UMP hits electoral hump

Who will take over from Nicolas Sarkozy as chairman of the opposition UMP? At the time of writing, no one knows. Former Prime Minister François Fillon and General Secretary Jean-François Copé both claim victory after the party faithful voted on Sunday. Organisational glitches and allegations of ballot-rigging have turned the contest into a PR fiasco for the party. That's the focus for this look at the French press on Monday 19th November, 2012.

IN THE PAPERS

Le Figaro reports on the “Folle Soirée dans les deux QG” (“Crazy evening at the two campaign headquarters”)

Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui-en-France headlines “Incroyable suspens à l’UMP” (“Incredible suspense for the UMP”) and "Le vote était très mal organisé" (“The vote was very badly organised”)

Les Echos argues the Fillon-Copé clash shows there is no obvious leader for the UMP and Nicolas Sarkozy is therefore the ‘real winner’.

Le Figaro leads: "Gaza serre les rangs dans la résistance et l'esprit de revanche" ("Gaza closes ranks in resistance …")

And Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui-en-France says: "À Gaza, la peur … et la fierté” (“Palestinians are torn between fear and pride")

04/05/2010 - INTERNATIONAL PRESS REVIEW

The final furlong for party leaders ahead of British election

Gordon Brown yesterday gave the most impassioned speech of his career according to The Guardian, but is it too late? The Sun reports on David Cameron’s last-ditch tour of the country during which he will forego a night’s sleep. Did it convince the Financial Times he’s got the necessary will?! The paper has become the eight national daily to support the Conservatives. These and other stories in today’s international press review: TUESDAY, 4th MAY 2010

04/05/2010 - FRENCH PRESS REVIEW

Environment put on the back burner

Libération says that a new law set to implement promises made at a 2007 environment summit in France fall far short of original goals. The left-leaning paper says that Sarkozy has abandoned his green credentials in favour of traditional conservative issues. This and other stories in today’s French papers: TUESDAY, 4th MAY 2010