European press review

German-language papers welcome the Muslim initiative behind Sunday's anti-terror demonstration in Cologne. Meanwhile, France launches a seduction campaign.

Values

In Germany, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung welcomes a Muslim-organised demonstration against terrorism which was attended by more than 20,000 people in Cologne on Sunday.

It acknowledges that the demonstrators' message was of such a general nature that it was bound to command broad support.

But it adds that those who, through their participation, have shown their willingness to integrate, will be open to criticism if their words fail to be matched by deeds.

"The great chance of the signal put out in Cologne", the paper says, "could be that 20,000 Muslims are arguing against the propagandists of the ghetto."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung believes that "for far too long Muslims here and elsewhere have remained silent when murders are committed in the name of the Koran."

It hopes that there will now be a serious debate about the best ways of integrating Muslim immigrants and their children.

"This debate," it adds, "must not omit the issue of a (German) 'Leitkultur' (guiding culture), nor the commitments which a self-confident society... not ashamed of its Christian foundations may require of those who live in its midst."

Austria's Der Standard, on the other hand, warns against reviving the concept of a "Leitkultur", which caused a stir in Germany four years ago when it was first used by a Christian Democratic Union politician.

The paper asks what a German 'Leitkultur' can possibly involve.

"Somebody from northern Germany would hardly regard the Bavarian (beer-drinking) October festival as part of a German 'Leitkultur', but most Bavarians would."

Condemned to co-operate

France needs the mediation of the British, and Britain needs the insolence of the French Le Monde

Pondering last week's London talks between Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair, France's Le Monde argues that despite what it calls the "profoundly different political philosophies" of their leaders, Britain and France "are condemned to cooperate... if they want to preserve their international roles".

The paper says, Tony Blair "knows the limits of his influence in Washington" and "has discretely adopted a principle of French foreign policy", based on the belief in the EU's potential as a "power multiplier".

As for France, it notes, just "being critical" of America "is not enough to give it a handle on reality".

This is why President Chirac wants a renewal of the transatlantic dialogue, the paper believes.

For this to happen, it argues, "France needs the mediation of the British, and Britain needs the insolence of the French."

France seduces America

Switzerland's Le Temps notes that the French government is launching "an advertising campaign" with the "avowed aim of convincing American businessmen to invest in France" because, as the campaign slogan puts it, "it is the country where intelligent money goes".

"The advertisements will "depict France as the paradise of the market economy", laying emphasis on its "competitiveness".

"It remains to be hoped," the paper warns, "that the Americans will not come across France's best-seller list, which last summer was topped by a work entitled, Good Morning Laziness."

Enter the king

Spain's ABC says that Prime Minister Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is, as the paper puts it, "seeking King Juan Carlos's help" in "easing the tensions" between Madrid and Washington.

"The government's inability to extricate itself," the paper says in an editorial, "from the quagmire into which it has pushed our bilateral relations with the USA is becoming increasingly clear."

The executive, it suggests, should realise, the paper adds, "that the historical capital amassed by the monarch... cannot be used as a tool to repair the mediocrity of our foreign policy".

Cash machine robbery

Paris's Le Figaro says that the French cell of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, the Gicm, dismantled last April, is "back in the limelight" following the arrest last week of one of its members on suspicion of "funding terrorism".

It reports that the suspect in question, who worked for a security company transporting banknotes to and from cash-dispensing machines, has "admitted to stealing one million euros to finance the Islamist cause".

It cites one of his "accomplices" as telling the police that in March 2004 he "faked" a robbery by claiming to have been forced by gunmen to hand over the proceeds from six cash machines.

"This affair," the paper says, "is made all the more sensitive by the fact that the French cell of the Gicm has confirmed its involvement in the Casablanca attacks of 16 May 2003 and the Madrid bomb blasts of 11 March 2004."

'Simulated torture'

Under the headline "Torture in Germany", the Berliner Zeitung urges a thorough investigation into allegation of abuse of army recruits by their superiors.

The armed forces are not a girls' boarding school Die Welt

Sixteen officers have been suspended over the alleged incidents, the first of which dates back to June.

"They called it 'simulated torture', but it caused real pain," the paper says, noting that "electroshocks were used".

It believes that the current debate about torture has encouraged victims to speak out.

Die Welt, on the other hand, believes the word "torture" is out of place in this case.

"The armed forces," it says, "are not a girls' boarding school - even if this is what many in parliament believe - and that the training of soldiers involves certain hardships."

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