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Cablegate: Ivlp Alumni Breakfast Discusses Local Government Issues

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Lucia A Keegan 12/01/2006 05:50:39 PM From DB/Inbox: Lucia A Keegan

Cable
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UNCLAS PARIS 07625

SIPDIS
cxparis:
ACTION: PAO
INFO: AMB ARS CONS DCM POL

DISSEMINATION: PAOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: PA:BULLOCK
DRAFTED: PA:CTHORNEYCROFT
CLEARED: PA:CBARROSSE; PA:HMARGIOU

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INFO RUEHMRE/AMCONSUL MARSEILLE 1457
RUEHSR/AMCONSUL STRASBOURG 0259

UNCLAS PARIS 007625

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/PPD, EUR/WEA, ECA, and ECA/P

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OEXC PGOV KPAO FR

SUBJECT: IVLP ALUMNI BREAKFAST DISCUSSES LOCAL GOVERNMENT ISSUES

REF: NONE

1. SUMMARY: The Ambassador recently hosted a breakfast discussion
for IVLP returnees, the seventh in a series that has now become an
established routine here. This latest event brought together eight
recent IVLP alumni who are locally elected officials from different
regions and cities in France for a discussion of "Local Governance
in the U.S." and how it compares to the French experience. END
SUMMARY.

2. On September 28, Ambassador Stapleton hosted the seventh in a
series of alumni breakfast discussions that have now become a
successful tradition at this post. This breakfast brought together
eight IVLP alumni, who are local and regional government officials,
to discuss their exchange experiences, in general, and to compare,
more specifically, U.S. and French perspectives on local governance.
A major theme of the discussion was the relative lack of
involvement/interest from French citizens in politics and the
challenge this poses in terms of advancing a common agenda.

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3. The participants were:

- Andree BUCHMANN, Vice-President of Regional Council for Les Verts
(Green Party), IV 1994
- Alexandre GALDIN, Elected City Advisor for UMP (Conservative
Party), IV 2006

- Sebastien HUYGHE, Member of the National Assembly for UMP, IV
2006

- Loick LE BRUN, City Councilor for UMP, IV 2002

- Denis LEROY, City Councilor for the Socialist Party, Member of the
electoral team of Segolene Royal, IV 2000

- Thierry MANDON, Mayor for the Socialist Party, IV 1992

- Dorothee PINEAU, Regional Counselor for UDF, Assistant Mayor of
Boulogne-Billancourt, IV 2000

- Jacques VERNIER, Mayor for UMP, IV 1987

4. Welcoming the guests along with the Ambassador and participating
in the discussion were the DCM, POL Min-Counselor, PA Min-Counselor,
ECON Officer, and ACAO Exchanges Officer.

5. All of the guests had an opportunity to speak, and each
explained how important his or her trip to the U.S. was to
understanding how Americans address issues of local governance,
including economic development, integration policies, and the role
of elected officials. The visit contradicted their common belief
that U.S. city centers were abandoned, as they were able to
appreciate the proliferation and efficiency of public/private
partnerships in urban development and revitalization. This led to a
discussion of the current situation in France, where problems of
urban violence and lack of integration are aggravated by a general
lack of interest by citizens in the res publica.

6. With French presidential elections coming up next May, the issue
of participatory democracy is on the lips of every candidate, yet
the challenge remains how to inspire citizens to become more active
in building their future. The alumni praised the various forms of
citizen actions, initiatives and sense of community in the U.S.,
which they see as a key objective for their cities. While they
seemed at a loss to determine exactly how they could reach this
objective, they did agree that the use of new technologies
(including blogs) is essential to ensuring French politicians are
informed of opinion trends and can participate in on-going debates.


7. Lessons learned: The experience of these breakfast encounters
reaffirms for us the continuing relevance of the IVLP and VolVis
exchange programs to Mission efforts to influence the public debate
in France. On the subject of local governance, the exchange
experience in the U.S. gave these elected officials new information
about the U.S. that provides models for encouraging greater
participation by citizens in France's democracy. Post will continue
follow up with these USG exchange alumni and continue to involve
them in our public diplomacy program activities.

STAPLETON

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