EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

In the run-up to the European elections in less than three weeks, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has given interviews to four major European dailies including Le Monde. In the interview, he defends his record and the Commission’s response to the economic crisis. Barroso is hopeful of being nominated for a second term as Commission President. Le Monde asks him how he feels about the virulent criticism from French centrist politician, Francois Bayrou, who said that Barroso was like a ‘zombie’ in the aftermath of the crisis and his response too slow.

In the left-leaning daily, Liberation, Daniel Cohn-Bendit pens an opinion piece. Known for his role in the 1968 riots in Paris, Cohn-Bendit is now a heavyweight in Brussels and the most high-profile candidate for the Green Party in the Paris region. He criticises the national focus of the European parliamentary elections where candidates seem to focus more on the 2012 French presidential election than on European issues. This, he says, does a disservice to Europe. One of the reasons for this, he says, is the increasing ‘presidentialisation’ of French politics since Nicolas Sarkozy took up residence at the Elysee Palace.

SARKOZY AND LESE MAJESTE

Liberation is in full Sarkozy-bashing mode this morning. Apart from the article by Cohn-Bendit, the paper has a three-page spread which is critical of this 'presidentialisation' mentioned above. For the left-leaning daily, there have been too many incidents where those critical of the president have been pursued by the courts. This is not how a democratic republic should function and more resembles a monarchy, the paper notes.

The incident that has sparked the ire of Liberation is the 100-euro fine handed out to a teacher in the south of France who dared to criticise the president while being arrested by the police. The courts used nineteenth century jurisprudence to fine this man, claiming that he was disturbing the peace. Liberation says this is an infringement of a citizen’s freedom of speech.

On the front page, the paper shows a protest with Sarkozy’s head speared on the end of a pike…reminiscent of the French Revolution when heads rolled left and right. Inside, the editorial insists on the right to mock the president and to pass comment on the acts and gestures of the police without risking arrest.

UNIVERSITY STRIKES

After 16 weeks of strikes at French universities over government-driven reforms, it appears the most radical campuses have now decided to throw in the towel; amongst them, the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Lille III.

Le Figaro, in its editorial, says that students have lost precious class time during this dispute and that hundreds of thousands of foreign students will leave France at the end of the semester with a negative view of the country and its education system. What’s more, vitals links forged with foreign universities risk being lost.

While these strikes were brought about to defend equality in the university system, the paper notes that it was often a minority that blockaded lecture theatres.

The paper is largely in favour of the reforms which would allow the publicly-funded universities to increasingly seek private funding. The work of professors is also set to be assessed on a more regular basis. However, smaller universities and degrees that are less career-focused would suffer under the proposed changes.


SWIMMING TOGS SCANDAL

La Republique du Centre carries a front-page editorial on a swimming togs scandal! The French Swimming Championship held in Montpellier last month saw several records being beaten. However, many of the record-beating swimmers, including Olympic champion Alain Bernard, were wearing illegal swimsuits, made out of polyurethane. This material traps air between the fabric and the swimmer's body, allowing him to glide through the water. In effect, the swimmer floats somewhat on the water’s surface!