You can see the French press review with James Creedon on weekday mornings at 7.10am, Paris time.

Everyone against Villepin is the headline on the front page of Libération. Yesterday saw General Rondot and other key witnesses face off with Villepin over his evidence in the Clearstream case. The paper’s editorial says that Rondot has a ‘perfume of authenticity’. His diaries –which were seized as evidence in the case- claim that Villepin knew about the smear campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy and others than he claims he knew. The paper notes that these diaries were never intended for public consumption which makes the details all the more credible. France Soir also leads with the story – its headline: “The confrontation”.

Other stories covered in today’s French press review:

Libération

The Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterand is in the eye of the storm – his support for the director Roman Polanski who is being extradited to the US on charges of raping a minor has set off a wave of criticism from the far-right as well as the left. Mitterand released a book in 2005 in which he said he frequented prostitutes in Thailand. Mitterand says this information was told in context in his book ‘La Mauvaise Vie’ while far-right politicians such as Marine le Pen have quoted extracts of the book out of context.

Paris Match

445 men, 2 helicopters, 6 all-terrain vehicles have not been able to find Jean Pierre Treiber. The murder suspect was in prison pending trial but one month ago, he escaped inside a cardboard box in which he had sealed himself. The box was transported out of the prison on board a lorry from which Treiber later jumped.

In the past month, he has posted letter to his mother, to the magazine Marianne and also to his friend Blandine. The letters that Blandine received are printed in this week’s edition of Paris Match. Blandine claims he cannot be the frustrated and brutal person that the press claims he is. In the letters, he talks about his life in the woods which he describes as a “much larger prison”.