WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY: SMALLPOX DEMARCHE DELIVERED

UNCLAS PARIS 003283 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR IO/T, OES/IHA DHHS FOR STEIGER OGHA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL AORC TBIO FR WHO SUBJECT: WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY: SMALLPOX DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO FRENCH REF: STATE 71569 (SBU) Embassy delivered demarche contained in REFTEL to Ministry of Health, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, week of May 8. On May 10, ESTH Counselor transmitted points to Jean-Baptiste Brunet, Chief of European and International Affairs at the Ministry of Health. On May 12, ESTH officer delivered demarche to Frederic Jung, the biological disarmament officer at the MFA. Mr. Jung thanked the U.S. for sharing its views on stocks of this virus. While he thought that France shares the U.S. position on the need to maintain a stockpile of smallpox virus, Mr. Jung said he would forward the demarche to others in the MFA who coordinate the smallpox issue with other interested French agencies. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton