TERRORISM

"We rededicate ourselves ... and we invite others to associate with our efforts in order to thwart the activities of terrorists and their supporters, including fund-raising, the planning of terrorist acts, procurement of weapons, calling for violence, and incitement to commit terrorist acts."

Grade: +1

Terrorism has been an issue of increasing relevance for France in the wake of two events in 1996. First, The terrorist bombing at an American military base in Saudi Arabia on the eve of the Lyon Summit forced the G7 to put aside the agenda previously planned by the French Government for the opening night dinner to discuss the subject of terrorism. This would become the prevailing subject at Lyon. Secondly, in the days and months following the Summit, France itself suffered a number of serious terrorist attacks of its own, including one subway bombing during rush hour on 3 December 1996 that killed four citizens.

France has developed a 'tough' approach in its war against terrorism. France took seriously its role as host to the 30 July 1996 Paris Conference on Terrorism, an initiative proposed at the Lyon Summit. At this time, Foreign Ministers and Ministers responsible for security developed twenty-five concrete and practical measures to further the fight against terrorism. The twenty-five measures addressed such problems as the creation of false travel documents, financing of terrorist organizations, and the continued development of extradition treaties. At this time, a directory of skills, competencies and expertise currently existing within the P8 countries was compiled. According the Herve de Charette, the July Ministerial also represented an opportunity for the P8 members to send a clear signal to the international community and to the citizens of both P8 and other countries, their "strong determination to fight shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand against terrorism.". Finally, Ministers called for further work by the experts on the subjects of public transport security and bombings, to be reported on in November 1996.

Since the July Ministerial, France has worked in cooperation with several European countries to combat terrorism. At France's request, German officials arrested an Iranian national residing in Bonn who was wanted in connection with the assassination of Reza Mazlouman, a member of the Shah's government. He was extradited to France in October 1996. The French government, with the assistance of Spanish authorities, arrested more than three dozen members and supporters of the separatist Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) group, including Daniel Derguy, believed to be ETA's chief French operative. French and Spanish police worked together to arrest Maria Nagore Mugica, one of Spain's most wanted criminals. Further, France's anti-terrorist judge Jean-Louis Brugueire traveled to Libya in July 1996 to interview secret service officials regarding the 1989 bombing of WTA Flight 772 over Niger. M. Herve de Charette, as 1996 G7 host, met with the non-aligned countries in New York in September and encouraged them to encompass the 30 July recommendations into their individual government policies.

It is clear from both France's independent and cooperative efforts that Paris is making a solid effort to fulfill its Lyon promises. It receives a +1 on terrorism.