French press review 17 November 2010

The press here is still digesting the fallout of Sunday's cabinet reshuffle, with the weeklies throwing in their lot today. 

Neither the headline on conservave Le Point ("Has Sarkozy lost the reins?") nor that on leftish L'Express ("The Divorce") will prove easy reading for the president.

Both magazines basically claim that prime minister François Fillon put paid to Sarkozy's plans to replace him with Jean-Louis Borloo.

Le Point says Fillon sucessfully carried out a "putsch" this weekend. It is reported that the PM held the president to ransom by threatening to lead a rebellion within the ruling UMP party if he were fired.

Fillon is looking more presidential by by the second, basking in astronomic approval ratings.

Which is not necessarily the impression that journalists got from the president himself, when he appeared on television last night.

"Sarkozy corrected by Sarkozy," reads the headline of Libération this morning. The paper says there is a hint of backpeddling in the style of the president. With austerity the watch-word of the day, the 'bling-bling' has been toned down and the presisdent has moved from 'baroque to classic.'

Given his dismal 32 percent approval rating, this might be prudent.

Last night Sarkozy was questioned on the phone-tapping scandal surrounding journalists from Le Monde and France's state security services. He flatly denied that French authorities would do such a thing. "What a strange idea!" he quipped. Libération describes his position as "deaf to reproach."

Right-wing Le Figaro generally toes the Sarkozy line, supporting the president's telly appearance and leading with a quote from last night, "Reform in the name of public interest."

"Tax, the welfare state, jobs and justice were on the top of the president's list of priorities."

The paper's editorial however says that Sarkozy has only 500 days left to turn these priorites into actions and convince the French of his worthiness for re-election in 2012. (If indeed he stands, which has yet to be confirmed.)

Catholic La Croix has refreshingly steered clear of the political hornets' nest this morning, looking into the daily lives of Afghans in Kandahar and how they feel about the war. "Between hope and fear" is the headline.

The truth is, says the paper, that that the majority of the local population does not trust or support the Taliban. The problem is that they are not too keen on either Nato forces or the government.