French press review 30 May 2014

There's bad news across the board for French President François Hollande today.

The bad news on the front page of left-wing Liberation is that after five years since a policy came into place to get people back to work the trend is in the opposite direction: an increase in unemployment.

Communistl'Humanité also headlines with the bad news on unemployment, saying that Hollande is trapped by his own promises, referring to tax pledges and a reducton in unemployment.

Economic daily les Echos bears the news that there is likely to be a 20-billion-euro fiscal shortfall.

CentristLe Monde lists the thrashings the Socialist Party has had of late: in addition to the aforementioned problems, the European elections were a humiliation. They wonder whether a suspension of social protection may be on the menu... a move that would undoubtedly be unpopular in many corners.

Even Catholic daily La Croix headlines that French and African force are struggling to maintian security in the Central African Republic.

Asif that weren't enough right-wing Le Figaro manages to give Hollande a final kick in the teeth headlining that the Socialist Party would prefer Prime Minister Valls to be its candidate in the 2017 presidential elections!

So Hollande won't be too happy reading the press over his morning coffee.

The editorial of Le Figaro, somewhat charitably, puts in context the failings of the current government, saying that by unfortunate circumstances Hollande's mandate comes at a time of turmoil and that France needs to rethink everything: its social model, its ways and even its history.

The editorial laments that the younger, more pragmatic Valls is limited to carrying out the timid reforms of his boss, the president. It goes on to say that it is high time Hollande gave Socialist MPs a good shake-up so they face up to new realities and that he should no longer give in to wishy-washy compromises.

At the other end of the political spectrum, Communist l'Humanité also advises a radical change in policy direction, saying that already many left-wing politicians are calling for a massive shift, particularly those in the Left Front, of which the Communist Party is part, and the Greens. There are now increasingly outspoken voices within the Socialist Party itself.

La Croix carries a report from its special envoy to Central African Republic where violence erupted once more last Sunday in the town of Bambari in the central part of the country. The reporter recounts a fairly hairy encounter with Séléka rebels on the road to the town when the vehicle in which he was travelling was mobbed by armed and drugged men. The rebels were eager to attack any French citizens but luckily a British journalist also in the convoy managed to persuade them to let the vehicle through.

This was a foretaste of the meeting that they were to have with  General Joseph Zondeko who has basically taken over the town as his personal fiefdom, representing the Muslim militia. 

Zondeko complained that since the French military have intervened, there are fewer Muslims in the CAR. He claims that the French are only protecting the Christian anti-Balaka militia groups. Zondeko says that from Bambari, they are preparing to split the country into two. That the French army is favouring the anti-Balaka over the Séléka is also documented by FIDH, the Internatonal Federation of Human Rights. La Croix prints an extract from a report to be published soon. But, concludes FIDH's analysis, with only 2,000 French troops on the ground there are very few strategies to carry out a more complete mission.