JPRS ID: 8950 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: JPRS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00850R000200020052-0
• Release Decision: RIF
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 31
• Document Creation Date: November 1, 2016
• Sequence Number: 52
• Content Type: REPORTS

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F~k c~N~~tc~~.~i, t~~F: oNi.ti
JPRS L/8788 ' -
28 November 1979
West Euro e Re ort
. p p
(FOUO 66/79)
FBIS FOREIGN BR~JADCAST INFORMATION SERVICE
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NOTE
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Unfamiliar names rendered phonetically or transliterated are
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Z'h~ contents of this publication in no way represent the poli-
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JPRS L/8788
28 November 1979
WEST EUROPE REPORT
(FOUO 66/79)
CONTENTS PAGE -
COUNTRY SECTION .
FRANCE
Profiles of Potential Political, Economic, Labor Leaders
(Franz-Olivier Giesbert, et al.; LE NOUVEL
OBSERVATEUR, 1 Oct 79) 1
ASW Equipment Advances Described
(Jean-Yves Cochevelou; ARMEES D'AUJOURD'HUI, Oct 79). 19
ASW Vessel Characteristics Noted
(Michel Herreman; ARMEES D'AUJOURD'HUI, Oct 79) 24
- a - [III - WE - 150 FOUO]
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CUUN`l'[~Y SI:C'PION T'IL~NCF.
PROFILES OF POTENTIAL POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, LABOR LEADERS
Paris LE NOWEL OBSERVATEUR in French 1 Oct 79 pp 60-67; 8 Oct 79 pp 59-65
[Articie by Franz-Olivier Giesbert, with cooperation of: Olivier Binst,
Alain Chouffan, Gerald Doumith, Guy Dumur, Cecile Elie, Jean-Paul Enthoven,
Jean-Francois Josselin, Patrice Lestrohan, Mathieu Lir.3on and Lucien Rioux]
[Excerpts] Cornmunist Party: F*-:iicis Wurts ~
- He is the invisible man except to some leaders of the Comnzlnist Party who _
have to deal with his somewhat newly acquired authority. If almost all of
them are betting on him, it is ~ecause by d~int of his perspicacity, he has
_ been able to find a place alongside Georges Marchais. It is said that there
is something of Kanapa in this young mane Highly introverted and resembling
an Alsatian curate, this statesman onl}r a short time ago, he was sLill a
member of the committee from the Lower Rhine Federation seems to have
jumped right out of a novel by Erckmann-Chatrian.
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Wil I I~e therel c~r~ ~;o d~~wn in the overall history of the Communist Party, as _
so many ~ther ~ormer p~ivate secretaries have done? For the time being. he
conf.ines himseLf to handling Georges 24archais' mail, drafting his speeches.
distributing h;.s sloga:~s er even over~eeing the typesetting ~f the secretary
general's ma~ar speeches for L'HUMANITE. His applied zeal is starting to
pay off. He er.?erged from the shadow5, coming out of the European elections
as a member of the 5trasbourg Parliament. But he will probably go even
higher, occup,~ing each succ~ssive post as a stepping stone to the next. The
last to have done so, after Marcel Servin or Georges Cogniot, is Charles
Fiterman, currentl~ th~ I~o 2 man in the party.
Politics: GiGele Moreau _
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Gisele Moreau
No woman since Mrs Thorea (Jeannette ~lermersch) ~i~as succeeded in making a
veritable breakthrough in the party. But Gisele Moreau, deputy from Paris, _
- has everythir.g in her favor. If Georges Marchais brought her up to the
Political BurPau (BP) at the last congress, it was because he was aware of
her scrupuloua, almost anxi.ous, conscience of a former (model) bank employee.
He was also able to gauge her ~ragmatism only recsntly: Long a close ally
_ of the liberal wing of the ~arty, the latest BP recruit did not hesitate,
at the beginning of the year, to join with the "orthodox" members in partici-
pating in the regaining of control over and subsequent normalization of the
Paris fede.ration.
With Giseie Moreau, one escapes the party drivel that is the trade:nark of
the f~male a~paratchiks. One listens to her when she grows excited talk.ing
- about her heroin~, Jeanne d:Arc, or about evictions from hovels. A rare
= phenoinenon in the political clas~, her voice sounds sincere, but it is
- naturally a cont-rolled sincerit,y. The deputy from Paris has been a commun-
ist for a Zong time, since she was a small child, to be exact. When the
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family sat down to eat, her father, a communist sympathizer, and her mother,
of the "socialist" stripe, often ha.d heated discussions and Gisele was always
on her father's side. "I have been working in ~.:he party for 20 years," she
~ writes, "and I have not been disappointed. It is amazing."
Socialist Party: Daniel Percheron
He name may be unknown to you but he is one of the three or four most power-
- ful men in the Socialist Party. Why? Because he heads the Pas-de-Calais
Federation, one of the most important ones in France and certainly the most
solid of all. With his deceiving resemblance to Candide, Daniel Percheron -
has been able to transform the old Mollet fief into what the Place du Colonel-
iabien experts call "thP only Socialist Party machine." His federa~ion has _
11 permanent representatives, a printing press and a training center and
it sends nine deputies to the National Assembly. "When one cohabits with ~
the Communist Party, one has to be a machine man," he says. "Other~oise, one
is very quickly naked in the street."
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Daniel Percheron
No oae has beaten him yet: not Guy Mollet, long a boss in the region, whom
_ he overturned in 197; to the surprise of everyone, or the old former SFIO
[French Section of the Workers Internati~nal (French Socialist Party)J cronies
- that he gob~bled up one after the other. Today, Daniel Percheron is the only
, man of his generation not to owe anything to anyone. Ecuraenical by nature
and thirsty for knowledge, he wisely follows the row of Pierre Mauroy and
for the time being, confines himself to learn~ng hts trade as a deputy to `
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the }:uropean Parliament. But there is scarcely any doubt that this history -
professor, a great succer fan, will one day run under his own colors. Let
the heirs apparent take heed!
Socialist Party: Veronique Neierta
- "Jean-Pierre, you do not have the floor.... Paul, why don't you be quiet!"
Whe:1 Francois Mitterrand lets her preside over the weekly session of the
Executive Bureau ~r the Secretariat, Veronique Neiertz does not hesitate
to put Jean-Pierre Chevenement or Paul Quilie~, two party lea3ers, in their
_ place, and bluntly.~ The new national secretary for women is feisty and has
_ plenty of grit. Even if no one has heard of her, along with Francoise
Gaspard, the mayor of Dreux, she is one of the women of tomorrow in the
Socialist Party. `
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Veronique Neiertz
An organizer and mother of three, this daughter of middle class parents says
that she tried to escape the role her family tried to impose on her. A
forr~er student of the HEC [School for Advanced Business Studies], she ~oined
the Socialist Party in 1972 and became the party's record keeper. A staunch
supporter of Mitterrand, she was quickly.noticed by none other than Francois
Mitterrand, who placed her in the top ranks of the party, the Secretariat, _
after the last congress.
Althaugh the mysterjes of socialism no longer hold any secrets for her,
Veronique Neiertz intends to keep a certain distance with regard to party
~ matters. While my comradas listen to the news on the radio," she admits, _
"I prefer to turn to France-Musique." Those same comrades have noticed that
- this political novice has not yet played any wrong notes.
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~ Alain Richard: Socialist Party
"A chance you can't miss. This district is first rate." Four years ago,
- Alain Richard, the Mozart of election analysis, tried to convince all tl~e
big shots in the Socialist Party looking for a sure thing to run against
Michel Poniatowski, then a minister. Unsuccessful, he decided to face
Ponia himself. When he landed at Saint-Ouen-1"Aumone on a day in December .
1976, the Socialist Party section had but six members. Three months later
in the munic~pal elections, he won the office of mayor. In the legislative _
elections a year later, he stole his deputy's seat from "the president's
- friend."
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Alain Richard
His face and name may not tell you anything, but this unknown and caustic
" condottiere will nevertheless go farther than many of the recognized socialist
candidates covered by the media. -
The holder of a degree in political science and a graduate of the ENA [Na-
_ tional School of AdministrationJ, Alain Richard has preserved the necktie,
white handkerchief and meticulous conscience of the Council of State reporter
which he was not long ago. Although a serious student, this scholarship
_ holder, the son of a teacher, was not above involving himself in politics
while at school. He is already a seasoned member, having joined the PSU
[Unified Socialist Party] in 1962 at the age of 17.
An ecologist, a supporter of consumerism ("What is one to choose?") and self-
management, he says unashamedly: "I believe in the future of true rerormism.
Well chosen, well conducted, a reform can affect the established order better
than any excesses. As for politics as usual, away with it!" Is Alain
Richard a Rocardian? He is outstanding ~nough to become a Ri=hardian one day. -
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c;iscardism: Alain Madelin
How did this former "Facho" of the 1960's become this social, liberal, van-
guard member of Parliament? That is the Madelin mystery. After years of
following the extreme rightist demonstrations in the Latin Quarter, this
son of a skilled worker from Boulogne-Billancourt looks like minister mater-
ial, now that he has put away his helmet and truncheon! Along with Jean-Piere
Bloch, he is certainly the most gifted of the new generation of the Giscardian
deputies.
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Alain Madelin _
Verbose he has apparently learned Valery Giscard d'Estaing's "Democratie
Francaise" hy heart but r.evertheless relaxed, Alain Madelin`s anti-
communism is not as fanatical as it once was: The ready-raade Marxist is _
no mare. Who can seriously believe in communism af ter what happened to
Solzhenitsyn?" An antistatist, as he defines himself, this deputy from
P.edon willingly quotes the founders of the First International, constantly
speaks about "solidarity" and whispers to you that he is following "very _
closely (but of coursel) what is going on in the CFDT [French Democratic
Confederation of Labor]. Then, with a broad gesture, is cc,mes out for a
- reform of rights of succession and a tax on great fortunes, at the very
time when Fortune has gone to meet him.
Gaullism: Philippe Seguin
His face may not be familiar but this somewhat timid colossus is nevertheless _
doing more to change France than half of the ministers (an easy task) and has
acquired the respect (not so easy) of all the deputies, who are amaaed by
his ability to handle the most com~lex dossiers quickly and well. _
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Philippe Seguin
Resembling a center forward on a soccer team he does play Philippe
Seguin very clearly emerges from the parliamentar; vulgum pecus. Jacques
Chirac believes in him, but this young man who describes himself as being
a"moderate leftist" is too shrewd to believe in anyone but himself or those
great causes which the abolition: of the death penalty, reform of the firing
law or *_he fi!=th team posted are.
If he is a Gaullist, this pied-noir from Tunisia who once belonged to the
UNEF [National Union of French Students] is one "because the General gave
. independence to Algeria." "I am a 1962 Gaullist," he is fond of saying.
Politically iconoclastic, ~e is a rather conventional ENA graduate who,
after serving i,n the Audit Office, served on different staffs from that
of Georges Pompidou to that of Raymond Barre before being elected from
a worker district in Vosges. Today, the RPR [.Rally for the RepublicJ hope-
fuls keep a respectful distance from him. They tell each other that Mr Seguin
will gobble them all up.
Politics: Alain Juppe
In "Les Caracteres" of La Bruyere, there is a man "with clean fingernails
and his hair neatly combed" who, out of all the verses of Homer, remembers
only one: "The people are happy when only one person governs Chem." That
well-groomed man could well be Alain Juppe, one of the most gifted finance
inspectors of his generation, who took a leave from the high administration
in 1976 to s~rve (Forward, march!) "President Chirac."
Juppe already has all the nervous tics of his boss, the arm and chin movements.
Always turning out the same little remarks about the decline of France or
its necessary rehabilitation, he speaks cleanly and exudes boredom. Moreover,
he has registered two election failures in his territory, Landes.
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' Alain Juppe
Then why does everyone or nearly everyone on the right and the left continue
to bet on this young man who already looks and sounds old? Quite simply,
because this ENA technocrat is a distinguished hiunanist, an agrege in the
classics. His han~ can be seen in the best speeches o~ Jacques Chirac. In
the theoretical ~esert of the RPR, he has risen rapidly. Now that the
Juillet-Garaud team is gone, Alain Juppe has the field to himself.
E lysee Palace: Francois Polge de Combret
Every da,y at 8:Q0 in the morning, a tall, gangling young man wear.ing a khaki
raincoat rides his scooter into the Elysee courtyard. Is it the mailman? -
The milkman? No, it is Francois Polge de Combret, assistant general secre-
tary to the Office of President and on Saturdays, a soccer player on the
Republican Guard team. Educated, an ecologist, an out-and-out moderate
leftist, he is nothing like th~ standard Giscardian. The head of his class
at the ENA, what did he do upon graduation? He did not go to work on th~
politicians' staffs; rather, he went around thQ world. In 1972, after his
return, the president of t:~e Audit Office where he was bored to death
directed him to Valery Giscard d'~staing, then minister of finance, who was
looking for a technical adviser for wage affairs. It was a stroke of lightning.
Able to wade through dossiers, curious about everything, with a concern for
communication rarely seen in high administration, Polge little by little
became Giscard's conf i3en~ce man. "I have served no other master," he says.
Then: "I am devoted to him, hody and soul. When he leaves, I do not know
what I shall do. Everything will seem so lackluster." It is already clear
that the destiny of ~'rancois Polge de ComhYet will r.ot be.
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Francois Po~ge de Combret
- Research: Jean-Louis Gergorin
Jean-Louis Gergorin is briskly running after the future, Hugo's "ghost with
the empty hands," with ar., affecred, very Quai-d'Orsay style and a calculator.
_ The futiire is his trade. A graduate of the ENA, to be sure, but he also has
a degree from the Polytechnical School. "Of the two, I must say that it is -
Poly by far that gave me the most." He is also a research~r trai~ied in the
_ American methods of the Rand Corporation. He was noticed by Michel Jobert.
An "evolving Gaul:list," along ~aith Philippe Petit l:e leads the small tEam
that supplies Jean Francois-Poncet with recommendations and first-rate speeches.
- He is the "Father Joseph" of French diplomacy.
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Jean-Louis Gergorin
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li~~w ~Ic~e~ti hc~ vir.w the nc~xt 10 ye~~rs? "T see an un~ertain w~rlrl with inftn-
ll~~ly mur~. c~m>>l.ex ,illl,inc�uc~~" Cergorln elayr?. wlillr L�wlrlln~ I~iH recl mur~kc-
~ teer's mustache. "It will be a world resemhling the Europe of r?-~e 19th
- century, without hegemonic notions but with profound religio:is movements.
You will see the rise of countries such as Japan and Brazil. Each one wilJ.
have ics own nuclear bomb. The result? Moscow and Washington will no longer
be able to control the local conflicts that will take place while the super-
powers stand back helpless." He ~akes a sip of tea. "But if thp,~ know how
to adapt, r^rance and Europe will have more freedom."
Administration: Elisabeth Bukspan
Where are the Simone Veils of tomorrow? In t~he corridors of the French
administration, where ~everal unknowns are already climbing the steps to
power with a nimble atep. They will come to the fore and stand in the
� spotlight one day. With a serious charm and biting wit, Elisabeth Bukspan ~
is among them, first of all because at 27 years of age, she was the first ~
_ woman to be directly accepted into the Finance Inspectorate upon graduation
from the ENA and second, because in the last citadel of male technocrats,
she has been able to make a place for herself.
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- ~,lisabeth Bukspan
One who knows what she is talking about, Francoise Giroud predicts that she
will enjoy a destiny that wi11 be the envy of all the machos in France. But
let them take heart, Elisabeth Bukspan is not a"feminist," even if she .
has given several economic reports before the candidates of the Choisir [Choose]
movement at the time of the last legislative elections. Nor is she a tech-
nocrat: Women are too down-to-earth to get involved in abstractions,"
she says. "I know how much a loaf of bread costs. Do you think all my -
colleagues do?"
Matignon: Albert Costa de Beauregard
His name is not even in "Who's Who," but since Albert Costa de Beauregard
is not a man to leave anything to chance, this omission is probably not
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any accident. During his lightning car~er, he has learned that s~aying in
the background was helpful to high officials.
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Albert Costa de Beauregard
A technical adviser to the prime minister, who listens to him and is not
above passing off his better formul.as as his own, Albert Costa de Beauregard
is, at the age of 37, one of the key men in the "Giscard system." It is
he who, along with ~'rancois Polge de Combret, the kingpin at the ~lysee
Palace, developed the policy of "industrial redeployment."
How far ~~ill this thoroughbred who graduated from the Polytechnical Institzte
go? For the time being, he is limited to coldly serving what Nietasche
called "the coldest of the cold monsters": the state. "I do not like
patronizing policies," he is fond of saying. With a mind for specifics,
_ he has difficulty concealing his repugnancy for demagoguery, but he always
telephones the ministers who are ousted when there are shakeups: "Don't
wurry, we are concerned about you." And he has been smart enough to at~ach
himself to Giscard in order not to sink tomorrow with Barre.
Press: Bernard Meaulle
The point of departure for the Meaulle saga was the visit of Robert Hersant
and his checkbook to their little family newspaper in Bernay (Eure) on a
- Saturday in 1973. The future political editor of LE FIGARO wanted to offer
them a goud price for a small r~e.e.k]_y newspaper they had begun in Lisieux
only a short time ago, a newspaper that was going well. If they resisted,
there would be war, and war it was! The two brothers, Bernard and Philippe,
decided to stand up to the man who was in the process of becoming the owner
of the largest news ~mpire in France.
The result? A tax inspector descei:ded upon their small enterprise a print-
ing press plus two weekly newspapers and Robert Hersant took away at a
sL:~ke the newspapers they had been putting out for him. Panic set in and
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Bernard Meaulle
in order to start up their now idle offset presses, the Meaulle brothers
bought several Norman newspapers and became caught up in the fight.
Today, with 11 different newspapers, from LF COURRIER DE MANTES to L'IMPARTIAL
DES ANDELYS, the Meaulle brothers head the first group of regional weeklies,
ahead of Citizen Hersant, if you please. Turnover totals 40 million francs. _
As for sales, they are spiral~ng. Why? "Because we do not print newspapers _
for the big names but for our readers," says Bernard Meaulle, with his ever-
present necktie and dauntless spirit.
After the purchase of LE COURRIER DES YVELINES in Saint-Germain-en~-Laye, he _
~ is now at the gates of Paris. When will the excited manager make his first
incursion?
Press: Jean-Charles Lignel
Lignel? Did you say Lignel? When he bought LE PROGRES (circulation 400,000)
in March, all eyes turned to ~this unknown man. It is true that the purchase
operation itself was not anything ordinary. It took place in the chambers of
the Paris Commercial Court, as tha res:ilt of private bidding with the Bremond
- family, co-owners of the newspaper (and at war with him). Jean-Charles
Lignel car'ried off the 50 percent he needed. For 115 million francs, he
became the absolute master of one of the most prestigious French newspapers.
There was general amazement. In Paris, no one believed that this socialistic
manager could win this formidable poker gam~ with enemy heirs. To say the
- least, he did not enjoy the favors of the government. Lignel, the anti-
Hersant. -
~ Then the curtain fell. Everyone went about his daily routine while speaking
absent-mindedly about the latest projects of the "great." Paris did not -
realise that the affair was continuing, for in Lyon, Jean-Charles Lignel
was setting about returning LE PROGRES to its readers. His objective was
to turn it into a newspaper "as serious as LE MONDE, as professional as
LE MATIN, an inv~ntive as LIBE and as courageous as the WA~HINGTON POST."
Nothing less. In short, he intended to make it the ffrst true French re-
gional daily. ~ '
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Jean-Charles Lignel
Will he succeed? ~lready a shareholder of L'Expansion, this pPrsevering
scientist and joggiz~g enthusiast has not taken one false step. He is a
man of the press and when he has relaunched LE PROGRES, it is very possible
that he will in turn plunge into the great l~attle of Paris. The first charge?
In a few weeks, he will publish the new formula of ACTUEL.
_ Business: Alain Minc
~ If you are every on the Champ-de-Mars and run across a slender, smiling
young man (a social democrat) making mud pies with his tiny son, Edouard,
it will certainly be Alain Minc. Hired at the age of 29 as a moneylender
l~y one of the main French multinational companies, he willingly refers to
himself as a"kid." If he is one, he is at the head of his class because
_ for his peers, he has the makings of a big boss.
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~ A polCtical science major, he graduated at the top of his class the Leon-
Blum class, 1975 and went directly the Finance Inspectorate. He then ~
- joined with Simon Nora who has always known with whom to associate to
publish a highly praised report on "The Computerization of Society," k?e took
leave of th~ Rue-de-Rivo~i. Why? Because he now believes that one better
serves France in business than in the high administration. He had gone to ~
the barricades in May 1968. Who would now believe it? He says sof tly: "You
do not brutalize s big enterprise. You change it gently, without sweeping _
everything away."
Business: Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere -
A miracle took place in Roumazieres, a calm little village in Charente. Is
there then a saint? In 1970, the turnover of the French Tile and Brickworks
(TBF) amounted to 5 million francs. Eight years later, it totaled 24 million.
The enterprise was hiring as fast as it could.
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The sound and look of Actor's Studio the school for Hollywood's stars
a charmer but self-assertive, Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere is not a saint.
He is only a boss who does not t?~sitate to take risks and blows. While
Francois Ceyrac or Yvon Chotard are on the road, he is the kind of manager
who is in the process of rebuilding French industry.
Since he took over the reins of the business from his father, vic~: president
of the CNPF [National Council of French Employer~], this captain of industry
has gone at it hammer and tong. Taking advantage of the the French trend
toward individual housing, the TBF diversified production "with several
shapes of tile that can each have eight colors." The co;Lpany also improved
working conditions ( No one ever touches a tile anymore; everything is auto-
matic") and reduced energy consumption by 35 percent (the equivalent of
domestic gas consumption for a city of 30,000 inhabitants).
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Why has he riseri so fast? In his battles to won the roofs of France just as
� in his soccer games with the TBF company team, Jean-Luc Maury-Laribiere hates
~ to lose. _
InduStry: rrancis Lorentz
He does not have an imposing presence. How is one to imagine that this
busy young man, in his unpaneled office and with his general management air,
would be ane of the key men of the French economy? And yet, he is! A king-
pin of the Industrial Structures Adaptation Fund (FASI) in the Ministry oE
Finance, Francis Lorentz distributes 3 billion francs in public aid to sma11 -
and medium-size enterprises. Using what criteria? "First of all, I go by
the chairmen of the board and their sbility to take risks," says this ENA
graduate who also..studied at the HEC [School for Advanced Business StudiesJ.
He adds: "My mission is to develop jobs in future holes, to help companies ~
that are performing well." In other words, not the lame ducks.
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Francis Lorentz
Why has Francis Lorentz' star risen so rapidly? Probably because he took the
bet, creating 16,000 jobs ~n a year, and because this pragmatic Alsatian
has a businesslike mind: "The government must agree not to always bet on
certainties," he says between puffs on his pipe. His point of honor? Not
to work on weekends "so that I can clear my head." His obsession? This
great traveler he has toured the United States, China and India in hiking
boots and with a backpack is scandalized by the narrow nationalism of
management and the administration at a time of world economic war.
Trade Unions: Andre Sainjon
Fate is apparently what guides the heavy step of Andre Sainjon, the new star
of Georges Seguy's confederation and a former turner in Saint-Denis, where
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Andre Sainjon
he still lives, in a low-cost housing program. If he is a trade unionist,
this son of the free school, it is because of circumstances. When he re-
turned frou~ military service in 1964, his plant refused to grant him the
promotion that was rightfully his. The CuT [General Confederation of Labor]
became involved, he won his case and immediately joined.
A few months later, the secretary of the trade union was called to another
~ post in the Confederation. Andre Sainjon replaced him. Much later, he was
also at the right place at the right time when Georges Seguy was looking
for a dynamic individual for the leadership of the metallurgy federation,
which was in bad shape. Since 1977 then, he has been in charge of an army
- of 320,000 metalworkers, determined to take up the battle of unionization.
Wliat is the reason for his lightning career? He is a methodical pragmatist, ~
of the Seguy type. A member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party,
he is certainly not a man to upset CGT traditions. But this calm young father,
wno has just bought a second home (on credit) in Oise, is fond of saying, as
_ his secretary general is: "I believe that too many paralyaing routines halt
- our action in enterprises." Among the orthodox and modernist CGT officials,
Andre S3injon splashes about so comfortably that he already looks like an _
heir apparent.
Trade Unions: Jean Kaspar
"The miner's lot long ago was very hard, and I know what I am talking about...."
Like the old poet Jules Mousseron, Jean Kaspar also knaws what he is talking .
about. At the age of 17, he was a pit boy, an apprentice miner. When he ~
came out of the pits 8 years later, it was to take over the leadership of
the CFDT Miners Union. "It was wrenching!" he says in his beautiful bass
voi~.e. I felt like I was leaving part of myself down there. You could never
imagine the feeling of brotherhood that exists in the pits."
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Jean Kaspar _
Under his leadership, his union has begun to breathe down the neck of the
_ all-powerful CGT among the miners, whi.ch does not keep Kaspar from admitting
that he owes everything to the CFDT: "It madE. me what I am." He worships
it because it is "ahead of its time." Unhurried and fiercely provincial,
at the last ~ongress he refused to be sent to the confederal bureau, to Paris.
Among the rank and file in his stronghold in the east, he listens to Verdi,
reads "Le Capitalisme Utopique" by Pierre Rosanvallon, and listens to the
hum of the factories. What he is hungry for right now is knowledge; he is
not lacking in ability. But it is obvious that when the generation of Maires
and Chereques needs to be relieved, is toward Alsace and this dark, strap-
ping young man that it will turn.
Trade Unions: Pierre Vanlerenberghe
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A riddle: Where do the great leaders of the most sulfurous trade union
confederation come from? Frum the Chemical Federation, naturally! Like
Edmond Maire and Jacques Morea.u, who for a long time was the "political -
, head" of the CFDT, Pierre Vanlerenberghe also rose from the mold of the _
Chemlcal Federation. The result: This hefty young man from Ncrd, the son
and grandson of coal miners, is a theoretician and tactician, in short, a
complete trade unionist.
Along with Jacques Chereques he is one of the key men of the policy to
"recenter" the CFDT. For him, "trade tinicns can no longer be content to
protest. They must also propose." Can Pierre Vanlerenberghe hope one
_ day to take over control of the second-ranking workers confederation in
France? Probably not, because h~ is part of management. But just as the
sliadows are beneficial to mushrooms, they may also be to men of this stripe.
Following the departure of Jacques Moreau, a socialist elected to the Euro- -
pean Parliament, he is in the process of taking his place as one of the
greats in the Confederation.
- COPYRIGHT: 1979: "Le Nouvel Observateur"
11,464
CSO: 3100
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- COUNTRY SECTION ~~~E
ASW EQUIPMENT ADVANCES DESCRIBED
Paris ARMEES D'AUJOURD'HUI in French Oct 79 pp 62-63
[Artiale by Cou~ander Jean-Yves Cochevelou; "Information Science Supports
Acoustic Detection--Ha1f a Century of Evolution in ASW Equipment"]
[Text] A].1 efforts made for the past 40 years with `
regard to ASW equipment were intended to give ASW -
forces a real offensive capacity against an adversary
who sti11 retains the initiative in terms of attack
and evasion. Equipment changes over the years neces-
sitate major conversions on vessels carrying such
equipment, vessels whose lifetime then can be extended
to as much as 30 years. (Commander Jean-Yves Cochevelou,
- class of 1956 at the Naval Academy, graduated as ASW
officer in 1964; he was in charge of ASW on board the
destroyer '~Dupetit-Thouars," the fast frigate "Le Ptcard,"
and the destroyer "Vauque].in" during the reorganization
of ASW equipment on that vessel in 1969-1970. After
graduating from the Naval War College in 1975, he crna-
manded the frigate "Amyot-d'Inville" in 1977-1978, be- _
Pore being put in charge of the "submarine detection -
section" at the MAT/SSM bureau, Naval General Staff.)
Since the end of World War I, France has been greatly contributing to the
development of acoustic detection princ3ples so that, between the twn wars,
it was able to build a large submarine fleet; but French surface vessels,
on the eve of World War II, were strangely devoid of any ASW equipment.
1945-1965: Severe Hanc~.icap to Overcome
In 1945, France had a severe handi~ap to ovexcome and the ASW system placed
on the vessels under the naval program still represeated only the latest
technique developed by the allies at the end of the war.
It included an assembly of surueillance and attack sonars with high emis-
sion frequency (15-25 khz); the flat aatennas with magaetostrictive
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transducexs permitted sweeps only "by bounds~~ evEry 10 3egrees of a half-
~ circle whose radius rarely exceeded 2,500 m.
The main weapon at that time was the K2 torpedo which was very fast but
totally unsmart (which necessitated the launch of a spread of tnree and
even six torpedoes in order *o cover the area wher~ the submarine might
be); its range w~s less than 1,200 m.
At the same time, the endurance of the submarine and its submerged speed
as we11 as its acousti_c security were 3mproved. Submarines were armed
with electrical torpedoes equipped with a passive acoustic warhead, with
a range of 100,000 m.
1965-1975: k'rom Hull Sonar to Towed Sonar
.
To increase the intrinsic performance of sonar, it was necessary to emit
more energy, to lower the emission frequency in order to reduce the at-
tenuation undergone by~ the acoustic waves in the water. Piezoelectric
- ceramics permitted the reduction of the frequency to 5 khz [eps]; trans-
ducers were mounted in a column along a fixed cylindrical antenna;
sound-proofing became omnidirectional and the total capacity was multi-
plied by 30. Upon reception, the sweep was accomplished elecCronically
' with the help of the preshaped tracks; surveillance became panoramic.
The commissioni.ng of DUBV (ultrasound detection, surface vessel, survei.l-
lancp) 24, a low-frequency hull sonar, permitted the first modernizatinn
of submarine detectian equipment. Starting in 1964, most of the fast
frigates, beg3nning with the "Le Lorrain," were then converted for this
new capability, along with some destroyers which at the same time wer.e
equipped with the Tartar AA weapons system.
- The L3 electrical torpedo came out during the early sixties and gradually
replaced the K2 torpedo. Its effective range exceeded 3,000 m, which
made it compatible with the performance of the DUBV 24. Its search head
of 3001800~meters~nmakingaitemore difficult for thegsub arine to hides
But the sound wave was propagated along a straight line only if the environ-
ment was perfectly homogeneous. Now, variations in pressure and tempera-
ture divided the liquid volume into an infinite number of slices with 3if-
ferent densities, each acting as a dioptry upon the acoustic radius. The
very considerable temperature variation~ in the first 200 m impose sin-
uous tracks upon the sound radii which leave vast areas without any sound
proofing and that naturally is where the submarine wi11 then operate.
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Exompia do t_Sor.arde coqua.champ ~onora at couv~rture ~onar
pro}il
bathythermlque 2_Sonor remorqu`.champ sonors at couvsrtur~ sonar
~
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Example of bathythermal profile. Key: 1--hull sonar, sound f?eld and
sonar coverage; 2--towed sonar, sound field and sonar coverage; Distance--
range.
- The only solution is to submerge the antenna under the disturbed layer;
it would ta,ke a certain degree o~ boldness and much tenacity to manage
to tow a sonar weighing 10 t, submerged as far as 200 m down, that is,
- the DUBV 43--moreover at high speeds. It is associated with the DUBV
23 sonar, moun.ted in a dome on the vessel's stern, assuring sound proof-
ing above the layer.
Although the tightness of sonar coverage is not always totally assured,
the average performances of this tandem arrangement are between 5,000
and 12,000 m. Combi.ning it with a coherent weapon created a new problem:
The volume of uncertainty, tied to the imprecision relating to the
vector-target9 increasing with movement time, plus the risk of coming
disproportionafie with relation to the weapon's action volume; the latter,
the lighfi torpedo L4--which can also be carried by aircraft--is thus
carried by a subsonic missile, remote-controlled 3n flight, the Malafon,
released along a vertical from the target. In 1968, we had an extremely
coherent assembly of detection equipment and weapon, the DUBV 23/43--
Malafon. It was intalled on board five destroyers, along with consider-
able improvement of other facilities, so that it came to constitute a
specta~ular conversion which, in the light of practical experience, was
particular~.y successful. This assembly was also placed on new vessels
and, duling the early seventies, made it possible to confront the sub-
mar3ne with equal weapons.
Bu~ at that time, the submarine acquired nuclear propulsion.
Armed with very-long-range torpedoes (such as the wire-guided F-.7 tor-
pedo), the submar{ne thus acquired mobility and action capabilities way
out of proportion.
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_ Information Science Tomorrow
We thus face the problem of paring down the decisive mobility acquired
by the nuclear submarine, an advantage which however is somewhat offset
by a certain acoustic stridency which of course is the price that has to
be paid for speed. We had to capitalize on this stridency by "listening
to it " while remaining capable of detecting the submarine, r~xnning silent,
by active means. The supplementary need for active and passive systems
then appeared evident.
Passive listening at very low frequancy permits great detection ranges;
spectral analysis of signals received caill here detect the possible pre-
sence of a noise source which is then identified by its acoustic signa-
ture.
, A priority effort was then made to equip submarines and surface vessels
with this new detection and classification capability.
Keeping our active systems up to date on the other hand forces us to push
the potential of the DUBV 43 family to the maximum.
We are not so much concerned here with increasing the nominal performances
of the sonar but rather with reducing the f alse alarm rate and, above all,
improving the coverage in the disturbed layer. To do that, we have to
run the towed antenna even deeper and the short-term ob~ective here is
= to attain a submersion of 500 and then 700 m.
The Malafon thus remains compatible with active detection systems and,
in case of passive, long-range detection, the on-board helicopter is sent
out to attack the submarine. The L5 torpedo followed the L3 torpedo as
a close-in attack weapon (up to 5,000 m).
Equipment to be placed in service by the end of the decade wi11 essen-
tially be characterized by very great inforntation science integration of
active and passive systems in the ASW system as such, seeking optimum
handling of all detectors; the vast volume of signals received will be
~ processed by powerful data processing equipment which will sort, cor-
relate, and filter an enormous volume of data in order ta make the latter
digestible by a small number of operators.
The search for op timum performance will lead to a situation where antennas
wi11 have to be submerged down to the critical level--sometfiing which was
demonstrated by the Cormoran experiments; that will guarantee total cov-
erage (down to 40,000 m with an active sonar).
(If we submerge the antenna to such a depth that, due to the pressure,
the speed of its sound will be equal there to the speed at the vicinity
of the surface, then the acoustic wave will avoid the uncertainties of
the disturbed la~er; the submersioa conaidered critical ~s between 800 m
and 4,000 m, depending upon the zones and times involved.)
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A suitable weapon will then have to be developed; a new light torpedo will
come out $round 1990 and it wi11 have fio be matched with a new dellvery
vehicle. -
These "second-generation" equipment items will thus represr.nt a noticeable
change so that we are, as of now, envisaging the adaptation of this equip- -
ment to our most recent unit, in terms of mid--life moderniza~ion (beyoncl
1990).
We have just reviewed almost half a century of ASW equipment on combat `
vessels. But ASW does not boil down just to the unequal duel between
the destroyer and the submarine. To challenge the submarine over the _
initiative, it is, to say the least, important to restrict its freecicm
= of action by confronting it with complex devices covering vast areas and
subjecting it to the wear and tear of permanent constraint. These de-
vices include ASW submarines, aircraft, surveillance systems, and surf ace
vessels and it is the coord~.nated employmen~ of all of these systems that -
will make it possible to meet the submarine threat. _
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COPYRIGHT: 1979 - Revue des forces armees francaises "Armees d'Au3ourdthui"
5058 23
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COUNTRY SECTION FRANCE
ASW VESSEL CHARACTERISTICS NOTED
Paris ARMEES D'AUJOURD'HUI in French Oct 79 pp 50-51
[Article by Comanander Michel Herreman: "A Light Vessel Su3table for ASW"]
[Text] Several phases characterize the design of a
warsh~:P ~ the French navy. The "operations" divis-
ion in the Navy General Staff prepares a memorandum ~
spelling out the operational requirements which serve
as ~he iiiitial and sole basic text. The "materiel"
- div3.sion then translates this requirement into a mili- '
gary program, generally subjected to approval by the
- High~r Counc3l of the Navy and addressed to the Gener-
al Delegation for Armament or the Shipbuilding and
Nava1 Weapons Technical Directorate. The dialogue
then is continu~d and developed in depth between the
DTCN [Shipbuilding Technical Directorate] (possibly
its technical offshoot, the STCAN [Shipbuilding and
. Nava1 Weapons Technical Service]) and the ENIl~1 [Naval
Genexal Staff] and this in turn leads to the dra�t-
pro3ect and project based oa the �overall specifica-
tions" for the ship which, after apprc~ral, are further
broken down. into "detailed specifications" addressed
to ~he shipyard that will bu3.ld the vessel. The pro- -
ceduxe thus described for exampl2 was applied to the
program for frigates of the "d'Estienne d'Oxves"
type. (Commander Michel Herreman entered the Navy
Academy in 1955. After graduat3ng fromn the ESGN
[Nava1 War College], he has, since 1977, been assigned
to the "F1eet A-build~:n=~N Bureau, "materiel" divis- -
ion, naval general staff, where is particularly con-
cerned with programs for small vessels (~~igates,
light ~ransport vessels, minesweepers, etc.)
During the second half of the sixties, the need fox replacing the 600-t
corvettes of the "Chamois" class and the coastal escort vessels persuaded
the naval general staff to launch a program for the construction of light
vessels whose primary mission would be ASW in coastal waters.
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_ Vessel Witn Good Handling Characteristics
Dur:ing its 29 November 1967 meeting, the Higher Navy Council--after re-
~ecting a more ambitious pro~ect submitted by the STCAN--picked the cor-
- verte us a eimple veasel to be built in large numbera, with u tonnAge oF -
around 850 t at a cost of F40 million (aC 1967 prices), all taxes includeci;
it was agreed, in order to remain within this framework, to accept sacri-
fices on certain performance figures, especially in artillery and speed. _
The milita.ry characteristics of this vessel were spelled out early in 1968
and in November of that year it was approved by the Higher Navy Council and
the characteristics were then confirmed by the minister in January 1969.
The corvette ~hus defined was to meet the following characteristics: A
vessel wi~h good handling qualities and excellent seaworthiness, with the
ability to attain a sneed of 23 kn, supplied by two diesel engines, each
driving one screw with adjustable blade. Its rar~ge at 15 kn was to be
4,500 nm (8,300 kn) while at 18 kn it was to be 3,000 nm (5,500 kn). Its
endurance was to be 15 days. All quarters as well as engineering and
- operational compartments were equipped with air conditioning. The com-
plemenr was set at 60, ir.icluding officers, for peacetime missions in the
home country. Additior.lal bunk space was provided--for about 30 men--to
handle training, overseas, and wartime missions. "
= Since a coat ceiling on construction and operation is an absolute pragram
requirement and a basic condition for its development, the "weapons" sta-
tions were simple, light-weight, using proven weapons.
The artillery cunsists of the following:
A remote-controlled 100 mm mount, equipped with a light fire control unit
which, in addition to its AA capability, can be usad to fire at surface
targets and at targets ashore; the ammunition supp~.y here is 450 rounds;
Z~ao 20-mm moun.ts with 3, 000 rounds per barrel.
The AS weapons are as follows:
' A six-barrel, 375-mm rocket launcher with improved rocket, with a storage
- capac3.ty for 30 rockets;
Four fixed torpedo tubes capable of 1,3unching L-3 and L-5 torpedoes.
Submarine detection is provided by a surveillance and attack sonar of ~
medium frequency, in a fixed dome, having a good cagacity in shallow water
and nerformances corresponding to the range of the ASW armament provided.
The electromagnetic detection equipment comprises a combined light surveil-
lance radar.
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For training purposes, a gangway, provtded with navigation equipment, is _
located aft of the chart house. In its overseas version, a11 or a portion
of the ASW weapons system is taken out in order to increase the volumes
available for "personnel and equipment transport."
The study for the corvette pro~ect, which we have just described, was _
- undertaken simultaneously by the STCAN and by several private shi.pyards.
As is the custom in such matters, a dlalogue was established between the
EMM and the STCAN, leading in January 1971 to the approval of the overall ~
vessel specifications; in the meantime the tonnage had gone up to 1,160 t
and the price had risen to F80 million (at January 1970 prices). _
~ This corvette differed a little bit from the one initially planned and
this among other things was due to two essential reasons. The first was =
connected to the reorganization of ranks in the navy; for example, the
number of line officers was increased from 19 to 30 and that necessitated
major changes in the interior setu~. _
The second one resulted from the adoption of the MM-38 weapons system, in
addition to the 100-mm artillery.
This vessel nevertheless remained what it was supposed to have been in
the first place, that is, simple, requi~ing little per.sonnel and of
- course low-~costso
With3.n two years, between 1972 and 1974, ~he minister ordered the construc- -
tion of 14 of those vessels which were to be ready for official trials
between 1975 and 1979. The Lorient arsenal was put in charge of the studies
and the construction for this series. ,
The first of these vessels, the "d'Estienna d~Orves," was commissioned for _
active service in 1976, practically at the same time as the next two ves-
sels; there is nothing unusual about that since rhe trials for a proto- _
type veasel are definitely more complete than those for a series-produced
vessel.
After that, the Lorient arsenal turned over to the French navy the corvette
which it built; the regu'~.ar rate at which these vessels come off the as-
sembly line may sometimes be disrupted by sales to fore3gn customers. But
ts this not proof of the quality of the Freach navy's corvette?
26
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'f.
_
;:sav
,;f?,~
In the Storeroo~r of 100 ~n Artillery ~
- COPYRICHT: 1979 - Revue des forces armees franc~�tGe^ "ArmeeQ !~'Aujourd'hui"
5058
- CSO: 3100 END
~ 27
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