Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PARIS4534
2007-11-20 16:59:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

PKO FOR CHAD/C.A.R.: FRENCH WORST CASE SCENARIO

Tags:  MOPS EUN PHUM CD CT FR 
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FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1175
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 1407
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 0949
C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004534 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2017
TAGS: MOPS EUN PHUM CD CT FR
SUBJECT: PKO FOR CHAD/C.A.R.: FRENCH WORST CASE SCENARIO

REF: A. PARIS 4513


B. BRUSSELS 3346

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, 1.4 (b/d
).

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004534

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2017
TAGS: MOPS EUN PHUM CD CT FR
SUBJECT: PKO FOR CHAD/C.A.R.: FRENCH WORST CASE SCENARIO

REF: A. PARIS 4513


B. BRUSSELS 3346

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, 1.4 (b/d
).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Romain Serman, AF Advisor at the French
Presidency, said on November 19 that, if there are no further
significant contributions to the French led-EU/UN
peacekeeping operation for Chad and the C.A.R., two options
could be presented to President Sarkozy for his decision: 1)
that France will contribute additional troops to meet the
4,300 target (present contributions are about 2,800) or 2)
that the operation will be conducted at a force level of
3,000, which Serman said was feasible but which would not
allow for much flexibility at all. He said that France would
continue to lobby EU partners but did not indicate how long
it would do so before resorting to the two options he
outlined. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Romain Serman, one of the staff advisors on AF
matters at the French Presidency, met with U.S. Ambassador to
Mauritania Mark Boulware on November 19. (Discussion of
Mauritania and other issues will be reported separately.)
Turning to Chad in discussing broader aspects of France's AF
policy, and displaying a franker and more concerned attitude
than the MFA official with whom we discussed this recently
(ref A),Serman said that France had obtained commitments for
about 2,800 forces for the EU/UN peacekeeping mission in Chad
and the C.A.R., with France accounting for roughly half of
the 2,800. He acknowledged that other commitments were slow
in coming, and he said that medical support units and
helicopters were the biggest shortcomings. Of the
contributions made so far, most did not consist of combat
troops, with France supplying the bulk of those. As have
other French officials, Serman said that he wished this were
not so, because the large number of French combat, as opposed
to support, troops would increase the perception that this
would be a "French" operation.


3. (C) Serman said that the GOF was encouraged by the
participation of neutral Ireland and Sweden, which were not
often in the forefront concerning these kinds of operations,
with Ireland contributing force commander LTG Nash. Serman
noted the current target figure of 4,300, and he said that
France would continue lobbying EU partners, emphasizing that
this was an EU operation that the EU had decided to undertake
and that its members should therefore be more willing to
contribute troops.


4. (C) That said, Serman said that the GOF was preparing
for the possibility that there would be no further
commitments. In such a case, Serman said that the French
were currently thinking of presenting two options to
President Sarkozy. The first option would be for France to
contribute the 1,500 or so additional troops needed to meet
the 4,300 target. But this would mean that the force would
be roughly 2/3 French, which would only exacerbate the
perception problem. This option would also entail
significant new costs for France.


5. (C) The other option would be to conduct the operation
at the 3,000 level, with France and perhaps others making up
the current difference. Serman said that the mission could
be carried out with 3,000 troops but he said there would be
very little flexibility to allow for generous troops
rotations, downtime, or addressing unforeseen crises or other
exigencies. Under this option, costs would be less than they
would be for the larger mission.


6. (C) Serman said that the French would continue to lobby
potential donors actively. He did not indicate how much time
they would devote to this effort and at what point, should
they not meet with success, they might have to shift to the
other options he described. He gave the strong impression,
however, that the French would like to initiate deployment by
the end of 2007, as has been contemplated.

Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm


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