French press review 10 november 2009

by Michael Fitzpatrick

Article published on the 2009-11-10 Latest update 2009-11-10 09:20 TU

The media frenzy over the anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall continues, with today's Le Monde offering to explain "how the reunification of Germany gave birth to the Europe of today".

It might sound like they blame Berlin for the mess we've gotten into, but that's not actually the case. Germany may represent one of the few successes in recent European history, but the real story remains one of exclusion, with barriers of barbed wire, water or bureaucracy now ensuring that we are protected from the southern poor.

As Cyprus, the West Bank and the US-Mexican border sadly prove, our weakness for barriers shows no sign of yielding to common sense.

The front page of right-wing Le Figaro, which yesterday killed off communism, today has "United Europe celebrates freedom". And that without a hint of irony, despite the accompanying picture of Britain's Brown, Germany's Merkel and those smiling champions of liberalism, Sarkozy and Medvedev.

The lads at Communist l'Humanité can't help themselves: their main headline looks "Behind the Wall at France Télécom". The telephone company has been hit by a series of suicides among employees, and has promised to change its management strategy.

Business daily Les Echos says the French government believes the worst of the economic crisis is over, and that growth might pass the one per cent mark next year. Optimism ain't what it used to be?

Leftist Libération publishes the results of a survey which proves that the French left is in tatters. We could have told them that for nothing.

And Catholic La Croix looks forward to tomorrow, or back to 1918, and the end of the First World War, suggesting that the friendship between France and Germany needs to be nourished. The Great War ended exactly 91 years ago tomorrow.