU/Turkish 
relations would be a "strategic error ripe with dangerous 
consequences just when the EU needed to preserve its cooperation 
with the thriving Islamic nation." 
 
'STATE OF DENIAL' FUELS FRENCH CRITICISM ON IRAQ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Media reports on Bob Woodward's book provided new 
opportunities to rehash the prevalent criticism of U.S. policy in 
Iraq among French elites.  Left-leaning Liberation commented: 
"President Bush is depicted as a President intent on hiding from his 
people the gravity of the situation in Iraq and pursuing his policy 
of hiding his head in the sand, a stance encouraged by his 
entourage." For right-of-center Le Figaro "the novelty of the 
allegations in Bob Woodward's latest book is not what is 
embarrassing for George W. Bush, it is the repetition of the 
allegations... which confirms the already widespread notion that the 
Administration is unsure and divided on the strategy to adopt with 
regard to Iraq."  Left-of-center Le Monde asked on its front page: 
"Did Condi Know" adding that "this book marked the first serious 
attack on Secretary Rice."  Popular daily Le Parisien, which titled 
its article "The Book that Kills Bush," illustrated that "the book 
proves that Bush and his team committed mistake after mistake in 
Iraq and refused to draw the lessons..." 
HOFMANN