French weekly magazines review

It’s about time to come back to the basics of life. Politics, sex and money, the three “pillars of modern life” are dominating this week’s French magazines.

“How to bring down François Hollande?” asks Marianne on its front page. A rather provocative title from a left-wing publication, n’est-ce pas?

The cover story gives an account of disarray in the conservative camp. So far no attempts to discredit the Socialist candidate have managed to stem his steady rise in the opinion polls, a kind of honeymoon period with public opinion.

“When François Hollande steps in a puddle, the media thinks he’s walking on water,” laments conservative minister Xavier Bertrand. According to another government minister, “personal attacks on Hollande have only reinforced his position”.

It seems, says the magazine, that the “carpet-bombing” strategy aimed to discredit the Socialist hopeful has backfired.

“Hollande has chosen a strategy of ignoring the bullets aimed at him, giving an impression that they haven't even touched him,", says the article. Clearly Sarkozy and his camp have underestimated their adversary by a conceited republican monarch's “péché d’orgeuil” [sin of pride].”

The weekly does not believe Sarkozy will be able to turn the tables.

“It would be difficult for the outgoing president to embody a change from himself,” says the author, meaning that it might be too late to “bring Hollande down". 

“Why are certain company bosses and sportsmen raking in millions while professors and nurses are underpaid?” The cover story of Le Point hits on one of the values that are part of the debate underpinning /towering over the presidential elections – the pay disparity.

The magazine’s special report analyses the phenomenon which gained prominence since the financial crisis broke out. It also features presidential candidates’ proposals to cap executive pay.

“In recent years," says the report, "the bosses of the top 40 French multinationals have become a symbol of a closed caste defying the laws of social nature”.

Far-left presidential candidate Jean Luc Mélenchon is proposing a 1/20 rule. According to him, a company’s boss should be paid a maximum of 20 times the minimal salary of his employees.

The report also puts the question into historical perspective. In 1980 the best- paid company boss in France was making 351 times the minimum wage. In 2010 the chief executive of carmaker Renault made 548 times the minimum wage.

Another article examines the salaries of lawyers and doctors. Being a top trial lawyer could be a very lucrative profession with certain “stars” making five million euros a year. Doctors, too, seem subject to serious pay differences. A self-employed radiologist can make over 217,000 euros whereas his psychiatry counterpart can earn a meagre 63,030 euros. 

At the bottom end of salary ladder are the underpaid.

“They are indispensable, they work hard but earn too little,” says another article - 690 euros a month for a cleaner, 1,200 for a supermarket cashier, 1,600 euros a month for a schoolteacher or 1,900 euros for a nurse at a public hospital. One out of 10 employees earns the minimum wage of 1,096 euros a month. No doubt, in the coming months the pay disparity will have a major place in the presidential campaign.

Don’t call them prostitutes, call them “les call-girls”. L’Express devotes its front cover to escort girls.

The newest version of the oldest profession doesn’t seem to have suffered from the recession, says the weekly.

The special report examines the latest trends in the sex trade world: the internet and students. According to the authors, about 40,000 French students are thought to be part-time escort girls. They can now easily access potential clients thanks to specialised internet listings and agencies. 

Another article is taking us to Geneva, a “city of luxury and hanky panky”, where about 40 escort agencies are employing 700 upscale “well-being professionals”.

In a country where prostitution is legal, a glamorous escort girl can bill up to 675 euros an hour, more than some top lawyers.

Most of the women (and presumably men) are part-time workers: students, clerks, pharmacists, beauticians…and young lawyers who wish to make some extra money.

“The escort agency business is not only about sex, it’s also about a good dinner and conversation,” says one of the women. The weekly calls them “half sex specialists, half shrinks”, telling stories of women helping clients with emotional stress, getting over a bad divorce or a never-realised sexual fantasy. 

The special report ends with an interview of Eric de Montgolfier, the Nice public prosecutor.

“I think the clients of prostitutes should also bear the weight of the consequences of their behaviour,” he tells the weekly. To counter the massive increase in human trafficking in the south of France, the well-known prosecutor would like to harden existing anti-prostitution legislation, extending criminal responsibility to include the clients. 

“Arabic music is making it’s revolution”. On its culture pages, Marianne features a new generation of Arab singers, Emel Mathlouthi and Dorsaf Hamdami, These brave new voices gained global fame when millions heard them singing à capella on the streets of Tunisia and Egypt. 

Today, reports the magazine, these singers have put out their debut albums,  true hymns for freedom!