EMBASSY PARIS SUBMISSION TO THE 2005/2006 REPORT TO CONGRESS ON ALLIED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMON DEFENSE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 49 PARIS 000715



SIPDIS



STATE FOR PM/SNA, EUR/WE; OSD FOR OSD/PA&E, OASD/ISA/EUR,

OASD/ISA/NP, OASD/ISA/AP, OASD/ISA/NESA AND OASD/ISA/BTF



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PREL, MARR, MCAP, MARR, MCAP, MARR, MCAP, FR, FR PREL, FR PREL

SUBJECT: EMBASSY PARIS SUBMISSION TO THE 2005/2006 REPORT

TO CONGRESS ON ALLIED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMON DEFENSE



REF: A. STATE 223383



B. PARIS 000005





This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for

Internet dissemination.



1. (U) Summary: This telegram constitutes Embassy Paris's

country submission for the 2005/2006 Report to Congress on

Allied Contributions to the Common Defense (requested Ref

A). We report on developments that took place during

calendar years 2004 and 2005 and offer cost sharing

information for U.S. fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Embassy's

contributions to the Report to Congress are keyed to

paragraphs in Ref A where specific information is

requested. End Summary.



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Ref A Para 8: General Assessment

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Overview

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2. (U) France bears a significant share of the burden of

defending international security and stability. It is

firmly committed to conflict resolution, non- and

counterproliferation, as well as to maintaining adequate

conventional and nuclear capabilities. Only a few nations

have the military capability to project power to a distant

theater and sustain operations. France is one of these

nations. It has the military personnel, equipment, and

command capabilities as well as the will to employ them

throughout the world. It is this total operational

capability, and the resolve to act on the international

stage, which allows the French military to participate and

lead in an international framework, including through the

European Union and NATO. Africa comprises the heaviest

French military commitment abroad. However, France is also

a significant contributor to international military

operations in Central--Southwest Asia and the Balkans. By

helping to stabilize sensitive areas in Central Asia, the

Balkans, or in Sub-Saharan Africa, overseas operations led

by the French Armed Forces have helped to prevent those

areas from becoming safe-havens for terrorist activity.

Throughout 2004 and 2005, France has been a major

contributor in the fight against terrorism as part of the

international coalition in Afghanistan. As such, France

volunteered to participate under the command of the United

States in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Moreover,

security, stabilization and training operations led by the

French Armed Forces within the International Security

Assistance Force (ISAF) is helping Afghanistan in its

transition from a terrorist sanctuary to a growing

democracy.



3. (U) France maintains the largest active duty military

force in the European Union and the second largest active

duty military force in NATO, with an active force of

approximately 355,000. Furthermore, France sustains a

large percentage of this active duty force deployed in

operations in overseas French territories or in sovereign

territories around the world. The average number of

deployed forces outside of France was 35,000 in 2004, and

32,500 in 2005. Over 13,500 of those deployed are actively

engaged in international mandates supporting counter-

terrorist operations, humanitarian operations, peacekeeping

operations, stability operations, and capacity building.

To support this level of external international mandate

operations, France spends approximately USD 790 million per

year from a defense budget of 52 billion dollars.





France's Global Reach: Peace Support Operations Worldwide

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4. (U) France eagerly participates in international peace

support operations and is a leading force contributor to

stabilization operations in the Balkans and in Africa. In

Cote d'Ivoire, France's most significant overseas

operation, French troops enforce a tenuous cease-fire and

are providing the backbone to the United Nations operation

as a quick reaction force. French troops have been

actively engaged since the summer of 2004 in preventing the

Darfur crisis from expanding into Chad. In the Balkans,

French troops are present in every military mission across

Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia: SFOR/EUFOR, KFOR, UNMIBH,

UNMIK, EUMM, and ALTHEA. During "Operation Secure

Tomorrow," to stabilize Haiti, France deployed the second

largest contingent alongside the United States.

Contributing troops under international mandate is a point

of principle in Paris. The UN, where France has a veto as

a permanent member of the Security Council, is its

preferred forum for crisis resolution. France has

observers currently participating in UN missions in the

Balkans, Georgia, Lebanon, Israel, Ethiopia/Eritrea,

Burundi, DROC, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Western Sahara, and

Haiti. It also participates in the multinational force in

the Sinai.





France and the War in Iraq

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5. (U) The French government has forbidden its military

from contributing troops to the NATO training mission

inside Iraq (NTM-1). One French officer is working on the

training mission staff at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium,

and the GoF pledged 660,000 euros in February 2005 to help

finance NTM-1. In 2005, the GoF took initial steps to

contribute to the development of Iraqi defense and security

capabilities. Under the European Union's EUJUSTLEX

program, France has pledged to train 200 Iraqi police

officials and judges in rule of law training in France,

making France the top EU contributor to this program.

Approximately 40 Iraqi police officials (non-military)

completed month-long training at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Officiers de Police and the Ecole Nationale

de Police in 2005. A third course started at the end of

2005 for judicial instruction at the Ecole Nationale de la

Magistrature. At the same time, a French offer to train up

to 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary police (gendarmes) outside Iraq

remains unimplemented, although an Iraqi Ministry of

Interior delegation visited France in July 2005 to further

discuss the proposal. Currently there is a single Gendarme

Officer in Iraq, responsible for provision of security for

French embassy staff in Baghdad.





France and the War on Terrorism

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6. (U) France is currently the third-largest contributor

to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force

(ISAF) in Afghanistan, and one of the few nations other

than the U.S. to have had troops engaged in Operation

Enduring Freedom, ISAF and training programs for the Afghan

army since these efforts began. French Mirage-2000

fighters have flown with USAF fighters to assist American

and Afghan ground troops. French deployments to the Horn

of Africa remain focused on counterterrorism; the French

assisted in the establishment of USCJTF Horn of Africa, and

otherwise continue to allow the U.S. to share their base in

Djibouti in connection with operations in the Indian Ocean,

Red Sea and Persian Gulf. France is a part of Task Force

150, a multinational naval force that patrols the Red Sea

and the Persian Gulf to interdict the movement of suspected

terrorists from Afghanistan to the Arabian Peninsula.



7. (U) France participates in Operation Active Endeavor in

the Eastern Mediterranean. France is also actively

involved with the Proliferation Security Initiative. It is

also a party to all 12 existing international terrorism

conventions and is active in the UN and G8 counterterrorism

committees.



8. (U) In 2005, France continued to discover and dismantle

terror networks present on its soil, including several that

recruited jihadists to Iraq. Following the July 2005

bombings in London, French officials worked closely with

their British counterparts. They also identified a number

of deficiencies in their counterterrorism capabilities, and

proposed legislation to remedy these deficiencies. This

fast-tracked legislation became law in late January, 2006.

The French government is also expected to issue in February

2006 a "white book" on terrorism that will underscore their

belief that terrorism is a primary strategic threat to

France, and that dealing with it is consequentially a

central priority. France consults extensively with the

U.S. on terrorism, at the tactical and strategic level.



Africa

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9. (U) The French military has shown an increasing

interest to cooperate with others, particularly with the

U.S., in Africa. In the past three years, there have been

Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) executed in three

African countries, NEO planning for four other potential

crises, as well as U.S. and French multilateral programs,

such as GPOI - ACOTA, RECAMP, and joint financial and

logistical support for ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the African

Union. In the Gulf of Guinea and Trans-Sahel region,

France has expressed interest in the U.S. effort to improve

the posture of African countries in the fight against

terrorism. Both the U.S. and France continue to broadly

support capacity building for African militaries. (See

paragraphs 12, 32 40, 42-43, 46, 59, 72, 82-86, 89 and 94

for more on French involvement in Africa.)





France, NATO and ESDP

--------------



10. (SBU) Despite its singular stance on alliance

membership (France is not a member of NATO's integrated

military command),France has continued to demonstrate

willingness to engage in NATO responses to common

challenges. France has been a major contributor to

operations in the Balkans (SFOR, now EUFOR, and KFOR) and

in NATO's operations in Afghanistan (International Security

Assistance Force). In KFOR in Kosovo, French troops are the

second-largest national contingent, significantly

outnumbering U.S. units. In Afghanistan, France has some

900 troops, which will increase to approximately 1400 in

August 2006, when France assumes command of the Kabul

region of ISAF. During December 2004-August 2005, France

held the rotating command of ISAF. France also contributed

to NATO Humanitarian Relief Operations in Bagh, Pakistan.



11. (SBU) The French have consistently expressed their

support for NATO's transformation, and are contributing

substantial resources to the NATO Response Force: the

French military has identified forces that at initial

stages will amount to 40 per cent of ground units, 30 per

cent of air assets, and 20 per cent of naval capabilities,

and has proposed contributing EUROCORPS to the NRF at a

later stage. France has restructured some of its own

forces with land, air and sea High Readiness Response force

fully compatible with the NATO Response Force. It has

offered headquarter slots in Lille for fellow NATO members.



12. (SBU) Interest in being part of NATO transformation

has not diminished the deep commitment of the GoF to

fostering European security and defense arrangements. Many

in the GoF envision that transatlantic security relations

of the future will increasingly include bilateral U.S.-EU

cooperation. Throughout 2004 and 2005, the French

vigorously pursued their goal of establishing independent

European defense structures and supporting increased EU

missions. France supported an EU assistance mission to

Darfur in the Sudan, to support the African Union's

intervention. France continues to push its EU partners for

completion of a separate EU planning headquarters, a small

but independent EU operational planning unit, as well as an

EU cell at SHAPE. EU operations may also continue to be

planned at national headquarters. Additionally, France has

been a key player in setting up and funding the European

Defense procurement agency (EDA),designed to coordinate

defense procurement among EU allies, and which became

operational in 2005 with a small staff numbering some 80

persons and a budget of 20 million euros.



13. (U) In January 2006, the European gendarmerie force

was formally inaugurated in Vicenza, Italy. The concept

dates back to October 2003, when French Defense Minister

Michele Alliot-Marie proposed the creation of the European

gendarmerie consisting of some 800 gendarmes from Spain,

Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands to take on police

training and other police functions as part of the EU's

response to crises.





French Training and Participation in Joint Exercises

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14. (U) In the European AOR, in cooperation with the US

Commander Naval Forces Europe, the French Navy participated

in 3 Non-NATO exercises and 6 NATO exercises in 2004

including a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, a

NATO anti-submarine exercise, a Multi-lateral Livex, PFP

exercise BALTOPS 04, and a NATO Joint fleet training

exercise (a major NRF event sponsored by NATO).

15. (U) In 2005, France participated in 6 Non-NATO

exercises and 13 NATO exercises. The French Navy

participated in RECAMP IV, JMC 05-1 and 05-2, a

multilateral FTX helping qualify the Italian maritime High

Readiness Force (HRF),two multilateral anti-submarine

exercises, Trident D'Or (the exercise to qualify the French

maritime HRF, a LIVEX Mine Warfare Exercise in the North

Sea, FRUKUS (CPX/FTX with French, Russian, U.S., and U.K.

navy participation, Sorbet Royale (a LIVEX Submarine Rescue

Exercise),Bright Star (a multi-national, multi-warfare

LIVEX executing in Egypt),Loyal Midas (a multilateral FTX

to qualify a stand-by Maritime Component Commander for a

future NRF rotation.



16. (U) Overall objectives for Navy training in 2005 were:

100 days at sea per ship, 13 exercises, four of which were

Amphibious exercises, three of which were mine warfare

exercises, two deployments of the Charles de Gaulle CVBG,

participation in one major NATO exercise, participation in

one major EU exercise and five Joint exercises.



17. (U) The French air force continues to seek

opportunities to exercise and train with the US. During

2005, the French air force participated in Exercise Bright

Star in Egypt, and Exercise Air Warrior in the US. France

also continues to offer the US opportunities to use their

training ranges and training airspace associated with

Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea.





French Support for Space Launch Activities

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18. (U) France supported multiple space launch activities

from their facilities in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and

the south of France. The French government approved a US

request to use the islands of Reunion and Nuka Hiva for

telemetry tracking missions supporting NASA space launches.

Additionally, the French support US space shuttle launches

with access to the French Air Base in Istres France as an

alternate shuttle landing site.





Defense Trade and Industrial Cooperation

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19. (U) Source priorities in order of importance for

French defense acquisition remain France, EU, and all

others (to include the U.S.). National pride and limited

budgets govern this order. The French defense industry

continues to provide the greatest depth and breadth of any

western European country. While its technology is

sometimes peer-level with the U.S., it is actually superior

in specific niche areas (e.g., thermal imaging and optics).

The single most limiting factor is defense spending.



20. (U) In the past year, the French Ministry of Defense

continued its pursuit of revitalization of forces. Despite

competing government interests, the budget of the Defense

Ministry remained untouched (the Interior was the only

other ministry spared from budget cuts). Highlights for

2005-2006 spending include: a second aircraft carrier;

introduction of the Rafale fighter aircraft; the European

Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM); Network-Centric command and

control systems; Tigre and NH-90 helicopters; transport

aircraft; third and fourth strategic missile submarines;

and cruise missile development. Only minor increases in

research and development, as compared to previous years,

were approved.

21. (U) Foreign Military Sales from the US increased from

FY03 to FY04 (USD 45.6M to USD 66.9M),while direct

commercial sales decreased (USD 18.9M to USD 12.7M.)

Pending US sales include the Aircraft Launch and Recovery

Equipment (ALRE) for the second French aircraft carrier,

and a cruise missile simulator. FMS training funds were

expended as in previous years, with the majority centered

on carrier aviation training and support.



22. (U) Service-specific Data Exchange Agreements (DEAs)

remained essentially stable, yet significantly,

renegotiation of four Navy DEAs was concluded, extending

their expiration dates to 2010. Discussions continue

regarding remaining DEAs and four newly proposed

agreements. Foreign Comparative Testing programs continue

to show interest in French technologies, with recent focus

on underwater GPS, perimeter defense, shipboard self-

defense, and bomb casing design. Benchmarking studies have

been conducted on ship design and manpower reduction.



23. (U) U.S. defense acquisition and sales interests in

France are significant and include (by service): for the

Air Force, C-130J, KC-130J, C-17 sales and French AWACS

upgrade; for the Army and USMC, Sophie, 120mm rifled

mortars, Active Protection System armor for ground

vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles; for the Navy, ALRE

sale, unmanned submerged/underwater vehicles, and maritime

domain awareness, and network-centric enabled operations.

All services are focused on any technology that can assist

in the efforts of the IED Task Force.



24. (U) Privatization of the defense sector has continued,

albeit at a slow pace. Although the GoF still maintains

so-called "golden shares" in several firms, globalization

has eroded their total control in this arena. For example,

the recently privatized shipbuilding firm DCN has again

partnered with Thales in planning the second French

aircraft carrier, and was recently awarded a contract by

the French Navy for total lifetime maintenance support for

their fleet warships and major combat systems.



25. (U) The anticipated absorption of OCCAR (the

Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation) into the

European Defense Agency has stalled, although OCCAR did

play a role in guiding the French and Italian defense

ministries to select the General Electric engines for the

European Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM) in late 2005.



26. (U) The EU's European Capabilities Action Plan (ECAP)

goal is to coordinate financing processes and to get

European defense industry involved in identifying and

filling gaps. There is also a recent effort to engage

university research labs through funding made available

from private industries. Further privatization and

increased competitiveness of the French defense sector

should support these trends.



27. (U) Tangential but significant issues to defense

cooperation include continued pursuit of a Declaration of

Principles (DoP) on armaments and end-use controls required

by the U.S. on jointly produced systems, which prevent

French sales to third parties without USG approval (viewed

with concern by French government and private industry

alike though France requires similar guarantees from their

customers for French products). On the other hand, U.S.

Presidential intervention in rejecting the so-called "buy

American" provisions in the recent U.S. defense bill was

well received.



28. (U) Recent overtures on the part of both the U.S. and

French governments have led to an increase in official

bilateral defense discussions and activity. The impending

change of government in 2007 will have a significant impact

on whether or not this trend continues. While France's

2005 vote against the EU referendum was seen as a setback

to both the French government and to the EU's future, its

full effect remains to be seen. As noted above, there are

signs of consolidation of efforts among EU institutions,

specifically in the defense arena. Economic realities and

collective resolve should eventually determine whether

these trends continue.

The Future of French Defense Spending

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29. (U) Future French Defense budgets must conform to a

new inter-governmental finance law known by the acronym

LOLF (Organic Law of the Finance Law). In this new

framework, the funding made available to the Ministry of

Defense abandons the traditional budget distributions by

'Titles' and instead is presented as 'missions and

programs'. The most significant of these is the mission to

'Put into action the National Defense Policy'. Two of its

supporting programs are 'Prepare the Force' and 'Equip the

Force'. In all, the Defense Ministry budget will be

organized around four missions and nine supporting

programs. In an effort to improve the coherence of the

defense budget, the LOLF ties budgetary allocations to

performance. Also, for the first budget cycle under this

new system, the Chiefs of Staff of the services have less

influence on service budgets. Their role is now to assure

the coherence of the budget rather than the direction of

it. In a May 21, 2005 Presidential decree, the Chiefs of

the Armed Services are now subordinate to the Chief of

Defense (CHOD). The CHOD now controls all budgets and

procurement financing. Service budgets now must pass

through the CHOD before they go to the Minister's office

for approval. (For more information on defense spending and

the LOLF see paragraphs 111-113.)



30. (U) The 2006 defense budget represents a 2.2% increase

over the 2005 fiscal year. In spite of the Defense

Minister's ability to protect the defense budget from cuts,

there continue to be difficulties for the French military

in the future. These difficulties stem primarily from

three areas: first, the inflationary pressures of the

price of energy; second, cost overruns/delays in

procurement; and third, increased maintenance costs. Most

of the planning for the current five-year budget requests

was predicated on the cost of a barrel of oil at half the

current price. This increase will translate into fewer

flying hours, fewer training days, and fewer days at sea in

the next few years. Procurement of several current

military systems is behind the original schedule or

experiencing technical problems. These delays include the

Tigre helicopter, Rafale fighter aircraft, A-400M transport

aircraft, and the new command ship (BPC). The final

expense increase will be the result of maintaining the

older systems in the French military until sufficient

numbers can replace them.





Transforming Military Capabilities

--------------



31. (U) In spite of not being part of the integrated

military command structure of NATO, in January, 2004 France

received two general officer billets within the command:

one at Atlantic Command Operations (SHAPE) and one at

Atlantic Command Transformation (Norfolk). The French have

assigned 110 military personnel to the two headquarters,

representing 2.04% of overall NATO staff posts. The French

have also agreed to increase their contribution to Alliance

military budgets from 4.9% to 7.4%. Nonetheless, despite

disclaimers to the contrary, the French have given mixed

signals over the past two years on their vision of the

future NATO. These views have ranged from a desire for

closer integration with NATO to generally limiting the

scope of NATO's operations or in favor of an EU defense

force.



32. (U) France has been a leading proponent to advance a

"battle-group" concept to create rotational 1500-man size

forces for use in Chapter VII mandates by the European

Union. Based on the EU Operation ARTEMIS model (the French

led deployment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in

2003) the force would be capable of responding to a crisis

within 15 days and be sustainable for 30 days minimum, 120

days maximum. Full operational capability is scheduled for

2007. The French insist that these battle groups would be

compatible with NATO NRF rotations, with either taking the

lead on the basis of a mutually-agreed decision. Africa

has been mentioned as a primary venue for the battle-

groups.

33. (U) The French Army is investing in UAVs, the Improved

Infantry Armored Vehicle (VBCI),advanced communications

equipment, counter-fire radars, and lighter equipment for

armored units. They are beginning the process of

digitization of the Army's battlefield systems and

purchasing an individual soldier system - the Felin, the

French Army's equivalent to the U.S. Army's Land Warrior

system. These initiatives will enhance French abilities to

interoperate with US forces and systems.



34. (U) The French Navy has stood up and qualified the HRF

(M) headquarters staff, the naval component headquarters of

France's NRF, in Toulon in 2004 and 2005. This force will

deploy to the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean in 2006.

Additionally, the Admiral, Naval Action Force (ALFAN) in

Toulon has continued to develop over 2004 and 2005. This

command is now roughly equivalent to the U.S. Fleet Forces

Command and has responsibilities for training, certifying,

and equipping French naval forces. In an effort to improve

intelligence support to the French Navy, the French stood

up a French intelligence command called Centre de

Renseignment Martime (CRMar).



35. (U) In the context of trying to become more efficient

and capable of joint and international operations, the

French Air Force is in the process of a major

reorganization. In November 2003, a project team of senior

staff officers, outgoing base commanders and civilian

consultants was created and given the mission to develop a

plan to create a better Air Force. The project team started

its work in September 2004 and unveiled the plan in October

2005. The ideas will be progressively implemented

beginning in 2006. This ambitious reorganization project,

named Air 2010, aims in particular at removing duplication

and creating synergy. It will serve to optimize the air

base network while preserving existing capabilities. In

summary, the Air Force will replace the twelve current

commands with four large functional 'poles.' The

Operations Pole will be in charge of current operations in

France and abroad. The Forces pole will be charged with

leading the preparation and training of the whole of the

combat forces. The Support Pole will bring together within

the same staff all the maintenance, logistics, and life

support. The Personnel Pole will join together all the

personnel training and staff management functions.



36. (U) The French military is actively exploring ways to

increase interoperability with the U.S. with respect to the

global information grid and uses of information on the

modern battlefield. As of late 2005, the French MOD has

directed increased contact between French military

officials and U.S. military officials in an effort to

ensure the French capability to interoperate with the U.S.

is maintained and improved. This French initiative is

aimed at keeping up with the U.S. lead in information

technology, particularly targeting data and friendly force

tracking. The French desperately want to preserve the

ability to conduct combat operations with the U.S. in every

domain air, land, and sea.







Recent Contingency Operations, Military Assistance,

Humanitarian Relief Operations, Peacekeeping, Capacity

Building, Counterproliferation and Nuclear Threat

Reduction.

-------------- --------------



37. (U) The French continue to show their support for

operations in Afghanistan. In 2006, they are planning to

augment their forces to support the increased

responsibilities of the Kabul regional command in addition

to the military assets already in place in support of ISAF

and OEF (see paragraphs 53-56 for more detail).

Furthermore, the French continue to be actively involved in

the fight against terrorism through the OEF Task Force 150

and in the US Counter-Drug effort (see paragraphs 59-60 for

more detail.)



38. (U) The French Army has been training the Afghan

National Army within the overall U.S.-led program since its

inception and the French have consistently expressed a

desire to be part of NATO's transformation and

interoperability initiatives as evidenced by their

significant national contributions to the NATO Response

Force (NRF) (see paragraphs 66-67 for more detail).



39. (U) In the Balkans, French forces remain among the

largest contributors to operations in Kosovo and French

participation in the former NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia

continued under the EU Force, Operation Althea. The French

continue to maintain a small French military presence in

Macedonia. They also provide a small presence force in

Georgia. (See paragraphs 70-71 for more detail).



40. (U) In Africa, France has provided 80 million euros to

Darfur through the African Union and provides support to

Chad on a bilateral basis. The French transported the

Senegalese units of the AU force to Sudan and the Nigerian

police contingent. (See paragraph 72 for more detail).



41. (U) In response to natural disasters in 2004 and 2005

France contributed substantially to Pakistan Earthquake

relief efforts, the South Asian Tsunami relief efforts, and

relief efforts after hurricane Katrina hit the southern

United States. (See paragraphs 73-81 for more detail).



42. (U) The major part of France's efforts at capacity

building in the world is focused on Africa where France

relies on its forces stationed in seven nations to conduct

most of its capacity building operations (see paragraphs

82-85 for more detail). Also, 4000 French troops stand

alongside UNOCI in Operation Licorne in Cote d'Ivoire in

support of the UN operation, in addition to the French

permanent base in Abidjan.



43. (U) French Gendarmerie has taken the lead in the

development of the European Gendarmerie Force. French

Gendarmes are also deployed in Lebanon (UNIFIL),Haiti

(MINUSTAH),Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI),the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, Chad, and the Central Africa Republic. They

also conducted training in Kinshasa, Kenya (see paragraphs

86-89 for more detail).



44. (U) In the summer of 2004, the French also began a

joint fighter pilot training school in Cazeaux, France (see

paragraph 90 for more detail).



45. (U) As a nuclear state, France endorses deterrence

theory and holds to long-standing NATO doctrines. It has

consistently supported international arms control regimes

as a means of bolstering stability and transparency. In

addition to its continued support for international

mechanisms to limit proliferation, France with their

British and German colleagues pursued EU3 negotiations to

obtain Iranian compliance with Iran's Safeguard Agreement

commitments. EU3 efforts led to the signing of the Paris

Agreement in November 2004. Iranian resumption of

conversion in August 2005, and research on enrichment in

December 2005, led to suspension of Paris Agreement

discussions. France and its EU partners, with U.S.

support, continue to pursue efforts to convince Iran to

suspend its nuclear ambitions. (See paragraphs 91-93 for

more detail).



46. (U) The French military continues to maintain strong

contacts with the U.S. and other NATO countries for

contingency planning. During 2004 and 2005, France

conducted planning and exchanges with EUCOM and CENTCOM.

French and U.S. analysts and planners share information on

terrorism and WMD proliferation as well as political-

military developments. From the beginning of operations in

Afghanistan (both OEF and ISAF),and the Lebanon crisis,

French and U.S. planners have continued to work together to

produce effective, timely results. French forces

permanently or temporarily stationed in Africa and Central

Asia have assisted U.S. operations in the EUCOM and CENTCOM

theater of operations.





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REF A PARAS 9-10: DIRECT COST-SHARING

--------------

--------------

47. (U) No direct cost sharing activities occur in France





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REF A PARA 11: INDIRECT COST SHARING

--------------

--------------



48. (U) No indirect cost-sharing activities as described

in Ref A paragraph 11 occur in France. However the U.S.

did receive several types of miscellaneous indirect cost-

sharing benefits from France as described below.





Overflight Clearances, Port Access, Use of French

Facilities

-------------- --------------



49. (U) In 2004, France granted overflight and landing

clearances to 1842 USG missions. 977 of these missions

were in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 76 of these

missions supported operations in the Balkans. During 2005,

France granted 2061 overflight and landing clearances to

USG missions. 811 of these missions supported OIF while 68

supported Balkan operations. France continued to grant

blanket overflight clearances to most USG missions allowing

over flights of and landings in France without notice.



50. (U) The 744 Expeditionary Air Base Group operated

three KC-135 tanker aircraft from Istres Airbase in

southern France during most of 2004. This group of 100 US

military personnel flew air refueling missions supporting

operations in the Balkans. The French provided fuel tax-

free. The mission ended in December 2004.



51. (U) Tax concessions on fuel and landing fees for non-

operational missions during 2004 totaled approximately 4000

dollars. During 2005 these concessions totaled 8450

dollars.



52. (U) During 2004 the US Navy made 14 port calls to

facilities in metropolitan France. In 2005 the number of

port calls was 29. In all cases, the French Navy provided

excellent support and force protection services without

cost. Additionally, no taxes were imposed for supplies or

parts for US ships visiting French ports.





-------------- --------------

-------------- --------------

REF A PARA 12 RECENT CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS, MILITARY

ASSISTANCE, HUMANITARIAN RELIEF OPERATIONS, CAPACITY

BUILDING, COUNTERPROLIFERATION, AND NUCLEAR THREAT

REDUCTION

-------------- --------------

-------------- --------------



-------------- --------------

Subparagraph A: Recent Contingency operations (See French

Force Disposition and External Operations Table for

personnel numbers)

-------------- --------------



53. (U) The French were among the first nations to

volunteer troops to the International Security Assistance

Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan and France continues to

be responsible for Kabul International Airport and the area

north of Kabul to the U.S. base at Bagram. A French

battalion has been a part of ISAF since December 2001.

From August 2004 to February 2005, a French general

commanded the NATO-led ISAF. France has proposed an

increased role in ISAF and offered to lead Regional

CommandKabul as part of the NATO reorganization and

expansion of ISAF. In October 2005, France and Turkey

announced that they would co-lead Regional Command-Kabul.

The French are planning to augment their forces from the

current 700 in ISAF to between 1,000 1,200 personnel to

support the increased responsibilities of the regional

command to include providing a Quick Reaction Force (QRF)

battalion. The French have continued to provide a military

police detachment in support of ISAF.



54. (U) Supporting OEF, the French Armed Forces continue

to be actively involved in the fight against terrorism.

200 members of the French Special Forces are currently

deployed in the South of Afghanistan alongside U.S. Special

Forces in military operations against the Taliban.



55. (U) France assigned liaison officers to the U.S. staff

headquarters in Tampa to ensure the interface between the

military authorities of the two countries. French forces

were directly involved in the fight against terrorism by

y

carrying out the following missions:



56. (U) The air and sea group took part in air operations

above Afghanistan in April-May 2004 (84 aircrafts were

involved in operational missions for 450 flight hours).

The French Air Force deployed within less than 48 hours six

Mirage 2000D and two refueling aircraft from metropolitan

France to the deployable airbase in Manas (Kyrgyzstan)

which played a key role in the prosecution of air

campaigns.



57. (U) In addition, two C160 airplanes with 130 soldiers

of the Air Force have been operating in Dushanbe

(Tajikistan) since December 3, 2001, totaling 10,000 flight

hours. This detachment is focused on airlifting the French

Forces operating in different areas in Afghanistan.



58. (U) In October 2004, three Mirage F1CR and one tanker

C135FR were deployed in Dushanbe to carry out tactical

reconnaissance missions for ISAF and the coalition against

terrorism. To help promote the development of democracy in

Afghanistan in close collaboration with its allies, the

French Air Force again deployed an air detachment in

Dushanbe, from August through November 2005 during the

parliamentary elections. Within ISAF, the detachment,

which includes three Mirage F1CR, three Mirage 2000D and

two tankers C135FR based in Manas, was intended to

establish an air presence throughout the country and

support ground forces operations to deter any action likely

to disrupt the elections. It was also entrusted with the

mission to undertake reconnaissance and fire support

operations supporting OEF.



59. Finally, the French military participates in the fight

against terrorism within the OEF Task Force 150 (TF 150).

The Task Force is actively involved in the following

operations:

- monitoring air and sea movements in the Red Sea, the Sea

of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf,

- prohibiting the filtration of terrorists to the Arabian

Peninsula or the Horn of Africa,

- fighting against illegal trafficking (weapons, drugs

etc.),

- fighting against piracy and banditry acts.



60. (U) Since February 2003, a EUROMARFOR task group is

part of the TF 150 and operates under the command of the

U.S. staff. The French Navy greatly contributes to the TF

150 (about a quarter of the Task Force) with three ships

operating on a permanent basis. France took command of TF

150 twice from September 2003 to January 2004 and from June

to September 2004.



61. (U) An aircraft based in Djibouti, which was

incorporated into the Task Force 57 (TF 57),is intended to

patrol in coordination with the TF 150 ships. The 62

French ships involved in Operation Enduring Freedom since

15 December 2001 totaled more than 6,000 days at sea.



62. (U) The French Navy's strong participation in CTF-150,

both by continuously providing ships and often providing a

command staff in the Indian Ocean, particularly off of

Somalia and the Gulf of Oman, and the presence of French

Navy liaison personnel at NAVCENT Headquarters in Bahrain

makes possible a good degree of interaction and cooperation

in this key region. The French also maintain maritime

patrol aircraft worldwide and cooperate with the U.S. Navy

where there is common interest.



63. (U) The French also participate in the US Counter-Drug

effort with Naval Forces. A French military officer is

assigned to the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF

South) in Key West, to ensure coordination with French

forces in the Caribbean. Fort-de-France in Martinique

supports U.S. Navy and Coast Guard units with port visits

and the Navy Command in Fort-de-France has assisted the

U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard with the movement of

personnel and weapons between various ships and aircraft.

The direct participation of the French Navy in counter-drug

operations consists of the deployment of frigates to the

region to work with U.S. forces on a regular basis and the

use of Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployed to the region.



64. (U) In 2004, the French Navy stopped three drug

trafficking ships in the Antilles and one Togolese ship in

the Gulf of Guinea with 450 kg of cocaine. The counter

drug effort of the French Navy in 2004 was 199 days at sea,

156 hours of flight, 2058 ships queried, four ships

intercepted, and 1020 kg of drugs ceased.



65. (U) In 2004, the French Navy effort against

clandestine immigration equaled 683 days at sea, 904 flight

hours, three ships intercepted, 43 clandestine immigrants

turned over to border police.





--------------

Subparagraph B. Military Assistance:

NRF/NTMI/Afghanistan/NATO PKO.

-------------- --------------



66. (U) The French Army has been training the Afghan

National Army within the overall U.S.-led program since its

inception. Since 2002, the French have trained more than

2,000 Afghans. This includes three of the initial

battalions; they have set-up the officer basic course and

the staff officer's course. The French are currently

participating in the Embedded Training Team concept with

French Army soldiers assigned to mentor an Afghan battalion

in Kandahar.



67. (U) The French have consistently expressed a desire to

be part of NATO's transformation and interoperability

initiatives as evidenced by their significant national

contributions to the NATO Response Force (NRF). By

participating in NRFs 1 through 6, the total French

military contribution equals up to 40 percent of ground

units, 30 percent of air assets, and 20 percent of naval

capabilities. The French air force provides the deployable

combined air operations center (CAOC) for the European led

NRF. In January 2005, the French air force conducted AIREX

2005, a training exercise, to prepare for command of NRF-05

in July. On July 1st, the French air force became the Joint

Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) of NRF-05 for six

months. In 2004, NATO sent the NRF's Land Component

Command Headquarters, the French led EUROCORPS, to lead the

ISAF in Afghanistan. As part of NRF 5, NATO activated

France's Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) to

coordinate the air movements for the Pakistan earthquake

relief effort. On 1 October 2005, the French formally

created a multinational headquarters to serve as the Land

Component Command for future rotations of the NRF.



68. (U) In 2005, the French also established a Maritime

Component Command HQ to serve in future iterations of

NATO's NRF. The French Navy successfully stood-up the

High-Readiness Force Maritime (HRF-M) staff in Toulon and

qualified the staff during an at-sea exercise in 2005.

This staff, will serve its rotational duties as an on-call

force, ahead of schedule, and is being used by the French

for out-of-area operations, for example, during the

upcoming Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean deployment of the Charles

de Gaulle Carrier Battle Group in early 2006. There is one

U.S. Naval Officer assigned to the HRF-M staff.



69. (U) The French government has forbidden its military

from contributing troops to the NATO training mission

inside Iraq (NTM-1). One French officer is working on the

training mission staff at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium,

and the GoF pledged 660,000 euros in February 2005 to help

finance NTM-1. In 2005, the GoF took initial steps to

contribute to the development of Iraqi defense and security

capabilities. Under the European Union's EUJUSTLEX

program, France has pledged to train 200 Iraqi police

officials and judges in rule of law training in France,

making France the top EU contributor to this program.

Approximately 40 Iraqi police officials (non-military)

completed month-long training at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Officiers de Police and the Ecole Nationale

de Police in 2005. A third course started at the end of

2005 for judicial instruction at the Ecole Nationale de la

Magistrature. At the same time, a French offer to train up

to 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary police (gendarmes) outside Iraq

remains unimplemented, although an Iraqi Ministry of

Interior delegation visited France in July 2005 to further

discuss the proposal. Currently there is a single Gendarme

Officer in Iraq, responsible for provision of security for

French embassy staff in Baghdad.



70. (U) In the Balkans, French forces remain among the

largest contributors to operations in Kosovo. French

participation in the former NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia

continued under the EU Force, Operation Althea. 210

Gendarmes supported both the United Nations Interim mission

in Kosovo and the NATO Intervention Forces in Kosovo.

French Lieutenant General de Kermabon transferred authority

as COMKFOR on 1 September 2005 after one year of command,

the second time France has commanded KFOR. The French

government provided approximately 60 gendarmes, including

20 officers to help combat organized crime under the Office

of the High Representative in Bosnia-Hersegovina.

Additionally, they provided European Union Police and

military police in support of European Union Forces in

Bosnia.



71. (U) The French continue to maintain a small French

military presence (15 personnel) in Macedonia providing

international police in support of the European Police

Mission. They also provide a small presence force (three

military observers) in Georgia to help support the U.N.

monitoring mission.



72. (U) Regarding peacekeeping efforts in Africa, there

has been ongoing debate as to NATO's role in Africa. This

debate was most evident during the 2005 crisis in Darfur

with France focusing its support for the AU through the EU.

France, however, honored its pledge to SECSTATE that it

would not oppose a NATO role in the crisis. France has

provided 80 million euros to Darfur through the African

Union and provides support to Chad on a bilateral basis.

French troops and aircraft are conducting ground and air

border security. During 2005, France provided refueling

support to NATO and EU aircraft at Abech in Eastern Chad,

as well as personnel recovery capabilities using three C-

160 transport aircraft and three Puma helicopters. The

French transported the Senegalese units of the AU force to

Sudan and the Nigerian police contingent.



--------------

Subpara C: Humanitarian Relief Operations

NATOHMRO/Pakistan/Katrina/Tsunami

--------------



73. (U) In 2003, France allotted 9.3 million euros (USD

11.2 million) to what it termed Emergency Humanitarian

Assistance, all of which was channeled through the

Emergency Humanitarian Aid Fund of the MFA. In 2004, the

initial allotment was 9.3 million euros (USD 11.2 million).

The fund may be increased on an extraordinary basis to

finance unexpected operations; this was the case in 2005,

when France announced an emergency increased allotment of

2.8 million euros (USD 3.4 million) in favor of the victims

of natural disasters or civil crises, primarily focused on

the victims of the tsunami in Thailand, Sri Lanka,

Maldives, Indonesia, and India, and an additional

allocation of 5.6 million euros (USD 6.7 million) for the

victims of the earthquake in Pakistan (see paragraphs

below). The additional aid is imputed into the 2005

balance sheet bringing the total amount of emergency

donations to 16,147,081 million euros. Allotments in 2006

are projected to increase to benefit victims of 2005's

Hurricane Katrina in the United States. For an economic

analysis of general Grant Aid and Humanitarian Assistance

see paragraphs 117-221.



74. (U) Pakistan Relief. The French contributed 82

military personnel to the Pakistan relief effort. In

addition, the French air force deployed two C-130 Hercules

military transport aircraft to deliver relief supplies. The

effort included medical service personnel, a surgical team,

and support personnel (communications, equipment, and

logistics) in Pakistan. Forty-six of the military

personnel were inserted into the various NATO elements in

Islamabad, Lisbon, Germany, and Turkey. Additionally, as

part of NRF 5, NATO activated France's JFACC to coordinate

the air movement piece of the relief effort. The JFACC at

Taverney, near Paris has 23 French, five UK, and one U.S.

officer assigned.



75. (U) KATRINA Relief. The NRF was activated in

September 2005 after hurricane Katrina. At the same time,

France used its Joint Forces Air Component (JFACC) to task

the French Air Force to collect and deliver the 150 tons of

European supplies for Louisiana. This support was

delivered to Ramstein airbase, Germany. The French air

force also provided two transport aircraft to move over

four tons of supplies, including tents, tarps, and 1000

rations, to the US from the Caribbean. Along with these

supplies, the French provided a team of four civil security

personnel to help assess future U.S. needs and distribute

assistance. Two French liaison officers were posted to the

Joint Forces Commander in Lisbon to help coordinate all

European assistance. An Airbus Beluga aircraft also

delivered 12.7 tons of emergency equipment to Mobile,

Alabama;



76. (U) The French Navy deployed a team of 17 Navy divers

to assist with the Katrina disaster. This was facilitated

by the fact that the French maintain a liaison officer with

the U.S. Mine Warfare Command in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 17 French divers worked from September 11, 2005 to

October 8, 2005 helping to clear waterways of debris and

recover vessels.



77. (U) The GOF also offered the following contributions

to assist with Katrina disaster recovery:

--The "Gendarmerie nationale" offered experts in forensic

police;

--The GOF (with Airbus) offered to send an additional 20-

30,000 food rations.



78. (U) Tsunami Relief. The French Navy worked with U.S.

forces and other willing partners following the December

26, 2004 Tsunami in South East Asia. In response to this

disaster, the French Navy re-routed its helicopter carrier,

Jeanne D'Arc, and, after picking up extra emergency

supplies from the French base in Djibouti, sent the units

into the disaster region. By February 1, there were 1,390

French Military personnel assisting in the disaster area,

most aboard the three ships involved. The French

Helicopter Carrier, Jeanne D'Arc, and the Destroyer George

Leygues DD-644 deployed to Indonesia on January 4 until

February 9 while the Destroyer Dupleix DD-641 deployed to

the Maldives from January 5 until February 1, 2005. The

Jeanne D'Arc supplemented the normal on-board complement of

helicopters with an additional two heavy-lift helicopters.

Embarked were 12 medical doctors and support personnel.



79. (U) There was one French Maritime Patrol Aircraft

deployed to Thailand from January 1, 2005 that worked in

cooperation with the U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft. One

additional French Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployed to Sri

Lanka from December 30, 2004 to January 1, 2005.



80. (U) In support of the tsunami relief in South-East

Asia, the French Gendarmerie provided several investigators

to assist in the identification of victims.



81. (U) Other humanitarian efforts. In 2004, during the

annual Jeanne D'Arc training cruise 9000 vaccinations were

given, 519 tons of humanitarian supplies were delivered.

During a deployment of the Dupleix, 180 tons of

humanitarian supplies were delivered.





-------------- --------------

Subparagraph D. Capacity Building: Strengthening

Governance in the World.

-------------- --------------

82. (U) The major part of France's efforts at capacity

building in the world is focused on Africa. France relies

on its forces stationed in seven nations to conduct most of

its capacity building operations. These include Cameroon,

Togo, the Central African Republic, the Gulf of Guinea,

Haiti, and Cote d'Ivoire. Additionally, France uses

forward presence forces; those stationed through bilateral

defense agreements, for capacity building operations.

Foreign presence forces are in Gabon, Djibouti, Senegal,

the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. The table on

French Force Disposition and Exterior Operations presents

the detailed numbers of personnel in each location and the

additional expenditures of each operation. In total, these

capacity building measures cost France 650 million Euros in

2004 (approximately USD 790 million).



83. (U) The RECAMP (Reinforcing the Capabilities of

Africans to Maintain Peace) program remains France's

flagship strategy for defense and military cooperation in

Africa. The goal of RECAMP is to support an autonomous

African security capability. It is also a multinational

program to support the stability of Africa. RECAMP is

based on three pillars: cooperation, training, and support

of African operational engagements. To support operations,

France provides African forces with the materials and

equipment necessary to deploy from three French battalion-

size RECAMP depots. These depots are located in Dakar,

Libreville, and Djibouti. France has offered to make these

depots available for USG use. The French Military

Cooperation Directorate has a 100 million Euro annual

budget and manages a network of 220 French military

personnel located at African military schools and training

centers.



84. (U) In the last cycle for RECAMP IV in West Africa

(Benin) in 2004 -2005, there were 14 African and 16 non-

African participating states, including the United States.

France seeks the participation of all African states in

RECAMP and solicits participation bilaterally and through

the African Union and sub-regional organizations. France

also seeks multinational participation in the form of donor

states and an increasing role of the European Union (EU).

The program's present orientation focuses at the strategic-

level and seeks to prepare the African sub-regional

organizations and eventually the African Standby Forces

(ASF) for peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and

disaster relief operations.



85. (U) Additional Capacity Building Examples: During

2005 in Chad, more than 300 French air force aviators

conducted security and reconnaissance missions within the

framework of the humanitarian operation Darfur.



86. (U) French Gendarmerie has taken the lead in the

development of the European Gendarmerie Force. The initial

commander of the force in the development of the

headquarters is a French Gendarme General and the first

headquarters exercise was conducted in France. The

Gendarmerie has been consistently been asked to provide

general and specialized training to other Gendarme forces

or police forces throughout the world and particularly in

the middle east and Africa. In fact, one French military

police detachment is deployed in support of the United

Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)



87. (U) In Haiti, 40 Gendarme personnel supported the

Multinational Stabilization Force (MINUSTAH) as part of

the 1,000-man contingent of French personnel.



88 (U) Over 150 Gendarme personnel provided international

police support for the United Nations Mission to Cote

D'Ivoire (UNOCI) and to support French intervention during

operation Licorne. This contingent helped protect and

guard functions for diplomatic and disarmament missions of

the Joint Tactics Group.



89. (U) In both 2004 and 2005 French Gendarmerie supported

International Police Missions with detachments of officers

and Gendarmes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Chad, and the Central Africa Republic. In 2004, French

Gendarmes conducted training for the establishment of a

European Union Integrated Police Unit in Kinshasa, Kenya.

In the years 2004 and 2005 approximately 600 French

National Gendarmes were deployed outside France in support

of operations or as reinforcements to diplomatic missions.

Although the numbers fluctuate between the years, the

approximate strengths provided reflect France's general

willingness to contribute gendarme personnel and forces in

support of international efforts.



90. (U) In the summer of 2004, the French began a joint

fighter pilot training school in Cazeaux, France. Spain,

Germany, Singapore, Greece, Switzerland and Poland have

indicated interest in joining. The French also completed

air policing agreements with Spain, Germany, Switzerland,

and Italy allowing greater effectiveness of cross border

air defense.



-------------- --------------

Subpara E: Counterproliferation Contributions and other

GWOT contributions

-------------- --------------



91. (U) As a nuclear state, France endorses deterrence

theory and holds to long-standing NATO doctrines. It has

consistently supported international arms control regimes

as a means of bolstering stability and transparency. It

worked closely with the U.S. leading up to the 2000

Nonproliferation Treaty review conference, and was actively

involved with U.S. experts in preparing for the 2004

prepcom. Although the French remain concerned over

cessation of U.S. efforts to achieve ratification of the

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),French officials have

also endorsed the need for updating international strategic

doctrine to include protections such as missile defense, as

well as deterrence and regulatory measures.



92. (U) France serves effectively as permanent secretariat

for the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and

participates actively in the Australia Group for the

control of chemicals, bio-agents/toxins, and technologies

related to CBW, as well as the Nuclear Suppliers Group

(NSG) for controlling nuclear-related, dual-use

technologies. France strongly supports U.S.-initiated

Global Threat Security Initiative efforts, and pursuant to

that initiative hosted a major conference in Bordeaux in

June 2005 on identifying radiological sources. It has

worked closely with the United States on several transfer

cases involving French companies under the Proliferation

Security Initiative. France has encouraged continued work

within the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD) to help

develop guidelines for a fissile material cutoff treaty

regime, and supports activities of that body with respect

to small arms and unexploded ordnance. It coordinates

closely with the U.S. on enforcement of the Chemical

Weapons Convention at the OPCW in The Hague, and on

implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention in

Geneva.



93. (SBU) France accepted the U.S.-proposed G8

architecture that would allow more effective use of the

forum, as well as better management of ongoing G8 projects

including those aimed at reducing stocks of weapons-grade

plutonium in Russia. (France also has a bilateral programs

aimed at helping Russia destroy CW holdings.) France has

supported efforts to single out North Korea and Iran as

states of particular concern on the proliferation front.

The French support bringing North Korea before the UNSC for

its violations of international nonproliferation

obligations. The French share U.S. concerns over Iran's

pursuit of nuclear weapons; and with their British and

German colleagues pursued EU3 negotiations to obtain

Iranian compliance with Iran's Safeguard Agreement

commitments. EU3 efforts led to the signing of the Paris

Agreement in November 2004, under which Iran suspended its

nuclear conversion and enrichment efforts during ongoing

negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Iranian resumption

of conversion in August 2005, and research on enrichment in

December 2005, led to suspension of Paris Agreement

discussions. France and its EU partners, with U.S.

support, continue to pursue efforts to convince Iran to

suspend its nuclear ambitions.



94. (U) The French military continues to maintain strong

contacts with the U.S. and other NATO countries for

contingency planning. During 2004 and 2005, France

conducted planning and exchanges with EUCOM and CENTCOM.

French and U.S. analysts and planners share information on

terrorism and WMD proliferation as well as political-

military developments. From the beginning of operations in

Afghanistan (both OEF and ISAF),and the Lebanon crisis,

French and U.S. planners have continued to work together to

produce effective, timely results. French forces

permanently or temporarily stationed in Africa and Central

Asia have assisted U.S. operations in the EUCOM and CENTCOM

theater of operations.



95. (U) The French government also provides overflight

clearance and landing assistance to US counter-narcotic

operations in the SOUTHCOM theater of operations. France

maintains a liaison officer with the Joint Interagency Task

ForceSouth, and provides access to French overseas

territories for U.S. counter-narcotic operations.



96. (U) Since July 1, 2005 the French Armed Forces have an

entirely deployable NBC defense regiment (2nd Dragoon

regiment),which is equipped with specific tools to combat

radiation, nuclear, biological and chemical risks. This

regiment's missions are to prevent and handle military or

technological incidents as well as restore the operational

capacities of the forces deployed.





--------------

--------------

REF A PARA 13:

PFP AND NATO ENLARGEMENT

--------------

--------------





97. (U) Since the inauguration of the Partnership for

Peace (PfP) in 1994, France has supported the program and

participated in its exercises. France believes that PfP

has increased awareness of NATO policies, procedures and

standards among both aspirants and nonmembers that do not

seek membership but that nevertheless wish to participate

in collective security arrangements. France believes that

the involvement of Central Asian and Caucasus states in PfP

has directly increased their willingness to assist in the

war on terrorism. France was an early supporter of the

broad-based invitation list accepted at the Prague Summit.

France favors continued MAP-related assistance to

Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia, and essentially shares

U.S. perspectives on eventual PfP membership for Bosnia-

Herzegovina and Serbia-Montenegro. France favors extending

PfP-like benefits to states in the current Mediterranean

Dialogue.





--------------

GENERAL DATA ON THE FRENCH MILITARY

--------------



98. (U) French Force Dispositions and External Operations:

As of December



LOCATION/20042005TYPE2004

OPERATIONPer #Per #Mission Cost/M

Euros

Haiti/MINUSTAH 42 42CBNa

Gulf Guinea/CORYMBE 103 230CB 6.23

Cote d'Ivoire/LICORNE54554166CB186.0

Cameroon 50 49CB 2.99

Togo/Gabon/LICORNE 268 99CBNa

CAR/BOALI/FOMUC 213 217CB 7.7

Chad10661086CBNa

Macedonia/ARYM 27 17IM 4.56

Bosnia/EUFOR/EUPM 598 476IM 67.9

Kosovo/KFOR/MINUK32672239IM146.5

Georgia/MONUG 3 3IMNa

Lebanon/Israel/UN 209 200IMNa

Palestine 0 3IMNa

Sinai/FMO 15 15IMNa

Afghan/OEF/ISAF12701047IM 99.3

Afghan/BAHRAL 0 49IMNa

OEF/CJTF150 +HOA 290 681IMNa

BERYX 0 10IMNa

0 1047 IM 99.3

Afghan/BAHRAL 0 49 IM Na

OEF/CJTF150 +HOA 290 681 IM Na

BERYX 0 10 IM Na

Ethiopia/MINUEE 1 1IM .1

Sudan-Darfur/DORCA 4 9IMNa

Burundi/MONUC 3 1IMNa

DROC/MONUC 17 16IM 2.3

Liberia/UNMIL 2 1IMNa

W. Sahara/MINURSO 25 24IM 1.2

Pacific Ocean 182 176FPNa

Senegal11071226FPNa

Djibouti28732831FPNa

Gabon 648 722FPNa

Indian Ocean 390 466FPNa

French Guiana32573353SFNa

Antilles42014202SFNa

Reunion-Mayotte39834133SFNa

New Caledonia26542757SFNa

Polynesia25922153SFNa

St Pierre/Miquelon 77 68SFNa



Total34,947 32,798

CB: Capacity Building Forces

IM: International Mandate Forces

FP: Forward Presence Forces

SF: Sovereignty Forces







Army: Major Equipment Deliveries 2004-2005

--------------



Intelligence:

-18 UAV

Command and Control:

-60 2nd Generation Tactical and Intelligence Systems

Aviation:

-10 Tiger Helicopters

Armored Vehicle Systems:

-60 LECLERC Tanks

-8 Tank Recovery vehicles

-32 AMX 10RC Armored Personnel Carrier upgraded

ems:

-60 LECLERC Tanks

-8 Tank Recovery vehicles

-32 AMX 10RC Armored Personnel Carrier upgraded

-660 VAB Wheeled Armored Personnel Vehicles

-130 VB2L Command and Control Vehicles

Artillery and Counter-Fire Systems:

-38 canons 155mm AUF 1 TA

-6 radars COBRA

-5 systems ATLAS

Transportation:

-1,000 GBC 180 Trucks







Navy: Major Equipment Deliveries 2004-2005

--------------



Intelligence:

-1 Intelligence collection ship

Submarines:

-1 Ballistic missile submarine

Ships:

-4 Minesweepers

-1 Ocean going Tug

-1 Research Vessel

Missiles:

-80 Mica Air to Air

-40 Crotale (marine)

-50 Aster Ground to Air

-20 Scalp-EG Cruise Missile

-50 Torpedoes







Air Force: Major Equipment Deliveries 2004-2005

-------------- ---



Aircraft:

-10 Rafale fighter aircraft

-3 UAV's

-1 A-310 Transport

-7 NH-90 helicopters

Missiles:

-150 Mica Air to Air

-50 Scalp-EG Cruise Missiles

-40 AS-30 Laser Missiles

Satellite: -1 Syracuse Military Comm



FRENCH MILITARY PERSONNEL 2004-2005

--------------



TYPEArmyAir ForceNavy

TYPE Army Air Force Navy

Officer 16,500 6,875 5,100

Enlisted117,50052,60040,100

Civilian 27,500 6,500 9,600

Total161,50065,97554,800









--------------

MAJOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

--------------



99. (U) Please note that the new French presentation of

budgetary information (the LOLF, first mentioned in

paragraph 29) is sufficiently complicated to compel embassy

Paris to include more detail on this new means of reporting

economic information (see paragraphs 111-113).



100. (U) France is presently the fifth largest industrial

economy in the world, with a USD 2 trillion annual Gross

Domestic Product (GDP),about one sixth the size of the GDP

of the United States in 2005. France is the fifth-largest

exporter and the fourth-largest importer in the world

merchandise trade, and is a global leader in high

technology, defense, agricultural products and services.

France is the ninth-largest trading partner of the United

ading partner of the United

States and our third largest in Europe (after Germany and

the UK).



Economic Growth

--------------



101. (U) Real GPD in France rebounded to 2.1% in 2004,

compared to 0.9% in 2003, thanks to reviving domestic

demand, which turned in one of the best performances in the

EU-15. Nonetheless, economic recovery became less robust

under the shocks of oil price hikes and the rise in value

of the euro against the dollar. The government realized

early in 2005 that achieving its 2.5% GDP growth objective

would be hard to achieve without taking some action. In

February, May, and June 2005, the government announced

measures to encourage consumption, stimulate activity of

companies, boost exports, and tackle unemployment. Most of

these measures are not likely to have immediate impacts.

The "No" vote in France's May 29, 2005 referendum on

Europe's new constitution was widely interpreted as a sign

of French voters' deep-rooted unease with France's economic

and social malaise. Public-sector unions' demonstrations

against government plans to reduce the size of the

government (e.g., cut jobs),as part of France's European

commitment to reduce the budget deficit to below 3% of GDP

in 2005, fed public fears of outsourcing, enlargement of

the European Union, immigration, deregulation of European

markets and further deterioration in the labor situation.

After the referendum vote, the French government underwent

a cabinet shake-up, and in September 2005, the government

unveiled its plan for a "social economy", the key feature

of which is the retention of the French social model.



102. (U) Despite government measures, real GDP growth

weakened in 2005, and the government had to revise its GDP

growth target from 2.5% to 2.0%, and later shift to a GDP

growth target range of 1.5 to 2%. Nonetheless, in January

2006, the government said that it was confident 2005 GDP

growth would fall within the 1.5-2.0% range, predicting a

2.0-2.4% (annualized) growth in the fourth quarter.

Economists, members of the Consensus Group of 17 banks and

institutions, forecast GDP growth to range from 1.8% to

2.1% in 2005. Two thirds of them forecast GDP to increase

at least 2% in 2006. That is the bottom of the 2.0-2.5%

range the government has forecast for 2006.



Inflation

--------------



103. (U) Inflation in France remains low and under

control, despite oil price increases. Wage increase

requests remained moderate in 2004 and 2005 due to the weak

labor situation. Consumer prices increased 1.5% in

December 2005 on a year-overyear basis, compared with 2.1%

in December 2004.



Labor Situation

--------------



104. (U) The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 10%

throughout 2004. Unemployment decreased to 9.6% in

November 2005 after peaking at 10.2% in March 2005, a 5-

year high. It remained higher than the government objective

of 9% for a variety of reasons, including low job creation

in the private sector, despite a decrease in persons

looking for work and government measures introduced in 2005

for job creation, including government-subsidized

contracts. With the 2007 presidential elections in mind,

the government has chosen to subsidize job creation, rather

than press for economic reforms to address structural

causes of unemployment. In January 2006, the government

announced the creation of another new employment program

aimed at boosting youth employment, since the youth

unemployment rate remained high (22.8% in November 2005).

Prior to this announcement, private-sector economists had

projected the unemployment rate to decrease only slightly

in 2006 due to modest job creation in the private sector.



Budget Deficit, Public Debt and the EU Stability and Growth

Pact

-------------- --------------



105. (U) In 2004, France broke the EU stability and growth

pact limit with a budget deficit over 3% of GDP for the

third straight year. The 2004 overall budget deficit

including central government, social security and local

authorities exceeded 3.6% of GDP in 2004, falling from 4.2%

in 2003 due lower growth in central government spending.

The deficit remained above 3% of GDP mainly due to a rise

in social security expenditures, notably health insurance.

The government has been struggling to reduce the budget

deficit in the face of lower-than-expected economic growth.

Reducing the budget deficit depends on high tax receipts

(thus on solid economic growth),finding ways to check

social spending, particularly for health care, and sticking

to a "zero budget growth" policy among all ministries,

while being mindful of opposition politicians and unions'

resistance to reforms.



106. (U) In January 2006, Finance Minister Thierry Breton

said that the economy's vigor in the second half of 2005,

combined with strict control of central government budget

spending, made him confident that France would finally

respect the 3%-of-GDP ceiling in 2005. Higher than

expected tax receipts at year-end 2005, notably due to an

earlier collection of the corporate income tax downpayment,

allowed the government to project a budget deficit of 2.9%

in 2005. Nonetheless, the overall deficit is still overly

dependent on progress tackling the public sector health

insurance deficit.



107. (U) France's public debt continued to significantly

exceed the EU's stability and growth pact limit of 60% of

GDP, amounting to 64.7% of GDP in 2004, and an estimated

66.2% of GDP in 2005. To fund its debt and repay maturing

debt, the government will sell 125 billion euros in notes

and bonds in 2006. In 2005, much of the financing of the

public debt came from payments by the state-owned company

Electricite de France, in exchange for the government

assuming pension liabilities. The government will be

considering other proposals to reduce the public debt, and

is earmarking privatization proceeds for debt reduction.



Reforms

--------------



108. (U) France has to pursue efforts on structural

reforms to achieve its full economic potential and to

improve its competitiveness. Prime areas for reform

include continued tax and government spending reduction,

increased flexibility of labor markets, and further

deregulation of goods and services sectors. The

government, formed after presidential and legislative

elections in spring 2002, has undertaken reforms slowly.

President Chirac appears determined to keep electoral

promises, such as tax cuts. The French benefited from five

per cent income tax cuts in 2002, one percent in 2003, and

another three per cent in 2004. However, the government in

2005 had to stop cutting taxes due to its ballooning budget

deficit. On the positive side, France has responded to

competitive pressures by implementing market-oriented

economic reforms of its pension and health insurance

systems, simplifying administrative procedures, and

offering a variety of investment incentives. France is

changing its historic tendency of centralization in favor

of transferring more power to its regional territories, to

free the territories' energies, to eliminate redundant

structures, and to make productivity gains at the national

and local levels. In 2005, the government made labor

regulations more flexible to facilitate lay-offs, modified

the law to make the 35-hour workweek more flexible and

created new hiring contracts which limit minimum lay-off

procedures for companies of less than 20 employees.

Negotiations between businesses and employees

representatives begun in December 2005 might result in a

reduction of unemployment benefits. The government has

indicated its intention to continue reforms: reforming the

tax structure, eliminating labor market rigidities, and

scaling back the role of the state in the economy.

Regarding privatizations, the government announced

preliminary plans in 2002, but the subsequent global slump

in air transportation and equity markets put a brake in

privatizations through the sale of shares. In 2003 and

2004, the government reduced its stakes in large companies

such as Air France-KLM (to 44.6 from 54.0 percent),France

Telecom (to 42.2 from 54.5 percent),Thales (formerly

Thomson CSF, to 31.3 from 33.3 percent),Renault (to 15.6

from 26.0 percent),and Thomson (to 2.0 from 20.8 percent

through TSA). Smaller projects were carried out, such as

the privatizations of SAPRR (Paris-Rhin-Rhone highway

company),and of the electricity company SNET. In 2005,

the government sold shares in the energy sector companies

EDF and GDF, retaining a 85.9% stake in EDF and a 79% stake

in GDF, but postponed the privatization of the nuclear

energy company, Areva. After a long process in 2005, the

sale of toll-road companies ASF, APRR and Sanef will be

effective in early 2006. Capital openings for employees of

Aeroports de Paris and EDF are planned for 2006. The

government still has stakes in Bull and Safran (renamed

after Sagem merged with Snecma),and in 1,280 other firms,

and has stated its intention to continue privatization.



Defense Spending Defense budgets 2006 Highlights

-------------- --------------



109. (U) The French central government budget process

operates on a different cycle and with different precepts

than the U.S. system. Budgets for the year ahead are

adopted on or about December 30 of a given calendar year,

and may be adjusted one or more times in the course of the

year during which spending occurs. The 2004 initial

defense budget (E 41.6 billion including pensions or USD

51.7 billion) was adjusted to include additional spending

and cancellations. The adjustment cancelled 471 million

euros or USD 586 million to credit payments, and allotted

870 million euros or USD 1,082 million to credit payments

for military operating spending, including for external

operations (608 million euros or USD 756 million).

Similarly, the initial 2005 budget was modified, notably

y

allotting 467 million euros (USD 581 million) to credit

payments for external operations in 2005.



110. (U) The following tables trace the evolution of

overall defense budgets from 2003 to 2006 in millions of

euros. Percentages reflect nominal changes, not/not

corrected for inflation. Post provides separate charts for

planned and actual expenditures in order to demonstrate

that within-year adjustments (use of support funds

appropriations),as well as changes in appropriations and

in the way they are allocated are the norm for France, and

to emphasize that France increased its commitment to

defense significantly beginning in 2003. In 2004, defense

spending increased 0.25% to 11.42% of the central

government budget, and 0.5% to 2.01% of GDP. Based on

initial government data, defense spending in 2005 accounted

for 14.7% of the central government budget, and 2.5% of

GDP.



PlannedActual

Defenseper cent.Defenseper cent

BudgetschangeSpendingchange

ding change

(INCL. pensions)(EXCL. Pensions)



(euro millions)(euro millions)



2003 39,9646.130,1763.3





2004 41,5654.031,3283.8



200542,4242.1n.a.n.a.



(Note: Military pensions come under the defense budget in

the planned budget, but are considered as civilian

expenditures when the budget comes to execution.)



--------------

Evolution of Defense Budgets

--------------



(euro millions)



CY03CY04CY05

--------------



Title III 17,42617,50417,725

(Operations)

Credit Payments





Title V & VI13,64414,89815,198

(Procurement

and Debt Service)





Total Credit31,07032,40232,923

Payments





Title V & VI15,30016,76915,315

(Program

authorizations)





Pensions 9,8109,91010,062







2006 New Presentation

--------------



111. (U) Beginning in 2006, the government modified

greatly its budget presentation pursuant to the August 1,

2001 Law pertaining to financial bills ("Loi Organique de

,

2001 Law pertaining to financial bills ("Loi Organique de

UNCLASSIFIED



SIPDIS

PROG 02/02/06

DCM:KHOFMANN

POL:LORDEMAN

POLM/C:JROSENBLATT, POL:GRECINOS, DATT:MGUILLOT,

ECON:KMERTEN, ECON:OVANMAERSSEN



AMEMBASSY PARIS

SECSTATE WASHDC

AMEMBASSY PARIS

SECSTATE WASHDC

INFO NATO EU COLLECTIVE

JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC

USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

USNMR SHAPE BE

USMISSION GENEVA

USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA



STATE FOR PM/SNA, EUR/WE; OSD FOR OSD/PA&E, OASD/ISA/EUR,

OASD/ISA/NP, OASD/ISA/AP, OASD/ISA/NESA AND OASD/ISA/BTF



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PREL, MARR, MCAP, FR

SUBJECT: EMBASSY PARIS SUBMISSION TO THE 2005/2006 REPORT

TO CONGRESS ON ALLIED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMON DEFENSE

REF: A. STATE 223383

B. PARIS 000005





This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for

Internet dissemination.



1. (U) Summary: This telegram constitutes Embassy Paris's

country submission for the 2005/2006 Report to Congress on

Allied Contributions to the Common Defense (requested Ref

A). We report on developments that took place during

calendar years 2004 and 2005 and offer cost sharing

information for U.S. fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Embassy's

contributions to the Report to Congress are keyed to

paragraphs in Ref A where specific information is

requested. End Summary.



--------------

--------------

Ref A Para 8: General Assessment

--------------

--------------



Overview

--------------

2. (U) France bears a significant share of the burden of

defending international security and stability. It is

firmly committed to conflict resolution, non- and

counterproliferation, as well as to maintaining adequate

conventional and nuclear capabilities. Only a few nations

have the military capability to project power to a distant

theater and sustain operations. France is one of these

nations. It has the military personnel, equipment, and

command capabilities as well as the will to employ them

throughout the world. It is this total operational

capability, and the resolve to act on the international

stage, which allows the French military to participate and

lead in an international framework, including through the

European Union and NATO. Africa comprises the heaviest

French military commitment abroad. However, France is also

a significant contributor to international military

operations in Central--Southwest Asia and the Balkans. By

helping to stabilize sensitive areas in Central Asia, the

Balkans, or in Sub-Saharan Africa, overseas operations led

by the French Armed Forces have helped to prevent those

areas from becoming safe-havens for terrorist activity.

Throughout 2004 and 2005, France has been a major

contributor in the fight against terrorism as part of the

international coalition in Afghanistan. As such, France

volunteered to participate under the command of the United

States in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Moreover,

security, stabilization and training operations led by the

French Armed Forces within the International Security

Assistance Force (ISAF) is helping Afghanistan in its

transition from a terrorist sanctuary to a growing

democracy.



3. (U) France maintains the largest active duty military

force in the European Union and the second largest active

duty military force in NATO, with an active force of

approximately 355,000. Furthermore, France sustains a

large percentage of this active duty force deployed in

operations in overseas French territories or in sovereign

territories around the world. The average number of

deployed forces outside of France was 35,000 in 2004, and

32,500 in 2005. Over 13,500 of those deployed are actively

engaged in international mandates supporting counter-

terrorist operations, humanitarian operations, peacekeeping

operations, stability operations, and capacity building.

To support this level of external international mandate

operations, France spends approximately USD 790 million per

year from a defense budget of 52 billion dollars.



France's Global Reach: Peace Support Operations Worldwide

-------------- --------------



4. (U) France eagerly participates in international peace

support operations and is a leading force contributor to

stabilization operations in the Balkans and in Africa. In

Cote d'Ivoire, France's most significant overseas

operation, French troops enforce a tenuous cease-fire and

are providing the backbone to the United Nations operation

as a quick reaction force. French troops have been

actively engaged since the summer of 2004 in preventing the

Darfur crisis from expanding into Chad. In the Balkans,

French troops are present in every military mission across

Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia: SFOR/EUFOR, KFOR, UNMIBH,

UNMIK, EUMM, and ALTHEA. During "Operation Secure

Tomorrow," to stabilize Haiti, France deployed the second

largest contingent alongside the United States.

Contributing troops under international mandate is a point

of principle in Paris. The UN, where France has a veto as

a permanent member of the Security Council, is its

preferred forum for crisis resolution. France has

observers currently participating in UN missions in the

Balkans, Georgia, Lebanon, Israel, Ethiopia/Eritrea,

Burundi, DROC, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Western Sahara, and

Haiti. It also participates in the multinational force in

the Sinai.





France and the War in Iraq

--------------



5. (U) The French government has forbidden its military

from contributing troops to the NATO training mission

inside Iraq (NTM-1). One French officer is working on the

training mission staff at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium,

and the GoF pledged 660,000 euros in February 2005 to help

finance NTM-1. In 2005, the GoF took initial steps to

contribute to the development of Iraqi defense and security

capabilities. Under the European Union's EUJUSTLEX

program, France has pledged to train 200 Iraqi police

officials and judges in rule of law training in France,

making France the top EU contributor to this program.

Approximately 40 Iraqi police officials (non-military)

completed month-long training at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Officiers de Police and the Ecole Nationale

de Police in 2005. A third course started at the end of

2005 for judicial instruction at the Ecole Nationale de la

Magistrature. At the same time, a French offer to train up

to 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary police (gendarmes) outside Iraq

remains unimplemented, although an Iraqi Ministry of

Interior delegation visited France in July 2005 to further

discuss the proposal. Currently there is a single Gendarme

Officer in Iraq, responsible for provision of security for

French embassy staff in Baghdad.





France and the War on Terrorism

--------------



6. (U) France is currently the third-largest contributor

to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force

(ISAF) in Afghanistan, and one of the few nations other

than the U.S. to have had troops engaged in Operation

Enduring Freedom, ISAF and training programs for the Afghan

army since these efforts began. French Mirage-2000

fighters have flown with USAF fighters to assist American

and Afghan ground troops. French deployments to the Horn

of Africa remain focused on counterterrorism; the French

assisted in the establishment of USCJTF Horn of Africa, and

otherwise continue to allow the U.S. to share their base in

Djibouti in connection with operations in the Indian Ocean,

Red Sea and Persian Gulf. France is a part of Task Force

150, a multinational naval force that patrols the Red Sea

and the Persian Gulf to interdict the movement of suspected

terrorists from Afghanistan to the Arabian Peninsula.



7. (U) France participates in Operation Active Endeavor in

the Eastern Mediterranean. France is also actively

involved with the Proliferation Security Initiative. It is

also a party to all 12 existing international terrorism

conventions and is active in the UN and G8 counterterrorism

committees.



8. (U) In 2005, France continued to discover and dismantle

terror networks present on its soil, including several that

recruited jihadists to Iraq. Following the July 2005

bombings in London, French officials worked closely with

their British counterparts. They also identified a number

of deficiencies in their counterterrorism capabilities, and

proposed legislation to remedy these deficiencies. This

fast-tracked legislation became law in late January, 2006.

The French government is also expected to issue in February

2006 a "white book" on terrorism that will underscore their

belief that terrorism is a primary strategic threat to

France, and that dealing with it is consequentially a

central priority. France consults extensively with the

U.S. on terrorism, at the tactical and strategic level.





Africa

--------------



9. (U) The French military has shown an increasing

interest to cooperate with others, particularly with the

U.S., in Africa. In the past three years, there have been

Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) executed in three

African countries, NEO planning for four other potential

crises, as well as U.S. and French multilateral programs,

such as GPOI - ACOTA, RECAMP, and joint financial and

logistical support for ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the African

Union. In the Gulf of Guinea and Trans-Sahel region,

France has expressed interest in the U.S. effort to improve

the posture of African countries in the fight against

terrorism. Both the U.S. and France continue to broadly

support capacity building for African militaries. (See

paragraphs 12, 32 40, 42-43, 46, 59, 72, 82-86, 89 and 94

for more on French involvement in Africa.)





France, NATO and ESDP

--------------



10. (SBU) Despite its singular stance on alliance

membership (France is not a member of NATO's integrated

military command),France has continued to demonstrate

willingness to engage in NATO responses to common

challenges. France has been a major contributor to

operations in the Balkans (SFOR, now EUFOR, and KFOR) and

in NATO's operations in Afghanistan (International Security

Assistance Force). In KFOR in Kosovo, French troops are the

second-largest national contingent, significantly

outnumbering U.S. units. In Afghanistan, France has some

900 troops, which will increase to approximately 1400 in

August 2006, when France assumes command of the Kabul

region of ISAF. During December 2004-August 2005, France

held the rotating command of ISAF. France also contributed

to NATO Humanitarian Relief Operations in Bagh, Pakistan.



11. (SBU) The French have consistently expressed their

support for NATO's transformation, and are contributing

substantial resources to the NATO Response Force: the

French military has identified forces that at initial

stages will amount to 40 per cent of ground units, 30 per

cent of air assets, and 20 per cent of naval capabilities,

and has proposed contributing EUROCORPS to the NRF at a

later stage. France has restructured some of its own

forces with land, air and sea High Readiness Response force

fully compatible with the NATO Response Force. It has

offered headquarter slots in Lille for fellow NATO members.



12. (SBU) Interest in being part of NATO transformation

has not diminished the deep commitment of the GoF to

fostering European security and defense arrangements. Many

in the GoF envision that transatlantic security relations

of the future will increasingly include bilateral U.S.-EU

cooperation. Throughout 2004 and 2005, the French

vigorously pursued their goal of establishing independent

European defense structures and supporting increased EU

missions. France supported an EU assistance mission to

Darfur in the Sudan, to support the African Union's

intervention. France continues to push its EU partners for

completion of a separate EU planning headquarters, a small

but independent EU operational planning unit, as well as an

EU cell at SHAPE. EU operations may also continue to be

planned at national headquarters. Additionally, France has

been a key player in setting up and funding the European

Defense procurement agency (EDA),designed to coordinate

defense procurement among EU allies, and which became

operational in 2005 with a small staff numbering some 80

persons and a budget of 20 million euros.



13. (U) In January 2006, the European gendarmerie force

was formally inaugurated in Vicenza, Italy. The concept

dates back to October 2003, when French Defense Minister

Michele Alliot-Marie proposed the creation of the European

gendarmerie consisting of some 800 gendarmes from Spain,

Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands to take on police

training and other police functions as part of the EU's

response to crises.





French Training and Participation in Joint Exercises

-------------- --------------



14. (U) In the European AOR, in cooperation with the US

Commander Naval Forces Europe, the French Navy participated

in 3 Non-NATO exercises and 6 NATO exercises in 2004

including a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, a

NATO anti-submarine exercise, a Multi-lateral Livex, PFP

exercise BALTOPS 04, and a NATO Joint fleet training

exercise (a major NRF event sponsored by NATO).



15. (U) In 2005, France participated in 6 Non-NATO

exercises and 13 NATO exercises. The French Navy

participated in RECAMP IV, JMC 05-1 and 05-2, a

multilateral FTX helping qualify the Italian maritime High

Readiness Force (HRF),two multilateral anti-submarine

exercises, Trident D'Or (the exercise to qualify the French

maritime HRF, a LIVEX Mine Warfare Exercise in the North

Sea, FRUKUS (CPX/FTX with French, Russian, U.S., and U.K.

navy participation, Sorbet Royale (a LIVEX Submarine Rescue

Exercise),Bright Star (a multi-national, multi-warfare

LIVEX executing in Egypt),Loyal Midas (a multilateral FTX

to qualify a stand-by Maritime Component Commander for a

future NRF rotation.



16. (U) Overall objectives for Navy training in 2005 were:

100 days at sea per ship, 13 exercises, four of which were

Amphibious exercises, three of which were mine warfare

exercises, two deployments of the Charles de Gaulle CVBG,

participation in one major NATO exercise, participation in

one major EU exercise and five Joint exercises.



17. (U) The French air force continues to seek

opportunities to exercise and train with the US. During

2005, the French air force participated in Exercise Bright

Star in Egypt, and Exercise Air Warrior in the US. France

also continues to offer the US opportunities to use their

training ranges and training airspace associated with

Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea.





French Support for Space Launch Activities

--------------



18. (U) France supported multiple space launch activities

from their facilities in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and

the south of France. The French government approved a US

request to use the islands of Reunion and Nuka Hiva for

telemetry tracking missions supporting NASA space launches.

Additionally, the French support US space shuttle launches

with access to the French Air Base in Istres France as an

alternate shuttle landing site.





Defense Trade and Industrial Cooperation

--------------



19. (U) Source priorities in order of importance for

French defense acquisition remain France, EU, and all

others (to include the U.S.). National pride and limited

budgets govern this order. The French defense industry

continues to provide the greatest depth and breadth of any

western European country. While its technology is

sometimes peer-level with the U.S., it is actually superior

in specific niche areas (e.g., thermal imaging and optics).

The single most limiting factor is defense spending.

20. (U) In the past year, the French Ministry of Defense

continued its pursuit of revitalization of forces. Despite

competing government interests, the budget of the Defense

Ministry remained untouched (the Interior was the only

other ministry spared from budget cuts). Highlights for

2005-2006 spending include: a second aircraft carrier;

introduction of the Rafale fighter aircraft; the European

Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM); Network-Centric command and

control systems; Tigre and NH-90 helicopters; transport

aircraft; third and fourth strategic missile submarines;

and cruise missile development. Only minor increases in

research and development, as compared to previous years,

were approved.



21. (U) Foreign Military Sales from the US increased from

FY03 to FY04 (USD 45.6M to USD 66.9M),while direct

commercial sales decreased (USD 18.9M to USD 12.7M.)

Pending US sales include the Aircraft Launch and Recovery

Equipment (ALRE) for the second French aircraft carrier,

and a cruise missile simulator. FMS training funds were

expended as in previous years, with the majority centered

on carrier aviation training and support.



22. (U) Service-specific Data Exchange Agreements (DEAs)

remained essentially stable, yet significantly,

renegotiation of four Navy DEAs was concluded, extending

their expiration dates to 2010. Discussions continue

regarding remaining DEAs and four newly proposed

agreements. Foreign Comparative Testing programs continue

to show interest in French technologies, with recent focus

on underwater GPS, perimeter defense, shipboard self-

defense, and bomb casing design. Benchmarking studies have

been conducted on ship design and manpower reduction.



23. (U) U.S. defense acquisition and sales interests in

France are significant and include (by service): for the

Air Force, C-130J, KC-130J, C-17 sales and French AWACS

upgrade; for the Army and USMC, Sophie, 120mm rifled

mortars, Active Protection System armor for ground

vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles; for the Navy, ALRE

sale, unmanned submerged/underwater vehicles, and maritime

domain awareness, and network-centric enabled operations.

All services are focused on any technology that can assist

in the efforts of the IED Task Force.



24. (U) Privatization of the defense sector has continued,

albeit at a slow pace. Although the GoF still maintains

so-called "golden shares" in several firms, globalization

has eroded their total control in this arena. For example,

the recently privatized shipbuilding firm DCN has again

partnered with Thales in planning the second French

aircraft carrier, and was recently awarded a contract by

the French Navy for total lifetime maintenance support for

their fleet warships and major combat systems.



25. (U) The anticipated absorption of OCCAR (the

Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation) into the

European Defense Agency has stalled, although OCCAR did

play a role in guiding the French and Italian defense

ministries to select the General Electric engines for the

European Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM) in late 2005.



26. (U) The EU's European Capabilities Action Plan (ECAP)

goal is to coordinate financing processes and to get

European defense industry involved in identifying and

filling gaps. There is also a recent effort to engage

university research labs through funding made available

from private industries. Further privatization and

increased competitiveness of the French defense sector

should support these trends.



27. (U) Tangential but significant issues to defense

cooperation include continued pursuit of a Declaration of

Principles (DoP) on armaments and end-use controls required

by the U.S. on jointly produced systems, which prevent

French sales to third parties without USG approval (viewed

with concern by French government and private industry

alike though France requires similar guarantees from their

customers for French products). On the other hand, U.S.

Presidential intervention in rejecting the so-called "buy

American" provisions in the recent U.S. defense bill was

well received.

28. (U) Recent overtures on the part of both the U.S. and

French governments have led to an increase in official

bilateral defense discussions and activity. The impending

change of government in 2007 will have a significant impact

on whether or not this trend continues. While France's

2005 vote against the EU referendum was seen as a setback

to both the French government and to the EU's future, its

full effect remains to be seen. As noted above, there are

signs of consolidation of efforts among EU institutions,

specifically in the defense arena. Economic realities and

collective resolve should eventually determine whether

these trends continue.





The Future of French Defense Spending

--------------



29. (U) Future French Defense budgets must conform to a

new inter-governmental finance law known by the acronym

LOLF (Organic Law of the Finance Law). In this new

framework, the funding made available to the Ministry of

Defense abandons the traditional budget distributions by

'Titles' and instead is presented as 'missions and

programs'. The most significant of these is the mission to

'Put into action the National Defense Policy'. Two of its

supporting programs are 'Prepare the Force' and 'Equip the

Force'. In all, the Defense Ministry budget will be

organized around four missions and nine supporting

programs. In an effort to improve the coherence of the

defense budget, the LOLF ties budgetary allocations to

performance. Also, for the first budget cycle under this

new system, the Chiefs of Staff of the services have less

influence on service budgets. Their role is now to assure

the coherence of the budget rather than the direction of

it. In a May 21, 2005 Presidential decree, the Chiefs of

the Armed Services are now subordinate to the Chief of

Defense (CHOD). The CHOD now controls all budgets and

procurement financing. Service budgets now must pass

through the CHOD before they go to the Minister's office

for approval. (For more information on defense spending and

the LOLF see paragraphs 111-113.)



30. (U) The 2006 defense budget represents a 2.2% increase

over the 2005 fiscal year. In spite of the Defense

Minister's ability to protect the defense budget from cuts,

there continue to be difficulties for the French military

in the future. These difficulties stem primarily from

three areas: first, the inflationary pressures of the

price of energy; second, cost overruns/delays in

procurement; and third, increased maintenance costs. Most

of the planning for the current five-year budget requests

was predicated on the cost of a barrel of oil at half the

current price. This increase will translate into fewer

flying hours, fewer training days, and fewer days at sea in

the next few years. Procurement of several current

military systems is behind the original schedule or

experiencing technical problems. These delays include the

Tigre helicopter, Rafale fighter aircraft, A-400M transport

aircraft, and the new command ship (BPC). The final

expense increase will be the result of maintaining the

older systems in the French military until sufficient

numbers can replace them.





Transforming Military Capabilities

--------------



31. (U) In spite of not being part of the integrated

military command structure of NATO, in January, 2004 France

received two general officer billets within the command:

one at Atlantic Command Operations (SHAPE) and one at

Atlantic Command Transformation (Norfolk). The French have

assigned 110 military personnel to the two headquarters,

representing 2.04% of overall NATO staff posts. The French

have also agreed to increase their contribution to Alliance

military budgets from 4.9% to 7.4%. Nonetheless, despite

disclaimers to the contrary, the French have given mixed

signals over the past two years on their vision of the

future NATO. These views have ranged from a desire for

closer integration with NATO to generally limiting the

scope of NATO's operations or in favor of an EU defense

force.

32. (U) France has been a leading proponent to advance a

"battle-group" concept to create rotational 1500-man size

forces for use in Chapter VII mandates by the European

Union. Based on the EU Operation ARTEMIS model (the French

led deployment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in

2003) the force would be capable of responding to a crisis

within 15 days and be sustainable for 30 days minimum, 120

days maximum. Full operational capability is scheduled for

2007. The French insist that these battle groups would be

compatible with NATO NRF rotations, with either taking the

lead on the basis of a mutually-agreed decision. Africa

has been mentioned as a primary venue for the battle-

groups.



33. (U) The French Army is investing in UAVs, the Improved

Infantry Armored Vehicle (VBCI),advanced communications

equipment, counter-fire radars, and lighter equipment for

armored units. They are beginning the process of

digitization of the Army's battlefield systems and

purchasing an individual soldier system - the Felin, the

French Army's equivalent to the U.S. Army's Land Warrior

system. These initiatives will enhance French abilities to

interoperate with US forces and systems.



34. (U) The French Navy has stood up and qualified the HRF

(M) headquarters staff, the naval component headquarters of

France's NRF, in Toulon in 2004 and 2005. This force will

deploy to the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean in 2006.

Additionally, the Admiral, Naval Action Force (ALFAN) in

Toulon has continued to develop over 2004 and 2005. This

command is now roughly equivalent to the U.S. Fleet Forces

Command and has responsibilities for training, certifying,

and equipping French naval forces. In an effort to improve

intelligence support to the French Navy, the French stood

up a French intelligence command called Centre de

Renseignment Martime (CRMar).



35. (U) In the context of trying to become more efficient

and capable of joint and international operations, the

French Air Force is in the process of a major

reorganization. In November 2003, a project team of senior

staff officers, outgoing base commanders and civilian

consultants was created and given the mission to develop a

plan to create a better Air Force. The project team started

its work in September 2004 and unveiled the plan in October

2005. The ideas will be progressively implemented

beginning in 2006. This ambitious reorganization project,

named Air 2010, aims in particular at removing duplication

and creating synergy. It will serve to optimize the air

base network while preserving existing capabilities. In

summary, the Air Force will replace the twelve current

commands with four large functional 'poles.' The

Operations Pole will be in charge of current operations in

France and abroad. The Forces pole will be charged with

leading the preparation and training of the whole of the

combat forces. The Support Pole will bring together within

the same staff all the maintenance, logistics, and life

support. The Personnel Pole will join together all the

personnel training and staff management functions.



36. (U) The French military is actively exploring ways to

increase interoperability with the U.S. with respect to the

global information grid and uses of information on the

modern battlefield. As of late 2005, the French MOD has

directed increased contact between French military

officials and U.S. military officials in an effort to

ensure the French capability to interoperate with the U.S.

is maintained and improved. This French initiative is

aimed at keeping up with the U.S. lead in information

technology, particularly targeting data and friendly force

tracking. The French desperately want to preserve the

ability to conduct combat operations with the U.S. in every

domain air, land, and sea.







Recent Contingency Operations, Military Assistance,

Humanitarian Relief Operations, Peacekeeping, Capacity

Building, Counterproliferation and Nuclear Threat

Reduction.

-------------- --------------



37. (U) The French continue to show their support for

operations in Afghanistan. In 2006, they are planning to

augment their forces to support the increased

responsibilities of the Kabul regional command in addition

to the military assets already in place in support of ISAF

and OEF (see paragraphs 53-56 for more detail).

Furthermore, the French continue to be actively involved in

the fight against terrorism through the OEF Task Force 150

and in the US Counter-Drug effort (see paragraphs 59-60 for

more detail.)

38. (U) The French Army has been training the Afghan

National Army within the overall U.S.-led program since its

inception and the French have consistently expressed a

desire to be part of NATO's transformation and

interoperability initiatives as evidenced by their

significant national contributions to the NATO Response

Force (NRF) (see paragraphs 66-67 for more detail).



39. (U) In the Balkans, French forces remain among the

largest contributors to operations in Kosovo and French

participation in the former NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia

continued under the EU Force, Operation Althea. The French

continue to maintain a small French military presence in

Macedonia. They also provide a small presence force in

Georgia. (See paragraphs 70-71 for more detail).



40. (U) In Africa, France has provided 80 million euros to

Darfur through the African Union and provides support to

Chad on a bilateral basis. The French transported the

Senegalese units of the AU force to Sudan and the Nigerian

police contingent. (See paragraph 72 for more detail).



41. (U) In response to natural disasters in 2004 and 2005

France contributed substantially to Pakistan Earthquake

relief efforts, the South Asian Tsunami relief efforts, and

relief efforts after hurricane Katrina hit the southern

United States. (See paragraphs 73-81 for more detail).



42. (U) The major part of France's efforts at capacity

building in the world is focused on Africa where France

relies on its forces stationed in seven nations to conduct

most of its capacity building operations (see paragraphs

82-85 for more detail). Also, 4000 French troops stand

alongside UNOCI in Operation Licorne in Cote d'Ivoire in

support of the UN operation, in addition to the French

permanent base in Abidjan.



43. (U) French Gendarmerie has taken the lead in the

development of the European Gendarmerie Force. French

Gendarmes are also deployed in Lebanon (UNIFIL),Haiti

(MINUSTAH),Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI),the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, Chad, and the Central Africa Republic. They

also conducted training in Kinshasa, Kenya (see paragraphs

86-89 for more detail).



44. (U) In the summer of 2004, the French also began a

joint fighter pilot training school in Cazeaux, France (see

paragraph 90 for more detail).



45. (U) As a nuclear state, France endorses deterrence

theory and holds to long-standing NATO doctrines. It has

consistently supported international arms control regimes

as a means of bolstering stability and transparency. In

addition to its continued support for international

mechanisms to limit proliferation, France with their

British and German colleagues pursued EU3 negotiations to

obtain Iranian compliance with Iran's Safeguard Agreement

commitments. EU3 efforts led to the signing of the Paris

Agreement in November 2004. Iranian resumption of

conversion in August 2005, and research on enrichment in

December 2005, led to suspension of Paris Agreement

discussions. France and its EU partners, with U.S.

support, continue to pursue efforts to convince Iran to

suspend its nuclear ambitions. (See paragraphs 91-93 for

more detail).



46. (U) The French military continues to maintain strong

contacts with the U.S. and other NATO countries for

contingency planning. During 2004 and 2005, France

conducted planning and exchanges with EUCOM and CENTCOM.

French and U.S. analysts and planners share information on

terrorism and WMD proliferation as well as political-

military developments. From the beginning of operations in

Afghanistan (both OEF and ISAF),and the Lebanon crisis,

French and U.S. planners have continued to work together to

produce effective, timely results. French forces

permanently or temporarily stationed in Africa and Central

Asia have assisted U.S. operations in the EUCOM and CENTCOM

theater of operations.





--------------

--------------

REF A PARAS 9-10: DIRECT COST-SHARING

--------------

--------------



47. (U) No direct cost sharing activities occur in France







--------------

--------------

REF A PARA 11: INDIRECT COST SHARING

--------------

--------------



48. (U) No indirect cost-sharing activities as described

in Ref A paragraph 11 occur in France. However the U.S.

did receive several types of miscellaneous indirect cost-

sharing benefits from France as described below.





Overflight Clearances, Port Access, Use of French

Facilities

-------------- --------------



49. (U) In 2004, France granted overflight and landing

clearances to 1842 USG missions. 977 of these missions

were in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 76 of these

missions supported operations in the Balkans. During 2005,

France granted 2061 overflight and landing clearances to

USG missions. 811 of these missions supported OIF while 68

supported Balkan operations. France continued to grant

blanket overflight clearances to most USG missions allowing

over flights of and landings in France without notice.



50. (U) The 744 Expeditionary Air Base Group operated

three KC-135 tanker aircraft from Istres Airbase in

southern France during most of 2004. This group of 100 US

military personnel flew air refueling missions supporting

operations in the Balkans. The French provided fuel tax-

free. The mission ended in December 2004.



51. (U) Tax concessions on fuel and landing fees for non-

operational missions during 2004 totaled approximately 4000

dollars. During 2005 these concessions totaled 8450

dollars.



52. (U) During 2004 the US Navy made 14 port calls to

facilities in metropolitan France. In 2005 the number of

port calls was 29. In all cases, the French Navy provided

excellent support and force protection services without

cost. Additionally, no taxes were imposed for supplies or

parts for US ships visiting French ports.





-------------- --------------

-------------- --------------

REF A PARA 12 RECENT CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS, MILITARY

ASSISTANCE, HUMANITARIAN RELIEF OPERATIONS, CAPACITY

BUILDING, COUNTERPROLIFERATION, AND NUCLEAR THREAT

REDUCTION

-------------- --------------

-------------- --------------



-------------- --------------

Subparagraph A: Recent Contingency operations (See French

Force Disposition and External Operations Table for

personnel numbers)

-------------- --------------

53. (U) The French were among the first nations to

volunteer troops to the International Security Assistance

Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan and France continues to

be responsible for Kabul International Airport and the area

north of Kabul to the U.S. base at Bagram. A French

battalion has been a part of ISAF since December 2001.

From August 2004 to February 2005, a French general

commanded the NATO-led ISAF. France has proposed an

increased role in ISAF and offered to lead Regional

CommandKabul as part of the NATO reorganization and

expansion of ISAF. In October 2005, France and Turkey

announced that they would co-lead Regional Command-Kabul.

The French are planning to augment their forces from the

current 700 in ISAF to between 1,000 1,200 personnel to

support the increased responsibilities of the regional

command to include providing a Quick Reaction Force (QRF)

battalion. The French have continued to provide a military

police detachment in support of ISAF.



54. (U) Supporting OEF, the French Armed Forces continue

to be actively involved in the fight against terrorism.

200 members of the French Special Forces are currently

deployed in the South of Afghanistan alongside U.S. Special

Forces in military operations against the Taliban.



55. (U) France assigned liaison officers to the U.S. staff

headquarters in Tampa to ensure the interface between the

military authorities of the two countries. French forces

were directly involved in the fight against terrorism by

y

carrying out the following missions:



56. (U) The air and sea group took part in air operations

above Afghanistan in April-May 2004 (84 aircrafts were

involved in operational missions for 450 flight hours).

The French Air Force deployed within less than 48 hours six

Mirage 2000D and two refueling aircraft from metropolitan

France to the deployable airbase in Manas (Kyrgyzstan)

which played a key role in the prosecution of air

campaigns.



57. (U) In addition, two C160 airplanes with 130 soldiers

of the Air Force have been operating in Dushanbe

(Tajikistan) since December 3, 2001, totaling 10,000 flight

hours. This detachment is focused on airlifting the French

Forces operating in different areas in Afghanistan.



58. (U) In October 2004, three Mirage F1CR and one tanker

C135FR were deployed in Dushanbe to carry out tactical

reconnaissance missions for ISAF and the coalition against

terrorism. To help promote the development of democracy in

Afghanistan in close collaboration with its allies, the

French Air Force again deployed an air detachment in

Dushanbe, from August through November 2005 during the

parliamentary elections. Within ISAF, the detachment,

which includes three Mirage F1CR, three Mirage 2000D and

two tankers C135FR based in Manas, was intended to

establish an air presence throughout the country and

support ground forces operations to deter any action likely

to disrupt the elections. It was also entrusted with the

mission to undertake reconnaissance and fire support

operations supporting OEF.



59. Finally, the French military participates in the fight

against terrorism within the OEF Task Force 150 (TF 150).

The Task Force is actively involved in the following

operations:

- monitoring air and sea movements in the Red Sea, the Sea

of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf,

- prohibiting the filtration of terrorists to the Arabian

Peninsula or the Horn of Africa,

- fighting against illegal trafficking (weapons, drugs

etc.),

- fighting against piracy and banditry acts.



60. (U) Since February 2003, a EUROMARFOR task group is

part of the TF 150 and operates under the command of the

U.S. staff. The French Navy greatly contributes to the TF

150 (about a quarter of the Task Force) with three ships

operating on a permanent basis. France took command of TF

150 twice from September 2003 to January 2004 and from June

to September 2004.

61. (U) An aircraft based in Djibouti, which was

incorporated into the Task Force 57 (TF 57),is intended to

patrol in coordination with the TF 150 ships. The 62

French ships involved in Operation Enduring Freedom since

15 December 2001 totaled more than 6,000 days at sea.



62. (U) The French Navy's strong participation in CTF-150,

both by continuously providing ships and often providing a

command staff in the Indian Ocean, particularly off of

Somalia and the Gulf of Oman, and the presence of French

Navy liaison personnel at NAVCENT Headquarters in Bahrain

makes possible a good degree of interaction and cooperation

in this key region. The French also maintain maritime

patrol aircraft worldwide and cooperate with the U.S. Navy

where there is common interest.



63. (U) The French also participate in the US Counter-Drug

effort with Naval Forces. A French military officer is

assigned to the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF

South) in Key West, to ensure coordination with French

forces in the Caribbean. Fort-de-France in Martinique

supports U.S. Navy and Coast Guard units with port visits

and the Navy Command in Fort-de-France has assisted the

U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard with the movement of

personnel and weapons between various ships and aircraft.

The direct participation of the French Navy in counter-drug

operations consists of the deployment of frigates to the

region to work with U.S. forces on a regular basis and the

use of Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployed to the region.



64. (U) In 2004, the French Navy stopped three drug

trafficking ships in the Antilles and one Togolese ship in

the Gulf of Guinea with 450 kg of cocaine. The counter

drug effort of the French Navy in 2004 was 199 days at sea,

156 hours of flight, 2058 ships queried, four ships

intercepted, and 1020 kg of drugs ceased.



65. (U) In 2004, the French Navy effort against

clandestine immigration equaled 683 days at sea, 904 flight

hours, three ships intercepted, 43 clandestine immigrants

turned over to border police.





--------------

Subparagraph B. Military Assistance:

NRF/NTMI/Afghanistan/NATO PKO.

-------------- --------------



66. (U) The French Army has been training the Afghan

National Army within the overall U.S.-led program since its

inception. Since 2002, the French have trained more than

2,000 Afghans. This includes three of the initial

battalions; they have set-up the officer basic course and

the staff officer's course. The French are currently

participating in the Embedded Training Team concept with

French Army soldiers assigned to mentor an Afghan battalion

in Kandahar.



67. (U) The French have consistently expressed a desire to

be part of NATO's transformation and interoperability

initiatives as evidenced by their significant national

contributions to the NATO Response Force (NRF). By

participating in NRFs 1 through 6, the total French

military contribution equals up to 40 percent of ground

units, 30 percent of air assets, and 20 percent of naval

capabilities. The French air force provides the deployable

combined air operations center (CAOC) for the European led

NRF. In January 2005, the French air force conducted AIREX

2005, a training exercise, to prepare for command of NRF-05

in July. On July 1st, the French air force became the Joint

Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) of NRF-05 for six

months. In 2004, NATO sent the NRF's Land Component

Command Headquarters, the French led EUROCORPS, to lead the

ISAF in Afghanistan. As part of NRF 5, NATO activated

France's Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) to

coordinate the air movements for the Pakistan earthquake

relief effort. On 1 October 2005, the French formally

created a multinational headquarters to serve as the Land

Component Command for future rotations of the NRF.



68. (U) In 2005, the French also established a Maritime

Component Command HQ to serve in future iterations of

NATO's NRF. The French Navy successfully stood-up the

High-Readiness Force Maritime (HRF-M) staff in Toulon and

qualified the staff during an at-sea exercise in 2005.

This staff, will serve its rotational duties as an on-call

force, ahead of schedule, and is being used by the French

for out-of-area operations, for example, during the

upcoming Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean deployment of the Charles

de Gaulle Carrier Battle Group in early 2006. There is one

U.S. Naval Officer assigned to the HRF-M staff.



69. (U) The French government has forbidden its military

from contributing troops to the NATO training mission

inside Iraq (NTM-1). One French officer is working on the

training mission staff at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium,

and the GoF pledged 660,000 euros in February 2005 to help

finance NTM-1. In 2005, the GoF took initial steps to

contribute to the development of Iraqi defense and security

capabilities. Under the European Union's EUJUSTLEX

program, France has pledged to train 200 Iraqi police

officials and judges in rule of law training in France,

making France the top EU contributor to this program.

Approximately 40 Iraqi police officials (non-military)

completed month-long training at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Officiers de Police and the Ecole Nationale

de Police in 2005. A third course started at the end of

2005 for judicial instruction at the Ecole Nationale de la

Magistrature. At the same time, a French offer to train up

to 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary police (gendarmes) outside Iraq

remains unimplemented, although an Iraqi Ministry of

Interior delegation visited France in July 2005 to further

discuss the proposal. Currently there is a single Gendarme

Officer in Iraq, responsible for provision of security for

French embassy staff in Baghdad.



70. (U) In the Balkans, French forces remain among the

largest contributors to operations in Kosovo. French

participation in the former NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia

continued under the EU Force, Operation Althea. 210

Gendarmes supported both the United Nations Interim mission

in Kosovo and the NATO Intervention Forces in Kosovo.

French Lieutenant General de Kermabon transferred authority

as COMKFOR on 1 September 2005 after one year of command,

the second time France has commanded KFOR. The French

government provided approximately 60 gendarmes, including

20 officers to help combat organized crime under the Office

of the High Representative in Bosnia-Hersegovina.

Additionally, they provided European Union Police and

military police in support of European Union Forces in

Bosnia.



71. (U) The French continue to maintain a small French

military presence (15 personnel) in Macedonia providing

international police in support of the European Police

Mission. They also provide a small presence force (three

military observers) in Georgia to help support the U.N.

monitoring mission.



72. (U) Regarding peacekeeping efforts in Africa, there

has been ongoing debate as to NATO's role in Africa. This

debate was most evident during the 2005 crisis in Darfur

with France focusing its support for the AU through the EU.

France, however, honored its pledge to SECSTATE that it

would not oppose a NATO role in the crisis. France has

provided 80 million euros to Darfur through the African

Union and provides support to Chad on a bilateral basis.

French troops and aircraft are conducting ground and air

border security. During 2005, France provided refueling

support to NATO and EU aircraft at Abech in Eastern Chad,

as well as personnel recovery capabilities using three C-

160 transport aircraft and three Puma helicopters. The

French transported the Senegalese units of the AU force to

Sudan and the Nigerian police contingent.



--------------

Subpara C: Humanitarian Relief Operations

NATOHMRO/Pakistan/Katrina/Tsunami

--------------



73. (U) In 2003, France allotted 9.3 million euros (USD

11.2 million) to what it termed Emergency Humanitarian

Assistance, all of which was channeled through the

Emergency Humanitarian Aid Fund of the MFA. In 2004, the

initial allotment was 9.3 million euros (USD 11.2 million).

The fund may be increased on an extraordinary basis to

finance unexpected operations; this was the case in 2005,

when France announced an emergency increased allotment of

2.8 million euros (USD 3.4 million) in favor of the victims

of natural disasters or civil crises, primarily focused on

the victims of the tsunami in Thailand, Sri Lanka,

Maldives, Indonesia, and India, and an additional

allocation of 5.6 million euros (USD 6.7 million) for the

victims of the earthquake in Pakistan (see paragraphs

below). The additional aid is imputed into the 2005

balance sheet bringing the total amount of emergency

donations to 16,147,081 million euros. Allotments in 2006

are projected to increase to benefit victims of 2005's

Hurricane Katrina in the United States. For an economic

analysis of general Grant Aid and Humanitarian Assistance

see paragraphs 117-221.



74. (U) Pakistan Relief. The French contributed 82

military personnel to the Pakistan relief effort. In

addition, the French air force deployed two C-130 Hercules

military transport aircraft to deliver relief supplies. The

effort included medical service personnel, a surgical team,

and support personnel (communications, equipment, and

logistics) in Pakistan. Forty-six of the military

personnel were inserted into the various NATO elements in

Islamabad, Lisbon, Germany, and Turkey. Additionally, as

part of NRF 5, NATO activated France's JFACC to coordinate

the air movement piece of the relief effort. The JFACC at

Taverney, near Paris has 23 French, five UK, and one U.S.

officer assigned.



75. (U) KATRINA Relief. The NRF was activated in

September 2005 after hurricane Katrina. At the same time,

France used its Joint Forces Air Component (JFACC) to task

the French Air Force to collect and deliver the 150 tons of

European supplies for Louisiana. This support was

delivered to Ramstein airbase, Germany. The French air

force also provided two transport aircraft to move over

four tons of supplies, including tents, tarps, and 1000

rations, to the US from the Caribbean. Along with these

supplies, the French provided a team of four civil security

personnel to help assess future U.S. needs and distribute

assistance. Two French liaison officers were posted to the

Joint Forces Commander in Lisbon to help coordinate all

European assistance. An Airbus Beluga aircraft also

delivered 12.7 tons of emergency equipment to Mobile,

Alabama;



76. (U) The French Navy deployed a team of 17 Navy divers

to assist with the Katrina disaster. This was facilitated

by the fact that the French maintain a liaison officer with

the U.S. Mine Warfare Command in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 17 French divers worked from September 11, 2005 to

October 8, 2005 helping to clear waterways of debris and

recover vessels.



77. (U) The GOF also offered the following contributions

to assist with Katrina disaster recovery:

--The "Gendarmerie nationale" offered experts in forensic

police;

--The GOF (with Airbus) offered to send an additional 20-

30,000 food rations.



78. (U) Tsunami Relief. The French Navy worked with U.S.

forces and other willing partners following the December

26, 2004 Tsunami in South East Asia. In response to this

disaster, the French Navy re-routed its helicopter carrier,

Jeanne D'Arc, and, after picking up extra emergency

supplies from the French base in Djibouti, sent the units

into the disaster region. By February 1, there were 1,390

French Military personnel assisting in the disaster area,

most aboard the three ships involved. The French

Helicopter Carrier, Jeanne D'Arc, and the Destroyer George

Leygues DD-644 deployed to Indonesia on January 4 until

February 9 while the Destroyer Dupleix DD-641 deployed to

the Maldives from January 5 until February 1, 2005. The

Jeanne D'Arc supplemented the normal on-board complement of

helicopters with an additional two heavy-lift helicopters.

Embarked were 12 medical doctors and support personnel.



79. (U) There was one French Maritime Patrol Aircraft

deployed to Thailand from January 1, 2005 that worked in

cooperation with the U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft. One

additional French Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployed to Sri

Lanka from December 30, 2004 to January 1, 2005.



80. (U) In support of the tsunami relief in South-East

Asia, the French Gendarmerie provided several investigators

to assist in the identification of victims.



81. (U) Other humanitarian efforts. In 2004, during the

annual Jeanne D'Arc training cruise 9000 vaccinations were

given, 519 tons of humanitarian supplies were delivered.

During a deployment of the Dupleix, 180 tons of

humanitarian supplies were delivered.





-------------- --------------

Subparagraph D. Capacity Building: Strengthening

Governance in the World.

-------------- --------------



82. (U) The major part of France's efforts at capacity

building in the world is focused on Africa. France relies

on its forces stationed in seven nations to conduct most of

its capacity building operations. These include Cameroon,

Togo, the Central African Republic, the Gulf of Guinea,

Haiti, and Cote d'Ivoire. Additionally, France uses

forward presence forces; those stationed through bilateral

defense agreements, for capacity building operations.

Foreign presence forces are in Gabon, Djibouti, Senegal,

the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. The table on

French Force Disposition and Exterior Operations presents

the detailed numbers of personnel in each location and the

additional expenditures of each operation. In total, these

capacity building measures cost France 650 million Euros in

2004 (approximately USD 790 million).



83. (U) The RECAMP (Reinforcing the Capabilities of

Africans to Maintain Peace) program remains France's

flagship strategy for defense and military cooperation in

Africa. The goal of RECAMP is to support an autonomous

African security capability. It is also a multinational

program to support the stability of Africa. RECAMP is

based on three pillars: cooperation, training, and support

of African operational engagements. To support operations,

France provides African forces with the materials and

equipment necessary to deploy from three French battalion-

size RECAMP depots. These depots are located in Dakar,

Libreville, and Djibouti. France has offered to make these

depots available for USG use. The French Military

Cooperation Directorate has a 100 million Euro annual

budget and manages a network of 220 French military

personnel located at African military schools and training

centers.



84. (U) In the last cycle for RECAMP IV in West Africa

(Benin) in 2004 -2005, there were 14 African and 16 non-

African participating states, including the United States.

France seeks the participation of all African states in

RECAMP and solicits participation bilaterally and through

the African Union and sub-regional organizations. France

also seeks multinational participation in the form of donor

states and an increasing role of the European Union (EU).

The program's present orientation focuses at the strategic-

level and seeks to prepare the African sub-regional

organizations and eventually the African Standby Forces

(ASF) for peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and

disaster relief operations.



85. (U) Additional Capacity Building Examples: During

2005 in Chad, more than 300 French air force aviators

conducted security and reconnaissance missions within the

framework of the humanitarian operation Darfur.



86. (U) French Gendarmerie has taken the lead in the

development of the European Gendarmerie Force. The initial

commander of the force in the development of the

headquarters is a French Gendarme General and the first

headquarters exercise was conducted in France. The

Gendarmerie has been consistently been asked to provide

general and specialized training to other Gendarme forces

or police forces throughout the world and particularly in

the middle east and Africa. In fact, one French military

police detachment is deployed in support of the United

Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

87. (U) In Haiti, 40 Gendarme personnel supported the

Multinational Stabilization Force (MINUSTAH) as part of

the 1,000-man contingent of French personnel.

88 (U) Over 150 Gendarme personnel provided international

police support for the United Nations Mission to Cote

UNCLASSIFIED



SIPDIS

PROG 02/02/06

DCM:KHOFMANN

POL:LORDEMAN

POLM/C:JROSENBLATT, POL:GRECINOS, DATT:MGUILLOT,

ECON:KMERTEN, ECON:OVANMAERSSEN



AMEMBASSY PARIS

SECSTATE WASHDC

AMEMBASSY PARIS

SECSTATE WASHDC

INFO NATO EU COLLECTIVE

JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC

USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

USNMR SHAPE BE

USMISSION GENEVA

USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA



STATE FOR PM/SNA, EUR/WE; OSD FOR OSD/PA&E, OASD/ISA/EUR,

OASD/ISA/NP, OASD/ISA/AP, OASD/ISA/NESA AND OASD/ISA/BTF



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PREL, MARR, MCAP, FR

SUBJECT: EMBASSY PARIS SUBMISSION TO THE 2005/2006 REPORT

TO CONGRESS ON ALLIED CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMON DEFENSE



REF: A. STATE 223383

B. PARIS 000005





This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for

Internet dissemination.



1. (U) Summary: This telegram constitutes Embassy Paris's

country submission for the 2005/2006 Report to Congress on

Allied Contributions to the Common Defense (requested Ref

A). We report on developments that took place during

calendar years 2004 and 2005 and offer cost sharing

information for U.S. fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Embassy's

contributions to the Report to Congress are keyed to

paragraphs in Ref A where specific information is

requested. End Summary.



--------------

--------------

Ref A Para 8: General Assessment

--------------

--------------



Overview

--------------

2. (U) France bears a significant share of the burden of

defending international security and stability. It is

firmly committed to conflict resolution, non- and

counterproliferation, as well as to maintaining adequate

conventional and nuclear capabilities. Only a few nations

have the military capability to project power to a distant

theater and sustain operations. France is one of these

nations. It has the military personnel, equipment, and

command capabilities as well as the will to employ them

throughout the world. It is this total operational

capability, and the resolve to act on the international

stage, which allows the French military to participate and

lead in an international framework, including through the

European Union and NATO. Africa comprises the heaviest

French military commitment abroad. However, France is also

a significant contributor to international military

operations in Central--Southwest Asia and the Balkans. By

helping to stabilize sensitive areas in Central Asia, the

Balkans, or in Sub-Saharan Africa, overseas operations led

by the French Armed Forces have helped to prevent those

areas from becoming safe-havens for terrorist activity.

Throughout 2004 and 2005, France has been a major

contributor in the fight against terrorism as part of the

international coalition in Afghanistan. As such, France

volunteered to participate under the command of the United

States in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Moreover,

security, stabilization and training operations led by the

French Armed Forces within the International Security

Assistance Force (ISAF) is helping Afghanistan in its

transition from a terrorist sanctuary to a growing

democracy.



3. (U) France maintains the largest active duty military

force in the European Union and the second largest active

duty military force in NATO, with an active force of

approximately 355,000. Furthermore, France sustains a

large percentage of this active duty force deployed in

operations in overseas French territories or in sovereign

territories around the world. The average number of

deployed forces outside of France was 35,000 in 2004, and

32,500 in 2005. Over 13,500 of those deployed are actively

engaged in international mandates supporting counter-

terrorist operations, humanitarian operations, peacekeeping

operations, stability operations, and capacity building.

To support this level of external international mandate

operations, France spends approximately USD 790 million per

year from a defense budget of 52 billion dollars.





France's Global Reach: Peace Support Operations Worldwide

-------------- --------------



4. (U) France eagerly participates in international peace

support operations and is a leading force contributor to

stabilization operations in the Balkans and in Africa. In

Cote d'Ivoire, France's most significant overseas

operation, French troops enforce a tenuous cease-fire and

are providing the backbone to the United Nations operation

as a quick reaction force. French troops have been

actively engaged since the summer of 2004 in preventing the

Darfur crisis from expanding into Chad. In the Balkans,

French troops are present in every military mission across

Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia: SFOR/EUFOR, KFOR, UNMIBH,

UNMIK, EUMM, and ALTHEA. During "Operation Secure

Tomorrow," to stabilize Haiti, France deployed the second

largest contingent alongside the United States.

Contributing troops under international mandate is a point

of principle in Paris. The UN, where France has a veto as

a permanent member of the Security Council, is its

preferred forum for crisis resolution. France has

observers currently participating in UN missions in the

Balkans, Georgia, Lebanon, Israel, Ethiopia/Eritrea,

Burundi, DROC, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Western Sahara, and

Haiti. It also participates in the multinational force in

the Sinai.





France and the War in Iraq

--------------



5. (U) The French government has forbidden its military

from contributing troops to the NATO training mission

inside Iraq (NTM-1). One French officer is working on the

training mission staff at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium,

and the GoF pledged 660,000 euros in February 2005 to help

finance NTM-1. In 2005, the GoF took initial steps to

contribute to the development of Iraqi defense and security

capabilities. Under the European Union's EUJUSTLEX

program, France has pledged to train 200 Iraqi police

officials and judges in rule of law training in France,

making France the top EU contributor to this program.

Approximately 40 Iraqi police officials (non-military)

completed month-long training at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Officiers de Police and the Ecole Nationale

de Police in 2005. A third course started at the end of

2005 for judicial instruction at the Ecole Nationale de la

Magistrature. At the same time, a French offer to train up

to 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary police (gendarmes) outside Iraq

remains unimplemented, although an Iraqi Ministry of

Interior delegation visited France in July 2005 to further

discuss the proposal. Currently there is a single Gendarme

Officer in Iraq, responsible for provision of security for

French embassy staff in Baghdad.





France and the War on Terrorism

--------------



6. (U) France is currently the third-largest contributor

to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force

(ISAF) in Afghanistan, and one of the few nations other

than the U.S. to have had troops engaged in Operation

Enduring Freedom, ISAF and training programs for the Afghan

army since these efforts began. French Mirage-2000

fighters have flown with USAF fighters to assist American

and Afghan ground troops. French deployments to the Horn

of Africa remain focused on counterterrorism; the French

assisted in the establishment of USCJTF Horn of Africa, and

otherwise continue to allow the U.S. to share their base in

Djibouti in connection with operations in the Indian Ocean,

Red Sea and Persian Gulf. France is a part of Task Force

150, a multinational naval force that patrols the Red Sea

and the Persian Gulf to interdict the movement of suspected

terrorists from Afghanistan to the Arabian Peninsula.



7. (U) France participates in Operation Active Endeavor in

the Eastern Mediterranean. France is also actively

involved with the Proliferation Security Initiative. It is

also a party to all 12 existing international terrorism

conventions and is active in the UN and G8 counterterrorism

committees.



8. (U) In 2005, France continued to discover and dismantle

terror networks present on its soil, including several that

recruited jihadists to Iraq. Following the July 2005

bombings in London, French officials worked closely with

their British counterparts. They also identified a number

of deficiencies in their counterterrorism capabilities, and

proposed legislation to remedy these deficiencies. This

fast-tracked legislation became law in late January, 2006.

The French government is also expected to issue in February

2006 a "white book" on terrorism that will underscore their

belief that terrorism is a primary strategic threat to

France, and that dealing with it is consequentially a

central priority. France consults extensively with the

U.S. on terrorism, at the tactical and strategic level.





Africa

--------------



9. (U) The French military has shown an increasing

interest to cooperate with others, particularly with the

U.S., in Africa. In the past three years, there have been

Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) executed in three

African countries, NEO planning for four other potential

crises, as well as U.S. and French multilateral programs,

such as GPOI - ACOTA, RECAMP, and joint financial and

logistical support for ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the African

Union. In the Gulf of Guinea and Trans-Sahel region,

France has expressed interest in the U.S. effort to improve

the posture of African countries in the fight against

terrorism. Both the U.S. and France continue to broadly

support capacity building for African militaries. (See

paragraphs 12, 32 40, 42-43, 46, 59, 72, 82-86, 89 and 94

for more on French involvement in Africa.)





France, NATO and ESDP

--------------



10. (SBU) Despite its singular stance on alliance

membership (France is not a member of NATO's integrated

military command),France has continued to demonstrate

willingness to engage in NATO responses to common

challenges. France has been a major contributor to

operations in the Balkans (SFOR, now EUFOR, and KFOR) and

in NATO's operations in Afghanistan (International Security

Assistance Force). In KFOR in Kosovo, French troops are the

second-largest national contingent, significantly

outnumbering U.S. units. In Afghanistan, France has some

900 troops, which will increase to approximately 1400 in

August 2006, when France assumes command of the Kabul

region of ISAF. During December 2004-August 2005, France

held the rotating command of ISAF. France also contributed

to NATO Humanitarian Relief Operations in Bagh, Pakistan.



11. (SBU) The French have consistently expressed their

support for NATO's transformation, and are contributing

substantial resources to the NATO Response Force: the

French military has identified forces that at initial

stages will amount to 40 per cent of ground units, 30 per

cent of air assets, and 20 per cent of naval capabilities,

and has proposed contributing EUROCORPS to the NRF at a

later stage. France has restructured some of its own

forces with land, air and sea High Readiness Response force

fully compatible with the NATO Response Force. It has

offered headquarter slots in Lille for fellow NATO members.



12. (SBU) Interest in being part of NATO transformation

has not diminished the deep commitment of the GoF to

fostering European security and defense arrangements. Many

in the GoF envision that transatlantic security relations

of the future will increasingly include bilateral U.S.-EU

cooperation. Throughout 2004 and 2005, the French

vigorously pursued their goal of establishing independent

European defense structures and supporting increased EU

missions. France supported an EU assistance mission to

Darfur in the Sudan, to support the African Union's

intervention. France continues to push its EU partners for

completion of a separate EU planning headquarters, a small

but independent EU operational planning unit, as well as an

EU cell at SHAPE. EU operations may also continue to be

planned at national headquarters. Additionally, France has

been a key player in setting up and funding the European

Defense procurement agency (EDA),designed to coordinate

defense procurement among EU allies, and which became

operational in 2005 with a small staff numbering some 80

persons and a budget of 20 million euros.



13. (U) In January 2006, the European gendarmerie force

was formally inaugurated in Vicenza, Italy. The concept

dates back to October 2003, when French Defense Minister

Michele Alliot-Marie proposed the creation of the European

gendarmerie consisting of some 800 gendarmes from Spain,

Italy, Portugal and the Netherlands to take on police

training and other police functions as part of the EU's

response to crises.





French Training and Participation in Joint Exercises

-------------- --------------



14. (U) In the European AOR, in cooperation with the US

Commander Naval Forces Europe, the French Navy participated

in 3 Non-NATO exercises and 6 NATO exercises in 2004

including a Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, a

NATO anti-submarine exercise, a Multi-lateral Livex, PFP

exercise BALTOPS 04, and a NATO Joint fleet training

exercise (a major NRF event sponsored by NATO).



15. (U) In 2005, France participated in 6 Non-NATO

exercises and 13 NATO exercises. The French Navy

participated in RECAMP IV, JMC 05-1 and 05-2, a

multilateral FTX helping qualify the Italian maritime High

Readiness Force (HRF),two multilateral anti-submarine

exercises, Trident D'Or (the exercise to qualify the French

maritime HRF, a LIVEX Mine Warfare Exercise in the North

Sea, FRUKUS (CPX/FTX with French, Russian, U.S., and U.K.

navy participation, Sorbet Royale (a LIVEX Submarine Rescue

Exercise),Bright Star (a multi-national, multi-warfare

LIVEX executing in Egypt),Loyal Midas (a multilateral FTX

to qualify a stand-by Maritime Component Commander for a

future NRF rotation.



16. (U) Overall objectives for Navy training in 2005 were:

100 days at sea per ship, 13 exercises, four of which were

Amphibious exercises, three of which were mine warfare

exercises, two deployments of the Charles de Gaulle CVBG,

participation in one major NATO exercise, participation in

one major EU exercise and five Joint exercises.



17. (U) The French air force continues to seek

opportunities to exercise and train with the US. During

2005, the French air force participated in Exercise Bright

Star in Egypt, and Exercise Air Warrior in the US. France

also continues to offer the US opportunities to use their

training ranges and training airspace associated with

Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea.





French Support for Space Launch Activities

--------------



18. (U) France supported multiple space launch activities

from their facilities in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and

the south of France. The French government approved a US

request to use the islands of Reunion and Nuka Hiva for

telemetry tracking missions supporting NASA space launches.

Additionally, the French support US space shuttle launches

with access to the French Air Base in Istres France as an

alternate shuttle landing site.





Defense Trade and Industrial Cooperation

--------------



19. (U) Source priorities in order of importance for

French defense acquisition remain France, EU, and all

others (to include the U.S.). National pride and limited

budgets govern this order. The French defense industry

continues to provide the greatest depth and breadth of any

western European country. While its technology is

sometimes peer-level with the U.S., it is actually superior

in specific niche areas (e.g., thermal imaging and optics).

The single most limiting factor is defense spending.



20. (U) In the past year, the French Ministry of Defense

continued its pursuit of revitalization of forces. Despite

competing government interests, the budget of the Defense

Ministry remained untouched (the Interior was the only

other ministry spared from budget cuts). Highlights for

2005-2006 spending include: a second aircraft carrier;

introduction of the Rafale fighter aircraft; the European

Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM); Network-Centric command and

control systems; Tigre and NH-90 helicopters; transport

aircraft; third and fourth strategic missile submarines;

and cruise missile development. Only minor increases in

research and development, as compared to previous years,

were approved.



21. (U) Foreign Military Sales from the US increased from

FY03 to FY04 (USD 45.6M to USD 66.9M),while direct

commercial sales decreased (USD 18.9M to USD 12.7M.)

Pending US sales include the Aircraft Launch and Recovery

Equipment (ALRE) for the second French aircraft carrier,

and a cruise missile simulator. FMS training funds were

expended as in previous years, with the majority centered

on carrier aviation training and support.



22. (U) Service-specific Data Exchange Agreements (DEAs)

remained essentially stable, yet significantly,

renegotiation of four Navy DEAs was concluded, extending

their expiration dates to 2010. Discussions continue

regarding remaining DEAs and four newly proposed

agreements. Foreign Comparative Testing programs continue

to show interest in French technologies, with recent focus

on underwater GPS, perimeter defense, shipboard self-

defense, and bomb casing design. Benchmarking studies have

been conducted on ship design and manpower reduction.



23. (U) U.S. defense acquisition and sales interests in

France are significant and include (by service): for the

Air Force, C-130J, KC-130J, C-17 sales and French AWACS

upgrade; for the Army and USMC, Sophie, 120mm rifled

mortars, Active Protection System armor for ground

vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles; for the Navy, ALRE

sale, unmanned submerged/underwater vehicles, and maritime

domain awareness, and network-centric enabled operations.

All services are focused on any technology that can assist

in the efforts of the IED Task Force.



24. (U) Privatization of the defense sector has continued,

albeit at a slow pace. Although the GoF still maintains

so-called "golden shares" in several firms, globalization

has eroded their total control in this arena. For example,

the recently privatized shipbuilding firm DCN has again

partnered with Thales in planning the second French

aircraft carrier, and was recently awarded a contract by

the French Navy for total lifetime maintenance support for

their fleet warships and major combat systems.



25. (U) The anticipated absorption of OCCAR (the

Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation) into the

European Defense Agency has stalled, although OCCAR did

play a role in guiding the French and Italian defense

ministries to select the General Electric engines for the

European Multi-Mission Frigate (FREMM) in late 2005.

26. (U) The EU's European Capabilities Action Plan (ECAP)

goal is to coordinate financing processes and to get

European defense industry involved in identifying and

filling gaps. There is also a recent effort to engage

university research labs through funding made available

from private industries. Further privatization and

increased competitiveness of the French defense sector

should support these trends.



27. (U) Tangential but significant issues to defense

cooperation include continued pursuit of a Declaration of

Principles (DoP) on armaments and end-use controls required

by the U.S. on jointly produced systems, which prevent

French sales to third parties without USG approval (viewed

with concern by French government and private industry

alike though France requires similar guarantees from their

customers for French products). On the other hand, U.S.

Presidential intervention in rejecting the so-called "buy

American" provisions in the recent U.S. defense bill was

well received.



28. (U) Recent overtures on the part of both the U.S. and

French governments have led to an increase in official

bilateral defense discussions and activity. The impending

change of government in 2007 will have a significant impact

on whether or not this trend continues. While France's

2005 vote against the EU referendum was seen as a setback

to both the French government and to the EU's future, its

full effect remains to be seen. As noted above, there are

signs of consolidation of efforts among EU institutions,

specifically in the defense arena. Economic realities and

collective resolve should eventually determine whether

these trends continue.





The Future of French Defense Spending

--------------



29. (U) Future French Defense budgets must conform to a

new inter-governmental finance law known by the acronym

LOLF (Organic Law of the Finance Law). In this new

framework, the funding made available to the Ministry of

Defense abandons the traditional budget distributions by

'Titles' and instead is presented as 'missions and

programs'. The most significant of these is the mission to

'Put into action the National Defense Policy'. Two of its

supporting programs are 'Prepare the Force' and 'Equip the

Force'. In all, the Defense Ministry budget will be

organized around four missions and nine supporting

programs. In an effort to improve the coherence of the

defense budget, the LOLF ties budgetary allocations to

performance. Also, for the first budget cycle under this

new system, the Chiefs of Staff of the services have less

influence on service budgets. Their role is now to assure

the coherence of the budget rather than the direction of

it. In a May 21, 2005 Presidential decree, the Chiefs of

the Armed Services are now subordinate to the Chief of

Defense (CHOD). The CHOD now controls all budgets and

procurement financing. Service budgets now must pass

through the CHOD before they go to the Minister's office

for approval. (For more information on defense spending and

the LOLF see paragraphs 111-113.)



30. (U) The 2006 defense budget represents a 2.2% increase

over the 2005 fiscal year. In spite of the Defense

Minister's ability to protect the defense budget from cuts,

there continue to be difficulties for the French military

in the future. These difficulties stem primarily from

three areas: first, the inflationary pressures of the

price of energy; second, cost overruns/delays in

procurement; and third, increased maintenance costs. Most

of the planning for the current five-year budget requests

was predicated on the cost of a barrel of oil at half the

current price. This increase will translate into fewer

flying hours, fewer training days, and fewer days at sea in

the next few years. Procurement of several current

military systems is behind the original schedule or

experiencing technical problems. These delays include the

Tigre helicopter, Rafale fighter aircraft, A-400M transport

aircraft, and the new command ship (BPC). The final

expense increase will be the result of maintaining the

older systems in the French military until sufficient

numbers can replace them.





Transforming Military Capabilities

--------------



31. (U) In spite of not being part of the integrated

military command structure of NATO, in January, 2004 France

received two general officer billets within the command:

one at Atlantic Command Operations (SHAPE) and one at

Atlantic Command Transformation (Norfolk). The French have

assigned 110 military personnel to the two headquarters,

representing 2.04% of overall NATO staff posts. The French

have also agreed to increase their contribution to Alliance

military budgets from 4.9% to 7.4%. Nonetheless, despite

disclaimers to the contrary, the French have given mixed

signals over the past two years on their vision of the

future NATO. These views have ranged from a desire for

closer integration with NATO to generally limiting the

scope of NATO's operations or in favor of an EU defense

force.



32. (U) France has been a leading proponent to advance a

"battle-group" concept to create rotational 1500-man size

forces for use in Chapter VII mandates by the European

Union. Based on the EU Operation ARTEMIS model (the French

led deployment to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in

2003) the force would be capable of responding to a crisis

within 15 days and be sustainable for 30 days minimum, 120

days maximum. Full operational capability is scheduled for

2007. The French insist that these battle groups would be

compatible with NATO NRF rotations, with either taking the

lead on the basis of a mutually-agreed decision. Africa

has been mentioned as a primary venue for the battle-

groups.



33. (U) The French Army is investing in UAVs, the Improved

Infantry Armored Vehicle (VBCI),advanced communications

equipment, counter-fire radars, and lighter equipment for

armored units. They are beginning the process of

digitization of the Army's battlefield systems and

purchasing an individual soldier system - the Felin, the

French Army's equivalent to the U.S. Army's Land Warrior

system. These initiatives will enhance French abilities to

interoperate with US forces and systems.



34. (U) The French Navy has stood up and qualified the HRF

(M) headquarters staff, the naval component headquarters of

France's NRF, in Toulon in 2004 and 2005. This force will

deploy to the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean in 2006.

Additionally, the Admiral, Naval Action Force (ALFAN) in

Toulon has continued to develop over 2004 and 2005. This

command is now roughly equivalent to the U.S. Fleet Forces

Command and has responsibilities for training, certifying,

and equipping French naval forces. In an effort to improve

intelligence support to the French Navy, the French stood

up a French intelligence command called Centre de

Renseignment Martime (CRMar).



35. (U) In the context of trying to become more efficient

and capable of joint and international operations, the

French Air Force is in the process of a major

reorganization. In November 2003, a project team of senior

staff officers, outgoing base commanders and civilian

consultants was created and given the mission to develop a

plan to create a better Air Force. The project team started

its work in September 2004 and unveiled the plan in October

2005. The ideas will be progressively implemented

beginning in 2006. This ambitious reorganization project,

named Air 2010, aims in particular at removing duplication

and creating synergy. It will serve to optimize the air

base network while preserving existing capabilities. In

summary, the Air Force will replace the twelve current

commands with four large functional 'poles.' The

Operations Pole will be in charge of current operations in

France and abroad. The Forces pole will be charged with

leading the preparation and training of the whole of the

combat forces. The Support Pole will bring together within

the same staff all the maintenance, logistics, and life

support. The Personnel Pole will join together all the

personnel training and staff management functions.



36. (U) The French military is actively exploring ways to

increase interoperability with the U.S. with respect to the

global information grid and uses of information on the

modern battlefield. As of late 2005, the French MOD has

directed increased contact between French military

officials and U.S. military officials in an effort to

ensure the French capability to interoperate with the U.S.

is maintained and improved. This French initiative is

aimed at keeping up with the U.S. lead in information

technology, particularly targeting data and friendly force

tracking. The French desperately want to preserve the

ability to conduct combat operations with the U.S. in every

domain air, land, and sea.





Recent Contingency Operations, Military Assistance,

Humanitarian Relief Operations, Peacekeeping, Capacity

Building, Counterproliferation and Nuclear Threat

Reduction.

-------------- --------------



37. (U) The French continue to show their support for

operations in Afghanistan. In 2006, they are planning to

augment their forces to support the increased

responsibilities of the Kabul regional command in addition

to the military assets already in place in support of ISAF

and OEF (see paragraphs 53-56 for more detail).

Furthermore, the French continue to be actively involved in

the fight against terrorism through the OEF Task Force 150

and in the US Counter-Drug effort (see paragraphs 59-60 for

more detail.)



38. (U) The French Army has been training the Afghan

National Army within the overall U.S.-led program since its

inception and the French have consistently expressed a

desire to be part of NATO's transformation and

interoperability initiatives as evidenced by their

significant national contributions to the NATO Response

Force (NRF) (see paragraphs 66-67 for more detail).



39. (U) In the Balkans, French forces remain among the

largest contributors to operations in Kosovo and French

participation in the former NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia

continued under the EU Force, Operation Althea. The French

continue to maintain a small French military presence in

Macedonia. They also provide a small presence force in

Georgia. (See paragraphs 70-71 for more detail).



40. (U) In Africa, France has provided 80 million euros to

Darfur through the African Union and provides support to

Chad on a bilateral basis. The French transported the

Senegalese units of the AU force to Sudan and the Nigerian

police contingent. (See paragraph 72 for more detail).



41. (U) In response to natural disasters in 2004 and 2005

France contributed substantially to Pakistan Earthquake

relief efforts, the South Asian Tsunami relief efforts, and

relief efforts after hurricane Katrina hit the southern

United States. (See paragraphs 73-81 for more detail).



42. (U) The major part of France's efforts at capacity

building in the world is focused on Africa where France

relies on its forces stationed in seven nations to conduct

most of its capacity building operations (see paragraphs

82-85 for more detail). Also, 4000 French troops stand

alongside UNOCI in Operation Licorne in Cote d'Ivoire in

support of the UN operation, in addition to the French

permanent base in Abidjan.



43. (U) French Gendarmerie has taken the lead in the

development of the European Gendarmerie Force. French

Gendarmes are also deployed in Lebanon (UNIFIL),Haiti

(MINUSTAH),Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI),the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, Chad, and the Central Africa Republic. They

also conducted training in Kinshasa, Kenya (see paragraphs

86-89 for more detail).



44. (U) In the summer of 2004, the French also began a

joint fighter pilot training school in Cazeaux, France (see

paragraph 90 for more detail).



45. (U) As a nuclear state, France endorses deterrence

theory and holds to long-standing NATO doctrines. It has

consistently supported international arms control regimes

as a means of bolstering stability and transparency. In

addition to its continued support for international

mechanisms to limit proliferation, France with their

British and German colleagues pursued EU3 negotiations to

obtain Iranian compliance with Iran's Safeguard Agreement

commitments. EU3 efforts led to the signing of the Paris

Agreement in November 2004. Iranian resumption of

conversion in August 2005, and research on enrichment in

December 2005, led to suspension of Paris Agreement

discussions. France and its EU partners, with U.S.

support, continue to pursue efforts to convince Iran to

suspend its nuclear ambitions. (See paragraphs 91-93 for

more detail).



46. (U) The French military continues to maintain strong

contacts with the U.S. and other NATO countries for

contingency planning. During 2004 and 2005, France

conducted planning and exchanges with EUCOM and CENTCOM.

French and U.S. analysts and planners share information on

terrorism and WMD proliferation as well as political-

military developments. From the beginning of operations in

Afghanistan (both OEF and ISAF),and the Lebanon crisis,

French and U.S. planners have continued to work together to

produce effective, timely results. French forces

permanently or temporarily stationed in Africa and Central

Asia have assisted U.S. operations in the EUCOM and CENTCOM

theater of operations.





--------------

--------------

REF A PARAS 9-10: DIRECT COST-SHARING

--------------

--------------



47. (U) No direct cost sharing activities occur in France







--------------

--------------

REF A PARA 11: INDIRECT COST SHARING

--------------

--------------



48. (U) No indirect cost-sharing activities as described

in Ref A paragraph 11 occur in France. However the U.S.

did receive several types of miscellaneous indirect cost-

sharing benefits from France as described below.





Overflight Clearances, Port Access, Use of French

Facilities

-------------- --------------



49. (U) In 2004, France granted overflight and landing

clearances to 1842 USG missions. 977 of these missions

were in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 76 of these

missions supported operations in the Balkans. During 2005,

France granted 2061 overflight and landing clearances to

USG missions. 811 of these missions supported OIF while 68

supported Balkan operations. France continued to grant

blanket overflight clearances to most USG missions allowing

over flights of and landings in France without notice.



50. (U) The 744 Expeditionary Air Base Group operated

three KC-135 tanker aircraft from Istres Airbase in

southern France during most of 2004. This group of 100 US

military personnel flew air refueling missions supporting

operations in the Balkans. The French provided fuel tax-

free. The mission ended in December 2004.



51. (U) Tax concessions on fuel and landing fees for non-

operational missions during 2004 totaled approximately 4000

dollars. During 2005 these concessions totaled 8450

dollars.



52. (U) During 2004 the US Navy made 14 port calls to

facilities in metropolitan France. In 2005 the number of

port calls was 29. In all cases, the French Navy provided

excellent support and force protection services without

cost. Additionally, no taxes were imposed for supplies or

parts for US ships visiting French ports.





-------------- --------------

-------------- --------------

REF A PARA 12 RECENT CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS, MILITARY

ASSISTANCE, HUMANITARIAN RELIEF OPERATIONS, CAPACITY

BUILDING, COUNTERPROLIFERATION, AND NUCLEAR THREAT

REDUCTION

-------------- --------------

-------------- --------------



-------------- --------------

Subparagraph A: Recent Contingency operations (See French

Force Disposition and External Operations Table for

personnel numbers)

-------------- --------------



53. (U) The French were among the first nations to

volunteer troops to the International Security Assistance

Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan and France continues to

be responsible for Kabul International Airport and the area

north of Kabul to the U.S. base at Bagram. A French

battalion has been a part of ISAF since December 2001.

From August 2004 to February 2005, a French general

commanded the NATO-led ISAF. France has proposed an

increased role in ISAF and offered to lead Regional

CommandKabul as part of the NATO reorganization and

expansion of ISAF. In October 2005, France and Turkey

announced that they would co-lead Regional Command-Kabul.

The French are planning to augment their forces from the

current 700 in ISAF to between 1,000 1,200 personnel to

support the increased responsibilities of the regional

command to include providing a Quick Reaction Force (QRF)

battalion. The French have continued to provide a military

police detachment in support of ISAF.



54. (U) Supporting OEF, the French Armed Forces continue

to be actively involved in the fight against terrorism.

200 members of the French Special Forces are currently

deployed in the South of Afghanistan alongside U.S. Special

Forces in military operations against the Taliban.



55. (U) France assigned liaison officers to the U.S. staff

headquarters in Tampa to ensure the interface between the

military authorities of the two countries. French forces

were directly involved in the fight against terrorism by

y

carrying out the following missions:



56. (U) The air and sea group took part in air operations

above Afghanistan in April-May 2004 (84 aircrafts were

involved in operational missions for 450 flight hours).

The French Air Force deployed within less than 48 hours six

Mirage 2000D and two refueling aircraft from metropolitan

France to the deployable airbase in Manas (Kyrgyzstan)

which played a key role in the prosecution of air

campaigns.



57. (U) In addition, two C160 airplanes with 130 soldiers

of the Air Force have been operating in Dushanbe

(Tajikistan) since December 3, 2001, totaling 10,000 flight

hours. This detachment is focused on airlifting the French

Forces operating in different areas in Afghanistan.



58. (U) In October 2004, three Mirage F1CR and one tanker

C135FR were deployed in Dushanbe to carry out tactical

reconnaissance missions for ISAF and the coalition against

terrorism. To help promote the development of democracy in

Afghanistan in close collaboration with its allies, the

French Air Force again deployed an air detachment in

Dushanbe, from August through November 2005 during the

parliamentary elections. Within ISAF, the detachment,

which includes three Mirage F1CR, three Mirage 2000D and

two tankers C135FR based in Manas, was intended to

establish an air presence throughout the country and

support ground forces operations to deter any action likely

to disrupt the elections. It was also entrusted with the

mission to undertake reconnaissance and fire support

operations supporting OEF.



59. Finally, the French military participates in the fight

against terrorism within the OEF Task Force 150 (TF 150).

The Task Force is actively involved in the following

operations:

- monitoring air and sea movements in the Red Sea, the Sea

of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf,

- prohibiting the filtration of terrorists to the Arabian

Peninsula or the Horn of Africa,

- fighting against illegal trafficking (weapons, drugs

etc.),

- fighting against piracy and banditry acts.



60. (U) Since February 2003, a EUROMARFOR task group is

part of the TF 150 and operates under the command of the

U.S. staff. The French Navy greatly contributes to the TF

150 (about a quarter of the Task Force) with three ships

operating on a permanent basis. France took command of TF

150 twice from September 2003 to January 2004 and from June

to September 2004.



61. (U) An aircraft based in Djibouti, which was

incorporated into the Task Force 57 (TF 57),is intended to

patrol in coordination with the TF 150 ships. The 62

French ships involved in Operation Enduring Freedom since

15 December 2001 totaled more than 6,000 days at sea.



62. (U) The French Navy's strong participation in CTF-150,

both by continuously providing ships and often providing a

command staff in the Indian Ocean, particularly off of

Somalia and the Gulf of Oman, and the presence of French

Navy liaison personnel at NAVCENT Headquarters in Bahrain

makes possible a good degree of interaction and cooperation

in this key region. The French also maintain maritime

patrol aircraft worldwide and cooperate with the U.S. Navy

where there is common interest.



63. (U) The French also participate in the US Counter-Drug

effort with Naval Forces. A French military officer is

assigned to the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF

South) in Key West, to ensure coordination with French

forces in the Caribbean. Fort-de-France in Martinique

supports U.S. Navy and Coast Guard units with port visits

and the Navy Command in Fort-de-France has assisted the

U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard with the movement of

personnel and weapons between various ships and aircraft.

The direct participation of the French Navy in counter-drug

operations consists of the deployment of frigates to the

region to work with U.S. forces on a regular basis and the

use of Maritime Patrol Aircraft deployed to the region.



64. (U) In 2004, the French Navy stopped three drug

trafficking ships in the Antilles and one Togolese ship in

the Gulf of Guinea with 450 kg of cocaine. The counter

drug effort of the French Navy in 2004 was 199 days at sea,

156 hours of flight, 2058 ships queried, four ships

intercepted, and 1020 kg of drugs ceased.



65. (U) In 2004, the French Navy effort against

clandestine immigration equaled 683 days at sea, 904 flight

hours, three ships intercepted, 43 clandestine immigrants

turned over to border police.





--------------

Subparagraph B. Military Assistance:

NRF/NTMI/Afghanistan/NATO PKO.

-------------- --------------



66. (U) The French Army has been training the Afghan

National Army within the overall U.S.-led program since its

inception. Since 2002, the French have trained more than

2,000 Afghans. This includes three of the initial

battalions; they have set-up the officer basic course and

the staff officer's course. The French are currently

participating in the Embedded Training Team concept with

French Army soldiers assigned to mentor an Afghan battalion

in Kandahar.



67. (U) The French have consistently expressed a desire to

be part of NATO's transformation and interoperability

initiatives as evidenced by their significant national

contributions to the NATO Response Force (NRF). By

participating in NRFs 1 through 6, the total French

military contribution equals up to 40 percent of ground

units, 30 percent of air assets, and 20 percent of naval

capabilities. The French air force provides the deployable

combined air operations center (CAOC) for the European led

NRF. In January 2005, the French air force conducted AIREX

2005, a training exercise, to prepare for command of NRF-05

in July. On July 1st, the French air force became the Joint

Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) of NRF-05 for six

months. In 2004, NATO sent the NRF's Land Component

Command Headquarters, the French led EUROCORPS, to lead the

ISAF in Afghanistan. As part of NRF 5, NATO activated

France's Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC) to

coordinate the air movements for the Pakistan earthquake

relief effort. On 1 October 2005, the French formally

created a multinational headquarters to serve as the Land

Component Command for future rotations of the NRF.



68. (U) In 2005, the French also established a Maritime

Component Command HQ to serve in future iterations of

NATO's NRF. The French Navy successfully stood-up the

High-Readiness Force Maritime (HRF-M) staff in Toulon and

qualified the staff during an at-sea exercise in 2005.

This staff, will serve its rotational duties as an on-call

force, ahead of schedule, and is being used by the French

for out-of-area operations, for example, during the

upcoming Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean deployment of the Charles

de Gaulle Carrier Battle Group in early 2006. There is one

U.S. Naval Officer assigned to the HRF-M staff.



69. (U) The French government has forbidden its military

from contributing troops to the NATO training mission

inside Iraq (NTM-1). One French officer is working on the

training mission staff at SHAPE Headquarters in Belgium,

and the GoF pledged 660,000 euros in February 2005 to help

finance NTM-1. In 2005, the GoF took initial steps to

contribute to the development of Iraqi defense and security

capabilities. Under the European Union's EUJUSTLEX

program, France has pledged to train 200 Iraqi police

officials and judges in rule of law training in France,

making France the top EU contributor to this program.

Approximately 40 Iraqi police officials (non-military)

completed month-long training at the Ecole Nationale

Superieure des Officiers de Police and the Ecole Nationale

de Police in 2005. A third course started at the end of

2005 for judicial instruction at the Ecole Nationale de la

Magistrature. At the same time, a French offer to train up

to 1,500 Iraqi paramilitary police (gendarmes) outside Iraq

remains unimplemented, although an Iraqi Ministry of

Interior delegation visited France in July 2005 to further

discuss the proposal. Currently there is a single Gendarme

Officer in Iraq, responsible for provision of security for

French embassy staff in Baghdad.



70. (U) In the Balkans, French forces remain among the

largest contributors to operations in Kosovo. French

participation in the former NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia

continued under the EU Force, Operation Althea. 210

Gendarmes supported both the United Nations Interim mission

in Kosovo and the NATO Intervention Forces in Kosovo.

French Lieutenant General de Kermabon transferred authority

as COMKFOR on 1 September 2005 after one year of command,

the second time France has commanded KFOR. The French

government provided approximately 60 gendarmes, including

20 officers to help combat organized crime under the Office

of the High Representative in Bosnia-Hersegovina.

Additionally, they provided European Union Police and

military police in support of European Union Forces in

Bosnia.



71. (U) The French continue to maintain a small French

military presence (15 personnel) in Macedonia providing

international police in support of the European Police

Mission. They also provide a small presence force (three

military observers) in Georgia to help support the U.N.

monitoring mission.



72. (U) Regarding peacekeeping efforts in Africa, there

has been ongoing debate as to NATO's role in Africa. This

debate was most evident during the 2005 crisis in Darfur

with France focusing its support for the AU through the EU.

France, however, honored its pledge to SECSTATE that it

would not oppose a NATO role in the crisis. France has

provided 80 million euros to Darfur through the African

Union and provides support to Chad on a bilateral basis.

French troops and aircraft are conducting ground and air

border security. During 2005, France provided refueling

support to NATO and EU aircraft at Abech in Eastern Chad,

as well as personnel recovery capabilities using three C-

160 transport aircraft and three Puma helicopters. The

French transported the Senegalese units of the AU force to

Sudan and the Nigerian police contingent.



--------------

Subpara C: Humanitarian Relief Operations

NATOHMRO/Pakistan/Katrina/Tsunami

--------------



73. (U) In 2003, France allotted 9.3 million euros (USD

11.2 million) to what it termed Emergency Humanitarian

Assistance, all of which was channeled through the

Emergency Humanitarian Aid Fund of the MFA. In 2004, the

initial allotment was 9.3 million euros (USD 11.2 million).

The fund may be increased on an extraordinary basis to

finance unexpected operations; this was the case in 2005,

when France announced an emergency increased allotment of

2.8 million euros (USD 3.4 million) in favor of the victims

of natural disasters or civil crises, primarily focused on

the victims of the tsunami in Thailand, Sri Lanka,

Maldives, Indonesia, and India, and an additional

allocation of 5.6 million euros (USD 6.7 million) for the

victims of the earthquake in Pakistan (see paragraphs

below). The additional aid is imputed into the 2005

balance sheet bringing the total amount of emergency

donations to 16,147,081 million euros. Allotments in 2006

are projected to increase to benefit victims of 2005's

Hurricane Katrina in the United States. For an economic

analysis of general Grant Aid and Humanitarian Assistance

see paragraphs 117-221.



74. (U) Pakistan Relief. The French contributed 82

military personnel to the Pakistan relief effort. In

addition, the French air force deployed two C-130 Hercules

military transport aircraft to deliver relief supplies. The

effort included medical service personnel, a surgical team,

and support personnel (communications, equipment, and

logistics) in Pakistan. Forty-six of the military

personnel were inserted into the various NATO elements in

Islamabad, Lisbon, Germany, and Turkey. Additionally, as

part of NRF 5, NATO activated France's JFACC to coordinate

the air movement piece of the relief effort. The JFACC at

Taverney, near Paris has 23 French, five UK, and one U.S.

officer assigned.



75. (U) KATRINA Relief. The NRF was activated in

September 2005 after hurricane Katrina. At the same time,

France used its Joint Forces Air Component (JFACC) to task

the French Air Force to collect and deliver the 150 tons of

European supplies for Louisiana. This support was

delivered to Ramstein airbase, Germany. The French air

force also provided two transport aircraft to move over

four tons of supplies, including tents, tarps, and 1000

rations, to the US from the Caribbean. Along with these

supplies, the French provided a team of four civil security

personnel to help assess future U.S. needs and distribute

assistance. Two French liaison officers were posted to the

Joint Forces Commander in Lisbon to help coordinate all

European assistance. An Airbus Beluga aircraft also

delivered 12.7 tons of emergency equipment to Mobile,

Alabama;



76. (U) The French Navy deployed a team of 17 Navy divers

to assist with the Katrina disaster. This was facilitated

by the fact that the French maintain a liaison officer with

the U.S. Mine Warfare Command in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The 17 French divers worked from September 11, 2005 to

October 8, 2005 helping to clear waterways of debris and

recover vessels.



77. (U) The GOF also offered the following contributions

to assist with Katrina disaster recovery:

--The "Gendarmerie nationale" offered experts in forensic

police;

--The GOF (with Airbus) offered to send an additional 20-

30,000 food rations.



78. (U) Tsunami Relief. The French Navy worked with U.S.

forces and other willing partners following the December

26, 2004 Tsunami in South East Asia. In response to this

disaster, the French Navy re-routed its helicopter carrier,

Jeanne D'Arc, and, after picking up extra emergency

supplies from the French base in Djibouti, sent the units