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French press review 18 April 2016

Republicans and Democrats get ready to vote in presidential primaries in the state of New York, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both expected to win on home territory. But the scale of his probable victory could be crucial for Trump, hampered as he is by three other contenders. French leader François Hollande has problems of a different order. And as for poor old Alain Finkielkraut . . .

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Presidential ambitions dominate this morning's French front pages.

Left-leaning Libération looks to the United States where Hillary Clinton looks set to win the Democrat nomination and Donald Trump the Republican. 

The New York primaries will be run off tomorrow, with Clinton and Trump expected to triumph over their respective rivals. And the scale of victory for the two front-runners is likely to determine the next five primaries, all due before the end of this month. The only crucial question seems to be whether Donald Trump, who still has three opponents, will collect a sufficient number of delegates to ensure his automatic nomination at the party convention in July.

Will Hollande stand again?

Right-wing Le Figaro wonders if French leader François Hollande, who has promised to decide on his own presidential future by the end of this year, can still have any real hope of being a candidate in 2017. He'd be wasting his time if we're to believe the opinion poll published today by Le Figaro.

Against any right-wing contender, Hollande would be defeated in the first round. And far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen would come out on top in practically all scenarios. Only Alain Juppé, the conservative mayor of Bordeaux, would manage to beat Le Pen. Sarkozy, Fillon and Bruno Le Maire, the other right-wing front-runners, would all lose to Le Pen, with Hollande trailing in third.

Hollande promises to take more refugees after Pope shows how it's done

Catholic La Croix gives pride of place to the decision by Pope Francis to bring three Syrian families back to Rome after his weekend visit to the Greek island of Lesbos. The three families are all Muslim and were chosen in a draw of names. The Catholic paper also notes that Hollande, during his weekend visit to Lebanon, promised that France would take in more refugees.

The La Croix headline pointedly distinguishes between "acts" and "promises", saying that the papal gesture should wake the rest of Europe's leaders up to the reality of the humanitarian crisis on their doorsteps.

Paris protesters give philosopher rough ride

Left-leaning Libération is worried about the Nuit debout movement in Paris. For the past few weeks, the capital's Place de la République has been the scene of nightly impromptu meetings of concerned citizens. Broadly similar to the Indignacios movement in Madrid at the depths of Spain's economic and political crisis, Nuit Debout (Up All Night) claims to be non-party political, leaderless, with no driving principle beyond the desire to provide a forum for debate.

Like many other public demonstrations, Nuit Debout has attracted certain parasites, notably the "casseurs", who profit from the cover provided by large crowds to smash shop windows and go about their business of petty larceny.

Last Saturday the philosopher Alain Finkielkraut was insulted and spat upon by some participants when he arrived in the Place de la République. He had to be escorted away by an improvised security detail. Finkielkraut would not be known for holding opinions parallel to those of many who take part in Nuit Debout.

But that's just the point, says the Libération editorial. If this citizens' movement is incapable of welcoming all shades of opinion, then what is it all about? Participative democracy can not be based on exclusion, with some speakers more equal than others simply because we agree with what they have to say.

Some protesters say Finkielkraut wasn't welcome because he's part of the system the movement rejects.

If Nuit Debout is a sign of growing political interest among ordinary citizens, that's a good thing says Libé. But, if it degenerates into just another sectarian shouting match, that's a step backwards.

Finki is quoted in Le Figaro as saying that his expulsion proves that Nuit debout's claim to be democratic and pluralist is a nonsensical lie.

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