French press review 07 March 2014

The French unemployment figures, Sarkozy's legal action over secret tapes and French ministers' boycott of Sochi Paralympics are all topics in today's French papers.

Some refreshing news for President François Hollande with Aujourd’hui en France reporting that he has finally succeeded in delivering on his promise to reverse the jobless trend in 2013.

This is after the National Statistics Institute (Insee) released its figures for the French unemployment rate for the fourth quarter, showing that the number of job-seekers fell by 41,000 in the last three months of 2013.

Aujourd’hui en France says the figures mean that France’s unemployment rate is now down to 9.8 per cent on the mainland and 10.2 in the overseas territories.

It claims that the news has given Labour Minister Michel Sapin reason to rejoice.

Libération sheds light on the methodology used by the statistics agency to calculate the jobless figures, its experts asserting that they are absolutely authentic and not the work of government spin doctors.

Le Figaro describes the Insee figures as dodgy, arguing that they are not par with the 174,800 long-term job claims registered by the national employment agency, Pôle Emploi.

It comments that the government is now siding with Insee when Pôle Emploi‘s statistics have up till now been its yardstick.

The right-wing newspaper Le Figaro has opted to headline on 192 taxes that need to be scrapped. The levies, described as inefficient by the right-wing paper, are contained in a new report handed to Budget Minister Bernard Cazeneuve by the general inspectorate of finance.

The package could dock 5.3 billion euros from taxpayers’ contributions every year.

Le Figaro also takes up the decision by ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni to launch legal action to prevent further publication of conversations secretly taped by his then political adviser Patrick Buisson during his time at the Elysée.

Some extracts have already been published by satirical weeklyLe Canard Enchaîné and news website Atlantico without any really explosive revelations.

Libération says Buisson’s estranged son has denied leaking the recordings as his father filed a lawsuit against person or persons unknown.

How exactly the tapes came into the public domain is an intriguing aspect of the scandal, with some sort of far-right or intelligence services' plot amongst the conspiracy theories floating around.

La Croix points to the paradoxical situation facing Russian President Vladmir Putin as he prepares to inaugurate the Sochi Paralympic Games tonight while his country stands accused of causing tensions in neighbouring Ukraine.

Libération accuses Putin of fanning the flames of escalation, after the Kremlin announced it was examining a request for Crimea’s incorporation into Russia after a vote by the region’s parliament.

Aujourd’hui en France accuses Russia of playing with the nerves of the Europeans who, at their extraordinary summit in Brussels onThursday, opted instead for a constructive dialogue and graduated economic sanctions if Russia goes ahead with the annexation of Crimea.

The newspaper says Europe’s leaders are obliged to proceed with caution, held back Germany’s vast economic interests in Russia and Chencellor Angela Merkel’s reluctance to spoil her privileged relationship with Putin.

Le Figaro also doubts the effectiveness of EU sanctions when Russian gas exports to the EU supply one-third of Europe’s energy needs and Britain reluctant to strike the wallets of oligarchs behind the City of London’s prosperity.

And Aujourd’hui en France is basking in the surprise arrival of spring two weeks earlier than due, highlighting the rise in temperatures and French morale, after the immense suffering caused by unending rains and storms of all sorts.