French press review 15 August 2015

French church bells are to ring at noon in symbolic support for Christians of the Levant. The United Nations picks a Gabonese diplomat to repair the image of UN blue helmets damaged by a sexual abuse scandal in the Central African Republic. And, why does economic growth keep eluding France?

Le Monde popped the million-euro question as other eurozone nations have started benefitting from structural reforms and the ripple effect of low inflation, a weaker euro and lower oil prices.

The question comes after the French economy posted zero growth in the second quarter against a surprise 0.7 per cent in the first. The country's central bank predicted on Monday that the third quarter would see growth of 0.3 per cent, the same as government forecasts.

Le Monde attributes the sluggish figures to a drop in consumption by households and enterprises. It quotes Finance Minister Michel Sapin as saying that growth is around the corner but not robust enough to bring down unemployment stubbornly stuck at around 10 per cent.

“Growth probably also went on vacation in the second quarter,” jokes Libération in its own coverage of the story. But on a serious note the paper says the disappointing figures are a cold bath to the government which had been pinning its hopes on the delivery of two key reforms: the so-called Macron laws named after Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, aimed at opening up the economy traditionally seen as more closed than some of its neighbours; and the Responsibility Pact, a deal with big business to create jobs in return for tax breaks.

Economists estimate that annual growth of 1.5 per cent will be required to bring down the jobless lines in Europe’s second-largest economy.

Official eurozone data Friday showed that growth in the 19-nation single-currency bloc slowed slightly in the second quarter to 0.3 per cent, coming in at the bottom end of analyst forecasts.

Le Figaro stands behind France as it mobilises the world for the Christians of the Levant. This is after the government said it would be hosting a conference of 60 foreign ministers in Paris on 8 September to discuss the plight of Christians in Syria and Iraq.

The conservative publication says French Christians are showing the way this 15 August as they celebrate the feats of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It reports that church bells will be ringing at midday Saturday in 50 dioceses across the country in a strong gesture of support and prayer for the persecuted Oriental Christians.

Also in Le Monde is a biography of Gabon’s Parfait Onanga Anyanga, the UN’s new point man in the Central African Republic who replaces Senegalese General Babacar Gueye, forced to step down in the sexual abuse scandal dogging UN troops in the war-ravaged country.

The paper says that Anyanga is a long-serving diplomat who was the UN’s representative in Burundi prior to his appointment. He will be responsible for ending a trend that saw 480 cases of sexual abuse by UN staff in the Central African Republic between 2008 and 2013, according to Le Monde.

And Libération comments about the return of the American flag to Havana as US Secretary of State John Kerry reopened the American Embassy in Cuba. The left-leaning newspaper says the highly symbolic event was a first timer in many ways. This was the first time the Star-Spangled Banner was being hoisted in Havana since 1961 while Kerry is the first American diplomat to set foot on the Island since 1945.

For Libé the two Cold War foes are still a long way from normalising relations, which is why Kerry didn’t mince words. “The people of Cuba” would be better served by the advent of true democracy in which people are free to choose their leaders, he said.

According to Libération, while the Obama administration wants to lift the economic embargo imposed on the Communist island by the United States since 1962, the decision will depend on Congress, dominated by Republicans.