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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Philippe Coste

Aired July 12, 2003 - 09:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take a closer look now at President Bush's State of the Union faux pas about Iraq's nuclear intentions. How is this is playing out in one of the major countries that opposed the war?
Joining us for the French perspective is Philippe Coste, the U.S. correspondent for "Express" magazine.

And Mr. Coste, if I can just ask, start off by asking, what are the French saying about this revelation that the president used erroneous or false information in his State of the Union address?

PHILIPPE COSTE, U.S. CORRESPONDENT, "L'EXPRESS" MAGAZINE: Well, for now, I think the French government hasn't really made real statements about this question. At the time, there is some sense of vindication, that, sure, but the French government has stayed very discreet about that. It's not the time, I think, to poke the eye of the American presidency or to try to humiliate the American presidency.

The time is more for mending some fences between the French and the United States, and that's basically the strategy of the French government now, not pour oil on this smoldering fire of the Iraq matter.

VAUSE: Well, you talk about the relationship between France and the United States, and there was an interview this week by the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, basically stating that the relationship is as good as ever. Is that true? Is that what the French are saying?

COSTE: Well, that's what the government would like to tell the French people. In a way, I think the French government wanted to downplay a little bit the consequences of its, let's say, diplomatic stubbornness at the U.N. But the reality is that at a daily level, I think the relations are quite strained, for obvious reasons.

For quite a while, it was very easy for anybody in America to go on TV, on any talk show, on any information or news channel, and say anything they wanted about the French. And most of the time, it was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- those were insults or untrue statements about the French.

And it's true that it has gone down to the popular culture, and, well, student exchanges were canceled in America, people were expelled from restaurants just for being French.

It's been -- I don't think that it has ever been so strained since 1966, when the French got out of the NATO Integrated Command.

VAUSE: Just, just getting back to the revelations that no weapons of mass destruction have been found, the evidence in the State of the Union speech was not there. Surely there has to be some in France, if not officially from the government, but maybe just a reaction by the French people, as in, you know, Told you so, we knew this would happen.

COSTE: Yes, of course, variously suspect. But I think, really, now, after months of tension, months of anger on both sides, I think most people now want to fight -- they are more preoccupied, I think, by the consequences of the occupation, the current level of losses by the American army. It's never good for any Western country.

Iraq is a mess. Iraq is a much more complicated place than any American official expected. And I think it's the core of the preoccupation of the French is that, how do we solve together now this problem in the Middle East?

VAUSE: But you say, how do we solve this together? But also in that same interview by the French foreign minister, he said if he was in fact asked by the United States to supply troops for any kind of peacekeeping mission in Iraq, that France wants a very narrowly defined U.N. mandate on all of this, and will not go under any American authority here.

So you say they want to repair it, they were -- they're concerned about Iraq. But on the other hand, they're not prepared to send troops.

COSTE: Well, they are human. I mean, for quite a while, the American government has downplayed the role of the U.N., dismissed the U.N., and I don't see why the French government would now give credence or give credibility to this -- to the war it was against in the first place, by putting troops on the side of the Americans, if it's not sanctioned and condoned by a United Nations mandate.

It's, I think it's, it's a question of principles. It doesn't prevent the French from helping the Americans on many, many other fronts, just like Afghanistan, Africa, terror -- antiterror war in Europe. They lend military bases, they lend intelligence, cooperation behind the scenes is working, has been working with the -- very well with the Americans for quite a while.

VAUSE: OK, Philippe Coste from "Express" magazine, thank you for joining us on CNN this morning.

COSTE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 12, 2003 - 09:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Want to take a closer look now at President Bush's State of the Union faux pas about Iraq's nuclear intentions. How is this is playing out in one of the major countries that opposed the war?
Joining us for the French perspective is Philippe Coste, the U.S. correspondent for "Express" magazine.

And Mr. Coste, if I can just ask, start off by asking, what are the French saying about this revelation that the president used erroneous or false information in his State of the Union address?

PHILIPPE COSTE, U.S. CORRESPONDENT, "L'EXPRESS" MAGAZINE: Well, for now, I think the French government hasn't really made real statements about this question. At the time, there is some sense of vindication, that, sure, but the French government has stayed very discreet about that. It's not the time, I think, to poke the eye of the American presidency or to try to humiliate the American presidency.

The time is more for mending some fences between the French and the United States, and that's basically the strategy of the French government now, not pour oil on this smoldering fire of the Iraq matter.

VAUSE: Well, you talk about the relationship between France and the United States, and there was an interview this week by the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, basically stating that the relationship is as good as ever. Is that true? Is that what the French are saying?

COSTE: Well, that's what the government would like to tell the French people. In a way, I think the French government wanted to downplay a little bit the consequences of its, let's say, diplomatic stubbornness at the U.N. But the reality is that at a daily level, I think the relations are quite strained, for obvious reasons.

For quite a while, it was very easy for anybody in America to go on TV, on any talk show, on any information or news channel, and say anything they wanted about the French. And most of the time, it was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- those were insults or untrue statements about the French.

And it's true that it has gone down to the popular culture, and, well, student exchanges were canceled in America, people were expelled from restaurants just for being French.

It's been -- I don't think that it has ever been so strained since 1966, when the French got out of the NATO Integrated Command.

VAUSE: Just, just getting back to the revelations that no weapons of mass destruction have been found, the evidence in the State of the Union speech was not there. Surely there has to be some in France, if not officially from the government, but maybe just a reaction by the French people, as in, you know, Told you so, we knew this would happen.

COSTE: Yes, of course, variously suspect. But I think, really, now, after months of tension, months of anger on both sides, I think most people now want to fight -- they are more preoccupied, I think, by the consequences of the occupation, the current level of losses by the American army. It's never good for any Western country.

Iraq is a mess. Iraq is a much more complicated place than any American official expected. And I think it's the core of the preoccupation of the French is that, how do we solve together now this problem in the Middle East?

VAUSE: But you say, how do we solve this together? But also in that same interview by the French foreign minister, he said if he was in fact asked by the United States to supply troops for any kind of peacekeeping mission in Iraq, that France wants a very narrowly defined U.N. mandate on all of this, and will not go under any American authority here.

So you say they want to repair it, they were -- they're concerned about Iraq. But on the other hand, they're not prepared to send troops.

COSTE: Well, they are human. I mean, for quite a while, the American government has downplayed the role of the U.N., dismissed the U.N., and I don't see why the French government would now give credence or give credibility to this -- to the war it was against in the first place, by putting troops on the side of the Americans, if it's not sanctioned and condoned by a United Nations mandate.

It's, I think it's, it's a question of principles. It doesn't prevent the French from helping the Americans on many, many other fronts, just like Afghanistan, Africa, terror -- antiterror war in Europe. They lend military bases, they lend intelligence, cooperation behind the scenes is working, has been working with the -- very well with the Americans for quite a while.

VAUSE: OK, Philippe Coste from "Express" magazine, thank you for joining us on CNN this morning.

COSTE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com