In the spotlight: the Omicron threat

Audio 04:16

A new South African variant of the coronavirus called Omicron is starting to shake the planet.

(Illustrative image) via REUTERS - Social Media

By: Norbert Navarro

3 min

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The new South African variant of the coronavirus is starting to shake the planet.

This strain would be " 

potentially more contagious than the Delta variant and less vulnerable to vaccines 

", warns

Le Figaro

straight away

.

And this variant is " 

very worrying

 ", this newspaper worries, because since the announcement yesterday by South Africa of the discovery of this new variant, " 

panic is spreading in the world like wildfire

 ".

With such formulas, is

Le Figaro

doing too much?

If this is the case, then, what to think of the question asked in the front page of the daily

Le Parisien

 : "

 should we be afraid of the new South African variant?" 

".

In this daily, a virologist from the Henri-Mondor hospital in Créteil, near Paris, said, “ 

we must not unnecessarily panic the population

.

But, he

adds,

we are not immune to a bad surprise 

”...

Perfidious Albion

Tension between France and the United Kingdom. In the kiosks this morning in France, even the press perceived as being rather "general-public" evokes the subject (the English tabloids have better watch out). Witness

Le Parisien

, in whose columns said " 

tension 

" becomes " 

escalation 

" between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Diplomatic crisis resulting from the sinking, Wednesday, of a makeshift boat between the French and English coasts and which cost the lives of 27 migrants, but also from the tension on both sides of the Channel relating to questions of quotas of fishing in British waters… in

Le Parisien

this morning, an adviser to the French executive denounces " 

the perfidious Albion

 "!

The temptation of the archbishop

Scent of scandal in the diocese of Paris.

The archbishop of the capital, Mgr Aupetit, handed over his resignation to the pope, due to an affair he had with a woman while he was vicar of Paris.

The origin of this case is in an article in

Le Point

magazine

. Five days ago, this newspaper revealed the existence of an "

 e-mail dating from February 2012

 ", at the time " 

sent in error by Michel Aupetit himself 

" to his secretary, " 

while he intended it for a woman he knew

 ”. The sender was then, in fact, Vicar General of Paris and the content of the e-mail, of which he would be the author, would be "

 without the slightest ambiguity 

" and would testify " 

to an intimate relationship with this woman, an affair which concerns his private life, concerns two consenting adults and is not criminally reprehensible, but which contravenes the wishes of his ministry 

”.

And this morning, Michel Aupetit is on the front page of the newspaper

Le Parisien

. Which daily underlines that the Archbishop of Paris has recognized "

 an ambiguous behavior

 " with this woman, "

 without going as far as a romantic or sexual relationship

 ", he adds. So,

Le Parisien

wonders. “ 

Who wants the Archbishop's skin?

 ".

On the one hand, the " 

left cathos

 " keep across their throats the abrupt closure, in March, "

of a center (...) dedicated to people on the fringes of the church and in particular LGBT

 ", points this newspaper.

On the other hand, traditionalist Catholics “

 would not have digested the end of the host in the mouth, decreed for health reasons.

No more than the promotion of women to positions of responsibility

 ”, he adds ... It is up to the Pope to decide ...

In

Le Parisien

, a source assures us “

that a pope does not howl with wolves

 ”.

But this does not prevent, considers this newspaper, this affair is " 

a very hard blow for the Church of France

".

Pirates of the tropics

To fight against piracy, the Danish navy stands guard in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to

Le Figaro

, an elite Danish unit, aboard the frigate Esbern Snare, has been deployed since October 24 off West Africa.

"

 She has already neutralized several pirates and has just arrested four others on Wednesday in front of Ghana,"

reports this daily.

It is in this region that “

 40% of acts of piracy in the world have taken place recently

 ,” he states.

Vaguely.

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