NEW FRENCH ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES ON THE WAY,

UNCLAS PARIS 008311

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EB/IFD/OIA (SCHOLZ & ROSELI) AND EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EINV ETRD ECON KTFN FR
SUBJECT: NEW FRENCH ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES ON THE WAY,
INCLUDING ASSET FREEZING


SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) French Interior Minister Sarkozy's anti-terrorism
bill, approved by France's National Assembly on November 29,
has moved to the Senate for final approval with surprising
speed. The Bill will authorize video surveillance of more
public places and give the government increased powers to
review telephone, e-mail and travel records for persons of
interest. End Summary.

Overview
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2. (U) Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's anti-terrorism
bill -- the fourth addition to France's anti-terror laws
since 2001-- is intended to strengthen France's current
legal arsenal by authorizing video surveillance of public
places, especially nuclear and industrial sites, as well as
airports and railway stations. France currently has 60,000
video cameras in public areas compared with four million in
Britain. The bill also would require telephone operators to
keep extensive records and allow greater government access
to e-communications.


3. (U) The new arsenal would allow flight passenger lists
and identification information to become accessible to
counter-terrorism officials. It also calls for stiffer
prison sentences for "criminal association with a terrorist
enterprise" from 20 to 30 years and for an extended period
of detention without charge from four to six days. In the
private sector, the new draft bill permits increased
surveillance by facilities and individuals that could be
targets of terrorism and requires Internet cafes to retain
detailed information about their clientele.

Freezing Terrorists' Assets: A major breakthrough
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4. (SBU) Following up on the EU Justice and Home Affairs
Council attended by Sarkozy last July, the new draft bill
would empower the Minister of the Economy to freeze for a
renewable period of six months all or part of funds,
financial instruments and economic resources belonging to
individuals committing or attempting to commit acts of
terrorism or to companies directly or indirectly controlled
by these individuals. The minister also would have the
power to ban, for a renewable period of six months, any
movement or transfer of funds, financial instruments and
economic resources benefiting individuals or corporations.
The minister's decisions would be enforceable on the day of
their publication in the "Journal Officiel." The measure
would grant explicit national authority to freeze assets,
currently lacking in French law, and plug up a loophole
concerning the freezing of resident versus EU-member assets.

A Consensual Approach
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5. (U) Presenting a united front in the face of the
terrorist threat, the National Assembly approved the new
bill by an overwhelming majority of 373 out of 577 members.
Socialists abstained while the 27 members from the Communist
and Green parties voted against the measure. In order to
strike the right balance between security and respect for
civil liberties, National Assembly members introduced 142
amendments, 63 of which were adopted. The amendments are
designed to ensure that the most "sensitive" of the measures
introduced, particularly video surveillance and longer
police detention, will be reappraised in 2008, that the
rights of victims of terrorism are strengthened, and that a
Parliamentary Committee to oversee the activities of
intelligence services will be set up. Sarkozy has pledged
to work with Parliament to establish such an oversight
committee by February 15, 2005.

What next?
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6. (SBU) Far from being a divisive issue, debate in the
National Assembly showed the level of consensus that the
fight against terrorism enjoys in France. The Sarkzoy draft
bill is expected to sail smoothly through the Senate. The
adoption of the bill will only require one reading by both
houses as it is discussed under an emergency procedure. It
is expected to become law early next year. The only
opposition expressed has been from the French Data
Protection Agency CNIL, as well as some Magistrates' and
Human Rights organizations, who fret about the possible
impact of the new anti-terrorism package on civil liberties.
STAPLETON