French press review 1 January 2015

The news websites are talking about François Hollande’s New Year address.

According to Libération, Hollande displayed some fighting spirit during his address yesterday.

The French president wanted to sound optimistic but also remind everyone who's governing the country.

The year 2014 was "rough and studded with trials" said Hollande, but 2015 promises to be better according to the President.

Le Figaro has an interesting article on their website.

They have analysed the words used by Hollande.

It's no secret that the French President is trying to convey a message.

And, the right leaning newspaper says, this year, it's all about France.

The president referred to the country several times during his 9 minute speech.

There is one phrase that sticks out according to Le Figaro : "France is not nostalgic. It is hopeful."

Le Monde is talking about blood and organs this morning.

The website is wondering why the French government banned gay men from giving their blood but not their organs.

The controversy arose after a young gay man died in Nantes last week.

Virgil Porcher was registered for organ donation - and now his organs will give six other people a chance to live their lives.

The gesture was even welcomed by President François Hollande.

However, because he is homosexual, Virgil would have been refused if he wanted to donate blood during his lifetime.

And that, for gay right organisations, simply doesn't make sense says Le Monde.

The ban on gay men donating blood dates back to the 80's and the beginning of the Aids crisis.

The French health authorities say the ban is a good thing because homosexuals are 65 times more likely to have aids.

But for the LGBT advocacy groups, this is discrimination - because every single drop of blood is tested at least two times.

According to Slate France, French people are going to bed at 3am on average on New Year's Eve.

These numbers are coming from Jawbone, a society that sells electronic wristband.

They've analyzed sleep data from hundreds of thousands of Jawbone users.

So what country stays up the latest?

Russia clocked in an average bedtime of 3:36am.

Europe and South America also went to bed late, and countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Chile all stay up way past 2 am.

Surprisingly though, the US didn't even make it to 1 am, with most people going to bed right after midnight.