FRANCE: SARKOZY'S JANUARY COLLOQUIUM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 002182


SIPDIS

WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC AND NEC: DPRICE; TBRADLEY AND KKVIEN
STATE FOR: E; EUR/FO; EEB/FO AND OBAMA TRANSITION STAFF
TREASURY FOR U/S MCCORMICK AND LNORTON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2018
TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV PREL WTO EU FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE: SARKOZY'S JANUARY COLLOQUIUM

REF: PARIS POINTS (11/06/08)

Classified by Econ M/C Seth Winnick, reasons 1.4 (b),(d) and (e)


1. (C) Summary: Eric Besson, the Junior Minister organizing the
recently announced January 8-9 Paris Conference (now titled "New
World: New Capitalism; Values, Development and Regulation"),dropped
by a scheduled Embassy meeting with his staff December 2 to underline
that this conference is "not a summit and separate from, but related
to" the G-20 process. Besson noted that the G-20 forum is for
"taking decisions" and that the upcoming conference will provide
"ideas." He noted however that the event will be hosted by President
Sarkozy and former Prime Minister Blair and will include a dinner
with French PM Fillon and a lunch with FM Kouchner. Besson said that
a large number of political leaders, including Chancellor Merkel,
plan to attend the event and that the French government would warmly
welcome and seeks participation by a "representative" of the new U.S.
Administration in the planned conference. In a separate meeting,
Elysee Advisor Olivier Colom told EMIN and EconCouns that the meeting
was largely conceived by the ex-Socialist Besson as a means of
enlisting Tony Blair to tout Besson's version of French "new left"
politics. End summary.


2. (C) On the timing of the conference, Besson explained that
although announced by the Elysee following President Sarkozy's return
from the G-20 Summit, and initially referred to in an Elysee
announcement as a summit, it should not be seen by Washington "as a
trap." Besson stated the planned January conference is a
continuation of a dialogue between "leaders and thinkers" launched
earlier this year at the Sorbonne, where former UK Prime Minister
Blair gave the keynote address. Besson, who comes from the moderate
left of French politics, said he helped bring Sarkozy and Blair
together, following a discussion Besson had with Blair last year on
the need for greater input from "progressives" on key global
challenges. Sarkozy later invited Blair to come to Paris to speak on
"change" to his UMP political party. Besson indicated he was tapped
to organize the January conference because of his role in the French
government responsible for "the new economy." Besson stated the
early January 2009 dates for the conference, following the end of the
French EU Presidency, were the "only dates possible" for Blair and
Sarkozy.


3. (C) Besson and Frederic Lassagne, a member of his Cabinet,
informed us that the one-and-a-half day event will likely be attended
by EU Commission President Barrosso, EU Commissioner Nellie Kroes,
German Chancellor Merkel, Liberian President Johnson-Sirleaf, as well
as by Finance Ministers from Indonesia, Singapore, and Ukraine, and
possibly IMF Managing Director Strauss-Kahn and WTO Head Lamy.
Besson noted that Blair has spoken to UK PM Brown about the
conference, who reportedly responded he would either attend or send
two of "his best and brightest" Ministers. Outside of government,
individuals such as Joseph Stiglitz, Francis Fukuyama, Armatya Sen,
Edmund Phelps, Howard Davis and Jean-Paul Fitousi will also attend.
(Lassagne noted "the list keeps growing as we are getting contacted
every day about the event.")


4. (SBU) The conference, which will take place at the Ecole Militaire
in Paris, will consist of three working sessions, each with a
roundtable (3-4 person) format. Each session will last around two
and half hours and will be chaired by a senior official (Blair will
preside over at least one of the round tables.) President Sarkozy
will be present at both the opening and closing of the conference.
To facilitate interaction between the panelists and the conference
participants (450 total, including approximately 100 students from
Science Po and the London School of Economics),each panel will
tentatively have a moderator provided by the Financial Times.
According to Lassagne, the first roundtable will address the issue
"Values and Capitalism: Can one/Must one make it more ethical?" The
second panel will discuss the topic "Have we overestimated the
benefits of Capitalism?" The final round table will discuss "How far
can we regulate Capitalism?" State Secretary Besson commented that
these themes are designed to "spark debate" and while this event
between "leaders and thinkers" is not part of the G-20 process, and
its origins predate the global economic crisis, the crisis has given
added impetus and importance to the conference.


5. (C) In a December 2 meeting Elysee Multilateral Affairs Advisor
Olivier Colom gave us a version of the genesis of the conference that
largely tracks with Besson's. Colom said the former Socialist Party
Economic Affairs Director Besson had a "fascination" for Blair, and
hoped the latter could inspire change in the French left. The Elysee
had given Besson some line on the conference idea, as much for
domestic political calculations and President Sarkozy's continued

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cooption of the left, as for any international objectives. But the
project had turned into a PR "nightmare" when the political side of
the Elysee had issued a press release touting the get-together as a
"Summit." Colom insisted the idea was not related to the G-20, and
in no way implied that France was unhappy with the Washington G20
Summit outcome. He did say, though, that "European political
leaders" would participate and that, as word has spread, leaders from
emerging economies were expressing interest in joining.


6. (C) Comment: Besson's "drop-by" of what was a working-level
discussion clearly was designed to convey a message that the French
government is aware of potential U.S. concerns and wants to reassure
Washington. His description fits the mold of conferences long on
"deep think" and short on concrete results that are popular here.
The convergence of Besson's and Colom's accounts lends credence to
the notion that this event was as much about domestic politics as
international policy. Still, the timing of the conference for
January, when President Sarkozy will have just relinquished the EU
Presidency, almost certainly was designed to signal his intention to
continue shaping the agenda on financial crisis issues. And while
the event may have taken on a life beyond what Elysee handlers had
initially intended, Sarkozy will be only too happy to use the stage
to continue his rhetorical broadsides on taming markets and
"refounding" capitalism. It will be important to remember, though,
that a good bit of this will be for domestic consumption.

Stapleton