European press review

France's papers fret over the possibility that Beijing might be preferred to Paris as the Olympic city for 2008, while other papers ponder the prospects for Bulgaria's once (and future?) king in his new role as prime minister.

Olympic not-so-ideal

As the International Olympic Committee prepares to select the host city for the 2008 games, France's leading dailies display little confidence that the decision will go Paris's way, but plenty of indignation that Beijing might prevail.

Le Monde says that the decision "should be based more on the moral and political qualities of the country and its current regime than on its hotel capacity or the nature of its sporting set-up".

It says that it is wrong to argue that China should win the right to host the games merely on the basis of its massive population.

"This country is also an enormous prison - for ideas, for freedoms and for individuals," the paper comments.

The left-wing Paris daily Liberation agrees that to award the games to Beijing would be "a truly bitter demonstration of the current state of the world".

But it adds that it would be hypocritical for the IOC to deny China the games on human rights grounds when Western governments are more indulgent.

"There is a contradiction in considering China acceptable for trade but unacceptable for sport," it says.

"Why should the IOC alone be virtuous?" it asks.

Meanhile in Moscow, where the IOC is meeting, Izvestiya says the actual choice of venue is less important than "the motive for choosing it and the consequences of the choice".

The paper says that, while the choice of venue has long been a political decision - it cites Berlin in 1936 and Moscow in 1980 - the games have now become commercialized rather than politicized.

The games are "turning into a contest of economic muscle", Izvestiya says, going on to question whether Moscow really has the muscle for its 2012 bid to succeed.

Making up is so hard to do

Berlin's Die Welt reports that a Greek court has decided to allow a village ravaged by the Waffen-SS in World War II to seize German state property in compensation.

It says the case could a become a precedent for similar cases, if the Greek judiciary is successful in further appeals against the government in Athens and against Berlin.

"Not just Lidice or Oradour, but countless other places in former Yugoslavia, Belarus, the Ukraine and Russia will then have the possibility to sue for reparations," the paper says.

"The same holds true for villages in Algeria (France), Afghanistan (Russian) or Vietnam (USA)."

"It is therefore not surprising that Berlin is defending itself tooth and nail against the Greek move," the paper adds

Bring on the crowns

Moscow's Izvestiya says Bulgaria's former King Simeon II "definitely has a chance to improve things" in his country after his nomination as prime minister.

It says the Bulgarian people see him as a "man of his word, an aristocrat and aesthete who will save his country".

Whether or not Simeon will try to restore the monarchy is something for the future, Izvestiya adds. First he intends to implement an 800-day programme to stimulate the economy and fight crime.

"Only then will it be possible to advance to new - or, rather, old - heights."

Rome's La Repubblica says Simeon "has managed to give new faith to the Bulgarian people and to galvanize their hopes".

But it adds that his country "is further away than any of those countries which, since the fall of the former Soviet empire, aspire to EU membership".

It says that the new premier will face serious problems in managing the transition to a market economy and in tackling corruption.

Small hopes on small arms

A commentary in Bratislava's Narodna Obroda points out the difficulties faced by July's UN conference on fighting the illegal trade in small arms.

After trading in drugs, the paper says, "trading in small arms is one of the most lucrative global businesses"; it is therefore no surprise that many countries are against tougher measures to control it.

It says that the trade is too profitable to expect any "radical resolutions" from the conference.

Nonetheless, the paper concludes, "it is progress that the global community has at least started trying" to resolve the problem.

Welcome to work

Milan's Corriere Della Sera reports that the labour minister in Italy's new right-wing government, Roberto Maroni of the Northern League, has announced a "new philosophy" in immigration policy.

It says Mr Maroni announced that in future immigration will be strictly linked to permission to work, and those who lose their work permits "will have to leave Italy".

In addition, legal immigrants will be "integrated to a greater degree", while illegal immigrants will be treated merely as a "public order problem".

But, the paper adds, Mr Maroni announced at the same time that an extra 6,400 non-EU nationals would be allowed to enter Italy temporarily to work in the agriculture and hotel sectors.

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