Skip to main content

French weekly magazines review

Divisions in Algeria about ailing President Bouteflika’s bid for a fourth term in office and the Ukraine crisis dominate comments in the French magazines.

Advertising

Le Figaro Magazine captures an emotional moment in the “semifuneral “ the pro-European Ukrainian demonstrators held last Sunday at Maidan Square - the picture of a young woman visiting the battleground of the three-month occupation in central Kiev.

The scene of destruction is now covered by heaps of roses and bouquets of flower laid there by the people of Kiev as homage to the revolutionaries gunned down by police acting on the orders of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.

Le Figaro Magazine reports that some of the insurgents have maintained their barricades as they remain sceptical about the scope of their victory, as the pro-Russian community distance themselves from the grief and struggle of the pro-Europeans.

L’Express explores the challenges posed by the threats of secession by the pro-Russian communities in Crimea, the manoeuvres of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the lessons Europe should learn from the crisis. For the weekly, it is a grim reminder that security in eastern Europe remains as fragile as ever and that Ukraine’s destiny hangs on the new strategic calculations of its Russian neighbours.

The Maidan insurgents have carved a place for themselves in their country’s history whatever happens, according to Le Nouvel Observateur.

It claims that, despite the bloody police crackdown, fear and freezing weather, opponents of the corrupt, dictatorial regime never abandoned the European dream. Le Nouvel Observateur pays homage to the heroes of the revolution in a 20-page supplement, complete with profiles of seven personalities who played a crucial role, including former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko now one of the three top members of Ukraine’s opposition.

Le Point has a pulsating account of the downfall of Yanukovych. The article, titled “the political life and death of an autocratic president”, digs into his past, starting from the loss of his parents when he was two years old, his upbringing by a poor grandmother, one of his classmates recalling that at his tender age he often resorted to stealing women’s hats in order to eat.

Yanukovych probably doesn’t remember those days anymore as he became a clan leader and governor of Donetsk at the age of 47. His 137-hectare property 30 kilometres south of Kiev offers a good hint about his wealth and the life of opulence he lived. Le Point reports that on the day after his flight insurgents discovered a hand-written instruction he signed ordering aides to pay 12 million dollars to one of his cronies.

Le Canard Enchaîné expresses concern about the situation in Algeria as the country prepares to go to the polls on 27 April to elect a new president. It notes that the incumbent, Abdellaziz Bouteflika, now aged 77, is standing for a fourth term after 15 years in office, despite suffering a cardiovascular accident in April last year. The satirical journal doubts Bouteflika is aware of the decision made public by Prime Minister Abdelmalek

Sellal.

Le Canard says he has delivered only two speeches since then and state affairs are firmly in the hands of his younger brother, Saïd, and a handful of cronies who run the army and intelligence services.

The satirical weekly observes that the Bouteflika candidacy has split the country down the middle - those yearning for security after the 1991 Islamist civil war, which killed some 150,000 people, say they will vote for Bouteflika dead or alive.

Le Canard Enchaîné says the vast majority who are fed up with the corrupt “gerontocrats” clinging to power are fanning a new wave of insolence in the press. It points to El Watan for example which has posted the clip of Bouteflika’s latest public appearance. The caption is, “Oh, he’s alive, he’s moving.”

Le Point throws a time-bomb into the heart of the main opposition UMP party with revelations that the movement’s leader Jean François Copé may have allowed a friend's company to substantially overcharge for services provided to ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2012 campaign. The right-wing magazine points at Events & Cie, an affiliate of Bygmalion, a communications firm belonging to Bastien Millot a longtime chief of staff to Copé.

Le Point says the firm made an estimated 10 million euros in all and that most of it came from the UMP during Copé’s tenure first as the party’s treasurer and then as its leader. The UMP leader has slammed the allegations as witch-hunting and vowed to sue Le Point.
 

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.