Cablegate: Media Report French Election; Harare

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 001092

SIPDIS

AF/PD FOR COX AND ROBERTSON, AF/S FOR KRAFT AND
SCHLACHTER, AF/RA FOR DIPALMA, INR/R/MR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ZI KPAO
SUBJECT: MEDIA REPORT FRENCH ELECTION; HARARE

1. Under headline "Chirac's massive victory: The
lesson for African leaders" the independent daily "The
Daily News" dedicated its May 7 editorial to hailing
French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac's resounding
defeat of Jean-Marie Le Pen in Sunday's run-off as a
"reaffirmation" of the dangers of political extremism.
Excerpts:

2. ".Jacques Chirac's massive victory over the racist
Jean-Marie Le Pen was welcomed with the same Phew! by
many Africans in Francophone Africa as the headline
used in one French newspaper.

".What the people of France did, albeit spurred by
a fear of what the rest of Europe would think of
them, was a reaffirmation of their commitment to
freedom for all people, whatever their race and
whatever their origins. But for African leaders
the lesson should be quite clear: Europe will not
always drive the Le Pens in their midst into
political wilderness. When the chips are really
down and their economies are pushed against the
wall, some of the Europeans might vote for the
racists. Africans must get rid of their greedy
leaders, by any means, before they accept the
humiliation of being economic refugees."

SULLIVAN

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