MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Middle East - Afghanistan PARIS -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004557 SIPDIS DEPT FOR INR/R/MR; IIP/RW; IIP/RNY; BBG/VOA; IIP/WEU; AF/PA; 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. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR FR SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION REPORT - Middle East - Afghanistan PARIS - Monday, July 03, 2006 (A) SUBJECTS COVERED IN TODAY'S REPORT: Middle East Afghanistan (B) SUMMARY OF COVERAGE: The victory of France over Brazil in the World Cup tournament on Saturday top weekend news with right-of-center Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche leading: "They Did It!" Economic news dominates headlines today with right-of-center Le Figaro, centrist economic La Tribune and business daily Les Echos mentioning the "musical chairs" of French CEOs. A possible buyout of GM by Nissan-Renault is widely reported in the weekend and Monday press. The situation in the Middle East with "intensified Israeli operations in Gaza" (right-of-center Le Figaro) leads the international news. The Saturday edition of left-of-center Le Monde carried a headline story on Gunatanamo while today's press focuses on the opening of the trial in Paris of the six French detainees from Guantanamo. Alain Barluet in right of center Le Figaro reports on "Europe's embarrassment with regard to Olmert's strategy." "While trying to be balanced in their official reactions, European leaders are not hiding their concern and even their exasperation following the latest Israeli incursions to 'destroy' Hamas." (See Part C) A full-page article in right-of-center Le Figaro continues the series on Afghanistan. A sidebar outlines the recruitment of the Taliban militia among the Pakistani madrassas. (See Part C) WTO - Doha Round negotiations are in dire straits. Business daily Les Echos labels it an impasse, while centrist economic La Tribune goes so far as to call it a crisis. For Europe, Peter Mandelson offers to reduce agricultural tariffs by 12%, slightly less than previous offers from 39% to 46%. For the U.S., Susan Schwab reiterated American refusal to reduce further agricultural subsidies. Les Echos interviews French Trade Minister Christine Lagarde. Asked her thoughts on US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, Lagarde answers: "She is jumping into the Doha Round negotiations at a time when they have already been underway for some time. She needs to establish her 'pedigree' as a good and firm negotiator... we hope 
that she will so that in a few weeks time she will be able to come back to the negotiating table with a new margin for maneuver. The danger is if Susan Schwab is not posturing, that means that she is under a certain amount of coercion which, is not very encouraging at this juncture in the negotiations... But the U.S. is not the only country that is responsible for the delay in negotiations, there are also the G20 countries that have not made the shadow of progress towards resolving the issue of industrial customs duties." Washington correspondent for right-of-center Le Figaro Philippe Gelie pens an article on "Bush's Wall." Gelie notes the deployment of the National Guard to control the Mexican border, a territory that represents one quarter the size of France. A separate piece mentions that: "if illegal immigrants continue to flow into the U.S. it is because they find work there... and the recent crackdown is taking place after years of a 'laisser-faire' attitude on the part of the Bush Administration... With 9/11, however, there was a shift in priorities." Right-of-center Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche says that NASA is "making the suspense last" for the launching of Discovery. La Croix notes that: "there are reports that some NASA engineers may have been pressured into quieting their doubts as to the safety of this launch." Right-of-center Le Figaro of Saturday devotes a page to the "all or nothing" flight of Discovery. Primed to take off Saturday evening, "a failure would mean the death toll for this legendary space plane." NASA has "done everything" to reduce the pieces of foam that could damage the craft. The craft remains, however, "dangerous." Right-of-center Le Figaro reports the beginning of the trial of six former Guantanamo detainees for taking part in terrorist activities. The trial is expected to come to a close on July 12. "While the Iraqi situation worsens and the Taliban are taking up arms again in Afghanistan, this trial appears to be somewhat anachronistic. The accusations against the six detainees are over five years old and the 'Afghan ring' is a thing of the past, at least for the time being... The trial may however contribute to demonstrating the diverse recruitment methods and the keys to radicalization. One only needs to cast a glance at the defendants to have proof of the diversity of the individuals who are drawn into the various terrorist rings... From very different backgrounds, the six men have one thing in common: the encounter with an Islamist who sways them to take part in the Jihad." Right-of-center Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche devotes an entire page to the trial that is "haunted by the specter of Guantanamo." Two of the detainees lawyers say in the article that if the defendants "had been born in Birmingham, Stockholm or Copenhagen, there would not be a trial, was there a deal made between the French and American authorities that would explain why a trial needs to be held today?" Right-of-center economic supplement Le Figaro Economie cites a European think tank in reporting that economic patriotism is on the decline in Europe, with more companies going continental or global. According to the think tank Bruegel, the 100 largest European businesses made no more than 37% of their sales in domestic markets in2005. At the same time, European sales constituted 28% of sales, while the global market made up 35%. In light of comparative advantage, "taking a policy of national support for business becomes more and more difficult today," says Bruegel. Centrist economic La Tribune's editorial by Pascal Aubert notes: "General Motors, which for decades was emblematic of America's industrial might, is today a mere shadow of itself. It is losing money, bogged down in financial obligations with regard to retired workers, overtaken by the rampant oil crisis that has led a number of Americans to opt for cars that are less greedy gas-wise. Finally GM's Japanese rival Toyota is hot on its heels. In short the world's leading automobile manufacturer is in a difficult position... and for a billion euros Renault will be able to offer itself a seat at the big boys' table and a welcome mat to the North American market. It certainly looks like a good deal." (C) SUPPORTING TEXT/BLOCK QUOTES: Middle East "Olmert in the Trap of Escalation." The editorial by Stephane Marchand in right-of-center Le Figaro (06/03): "If Ehoud Olmert thinks that he can save the soldier Gilad Shalit while destroying Hamas at the same time, he is in for a big disappointment. He may instead fall into the trap of an asymmetric conflict in which those who are superior militarily dig the hole that will engulf them while strengthening those who are weaker. Hamas does not need the Palestinian government to be detrimental to Israel.... And Hamas in its governmental form, which Israel sees as an insult, is less dangerous than Hamas in its virulent clandestine form. It is better to dialogue with a crafty and devious interlocutor than no interlocutor at all." Afghanistan "The Taliban Are Back" Adrien Jaulmes writes in right-of-center Le Figaro (07/03): "The Taliban that had been dispersed by the Air Force's B52s in the fall of 2001 are back in the southern provinces of Afghanistan... this is symbolic of Washington's failure in the Muslim world ... The pitiful means that the Afghan police has at its disposal contribute to endemic corruption that is then a hotbed for the Taliban... The statements that are issued on the number of enemy killed is a troubling reminder of Vietnam. The Coalition is victorious over and over again and yet the rebels are still there and nothing seems to indicate that they are decreasing in number or in determination." STAPLETON