In the papers
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By Angela Yeoh
SARKOZY IN TUNISIA: Mediterranean Union & human rights
Al-Hayat (Arabic)
Mediterranean Union in the absence of solution for Palestinian problem
The French president’s visit to Tunisia has been another occasion to push his Mediterranean Union (MU) project. This international left-wing Arabic newspaper publishes a comment piece by the director of Al-Hayat’s Paris bureau, looking at the evolution of the MU idea in the shadow of ongoing tensions between countries that border on the Mediterranean Sea, which include a territorial dispute in the West Sahara and Israeli policy towards the Palestinian territories. The author writes that taking charge of Middle East tensions is a prerequisite to putting in place any real MU project, because those tensions are at the heart of concerns for the Mediterranean, the Arab world, and the world at large.
Libération (France)
Tunisia: Rama Yade on the quiet
Sarkozy has often trumpeted the need for France to “break from the past;” this French left-wing paper asks “what break?” At least when it comes to relations with Tunisia, Libé says there’s been little change. Tunisia is a relatively stable country and has made big gains in economic development, but freedom of expression remains tightly restricted. Sarkozy made a campaign promise to put human rights at the heart of French foreign policy, but it seems he’s disappointed in Tunisia. Rama Yade, the French junior minister for human rights, is taking part in the trip and was due to meet certain human rights organizations. However, she cancelled her meetings, pointing to a busy schedule. The president of one group erased from her schedule (the Tunisian Association for Democratic Women) says state cooperation should not be limited to economic issues. Sarkozy, meanwhile, has given his Tunisian counterpart Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali a somewhat glowing report, saying progress is being made on civil liberties. But not everyone shares this point of view.
LE PEN ON THE WAY OUT?
Le Figaro (France)
A gloomy May 1st parade for Le Pen
This right-wing French daily says things are looking grim for the leader of the right-wing National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen. The turnout at the party’s annual May 1st rally is expected to be low, and is taking place in the smaller Place des Pyramides this year, rather than Place de l’Opéra. Numbers are down everywhere – in last year’s presidential and parliamentary votes, as well as in recent local elections – in contrast to 2002, when the National Front made a strong showing at elections, and Le Pen made it to the second round of the presidential vote. But now even Le Pen’s own daughter is distancing herself from him, over an opinion he recently repeated that the Nazi gas chambers were just a trifle in the history of World War Two. It may soon be time for Marine Le Pen to step up and take over the National Front, with a slightly more moderate tone.
MOTHER HITS BACK AT NOVELIST SON
The Australian (Australia)
Aw mum – literary icon gets a public telling off
One of France’s most celebrated and controversial living authors gets harsh words from his own mother. Michel Houellebecq’s mum has come out with her own book, an autobiography titled “The Innocent,” in which she writes of her son, “This individual, who alas! came out of my tummy, is a liar, an impostor, a parasite, and especially, a little upstart ready to do anything for fortune and fame.” The book that propelled Houllebecq to fame features a very unlikable character very similar to his mother, and in interviews that followed he insulted her and said she was dead. However, this book launch is proof the 83-year-old is quite alive, and hitting back!
