FRENCH EMBASSY HINTS THAT SARKOZY HAS STUMBLED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 001696

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2028
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ETRD KOLY FR CH
SUBJECT: FRENCH EMBASSY HINTS THAT SARKOZY HAS STUMBLED
INTO HELPFUL ROLE ON TIBET

REF: A. BEIJING 1570

B. BEIJING 1396

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Daniel Piccuta. Reasons 1.4 (B
/D).


1. (C) Summary: French Ambassador Herve Ladsous told the
Charge April 29 that the recent turbulence in Sino-French
relations stemmed not from the protests during the Paris leg
of the Olympic Touch Run, but from French President Sarkozy's
linkage of his participation in the Olympics Opening Ceremony
to the Tibet issue. According to French Embassy officials,
Sarkozy, despite conflicting statements on Olympics
attendance, has been using the uncertainty of EU leaders'
participation at the Olympics as an opportunity to urge the
Chinese to engage n constructive dialogue with the Dalai
Lama. China has urged that France "de-link" the Olympics and
Tibet. End Summary.

Linking Tibet to the Olympics
--------------


2. (C) Chinese public outrage over protests at the Paris leg
of the Olympic Torch Run (ref A) is not the real reason for
the recent downturn in Sino-French relations, French
Ambassador Herve Ladsous told the Charge April 29. (The
Chinese Government complimented the French Government on its
handling of security at the Torch Run immediately after its
conclusion, according to French DCM Nicolas Chapuis.)
Ambassador Ladsous said French President Sarkozy's public
linking of participation in the Olympic opening ceremony with
China's opening a dialogue with the Dalai Lama was what led
the Chinese Government to criticize the French Government.
French DCM Chapuis said separately on April 29 that Chinese
official responses to Sarkozy's remarks were "hysterical and
apoplectic." The popular outcry over the protests during the
Paris Torch Run, including subsequent anti-French
demonstrations in China and calls for boycotts of French
companies, was orchestrated by the Chinese Government as a
response to Sarkozy's remark
s, Chapuis said, not because of the torch run problems.

Sarkozy's Problems Date Earlier
--------------


3. (C) Ladsous said problems actually began earlier when
Sarkozy first accepted Chinese President Hu Jintao's
invitation to attend the Olympics. Sarkozy not only promised
to attend himself, but also to bring the other members of the
European Union's Troika (leadership),since France will hold
the EU rotating 6-month presidency starting in July. This
acceptance incensed several European nations, such as the
Czech Republic, who felt that Sarkozy overstepped his bounds.
British Ambassador William Ehrman said April 29 that EU
President Jose Manuel Barroso was particularly angered by
Sarkozy's commitment. Sarkozy then later angered China with
"conditions" or "elements for participation" in the Opening
Ceremony (ref B). French DCM Chapuis said China is still
angry that Sarkozy backtracked on his previous commitment to
attend. Moreover, Sarkozy recently announced that the
question of whether the entire EU delegation will attend will
be discussed at the July Council of Europe meeting. Ladsous
recognized that f
or much of the summer, Sarkozy's attendance may remain
uncertain, which will affect France's relations with China.

Calculated Plan?
--------------


4. (C) Putting the best possible face on Sarkozy's
statements, Chapuis said that Sarkozy's apparent missteps
with China appear to have contributed to efforts to prod the
Chinese Government into direct negotiations with the Dalai
Lama. Chapuis said that Sarkozy's (and the EU's) current
lack of a firm commitment to participate has given France the
opportunity to insist on meaningful results from recently
announced talks between Chinese officials and the Dalai
Lama's representatives. According to Chapuis, the first
meeting (currently scheduled for May 3) will discuss an
agenda for future talks, the first session of which must take
place before the Olympics and produce "real negotiation" if
Sarkozy is to attend the Games.

Chinese Counterattack
--------------


5. (C) Chinese senior officials have aggressively pressed
France to "de-link" the Olympics from Tibet, Ladsous said.
Chief of the Communist Party International Relations
Department Wang Jiarui was "brutal" with the French on the
need to de-link Tibet and the Olympics. Noting that China

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feels "injured and betrayed," Wang reportedly told Ladsous
that China "would have expected this from the Americans, but
not from our French friends." Now, however, Chinese
officials have begun to express pleasure that France has
indeed begun "de-linking." For example, visiting former
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin did not connect
the Olympics to Tibet, nor did he allude to Sarkozy's doing
so during his recent visit to China.

French-Tibetan Contacts
--------------


6. (C) French officials have been in direct contact with
Dalai Lama representative in Washington Lodi Gyari, and have
been advising him on the talks, DCM Chapuis claimed. He
claimed that Lodi Gyari is unhappy with how negotiations with
China have unfolded supposedly because he feels expectations
for action have now shifted from China to the Dalai Lama.
PICCUTA