VZCZCXRO9329
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHFR #1719/01 3511558
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171558Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7926
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001719 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE'S GOT TALENT:  REACHING OUT TO YOUNG LEADERS 
 
PARIS 00001719  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  "Reform" in the political, economic, and 
social arenas is a common driver behind the diverse activism 
of the almost 50 young, rising French leaders who 
participated in an outreach event hosted by the Embassy on 
December 2.  Representing a wide swatch of the French 
political spectrum -- including local elected officials, key 
staff for National and European Parliamentary leaders, and 
NGO activists -- these up-and-coming leaders enthusiastically 
shared their insights with Emboffs on a range of issues, 
capped by the upcoming battle for regional elections. 
Emphasizing technology as the key to getting their message to 
the public, they described how they are using new media to 
attract support for their issues, from campaign organization 
to the environment.  Curious about President Obama's 
administration and decision-making process, they openly, and 
deftly, discussed U.S. policy, particularly on Afghanistan. 
The backgrounds, networks, and goals of some of the attendees 
provide a window on the future landscape of French political 
leadership. 
 
Tech-Savvy Youth Getting Out Their Message . . . 
 
¶2.  (SBU) From the Deputy Mayor of Versailles, 
Francois-Xavier Bellamy, to Reda Didi, a social worker who 
has participated in post's Public Affairs programming, hails 
from Fresnes, and is involved in developing a slate of 
independent candidates for the 2012 legislative election, the 
rising French politicos who attended the Embassy's early 
December outreach event for young leaders frequently 
mentioned "reform" as the key to a better future, emphasizing 
the need for increased opportunities for participation by a 
new generation in the French policymaking establishment. 
Such reform depends on disseminating new ideas and political 
messages out to other youth and a general population who 
increasingly inform themselves via podcasts and YouTube on 
their blackberries.  Young French campaigners are learning 
everything they can from the 2008 internet outreach of 
President Obama's campaign.  Tech-savvy young French leaders 
able to exploit this trend are building their own bright 
futures.  Thomas Mimra, for example, oversaw the 2007 digital 
campaign for then-presidential candidate Sarkozy.  Although 
no longer a member of the UMP, he remains close to the party 
and to Henri Guaino, a key advisor to Sarkozy.  Mimra, who 
has developed ties to colleagues in Lebanon and Egypt, is 
currently engaged in creating a think-tank focusing on 
Euro-Mediterranean issues.  Michael Benhamou serves in the 
press section of the Elysee, and will conduct a special 
Elysee mission to Kosovo in January.  Benhamou was the UMP's 
choice to cover the U.S. election from Washington in 2008. 
Frederic Neau led the internet campaign for Europe-Ecologie 
-- considered by some as a "massive success" for getting out 
its message during the European elections.  One French 
interlocutor speculated that the traditional career path is 
becoming more open and less restrictive due to the new 
technologies.  His comment:  "While the traditional path is 
still dominant, it is no longer the only path to political 
success.  And Sarkozy is an example.  It will take time, but 
change has begun." 
 
. . . And Amplifying Our Message 
 
¶3.  (SBU) As the outreach event took place on the heels of 
President Obama,s rollout of Washington's new strategy on 
Afghanistan, Embassy officers reinforced POTUS' message with 
the participants.  Post drew upon Public Affair's extensive 
French language tools to answer questions and outline what is 
stake in the alliance for a young, politically savvy crowd. 
Their response was favorable, including some who said they 
were more receptive to our arguments in favor of increased 
contributions than the French media's coverage -- which 
focuses on senior party leaders opinions-- might lead us to 
believe.  One French attendee volunteered that not only was 
he in agreement with President Obama's policy on Afghanistan, 
but he also viewed the U.S. president as a careful and 
thoughtful decisionmaker in comparison to Sarkozy, whom he 
characterized as sometimes too quick and less thorough in his 
decisionmaking. 
 
Honing Their Skills at the Grassroots 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The regional elections slated for 2010 dominated 
conversation among the young leaders, who agreed that 
President Sarkozy would try to make the elections a test of 
his mandate at the midterm and use the results to pave the 
way for a government reshuffle to build the team he will lead 
going in to the 2012 Presidential elections.  They noted that 
center left parties -- who remain in disarray at the national 
but still control 20 of the 22 regions whose fate will be 
decided in March -- must campaign on local issues in an 
attempt to deliver a defeat to Sarkozy.  That said, with the 
Copenhagen Summit in the spotlight, the Europe-Ecologie group 
(represented at the outreach event by Neau, Caroline 
 
PARIS 00001719  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Soubayroux and Jean-Baptiste Malet) are hoping for a strong 
showing in regional elections, driven by the belief that the 
public is more receptive to Ecolo's "sustainable development" 
argument -- which they say is broader and less frightening to 
the business community and other interest groups than the 
traditional "Verts" ("Greens") program.  The Ecolos rely upon 
a very young demographic base which is growing faster than 
that of other political parties, and they are convinced that 
they have a strong chance to win in at least one region, with 
3-4 regions being their ambitious goal.  Their message is 
popular with youth, and the young find them more believable 
than other parties which, according to the Ecolo 
representatives, are increasingly "stealing" Ecolo policy 
platforms to attract voters, but are viewed as simply paying 
lip service to the issues without demonstrating commitment to 
action. 
 
Diverse Interests but a Common Passion 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The young leaders who attended the outreach 
represented diverse backgrounds and a wide array of political 
persuasions, while sharing a common passion about their 
varying issues.  In fact the event brought together minority 
leaders, including those who participated in PA programs, 
with their compatriots following the more classic route to 
power in French politics.  A snapshot of some leaders to 
watch that demonstrates such diversity and drive includes: 
 
Benjamin Benita -- well-connected in the Middle East 
(especially in Israel and Palestine), Benita works for a 
large public museum for outreach in the whole Mediterranean 
area and is close to the Socialist Party; 
Pierre Catalan -- a dynamic individual who is currently a top 
consultant for a leading public relations agency, EURO RSCG, 
Catalan is a member of the "Jeunes Europeens," wrote for 
Liberation.fr during the European elections campaign, and is 
now focusing full-time on the Greens regional campaign; 
Mohamed Chirani -- a political activist who works in the 
prefecture of Saint-Denis, especially in the "tough" areas of 
the suburbs, Chirani has a rare expertise regarding these 
issues; 
Thibault Delahaye -- a young militant, who like many of the 
young leaders we met, started his political life with the 
2005 referendum on the European Constitution, Delahaye is a 
member of the inner circle of the supporters of current IMF 
chief and potential future socialist party presidential 
candidate Dominic Strauss-Kahn.  An elected member of the 
Malakoff (a suburban area of Paris), and a member of the 
bureau of youth socialists, he is simultaneously serving as 
assistant to two MP's and finishing his law degree; 
Jean-Baptiste Malet -- a 22-year-old candidate for the Greens 
at the most recent cantonale elections, Malet received a 
respectable 15% in an area that is not particularly 
Green-friendly and will be in charge of content for the 
"Verts" in the forthcoming regional elections;  and 
Phillipe Perchoc -- founder of the think tank, "Nouvelle 
Europe," Perchoc -- who comes from a Christian-right 
pro-European political family and is a PhD student at 
Science-Po who published more than 60 articles last year -- 
specializes on the Baltics and has an extensive network in 
Central and Eastern Europe. 
 
Looking to the U.S. for Inspiration 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Whatever their party affiliation, the young leaders 
consistently embrace the "positive politics" they ascribe to 
President Obama.  One young leader noted that he was in New 
York at the time of the U.S. election in 2008 and wished he 
had been an American in order to vote for President Obama. 
Indeed, many of the young French leaders had some experience 
either studying or working in the United States.  For 
example, Benjamin Bechaux, a former adviser of Jean-Pierre 
Jouyet (European Minister during the French Presidency of the 
European Council) and now an adviser of the SIG (Service 
d'information du Gouvernment) -- the French Government's 
public affairs agency -- spent a year serving in the French 
Consulate in Houston.  Soubayroux (Europe-Ecologie) just 
returned to France after a year at Harvard. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  This event builds on a series of training programs 
and exchanges for young elected officials in France from 
disadvantaged backgrounds launched this year by the Public 
Affairs section in Paris.  The cumulative impact of this 
programming is now becoming evident as these young leaders 
with enhanced skills grow in status and self-confidence. 
They have responded very positively to Embassy overtures. 
Indeed, the young leaders invited to our event expressed a 
high degree of appreciation and enthusiasm, with the 
attendance and response rate from this group of invitees 
exceeding that of any other event we have hosted this year. 
In additional to promoting new relationships, the event was a 
source of considerable good will, with one participant, 
 
PARIS 00001719  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
representing an EU NGO, remarking that "not a single one of 
the European Union's 27 member country embassies has ever 
invited us to something like this."  Among those who 
expressed their interest in continuing to dialogue through 
such a forum were Benjamin Lancar -- the leader of the UMP's 
youth wing, "Jeunes Populaires," who relished discussing with 
Emboffs the recent Obama vs. Sarkozy article in the French 
periodical, L'Express, and who, as another attendee remarked 
,is likely to win a safe conservative seat in the 2012 
legislative elections -- and Johannes Hommel, a member of the 
Socialist Party and assistant to two members of the National 
Assembly, who belongs to the inner circle of 
"Strauss-Kahniens," preparing the political comeback of 
current IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2012. 
(Strauss-Kahn lost an earlier bid to secure the Socialist 
party's presidential nomination.)  Their reaction indicated 
that these types of events provide a unique opportunity to 
create a positive image for America among such future 
leaders, and also to convey substantive information to a 
receptive audience, such as Christophe Roussel, who has 
organized UMP debates on Afghanistan; Camille Roux, the young 
CEO of "Intelknowledge," an economic intelligence 
organization; and Delphine Alles, a professor of South Asian 
Studies at Sciences Po, where many of France's future 
politicians receive their university-level education.  It has 
also vastly expanded our window on debates among emerging 
groups as they have invited us to attend, and in the future 
speak, at some of their events. 
RIVKIN