French press review
Le Monde claims, that all the hullabaloo about tax reform, is nothing more than a political gift to the rich.
At least 300,000 potential contributors will be exonerated from paying any taxes in 2011 if the measure comes into force, according to the newspaper.
Le Monde also reports that the fiscal shield is set to remain in place until 2012 and has information that the bill will be tabled before the cabinet on 11 May.
The respected newspaper also takes a swipe at Sarkozy’s plan, to get profit-making companies pay their workers a bonus of around 1,000 euros, noting that only a small fraction of citizens stand to benefit from it.
Libération analyses the just-published booklet touting Sarkozy’s “rosy record” after his four years in office.
Libé claims that the document published on Friday, lacks objectivity, arguing that people only speak about themselves when no one stands up for them.
The paper says it has been four years of brutal degradation not job-creation. It also dismisses his so-called stabilisation of immigration as a “fantasy” and faults him for failing to deliver even on security which has been his business bait since 2002.
According to Libé, Sarkozy’s promise to scrap the fiscal shield is further testimony that his policies lack coherence and that he swings with the winds depending on the political stakes of the moment.
Le Figaro headlines on French plans to suspend the European Union's Schengen accords. The centre-right newspaper reports that the measure is being considered in response to Italy’s issuing of passes to scores of Tunisian boatpeople.
Le Figaro quotes the Elysée as saying that flaws in the treaty need to be addressed. Le Figaro says Sarkozy is bent on raising the issue at Tuesday’s France-Italy summit in Rome, and underlines that what the Elysée is seeking is a temporal suspension of the treaty, not a renegotiation or even its abolition.
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Libération dedicates its cover story on desperate efforts by Libyan rebels to prevent the fall of Misrata.
Entire streets have been pulverised by gunfire, shelling and cluster bombs fired by Colonel Kadhafi’s forces, according to the paper.
Libé reports that the besieged city of 500,000 inhabitants stands out now as a symbol of the struggle for democracy in Libya.
Also on Libya Le Figaro reveals that Sarkozy has agreed in principle to make a quick trip to Benghazi at a time of his choosing. It also hails the decision by US President Barak Obama to send drones to beef up airstrikes in Libya.
In the wake of the very latest developments in Libya, Libération argues that the urgency is not about a photo-opportunity for Sarkozy but getting allied troops on the ground to prevent the fall of Misrata which could have devastating consequences in the boiling Arab world.
Le Monde examinesAlain Juppé’s efforts to warm diplomatic ties with the Arab world.
"Diplomacy is essentially a matter of words and deeds," comments the paper in an editorial.
It commends Juppé for his sustained action, since taking office, in “healing misunderstandings” with the Arab nations.
The newspaper however says that everyone noted that no Tunisian official appeared by his side during his recent visit to Tunisia, an indication that he is still not there yet, according to the paper.
France Soir focuses attention on the unfolding drama in Nantes. The evening tabloid narrates the large-scale hunt for Xavier Dupont, suspected of killing and burying his wife and four children at their family garden.
France Soir makes startling revelations about the troubled past of the crazy fugitive whose car has been discovered outside a café at the southern French border.
Investigators told the paper that the suspect acted meticulously, informing neighbours and his children’s schools that they were leaving for a long journey. One man remained in the dark about those plans - a friend he owed 50,000 euros.
It’s Easter weekend and La Croix is making spiritual capital out of that. The Catholic daily picks up the moment to sample a cross section of opinions about how young generations of French citizens are practising their faith.
La Croix discovers that, while today’s young Catholics favour large Christian rallies as their favoured platform to express their faith, they continue to see church attendance as an obligation for the faithful.
Right-leaning Le Figaro looks at Easter from the money side. It celebrates a four per cent rise in chocolate sales - one full quarter above last year’s figures. That takes the individual dose of chocolate eaten here in France to 6.3 kgs per year.
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