Cablegate: French National Assembly Debate On Unifil

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Lucia A Keegan 09/11/2006 05:38:30 PM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan

Cable
Text:

UNCLAS PARIS 06061

SIPDIS
cxparis:
ACTION: POL
INFO: ODC PAO AMB AGR DAO ECON STRASBOU DCM FCS SCI
ORA UNESCO

DISSEMINATION: POLOUT
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: POL/MC:JROSENBLATT
DRAFTED: POL:RWALLER,JMUNIR
CLEARED: POL:BTURNER

VZCZCFRI379
OO RUEHXK RUEHC RUEHZL RUCNDT
DE RUEHFR #6061/01 2540843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110843Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1174
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0887

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006061

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL LE SY IS FR
SUBJECT: FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON UNIFIL

REF: PARIS 5811

1. (U) Summary: On Sept. 7, the French National Assembly debated
France's participation in a reinforced UNIFIL. Prime Minister
Dominique de Villepin hailed the lifting of the Israeli blocade of
Lebanon, noted the despatch of a French interministerial team to
assess reconstruction efforts, and called upon Iran to take
responsibility for its nuclear activities. He stressed that Iran's
response to the international community's offer was unsatisfactory,
adding that the impasse could only be solved through political means.
The PM underscored Pres. Chirac's call for a new meeting of the
Quartet, and (in a clear reference to USG policy) said that war was
not the proper response to terrorism. Among the representatives
of the four major parties who responded afterwards, Francois Bayrou
of the centrist UDF argued that UNIFIL's mandate was too fuzzy,
and that the Government of Lebanon's reticence to forcibly disarm
Hizballah would produce a "UNIFIL II" just as ineffective as its
predecessor. Several speakers took the opportunity to argue for
holding the line against cuts in the defense budget. End summary.

PM Villepin Calls upon Syria and Iran to Comply with UNSCRs
--------------------------------------------- --------------

2. (U) Embassy Poloffs and Pol FSN attended the September 7 debate in
the French National Assembly over France's participation in UNIFIL,
in a special session called at the behest of President Chirac. PM
Dominique de Villepin opened the proceedings by delivering the
government's statement, in which he described an arc of crisis
stretching from Somalia to Afghanistan, with the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict at its heart. He underscored President Chirac's August 28
call for a new Quartet meeting (see Paris 5811), noting that now more
than ever, the Israelis and Palestinians are incapable of reaching a
solution by themselves. Suggesting that "France knows better than
anyone" the importance of the cultural and religious motivations that
sustain the region's crises, Villepin implicitly critized the USG for
disregarding Pres. Chirac's counsel on Iraq. As a result, Iraq has
become "a new home of crisis that destabilizes the region and
nourishes terrorism." He also took aim at the Global War on Terror,
saying that the use of military means was not the answer to terrorism.
(Note: Reuters reported these remarks under the headline "Villepin
disputes the American strategy for the Near East.")

3. (U) Returning to his main theme, Villepin reviewed France's
response to the Lebanon crisis. He hailed the lifting of the Israeli
blockade of Lebanon (scheduled for later that afternoon) and
announced the despatch to Beirut of an interministerial French team
to evaluate reconstruction efforts. He praised PM Siniora's "courage
and spirit of responsibility" for deploying the Lebanese Armed Forces
to the south of the country for the first time in forty years, while
noting that French-Israeli relations remain "solid and confident" and
that Paris and Tel Aviv maintain a "constructive dialogue." Turning
to Hizballah's backers, he called upon Syria to fully comply with
UNSCRs 1559, 1595 and 1701. With respect to Iran's nuclear ambitions,
he called on Iran to assume its responsibilities, reiterated that
Iran's response to the international community's offer was
unsatisfactory, and stressed that there is no solution other than a
political one to the current impasse. He concluded by noting that
it was the National Assembly's approval of the government's
military law (which set out the military budget until 2008) that
permitted France, and Europe, to play an important role on the
international stage. "This is an area in which we have made real
progress in these last few years: Lebanon demonstrates it. But
we still have further to go," Villepin said.

The Parties Chime In
--------------------

4. (U) Though largely pro forma (there was no vote at stake), the
ensuing debate allowed representatives of four major parties to stake
out their positions. Francois Bayrou of the centrist UDF party, though
largely supportive of the French deployment, chided the government for
accepting a UNIFIL mandate encased in language that was too "vague,
diplomatic and fuzzy." Noting the huge risks to UNIFIL, Lebanon and
Israel if Hizballah did not disarm, Bayrou worried that the Government
of Lebanon's reticence to use force against Hizballah would ultimately
render the reinforced UNIFIL as ineffective as its predecessor. In
contrast to Bayrou, who spoke at length about Israel's right to exist
and lambasted (with much applause) FM Douste-Blazy for referring to
Iran as a source of regional stability, Communist Party representative
Marie-George Buffet tried to lay the blame for the recent Lebanon
conflict at Israel's door. She criticized UNSCR 1701 for lacking,
among other things, any reference to the plight of the Palestinians
and advocated only using political means to pursue the disarmament of
Hizballah.

5. (U) Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) member Bernard Accoyer joined
Bayrou and Villepin in arguing for a strong defense budget. He praised
the government's handling of the Lebanon crisis, and lauded President
Chirac's role in securing a ceasefire. Jean-Marc Ayrault, leader of
the Assembly's socialist bloc, rounded out the session by deeming
the government's proposal for an international conference on the
Near East "premature and unrealistic."
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm

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