French press review 11 February 2012

Behind the scenes of the French online presidential campaign. The mega profits of the biggest French multinational company. The last days of the French bank notes before they turn into collection pieces. Are there alternatives to eating caviar while drinking vodka? And a new music sensation, who makes football stars dance on the football pitch. Today’s French newspapers are full of surprises!

Let’s start with a bit of politics. In addition to publishing an exclusive “My values for France” interview we are not going to talk about, the conservative Le Figaro praises President Nicolas Sarkozy’s “shift to the right” and speculates about possible dates and venues of Sarkozy’s “official” - is it sure this time ?!!? - entry into the presidential campaign.

“The time has come to speak to 31 per cent of the voters who voted for him during the first round of the 2007 presidential elections," says the paper. Will Sarkozy declare his candidacy on TF1 or during a visit to a factory? In any case, Sarkozy’s troops are ready for big battle.

“They [our enemies] will see our real presidential campaign” the paper quotes one of his advisers.

The real campaign – “where dirty play is allowed” - is going to play out on the internet, says Aujourd’hui on France.

The paper’s special report takes us behind the scenes of the online presidential fight!. We discover that even though Sarkozy is not yet an official candidate, the party’s web unit has already prepared his brand new Facebook page.

But even more astonishing is the scope of resources Socialist candidate François Hollande has put into his web campaign: 35 people and two million euros, ie 10 per cent of the total campaign budget.

“The huge advantage of the social networks,” says the head of digital at the ruling UMP party, “is the possibility to bypass the filters of the traditional media. It’s like permanently holding a huge public rally.”

The future candidate Sarkozy should beware. His Socialist rival has a war chest of one million email addresses gathered during the Socialist primaries.

Twelve-billion-euro profits as petrol prices are rising?!

To prevent the public outcry, the president of the biggest French oil company, Total, chose tabloid Aujourd’hui en France to justify the company's rude health.

“Does the company make huge profits at the expense of drivers paying huge petrol prices?” asks the daily. “Yes, our prices are rather high. But no one prevents the drivers from buying their petrol from supermarket gas stations. Louis Vuitton [the luxury good maker] does not sell their bags at the supermarket prices and it does not shock anyone. Why should we sell our quality products cheap?”

Christophe de Marjorie alsoclaims that last year Total distributed seven out of 10 billion euros of profits to its employees, most of whom are also shareholders.

A vodka manual features prominently in the lifestyle pages of Le Figaro. Vodka is an abbreviation from the Russian word “voda”. It means “little water”, explains the paper.

Why should vodka be consumed with the caviar? Because the cereals and the potatoes at -18°C make vodka’s taste particularly pure. This, in turn, makes caviar’s succulent flavour more pronounced. But for those of us who cannot afford caviar, “the ideal vodka’s partner”, the paper suggests smoked salmon as a substitute.

If you still have stacks of old bank notes, the good ol’ French francs, you have only seven days to change them into euros! There are still some 50 million bank notes out there, worth four billion francs, says Aujourd’hui en France. The equivalent of 600 million euros.

The Treasury estimates that after the ultimate return date, the equivalent of 500 million euros will become “collectors' items”, which is great news, reckons the daily, since this money will become a godsend for the French budget. Who knows, if France saves 500 million euros, we might get our triple A back…. I must be dreaming….

“The Brazilian who makes football stars dance.” On its entertainment pages, Aujourd’hui en France reveals the latest global music sensation, Michel Telo. The 31-year-old Brazilian artist’s title, Ai se eu te pego (Oh! if I ever catch you), has become a web sensation with 158 million views.

It rivals the iTunes sales of Shakira’s French-inspired hit Je l’aime à mourir (I love him to death). According to the paper, the song has become a global hit when Brazilian footballers Christiano Ronaldo and Marcello danced to the song during a Real Madrid Match.

“I love French language, the language of love," says the Brazilian Julio Iglesias. "But I don’t know when I’ll be able to come to France.”