French weekly magazines review 11 December 2016

The weeklies this week take a look at the state of Left-wing politics in France and assess the prospects of a plethora of candidates vying for the country's top job ahead of the May 2017 Presidential elections.

DR

In the wake of President Hollande's decision not to seek re-election, the New Observer l'Obs is banking on a 2-man duel.

In its eyes it will be between Manuel Valls who resigned as Prime Minister early this week to seek the Socialist party's nomination  and the ex-Industrial renewal minister, Arnaud Montebourg, sacked for dissent and who now leads the so-called frondeurs or back bench rebels.

In this week's special supplement l'Obs, presents the electoral manifestos of the two friendly foes who are trying to reverse the Socialist party's "Annus horribiris", after a mandate marked by electoral setbacks, ideological disputes and massive defections.

According to the left-leaning publication, the party which boasted a robust 250,000 faithful on President Hollande's election 4 years ago now has just 60,000 members in its rosters.

Still l'Obs believes that President Hollande's decision to stand down has, in just one week, given Socialists a reason to hope for beautiful primaries and future that is different from the ship wreck many had predicted for the party.

In an editorial it urges the candidates in contention to make the primaries a moment of debate and not a platform to tear themselves apart.

It furthermore warns that if the Socialists who already hate each other are not careful, the risk making the left even more unlikeable is extremely high.

Right-wing Le Point speaks of the Socialist party as something of the past. On its front page is an edited portrait of ex-Prime Minister Manuel Valls and the youthful Emmanuel Macron, who resigned as Economy Minister to create his "On the Move party.

The weekly refers to the two former Hollande aides as "the emancipated", wondering if they will be able "to take the Socialist party out of its prehistoric times".

"The Socialist rose doesn't smell as it used to anymore", the publication reads adding that now is the "time to finish with the buffoonery", the anti-Hollande obsession of the 'frondeurs" or rebels who it claims paradoxically managed to virtually devour the Socialist party alive with the complicity of the media.

Le Point doffs its hat to President Francois Hollande for his ability to hold his nerve, and his sense of self-sacrifice for the interest of his party, which the publication describes as a "classy" move.

Hollande couldn't have succeeded in "a monarchical country such as France argues the right-wing weekly”.

These are definitely not times for politicians with panache" observes publication which compares President Hollande's fate to that of Britain's David Cameron and Italy's Matteo Renzi.

Le Point wonders if the likes of General Charles De Gaulle and Winston Churchill would have done better than Monsieur Hollande's miserable ratings in the polls.

Valls and Macron had everything to agree on during Hollande's Presidency and would have made a dream ticket for the Socialists, notes L'Express.

It cites the reformist minds of the so-called "rebellous sibblings of "Hollandism", and the fact that they are both disciples of the social liberalism preached by Pierre Mendes France.

Yet as the right-wing magazine points out, now human nature and political rivalry decided otherwise. L'Express regrets that they are now obliged to fight each other with out any guarantees that one of the two would qualify for round two of next year's presidential elections.

Marianne presents the four candidates involved in the "hunt for the missing Left", and so-called peoples' battle against bourgeois Socialism".

Left Front leader Jean Luc Mélenchon branded as a "rebel on the move", leads the field.  Arnaud Montebourg is also highly rated by the publication for his promise his attempt to "trying to incarnate seriousness".

Manuel Valls campaigning to turn the corner leading to a modern Socialist party while Emmanuel Macron is presented as a cause for anxiety following promise of revolution on French politics.

Marianne says in this period of deep popular distress, the people no longer understand why elected officials are exercising power on their behalf when they can do it directly on their own.

"Catholic awakening" crows l'Express in this week's cover page headlines as it explores the faith's influence in the race to elect France's next leader.

According to the right-wing publication after strong breakthrough by Conservatives in the Republican presidential primaries they have in François Fillon a providential man to deliver their agenda for greater recognition in France of Catholic traditional values.