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French press review 19 September 2017

The world waits for Donald Trump, as the UN General Assembly opens in New York. Can France stop him from ditching the Geneva Accords on Iran's nuclear program? And Parisians watch with dismay as PSG superstars fight an ego war over spot kicks.

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We start with reactions from the commentators to the red hot issues to be addressed at the 72nd annual General Assembly of the United Nations opening today.

Libération says it expects world leaders gathered in New York to address the refugee crisis in Myanmar, where communal violence has forced more than 410,000 of the Rohingya minority Muslims to flee into Bangladesh.

The violence has torn through Rakhine state since 25 August, leaving hundreds dead in an ensuing crackdown by the military.

The UN had already decried the crisis as ethnic cleansing and Libé agrees, blaming the bloodshed on the Burmese military.

The left-leaning Libération says it is time for the UN, which has for long been a symbol of peace and freedom in the eyes of the world, to take concrete measures and bring the dreadful crimes to an end.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, decried for failing to speak up publicly about the conduct of the military, finally issued an appeal from Naypyidaw this morning. In it, she called for support from the global community to deal with the refugee crisis and help her nation unite across religious and ethnic lines.

But, according to Libé, by opting to speak out so late, she has run the risk of being classed with the tyrannical hypocrites who ruled the country for decades.

Le Courrier picard warns that the UN, despite all its weaknesses, remains one of the rare multi-lateral authorities in the world capable of facilitating dialogue among world leaders.

 

Le Monde looks forward to US President Donald Trump's highly awaited maiden address to the world body today, in which he is expected to take aim at so-called rogue regimes that threaten world stability and peace.

The paper says that it expects Trump to continue his rejection of the UN's drive towards global governance, but what will be most important for him will be reworking the global deal to curb Iran's uranium enrichment program.

Trump has branded the 2015 Iran nuclear deal as the "worst deal ever", with Washington arguing that, by pursuing a banned missile program and fomenting militant violence in its region, Iran was in breach of the spirit of a weak deal.

According to Le Monde, all of Washington's partners in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action oppose Trump's foreign policy, which they describe as irresponsible.

As France stepped up efforts on Monday to convince President Trump that a way could be found to prolong its effects, the paper warns that, if Iran ends up leaving, it will have a free hand to militarize its nuclear program.

For Le Monde, such an outcome would serve to undermine the nuclear non-proliferation mechanism further leaving the international community with the possibility of a second North Korean crisis on its hands.

 

Le Parisien is preoccupied by tensions of a different sort, the ones threatening the big Champions League dreams of French football giants Paris Saint Germain.

It's a war of egos that pits Brazilian superstar Neymar against Edinson Cavani over who should be the squad's penalty specialist. The two players failed to agree on who should take the spot kick awarded to PSG during Sunday’s big should match against Lyon.

It was the second such tussle since Neymar's arrival from Barcelona. "Leave the kicks to Cavani, urges Le Parisien. The publication pleads with PSG's manager Yunai Emery to move quickly and resolve the problem before it balloons into a larger war between the large Brazilian legion and the rest of the team.

 

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