EDITORIAL : RFI english, FRANCE

 

 

French press review

 

National reconciliation is going to be tough in Côte d'Ivoire, says Alassane Ouattara. Unemployment falls a little in France. Place your bets on the length of Kate's train and the sex of her progeny. And a certain lack of comradely relations in the French Socialist Party.

Côte d'Ivoire's president, Alassane Ouattara, is interviewed by Catholic paper La Croix.

Ouattara admits that the task of national reconciliation will be tougher than that of reconstruction.

On the ground in the commercial capital Abidjan, things seem to be getting back to normal, at least if the traffic jams are anything to go by.

But in the western suburb of Yopougon, the former centre of resistance by Gbagbo supporters, the after-effects of the struggle for the presidency are still being felt.

Ouattara has promised to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along the lines of the South African model, within the next two weeks. He says the vast majority of Ivorians now simply want to settle down and live in peace.

There's good news on the front pages of both Le Figaro and business daily Les Echos. Apparently, there are fewer people out of work here in France, the number looking for jobs declining for the third month in succession.

But there are still 2,680,000 people without jobs here in France.

There probably aren't too many English bookmakers out of work, and that's thanks to tomorrow's royal wedding in London.

You can bet your last farthing on how long Kate will keep William waiting at the altar, or how long the train on her dress will be, or whether or not she will get the order of his many names and titles correct in announcing her vows.

There's also the question of whether brother Harry, who will make the after-dinner speech, will be sober enough to keep it all suitable for royal ears. And if that's not enough to be getting on with, you can bet on the sex and the birth-date of the couple's first child.

Ladbrokes have already taken in 1.13 billion euros, more than ten times their usual income for a major sporting event.

Barack Obama is on the front page of Le Figaro, brandishing his birth certificate. Conservative groups have recently been suggesting that he has no right to be president of the United States, because he is not a US citizen.

Well, they were wrong. Birth certificate 10,641 issued by the state of Hawaii on 4 August 1961 proves that the man is perfectly entitled to live in the White House.

There are socialists, lots of them, on the front page of leftist Libération. You will understand that the French Socialist Party will, next October, hold a primary election with a view to allowing paid-up party members choose who should be the Socialist candidate in next year's presidential election.

If that sounds complicated, you should look at the way the lads and lassies are tearing into one another at party meetings.

Latest round: Frank Hollande is accused of low punching by launching his campaign for the party nomination without warning the other main contenders.

He's now just two points behind Socialist boss, Martine Aubry, in the opinion polls, but he's trailing Dominique Strauss-Khan, the man who may not actually run, by nearly 20 points.

Aubry's people are fighting back, describing Hollande as the most right-wing of left-wing candidates. Ouch!