French press review 21 March 2013

Racism in France and how it compares to other countries and are the dark days for President Hollande's Socialist Party set to continue? That's all in the French papers today.

Catholic La Croix attempts to describe the current level of racism in France, based on the annual report of the National Consultative Committee on Human Rights, published today.

It's a complicated subject, and a sensitive one, which obviously loses a lot in generalisation. But there has been a sharp increase in racist incidents in the past year, and members of the jewish community appear to have been the principal victims, with a dramatic rise in anti-muslim racism.

Nearly 70 per cent of people questioned say there are too many immigrants in France, and most accept that they are becoming less tolerant.

La Croix suggests that the economic crisis is to blame, dividing society into those whosuffer and those who profit, with the immigrant population unreasonably dumped, en bloc, into the profiteering category. The catholic paper is also critical of some unnamed politicians, who have tended to polarise the debate in an effort to profit from social stereotypes and the prejudices that go with them.

La Croix looks to Denmark where the line between freedom of expression and racism is frequently hard to define. Lars Hedegaard, the editor of an overtly anti-muslim magazine (and survivor of a recent assassination attempt) insists that it is not racist to defend democratic freedom and refuse the religious fanatics, of whatever persuasion, who want to impose their benighted laws and customs on the rest of us.

Denmark's extreme right People's Party is currently credited with between 16 and 18 per cent electoral support, putting it at the same level as the social democrats of the current Prime Minister.

Right wing Le Figaro is delighted to announce that the dark days continue for the socialist tandem of Jean-Marc Ayrault and François Hollande.

Like all political weather forecasting, it's a bit speculative, but the lads at Le Figaro would never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Yesterday, Le Figaro was praising the president for the rapidity and clarity of his reaction to the deepening legal difficulties of Jérôme Cahuzac, the former Budget Minister being investigated on suspicion that he used an overseas bank account to avoid paying French income tax.

This morning, the right-wing paper sees the shock waves of that particular case as further proof that the socialist administration is incompetent, directionless and beyond hope.

They play down the fact that yesterday's right-wing sponsored motion of no-confidence in the government collapsed with just 228 votes (they needed at least 287).

But Le Figaro is critical of the prime minister for simply repeating the worn out promises of "a debt-free nation," "financial stability," "a healthier social security system," "a place for the young," . . . yet another version, says Figaro, of the president's long-forgotten campaign promises. With one new and worrying addition to the socialist vocabulary, "hardship". Further Figaro fulmination follows.