Ambassador's meeting with Michel Rocard

Fecha de publicación: 18-dic-2010 1:14:25

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 007360

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2015

TAGS: PREL PGOV FR

SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR`S MEETING WITH MICHEL ROCARD

REF: PARIS 7195

Classified By: Ambassador Craig R. Stapleton for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

. . .

¶2. (C) Rocard, like former president Valery Giscard d`Estaing (reftel), believes that French history provides the keys for understanding French politics and France`s policies. Rocard`s point of departure is France`s emergence as a nation-state. The history of other European nation-states is that of linguistic communities serving their trade needs. France created itself by destroying five cultures -- Breton, Occitan, Alsatian, Corsican, and Flemish. `We are the only European nation which is the military creation of a non-homogeneous State. This makes France difficult to govern to this day. This explains our difficulty in reforming, our slowness,` he said.

http://www.thepressproject.gr/cablegate/details.php?id=207444