French press review 11 June 2011

Saturday’s French press is dominated by the debate on sexual harassment, in the wake of the Strauss-Kahn affair and the publication of ex-president Jacques Chirac’s memoires.

Libération splashes sexual harassment across its cover page this Saturday with a question - why has France closed its eyes?.

Libé says the answer is due to unsuitable legislation and the fact that only a few women abused at work places do come forward with their cases.

The paper attributes the trend to the fact that most of the victims are subordinates of the predators and maniacs.

Libération also argues that the outbreak of the DSK affair and the freeing of tongues hasn’t seen a shift in public opinion. It states that seduction remains the most favourite way of wriggling one’s way into the other’s heart.

The evening newspaper France Soir takes a look at the new craze here in France for swinger clubs which is becoming a flourishing business and changing the sex lives of French couples.

Le Figaro has a scoop, an exclusive interview with ex-French president Jacques Chirac. Monsieur Chirac, released the second volume of his memoires this week.

The right-wing newspaper samples his views on the topical political issues preoccupying the French at this time.

He backs the burqa ban, the government’s all-radar road safety program, and the state-backed nuclear energy policy, although he doesn’t favour a status quo on the issue.

On the DSK affaire and other cases of sexual abuse that have broken out here in France, Chirac said he didn’t believe that politics is all about that.

He appealed to political actors to keep that topic out of the upcoming 2012 presidential elections. The former president denies making personal attacks on Sarkozy’s character in his latest book and described their relations now as honest and cordial.

La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest, looks at the apparent facelift in the polls of French President Nicholas Sarkozy. The regional newspaper says cautious optimism prevails at the Elysée Palace where the general impression is that things are getting better as the days go by.

The newspaper claims that the green light are timidly being turning on, facilitated by signs of economic recovery, Carla Bruni’s pregnancy, the summer break, Sarkozy’s international standing at the Deauville G-8 summit, and especially the shift to a less aggressive more subtle and humble communications strategy.

La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest, however, argues that Sarkozy’s emerging spring and the good breeze may have been fanned by the downfall of socialist presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

La Presse de la Manche has been looking at a strange phenomenon at the helm of the ruling UMP party.

The paper says there are two poles of power - one led by UMP chief François Copé, struggling to destabilize the other, spear-headed by prime minister François Fillon.

It has the trappings of a guerrilla war waged by Copé’s parliamentary group against the government which the paper explains has seriously undermined the work of the majority.

The cause of the fracas is that the two politicians are vying for the ruling party ticket come the 2017 elections.

Fillon has angered several ruling party Parisians by setting his eyes on city hall as the launching pad of his presidential ambitions starting in 2014.

Frustrated by the turn of events he told the press this week that Paris is the very least of his priorities at this moment. – not too sure anyone here believes him.

The leaked report that French car maker Peugeot wants to close two plants in France by 2014, due to high production costs, continues to fuel passionate reactions in the papers.

Over 6,000 jobs will be lost if the sites in Aulnay-sous-Bois near Paris and Sevelnord, northern France are shut down.

Le Monde reports that the head of PSA Peugeot Citroen was summoned to the prime minister’s office on Friday and scolded like a little boy.

The paper argues that while the bullying tactics of the government could go down well with a fraction of the public, it raises real concerns about the state of the French economy and the job market.

PSA Peugeot Citroen has informed the government that the long-term industrial competitiveness of the group in Europe is an absolute priority.

The document leaked to the press cited Turkey, Morocco and central and eastern Europe as possible locations for new factories.

According to Le Monde, the writing is on the wall and the government looks unable to do much about that.

The newspaper says France is losing its viability as an investment site, pointing to the huge 50 billion euros budget deficit and the shortfall in external trade that has exceeded 7 billion euros for the very first time in April.

Le Monde notes that just six years ago the economy generated a trade surplus of 10 billion euros. That is why, according to the paper, the carmakers are relocating and outsourcing, with cynicism.

The respected newspaper comments that while rhetoric and demagogy is working well for its authors, it has eclipsed the urgency of a serious debate about the deficit and the viability of the French economy.

La Croix runs a special issue to mark the Pentecost Christian feast still widely celebrated in this traditionally catholic bastion. The catholic daily says faith practice is changing both in the town and countryside.

The paper took guided tours of the south central district of Cantal in the Auvergne region and a neighbourhood of Lyon where clergymen are multiplying home and farm visits to cope with waning priestly vocations and secularism creeping into the traditional catholic heartland.

A respected historian says that the Catholic church is reshaping to fill up rural deserts left behind after the state pulled out public services, and at the same time happily witnessing the return of church going as a way of life in urban France.