French press review 27 June 2016

"Emergency in Europe, UK torn apart, the hunt for Brexit answers, Europe confused, post-Brexit scenarios, can the EU recover? These are just some of the front-page captions of today's paper as commentators await action by EU leaders to reboot the euro-zone after Britain's shock exit.

DR

Four days after the UK's decision to quit the EU German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to host a crisis conclave in Berlin today with French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, ahead of Tuesday's Brexit summit of EU leaders in Bruxelles.

 Libération

According to the left-leaning publication, while politicians are tearing themselves apart in London and Brussels, the scenario and tempo of Britain's exit from the EU are still unknown and shrouded with uncertainty.

"The worst would be the failure by EU leaders to decide" warns Libération in today's editorial. The left-leaning publication argues that if the EU commission doesn't act, and abandon its quasi-socialist experiment of ever-greater integration, then Brexit will transform into Eurexit as the European people will follow the Brits and take back their sovereignty.

For Libé, if the community is still keen on forging ahead with the European project, then EU leaders must hand the key role back to the people. "The European parliament, elected by universal suffrage", it says, "must take over the reigns of power".

Le Figaro

The right-wing paper explains that implementation of Britain's exit from the European Union now "hangs on the settlement of political scores", adding that it will be "happening behind deep divergences between Paris and Berlin with two visions of Europe confronting each other". But as Le Figaro points out, "the grave crisis rocking Europe will not be resolved through investives or reprisal".

As eurosceptics across the continent all clamour for their own vote on EU membership, several dailies satirize about the barbaric expressions, the "Leave" referendum in Britain has delivered in countries where right-wing and nationalist parties are clamouring for referenda of their own: "Frexit" in France,"Nexit" in the Netherlands, "Oexit" in Austria, "Swexit" in Sweden Democrats, Dexit in Denmark and Fixit" in Finland.

La Croix

For the Catholic daily, "if EU leaders really beleive that the community remains the best solution, then they must find concrete responses to the demands expressed in all its member countries".

L'Humanité

For the Communist newspaper "it should be a basic requirement that the design of a new collective and binding European project be based around the principle that the EU is a union of free sovereign nations and peoples".

L'Equipe

The sports daily hisses a sigh of relief, after France edged Ireland 2-1 victory in Lyon on Saturday to reach the quarter finals of the Euro 2016 football competition. L'Equipe reports that "Les Bleus" were rough-handled by the "Boys in Green" for more than an hour before "on fire" Antoine Griezmann's second half double "liberated" them. France will face either England of Iceland in the last eight at the State de France in Paris next Sunday.