Press review Africa Podcast Podcast
In the spotlight: Christmas under high protection
With the message of the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa Monsignor Fridolin Ambongo who yesterday perpetuated the tradition of the Catholic Church in Congo by slipping a very political message in his Christmas Mass. He wished for " real peace " in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
" A real peace " which demands that the elections take place on the fixed date of December 30th. News CD quotes the comparison made by the prelate between the situation of the country and " that of the people of Israel in exile ". " Is it excessive to say that the Congolese people are in exile on their own land? The question is put by Monsignor Fridolin Ambongo.
No real respite Christmas in the DRC, but an apparent calm that questions the newspaper Le Potentiel : in his editorial the daily wonders if this calm is not a " trap " , " to defeat the holding of polls " and puts warning against " a fourth postponement " which would be " that of all dangers ". The Burkinabe online daily Wakat Sera is back on the controversy of voting machines. For the daily, the organization of the elections in progress constitutes the end of a " cycle ". " In front of this fortress of shenanigans stands a wounded people, a people ready to fight. For the everyday.
Christmas celebrations under high protection this year
Just like the Christmas market in Bangui opened this year to Christians and Muslims, but also to Mali and Burkina Faso. As Le Faso points out , more than 1,400 police officers have been deployed in the capital Ouagadougou. The police call the population to respect the security instructions. An operation that will last until early January.
The press of the contains also evokes these associations which work during this period with a report of VOA Africa on the association Empire of the Children, which organizes as every year celebrations for the children of the streets.
In Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita sends a message to the Christian community. A message picked up this morning by the press and in particular by Mali web. The president of the Malian Republic evokes in a unifying message " the one God of mercy " that will help Malians to " overcome their difficulties ".
The Malian executive precisely, still struggling with the controversy around a sex education textbook project. This weekend, the president of the Islamic High Council of Mali Mamoud Diko had mobilized thousands of supporters in the streets of Bamako despite the suspension of the draft textbook by the government.
The Malijet website highlights the government's bad strategy and a "disavowal" of the Minister of Education. " Instead of taking action that can calm the spirits, the Minister of Education has activated fire with statements cookie cutter. "Believes Malijet, who goes further by considering that it is his reaction that has dug" a great gap between the state and religious ". What the country does not need.
Finally, Alexandre Benalla's travels are of interest to the African press. " When Alexandre Benalla makes Macron uncomfortable in Chad. The Beninese daily La Nouvelle Tribune reports on the revelations of several French media that Alexandre Benalla, the former collaborator of Emmanuel Macron, has recently visited Chad.
Dismissed from his position for "voluntary violence" and prosecuted by the courts, Alexandre Benalla was accompanied by six people during this trip. The New Tribune reports that Emmanuel Macron was forced to recall that his now ex-collaborator had no special mandate of representation. The head of state, who thought to take the distance and height with this trip, was once again caught up by the French news.