By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 9 --
While the
talks on Iran
in Geneva went
past midnight,
ultimately not
even an
interim
agreement was
reached.
Breaking the
news -- and
the talks --
was Laurent Fabius
of France.
But, as at the
UN where he
rejected a
question about
France's
history in
Algeria, Fabius
did not take
questions.
Rather,
the EU's
Catherine
Ashton and Javad
Zarif of Iran
got a few
questions, the
last one from
BBC: are you
disappointed?
Zarif said no,
it was worth
it, they will
reconvene on
November
20-21. But
this will be
at a lower
level.
And what will
happen, for
example in the
US Congress,
in the
interim? At
the UN, will
anyone tell
France, no
more using the
UN for your
African colonial
projects?
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.
, 
