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French press review 9 July 2014

"Humiliation", "disaster", "disgrace", "consternation." If those are the key words, what's the story about?

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Brazillian football? No. We're talking about the conservative UMP party, deeply divided on the question of leadership, unsure on how far to the right policies can be pushed before they end up in bed with Marine Le Pen, and now an internal audit reveals that the party is up to its hind legs in debt.

According to right-wing Le Figaro, no fewer than 74 and a half million euros are owed by the second-largest political organisation in the country. Hence the consternation.

That's more than twice what the UMP takes in every year. Says Le Figaro, the party is going to have to come up with its own austerity measures or go down the tubes.

The editorial in the conservative newspaper is unforgiving. This is the party that's been criticising the socialists for their budgetary excesses. But their own financial management has now been shown to be totally irresponsible. Lamentable, says Le Figaro.

Later today, the Interior Minister will present a bill which, if it becomes law, would make it illegal for some French citizens to travel to some destinations. The basic idea is a good one. The authorities want to ensure, insofar as it's possible, that nationals do not go to places like Syria and Iraq, and then return to France with dangerously radical ideas which might be acceptable on a battlefield but are called terrorism in a crowded city centre.

The problem is, on the basis that prevention is better than cure, the proposed law will forbid certain people from leaving the country, on the simple suspicion that they might be involved in an individual terrorist endeavour. That's a fairly woolly basis for a law. The liklihood is that the really dangerous people will slip through the security net anyway. Expect ructions from the human rights lobby. And a lot of complaints about personal freedom.

Two very different stories from the inside pages of Le Monde.

The centrist paper picks up reports in yesterday's English press to the effect that a team of researchers working in Oxford and London has discovered a blood test that accurately predicts whether or not you're likely to suffer from the brain disorder known as Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is a currently incurable form of senile dementia, with sufferers progressively losing memory, language ability, personal autonomy. The problem so far has been that, once the first clear symptoms emerge, you're already too far gone to have any chance of stopping or even slowing mental decline.

With this new test, the researchers hope to be able to treat potential victims of the disease before they show any symptoms. They'll also be better able to assess the efficiency of the various forms of treatment currently being tested. And perhaps come to a better understanding of a health problem that is going to get worse as people in the developed world live longer.

Harry Potter won't have to worry about senile dementia for a few years yet. The bespectacled magician made famous by J. K. Rowling is now 34 and has nothing more serious than a few grey hairs and a scar to show for his eventful youth.

I can tell you this because Le Monde reports the arrival of a new Harry Potter story, which coincides with the visit of the middle-aged magician to the World Cup in South America. No, Harry has not suddenly become a fan of football. He's attending the World Quidditch Cup, which is taking place in Patagonia. Quidditch, in case you've been living on Mars for the last 20 years, is a cross between rugby, hockey, bee-keeping and supersonic sky-diving. It's played on a broom.

According to Le Monde, Harry and his family (two kids already) are well. His old mate Ron is going bald. And Hermione still lights up every room she walks into. The new story is available, free, on the internet, and there's talk of a new printed volume involving the famous trio. Magic!

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