“King Sarkozy at the G8"

French newspapers focus on the G8 summit in Deauville. Nicolas Sarkozy is thought to be in a strong position, ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, once seen as Sarkozy’s rival, is now out of the race. He’s under house arrest in New York, accused of raping a hotel maid.

IN THE PAPERS

By Aurore Cloe DUPUIS

L’Humanité: “Meet the G8 banksters”

Libération: “King Sarkozy makes the most of it”

La Tribune: “Christine Lagarde: The striking European offensive”

Le Figaro: “Unemployment goes down by 0.4%”

Métro : “Precarious improvement”

Le Parisien : “French mayor accused of sexual assault”

France Soir : “Berlusconi, Tron, DSK, a string of sex scandals”

Libération: “Daddy what does ‘rape’ mean?”

17/02/2010 - FRENCH PRESS REVIEW

Daughter of the mayor of Kiev has handbag snatched – loses €4.5m

Le Figaro reports on the embarrassing robbery of Kristina Chernovetska’s handbag during a brief trip to Paris. It appears that the decadent daughter of Kiev’s mayor had spent some €4.5m on jewelry on Paris’s chic Avenue Montaigne. Kiev City Hall denies she was in Paris at the time of the robbery.

16/02/2010 - IN THE PAPERS

French nuclear tests in 1960s “used soldiers as guinea pigs”

Le Parisien/ Aujourd’hui en France says that in the 1960s, France used those doing military service as guinea pigs to see the effects on the body of nuclear tests.

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15/02/2010 - FRENCH PRESS REVIEW

Sarkozy meets unions in bid to raise retirement age

All of the major French dailies lead with the Government’s plans to raise the age of retirement which currently stands at 60. Trade Unions and the Socialist Party are divided on how to respond to the proposed reforms.

12/02/2010 - INTERNATIONAL PRESS REVIEW

Alexander McQueen's death on the front page of British and French papers

Tributes abound in the British and French papers this morning on the passing of fashion designer Alexander McQueen. We also take a look at a report in the International Herald Tribune on how doctors are coping after having been in Haiti. These and other stories in today's international press review...

12/02/2010 - FRENCH PRESS REVIEW

Right-wing columnist for Le Figaro defends controversial debate on national identity

"The French government should change direction and resist the new minorities who with the help of the National Anti-Discrimination Authority think they have the run of the place," says right-wing columnist Ivan Rioufol in an article in this morning's Le Figaro. He is one of the few voices to defend the recent Government-instigated debate on national identity.