French press review 29 October 2011

Saturday’s French papers are dominated by reactions to EU efforts to deal with the world economic crisis, ahead of next week’s G-20 summit in France. The G-20 nations, representing 85 percent of the global economy, meet in Cannes next week with the IMF warning that the weakness of advanced economies was "beginning to hit emerging countries".

Le Figaro underlines that Europe and France are facing a moment of truth, after 30 years of accumulated deficits pushed Greece into bankruptcy.

Spain and Portugal are very close with Italy standing just nearby. France, Le Figaro warns, is also under threat, if the status quo prevails.

It says while the collapse of the euro and Europe is averted, the danger of the infernal speculation machine continues to loom.

It is imperative, Le Figaro insists, to restructure the European financial stabilization fund, under the ambit of the European Central Bank.

The debt-ridden economies of the so-called “Club Med” of the South must be salvaged as well to avoid a relapse.

Libération examines the growing influence of the Occupy Wall Street Movement as a new world economic recession looms.

Libé dispatched reporters to the makeshift village of tents mounted outside the New York Stock exchange building by the “disillusioned” Americans.

The paper argues that while the campers may be just a few hundred, more than half of Americans now share their anger.

Libération reads a lot of meaning in their slogan - We are 99 per cent, of all America, against the rich 1 per cent who share among themselves close to half of the country’s wealth.

Liberation also found out, that the “OWS”, like their alter ego on Cairo’s Tahir Square uphold a dogmatic political code. They have no leaders and practice a strict rule of colour and gender equality.

While some may make fun about these "disillusioned” Americans, Libé says their outrage reflects the indignation of the Western middle class about a system made for them but which now works against them.

Socialist presidential candidate François Hollande reacts in Le Monde to President Nicolas Sarkozy’s charges that reckless Leftist policies caused France’s economic woes.

Hollande told Le Monde he will not allow Sarkozy to run away from his record. The Socialist leader accuses Sarkozy of having a long memory when speaking about others but a very short one, when looking at his own record under scrutiny.

He has not protected the French people during his five years in office and actually introduced 30 new taxes, notes Hollande.

Sarkozy he says, distributed 75 billion euros in tax breaks, and worsened the situation of public accounts by contracting 500 billion euros in additional debts.

It is Sarkozy, he charges, who in 2007, warned his European partners that he would not respect the EU deficit reduction directive.

For Hollande, the French are more vulnerable and less independent now than they were when Nicolas Sarkozy came to power in 2007.

La Croix hails the growth of the world’s population as it is set to cross the 7 billion mark on 31 October.

The Catholic daily claims that the demographic explosion of the 20th century is projected to slow down.

The paper regrets that the debate has centred on the cost of demographic growth instead of the assets population trends bring to the world.

However, the paper warns that the great fears related to population issues are fanning new tensions between rich and poor countries.