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On the front page of the press, the legislative and provincial elections this Thursday in Pakistan, where at least 28 people were killed the day before in two attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.
The daily
Dawn
, which announces elections against a backdrop of "violence and polarization", speaks directly to Pakistani voters and calls on them to "defend democracy" and help Pakistan make "a new start". According to Dawn, these "elections are the most important" the country has seen since 2007, the year Pakistan undertook "a very troubled and difficult transition from military rule to civilian democracy." “We must let the people win,” argues
Pakistan Today
, which accuses the military of having “assumed, for too long, the right to decide what is best for the country” – “a right that belongs to the people and to the voters", according to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan of 1973.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently in prison, was excluded from these elections.
La Croix
reports that the “shadow” of the former cricket champion “hangs” over these elections despite everything. Hundreds of candidates and members of his party, the Pakistan Movement for Justice, have also been arrested and his party banned from political rallies and using its logo - "a significant handicap in a country where the illiteracy rate is close to 40%. According to
The Washington Post
, the big winner of these elections could well be another former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, who recently returned from exile, and who also experienced "the military pressures and legal convictions which put premature end to his three terms as Prime Minister", before his return to favor with the army.
Also on the front page of the press is the rallying of Marion Maréchal, head of the list of the French far-right party Reconquête! to the Europeans, to the Conservatives and Reformists group of Giorgia Meloni. This information from Le
Point
is presented by the magazine as "an important first step for the training of Éric Zemmour, who dreams of entering the European Parliament, or even of influencing it", "at a time when the national-conservative movement European Union led by President of the Italian Council has the wind in its sails. According to
La Repubblica
, the Italian daily, which speaks of a "widening of the European black front", Marion Maréchal's objective is to join a group which aims to get ahead of the other European far-right group, Identity and Democracy , its main rival, to which Marine Le Pen, the French National Rally and Matteo Salvini, the boss of the Italian League, belong. Across the Atlantic,
The New York Times
observes the way in which Giorgia Meloni advances her pawns on the European chessboard, in particular by winning the confidence of Hungarian President Viktor Orban, whom she would have helped in lifting his veto on the aid to Ukraine, according to the newspaper. The American daily notes that the President of the Italian Council has finally "put the European establishment at ease", by showing herself "intransigent" on Ukraine, by aligning herself with the United States and NATO, and by withdrawing Italy from China's economic expansion plan in Europe – quite far "from its past populist and incendiary rhetoric".
From incendiary rhetoric to displayed bloodshed: in France, the boss of Modem, François Bayrou, declares that he will not enter the government. According to
Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui
en France, this declaration would have triggered "an earthquake at the top of the State" and would "weaken" the majority, "in the midst of negotiations for the reshuffle". According to
Le Figaro
, the boss of the centrists justifies his refusal by a "deep" disagreement with the Macron/Attal line, accused of "right-wing".
Libération
quips: "François Bayrou renounces the government for lack of evidence", an allusion to his acquittal on Monday in the affair of European parliamentary assistants, "for the benefit of the doubt".
A little sport to finish, with the joy of the Ivorian press, who are exulting after the qualification of the Elephants for the CAN final. "Simply magnificent", headlines
L'Avenir
, which speaks of a "heroic" match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, beaten 1 to 0. "God is Ivorian", proclaims
Abidjan 24
, saluting the performance of the "immortal Elephants ". “Heading for the Cup”, with
Fraternité Matin
, which quotes the congratulations of the president, Alassane Ouattara: “We are proud of you”.
Notre Voie
can already see itself there: “Forward for the 3rd star”, a third continental star after the successes in 1992 and 2015. But before that, the Elephants will have to defeat the Super Eagles of Nigeria – a final “with the air of revenge ", according to
Soir Info
, because Nigeria beat Ivory Coast in the group stage. See you on Sunday at 9 p.m. Paris time, 8 p.m. Abidjan time.
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