FRENCH RESPONSE TO VENEZUELA REFERENDUM DEMARCHE

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 005935 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/AND AND WHA/PDA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/09/2014 TAGS: PGOV PREL VE KPAO FR DKDEM SUBJECT: FRENCH RESPONSE TO VENEZUELA REFERENDUM DEMARCHE REF: STATE 168747 Classified By: POLITICAL M/C JOSIAH ROSENBLATT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) PolOff met with MFA Venezuelan desk officer Hedi Picquart on August 9 and delivered demarche as per reftel. Picquart noted that France had hoped EU international election observers would participate in the August 15 referendum vote. Unfortunately, the GoV-imposed restrictions were deemed unacceptable, as they were not up to EU standard methodology and would prohibit credible observation. The GOF fully supports the OAS and Carter Center observer missions, as outlined in the August 3 EU declaration. According to Picquart, the GOF will neither encourage nor prevent French citizens from observing the elections through other organizations, but they do so as private individuals and not representatives of the GOF. The French mission in Caracas will closely follow all activities surrounding the referendum, and diplomatic personnel there have postponed traditional August vacations to remain in place. ¶2. (U) Two opinion pieces written by French academics have recently appeared in the left-of-center daily "Liberation" on opposing sides of the referendum vote. The pro-Chavez article praises the President's reforms addressing social inequality and injustice in the country, claiming he is a modern-day Bolivar who, like his predecessor, is carrying forth the ideals of the French Revolution in South America. Washington, the authors assert, will claim any loss by the opposition as interference on the part of Chavez, thus giving Uncle Sam the right to intervene. The anti-Chavez article draws attention to the problems that have persisted or increased under the Chavez administration - high unemployment rates and a quadrupling of the price of petroleum - and rebuts the argument that the opposition is comprised solely of oligarchs and rich elite, claiming many among the left also support the referendum. Post will continue to monitor the French media as the referendum approaches and Paris PD is prepared to utilize the press points in reftel as appropriate. Wolff NNNN