

Currently released so far... 6239 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Amsterdam
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Browse by tag
ASEC
AU
AORC
AF
AM
AFIN
AEMR
AR
ASIG
AMGT
AG
APER
AL
ABLD
ASUP
AA
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AE
AMED
AS
AGMT
APECO
AO
AFFAIRS
AJ
ACOA
AX
AROC
ATFN
ASEAN
AFGHANISTAN
ADCO
AFU
AER
ALOW
AODE
ABUD
ATRN
AID
AC
AVERY
APCS
CASC
CJAN
CVIS
CS
COUNTER
CD
CU
CI
CO
CG
CE
CA
CMGT
CH
CWC
CBW
CKGR
CR
CN
CPAS
CONS
CDG
CLINTON
CT
CJUS
CY
CV
COUNTERTERRORISM
CIA
CACM
CDB
CAN
COE
CM
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CACS
CF
CONDOLEEZZA
CARSON
CL
CIS
CODEL
CTM
CB
COM
ECON
EFIN
ETRD
EAIR
EAID
ET
EFIS
ENRG
EPET
ETTC
ER
EG
EINV
EAGR
ELAB
EUN
EWWT
ENGR
EMIN
ECIN
ENIV
ES
EC
ECPS
EIND
EI
EU
ENVI
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ELTN
EZ
EINT
ELN
EUR
EUNCH
EN
EINVECONSENVCSJA
ELECTIONS
EINVEFIN
ENNP
ECUN
EXTERNAL
EK
EFINECONCS
ECINECONCS
ECIP
EINDETRD
EUC
EREL
ENVR
ECA
ENERG
ENGY
ETRO
EFTA
ECONCS
ECONOMICS
ECONEFIN
EINVETC
EINN
ESA
ETC
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ESENV
ETRDECONWTOCS
IR
IZ
IWC
IC
ILC
IO
IAEA
IN
IS
IT
ICRC
INTELSAT
ILO
IBRD
IMF
ICAO
IMO
ITALY
ITALIAN
IRAQI
ITRA
ISRAELI
ICJ
IACI
INTERPOL
ID
IV
ICTY
IQ
IPR
INRB
ITPHUM
IIP
IL
IA
INR
ITPGOV
IZPREL
IRC
INRA
INRO
IRAJ
IEFIN
IF
KE
KCRM
KDRG
KIPR
KCOR
KSCA
KBIO
KDEM
KMCA
KMPI
KNNP
KJUS
KOMC
KGHG
KSUM
KSTC
KIRF
KTIP
KWMN
KZ
KG
KTFN
KHLS
KPAO
KFRD
KTIA
KOLY
KCFE
KISL
KFLU
KPKO
KWBG
KTBT
KTDB
KOCI
KUNR
KAWK
KICC
KPAL
KSTH
KN
KS
KGIC
KNPP
KWAC
KMDR
KAWC
KBCT
KIDE
KFLO
KWMNCS
KSEP
KU
KNEI
KVPR
KACT
KRAD
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KCIP
KSAF
KV
KSPR
KPRP
KFSC
KCRS
KR
KRFD
KX
KO
KPWR
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KFIN
KGCC
KPIN
KHIV
KPLS
KIRC
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KGIT
KBTS
KPRV
KBTR
KERG
KWMM
KRVC
KNSD
KVIR
KNUP
KTER
KDDG
KHSA
KMRS
KHDP
KTLA
KPAK
KNAR
KREL
KPAI
KTEX
KCOM
KNNPMNUC
KPOA
KLIG
KHUM
KDEV
KNUC
KCFC
KREC
KOMS
KWWMN
MASS
MP
MARR
MOPS
MNUC
MX
MO
MCAP
MY
ML
MU
MIL
MC
MTRE
MA
MD
MTCRE
MEPI
MAR
MRCRE
MR
MV
MPOS
MZ
MEPP
MOPPS
MAPP
MASC
MT
MERCOSUR
MK
MDC
MI
MAPS
MCC
MASSMNUC
MQADHAFI
MUCN
MTCR
MG
OVIP
OREP
OTRA
OSCE
OECD
OIIP
OEXC
OPCW
OPIC
OPDC
OPRC
ODIP
OVP
OSCI
OAS
OFDP
OTR
OSAC
OIC
OFFICIALS
OIE
PREL
PGOV
PHUM
PTER
PE
PINR
PINS
PARMS
PARM
PHSA
PA
PK
PBTS
PO
PREF
POL
PLN
POLITICS
PROP
PL
PM
PAO
PSI
PG
PEPR
POV
PALESTINIAN
PINT
PSOE
PU
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PBIO
PECON
PAK
POGOV
PINL
PKFK
PMIL
PY
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PRAM
PMAR
PGOVLO
PUNE
PORG
PHUMPREL
PF
POLINT
PHUS
PGOC
PNR
PGGV
PNAT
PGOVE
PRGOV
PRL
PROV
PTERE
PGOF
PHUMBA
PINF
PEL
SNAR
SO
SENV
SU
SCUL
SOCI
SP
SC
SA
SMIG
SAN
SZ
SW
SN
SY
SR
SL
SEVN
SF
SYR
SI
SG
STEINBERG
SIPRS
SH
SNARCS
SOFA
SANC
SHUM
SK
ST
TERRORISM
TRGY
TZ
TX
TBIO
TSPA
TS
TSPL
TW
TU
TD
TIP
TURKEY
TP
TI
TC
TPHY
TH
TO
TK
TNGD
TINT
TRSY
TR
TFIN
TT
UG
UK
UP
UNGA
UNHRC
UZ
UN
UNAUS
USTR
UNSC
US
UNEP
UY
UNESCO
USUN
UNHCR
UAE
UNMIK
USEU
UV
UNO
UNDP
UNCHS
UNVIE
UNCHC
UE
UNDESCO
USAID
UNDC
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 06PARIS3152, LAURENT FABIUS ON EUROPE AND THE SOCIALIST PARTY'S
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06PARIS3152.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
06PARIS3152 | 2006-05-12 12:12 | 2011-02-10 08:08 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Paris |
Appears in these articles: http://abonnes.lemonde.fr/documents-wikileaks/article/2011/02/09/wikileaks-les-visiteurs-de-l-ambassade_1477418_1446239.htm |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 003152
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2016
TAGS: PGOV FR PINR EUN
SUBJECT: LAURENT FABIUS ON EUROPE AND THE SOCIALIST PARTY'S
ELECTION CHANCES
Classified By: Acting DCM Josiah Rosenblatt for reasons 1.4 (B & D).
(C) 1. Summary and comment: Former prime minister,
Socialist Party heavyweight, current presidential candidate,
and the EU constitutional treaty's most prominent French
opponent Laurent Fabius used a May 11 meeting with several
local embassy reps to call for more Europe as the solution to
the failed referendum on the EU constitutional treaty and a
key to the Socialist Party's 2007 presidential election
chances, while offering little in the way of new ideas on how
to achieve that. He judged that the Clearstream scandal
currently rocking the French government, as well as memories
of the 2002 elections when many leftist voters had opted for
the radical fringe over the PS mainstream, had increased the
likelihood of a PS victory in the 2007 presidential
elections. Ironically, his indirect disparagements of
current polling leader Segolene Royal unintentionally only
underscored his own lack of appeal and inability to create a
sense of promise and dynamism. In sum, Fabius himself did
not appear truly to believe in his own presidential
prospects, and said as much by conceding he was willing to
serve in any PS government. End summary and comment.
¶2. (U) Former prime minister, Socialist Party (PS)
heavyweight and would-be PS presidential candidate Laurent
Fabius met May 11 with Embassy reps from the U.S., UK,
Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Canada and Russia to discuss
his perspectives on the political challenges facing France
domestically and vis-a-vis Europe in the run-up to the 2007
presidential elections.
Left's election chances improving
---------------------------------
¶3. (SBU) Commenting on the Clearstream affair involving
alleged kick-backs for frigate sales used for political
skullduggery which has rocked the government of Prime
Minister de Villepin and even President Chirac, Fabius said
that any normal democratic government would have resigned or
been forced out by now. Fabius showed no hesitation in
lumping the main victim, interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy,
together with alleged plot-hatchers Villepin and Chirac,
calling the scandal an industrial affair that turned into a
political manipulation, and was now part of a
counter-manipulation. He had no insights into why his own
name had made its way onto the list, nor did he appear
concerned by it.
¶4. (SBU) Fabius acknowledged that the scandal would improve
the left's chances in the 2007 elections, unless it fails
itself. He judged that the chances of splintering were
greater on the right than on the left, adding that the
experience of 2002 (when far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen made it
to the second round instead of Lionel Jospin) had chastened
voters against the ineffectiveness of supporting the small,
radical parties. He expressed the hope that the elections
would present voters with an authentic debate over competing
visions, and assumed that Nicolas Sarkozy would be the
candidate of the center-right UMP governing party. Fabius
saw himself as the candidate best positioned to represent the
united left.
I love Europe
-------------
¶5. (SBU) To the surprise of all, given Fabius' role as the
first and weightiest PS opponent of the EU constitutional
treaty, Fabius then focused on the European Union. He
asserted that he had voted against the treaty precisely
because he was so pro-European. Claiming that other
countries would also have rejected the treaty had it been
subjected to referendum, he asserted that voters no longer
associated the EU with "protection and progress," and cited
the usual litany of concerns about enlargement, illisibility,
the crisis of representation, low economic growth, the
inflexibility of eurozone monetary and budgetary policy.
French rejection of the treaty, he said, only reflected a
pre-existing crisis, it was not the cause of the current
crisis.
¶6. (SBU) Asked what he would propose to put the EU back on
track, Fabius' response was equally formulaic. The EU needed
an energy policy, a commercial policy, more equal competition
and better social programs, but he offered no specifics.
France needed to participate more freely in internal debates
and not lord it over others, in particular the small member
states. Franco-German cooperation would remain essential,
and Fabius called for facilitating reinforced cooperation
among smaller groups within the EU. He rejected Sarkozy's
idea of closer coordination among the larger member states,
but rehearsed familiar French calls for more resources
devoted to technology, research, and energy. He also
conceded that the Common Agricultural Program (CAP) swallowed
up too much of the EU budget.
¶7. (SBU) Fabius said that Europe needed to be able to stand
on its alone alongside the U.S. and China. To that end,
Europe needed to define its limits, and offer the Balkans
states, Ukraine and Turkey enhanced partnerships in lieu of
membership. He lashed out against the UK (and implicitly
against NATO), saying that it still viewed European defense
as creating tools on paper rather than using them in
practice. On institutional issues, he said that European
parliamentary elections of 2009 would be the key to pushing
through a new treaty, added that France would need to hold a
new referendum to reverse the one of last year. He concluded
that the PS should make Europe a central element of its
election campaign, by showing how it affects citizens' daily
lives and economic growth.
¶8. (SBU) Questioned where the EU would find the economic
growth and budget resources to carry out the policies he was
advocating, Fabius hedged and responded with familiar
platitudes. France was capable of reform, but it needed
stability in order to take risks and avoid "precarity."
Other parts of the solution resided in changing the tax
brackets, industrial policies, and unspecified
"extra-budgetary" means. He noted caustically that debt in
France, as well as in the U.S., had increased dramatically
under so-called conservative governments. Responding to a
question about why he was now more closely aligned with the
far left than the pragmatic center, Fabius said that
Mitterrand too had moved steadily leftward also while in
office. He described himself as a "pragmatic" who had
learned from past experience.
The presidential stakes
-----------------------
¶9. (SBU) Asked about the PS selection process for its
presidential candidate, Fabius offered himself indirectly as
the alternative to poll-leader Segolene Royal. He asserted
that all the party heavyweights except her were in favor of a
series of debates, adding that the PS was a party of ideas,
not personalities. While Royal was talented, he had doubts
that she could appeal to the party's left wing. He equated
her centrism with a sort of "prestidigitation" that might not
hold up under more sustained scrutiny, suggesting that her
current crest in media popularity would inevitably take a
tumble. Asked however about voters' desire to vote for
candidates who offer hope and change, Fabius responded by
abhorring gimmicks and noting his extensive governmental
experience.
¶10. (SBU) Fabius, echoing Mitterrand, identified himself as
the person who could best unify the left, and predicted that
the left would win as long as it stayed united. It would
also be necessary to develop broader "social momentum" and a
sense of inevitability, rather than focusing on interest
groups and calculating the PS message accordingly, since --
again quoting Mitterrand -- in politics 2 plus 2 equals
either 5 or 3, but never 4. (Comment: This would appear to
be precisely Royal's strategy. End comment.) Asked if his
calls for unity also applied to himself, Fabius recalled the
number of ministerial positions he had held in the past and
said he would be prepared to serve again.
Comment
-------
¶11. (C) Fabius was disappointing, and came across clearly as
a politician of the past, notwithstanding his tanned, relaxed
and still youthful appearance. All those present were struck
by his tired prescriptions for moving France out of its
current malaise and his references to the positions he has
held in the past rather than his plans for the future. It
was odd to hear the EU constitution's most influential
opponent claim it was because he loved Europe too much, and
his call for the PS to make Europe a central element in the
presidential campaign was unconvincing (perhaps signaling a
bad conscience). Fabius appeared to disdain Segolene Royal
for the very dynamism and common touch he recognizes is
necessary but he himself lacks. In sum, he came across as
someone who no longer truly believes what he is saying, or
even in his own candidacy.
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm
Stapleton