French press review 21 December 2016

All the French dailies lead today with the Berlin market attack, but also have stories on unrest in the DRC.

Le Monde reflects on the mourning taking place at a church in the heart of West Berlin, and has as subtitles questions and answers regarding what we know about the attack that struck the German capital on Monday.

Inside its pages though, it says this is going to be a rude test for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 10 months before the upcoming elections. Merkel has been under the microscope for over a year now, after the sexual assaults in Cologne, and this latest attack will add to the pressure the German right-wing party has increasingly been putting on her.

Right wing Le Figaro headlines with "The Islamic State behind the attacks" and says Angela Merkel now also has to face the terrorist threat. The paper says the cooperation between Germany and France has never been so tight, saying that their exchange of information will help them defeat the terrorist threat.

It also says that on the eve of Christmas, France is now on high alert, with over 420 people already arrested because of their suspected links to terrorist groups. Le Figaro's entire frontpage on its website is dedicated to articles surrounding Islamists and security, with an editorial saying this is "the end of innocence".

Left-wing Libération on its frontpage has Angela Merkel in the dark, with a single word "hit". Online the paper leads with the headline "Berlin, how to continue to live freely", and testimonies of people who say they will carry on fearlessly, despiste the atrocity of the attack.

Observers Aleppo

Le Monde has an interesting take on what the Security Council has been doing ever since the war in Syria started, following the decision to send UN observers in Aleppo.

The article comes back on the many decisions made by the Council, many of them vetoed by Russia and China. The article lays out the several resolutions that have been proposed since the beginning of the conflict, saying not much has come into effect on the ground.

Libération has an article on the DRC, saying "Kabila has to go". It examines in detail the latest protests turned violent and deadly against the president, who refuses to relinquish power. 20 people were killed between Monday and Tuesday, according to the United Nations.

La Croix leads with Berlin, but also has an article on the DRC entitled "The impossible reconciliation", and the paper says we're entering a era of uncertainty.

The DRC is also on Le Monde's frontpage. The article asks the question, "Where is the MONUSCO?", the UN mission on the ground. It notes however that the current violence doesn't appear to be of a concern to the government, which claims it has the situation under control.

Screen legend dies

Le Monde also mourns the passing of French screen legend Michele Morgan, who starred in some 70 movies and took home the best actress prize at the first-ever Cannes film festival in 1946.

The icon of glamour died Tuesday evening. Morgan is remembered for a regal azure gaze which she first turned on Jean Gabin as an 18-year-old ingenue in 'Port of Shadows' (Quai des Brumes), a 1938 gangster movie.