French press review
In the spotlight: José Eduardo dos Santos, death of an Angolan giant
Audio 04:41
former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos.
LUSA - AMPE ROGERIO
By: Norbert Navarro
4 mins
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He had come to power "
almost in spite of himself, at the age of 37, after the death of the first president of independent Angola, Agostinho Neto
", states
Jeune Afrique
.
“
As secretive as he is a skilful politician, José Eduardo dos Santos has had several lives: warlord, party leader, fine diplomat, authoritarian president at the head of an oil jewel, patriarch feared, adored and then neglected.
An outstanding figure in the modern history of Angola, if only for his longevity in power (thirty-eight years), he is also the man who put an end to the civil war in 2002 – “the architect peace”, according to the rhetoric of the MPLA – and the one who made possible the reconstruction of the country in the 2000s
”, sums up this pan-African newspaper.
Jeune Afrique
also recalls that President dos Santos will have been “
almighty for so long
”, and that he experienced “
an end to power without violence or trouble but full of bitterness
”.
The street of death for Shinzo Abe
It is “
a challenge to democracy
”, launches
Le Figaro
on the front page .
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe succumbed to the bullets of a former Japanese soldier, sniper in the navy, who fired on him during a street election meeting.
And Japan is "in shock", underlines this newspaper.
In fact,
Le Figaro
again points out , “
Shinzo
Abe certainly had many enemies.
He sometimes aroused in his street meetings a militant hostility rare in Japan.
But the lack of avowed political motives of the killer seems to classify this tragedy among the gratuitous crimes, the fact of a “lonely man” as there are many in Japan
”, conjectures this daily.
Shinzo Abe?
He was an "invasive political animal", Liberation formula.
Because his regular speeches lately about Russia, the risk in Taiwan, the armament of Japan, the debate on nuclear deterrence, "
even annoyed the current Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, a little, because Abe continued to act behind the scenes to influence the head of government by the band
, “
said Libé
.
Ukraine, year zero
In Russia, to galvanize his people, President Vladimir Putin has been publicly appearing over and over again in recent weeks.
A sign that the war in Ukraine promises to last.
“
The Russian president, who has been more and more publicly visible in recent weeks, seems to have chosen verbal escalation and the consolidation of his support against the Western bloc, with an ever more significant rhetoric of “us against them
”, underlines
Le Figaro
.
Objective ?
“
The remobilization of minds on the need for this “special operation” (which is, in fact, the war in Ukraine).
In other words: he harangues the troops, in particular the political and economic elites
”, explains
Le Figaro
again .
So, yes, sighs
Le Parisien
, "
the war promises to be long...
" This newspaper, on the front page of which Vladimir Putin promises an " all-out
war to take the Donbass
", predicts that in fact, the war "
will not be will not stop at Donbass
”, but that Putin “
will then seek to push his advantage on the land strip linking Crimea to Transnistria, taking the strategic and symbolic port of Odessa in the process
”.
This daily stresses in passing that the Europeans, “
who, unlike the Americans, do not have their own energy resources, have still not found a miracle response to their dependence on Russian hydrocarbons
”.
However, it will be necessary to “
stand up to Russia
”, enjoins
Le Parisien
, and this “
whatever the cost.
Beyond Ukraine, respect for the principles of sovereignty and the right of peoples to decide their destiny is at this price
”, professes this newspaper.
Overtime victory for Platini
It is done.
Michel Platini, who was waiting for Swiss justice to decide his fate in a resounding case of alleged fraud, was acquitted.
And it's a "great victory" for the former captain of the Blues, rejoices Le Figaro.
“
Forty years after the legendary defeat in the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup against Germany during a night in Seville which still brings tears to the most nostalgic, the former number 10 of the Blues obtained (yesterday) a resounding victory on another playing field. The less sexy but just as important one of the courts
”, welcomes
Le Figaro
, under a photo of Michel Platini, all smiles.
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Angola
Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Shinzo Abe
Ukraine
Russia
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