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Lucia A Keegan  02/08/2007 12:58:40 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS    SENSITIVE     PARIS 00480

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: SCI
    INFO:   UNESCO AMBO DCM AMB ECON MGT ESCI POL SCIO AGR
            LABO ENGO ECSO

DISSEMINATION: SCIX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: EMIN:TJWHITE
DRAFTED: ESTH:KMKATZER
CLEARED: ESTH:RWDRY; MGT: MBDEVER

VZCZCFRI758
RR RUEHC RUEAUSA RUEHRC RUEAHLC RUEHPH RUCNMEU
RUEHZN RUEHMRE RUEHSR
DE RUEHFR #0480/01 0381546
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071546Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4750
INFO RUEAUSA/DEPARTMENT OF HHS WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/EST COLLECTIVE
RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1515
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0314

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000480 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR G/AIAG, OES/IHA, CA, CA/OCS, EUR/WE 
HHS FOR INTERNATIONAL LSAWYER 
USDA FOR ITP, CMP/DLP 
USDA FOR FAS PASS FSIS AND APHIS 
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR OIA 
CDC FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA PLANNING CELL 
USEU FOR ESTH TSMITHAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFLU FR AIAG
SUBJECT: FRANCE?S AVIAN INFLUENZA PANDEMIC PLANNING: 
QUESTIONS FOR THE U.S. 
 
REF: 06 PARIS 06376, 06 PARIS 6789 
 
NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1.  (U) This is an action request.  See para 8. 
 
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Paris Eager For Collaboration With U.S. Authorities 
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¶2.  (U) Embassy ESTH officers recently met with Ministry of 
Health officials, who expressed interest in collaborating 
more intensively with the U.S. in two areas of pandemic 
influenza planning.  Michel Augras, Director of Work for 
the Interministerial Delegate for Avian Influenza, and 
Emmanuel Jean, Chief of European and International Affairs 
at the Health Ministry, expressed interest in particular on 
U.S. views on how to prepare businesses to plan for a 
pandemic.  French authorities have been working with the 
non-profit organization Safe America on this issue (NFI), 
but consider more might be done on a government-to- 
government basis.  Augras added that France and the U.S. 
are uniquely positioned to undertake this kind of effort. 
Secondly, France is keenly interested in the U.S. approach 
to ?social distancing? in the working population in the 
event of a pandemic.  How do you organize the confinement 
for those who are not sick, he questioned.  (NB.  ESTH 
officer forwarded to the Health Ministry the materials 
about social distancing released February 1.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) (Note also that French security authorities 
(Secretary General for National Defense ?SGDN?) had 
mentioned similar interests in cooperating further with the 
U.S. to visiting DOE Deputy Undersecretary for 
Counterterrorism, Steven Aoki, during his visit to Paris in 
October 2006, reported in 06 Paris 6789 (See Reftel B). 
Essentially, that message reported that France was 
examining economic consequences of a crisis, essentially 
determining weak links in the economic system, e.g., 
transportation or supply systems, food shortages, etc. 
?Where do shortages come from in such (an AI-driven human 
disease) emergency,? asked Aoki?s French interlocutor. 
Learning more about the emergencies would permit 
authorities to adapt their emergency plans to provision 
against deep negative national economic repercussions in 
the event of a pandemic.  The French security interlocutor 
indicated the GOF sought U.S. thinking/methodologies to 
help better assess weak points in the French economy in 
advance of any crisis.  Embassy subsequently provided DHS 
pandemic planning contact information to SGDN in response 
to this request.) 
 
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More Questions... 
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¶4.  (SBU)  After the visits to Washington in early and in 
the summer of 2006, respectively, by Didier Hussein, 
France?s Interministerial Delegate for Avian Influenza and 
Minister of Health Xavier Bertrand, Embassy is unaware of 
subsequent high level contact between France and the U.S. 
to follow up several themes.  Augras took the opportunity 
of ESTH Officers visit to ask if the U.S. had clarified the 
situations under which the U.S. might shut down air 
transportation in the context of human-to-human 
transmission of avian influenza.  He also inquired as to 
what lessons the U.S. had learned from its AI simulations 
exercises. 
 
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Stockpile Numbers 
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¶5.  (U) Regarding other AI information, Augras mentioned 
that France has not taken a decision as of yet as to 
whether to employ a pre-pandemic vaccine.  There is 
considerable debate in Europe on this issue, he said, and 
for the present the GOF focus is on treatment vice vaccine 
prevention.  According to the most recent numbers in the 
French press, Paris has stockpiled 70 million ?antiviral 
vaccines,? 81.5 million antibiotic treatments as 
contingency against a bioterrorist attack, 11.7 million 
antiviral treatments, 11.5 tons of oseltamivir in case of a 
AI pandemic, and 285 million filtration masks. 
 
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Updating The AI Plan 
-------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Prime Minister de Villepin announced in early 
February after a Ministerial meeting that the GOF will 
release an updated National Plan to combat avian influenza 
in the coming days. According to Augras, the updates will 
include steps on how to maintain ?normal? economic 
activities as long as possible during a pandemic.  De 
Villepin also announced that on 22 February the National 
Assembly will examine a proposed law to reinforce 
preventive measures against the avian flu.  Specifically 
the law would reinforce the resources of emergency services 
and hospital care, notably by putting in place a ?health 
reserve corps.? 
 
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New AI Ambassador 
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¶7.  (U) Replacing Ambassador Coulont as the new Ambassador- 
at-large for Avian Influenza at the MFA is Charles M. Le 
Boeuf.  Over his 30-year career, he has served in Africa, 
Israel, Morocco, and Spain. Most recently, he served in the 
Administration at MFA.  He is a lawyer by training. 
 
¶8.  Comment and Action Request: France continues to 
maintain a high degree of preparedness for an eventual 
pandemic.  It has undertaken any number of crisis 
management exercises at the national and local levels and 
has stockpiled medicines and personal protective equipment 
for use in an emergency.  France is a leader in global 
vaccine development.  France seeks to collaborate more 
closely with U.S. authorities, especially in sharing 
information about non-pharmaceutical measures and managing 
the economy in an emergency.  French authorities would 
appreciate the opportunity to discuss these questions with 
U.S. pandemic planning experts on a bilateral basis.  We 
think that given the thinking the French experts have given 
these questions that the U.S. might also benefit by an 
exchange.  Accordingly, we wonder whether the U.S. might 
propose to the French bilateral consultations.  Embassy 
would be pleased to convey U.S. interest in such talks to 
be held in either Washington or Paris to French health and 
emergency planning authorities. 
 
 
 
STAPLETON