FRANCE: DHS SECRETARY CHERTOFF'S JAN. 25 MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000824 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE-SBALL, EB-TRA-MATTINGLY, S/CT-KONTOS, CA DHS OPS CENTER FOR SEQUEIRA E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2016 TAGS: PGOV PTER FR CVIS SUBJECT: FRANCE: DHS SECRETARY CHERTOFF'S JAN. 25 MEETING WITH INTERIOR MINISTER SARKOZY Classified By: AMBASSADOR CRAIG STAPLETON FOR REASONS 1.4 (A) AND (D) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff met French Minister of the Interior Nicholas Sarkozy for the first time in Paris on January 25. Sarkozy was accompanied by Diplomatic Advisor David Martinon, National Police Director General Michel Gaudin, and Director of the MOI Office of Public Liberties and Judicial Affairs Stephane Frascatti. Secretary Chertoff was accompanied by Ambassador Craig Stapleton, DHS Deputy Chief of Staff Chad Beaudreux, DHS Office of International Affairs Director for European and Multilateral Affairs Dennis Sequeira, and Econoff (notetaker). -------------- Sarkozy "The American" -------------- ¶2. (C) After greeting the Secretary, Mr. Sarkozy offered an extended discussion of his pro-American views, noting that he had come in for criticism in France and had even been attacked as "Sarkozy the American." He believed in the friendship between France and America, and said we could expect continuing, strong cooperation with France on security matters. He hoped to visit the U.S. in the Spring or the Fall of 2006 if the complicated political situation in France permitted, making reference to the contest between himself and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to succeed President Jacques Chirac in the 2007 Presidential elections. Though he believed the war in Iraq had been a mistake, he had opposed using the veto at the U.N. against an ally, and was convinced that France needed to help the U.S. to extricate itself from a very difficult situation there. If elected president in 2007, he said, he would be America,s "best friend." ¶3. (C) Sarkozy said his number one priority was to stop terrorists before they committed crimes. He had expelled violent imams. He was criticized from the left for being too tough, but he believed he had not been tough enough. He had not tolerated demonstrations against Iraq in front of the American Embassy, or Iraqi or Palestinian flags carried by marchers on the Champs-Elysees. He was a friend of the U.S., and a friend of Israel. He joked that he would make a good candidate in the U.S. elections. In response to a comment from Secretary Chertoff, Sarkozy also described his zero-tolerance approach to public disorder in the "powderkeg" of French suburbs. In 25 nights of riots, 12,000 French police made 5,200 arrests, without a single death. -------------- C/T Cooperation -------------- ¶4. (C) Secretary Chertoff recalled from his time at DOJ immediately after 9/11 that U.S. and French C/T cooperation had been extremely close. He believed that both countries had similar approaches, and did not favor negotiation with terrorists. He congratulated Sarkozy on France,s new C/T legislation, and noted that we needed to succeed in Iraq: a failed state would be a disaster for everyone. There were reasons for optimism, but the Secretary noted his concern about the challenge of jihadists returning from Iraq. He hoped to encourage the exchange of information with France to better track the "next generation" of terrorists, and noted that France,s new C/T law provided new authority to the GOF to collect data. ¶5. (C) Sarkozy responded that he was enthusiastically in favor of this. Nonetheless, the GOF had the impression that they provided the U.S. with more than they got in return. The Secretary noted that the Terrorist Screening Center had developed a proposal for sharing watchlist information, and that he would like to see it move ahead. If there were specific issues on information sharing that needed to be addressed, he would do so. DGPN Gaudin said he believed recent discussion between DHS and the DST had laid the groundwork for future cooperation. Secretary Chertoff also noted that the U.S could help by offering to share its experience with PNR data collection and analysis. -------------- VWP/CSI -------------- ¶6. (C) Secretary Chertoff raised the issue of France,s non-compliance with U.S. standards for biometric passports, which came into effect October 26. He explained that he had committed to meet this deadline, and was not in a position to modify it, since it had been established by Congress. He hoped the French would be able to produce biometric passports soon; this would eliminate the considerable problems caused by the increased French need for visas. Over the longer term, he hoped that passports with interoperable chips would provide even greater security. He also noted U.S. concern over lost and stolen passports in France. We needed to be able to identify and track these, and this would be a consideration in the February review of France,s eligibility for the VWP. Sarkozy noted that he had done more than anyone to push biometric passports at the EU level; production in France had been stymied because of a conflict with a "left-wing" union. Sarkozy said that he had ordered the MOI to begin production of VWP compliant e-passports, though he did not expect this to begin before May. Secretary Chertoff also requested Sarkozy's assistance in encouraging the MFA to come to a quick decision on the status of Container Security Initiative inspectors stationed in France. The minister said he would call them about this issue. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Secretary Chertoff's visit was a welcome occasion for him to meet his French counterpart, a leading contender for the French Presidency in 2007. The meeting strongly reaffirmed the importance of Franco-American cooperation on C/T, while also alerting Sarkozy to our concerns about biometric passport production, the Visa Waiver Program, and CSI. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton