GOF SUPPORTIVE OF ROBUST MONITORING OF OECD BRIBERY

UNCLAS PARIS 007844 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD OECD KCOR FR SUBJECT: GOF SUPPORTIVE OF ROBUST MONITORING OF OECD BRIBERY CONVENTION REF: STATE 197786 ¶1. (SBU) Econ Counselor raised reftel points on the work of the OECD Working Group on Bribery (WGB) with MFA DAS-equivalent Cyrille Pierre on December 14. Pierre said France was fully supportive of U.S. efforts to continue with a robust post-Phase II monitoring mechanism. Parties to the Convention had yet to "arrive at the same place" on enforcement, and monitoring would be critical to progress. Pierre said French business was particularly anxious to bring other parties along in order to ensure a level commercial playing field. ¶2. (SBU) France was supportive of extending the WGB field of activity in some areas -- such as corruption in off-shore financial centers - as long as doing so would not sacrifice the focus on monitoring. Increased outreach would also be important to encourage the trend of non-OECD members becoming party to the convention. On the budget, Pierre said there was little daylight between the French and U.S. positions, particularly given that there was some fungibility among allocations. Pierre closed by making a pitch for Guillaume Vanderheyden's candidacy for the WGB Management Committee, noting that he would bring strong legal skills to the job. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: From our vantage there has indeed been considerable evolution in the French attitude towards corruption. A recent MEDEF (French employers organization)-sponsored conference on the topic saw much hand-wringing about the need for leveling the playing field now that France has enacted tough anti-corruption legislation. The head of the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Council of French Investors in Africa, Philippe Montigny, told us recently that some of France's largest traditional investors in Africa have left the continent in recent years, in part because of growing concerns about the issue. The GOF will be receptive to efforts to push the anti-corruption agenda -- both on demand and supply sides -- and we should seek every opportunity to do so. HOFMANN