French press review 26 May 2012

On the front pages of Saturday’s national dailies: the financial scandal that has broken out in the Vatican, students’ protests in Quebec and President François Hollande’s visit to Afghanistan.

Le Monde headlines on the trip to Kabul and Kapisa of the new French leader, stressing that he made the surprise trip, to “prepare” the withdrawal of French troops serving in the International force.

La Charente libre argues that the “breaking news” of Hollande’s landing in Kabul as France woke up on Friday morning will not be the last surprise to come from the new leader. The regional paper holds that the surprise trip to the war zone has silenced critics, who said Hollande was simply too inexperienced, too weak and too indecisive, to be a “real boss”.

La Charente Libre says they got it all wrong.

Le Figaro is one of the sceptics and continues to believe that Hollande simply can’t implement his economic agenda due to the condition of state finances. The paper holds that, while he “brags about being the prophet of European growth”, Hollande can’t continue to claim that Sarkozy alone is to blame for the industrial crisis rocking the French economy.

Le Figaro says its opinion is shared by the unions and the left, especially the Communist Party, as they are voicing scepticism about the ability of the new government to deal with the mass retrenchment plans unveiled by several major French companies.

Libération denounces the Quebec police crackdown on students protesting against the doubling of tuition fees. Libé reports that the resistance movement has now crossed the 100-day mark and continued government “intransigence” has forced other strata of Quebec society to join the protests.

The left-leaning newspaper says that the youth rebellion, despite taking place in a democracy, now has the trappings of an Arab Spring as hundreds of students are being arrested, handcuffed and detained for simply demonstrating against the government.

According to Libération, the exceptional laws that have allowed Quebec police to act with such ruthlessness, make the Canadian province look more like Belarusian or Azerbaijan-style dictatorships.

Le Figaro looks at scandal in the Vatican. The right-wing publication says that the Holy See has been rocked by the publication of confidential documents and letters from the Pope's private study and the arrest of a man said to be the Pontiff's butler in connection with the leaks.

Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace regrets that the Catholic church, still reeling from the ravages of the paedophilia scandal, is now at the centre of a financial scam. According to the regional newspaper, it is sad that questions concerning money and graft have become central issues to the church.

For the Alsace publication, it is no accident that the Holy See hasn’t shaped up, to face the extra metaphysical challenges facing its development since the creation of the Vatican City State in 1929.

It’s quite surprising that the scandal isn’t the cover story of today’s La Croix. The Catholic newspaper, preferred instead to honour over 9,500 laymen who have dedicated their lives to the church, carrying out ecclesiastical missions for their diocese and parishes.

Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France denounces the use of crude language on French radios. According to the paper, some channels excel in the use of swearwords and indecent expressions even during prime time. The irony according to Le Parisien is that the public doesn’t seem to be shocked by the proliferation of bad language or so-called “gauloiseries” by its favourite FM radios.