French press review 22 March 2010

As President Sarkozy licks his wounds following a massive defeat in regional elections, what next for the ruling UMP party? Is the left on the rise again in France? And will the sad demise of Dusty the rhinoceros spark a ban in Zimbabwe on ivory poaching?

The graphic representation of the French ruling UMP party's defeat in this weekend's regional elections is nothing short of gleeful in the left-wing press. Libération has splashed pink all over it's front page. A very small section is coloured blue, but even here Libération points out that this UMP stronghold was won by a smaller margin than expected.

Communist l'Humanité goes further still, running with the headline "The reject". Through smashed glass, French President Nicolas Sarkozy can be seen on a gilt chair looking forlorn.

Right -leaning Le Figaro tries something else. Sarkozy in profile - and he does have a strong profile - beside the headline "Sarkozy has decided to react". In its headline on page two, Le Figaro highlights a rather pyrrhic victory: The left has won but has missed out on the grand slam. The UMP party retain two of France's 26 regions.

You have to go quite far through the press before you get to any other news stories.

In Les Echos there's a nice juxtaposition. Alongside a story about Nicolas Sarkozy defending francophonie and calling for the strict application of the rules that make French a language at the UN, a story about a cyber-revolt in Moscow which seems to defy the French president. It is a shameless mélange of languages. Internet users are accusing the police of what Les Echos calls "le cover up". "Un crash" has become "un hit" in web discussions since the vice-president of an oil company was released without charge after a car crash that left two people dead.

India is gripped by the scandal of the money necklace.

Le Monde runs a story about the so-called queen of the untouchables, Behan Kumari Mayawati. She is a politician who champions the rights of India's lowest caste and has recently taken to sporting a garland made of cash from 1,000 rupee notes. Apparently the garland was officially worth 2.1 million rupees (34,000 euros) - all from donations. But says Le Monde, why all the fuss?  It's the statement that's important. It's a symbol of the power of the untouchables.

Uproar ensued with cries of "Arrogance!" and "Corruption!" filling the air. But Behan Kumari Mayawati reoffended two days later. This time with the more modest sum of 29,000 euros around her neck.

It' s not the first time she's pulled a stunt like this. A couple of years ago her supporters made her a 52kg birthday cake. It seems she's trying to achieve greater liberation and equality for the untouchables by showing that they're extremely rich. So crazy it might just work. Who knows?

Also in Le Monde, a report from Zimbabwe on rhinoceroses begins with a bleak tableau. Bones scattered by scavengers are all that remains of Dusty, an eight-year-old rhinoceros, killed for his two horns six months ago. I don't know who gave Dusty his name.

In Doha, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) is discussing ways of putting pressure on the Zimbabwean authorities to make them fight poaching. A pair of rhinoceros horns sells for 3,000 to 4,000 euros. Twelve rhinoceroses have already been killed this year.

In Le Croix there's a malaria update. Big donors are meeting this week to discuss prevention of the disease. A report shows that between 2000 and 2009, preventative actions avoided 384,000 infant deaths. This week in The Hague, financing options are being discussed. Just over nine billion euros would allow the continuance of programmes that are already in place. Fourteen billion euros would allow the development of prevention programmes to be sharply accelerated.

Finally, one more story from Libération.

In Belgium,  the gaffe-prone minister of defence has invited the defence minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo to help with a military parade for the Belgian national holiday. The opposition is up-in-arms that the representative of an army accused of terrible crimes should have been invited. The Belgium Defence Minister Pieter de Crem invited Charles Mwando Nsimba off his own bat and the prime minister quickly said it had never been ordered.