Cable Viewer

Currently released so far... 11244 / 251,287

### Browse latest releases

2010/11 2010/12 2011/01 2011/02 2011/03 2011/04 2011/05
2010/11/28 2010/11/29 2010/11/30
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 2011/03/23 2011/03/24 2011/03/25 2011/03/26 2011/03/27 2011/03/28 2011/03/29 2011/03/30 2011/03/31
2011/04/01 2011/04/02 2011/04/03 2011/04/04 2011/04/05 2011/04/06 2011/04/07 2011/04/08 2011/04/09 2011/04/10 2011/04/11 2011/04/12 2011/04/13 2011/04/14 2011/04/15 2011/04/16 2011/04/17 2011/04/18 2011/04/19 2011/04/20 2011/04/21 2011/04/22 2011/04/23 2011/04/24 2011/04/25 2011/04/26 2011/04/27 2011/04/28 2011/04/29 2011/04/30
2011/05/01 2011/05/02

### Browse by creation date

66 72 73 75 79 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 96 97 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
1966/12
1972/02 1972/08
1973/04
1975/03
1979/08
1985/03 1985/06
1986/05
1987/06
1988/01
1989/12
1990/01 1990/07 1990/08 1990/10
1991/05
1992/01 1992/12
1993/10
1996/11
1997/12
2000/05 2000/06 2000/09 2000/11
2001/02 2001/03 2001/06 2001/07 2001/10 2001/11
2002/01 2002/02 2002/03 2002/04 2002/07 2002/11 2002/12
2003/01 2003/02 2003/03 2003/04 2003/05 2003/06 2003/07 2003/08 2003/09 2003/10 2003/11 2003/12
2004/01 2004/02 2004/03 2004/04 2004/05 2004/06 2004/07 2004/08 2004/09 2004/10 2004/11 2004/12
2005/01 2005/02 2005/03 2005/04 2005/05 2005/06 2005/07 2005/08 2005/09 2005/10 2005/11 2005/12
2006/01 2006/02 2006/03 2006/04 2006/05 2006/06 2006/07 2006/08 2006/09 2006/10 2006/11 2006/12
2007/01 2007/02 2007/03 2007/04 2007/05 2007/06 2007/07 2007/08 2007/09 2007/10 2007/11 2007/12
2008/01 2008/02 2008/03 2008/04 2008/05 2008/06 2008/07 2008/08 2008/09 2008/10 2008/11 2008/12
2009/01 2009/02 2009/03 2009/04 2009/05 2009/06 2009/07 2009/08 2009/09 2009/10 2009/11 2009/12
2010/01 2010/02

### Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Embassy Athens Embassy Asuncion Embassy Astana Embassy Asmara Embassy Ashgabat Embassy Apia Embassy Ankara Embassy Amman Embassy Algiers Embassy Addis Ababa Embassy Accra Embassy Abuja Embassy Abu Dhabi Embassy Abidjan Consulate Auckland Consulate Amsterdam Consulate Adana 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 Belmopan 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 Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe Embassy Dublin Embassy Doha Embassy Djibouti Embassy Dili Embassy Dhaka Embassy Dar Es Salaam Embassy Damascus Embassy Dakar Consulate Dubai
Embassy Freetown
Embassy Guatemala Embassy Gaborone Consulate Guayaquil Consulate Guadalajara
Embassy Helsinki Embassy Harare Embassy Hanoi Consulate Ho Chi Minh City Consulate Hermosillo Consulate Hamilton Consulate Hamburg Consulate Halifax
Iran RPO Dubai Embassy Islamabad Consulate Istanbul
Embassy Jakarta Consulate Jerusalem Consulate Jeddah
Embassy Kyiv Embassy Kuwait Embassy Kuala Lumpur Embassy Kinshasa Embassy Kingston 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 Lahore Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE Mission USNATO Mission UNESCO Embassy Muscat Embassy Moscow Embassy Montevideo Embassy Monrovia Embassy Minsk Embassy Mexico Embassy Mbabane Embassy Maputo Embassy Manila Embassy Manama Embassy Managua Embassy Malabo Embassy Madrid Consulate Munich Consulate Mumbai Consulate Montreal Consulate Monterrey Consulate Milan Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia Embassy New Delhi Embassy Ndjamena Embassy Nassau Embassy Nairobi Consulate Naples
Embassy Ouagadougou Embassy Ottawa Embassy Oslo
Embassy Pristina Embassy Pretoria Embassy Prague Embassy Port Of Spain Embassy Port Louis Embassy Port Au Prince Embassy Phnom Penh Embassy Paris Embassy Paramaribo Embassy Panama Consulate Peshawar
Embassy Quito Consulate Quebec
REO Basrah Embassy Rome Embassy Riyadh Embassy Riga Embassy Reykjavik Embassy Rangoon Embassy Rabat Consulate Rio De Janeiro Consulate Recife
Secretary of State Embassy Suva 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 St Petersburg 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 Toronto Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York USEU Brussels US Office Almaty US Mission Geneva US Interests Section Havana US Delegation, Secretary UNVIE Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius Embassy Vienna Embassy Vatican Embassy Valletta Consulate Vladivostok Consulate Vancouver
Embassy Windhoek Embassy Wellington Embassy Warsaw
Embassy Yerevan Embassy Yaounde
Embassy Zagreb

### Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AF AM AJ ASEC AS AFIN AMGT AU AE AR ABLD AG AY AORC ASIG AEMR APER AMBASSADOR ASEAN AA AL ASUP ABUD AMED AX APECO AID AUC ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG ADANA AFFAIRS AND AN ADCO ARM ATRN AECL AADP ACOA APEC AGRICULTURE ACS ADPM ASCH AMEX ACAO ANET AODE ARF ACBAQ APCS AMG AQ AMCHAMS AORG AGAO ADM AFSI AFSN AINF AIT ASEX AO ATFN AROC AFGHANISTAN AFU AER ALOW AC AZ AVERY AGMT
BA BRUSSELS BR BL BM BEXP BH BTIO BIDEN BO BT BC BU BY BX BG BK BF BBSR BMGT BTIU BE BD BWC BB BP BILAT
CA CW CH CO CONDOLEEZZA CR CASC CSW CVIS CPAS CMGT CS CI CU CJUS CY CDG CE CG CBW COUNTER CN CKGR COUNTERTERRORISM CODEL CWC CJAN CIA CD CLINTON CT CARSON CONS CB CM CFED CLMT CROS CNARC CIDA CBSA CIC CEUDA CHR CITT CAC CACM CVR CDC CAPC COPUOS CBC CBE COM CDB CAN COE COUNTRY CLEARANCE CACS CF CL CIS CTM CV CICTE
DR DEA DA DOMESTIC DHS DAO DCM DEPT DTRA DPRK DEFENSE DE DJ DISENGAGEMENT DOD DEAX DOE DK DS
ENRG EPET ETRD EFIS ECON EK EAID EUN ES EFIN EWWT ECIN EINV ETTC EAGR EC ELAB ECPS EN EG ELTN EAIR EPA ER EI EU EZ ET EIND EINVECONSENVCSJA ECONOMICS EXTERNAL ELN ELECTIONS EMIN EINN EFINECONCS ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS ENIV ECUN EINT ENGR ENNP EUR EAP EEPET ETRDEINVTINTCS ENVI EFTA ETRO ESENV ECINECONCS ENVR ECONOMY ECONOMIC EUMEM EAIDS ETRA ETRN EUREM EFIM EIAR EXIM ERD EAIG ETRC EXBS EINVEFIN ECIP EINDETRD EUC EREL ECA ENERG ENGY ECONCS EINVETC ECONEFIN ESA ETC ETRDECONWTOCS EUNCH
FI FR FREEDOM FTAA FARC FAO FJ FMLN FBI FOR FTA FOREIGN FINANCE FO FISO FDA FAC FOI FM FINR
GG GT GM GV GH GOI GA GTIP GR GZ GE GCC GY GOV GAERC GANGS GL GLOBAL GERARD GF GAZA GTMO
HO HA HK HUMAN HU HR HILLARY HSTC HUMOR HEBRON HI HURI HYMPSK
IWC IR IN IZ ICAO IV IRS IC IS IT IZPREL IRAQI IO IAEA ID ITPHUM ITPGOV ITALIAN IPR INRB IMO ITALY ICRC INTERPOL IQ ICTY INTELSAT IEFIN IA INR IRC IACI ITRA IL ICJ INTERNAL ISRAELI INMARSAT ITU ILC IBRD IMF ILO IDP ITF IBET IGAD IEA IAHRC ICTR IDA INDO IIP INRA INRO IRAJ IF
JP JA JO JOSEPH JOHNNIE JM JUS JAMES
KSCA KNNP KIPR KOLY KS KPAO KMPI KDEM KZ KG KJUS KRVC KICC KTIA KISL KTIP KCRM KWMN KMDR KVPR KV KHLS KU KTFN KIRF KR KPKO KTDB KIRC KGHG KFRD KCOR KE KSUM KPAL KSEP KSTC KGIC KOMC KFLO KAWC KUNR KNPP KIDE KNEI KBIO KPRP KN KWBG KMCA KCIP KTEX KGIT KNSD KCFE KLIG KFLU KBCT KOMS KBTS KACT KCRS KGCC KDRG KWMM KAWK KHIV KSPR KRAD KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KOCI KSTH KPAI KHSA KTLA KO KFSC KVIR KX KFTFN KHDP KPLS KSAF KMFO KRCM KCSY KSAC KPWR KTRD KID KWNM KMRS KICA KRIM KSEO KPOA KCHG KREC KOM KRGY KCMR KSCI KFIN KVRP KPAONZ KCGC KNAR KMOC KWAC KMIG KSEC KIFR KDEMAF KNUC KPIN KPRV KBTR KERG KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNUP KTER KDDG KPAK KREL KCOM KNNPMNUC KRFD KHUM KDEV KCFC KWWMN KTBT KWMNCS KJUST
LE LY LU LTTE LI LO LH LG LAB LA LABOR LOG LT
MNUC MARR MASS MCAP MIL MO MOPS MU MX MEPI MR MDC MPOS MEETINGS MD MTCRE MK MUCN MY MASC MRCRE ML MA MEPP MAR MAPP MP MT MAS MTS MLS MI MERCOSUR MC MV MEDIA MILI MEPN MG MW MIK MTCR MARAD MZ MOPPS MAPS MCC MASSMNUC MQADHAFI MTRE
NZ NL NATO NO NAFTA NDP NIPP NP NS NPT NU NI NATIONAL NPG NGO NG NK NA NSSP NRR NSG NSC NPA NORAD NT NW NEW NH NSF NV NR NE NSFO NC NAR NASA NZUS
OTRA OEXC OIIP OVIP OAS OREP OSCE OPRC ODIP OSAC OPIC OPDC OFDP OIE OECD OPCW OVP OPAD OFDA OIC OSCI OMIG OBSP ON OCS OCII OHUM OTR OFFICIALS
PGOV PARM PREL PHUM PTER PINR PK PREF POL PINS PSOE PAK PBTS PHSA PAO PM PF PNAT PE POLITICS PARMS PBIO PSI POLINT POLITICAL PARTIES PL PA PROP PO PGOVLO PORG PGOVE PLN PINF PRELP PAS PPA PRGOV PUNE PG PALESTINIAN POLICY PROG PDEM PREFA PDOV PCI PRAM PTBS PSA POSTS PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PBT PGIV PHUMPGOV PCUL PSEPC PREO PAHO PMIL PNG PP PS PHUH PEPR PINT PU PECON POGOV PINL PKFK PY PFOR PHALANAGE PARTY PMAR PHUMPREL PHUS PRL PGOC PNR PGGV PROV PTERE PGOF PHUMBA PEL POV
QA
RICE RUPREL RU RS RIGHTS RO RW RSP RP REACTION REPORT RCMP RSO RF RFE RM RIGHTSPOLMIL ROBERT REGION
SENV SCUL SNAR SOCI SW SMIG SP SZ SA SY SENVKGHG SU SF SAN SR SO SHUM SYR SAARC SL SI SNARCS SWE SN SARS SPCE SNARIZ SCRS SC SIPDIS SEN SNARN SPCVIS SYRIA STEINBERG SG SIPRS SH SOFA SANC SK ST SEVN
TPHY TW TC TX TU TI TN TS TT TRGY TO TH TBIO TSPL TIP TP TERRORISM TURKEY TSPA TD TZ TFIN TNGD TINT THPY TBID TF TL TV TAGS TK TR TRSY
UNSC UZ USEU US UN UK UP USTR UNGA UNMIK USUN UNESCO UNHRC UY UNO UG UNDC UAE UNAUS UNDESCO UNHCR UNEP UNCHC UNFICYP UNCHR USNC UNIDROIT UNCSD UNDP UNC UNODC USOAS UNPUOS UNCND USPS UNICEF UV UNCHS UNVIE UE USAID
VZ VT VE VTPREL VM VI VAT VN
WS WTRO WITH WHO WTRQ WBG WI WTO WHA WMD WMO WIPO WHTI WFP WB WWARD WA WEU WZ
XM XV XF XR XA XK XH XL XS XG XW XY XE XT XD XZ XX XTAG XQ XB XU XI XC
YM YI YMCS YE
ZR ZI ZANU ZU ZO ZP ZB ZL ZK ZF ZEALAND ZN ZA ZOELLICK ZJ

### Browse by classification

CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN SECRET SECRET//NOFORN UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

### Community resources

Follow us on Twitter Check our Reddit Twitter this Digg this page Contact us on IRC

courage is contagious

### Viewing cable 09PARIS559, FRANCE'S INTERNET PIRACY LAW: UMP CALLING

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.

To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.
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. #09PARIS559.

Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09PARIS559 | 2009-04-24 10:10 | 2010-12-03 21:09 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Paris

`

    VZCZCXRO8160
    RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
    RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
    DE RUEHFR #0559/01 1141055
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    R 241055Z APR 09
    FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6082
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUCPDOC/DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 000559

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    STATE PASS USTR FOR RBAE

    E.O. 19523: N/A
    TAGS: ECON ETRD FR
    SUBJECT: FRANCE'S INTERNET PIRACY LAW: UMP CALLING
    TOTO

    ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a theater-of-the absurd
    parliamentary maneuver, France's "three-strikes-
    you're-out" law to crack down on internet piracy was
    torpedoed April 9 by the man (or rather 10 Socialist
    MPs) behind the curtain. The government intends to
    bring the law back for a second reading in the
    National Assembly on April 29, and to a formal vote
    on May 12. GOF sources are confident the government
    will control the vote this time around, though admit
    there are some policy differences within the UMP
    majority (primarily over whether those who are
    ultimately cut off from internet service should pay
    for the balance of their internet subscriptions).
    End summary.

    ¶2. (SBU) France's closely-watched graduated response
    law that would deny users access to the Internet after
    three piracy violations was torpedoed by the National
    Assembly on April 9. Olivier Henrard, legal advisor
    to the Minister of Culture and point-person for the
    "Creation and Internet" bill, told us that the
    opposition Socialists had managed to spirit 10 of
    their MPs into a broom closet concealed by a heavy
    curtain in the entranceway to the Chamber. Under
    normal circumstances the majority would have put a
    stop to proceedings had it noticed a cluster of
    oppositions MPs hovering outside the Chamber. But
    with the Socialists out of view, the UMP allowed the
    session's presiding MP, a Socialist, to bring the
    measure to a vote. At which point the MPs rushed from
    their hiding place to cast their "no" votes. (Note:
    It is not uncommon for votes in the National Assembly
    to take place in a near-empty chamber. The final
    "Creation and Internet" law vote was voted down by 21
    Q 15. End note.)

    ¶3. (SBU) Henrard indicated the government will present
    the same text for a second reading on April 29,
    following a parliamentary recess. Current plans call
    for a final vote on May 12. Although Henrard is
    confident in the bill's ultimate passage, he admitted
    there was some disagreement within the majority over a
    stipulation that requires users who have been
    disconnected from the internet for IP violations to
    continue paying their ISP contracts. An amendment has
    been proposed from the National Assembly floor that
    would alter that arrangement.

    ¶4. (SBU) The Socialist opposition, some UMP MPs, and
    consumers groups insist the April 9 defeat was
    indicative of a greater level of discontent over the
    bill than the government cares to admit. UFC-Que
    Choisir, a consumers group linked to the dust-up over
    the 2006 digital copyright law (in which the GOF
    ultimately lost control of proposed legislation in the
    National Assembly), said the MPs had "heard the
    displeasure of consumers." UMP MP Herve Mariton said
    the government "was afraid of its own majority" and
    had tried to pass the bill below the radar (a notion
    rejected by the Culture Ministry's Henrard, who says
    the press regularly turns to the same four or five UMP
    MPs who oppose the bill to generate controversy.)

    U.S. Industry Views
    -------------------

    ¶5. (SBU) U.S. industry continues to watch the bill
    closely. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
    President Robert Pisano told the Charge on March 20
    that the graduated response law is "very important" to
    the fight against online piracy, and to MPAA. The
    Recording Industry of America has expressed similar
    sentiments.

    ¶6. (SBU) The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has
    expressed concern over a proposed amendment to Article
    15 of the 2006 French Digital Copyright Law that has
    been included in the "Creation and Internet" bill.
    That article, which industry has contested since its
    inception, requires firms to provide source code of
    software that includes technical protection measures
    to the French authorities. Originally introduced as
    an amendment from the National Assembly floor, the
    measure was designed to address spyware concerns
    (reportedly in the wake of the 2005 Sony rootkit
    scandal in which Sony had sold CDs in the United
    States with copyright protection measures that
    installed onto users' PCs and enabled remote

    PARIS 00000559 002 OF 003

    monitoring). Article 15 has neither been enforced nor
    the subject of implementing regulations since the
    Copyright Law was passed.

    ¶7. (SBU) BSA says it had hoped the "Creation and
    Internet" law would fully repeal article 15. Instead,
    the draft amendment would have firms turn over source
    code only "at the request of French authorities,"
    rather than automatically, as the law currently
    stipulates. GOF officials, including Henrard,
    advisors to Digital Economy Junior Minister Nathalie
    Kosciusko-Morizet, and the Secretary General of the
    Technical Measures Authority (an independent body
    established to implement aspects of the Copyright law,
    to be replaced by a new body subsequent to passage of
    the "Creation and Internet" law) tell us there is no
    appetite in the GOF for implementing Article 15. But
    outright repeal of a measure passed only two years ago
    by the National Assembly would have opened another
    political front in a legislative climate that was
    proving challenging. And, they say, leaving vague the
    conditions under which a request for source code could
    be initiated allows the GOF to let the provision
    languish.

    Challenges to Implementation
    ----------------------------

    ¶8. (SBU) While most observers expect the "Creation
    and the Internet" bill to be approved this time
    around, there are hurdles ahead. Opposition MPs
    intend to make implementation and enforcement as
    difficult as possible, starting with a likely
    challenge before the Constitutional Court (which rules
    on whether new laws comply with France's
    constitution). They have also taken their case to the
    European Parliament, where debate over the right to
    disconnect users from the internet has been injected
    into discussion of the EU telecoms package. The
    Culture Ministry's Henrard decried Socialists' efforts
    to politicize the telecoms package, and indicated the
    GOF would push back on any EU efforts to preclude the
    GOF from implementing its law. (Note: The telecoms
    package is being shepherded through the EP by
    Socialist group MEP Catherine Trautmann, French
    Culture Minister from 1997 Q 2000 in the Jospin
    government. End note.) Socialist MEP candidates for
    the June EP elections are also trying to make
    political hay by stressing the GOF's "contempt for
    representative democracy" in presenting a bill that is
    essentially identical to one so recently rejected by
    the National Assembly.

    ¶9. (SBU) Then there are the sheer logistical
    challenges of implementing the legislation. Users
    caught downloading illegal content will first receive
    an e-mail warning from the ISP. Following a second
    "strike," users will receive a (computer-generated)
    warning letter in the mail from the soon-to-be-
    established High Authority for the Distribution of
    Works and the Protection of Rights on the Internet
    ("HADOPI" in French). Culture Minister Albanel has
    told the National Assembly Cultural Affairs Committee
    that, under a worst-case scenario, the HADOPI would be
    sending out up to 10,000 letters a day. If the same
    user is caught a third time, his or her Internet
    connection will be suspended for up to one year.

    ¶10. (SBU) Henrard says the independent HADOPI
    authority, whose structure and legal standing will be
    loosely- patterned on France's financial markets
    regulatory authority AMF, will have a 90 million euro
    budget to contact, warn, suspend and deny Internet
    access. It will have the right to obtain and peruse a
    year's worth of personal records from ISPs, order ISPs
    to include new filtering systems in their
    infrastructure and fine them up to 5,000 euros if they
    provide access to "blacklisted" users. But ultimately
    the point of the legislation, Henrard concluded, is to
    sensitize law-abiding citizens to the importance of
    fighting internet piracy through personal
    responsibility (including through such steps as
    locking WiFi connections to keep pirates from
    piggybacking onto ISP accounts).

    ¶11. (SBU) Comment: The opposition handed President
    Sarkozy an embarrassing, if temporary, parliamentary
    defeat with this episode. Majority leader Jean-

    PARIS 00000559 003 OF 003

    Francois Cope and Parliamentary Relations State
    Secretary Roger Karoutchi both reportedly received
    tongue-lashings from the President after the debacle,
    and press reports suggest Karoutchi even offered to
    tender his resignation. With the UMP's commanding
    majority in parliament, and pressure from the
    President (who personally initiated and supported the
    draft law), the GOF should get its bill through on the
    second reading. But although the bill's initial
    failure was mostly a result of party politics and
    clever parliamentary maneuvering, there are strong
    undercurrents of dissent on the policy. The
    legislation was based on a consultative process that
    included rights-holders, Internet companies and public
    authorities. But an alliance of consumers groups and
    open internet advocates has steadily opposed the
    measure. And their argument that the little guys'
    rights are being trampled by big entertainment
    resonates, even in a country as culturally-sensitive
    as France.

    PEKALA

`