European press review

In European papers on Tuesday, French papers scrutinise the government's handling of the Parisian riots while in Germany the press fears that the resignation of Franz Muentefering as leader of the Social Democratic Party could jeopardise coalition talks. And why are pumpkins becoming so popular in Moscow?

Parisian riots

After four nights of rioting in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, France's Le Monde questions the effectiveness of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's handling of the crisis.

The paper says the minister has tried to give the impression of being in control after he promised to stamp violence in difficult areas.

It argues that the minister's "unnuanced views" based on a clear separation between "us", the victims, and "them", the perpetrators, ignore the fact that victims can sometimes turn into perpetrators and vice versa.

Mr Sarkozy's approach, it believes, is helping to create "the conditions for confrontation between police officers subjected to quasi-military rhetoric of reconquering territories and 'young people', many of whom are closing ranks as a result of neighbourhood solidarity".

No-one can be surprised if these provocative remarks have created a climate of very palpable tension in many problem neighbourhoods Liberation

France's Liberation also takes the minister to task over his "cut-and-dried" remarks on "louts" and "riff-raff".

"No-one can be surprised if these provocative remarks have created a climate of very palpable tension in many so-called problem neighbourhoods," the paper says.

It argues that police officers feel encouraged to engage in "repressive operations" in such areas, while the inhabitants believe they are under constant suspicion.

The paper concedes that it is right for the minister to be tough on crime but adds that "if he takes this as his cue to stigmatise entire groups and to indulge in blustering and pointless boasts, then this becomes unacceptable."

Russia's Gazeta says the French press "have rightly" dubbed the disturbances a "mini-Intifada", noting that "groups of aggressive youths" used "the standard array of weapons of the Arab proletariat" to attack the police demanding an end to discrimination against immigrants.

"The French authorities should sharply increase welfare payments and greatly speed up the issue of French passports to all applicants, while the law-enforcement agencies should not intervene in any events taking place in areas like Clichy-sous-Bois", it advises.

Resignation

Several German dailies say the decision by the leader of the Social Democratic Party, Franz Muentefering, not to seek re-election as head of the party following the defeat of his favoured candidate in a vote to elect a new party general-secretary raises the possibility of fresh elections.

Die Welt says talks between the SPD and the CDU/ CSU on establishing a coalition government have been plunged into crisis.

"Anything seems possible, including fresh elections, which none of the big parties wants," it says.

The SPD has become the big unknown quantity in the coalition poker game Die Welt

The paper sees the development as a "sharp shift to the left" which could lead to the party rejecting any coalition deal regarded as too "liberal".

"The SPD has become the big unknown quantity in the coalition poker game," it says.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung says the SPD has been plunged into a "serious crisis".

It describes Mr Muentefering as a leader who enjoyed the trust of the rank and file "like nobody else before him in recent times" but adds that his party was unhappy about his domineering role in the coalition talks.

The paper adds that the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Chancellor-designate Angela Merkel, also finds herself in a difficult position.

"She is putting together a coalition whose future has become extremely uncertain after today's events," it says.

But the Berliner Zeitung believes that the talks on "a grand coalition" are still on track, adding that neither the Social Democrats nor the CDU/CSU see any other solution.

"The negotiations are proceeding as planned, Muentefering's resignation has nothing to do with Angela Merkel or the CDU/CSU and nothing to do with disagreements over policy," it believes.

Pumpkin passion

Finally in Russia, two dailies report on the growing popularity of Halloween despite the authorities' efforts to discourage the celebration of the festival.

According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, in 2003 the Moscow city administration even banned the festival from schools following complaints from parents who felt that Halloween was harmful to the spiritual and moral health of their children.

But Novyye Izvestiya reports that the sale of the traditional attributes of the festival - pumpkins and horror movies - is again on the rise in the capital.

"Already by noon on 31 October it was impossible to buy a single pumpkin at the Preobrazhenskiy market. Traders said these vegetables, which had been supplied in large numbers, were snapped up like hot cakes."

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