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| A French Port Welcomes an Intervention by Russia’s Military | A French Port Welcomes an Intervention by Russia’s Military |
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| SAINT-NAZAIRE, France — The owner of Norway’s Café is keeping a bottle of vodka chilled in case she gets a visit from any of the 400 Russian sailors temporarily stationed here. The chamber of commerce has put out a brochure for local shopkeepers with Russian phrases. Residents sometimes stop their cars to get a glimpse of the Russians playing soccer or sunning themselves near where their ship is docked. | |
| Saint-Nazaire, a shipbuilding city on the Atlantic coast southwest of Paris, is used to seeing sailors from around the world. But few have been the subject of as much interest and debate as those who arrived here last month to begin training on the first of two warships built for the Russian Navy by France. | Saint-Nazaire, a shipbuilding city on the Atlantic coast southwest of Paris, is used to seeing sailors from around the world. But few have been the subject of as much interest and debate as those who arrived here last month to begin training on the first of two warships built for the Russian Navy by France. |
| Even before the downing of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over Ukraine put new pressure on Europe to impose stiffer sanctions on Russia, France’s decision to proceed with the sale of the warships to Moscow and to train the Russian Navy in how to operate them had prompted opposition and concern from the United States and other nations. | |
| Now, with much of Europe showing signs of taking a harder line with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Saint-Nazaire has become a symbol of the difficult trade-off between diplomatic and national concerns on the one hand and jobs and an economic future on the other. | Now, with much of Europe showing signs of taking a harder line with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Saint-Nazaire has become a symbol of the difficult trade-off between diplomatic and national concerns on the one hand and jobs and an economic future on the other. |
| The challenge facing France is one that many European nations are grappling with: Is Britain willing to risk the huge sums of Russian money that flow through London’s financial district? Is Germany willing to endanger the supply of natural gas from Russia? | The challenge facing France is one that many European nations are grappling with: Is Britain willing to risk the huge sums of Russian money that flow through London’s financial district? Is Germany willing to endanger the supply of natural gas from Russia? |
| But in few places is the trade-off quite as stark or direct as it is here. Like many shipbuilding centers, Saint-Nazaire has fallen on hard times. The unemployment rate is around 14 percent. In 2009, the main shipbuilder, STX France, put half the shipyard’s 2,500 employees on reduced hours, forcing them to take partial unemployment benefits. | |
| In that kind of climate, the $1.6 billion deal signed in 2011 by President Nicolas Sarkozy to build two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships for Russia, and to train the Russians in operating them, was viewed here as a triumph. The Russian sailors are now in Saint-Nazaire to train on the first of the ships, the Vladivostok, which is scheduled for delivery in November. The second, the Sevastopol, is scheduled for delivery next year. | In that kind of climate, the $1.6 billion deal signed in 2011 by President Nicolas Sarkozy to build two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships for Russia, and to train the Russians in operating them, was viewed here as a triumph. The Russian sailors are now in Saint-Nazaire to train on the first of the ships, the Vladivostok, which is scheduled for delivery in November. The second, the Sevastopol, is scheduled for delivery next year. |
| “I hope that the sale of the Vladivostok will be the start of a sustainable cooperation with Russia,” said Christophe Morel, a union delegate at the STX France shipyard. “It doesn’t happen often and helps 7,000 to 8,000 people make a living.” | “I hope that the sale of the Vladivostok will be the start of a sustainable cooperation with Russia,” said Christophe Morel, a union delegate at the STX France shipyard. “It doesn’t happen often and helps 7,000 to 8,000 people make a living.” |
| Mr. Morel downplayed political concerns about the French contract with Russia, calling the Vladivostok a “big ferry” with minor advanced technology and “few weapons” onboard. (It is designed to carry up to 30 helicopters, 60 armored vehicles, 13 tanks and 700 soldiers.) | Mr. Morel downplayed political concerns about the French contract with Russia, calling the Vladivostok a “big ferry” with minor advanced technology and “few weapons” onboard. (It is designed to carry up to 30 helicopters, 60 armored vehicles, 13 tanks and 700 soldiers.) |
| Mr. Morel said the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines jet would weigh on decisions about the warships, but it would probably not change much in Saint-Nazaire. | |
| “The only thing we can do is deal with the decision in one direction or the other, whatever our opinion and our position on the subject might be,” he said. | |
| One recent afternoon, outside the base that is the berth for the Russian frigate Smolny, the home for the Russian sailors here, residents stopped their cars to stare at the Russian sailors. Some sailors were playing soccer while others sat on the ground sun-tanning. | One recent afternoon, outside the base that is the berth for the Russian frigate Smolny, the home for the Russian sailors here, residents stopped their cars to stare at the Russian sailors. Some sailors were playing soccer while others sat on the ground sun-tanning. |
| But as a result of the controversy surrounding the deal, the Russian sailors have for the most part seemed like ghosts, barely visible in this port city of 67,000 people. Their ship is docked on a platform enclosed by fences. Sometimes, a naval infantryman dressed in a khaki uniform and helmet stands at the bow of the ship, as if he were watching over the port. | But as a result of the controversy surrounding the deal, the Russian sailors have for the most part seemed like ghosts, barely visible in this port city of 67,000 people. Their ship is docked on a platform enclosed by fences. Sometimes, a naval infantryman dressed in a khaki uniform and helmet stands at the bow of the ship, as if he were watching over the port. |
| “The presence of Russian sailors here is quite surreal,” said Jean-Yves Grandidier, 37, who works at the tourist office opposite a bench where some of the Russian sailors often gather. “But it’s Russia, the land of impenetrable mystery.” | “The presence of Russian sailors here is quite surreal,” said Jean-Yves Grandidier, 37, who works at the tourist office opposite a bench where some of the Russian sailors often gather. “But it’s Russia, the land of impenetrable mystery.” |
| The sailors also congregate at the submarine base, which was built by the Nazis during World War II, to make phone calls, drink beer, and nibble on sunflower seeds. But there is limited information on their four-month training program and the Russian and French defense ministries have not issued any public statements about their activities. | The sailors also congregate at the submarine base, which was built by the Nazis during World War II, to make phone calls, drink beer, and nibble on sunflower seeds. But there is limited information on their four-month training program and the Russian and French defense ministries have not issued any public statements about their activities. |
| Emmanuel Gaudez, a spokesman for DCNS, the naval shipbuilder that supervised the deal, declined to offer any details on what the Russians were doing. “We have decided to take a low profile,” he said. “It is a highly political case,” he said. | Emmanuel Gaudez, a spokesman for DCNS, the naval shipbuilder that supervised the deal, declined to offer any details on what the Russians were doing. “We have decided to take a low profile,” he said. “It is a highly political case,” he said. |
| At City Hall, information on the Russians was scarce. A city employee said that the mayor had never been in contact with a Russian navy officer and had postponed a reception that was planned to celebrate the arrival of the sailors. | |
| The employee, who did not give his name because of the sensitivity of the matter, added that the gyms provided by the city for the sailors had remained empty. | |
| Still, in Saint-Nazaire, one of the centers of naval construction in France, shopkeepers remain hopeful that the Russians will eventually help generate business. | Still, in Saint-Nazaire, one of the centers of naval construction in France, shopkeepers remain hopeful that the Russians will eventually help generate business. |
| Marie-Christine Le Nay, who heads a local association that offers Internet services, phone cards and a billiard room to sailors from all over the world, has started keeping a French-Russian dictionary in her store in case the sailors want to communicate with her staff. | Marie-Christine Le Nay, who heads a local association that offers Internet services, phone cards and a billiard room to sailors from all over the world, has started keeping a French-Russian dictionary in her store in case the sailors want to communicate with her staff. |
| “They will certainly show up here soon,” Mrs. Le Nay said. “After all, they’re not tourists, they’re here to work.” | “They will certainly show up here soon,” Mrs. Le Nay said. “After all, they’re not tourists, they’re here to work.” |
| Asked about possible consequences of the airliner disaster, she said: “Everything will depend on how the Russian authorities react. All of this has a very political element to it. As for us, we just deal with whatever the decisions may be.” | Asked about possible consequences of the airliner disaster, she said: “Everything will depend on how the Russian authorities react. All of this has a very political element to it. As for us, we just deal with whatever the decisions may be.” |
| Armelle Voleau, 51, who runs Norway’s Café, near where the Russians are based, keeps a bottle of Russian vodka in her refrigerator “in case the Russians ask for it,” she said. But she said that few Russians had stopped by her bar to get a drink. | Armelle Voleau, 51, who runs Norway’s Café, near where the Russians are based, keeps a bottle of Russian vodka in her refrigerator “in case the Russians ask for it,” she said. But she said that few Russians had stopped by her bar to get a drink. |
| “One of them shook my hand once,” she recalled, “and said: ‘We friends.’ ” | “One of them shook my hand once,” she recalled, “and said: ‘We friends.’ ” |