French press review 04 ctober 2014

The mass mobilization for Sunday’s grand protest in Paris by the anti-gay marriage coalition is the towering story in this morning’s national dailies.

Le Figaro says the demonstrators fired up by the Taubira family laws, notably the articles pertaining to medically assisted procreation and surrogate reproduction by homosexual couples. According to the right-wing newspaper, while the formidable coalition fine-tuned its war machine for Sunday’s showdown with the government over its so-called family phobia, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced a u-turn over surrogacy.

In an interview with the Catholic daily La Croix, Valls said the risks of witnessing a booming trade on human beings and bodies of women were so high that the government is slapping a ban on surrogacy in France. Le Figaro says Valls’ late show won’t suffice to calm flaring tempers. According to the right-wing newspaper, the movement has already collected a war chest of 4.3 million euros through donations from its members who believe it is the legalization of same sex marriage which has opened the way to medically-supported procreation and surrogacy.

Libération says the organizers of Sunday’s anti-gay marriage protests expect up to 100,000 demonstrators to turn out in Paris and Bordeaux. According to the paper a petition calling for a mandatory ban on surrogacy by French citizens has already been signed by 200,000 people four days after it was put online.

Libé also reports that the some of the original conscripts of the anti-gay marriage coalition, notably consisting of Catholics and heterosexual family groups, are disturbed by the radical turn the movement has taken and are dissociating themselves for fear of Sunday’s protests turning violent.

La Croix looks forward to a 15-day synod on the family, which gets underway in Rome on Sunday. It has become the great cause of the church according to the Catholic newspaper, noting that in this complicated world of hours, the family ought to be the ultimate way to a fulfilling future for everyone instead of being perceived as a frustrating objective.

Le Monde takes up the frustrated return to politics of ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy. It underlines that his plans are complicated by a string of judicial investigations facing his close collaborators over affairs concerning his tenure as president, determined opponents he had expected to line up behind him and discouraging opinion ratings.

Le Parisien says the duel between Sarkozy and former Prime Minister Alain Juppé is closer than experts had predicted. This is after a new survey by Odoxa polling institute for Le Parisien /Aujourd’hui en France found out that 43 percent of French voters prefer Alain Juppé to stand for the opposition UMP party in the next presidential elections against 23 percent for Sarkozy. While the ex-President still holds a commanding 55 percent lead in terms of personality and charisma over Juppé’s 41 percent, the former premier and Mayor of Bordeaux beats Sarkozy 50 % to 46 % when it comes to uniting the country. In the sphere of competence, Juppé also leads Sarkozy by 61 % to 35 % and in terms of honesty it is a landslide with Juppé winning by 73% to 21% for Sarkozy, according to the survey published this Saturday.

Libération’s special supplement this weekend is about the 13th traditional Nuit Blanche which begins tonight at 7 PM and will see an array of music, open bars, restaurants and other events. The paper regrets that this year’s rendezvous is being marred by powerful lobbies of sleepers determined to stop noisy bars, night clubs and night jars below their windows.

Libé says it now takes a fortune for night time businesses to meet the norms set by the police, some reportedly having to pay penalties of up to 100,000 euros to stay open. The stake according to the left leaning newspaper is that Paris like many other capital cities is threatened by “embourgeoisement” or gentrification and in the short term risks becoming something of a “museum city”.