French press review

In the spotlight: French companies trapped in Russia

Audio 04:04

On March 24, 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky asked the European Parliament for French companies, including Auchan, Leroy Merlin and Decathlon, to leave the Russian market.

© AFP/Natalia Kolesnikova

By: Norbert Navarro

3 mins

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They are “ 

between a rock and a hard place

 ”, the 1,200 French companies present in Russia, including 35 CAC 40 groups, according to

Le Parisien

.

None of them wish to speak publicly, and all of them " 

continue to turn their backs

 ", points out this daily, in which a source at the large distributor Auchan explains that " 

if we leave, the Russians will get their hands on a formidable tool.

In particular, we have the best commercial locations in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg 

,” the source told the newspaper.

Do these companies “ 

must, in the name of morality, go beyond what the greatest democracies on the planet require,

asks

Le Figaro

?

Packing up and only coming back when the Russian ogre has returned to its lair?

 (…)

Would we punish Vladimir Putin or would we punish the Russians?

Would we nourish a feeling of revolt against the dictator of the Kremlin or against the injustice of the West?

“, still wonders

Le Figaro.

Revelations on the case of rugby player Christophe Dominici

Christophe Dominici died tragically sixteen months ago, and he would have been " 

fooled

 " by a Franco-Tunisian businessman whose lawyer was a former Secretary of State for Sports under François Hollande.

In the aborted project of taking over the rugby club AS Béziers (south of France), Christophe Dominici would have been " 

fooled

 ".

This is at least the opinion of the newspaper

L'Équipe

.

The sports daily investigated the death of the ex-winger of the XV of France, which would have been, according to this newspaper, the victim of a certain Samir Ben Romdhane.

And, indeed, in his sixties, wearing good looks, this Franco-Tunisian has as a lawyer the ex-leftist radical Thierry Braillard, former Secretary of State for Sports in the governments of Manuel Valls and Bernard Cazeneuve during the five-year term of François Hollande. .

For lack of time, it is impossible here to summarize this journalistic investigation tending to demonstrate that Samir Ben Romdhane has " 

shone mountains and wonders

 " for Christophe Dominici.

But on the sidelines of this affair,

L'Équipe

also points out that a year ago, " 

we find the very active Ben Romdhane in Guinea 

" where his company " 

wants to invest in gold mines 

".

Note that

L'Équipe

has notably sought to join the former Secretary of State Thierry Braillard, but the latter seems " 

elusive and unreachable 

", states this daily.

Friendly match France - Ivory Coast in Marseille, in preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar 

In

Le Parisien

,

the Franco-Ivorian striker of Ajax Amsterdam Sébastien Haller, after having " 

hesitated between the two selections

 ", explains how he decided to wear the Ivory Coast jersey instead.

“ 

I simply didn't have the status or the stats to claim to join the

 (French) selection

at that time

 ,” he said.

Her mother being Ivorian, Sébastien Haller told Le

Parisien

that she is " 

proud 

" of her choice, because for her, " 

it's not just a sporting decision

 ".

Hats off to a French mountaineering hero

Marc Batard was the first Frenchman to summit Everest without oxygen in 1988. Now 70 years old, he leaves tomorrow to attempt once again the ascent of the roof of the world.

From the height of his 70 springs and 168 cm, the legendary mountaineer flies this Saturday to Kathmandu 

", capital of Nepal, reports

Le Parisien

, heading for the base camp of Everest and its 8,848 meters.

Marc Batard intends to become "

 the dean of the conquerors of the highest summit on the planet without artificial oxygen supply

 ", warns this newspaper, the current record being held since 2010 by a " 

55-year-old Italian youngster 

", in other words by a 55-year-old mountaineer from Italy.

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