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French press review 17 June 2013

Iran and the French school leaving examinations are this morning's headline stories.

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Iran because they've got a new president, and the Baccalaureat because today's the day when 660,000 French youngsters get the exam ball rolling with the philosophy paper. The best of luck to all, sundry and Hassan Rohani.

He's the new man at the helm in Teheran, a surprise outright winner in Friday's first round to elect a successor to Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and a moderate.

Since this is Iran, words like "helm," "surprise," and "moderate" have to taken with a pinch of whatever you're having yourself.

The real head bottle-washer is still the Supreme Guide of the Iranian Revolution, Ali Khameni, who is the nation's religious leader. The surprise is none too great, since the two other moderate contenders dropped out on the eve of the poll, leaving the field clear for Rohani. And moderate does not mean the dawn of a new era of regional peace and religious toleration.

According to an analysis piece in today's Libération, Ali Khameni has cleverly organised this victory, to give the regime a smiling face, to lessen the political pressure exerted by Iran's young reformers, who want to accelerate their country's move into a century closer to Universal Time, and to defuse the deadlocked talks on Teheran's nuclear ambitions. That will enable Khameni to demand the easing of economic sanctions which have all but destroyed the Iranian economy.

Rohani may also help to patch up the dangerous political row which currently separates supporters of Khameni from those of former president Ali Rafsandjani.

Libération is perhaps not exaggerating when they welcome the new man as "The hope of Iran".

The final French school exam, the bac, gets under way this morning with the philosophy test.

Right-wing Le Figaro welcomes the occasion to have a good whinge about the overall decline in French educational standards. France is currently rated 21st in the international Pisa rankings, dominated by China, Korea, Finland and Canada, and this despite an ever-growing investment in education by successive French governments.

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