As concern over redundancies emerges as one of the main challenges facing French President François Hollande’s new government, his minister of industry and growth held talks with Unilever over the planned closure of its factory in southern France.
The French press looks at the latest bad news for the economy. Air France is restructuring and layoffs are certain. Libération asks: what can the new left-wing government do? This as Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui-en-France reports on union anger that a former Air France CEO could, despite the economic crisis, get a "jackpot" bonus. That's the focus for this Friday, 25th May 2012.
100 days from now, all eyes will be on London as the Olympic games get underway. The biggest sporting event on the planet will give the British economy a welcome boost. Local communities stand to benefit a great deal too, and not just in the short-term - regenerating London's deprived east end is a key part of the run-up to the Games. A year after violent riots across London made the headlines, the borough of Hackney will again be in the spotlight, but this time for all the right reasons.
It's World Sleep Day and a couple of French papers lead on the need for more "dodo" (sleep time). The French who did do that wouldn't be missing much about the French presidential campaign which - today at any rate - is lacklustre. Papers had little to work with after Hollande's Thursday evening TV appearance. That's the French press review for this Friday 16th March 2012.
Markus Karlsson speaks to Emma Marcegaglia, President of Confindustria, the main employers' organisation in Italy, a country currently at the heart of the eurozone's economic troubles. They met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
There's only one subject in the French papers this morning - today's crisis summit on unemployment chaired by Nicolas Sarkozy. The papers weight up various politicians' propositions for how to slash the soaring figures - without, it must be said, having much confidence in any of them.
With university education more expensive than ever in the US, more and more students are taking out loans to cover the costs. But with America's economy on rocky ground and well-paying jobs scarce, many graduates are defaulting on their loans. Some economists now worry that the student bubble might burst.
Papers report on the death of France 2 television journalist Gilles Jacquier in Homs in Syria. They also look at a new study showing that the French work "six weeks less per year than the Germans". Other stories include a workers' protest at Père Lachaise cemetery, and the viability of France's nuclear industry. That's the focus for this Thursday 12th January 2012.
French Interior Minister Claude Guéant has revised his controversial clampdown on international work visas after a meeting with education groups. Critics called the initial move a ploy to appeal to the far right ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections this year. But some fear the damage has already been done, since many young students have had to return to their native countries after graduation.
German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy have met to discuss the fate of the euro. The power couple, nicknamed "Merkozy", say they've agreed on a series of reforms. Meanwhile, as the debt crisis continues to bite across the continent, more and more people are heading to Germany, in the hope of finding a job. Finally, we examine the strange case of "Khodorkovsky", the German film about a Russian oligarch.
