French press review 25 March 2011

There is no one story dominating the headlines in the French newspapers on Friday. Le Monde reads "Libya intervention hampered by disorganised rebel forces", Libération is once again fixated with reliance on nuclear energy, whilst Les Echos surprises readers with the news that the world is showing positive signs of economic recovery.

Le Monde gives a rundown of the fast moving conflict in Libya with a report following rebels on the Ajdabiya - Benghazi road. Cut off from the world, it says, the rebels are ill-equipped and badly trained with most having no military background.

It takes a look at the diplomatic wrangling with Turkey, questioning the role that Nato and the military coalition should play in the intervention. It asks whether western countries could have ulterior motives for intervening, such as an attempt to gain control of the country's oil riches.

Libé has a report on Colonel Gaddafi's secret police, which it says is killing rebels and terrorising local villages. Right-leaning Le Figaro looks further afield at the situation in Syria and the repression of riots affecting the southern city of Daraa.

The financial crisis in Portugal also makes the headlines. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates was forced to hand in his resignation following parliament’s rejection of his budget for a fourth time in a row. The paper asks if there could be contagion in neighbouring countries and whether the eurozone could weather another storm after similar problems in Greece and Ireland.

Across the channel in Britain, Le Fig looks at the situation with chancellor George Osborne’s budget announcement and so-called austerity gamble. There’s “no plan-b”, says Osborne, warning the alternative would be going down the same route as Greece. However, business daily Les Echos comes to the rescue with the news that the world economy is showing the green shoots of recovery.

Back to the Middle East, which makes a return to the front page of Le Monde. Their editorial tries to make sense of the recent wave of violence. It speaks about the stalemate between Israeli and Palestinian forces and the importance of finding a way to jump start negotiations.

On a lighter note, Le Monde takes a look at the release of the new iPad2 which goes on sale at 5pm local time. It asks if it’s an improvement on its predecessor and whether the consumer should wait for a wider choice this summer with the release of other tablets such as Motorola's Xoom and the new Galaxy tab. It’s not yet clear whether there will be long queues as was the case when the device was released in the US.

On a cultural front, Le Monde takes a look at an exhibition at the Pinacothèque de Paris on the Italian graphic artist Hugo Pratt, who was the creator of the comic-book hero Corto Maltese. Meanwhile, Libération dedicates a page to the painter and illustrator Etienne Delessert who created a fictional character for children's television called Yok-Yok.