French press review 2 January 2016

The future is bright, and the past is the past... chimes merrily Le Figaro, which brings some positive news at last to the French press review; although Le Monde errs on the side of caution. And we hear some tear-jerking testimonies in Libération.

DR

Libération is talking about last November's attacks in Paris this morning...

The left-wing newspaper is running an article on how the capital's Mayor Anne Hidalgo got through that night, in rather moving pathos it can be said.

She tells the daily how she went from opening a Christmas market on the Champs Elysées to receiving a phone call and travelling to the Bataclan concert hall.

"The looks of despair, the bodies that I saw... they were just young people, hipsters," she says. "Some with bullets in the head. Others were bleeding because someone had fallen on them or they had been hit. The faces of these young people, they were the faces of my kids."

"It's not France's capital that was targeted but a neighborood of Paris and its way of life," she continues.

Desptite being a socialist, Hildago has had strong disagreements with the government in the past few months. After the events of this year, she says she cannot tolerate the way politics are done in France anymore.

The article concludes with a Seneca quote plastered on her wall "Living together is not waiting for the storm to pass. Living together is learning how to dance under the rain".

From left to right, Le Figaro has some good news on its front page this morning.

Nevermind the terrorist threat or global warming, 2016 is going to be a great year for global trade markets according to the right-wing newspaper.

President François Hollande, however, shouldn't expect such a happy year if you believe what Le Figaro has to say about his new year adress.

The right-wing paper agrees with Hollande on his constitutional reform and the controversial proposal to strip dual nationals of their nationality if they're convicted of terrorism.

But Le Figaro didn't find Hollande's style to be on par with the proposal.

The President's speech "lacked audacity and surprises" it says in an editorial. "What has he done to get votes for his reform? Nothing," it explains.

And what about the president's vow to fight unemployment? Well, we should not expect much because he's been pretty bad at it so far.

"This regular speech seems to be closing a moment of expectation rather than being a sign of new momentum" it concludes.

Finally, Le Monde is saying it's too early for anyone to predict the results of the 2017 presidential election.

It seems that right now, political analysts agree on the fact that Far right Marine Le Pen will either face - and lose against - Nicolas Sarkozy or François Hollande during the secound round of the elections.

But, says Le Monde, a lot can happen in just a year. Remember 2002, when Socialist Lionel Jospin looked like he was certain to win the presidency? That didn't go well: the secound round saw Jacques Chirac winning against Marine Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie.

With a primary in sight for the right wing Républicains party, no one knows for sure if Sarkozy will win.

And if it looks, for now, that Hollande will be the socialist candidate - things might change if unemployment numbers don't go down.

Remember 2011, when it looked certain that former IMF president Dominique Strauss Khan was going to be the next French president? That was of course before the Sofitel prostitute scandal!