French press review 6 June 2016
National dailies pay glowing tributes to boxing legend Muhammad Ali who died in Arizona on Friday. They also examine the atmosphere in the run-up to the opening of the Euro 2016 despite President Hollande's promise of a massive security operation.
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Ā The left-leaning newspaper hails the "king, the America legend, the icon of the 20th century and boxing genius", who it claims "threw in the towel after a 32-year battle with Parkinsons' disease.
According to LibƩ "he will be remembered for inspiring film makers and captivating the world through his commitment and the punchlines of his muscles".
Foir the Communist daily, Mohammad Ali was the "last of the giants, the one that transformed boxing and the world". L'HumanitĆ©, recalls that Ali was "one of the consciences of Black empowerment and an untiring champion who used boxing and IslamĀ to break the chains of of civil rights in the United States".
According to the Communist newspaper, Ali was "a man of paradoxes and contradictions", whose first coach, Joseph Elsby Martin, once claimedĀ "was hated in his hometown of Louisville, not for racial reaons, but because of his big mouth".
Le Monde agrees that Mohammad Ali was truly an "incarnation of American history" and a so-called "rights distribution machine" who coach Joe Martin "thought how toĀ fight before he became a fighter".
The right-wing paper holds that the life of "heavy weight Mohammad Ali" was one of "permanent spectacle" adding that "Islam was his last uppercut".
Le Figaro says he is certain to "take along with him a page of America's turbulent history".
The sports daily offers photographic coverage of Ali, starting with a video clip of a youthful Ali smiling down from giant screens at New York's Madison Square Garden, and other sports arenas around the United States this weekend,Ā as well as Louisville, Kentucky residents laying wreaths at the Mohammad Ali Center
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