French press review 10 August 2017

Commentators applaud French troops after arrest of a jihadi who smashed a car on anti-terrorist forces on patrol outside Paris. And South Koreans slam "crazy" Kim and Trump as they play "testosterone-fuelled" war games over their heads.

DR

The commentators rally behind France's troops serving in the anti-terrorist Sentinelle Operation.

This was after French police shot and arrested an Algerian national who smashed his car into soldiers outside a barracks in the Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret injuring six on Wednesday morning.

Several papers carry details of the massive manhunt and the tracking of the terrorist's car involving 300 policemen up to his arrest on a motorway near the northern port of Calais.

The servicemen targeted in the assault were part of the 7,000-strong street patrol force set up in January 2015 after jihadist gunmen killed 12 people in the 2015 attack on the the offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

According to Le Parisien, it is unacceptable that the soldiers, ensuring the safety of the French people have actually been transformed from a shield to a lightning conductor, as they themselves come under attack every time they are called upon to intervene against terrorists.

According to Les Echos, the attack in Levallois raises fresh questions about the relevance of the operation which exposes the lives of the soldiers to greater risk than the shield they are supposed to provide to the population.

For its part, Le Figaro puts up a spirited defence of the operation arguing that their so-called exposure to life threatening risks is a necessary evil. The paper implores opinion shapers not to forget the fact that France has become the sworn enemy of jihadists whether its citizens are dressed in military fatigues or not.

The right-wing publication issues a fervent appeal for additional means to strengthen the operational capacity of the force and for the tightening of the judicial arsenal including the maintenance of the state of emergency, instead of the deep cuts carried out on the army's budget by the current Macron administration.

The Sentinelle operation is first and foremost a communications weapon for the government as the people notes Le Courrier Picard. The regional publication, explains that the soldiers on patrol in the streets already have a reassuring effect on the population.

L'Est Républicain also supports the street patrols by armed soldiers arguing that the operation is proof that past governments and the current administration have not been inactive in the face of the growing terrorism threat.

According to the paper, the "Sentinelle" Operation is to say the very least, a political and psychological message addressed to the population and to tourists coming to France.

Some of today's French papers, scorn the so-called "dingos" or crazy fellows -- North Korea's Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump who have taken their" testosterone-fuelled standoff to a new reckless level.

This was after the Pyongyang strongman branded Donald Trump as "bereft of reason". The American leader had just threatened to respond with "fire and fury, like the world has never seen", if Kim went ahead with his plan to strike US strategic military installations in Guam with intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

L'Humanité says that in South Korea's capital Seoul, social media is buzzing with piercing sarcasm about the scary determination of the compulsive tweeter in the White House and his crazy counterpart in Pyongyang to settle scores over their heads.