French weekly magazines review

The weeklies are dominated by the dwindling political fortunes of French president François Hollande and the effects on the state condition of the nation.

The weeklies went to press before the President’s press conference to mark the end of his first year in office. But the commentators all came out swinging about Hollande’s inability to bail out his presidency, the recession-hit economy and the widespread pessimism sweeping through the country.

Le Canard Enchaîné compares President Hollande to the lead character in Baz Lurhmann’s new picture The Great Gatsby. The film is about a Midwestern war veteran who finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbour. The picture is one of the attractions at the Cannes Film Festival which opened this week.

What a year it has been for Hollande exclaims the satirical newspaper, calling it "an annus horribilis or annus Hollandebilis”. According to Le Canard, the President emerged from the first year of his mandate completely washed out. They claim he was attacked by the opposition UMP and National Front, to his right and to his left Socialist rebels and extremists disenchanted with his policies and lack of charisma.

Le Canard Enchaîné says he stands accused of being weak and vague in the case of incompetence filed against him and in the wake of his record unpopularity,  high unemployment levels and the economic crisis.

According to Le Point Hollande is trying desperately to prove that he is a Social Democrat. The right-wing magazine predicts that while Hollande’s second year in office is expected to be one of reconstruction, he will shy away from reshuffling his government to throw out ministers who favour a political swing to the left, as many experts have advised him to do.

Le Point makes reference to the Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg who has openly accused President Hollande’s deficit reduction drive of killing growth, describing the policy as absurd and dangerous. No one has clearly called for Montebourg’s resignation, says Le Point, but the paper suggests that since he is already betting on Hollande’s defeat in 2017, he could be better off quiting to avoid being fired.

L’Express scorns the so-called French political hypocrites who won't admit their passion for money and have gone on absuign thier positions of power.  The article refers to ex-budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac and former interior minister Claude Guéant, accused of lying about selling two low valued paintings for 500,000 euros.

Marianne exposes the ugly face of globalisation in Bangladesh, using a very graphic photograph of a dead man holding a dead woman in the debris of the collapsed tailoring building in Dakha. Marianne says there were at least 3,000 women working in the building when it went down and rescuers managed to pull out only some 2,000 workers, many with broken limbs.

Marianne attributes the social responsibility of the tragedy to rogue European designers who outsource jobs to poor countries. Up to 57 percent of Bangladesh’s garments industry is absorbed by Europe according to Marianne. The weekly notes that the Dhaka drama reminds us that when the label is cheap, someone else is paying the price.

Le Nouvel Observateur investigates an epidemic of  harassment in some French work placeswhich it says is caused by bosses who are driving their staff mad. The left-leaning journal says the character of most senior staff is becoming more and more difficult. It claims some bosses enjoy keeping their workers in a permanent climate of fear.

Le Nouvel Observateur spoke to a number of psychologists and they have tips to help you identify the potential tyrant in your office who could affect your life.