FRANCE?S AVIAN INFLUENZA PANDEMIC PLANNING:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000480

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR G/AIAG, OES/IHA, CA, CA/OCS, EUR/WE
HHS FOR INTERNATIONAL LSAWYER
USDA FOR ITP, CMP/DLP
USDA FOR FAS PASS FSIS AND APHIS
HOMELAND SECURITY FOR OIA
CDC FOR AVIAN INFLUENZA PLANNING CELL
USEU FOR ESTH TSMITHAM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFLU FR AIAG
SUBJECT: FRANCE?S AVIAN INFLUENZA PANDEMIC PLANNING:
QUESTIONS FOR THE U.S.

REF: 06 PARIS 06376, 06 PARIS 6789

NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (U) This is an action request. See para 8.

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Paris Eager For Collaboration With U.S. Authorities
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2. (U) Embassy ESTH officers recently met with Ministry of
Health officials, who expressed interest in collaborating
more intensively with the U.S. in two areas of pandemic
influenza planning. Michel Augras, Director of Work for
the Interministerial Delegate for Avian Influenza, and
Emmanuel Jean, Chief of European and International Affairs
at the Health Ministry, expressed interest in particular on
U.S. views on how to prepare businesses to plan for a
pandemic. French authorities have been working with the
non-profit organization Safe America on this issue (NFI),
but consider more might be done on a government-to-
government basis. Augras added that France and the U.S.
are uniquely positioned to undertake this kind of effort.
Secondly, France is keenly interested in the U.S. approach
to ?social distancing? in the working population in the
event of a pandemic. How do you organize the confinement
for those who are not sick, he questioned. (NB. ESTH
officer forwarded to the Health Ministry the materials
about social distancing released February 1.)


3. (SBU) (Note also that French security authorities
(Secretary General for National Defense ?SGDN?) had
mentioned similar interests in cooperating further with the
U.S. to visiting DOE Deputy Undersecretary for
Counterterrorism, Steven Aoki, during his visit to Paris in
October 2006, reported in 06 Paris 6789 (See Reftel B).
Essentially, that message reported that France was
examining economic consequences of a crisis, essentially
determining weak links in the economic system, e.g.,
transportation or supply systems, food shortages, etc.
?Where do shortages come from in such (an AI-driven human
disease) emergency,? asked Aoki?s French interlocutor.
Learning more about the emergencies would permit
authorities to adapt their emergency plans to provision
against deep negative national economic repercussions in
the event of a pandemic. The French security interlocutor
indicated the GOF sought U.S. thinking/methodologies to
help better assess weak points in the French economy in
advance of any crisis. Embassy subsequently provided DHS
pandemic planning contact information to SGDN in response
to this request.)

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More Questions...
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4. (SBU) After the visits to Washington in early and in
the summer of 2006, respectively, by Didier Hussein,
France?s Interministerial Delegate for Avian Influenza and
Minister of Health Xavier Bertrand, Embassy is unaware of
subsequent high level contact between France and the U.S.
to follow up several themes. Augras took the opportunity
of ESTH Officers visit to ask if the U.S. had clarified the
situations under which the U.S. might shut down air
transportation in the context of human-to-human
transmission of avian influenza. He also inquired as to
what lessons the U.S. had learned from its AI simulations
exercises.

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Stockpile Numbers
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5. (U) Regarding other AI information, Augras mentioned
that France has not taken a decision as of yet as to
whether to employ a pre-pandemic vaccine. There is
considerable debate in Europe on this issue, he said, and
for the present the GOF focus is on treatment vice vaccine
prevention. According to the most recent numbers in the
French press, Paris has stockpiled 70 million ?antiviral
vaccines,? 81.5 million antibiotic treatments as
contingency against a bioterrorist attack, 11.7 million
antiviral treatments, 11.5 tons of oseltamivir in case of a
AI pandemic, and 285 million filtration masks.

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Updating The AI Plan
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6. (U) Prime Minister de Villepin announced in early
February after a Ministerial meeting that the GOF will
release an updated National Plan to combat avian influenza
in the coming days. According to Augras, the updates will
include steps on how to maintain ?normal? economic
activities as long as possible during a pandemic. De
Villepin also announced that on 22 February the National
Assembly will examine a proposed law to reinforce
preventive measures against the avian flu. Specifically
the law would reinforce the resources of emergency services
and hospital care, notably by putting in place a ?health
reserve corps.?

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New AI Ambassador
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7. (U) Replacing Ambassador Coulont as the new Ambassador-
at-large for Avian Influenza at the MFA is Charles M. Le
Boeuf. Over his 30-year career, he has served in Africa,
Israel, Morocco, and Spain. Most recently, he served in the
Administration at MFA. He is a lawyer by training.


8. Comment and Action Request: France continues to
maintain a high degree of preparedness for an eventual
pandemic. It has undertaken any number of crisis
management exercises at the national and local levels and
has stockpiled medicines and personal protective equipment
for use in an emergency. France is a leader in global
vaccine development. France seeks to collaborate more
closely with U.S. authorities, especially in sharing
information about non-pharmaceutical measures and managing
the economy in an emergency. French authorities would
appreciate the opportunity to discuss these questions with
U.S. pandemic planning experts on a bilateral basis. We
think that given the thinking the French experts have given
these questions that the U.S. might also benefit by an
exchange. Accordingly, we wonder whether the U.S. might
propose to the French bilateral consultations. Embassy
would be pleased to convey U.S. interest in such talks to
be held in either Washington or Paris to French health and
emergency planning authorities.



STAPLETON