The big news in today’s French papers is the choice of Frédéric Mitterand as France’s next Culture Minister. Why is this causing such a stir? Well, the choice of Mitterand, the nephew of France’s Socialist President and iconic figure of the Left, François Mitterand, is hugely symbolic. On the surface, it appears like the ultimate in Sarkozy’s policy of “ouverture” – including Socialist politicians in his rightwing government. However, Frédéric Mitterand has never proclaimed himself a member of the Socialist Party.

The front page of Libération reads “La farce tranquille” – this is a nod to François Mitterand’s campaign slogan “la force tranquille” (the calm strength or quiet force). The editorial’s title is ‘Family name’. Indeed the Mitterand family name played a big role in this nomination. It’s a nice little farce served up to the Left, says the editorial, which is only too aware of the fact that the new Culture Minister is not exactly a Socialist figure. In fact, he’s a close friend of former UMP President, Jacques Chirac.

France Soir’s headline is ‘Quel talent’. What talent the President has for succeeding in putting a Mitterand in his cabinet, is the implication.

Le Figaro says that Frédéric Mitterand didn’t wait long before making his first gaffe in announcing his own nomination one day before the Elysée was due to release the news. As a result everything was brought forward by one day.This led to embarrassment for the Catholic newspaper La Croix which went to print last night at 7pm saying that the Cabinet reshuffle would be announced…later today!

The front page of Le Parisien also features photos of the other Ministers who benefited from the reshuffle. Care was taken to preserve a balance of the sexes and representation of minority groups. The popular Junior Minister for Human Rights Minister Rama Yade got the Sports portfolio. Nora Berra who is North African in origin was awarded the new Ministry for the Elderly.

Le Parisien carries an article on Florence Cassez, a French prisoner held in Mexico on kidnapping charges. Nicolas Sarkozy personally tried to have her extradited when he was in Mexico earlier this year. She will serve her 60 year sentence in Mexico it now seems as the authorities there fear a transfer would result in her sentence being reduced. “I’ve been sentenced to death” she told Le Parisien yesterday by telephone. The Mexican Ambassador to France tells le Parisien that there is clear proof of her guilt. She maintains her that she had no role in the charges of kidnapping in which her then boyfriend was also implicated. There’s also an article by a former hostage in Mexico. The kidnapping of wealthy Mexicans and foreigners in order to extort money from their families is an endemic problem in Mexico.

Also in Le Figaro, an interview with the Air France pilot who flew from Sao Paulo to Paris the same night as the doomed Rio-Paris flight. His flight would have experienced much of the same difficulties, certainly in having to go through the zone of turbulence. He says that the satellite showed a stormy patch but nothing worrying. He also relates how he was contacted by Air France once he arrived over the Canary Islands. They asked him to try to contact the missing flight.

Underneath, there is an article about the search for the black boxes. Despite a signal having been detected, the chances of finding the black boxes are still thought to be slim. In order to find the location of the black boxes a number of different ships must pick up the signal.