Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PARIS964
2005-02-15 18:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

FRENCH DELAYING TACTICS ON EU DESIGNATION OF

Tags:  PREL PTER ETTC EFIN LE SY FR EUN 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000964 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER ETTC EFIN LE SY FR EUN
SUBJECT: FRENCH DELAYING TACTICS ON EU DESIGNATION OF
HIZBALLAH

REF: A. STATE 26062

B. PARIS 879

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000964

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/14/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER ETTC EFIN LE SY FR EUN
SUBJECT: FRENCH DELAYING TACTICS ON EU DESIGNATION OF
HIZBALLAH

REF: A. STATE 26062

B. PARIS 879

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and comment: Despite multiple appeals from
the U.S. and Israel, the GoF appears likely to seek a delay
in EU designation of Hizballah as a terrorist organization at
the EU Clearinghouse meetings February 16. The chief GoF
preoccupation appears to be the perceived complicating effect
which EU designation could have on Lebanon's spring
parliamentary elections, a concern which appears to have
deepened in the aftermath of the assassination of former PM
Hariri. MFA contacts also downplayed Palestinian support for
our message, claiming that while Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas "mentioned" the Hizballah with French FM
Barnier last week, he did not press the point. Israeli
embassy contacts told us that President Chirac told Israeli
FM Shalom February 15 that he agreed that Hizballah is a
terrorist organization, but EU designation should not take
place until well after Lebanon's elections, perhaps not
before October. While the French response is discouraging,
at least the GoF appears to be moving in a positive
direction, from "whether" to designate Hizballah to "when."
End summary and comment.


2. (C) We discussed ref (a) talking points urging French
support for EU terrorism list designation of Hizballah with
MFA DAS-equivalent for the Levant Christian Jouret February
14, and later that day with Presidential Technical Advisor on
the Middle East/Americas Dominique Boche. (Note: As reported
ref b, DCM raised the EU Hizballah designation with FM
Barnier's Cabinet Director Vimont February 10. NEA A/S Burns
made similar points during a meeting with MFA A/S-equivalent
for Middle East/North Africa Jean-Francois Thibault and Boche
February 10. End note.) Jouret, rather than responding with
the usual French arguments on why Hizballah designation was
inadvisable, stated that the GoF was "in a process of
reflection" on the issue. He added that the MFA had

submitted a two-option decision paper to the Elysee in
advance of the February 16 EU Clearinghouse meeting,
proposing either: 1) to support a full EU ban on the entire
organization, or 2) to seek a delay in the Clearinghouse
decision. Jouret conceded that he believed "option two" was
the likely course, largely because the GoF did not want to
complicate the internal situation in Lebanon in advance of
spring parliamentary elections. (Note: This discussion took
place after initial reports of the February 14 bombing in
Beirut, but prior to confirmation that PM Hariri had been
killed in the explosion.) Poloff, in response, underlined
ref (a) points on Hizballah's active undermining of the
Palestinian leadership, stressing that Hizballah threatened
the very fragile prospects for Middle East peace which France
had described as the most important issue facing both sides
of the Atlantic. Jouret replied by questioning the degree of
Palestinian support for our arguments; he conceded that
Palestinian President Abbas had "mentioned" the Hizballah
issue to FM Barnier during the latter's February 7-8 visit to
Israel and the Occupied Territories, however he claimed that
Abbas did not press the point with the GoF in the same manner
as had the U.S. and Israel.


3. (C) Israeli Embassy Political Counselor Ella Aphek
(protect) provided us a brief readout of the
Hizballah-related discussion during visiting Israeli FM
Silvan Shalom's February 14 meeting with Chirac. She
confirmed that Shalom's main objective had been to press
Chirac to support EU designation of Hizballah, and stressed
that France was the key holdout among the EU. Chirac
reportedly responded that, Hizballah designation is a
"complex issue," and that he agreed with Shalom that
Hizballah is a terrorist organization, however the EU
designation should not take place before Lebanon's spring
parliamentary elections, perhaps not before October. Based
on the Chirac-Shalom discussion, Aphek concluded that there
would be no breakthroughs at the February 16 Clearinghouse
meeting.


4. (C) We reviewed ref (a) talking points with Presidential
Advisor Dominique Boche late February 14, a discussion which
took place after confirmation of PM Hariri's assassination in
Beirut. Boche described the Presidency as still reflecting
on the EU designation of Hizballah, which he said would be
considered on two main criteria: 1) Hizballah's military and
terrorist activities, and, 2) the "regional context,"
specifically the preparation for Lebanon's spring
parliamentary elections. On the latter point, Boche said
that a sudden EU decision to designate Hizballah could make
Lebanon's Shi'a community feel more "pressured" in the runup
to elections, in a political scene already destabilized by
the assassination of former-PM Hariri. In closing, Boche
stressed that a decision on EU designation would take time
and considerable reflection, and that the GoF would have to
discuss the matter in detail with EU partners.


5. (C) Comment: While GoF officials avoided responding with
a direct no to our points and sought to emphasize that the
GoF was still deliberating the issue, we see all indications
pointing towards a likely French effort to seek a delay in
Clearinghouse designation of Hizballah until well after
Lebanon's parliamentary elections. Despite our efforts to
focus on the Hizballah's support for Palestinian terrorist
groups, the GoF continues to see this issue primarily within
the framework of Lebanon and the fragile UNSCR 1559
implementation process. Although the French response is
discouraging, at least the GoF appears to be moving from the
question of "whether" to designate Hizballah to "when" it
would be most appropriate. The detailed and specific points
which Washington is preparing for release to EU governments
would be helpful in pressing the GoF to move towards
designation; we note, though, that unlike other EU capitals,
the French did not ask for this information. End comment.

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