French press review 6 July 2013

The dramatic return to the French political scene of ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy attracts most comments from today’s national dailies.

Sarkozy’s comeback to politics was widely predicted by the papers after he stormed out of France’s top constitutional body, which former presidents join automatically. The move came in the wake of the court’s verdict to uphold a decision by election auditors to deny the UMP about 11 million euros in campaign reimbursements because it breached campaign spending limits.

It was the first time a candidate reaching the second round of a French presidential election was not reimbursed for campaign expenses. Libération caught up with François Logerot, head of the elections audit commission, who presents the non-partisan reasons which motivated their ruling.

He states that the UMP breached the spending ceiling by 466,000 euros, representing an excess of 2.1 percent above the funds authorised. This is precisely why it was not eligible for the reimbursement of 47.5 percent of total campaign expenses it had been due.

The papers are not surprised that the 58 year-old Sarkozy is trying to transform what he termed "an unprecedented decision" into a political springboard. That’s the opinion upheld by Le Monde, in any case. The paper claims that Sarkozy is trying to present the invalidation of his campaign accounts as an orchestrated move by the government to damage his reputation and that of the UMP.

For Le Monde, the ploy exposes a long-term plan to speed up his return to the political arena. Nicolas Sarkozy remains the favourite choice of UMP supporters to be the party's candidate in the next presidential election in 2017, with 87 percent  of people recently polled hoping he will run.

Aujourd’hui en France says Sarkozy's vows to guarantee freedom of democratic expression in France and prepare a necessary alternative to socialism were actually part of a covert plan to present himself as the saviour of the UMP.

Sarkozy has opted for a counterattack, says Le Figaro. The right-wing paper points out that the ex-president will attend an extraordinary meeting of the UMP leadership on Monday. The right-wing newspaper admits that the UMP has been struggling since Sarkozy’s defeat, with party leader Jean-François Copé and ex-Prime Minister François Fillon embroiled in a bitter public leadership battle that has hurt its reputation.

Libération believes that Sarkozy’s political return will not be easy, given his deep unpopularity outside the UMP, his flashy style and abrasive personality. The paper draws attention to the fact that he is also at the centre of a series of ongoing criminal investigations, including allegations that he accepted up to 50 million euros from former Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi for his 2007 presidential campaign.

The dramatic events taking place in Egypt in the wake of the removal from office of President Mohamed Morsi also draws comments from the main papers this Saturday.

Le Figaro is alarmed by the explosive situation prevailing in Egypt, amid reports that at least 26 people were killed in clashes across the country on Friday. Tens of thousands of supporters of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi turned out to protest his ouster by a popularly-backed military coup.

Libération reports that the Muslim Brotherhood movement backing Morsi has gone into resistance, threatening the worst if their leader is not reinstated.