French press review 18 August 2018

Mali's "IBK" wins a second five-year term, but pessimism looms over his capacity to restore peace in a country ravaged by poverty and Islamist rebels. And the French unions plot a "crash landing" for new Air France CEO Ben Smith.

The common joke that Africa only finds its way on the front pages of the French press for the wrong reasons is once again confirmed in Le Monde's feature on Mali.

The long report follows the re-election President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita for a second five-year term after winning a runoff ballot by a landslide, according to official figures released Thursday.

“IBK”, as the 73-year-old president is fondly called, received 67 percent of ballots cast against 33 percent for opposition challenger Soumaila Cissé during Sunday’s vote. Cissé has rejected the results and denounced “a dictatorship of fraud".

Le Monde deplores the current situation in the landlocked nation, home to at least 20 ethnic groups and where most people live on less than two euros a day.

According to the paper, Malians are gasping for breath. They’re exhausted from poverty, violent conflict and a years-long Islamist revolt.

Le Monde says it's unlikely that IBK's re-election will bring a breath of salutary fresh air to the country's polluted atmosphere.

By delaying the implementation of the 2015 Algiers peace accord signed with northern-based rebels groups, the daily argues, Keita neither restored the authority of the state in the north nor disarmed jihadist rebels operating there.

Furthermore, Le Monde accuses him of not stopping the violence in central Mali, where ethnic militias are killing each other under the pretext of protecting their kith and kin abandoned by Bamako.

According to Le Monde, "IBK" has been handed another five-year opportunity to repair the broken ties among Malians and put the country back on the path of development, even though few of his compatriots believe he can deliver.

Air France turbulence

The appointment of Canadian Benjamin Smith to lead Air France out of its current turbulence has yet to be digested by some commentators.

Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace says the destiny of the company will be determined by the markets and the airways -- not by government ministries.

The remarks are in reaction to the decisive role played by President Emmanuel Macron's cabinet in convincing Air France board members to pick a foreigner for the top job.

According to the publication, Air France pilots must have their heads spinning, as Smith is “not a member of the brigade of top civil servants who are used to obeying orders” and will therefore “not be shouted at every time there is a conflict”.

For Le Journal de la Haute-Marne, what is requested from Jean-Marc Janaillac's successor is not his ID card but the rehabilitation of the flagship airline crippled by social convulsions. His record in conflict resolution at Air Canada speaks in his favour, says the publication, which points to a series of 10-year accords he brokered with the unions at his former company.

“Welcome to France Ben”, shouts Le Républicain Lorrain. The daily expresses regret that Air France’s highly awaited saviour and messiah has been caught in the turbulent weather typical of France’s business environment.

According to the regional daily, blows are raining on him from left and right, simply because he's not French and had the audacity to accept the big bucks salary.

"Dear Mister Smith", the Lorraine paper writes, "if you're not the brilliant chap he are presented to be, then you'll have everyone on your back-- the workers, the unions and the entire political class".