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.
