Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Un Summit Katrina Gaza

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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006189

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA;
EUR/WE /P/SP; D/C (MCCOO); EUR/PA; INR/P; INR/EUC; PM; OSC ISA
FOR ILN; NEA; WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE; DOC FOR ITA/EUR/FR
AND PASS USTR/PA; USINCEUR FOR PAO; NATO/PA; MOSCOW/PA;
ROME/PA; USVIENNA FOR USDEL OSCE.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - UN Summit Katrina Gaza
PARIS - Tuesday, September 13, 2005

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

UN Summit
Katrina
Gaza

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

Front pages are devoted to an array of different stories,
mostly domestic social and political. The two exceptions are
Le Figaro which leads with "Gaza: The Palestinians Masters of
their Destiny" and La Croix which devotes its lead to the role
of the Catholic Church in helping the neediest in the states
hit by Katrina. But La Croix's editorial, which is titled
"After Gaza," comments that "the hardest task lies in the
hands of Abbas, who can succeed thanks to the help of Sharon
and the international community." (See Part C)

The aftermath of Katrina, and what the hurricane has revealed
about America, its poor, and the role of the Federal
government remain major stories. A double spread in Le
Parisien, is announced on the front page: "The Other America:
37 Million Americans in Poverty" and begins a four-part series
about poverty in America. Le Parisien interviews Andre Kaspi
of the Sorbonne University: "It isn't only Blacks who are
poor, there are many poor Whites. But the Blacks seem to
nurture a culture of poverty leading to a rejection of too
much education. The difference between the U.S. and France is
that while France favors the notion of solidarity towards its
poor, America promotes equality of chances for all. And those
who are left behind are not necessarily helped. Fighting
poverty is not a priority of American policy. But generosity
in the aftermath of Katrina is coming from the general
population; Americans do not necessarily feel that help must
come from the federal government." In the same vein, an op-ed
in Le Figaro is titled "After Katrina, a Stronger Central
Government." (See Part C)

UN reform and the UN summit elicit a number of op-eds and
pessimistic commentaries in Le Figaro and Liberation as to the
final Summit declaration. (See Part C) In Le Figaro, Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for Foreign
Affairs, promotes human rights in order to reduce world
conflicts, while in La Croix former minister and vice
president of the commission for foreign relations, Paul
Quiles, promotes multilateralism and better North-South
relations within the UN.

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

UN Summit

"The UN Reform Sinks Before It Starts"
Laurent Mauriac in left-of-center Liberation (09/13): "Before
the summit has even begun it appears that it is doomed to
fail. After much effort, the negotiations appear to be at an
impasse on two major issues: human rights and UN management.
On Friday, a final document will nevertheless be published,
but it may well be close to worthless. The many reservations
imposed by the Americans turned the negotiations into an
extremely difficult mission. As soon as he was nominated, the
U.S. Ambassador, John Bolton, who is allergic to
multilateralism, covered the initial text with an avalanche of
amendments. Yet the U.S., which is mired in Iraq, engaged in a
difficult fight against terrorism and confronted by threats
from Iran and North Korea has never been in more dire need of
international cooperation."

"The Prospect of Failure"
Alain Barluet in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/13): "Diplomats
are working hard to defuse the failure which is threatening to
befall the three-day summit. Persisting disagreements could
lead the final text to lose a portion of its intended impact.
Major bartering has been going on between the U.S. and a
series of non-aligned countries who are sticking to their more
`radical' stance. These countries, fearing a disengagement of
the UN and their subsequent loss of power, are using America's
intransigence to promote their own views."

Katrina

"After Katrina, A Stronger Central Government"
Guy Sorman in right-of-center Le Figaro (09/13): "Bad news for
the anti-Americans: the U.S. will not be swallowed by Katrina
just as it was not overcome by 9/11. What will come out is the
fact that American society has a great capacity for bouncing
back. New Orleans will be rebuilt. While the central
government remains weak in the face of natural disasters, the
effectiveness of civil society and private initiative remain
strong. Few people have noted that 500 million dollars have
been raised from the private sector and from Churches. To
believe that the victims expect everything from their
government is a projection of our own ways on America. More
important than this mix of compassion and anti-American
jubilation is how the federal government will evolve. Katrina
has shown the shortcomings of local governments more than
those of Washington. After Katrina, added to post-9/11,
internal security will dominate at the federal level. Re-
enforced security will be at the center of the federal
government's concern, leaving all other issues, culture,
education and social services to civil society and the
market."

Gaza

"After Gaza"
Dominique Quinio in Catholic La Croix (09/13): "What will the
Palestinians do with their newfound land? After the last
Israeli soldier has left, much needs yet to be done. The
Palestinians will be tempted to assume that the pull out is
their military victory. and the fruit of their armed
resistance. The destruction of the synagogues stands as a
symbol of their feelings for revenge. that will trigger anger
and sadness in Israel. It might have been better if the
Israelis had destroyed them themselves. Mahmoud Abbas carries
the heaviest load. He needs to embrace the joy of his people
but refrain from showing excessive triumph. He must continue
to make demands from Israel but through negotiations. He needs
to eradicate terrorism and the extremists from his own camp.
On both sides of the border the enemies of peace are ready to
fan the fires of anger and hate. The task is almost
insurmountable for a single man. But with the help of Sharon's
political perseverance and the sustained support of the
international community Mahmoud Abbas can succeed." STAPLETON

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