Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PARIS8076
2005-11-29 11:28:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Climate Change - Montreal

Tags:  OPRC KMDR FR 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 008076

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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 - Climate Change - Montreal
Conference Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona
President Bush's Policies
PARIS - Tuesday, November 29, 2005


(A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT:

Climate Change - Montreal Conference
Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona
President Bush's Policies

B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE:

Several stories are featured on today's front pages: domestic
immigration issues as the government looks into solutions
after the recent suburban violence, and the climate change
conference in Montreal, with Le Monde headlining "The World on
Alert Over Global Warming" and La Tribune which headlines: "In
Montreal, the World Stuck on Climate." (See Part C)

President Chirac's 73rd birthday is also widely featured, with
commentaries ranging from his thirty years of leadership as
Prime Minister, Minister and President, "a French exception"
according to Liberation, to a critical editorial by Jean-Marie
Colombani in Le Monde: "The Difficult end of the Reign of
Jacques Chirac." Colombani writes: "Of course there is a sort
of unhealthy joy in the European and especially in the
American media at the French misfortunes. When the New York
Times headlines `Paris is Burning' is it not only exaggerated
it is factually untrue but barely more so than when the French
media announce the umpteenth `fall' of America after hurricane
Katrina. Jacques Chirac appears to be as weakened by the
events in the suburbs as George Bush was by hurricane
Katrina."

The postponement of Saddam's trial is widely and factually
reported, while President Bush and his attempts to "change the
subject" as he turns from Iraq to "illegal immigration" is a
major story in Le Figaro (See Part C).

The conclusion of the Euro-Mediterranean conference in
Barcelona elicits wide coverage and several editorials
including in the regional press. (See Part C)

Le Monde, which originally reported on allegations of a
"Guantanamo-style prison" in Kosovo quotes former KFOR
commander General Valentin, previously quoted in Le Figaro:
"Unless I was deaf and blind this detention center has only
held people arrested by KFOR under UN resolution 1244. All

American prisoners wear orange jumpsuits. When it comes to
being able to tell the difference between a bearded Albanian
and a Taliban I believe that Mr. Robles made an assimilation
between the two." A small item in Liberation entitled: "The
EU Asks Washington for Answers" states: "The European Justice
Commissioner, Franco Frattini, revealed yesterday that he has
asked the U.S. for explanations about the alleged existence of
secret CIA prisons in Europe, but that he has received no

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answer to date."

Catholic La Croix devotes a report to biometrics and how this
technology is invading our daily lives. The article reports:
"since last month, the U.S. requires visa waiver country
citizens to carry a biometric passport to enter the U.S.
without a visa." The article also notes that the biometric
system required by the U.S. "is among the most sophisticated."
In a separate sidebar, La Croix reports on the latest figures
for foreign students going to the U.S., published by the
International Institute for Education, titled "The American
Dream Losing Steam." The article notes that high education
costs but also the difficulty of getting visas have impacted
on the figures.

Le Parisien interviews Jean-Louis Bourlanges, a European
Representative, on France's influence in Europe: "Since the
`no' vote to the EU Constitution, France has indeed lost some
of its influence: it is no longer a reference. No one listens
to us anymore. The British idea of Europe as a free trade zone
is replacing the French idea of a political entity with strong
institutions. and which on the international level stands
separate from the U.S. France and its vision lost much with
the nomination of Barosso who perfectly embodies the British
vision: he is liberal, pro-Atlantic and has a timid idea of
Europe's construction."

(C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES:

Climate Change - Montreal Conference

"Hot Potatoes"
Pascal Aubert in centrist La Tribune (11/29): "Constrain or
convince? That is the question facing the international
community, which remains divided in the face of global
warming. Once again in Montreal, the international community
will be hard pressed to stand united against a plague that
does not differentiate between North and South. Everyone
agrees that climate change is a danger for the eco-system and
that human activity is a multiplying factor - the U.S. rallied
to this idea a few months ago. On all other issues, and
especially on how to deal with the changes, everyone
disagrees. A few months after the Kyoto Protocol went into
effect, the limitations of voluntary emission reduction have
become apparent. Everyone knows that to reach the goals set,
the price to pay will be a slower economy and limiting
industrial production: two things that public opinions are not
ready to accept. It is illusory to believe that technological
progress is enough to curb the trend, as the U.S. believes.
The challenge is not only to governments, it is also to every
individual."

"Climate Change and World Changes"
Bernard Le Solleu in regional Ouest-France (11/29): "Not only
the U.S. but also China and India are staying out of the fight
against global warming. The case of China, with its record
growth and many incidents affecting pollution, makes it easier
for the Bush administration, which can say: what is the good
of Kyoto, if emerging nations, which are huge polluters, do
not join in? Russia is also a source of concern: Putin seems
more interested in selling his oil and gas at low cost.
Lastly, the plan to reduce emissions to the 1990 levels is
unrealistic. But all is not lost: the Bush administration will
not last forever and France is planning to build a new nuclear
reactor in Cherbourg. The climate is changing and the world is
moving. But is it moving in the right direction? The answer in
the next century."

"Negotiations on Post-Kyoto"
Laurent D'Ersu in Catholic La Croix (11/29): "Europeans and
Canadians consider it essential to reach a new agreement by

2010. But they are facing opposition from the U.S., which has
rejected Kyoto and has also indicated that it will reject all
discussions in Montreal on future climate negotiations.
Because of the risk of a U.S. veto, the EU is only targeting a
`discussion process.'"

President Bush's Policies

"Bush Takes On Illegal Immigration"
Philippe Gelie in right-of-center Le Figaro (11/29):
"President Bush needs to change the subject. The war in Iraq,
the manipulation that preceded it, his falling popularity
ratings and the rebuff he has been meeting with abroad are all
banding together to weaken the U.S. President, who is
beginning to be labeled `a lame duck' three years before the
end of his term. The President has therefore decided to open a
new front: that of illegal immigration. But after the many
initiatives which have turned against him, one wonders whether
this latest one is indeed a wise choice."

Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona

"Arabs and Europeans Divided on Terrorism"
Francois Musseau in left-of-center Liberation (11/29): "An
atmosphere of fiasco permeated the Euro-Mediterranean summit
in Barcelona. Until the last minute, the members of this ten
year-old group had to haggle over the terms to be used in the
`anti-terrorist code of conduct.' The text, which states that
`terrorism can never be justified,' had to be diluted after
the ritual fight between Europeans and Arabs on the debated
question of legitimacy (or not) of armed resistance to an
occupier. The divergence between Israel and Arab countries
kept the 35 nations from co-signing the slightest declaration
on the prospect for peace in the Middle East. A commitment for
liberalization of agricultural products and services between
the two zones was made, and the prospect for a free trade zone
by 2010 was emphasized. But a diplomat indicated this was not
`a reasonable time frame.'" STAPLETON