French press review 21 April 2015

As the reported death toll from Sunday's migrant drowning tragedy in the Mediterranean rises past 800, the majority of this morning's French dailies ask what Europe can do to end the series of accidents that have cost the lives of at least 1,500 people this year alone.

Le Monde says the latest disaster brings the European Triton initiative into question, suggesting that a coastguard service whose priority is not saving the lives of those in danger is a dangerous anomaly.

The centrist daily says the Mediterranean will continue to be a vast marine graveyard at least until some kind of political stability is reestablished in Libya, currently the wide open door to potential disaster for so many of Africa's economic and political refugees.

And while a coherent long-term policy is being worked out by a united Europe, says Le Monde, there is an urgent need to help Italy financially so that the Mare nostrum scheme intended to help would-be migrants in distress can be reinstituted.

If the European Union can send vessels to fight pirates in the Indian Ocean, says Le Monde, it can surely contribute to a joint naval initiative on its own doorstep.

Less easy to establish would be an international police union against the criminal networks in north Africa who profit from the desperation of their unfortunate passengers.

Finally, says Le Monde, Europe needs to evolve a clear and consistent policy on immigration, recognising the needs and aspirations of those who risk their lives to reach her shores. That is not a political debating point, says the centrist daily, it is a moral imperative.

In what might as well be a different world, sports daily L'Equipe calls on our local football heroes Paris St Germain to redeem themselves tonight when they take on Barcelona in the second leg of their European Champions Cup quarter-final in the Catalan capital. Since they lost the first leg here in Paris last week by three goals to one, PSG have quite a bit of redeeming to do. And the wildly partisan crowd at Barca's Camp Nou stadium won't encourage them a great deal.

Statistically speaking, PSG have a very small chance. Only three clubs have managed to reverse a three-goal deficit in the 166 European matches played since the away-goals rule was established in 1969. L'Equipe says that gives Paris St Germain a 1.81 per cent chance of reaching the semis.

Left-leaning Libération looks to the future and sees the AppleWatch, which will be commercially available from Friday.

The basic idea is that you can wear a device which will register you heart rate and the amount of exercise you take. This is intended to enable you to better control your calory intake and activity regime.

But Libé is worried about who will have access to the information collected. Could health insurance companies use evidence collected by your watch to support their refusal to pay your hospital bills? And is there a deeper psychological danger in the idea that our physical well-being can be reduced to a simple question of statistics?

The health of the manufacturers of connected devices like the AppleWatch is not in any doubt. Forty-six million units will be sold this year, doubling last year's take. And we are expected to buy 126 million electronic warches, bracelets and glasses next year.