French press review 30 September 2011

The French press welcomes the overwhelming vote by German lawmakers Thursday to beef up the European financial stability fund thereby clearing a major hurdle to resolving the Greek debt crisis.

Le Figaro underlines that the vote in the Bundestag proved a hard-fought test for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s political authority as the world looks to her to defuse the euro debt crisis.

The paper underlines however it neither closes the Greek dossier nor the debt crisis affecting several eurozone countries - Italy, Spain and France which must act quickly to put their public finances in order, without which there can be no restoration of confidence in the euro.

Les Echos notes that four of the Eurozone’s 17 countries are still to ratify the reform. It’s still a long road to travel, says the paper.

It claims that less than 10 tax Greek payers declare earnings of more than one million euros per year, which is why many Europeans feel that Greece ought to be dumped for cheating on its accounts.

La Croix welcomes the decision by German lawmakers to abandon what it says is an orthodox vision of the management of the euro and to accept the harmonisation of economic policies which it had all along rejected.

Liberation points to a crisis of nerves afflicting the banks. The paper claims that the sector is upside down as it is attacked and defied by the markets.

Libé can’t understand why banking chiefs have turned down public offers of aid to facilitate their recapitalization. The paper found out that France’s major banks see themselves as victims of a political crisis and won’t accept any of their help.

Libération says several Socialist presidential candidates want the lenders to be placed under state supervision if they continue their policy of blind defiance.

L’Humanité comments about the spiral of scandals which could well be a premonition to the ending reign of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

What a mess exclaims the paper. The Communist Party daily explains that ruling party politicians went around throughout the week making noisy statements which sounded more like the announcement of the end of Sarkozy’s rule.

Sunday’s senatorial elections which have changed the French political landscape, turned out to be terribly tormenting for the party which kept bragging as it went to the polls.

La République des Pyrénées is relieved that cabinet ministers are not being mowed down by assassins’ bullets despite the number of scandals breaking out.

The regional paper says the diamonds presented to Valery Giscard d’Estaing in 1980 by Central Africa dictator Jean Bedel Bokassa look more like a tiny tip, compared to the briefcases containing millions of euros which changed hands before Edouard Balladur’s failed presidential bid in 1995.

The Pyrenees newspaper, says the noose is tightening around the neck of the Balladur campaign since prosecutors established a link with a contract to supply frigates to Saudi Arabia.

The scandal took a twist for the worse in a television interview on Thursday, when a key suspect in the case, Ziad Takieddine, denounced what he called the dirty fellows around President Nicolas Sarkozy, who have dumped him, since the start of his judicial problems.

He named notably former Elysée secretary general, now interior minister Claude Guéant, from whom he is demanding an apology, according to the paper.

La Voix du Nord takes up continuing speculation about an alternative ruling party candidate for the presidency aside from Sarkozy’s re-election bid. According to the newspaper, the UMP’s official position now is, 'all for Sarkozy and Sarkozy for all', but behind the scenes what looked so evident is falling apart.

The regional newspaper says the lawmakers angered by the loss of the senate are all the more infuriated by Sarkozy’s call on the party to remain graceful in defeat.

Some fearing a Waterloo come 2012, had been plotting to fight and buy votes if that is what it will take, to keep the senate presidency.

La Voix du Nord argues that the rebels are not just eyeing long-time favourite, François Fillon but also the popular foreign minister Alain Juppé as a potential candidate.

NewspaperLa Montagne says Juppé has no interest in becoming the “Monté Christo” of Bordeaux. He considers himself as too proud and not crazy enough to run for the Elysée.