French weekly magazines review 5th November 2017

French commentators mark Donald Trump's first year in office , with a grim picture of his role in keeping America and the world divided.

French weekly magazines DR

The French weeklies are all about the first anniversary of Donald Trump's election as the 45th President of the United States.

The publications all appear to be in an apparent consensus that the Republican's time in the White House has been a nightmare not only to the tycoon but also to his party and the nation at large.

Le Canard Enchaîné leads the field, with claims that Trump who faces allegations of complicity with America's enemy Russia jumped on twitter, his favourite talking box, to deny being part of a plot against the United States.

According to the satirical publication, the boastful Trump held his hands up as if to say “I didn’t do it”. This was after his ex-election campaign manager Paul Manaford and a former Trump diplomatic advisor George Papadopoulos were indicted by the special Counsel Robert Mueller handling the investigation.

They face charges of lying to the FBI about meetings held with Kremlin aides to obtain thousands of e-mails which were compromising to Democratic Presidential candidate Hilary Clinton.

Le Canard describes Manaford as a former lobbyist for the likes of the late Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi, Zairian dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, Ferdinand Marco of the Philippines and the ex-pro-Russian Ukrainian leader Vitor Yanukovitch.

The weekly reports that Manaford also faces charges of having received 80 million euros through offshore accounts and for money laundering to the tune of 18 million dollars.

But as Le Canard explains, still Trump won't own up to his friend's colourful reputation, preferring to say that it was well before Manafort became his election campaign manager.

Left-leaning French new Observer l'Obs says the passionate love America's heartland had for Donald Trump has vanished in a single year.

The publication reports from the Midwestern swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania which surprisingly swung the US elections in the tycoon's favour.

According to l'Obs, the armies of Trump loyalists have vanished with some of them now claiming that they are now in search of someone who can stop him from opening his rich man’s mouth to say rubbish.

Left-leaning Marianne holds that despite the multiplying scandals and indictments affecting Donald Trump's inner circle, it is business as usual at the White House, with the President showing no signs that he is ready to modify the strategy of speaking to his political base and playing on their fears, which led to his victory.

The weekly speaks to French American expert Jean-Eric Branaa, author of a new book titled "Trumpland: Portrait of a fractured America". He says that Trump has understood that the country remains deeply divided.

For its part right-wing l'Express voices concerns about Trump's negative impact on efforts to keep the world safe, after the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program. The paper wonders what would happen if the talkative Trump went ahead with threats to "totally destroy” North Korea, after branding the country's leader Kim Jong-un as a “rocket man” on a suicide mission.

L’Express warns that with more than 10,000 pieces of North Korean artillery and missiles aimed at the South, any US strikes on Kim's nuclear arsenal will spark a catastrophic war which would end with the destruction of not only Pyongyang but the South Korean capital Seoul as well.