The French elections also monopolize the attention of the American press . “The future of Raffarin precarious after the vote”, is for example the headline carried on the front page of the Herald Tribune (30/3, over an article signed by Katrin Bennhold in which she reports that “a day after the crushing defeat in the regional elections, President Jacques Chirac was under pressure to dismiss his prime minister and other authoritative members of the cabinet”. The “historic victory” for the left is commented on in turn by Le Monde (30/3), which notes that the winning coalition “controls all the regions with the exception of Alsace”. “The left says the front-page article of the French daily has won a resounding victory in the second round of the regional elections on Sunday 28 March (…). The only uncertainty remains Corsica, where the left, which holds a majority in terms of votes, could be split over the presidency”. “So, two years after the defeat of the spring of 2002 writes Isabelle Mandraud in one of the articles inside the paper a new cohabitation is installed. On the right, the executive and legislative power; on the left, the power ‘from below’, that of the regions (…). Strengthened by the ‘mandate’ they believe they have received from the French, the Socialist leaders promise a new opposition in Parliament”. Bruno Frappat signs the editorial in La Croix (30/3), declaring that “there’s perhaps more than one point in common between the causes of the humiliation of the government in 2002 and those of the government in 2004 (…). The emphasis placed today on questions of ‘method’ curiously recalls the process of yesterday (…). The method is a pretext. The continuous alteration of electoral results is a crude message that expresses voter dissatisfaction”. “Humiliation for Chirac” is the headline in the Italian Catholic daily, Avvenire, in its report on the French elections, which, according to Elio Maraone, represent “a blow without extenuating circumstances and without appeal for the majority and for Chirac himself (…). The political logic, not to say simple common sense, ought now to push Chirac to make significant manoeuvres, such as a government reshuffle (…). But what matters most, what will prove decisive also in the forthcoming European elections, is the economic and social background: that of a country in crisis, grappling with the growing problems of budget deficit, social integration and unemployment”. Europe and the nightmare of Islamic terrorism continue to be the focus of comment in the German press. Discussing the progress being made in the work on the European Constitution, Katja Ridderbusch writing in Die Welt (27/3) points out: “ The concrete experience of terrorism unites and buries abstract differences of view […]. The commitment made by the heads of state and of government to approve the Constitution by 17 June represents a victory of the European idea over national reflexes“. “ The danger comes not from the East but from the South of the Mediterranean: from Algeria, from Marocco and from Tunisia”, warns Prof. Michael Wolffsohn, guest commentator in the same paper. “ Like the majority of the poorest Arab communities, the three Arab countries closest to Europe represent a powder keg: demographic explosion, economic crisis, poverty, dissatisfaction that cannot freely express itself”. Writing in the weekly Der Spiegel (29/3), with regard to the consequences of the killing of sheik Yassin, Annette Grossbongardt writes: “ Instead of the much yearned for detente, a furious struggle between Israel and the Palestinian troops now rages. A year after the start of the war in Iraq, by which the USA declared it wanted to open the door to a new and more peaceful Middle East, the situation seems more than ever sombre. Throughout the region more terrorist attacks than ever before are being registered“. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1285 N.ro relativo : 25 Data pubblicazione : 03/04/04
