French press review 15 July 2013

Trains and taxation are the topics catching the French editorial eye this Monday morning.

Trains, of course, in the wake of Friday's rail accident in the suburbs of Paris.

Libération says the derailment, due to a displaced metal bar, normally supposed to link sections of track, is proof that the French rail system is ageing and worn out, and badly in need of serious investment.

In fact, Libé's own figures make nonsense of the suggestion of under-investment. For the routes Paris-Orléans and Limoges-Toulouse, on which Friday's crash happened, the amount available for maintenance this year . . . about 70 million euros . . . is more than twice the amount spent in 2012.

Communist L'Humanité says the problem is political. Having decided three decades ago that the high speed train was the future of the French rail sector, successive governments have allowed parts of the national network to become backwaters. The communist daily claims that the policy has been, basically, to cut costs, increase prices, freeze investments and use the sparkling success of the TGV as a camouflage for the whole network.

In support of this argument, L'Humanité says that 3,000 kilometres of French railways are currently subject to speed restrictions . . . an indication of a technical problem requiring maintenance . . . as opposed to 1,000 kilometres ten years ago.

CatholicLa Croix wants to know how safe are French trains. Fifteen thousand trains travel on the French rail network every day, 2,000 of them at very high speed, transporting four million passengers. This summer, the rail company will carry no fewer than 22 million passengers. Serious accidents like last Friday's are, mercifully, very rare.

The taxation story is on the front page of right wing Le Figaro, under the headline "Hollande won't rule out a further hike next year". The French president was yesterday in upbeat mood, the sun was shining, it was the national holiday for God's sake. Speaking to the nation, François H. promised that the government would spend less, save more. He called for an end to "pessimism", assuring his audience that the signs of economic recovery are already visible.

Le Figaro compares the presidential speech to a fireworks display, suggesting that there was more noise and smoke than light.