France
As Prima Donna
on Iran in
Geneva Presaged
on Africa
& Iraq in
NY
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 9 --
The (re)
emergence of
France and its
foreign
minister
Laurent Fabius
as prima
donna at
P5+1 talks
with Iran in
Geneva has
been a
surprise to
some.
It
shouldn't be.
Of
late among
the P5 in the
UN Security
Council,
France has
been talking
above its
weight.
On
Mali, after it
intervened
before Council
approval in
January 2013,
France
held solo
media
stakeouts,
tightly
controlling
who got to ask
questions and
when.
On
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo,
France took
the initiative
even
from
the other
Western P3 and
handpicked
which media
could go on
the
UN plane
to cover what
was called the
Security
Council's
Great Lakes
trip (or
France's
"Genocide
Joyride" as
others called
it).
On
the Central
African
Republic most
recently,
France deigned
to "share"
the spotlight
with Rwanda -
- most to
shunt off
questions
about the
International
Criminal Court
to that
African Union
member. Inner
City
Press video
(and question)
here.
Further
back,
in December
2010 France
abstained from
the Security
Council's
resolution
ending the
Iraq Oil for
Food program,
entirely to
push the
interests of
Banque
Nationale de
Paris.
So
why should
Fabius'
eleventh hour
grandstanding
come as a
surprise?
Back in
September
2013, after
France tried
to take
leadership of
the
Syria
expatriate
opposition by
sponsored
Ahmed al Jarba
as the "sole
representative
of the Syria
people," Inner
City Press asked
Fabius how
this alchemy
could be
performed in
the UN without
a vote
of the
credentials
committee.
Fabius
responded with
bluster;
moments later
he told a
reporter from
Al
Mayadeen that
he was not a
real
journalist,
and turned as
usual to
French state
media. It's to
that and
another
audience that
Fabius'
prima donna
routine is
directed.
Watch this
site.
, 
