European press review

Thursday's European press looks at rising petrol prices, the EU's deal with Beijing on the import of Chinese textiles, and the French prime minister's first 100 days in office.

Petrol prices

In France, Le Figaro contemplates spiralling petrol prices due, in part, to lost US production and refinery capacity damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

But oil company profits - particularly of France's Total - are also rising quickly, the paper notes, and results published yesterday for Total "did not fail to cause a stir".

In a front-page article the paper notes that "this good health, however, has caused a certain malaise" given the effect on consumers.

"Exxon, BP, Shell, Chevron and Total have become veritable money chests," the paper points out, "and these five alone should bag more than $100bn in profits this year".

France's biggest union, the CGT, has called for emergency talks with the government to discuss the impact of the price rise, the paper says, but "the room for manoeuvre is slim," and not only for the government.

"In fact, these astronomical figures for the oil industry have so far camouflaged its weaknesses: waning reserves and production equipment that has reached its limits," it concludes.

Czech relief aid for hurricane

The government in Prague has offered over $1m in response to President Bush's appeal to the European Union and Nato for urgent aid to tackle the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to the financial aid, the Czech Republic is offering tents, blankets, camp beds and other relief aid for the thousands made homeless.

The daily Mlada Fronta Dnes compares this gesture to the US pledge of aid worth $50,000 to the Czech Republic when devastating floods hit the region three years ago.

Hurricane Katrina has revealed the flip side of the American Dream Hospodarske Noviny

At the time, the paper recalls, many people felt indignant at what they saw as the "inadequate" US offer in the face of the central European flood disaster.

With the boot now on the other foot, the Czech offer of $1m is "still just a drop in the ocean", the paper concedes, but at the same time the Czech government is sending out a message: "We are decent, we feel sympathy, and we are civilized."

However, it notes, "whenever the poor man offers to help the rich, many see it as a cheap gesture or suspect him of self-interest".

Another Czech daily, Hospodarske Noviny, says "Hurricane Katrina has simply revealed the flip side of the American Dream".

Americans no longer seem to care about the common good, the paper concludes, and the hurricane "has given America a frightening glimpse into its own mirror".

Chinese textile imports

In France, Le Monde's editorial sums up its view of the European Union's trade agreement with China to end the dispute over import quotas in a simple headline: China 1 - EU 0.

While the deal may have dealt with the immediate problem of millions of garments stockpiled in warehouses, the paper says, "this textile fiasco is worrying".

It wonders if the EU will really find a "stable and strong common position" in respect of China.

The lost 'bra wars' show that Europe is no longer anything more than an echo chamber for lobbies pulling in opposite directions Le Monde

The concerns of exporters that Beijing could close its own markets "as retaliation against European protectionist measures" should be heeded, the paper feels, and a balance has to be struck between the interests of workers and consumers.

But that is "a long way off", the paper argues, because the textile deal was just the opposite of what was needed.

"In the face of a partner as strong and as constant as China, the Union's zigzags demonstrate its weakness."

Europe is now divided and bereft of any central power after the 'no' votes on its draft constitution, the paper says, concluding that "the lost 'bra wars' show that Europe is no longer anything more than an echo chamber for lobbies pulling in opposite directions".

French premier's first 100 days

As French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin clocks up his 100th day in office today, the French daily Liberation looks at his record and whether he has managed to boost public confidence in that short time.

Overall, the French daily feels that "the man who annoys Sarkozy" has mainly managed to effectively challenge the government number two, Nicolas Sarkozy, as a credible presidential candidate.

The paper notes that Mr Villepin, whom it calls "the unelected man from the shadows", finds himself "elevated to the level of a man who has been collecting election mandates for 20 years - not a negligible achievement."

"The more or less discreet tension" between the two men has matured, the left-leaning paper comments, but it warns that this kind of duel is bad for the right:

"It is the curse of the right to be condemned to exist only through battles between two top men."

In any case, the paper concludes, both Villepin and Sarkozy are "responsible for identical policies which pay scant regard to social justice and are concerned primarily with occupying all the available space to better smother the left."

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