French press review 6 September 2016

Will all the contenders for the mainstream right presidential candidate be men? Are foreign criticisms of France's burkini wars unfair? And what are the lessons of the German Christian Democrats' setback in this weekend's state election?

"They're missing an NKM and it's bad news fer everyone" is the cryptic front page headline in this morning's left-leaning daily Libération.

For those not up to speed on domestic French politics, NKM is shorthand for Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, the only woman in the race to lead the mainstream right Republicans and be its candidate in presidential elections next spring.

The paper says it's increasingly unlikely that NKM will gather sufficient sponsors to make it onto the ballot.

The signatures of 2,500 party members and 250 elected officials, including 20 parliamentarians, are required.

"It's true the task is not easy," says Libé.

If the party ends up with five men and no women in the contest, it's rather embarrassing.

The paper's editorial is headlined "Plafond de Verre" (Glass Ceiling), a reference to the unacknowledged barrier that prevents women from rising to positions of power or responsibility.

In spite of 20 years of effort, the glass ceiling seems still to be in place, in France at least.

"Only voluntary and mandatory mechanisms can make things happen, like the example of the male-female parity in government imposed by President François Hollande," says Libé.

The paper's advice: "Start with NKM"

Valls still fighting burkini wars

Staying with women in France and what we might call the burkini wars, centrist paper Le Monde reports that French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has replied to the New York Times, which recently published testimonies of French Muslim women claiming discrimination.

If you hadn't heard, a burkini is a modest, full-body swimsuit favoured by some Muslim women.

Some local councils in France have tried to outlaw the outfit, arguing that it's at odds with French values and traditions.

The New York Times report was not favourable to this argument.

In a response, published on the Huffington Post website, the PM says the article gives a "false image" of France, the country of the Enlightenment where women are free.

The suggestion was that in France the next step would be a yellow moon sewn on the clothes of Muslims, like the yellow star to identify Jews under Nazi occupation, Valls says. "A France where Muslims would be 'treated worse than dogs'. A France with an apartheid regime, forcing Muslims to leav their country to study, find a job, have a career."

According to Valls, France has "strong links with Islam" because of its history, its geography, openness to the Mediterranean and Africa and immigration.

France is proud that Islam is the second religion of the country, he says, insisting that millions of Muslims live in full conformity and enjoy their rights fully.

To read our coverage of France's burka ban click here

Lessons of German state election

Right-wing Le Figaro is still intrigued by Sunday's state election in Germany, in which Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was relegated to third place by voters unhappy with her open-door policy on immigration. This, moreover, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, her home state.

The paper explores numerous angles.

Who are the right-wing, anti-immigration party the AfD which bested Merkel's Christain Democrats?

How can the chancellor win back the confidence of German voters?

And, of more interest to French readers perhaps, how much will the populist victory in Germany feeds the hopes of the National Front?

You may recall that the National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, is on the far right of France's political spectrum. It, too, is fiercely opposed to mass immigration.

No surprise then that Marine le Pen was heartened by the news from Germany.

"I am delighted," Le Pen is quoted as saying, adding that the vote also revealed the "absolute rejection of the choice imposed on all EU countries by Merkel" and signalled what she called "the beginning of awareness".