Cablegate: Media Reaction Report - Eu Constitution Referendum -

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 003604

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 - EU CONSTITUTION REFERENDUM -
TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONSHIP: AMERICAN NEO-CONSERVATISM AND
EUROPE
PARIS - WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2005

(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

1. EU CONSTITUTION REFERENDUM
2. TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONSHIP: AMERICAN NEO-CONSERVATISM AND
EUROPE

(B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

RISING UNEMPLOYMENT, DIVISIONS BETWEEN THE FRENCH POLITICAL
CLASSES AND SUNDAY'S REFERENDUM CONTINUE TO DOMINATE HEADLINES
AND EDITORIALS LEADING LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION TO DRAW A
COMPARISON BETWEEN FRANCE TODAY AND FRANCE IN 1993 PRIOR TO
THE RATIFICATION OF THE MAASTRICHT TREATY. "THE RIFT IN FRANCE
HAS WIDENED. AND WORSE YET, THREATENS TO DIVIDE EUROPE WHEN IT
NEEDS TO BE CONSOLIDATED. TO MAKE IT INTO MORE THAN SIMPLY A
FREE-TRADE ZONE." (SEE PART C)

IN EUROPEAN NEWS, THE SEPTEMBER ELECTION IN GERMANY IS
ANALYZED IN LIGHT OF FOREIGN POLICY SHIFTS IF THE RIGHT CAME
TO POWER, FOR RIGHT-OF-CENTER LE FIGARO THE GERMAN CDU PARTY
WOULD: "PIT WASHINGTON AGAINST PARIS."

TODAY'S EDITION OF LE FIGARO CARRIES A PHOTOGRAPH OF AL QAIDA
LEADER ABU MUSAB AL-ZARQAWI ON ITS FRONT-PAGE WITH THE
HEADLINE: "ZARQUAOUI: WOUNDED." THE INSIDE STORY LABELS HIM:
"THE AMERICANS' BETE NOIRE"

DRAWING LESSONS FROM THE CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF POLICE CHIEFS THAT ENDED YESTERDAY IN PARIS,
LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE QUOTES CHRISTOPHE CHABOUD, HEAD OF
UCLAT (COORDINATION UNIT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM) WHO
EXPLAINS THAT "THE TERRORIST NETWORKS IN FRANCE HAVE ALL BEEN
FORMED AROUND VETERANS OF ONE OF THESE CONFLICTS [BALKANS,
AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ]."
LE MONDE'S EXTENSIVE REPORT ON THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM IN
FRANCE "ANTI-TERRORISM: THE FRENCH WAY" INCLUDES AN INTERVIEW
OF PIERRE DE BOUSQUET, DIRECTOR OF THE FRENCH COUNTER-
ESPIONAGE AGENCY DST. HE OUTLINES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
"FRENCH JIHADIST: AS "INCREASINGLY DISSATISFIED, YOUNGER AND
MORE RADICAL THAN A FEW YEARS AGO." BOUSQUET URGES EUROPEAN
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES TO REINFORCE THEIR COOPERATION AND
INSISTS THAT CALLING THE FIGHT AGAINST TERROR A "WAR" IS A
DANGEROUS METAPHOR: "TO LIKEN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM TO A
WAR CARRIES RISKS, AS IT GIVES TERRORISTS A CERTAIN DEGREE OF
RECOGNITION USING FORCE FEEDS RESENTMENT AND HATRED OF
DEMOCRACY. IN THIS REGARD, THE DETENTION CAMP AT GUANTANAMO IS
UNQUESTIONABLY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE IN THAT IT HAS RALLIED TO OUR
ADVERSARIES' CAUSE INDIVIDUALS WHO IDENTIFY WITH SEEING THEIR
MUSLIM BROTHERS CHAINED AND DEPORTED OUTSIDE OF ANY LEGAL
FRAMEWORK."
POLITICAL COMMENTATOR DANIEL VERNET FOCUSES ON THE ECLIPSE NEO-
CONSERVATISM IN THE U.S.BY NEW EURO-SAVVY MEMBERS OF THE BUSH
ADMINISTRATION IN LE MONDE'S OPINION PAGES. (SEE PART C)

IN THE ECONOMIC PRESS THE PESSIMISTIC OECD FORECAST ON GROWTH
IN EUROPE AS WELL AS THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE EUROPEAN
CENTRAL BANK TO LOWER ITS RATES DOMINATE THE HEADLINES. THE
EDITORIAL IN LA TRIBUNE POINTS OUT THAT: "BECAUSE OF THE EIGHT
INTEREST RATE INCREASES BY THE AMERICAN FEDERAL RESERVE WITHIN
THE LAST YEAR, THE ECB'S MARGIN FOR MANEUVER IS PRACTICALLY
NON-EXISTENT."

THE ON-GOING DISPUTE BETWEEN THE U.S. AND FRANCE OVER
SUBSIDIES TO AIRBUS PROMPTS LA TRIBUNE TO HEADLINE: "AMERICAN
PRESSURE ON EADS AND AIRBUS." "THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HAS TOLD THE PENTAGON NOT TO SIGN ANY CONTRACTS WITH COMPANIES
THAT HAVE RECEIVED SUBSIDIES FROM GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE PART OF
THE WTO."

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

EU CONSTITUTION REFERENDUM

"DEGRADATION"
THE EDITORIAL IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LIBERATION BY JEAN-MICHEL
THENARD (05/25): "THE SITUATION HAS WORSENED COMPARED WITH
MAASTRICHT. THE LEFT WING IS DIVIDED. AND THE RIGHT IS TAKING
STOCK OF THE FAILURES OF THE `CHIRAC DECADE'. NO MATTER WHAT
THE OUTCOME OF THE VOTE IS ON SUNDAY IN FRANCE, EVEN IF THE
`YES' WINS, THE POLITICAL CRISIS WILL HAVE GOTTEN WORSE AND
THE WINNERS WILL HAVE TO TAKE THIS INTO CONSIDERATION."

TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONSHIP: AMERICAN NEO-CONSERVATISM AND
EUROPE

"THE ECLIPSE OF THE NEO-CONSERVATIVES"
DANIEL VERNET IN LEFT-OF-CENTER LE MONDE (05/25): "WE SHOULD
BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURY NEO-CONSERVATISM TOO QUICKLY. JUST
BECAUSE SOME OF ITS PRINCIPAL FIGURES ARE NO LONGER PART OF
THE ADMINISTRATION. THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY A NEW BREED OF
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND DIPLOMATS MANY OF WHOM ARE
`EUROPISTS.' THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY ARE PARTISANS OF
EUROPEAN INTEGRATION, SIMPLY IT MEANS THAT THEY ARE EXPERTS ON
EUROPE. THERE IS NO NEED TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN SLOVAKIA AND SLOVENIA FOR EXAMPLE. THIS IS THE CASE
FOR CONDOLEEZZA RICE'S DEPUTY ROBERT ZOELLICK, OR THE NUMBER
THREE AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT NICOLAS BURNS. OR EVEN THE
NUMBER THREE AT THE PENTAGON ERIC EDELMAN. WHO REPLACED A
NOTEWORTHY NEO-CONSERVATIVE: DOUGLAS FEITH. COINCIDENCE OR
DELIBERATE CHOICE? IN WASHINGTON, THE OPINIONS ARE DIVIDED.
CERTAIN FOREIGN OBSERVERS POINT OUT THAT IT IS NOT A MATER OF
CHANCE IF EXPERTS ON EUROPE HAVE FOUND THEIR WAY TO KEY POSTS
WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION WHILE GEORGE W. BUSH'S SECOND TERM
WAS MARKED FROM THE BEGINNING BY A HAND HELD OUT TO EUROPE.
OTHERS CONSIDER THAT CONDI RICE CHOSE THESE DEPUTIES BECAUSE
SHE KNOWS THEM, NOT BECAUSE THEY KNOW EUROPE. EITHER WAY. THE
U.S. HAS DISCOVERED THAT TO WORK WITHOUT EUROPE CARRIES MORE
DISADVANTAGES THAN ADVANTAGES. IT IS A QUESTION OF STYLE, BUT
WITH REGARD TO THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIP STYLE IS OF THE
ESSENCE. A RETURN TO A MORE TRADITIONAL NOTION OF DIPLOMACY
AFTER YEARS OF UNILATEREALISM DURING BUSH'S FIRST TERM IS NOT
INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE RHETORIC THAT AIMS AT PROMOTING
DEMOCRACY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. BUT EUROPE WOULD BE WRONG TO
REJOICE TOO QUICKLY AT BEING RID OF ITS NEO-CONSERVATIVE
INTERLOCUTORS. AND WOULD BE WELL-ADVISED NOT TO APPEAR, IN THE
EYES OF THE WORLD, TO BE STUCK IN A STATUS QUO WHILE AMERICA
BECOMES A REVOLUTIONARY FORCE." WOLFF

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