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Favilla,
4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
France doesn't need top rating
France can handle a downgrading of its high credit rating, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview published on Monday in the daily Le Monde. His words fed speculation that the downgrading might just be a matter of time. The liberal business paper Les Echos urges calm: "We stare at our triple A with our eyes glued to the rating thermometer. Already the markets see it as a lost cause. But if the topic didn't carry so much weight in the run-up to the presidential elections there'd be no reason to make such a fuss, and for a number of reasons: several other European triple As have also seen a steep rise in their risk premiums (Finland, Austria, the Netherlands ...). Even Germany recently encountered difficulties selling its government bonds. The US, downgraded to AA+ not so long ago, continues with business as usual thanks to the Federal Reserve and its status as a financial superpower, despite its current political weakness. But if Europe can't overcome its own weaknesses, the rating thermometer won't forgive it."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Economy, » France, » Europe, » U.S.
Paris minus the ugly advertising
Paris' municipal government wants to reduce billboard advertising in the city centre. The business paper Les Echos welcomes the initiative and calls in addition for aesthetic control over advertisements: "Certainly there's no point heaping abuse on ads, but everyone agrees that all-invading advertisement which obscures the city skyline and detracts from the beauty of architecture is a real nuisance. ... What is often forgotten however is that billboards are not only a way of selling a product, but also a spectacle in themselves that can be more or less pleasing to the eye. People complain of advertising 'pollution' yet never tire of visiting exhibitions devoted to poster artists of the none-too-distant past. ... In any case it's a good idea to limit billboard space. What Paris really needs, however, is a by-law establishing an aesthetic commission to abolish the right to ugliness."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Architecture / Cities, » France
Internet is no enemy of culture
For the fifth time since 1997 the French cultural ministry published a report this week on cultural activity in France in the age of the Internet. The business paper Les Echos comments on its findings: "The Internet age has completely broken the link between each type of cultural consumption and its support medium (books for reading, the cinema or the television for film, the concert or the stereo for music). ... In fact interest in reading has not stopped dwindling in all age categories. Nevertheless the study contains two bits of good news. The first is that the number of visits to cultural events (theatre, concerts ...) has stood up quite well compared with 1997. Cinema has even registered a spectacular gain. The second piece of good news is that those who use the Internet on a daily basis (apart from professional obligations) are also the most interested in reading and going to the theatre or museums. Digital technology is no enemy of culture."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Media policy, » Media economy, » France
Chirac, a real head of State
"On Sunday evening [March 11th], Jacques Chirac pronounced one of the best speeches of his political career", considers Favilla, a pseudonym concealing several of the paper's journalists. "It differed in tone from all of the electoral campaign. Over these past few weeks, we have seen the candidates in his line of succession take part in television programmes where average citizens, supposed to represent 'real people', evoked their personal problems. In this exercise, whoever shows the most compassion scores the most points. But what one asks of a President of the Republic is not compassion... Jacques Chirac's last speech is a striking demonstration of the distance that separates - and that should separate - compassionate posturing from presidential responsibility."
» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » France
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