French press review 6 June 2013

Pensions, Syria, trade wars and Nigeria are among the varied subjects in today's French papers...

There's a bomb on the front page of this morning's communist L'Humanité! The headline reads "Report blows pensions to hell!"

You will know that a panel of experts has been looking at the whole retirement/pensions business with a view to advising the government. That report is due next week, but there's been no shortage of leaks to the press, perhaps with a view to preparing public opinion for the evental deluge of bad news on what is an extremely touchy subject.

Officially, we know nothing, but you can bet your last retirement cheque that the Moreau report will suggest that we all work longer, get smaller pensions, lose out on the index-linking of those pensions to the cost of living, face higher tax bills on our meagre post-work pittances. No wonder the communists at L'Humanité are in explosive form.

Right-wing Le Figaro wonders if President Hollande will have the courage to accept that the report represents the only reasonable way ahead, if the government is serious about getting the social security budget under control.

The right-wing paper gives a hint of an answer by reporting that, already, civil servants (who risk losing major advantages in the pension stakes) and some trade unions are grinding axes with a view to serious fighting come the autumn, when the administration will announce the broad lines of socialist pension reform.

Libération asks the chilling question, what if Bashar al-Assad wins the war in Syria? The paper see the fall of the town of Al Qousair as proof that a divided opposition can not win against the national army, massively supported by Hezbollah and Iran.

Libé further points out that Damascus has changed military strategy in recent months. Now convinced that there is no risk of an international reaction, whatever they do, the Syrian army has moved the fight squarely into urban areas. That kills more civilians, who cares? But it crucially allows the regime to profit from the support of the 30% of the population who work for the state.

Catholic La Croix looks at the looming trade war between China and Europe. Solar panels and French wine are in the front line, with the people in Beijing saying they'll go on the wagon if Europe puts an import tax on dirt-cheap Chinese panels.

The Germans are keeping their heads down, hoping that the Chinese will keep up their demand for Mercedes and other German products.

In its world politics supplement, Le Monde looks at the on-going army offensive against Boko Haram militants in northern Nigeria.

It's a waste of time, would appear to be the Le Monde verdict. For two reasons: Boko Haram is not a carefully structured entity, but a vague amalgamation of religious fanatics and armed criminals. It has no headquarters, no easy targets, its personnel can vanish into the populace at the first hint of an army patrol.

More fundamentally, say Le Monde, any attempt by Abuja to put pressure on the so-called "islamists" will fail unless the army action is backed up by political measures to redistribute wealth to the north. Boko Haram has great popular support simply because it offers a vague hope to a huge region, many of whose inhabitants feel ignored, even deserted, by central government.