French press review 18 May 2012

The front pages of the main dailies are all about the first cabinet meeting of new French President François Hollande’s government as it faces a raft of pressing problems.

“Government under pressure” headlines Le Figaro. The right-wing newspaper underlines that hardly had the ministers taken office than they were already confronted by the obligation to start delivering on the promises of the new president.

"34 ministers and an equal number of emergencies" writes Le Monde.

“Ayrault’s government faces first priorities”, that’s according to Les Echos. The economic newspaper, lists the Euro crisis, retirement at 60, and unemployment as the top issues facing the government.

"Ministers on deck" notes La Croix in its own cover story. The Catholic newspaper commends the diversity and perfect parity reflected in the distribution of portfolios even though the key posts remain in male hands.

La Croix reports that members of the new team have already signed a code of ethics as they held their very first cabinet meeting at the Elysée on Thursday.

That is typical of Hollande says Libération with a grin. The left-leaning newspaper adopts a sarcastic tone as it commends the signing of the ethics charter and salary cuts imposed on cabinet ministers. Libé claims that the new order contrasts with the “bling bling” glamour rule of Sarkozy “just laid to rest with great fanfare”. The errors which poisoned Sarkozy’s rule would not be erased or forgotten, holds Libération.

The paper claims that fear of a faux-pas, capable of soiling “Mister Normal’s" image would characterise government business, up until next month’s parliamentary elections at the very least.

According to Libération, the endless stocktaking over Sarkozy’s rule is already irritating many people who are anxious to hear from the new government about the social price of EU growth, the possible implosion of the Euro, as well as what the government plans to do about education, justice, the police and the labour market.

L’Humanité says the creation of a dozen ministries in charge of key social sectors reflects the government’s strategy to give strong visibility to voter-friendly issues and showcase its vocation to calm the tense political environment caused by the presidential election.

"Electoral cronyism is a dangerous sport" warns Le Figaro. The paper explains that the new president can’t simply implement his lofty campaign agenda with empty government coffers.

The conservative publication argues with some sarcasm that the smiling faces of new young and inexperienced ministers will soon be masked by a bad day’s grimace. "The teachers unions, who act as they please in the ministry of education", according to the paper, "are waiting for Father Christmas, Vincent Peillon".

Five years of Sarkozy-bashing is bound to leave some scars, says Le Figaro. The right-wing paper says Interior Minister Manuel Valls and Justice Minister Christiane Taubira think police staff and magistrates are more likely to believe in them than in their predecessors.

Aujourd’hui en France/Le Parisien takes its readers to Spain, Greece and Portugal devastated by economic austerity.

The investigative reports give vivid accounts of the grim realities of everyday life, in the three countries and the paper wonders for how long citizens can withstand the harsh austerity policies imposed by their governments.