French press review 6 June 2017

French commentators satirize the decision by a number of Gulf countires to sever ties with Qatar for sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the region as a result.

Tuesday's front pages are all about the spiraling crisis in the Gulf following the decision by Saudi Arabia and a string of its staunchest allies in the region to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting extremists aiming to destabilize the region.

As the row with wide-ranging consequences on Western interests takes an unprecedented dimension, some papers are quick to denounce what they call the "pot calling the kettle black".

That's the case of L'Union/L'Ardennais which ridicules Saudi Arabia's and denounces it  as the biggest sponsors of Islamic terrorism.

As the publication points out, Qatar bankrolls the Muslim Brotherhood and Jihadists it also point out that what Doha's foes in the Gulf dislike the most are Doha's ties with Iran the cradle of Shia Islam, and worst enemy of the Sunnis.

According to the Ardennes regional newspaper, the crisis is the latest twist in the leadership battle brazing in the region where Washington has opted to side with the Saudi Arabian camp while Russia stands behind Iran.

L'Union says it will be interesting to see, how Paris will deal with the one and the other, without compromising her lucrative relations with Qatar.

La Charente Libre describes the attempt to put Qatar under "guardianship the most serious standoff in the rivalry that has opposed the two oil producing monarchies in decades.

According to La Presse de la Manche it is not an accident that Qatar is incurring the wrath of the emirates in the Gulf and the fury of Egyp,t arguing that Doha is reaping what it sowed by fanning religious squabbles with Saudi Arabia and treating its immediate Gulf neighbours with disdain.

Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace says it is Donald Trump's arrival in the White House which has freed Saudi Arabia's hand to bully the tiny neighbour. Riyad it says feels powerful again and made it a point to prove that to Qatar.

La Croix comes back on last Saturday's terrorist attacks in London. It's a global threat observes the Catholic daily and now necessitating military and security operations on top of a sustained battle on the ground to promote freedom of worship.

According to La Croix, EU countries should not waiverr in using diplomacy to reassert their values, even if that means sacrificing lucrative business deals.

This is not the time for compromises among friends warns L'Est Républicain. According to the regional publication there needs to be an organized and merciless crackdown on all networks of jihadists and their sponsors.

For La République des Pyrénées, the recent terrorist attacks in Britain have confirmed its tolerance in regard to non-Western religions has not spared its citizens of the barbaric excesses of Islamic extremists. It would be wrong to continue with business as usual holds the paper.

London has become of a patchwork of communities which ignore each other writes le Journal de la haute Marne.

It explains that this is why vulnerable youth in poor neighbourhoods grow up into full-blown terrorists without anyone noticing their radicalization.