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French press review 2 February 2018

Daval murder plunges France into another trauma. President Macron moves to trim France's obese civil service. And tips to beat the persisting gloomy weather.

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We start withcoverage of the trauma sweeping across France over the so-called Daval Affair. French IT worker Jonathan Daval on Tuesday admitted to killing his wife Alexia in a case that has gripped the country since her charred corpse was found in a wood in October.

Le Parisien reports that his confession to the  murder, shocked the couple's peaceful hometown,Gray-la-Ville, in eastern France, where nearly 10,000 people turned out for a silent march in her memory.

La Croix says it is reassuring to realize that despite their rather slow and secretive handling of such cases, investigators finally got to the bottom of the gruesome murder. Some of the heated reactions about the murder are sparked by the line of defence put up by Daval's lawyer.

He told the press that tensions in the Daval relationship, “fanned by Alexia's overwhelming personality”, made her husband Jonathan “feel diminished”, adding that his “motivation was not criminal".

That sparked an angry reaction from the Secretary of State in charge of Equality between Women and Men Marlène Schiappa who rushed to qualify the crime as murder attracting a rebuke from Le Courrier picard which criticizes her for transforming herself into a judge.

La République des Pyrénées notes that Schiappa's rant constituted an abuse of her duty of confidentiality which cabinet Ministers ought to respect and earned her a rebuke from the government spokesman Christophe Castaner.

In an editorial, L'Union says this is probably one issue on which the minister, notorious for her fiery temperament, would have kept quiet. It's another affair that is shocking to the French people comments Le Journal de la Haute-Marne, warning that investigators should be given the time to carry out their work.

Le Figaro cross examines a plan laid out by the government on Thursday to slash 120,000 jobs from France's 5.67 million-strong civil service.

The conservative publication says it was one of President Emmanuel Macron's campaign promises adding that they are looking at beefing up fixed-term contracts and voluntary departures to end the paradise for career civil servants which grew by 0.4 percent by the end of 2016.

According to Le Figaro, the workforce of the civil service represents 89 public employees for 1000 French inhabitants which is very large by European standards.

L'Humanité wonders how the government can dare cut down the civil service at a time when there is a shortage of human resources the police, the judiciary, in the education sector, in French prisons and in the cultural sector. Édouard Philippe simply wants to aggravate the situation by generalizing insecure jobs" warns the Communist daily.

There are tips in today's Le Parisien about how to deal with the gloomy weather in France. This, as citizens have to grapple with a sunshine deficit of between 30 to 60 percent below normal levels.

According to the paper, grey weather and humidity saps people's morale citing findings by three specialists who advise people to go out and look for sunshine.

You've got to test your “cardiac coherence” as well says another neurologist by taking out stress hormones which are traditionally high in the blood during autumn and winter and likely to harm the vitality of the brain.

He tells Le Parisien that this can be done by sitting up in relaxed positions and breathing through the nose, through doing some sports whenever possible. Thinking positive, surrounding yourself with loved ones and having a good time is also good.

The experts also advice the French to eat spicy and “stimulating” foods and avoid cold, acidic or fattening dishes.  Stay warm, cajole and caress your loved ones but don't stay too long in bed advises Le Parisien.

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