European press review

Saturday night's riots in Oldham, northwest England, have put the subjects of race and immigration firmly at the centre of the British general election campaign, some papers say.

In France, the press is anticipating Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's speech on his vision of the EU's future, while the German and Austrian papers debate the meaning of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's visit to his southern neighbour.

British election race

"The British election campaign moves onto the subject of immigration," says Le Monde in Paris following what it calls a "night of race riots" in Oldham.

"These clashes between whites and immigrants from the Indian subcontinent could put the issues of crime, immigration and asylum seekers at the centre of the campaign for the legislative elections on 7 June," it says.

"The racial tensions in Oldham were stirred up in particular by an active campaign by the far-right National Front which is putting forward two candidates" in Oldham, the paper says.

It adds: "The Conservative Party...was also accused of encouraging racism." However, the paper says that the party's leader William Hague has categorically denied the accusations.

"Racist violence in Oldham" is how Geneva's Le Temps describes the disturbances.

It adds that Oldham is "one of England's poorest towns" and that the unemployment rate among Asians there is twice the local average and that interethnic relations have got worse in recent years.

The paper says: "The election campaign, which is giving a lot of attention to immigration problems, is not helping to calm things down."

French premier's EU vision

With French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin due to set out in a speech on Monday his vision of the European Union's future, Le Figaro in Paris takes a look at what he might say.

"Lionel Jospin wants to dispel the 'eurosceptic' image brought about by his long silence on the subject," the paper says.

He "will put the emphasis on the European Union's contents rather than its institutions", it says, adding he "is in particular expected to highlight European integration in areas such as education, culture, justice, policing and social issues."

"He intends to defend the idea that the EU can act as a counterbalance to globalisation," it adds.

"Jospin fights over Europe with Chirac" is the front page headline, set against a photo of the two men, of Paris's Liberation.

The paper says that through the speech he hopes to "strengthen his status as a statesman a year before the presidential elections", which he is expected to contest with Chirac.

It adds that things will not be easy for him. "The prime minister still has to convince people of his European fervour", the paper says.

"He also has to...give some meaning to the European construction" without upsetting the feelings too much of the "eurosceptic" members of his ruling left-wing coalition.

"As a result, today's speech assumes a crucial importance in the race, which is already very bitter, for the Elysee presidential palace", it says.

Much ado about something?

An official visit by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to Austria has drawn much criticism, but also some praise in the press of both countries.

Germany's Frankfurter Rundschau says that Chancellor Schroeder spent more time with Socialist opponents of the Austrian government than with government officials.

It adds that Schroeder "completely ignored" the members of the right-wing Freedom Party of Joerg Haider, who, together with the People's Party form the current governing coalition.

Politicians from the People's Party sharply criticised the chancellor's programme for the visit, it says.

In Germany, it adds, the opposition Christian Democratic Union and Free Democrats called the pro-opposition weighting of Mr Schroeder's visit "an insult to the official Austria".

Another paper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, says Schroeder's visit must have appeared like a continuation of the policy of sanctions and isolation imposed on Austria by the other members of the European Union when the Freedom Party joined the government.

Yet Berlin's Die Tageszeitung says Chancellor Schroeder's visit to Austria shows the effect the European Union has had.

"It is possible to impose a boycott on a foreign country such as Serbia or Iraq," the paper continues, "but within the European Union, which is gradually evolving from an alliance of states into a federal state, this is no longer possible."

"The relations between EU states have in the meantime become nothing other than European domestic politics," it says.

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.