French press review 20 December 2010

Algeria's military takes on Al-Qaeda, Champagne growers make heroic efforts to recover from the effects of economic crisis, snobby councils defy a public housing law and the Catholic church applies itself to apps. 

The Algerian army's vast offensive against Al-Qaeda takes centrist daily Le Monde's headline in what appears to be an exclusive.

The Algerian government has deployed thousands of troops to the bush lands of the Kabyile - the headquarters of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (Aqim), according to the paper's reporter in the region.

Aqim of course made the headlines in France earlier this year after claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of five French hostages seized in Niger in September, and then demanding that France negotiate directly with Osama bin Laden for their release.

Officially, Le Monde says, nothing is happening in Kabylie. There's been no word from the government to confirm the military operation against Aqim, in fact the government refuses to comment, but Algerian press reports suggest that military manoeuvres were launched on the 9 December following the capture of two Aqim agents at the beginning of the month.

Then on the 16 December the country's three mobile phone networks were shut down for six days. For the first time, the paper says, the networks were cut off not only to prohibit contact amongst the group, but to stop them from remotely activating bombs.

During the shut-down reports came in from local residents that they could feel the bombardment of the Sidi Ali Bounab forest - an area under surveillance by army helicopters. No death toll has been made public, but the Algerian press puts the figure at between 12-15 fighters killed.

By launching this operation in the north of the country, Le Monde says, the Algerian army is without doubt trying to cut the organisation's contact with its southern bases in the Sahel and its borders with Mali and Niger.

This is the first military intervention against Aqim for some years, and so far the group has never been defeated. We'll have to wait and see if this 'secret operation' yields any substantial results.

On a lighter - bubblier - note, Le Monde reports that after  two years of free-falling sales during la crise Champagne has made a comeback in time for the festive period.

Compared with the first 10 months of the year, it reports, Champagne sales have gone up 12 per cent in the last month and a half.

Exports have gone up 22 per cent within the European Union, and 33 per cent outside the eurozone.

The UK and the US are the biggest veteran export markets, whilst China has a newly developed penchant for France's favourite celebratory tipple.

Last year Champagne sales were down more than 17 per cent within the EU and 25 per cent down in the rest of the world compared with 2008 sales.

The big Champagne producers have been quick to point out their "gallant hand' in keeping the market open during the economic meltdown. They - rather honourably so they seem to think - created two-for-one offers and payment deferral schemes so we could all keep supping away at the world's finest poison.

One thing the big houses did not do however was put Champagne prices down. Lowering prices would, they say, risk devaluing the drink's image in the not-so-official, but very real, hierarchy of the deluxe.

Left-leaning Libération's headline is "social housing, the ranking of towns outside the law".

Ten years after the SRU law was introduced - that's the law that says each town in France must accommodate a certain amount of council housing - numerous towns are still reluctant to share their social space with state-owned properties and their dwellers, with some richer towns even preferring to pay a fine for not abiding by the law, rather than inviting council tennants in.

Right-leaning Le Figaro has a piece on spiritual life and smart phones.

The Church is the latest clique to jump on the application bandwagon. You can now pray, light a virtual candle, find the closest church, or listen to a surmon on your phone with one of the the latest apps for the apple iphone. 50 per cent of users of Magnificat - once such downloadable application available since March - open the application nine times per day the paper says.