European press review

The riots in France remain a subject of comment and analysis in papers across the continent. In Germany, doubts are expressed about chancellor-designate Angela Merkel. And yesterday's cabinet reshuffle carried out by Russian President Vladimir Putin triggers a flurry of excited speculation in Moscow's dailies.

Focus still on France

A day after President Jacques Chirac's first major address to his nation after rioting began in France, Liberation in Paris is not impressed with Mr Chirac's performance to date in dealing with the riots.

He identified the problem - "a crisis of direction... and of identity" it says, but "showed himself niggardly in examining its causes, keeping himself from identifying any political responsibility, including his own".

The paper is disappointed that he made no specific proposals for how to deal with the problem.

As long as employers prefer to give jobs to applicants with French-sounding names, rather than to those whose names suggest Arab or black African parentage, social policies will be a dead letter Berliner Zeitung

"Nothing strong, nothing binding that is at the level required to tackle the situation, not even the beginnings of a debate on positive discrimination."

"In the end it was a speech which, like the extension of a state of emergency that is no longer justified, takes pains to hide the disarray of a president before his hopeless record," it concludes.

Germany's Berliner Zeitung points out that the sons and daughters of Arab and black African immigrants living in France don't just want to be treated better, they want to leave the ghettos altogether.

"As long as employers prefer to give jobs to applicants with French-sounding names, rather than to those whose names suggest Arab or black African parentage, social policies will be a dead letter. As long as property owners with accommodation to let discriminate massively against the descendants of immigrants, there will be little choice but to enforce security and order with emergency laws and powers."

EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso's offer of 50m euros to help France's "ramshackle" suburbs draws fire from Germany's Die Tageszeitung.

The paper says this is not new money but comes from existing EU funds for urban renewal in France.

In order to make these suburbs halfway decent places to live, tens of billions of euros would be needed... the 50m offered is almost a joke Der Standard

"But this is all the same to Barroso," the paper says. "As commission president he leads no government and does not have to develop any strategy against young street fighters."

"His initiative has only one objective. In difficult times it is supposed to signal to anxious citizens that decision-makers are neither clueless nor idle. Barroso is proving himself to be a master of the discipline of 'symbolic politics'."

Austria's Der Standard adds that "the sum of 50m euros is, in absolute terms, considerable, but not in relation to the problems which really exist in the French suburbs."

"In order to make these suburbs halfway decent places to live, tens of billions of euros would be needed. Measured against that, the 50m offered is almost a joke."

Misgivings about Mrs Merkel

The endorsement of Germany's new coalition government by congresses of the two parties involved, the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats, is welcomed by Der Tagesspiegel.

"There is no alternative, either practically or politically," the paper argues.

If Angela Merkel, who has not yet been chancellor for a single second, is already demanding respect from her party colleagues, what will she be demanding from us citizens? Commentary in Berliner Zeitung

"What Merkel and [SPD chief] Muenterfering have worked out is, in terms of a parliamentary majority, the only coalition agreement which there could be for Germany."

However, a commentator in Berliner Zeitung is almost apoplectic at reports that chancellor-designate Angela Merkel assailed critics within her own CDU party for "running everything down" and appealed for "a bit of respect" to be shown towards those who have spent long hours thinking of ways to take Germany forward, as she put it.

"Does the woman know what she is talking about?... Helmut Kohl was chancellor for 16 years and he always insisted on getting his way, but he never demanded 'respect'. At least, he was never so stupid as to do so publicly."

"If Angela Merkel, who has not yet been chancellor for a single second, is already demanding respect from her party colleagues, what will she be demanding from us citizens? Respect for having spent long hours thinking? And what will she demand when she has actually done something?", it asks.

Nobody knows... the direction in which Merkel wants to take the country Die Welt

Die Welt also expresses doubts about Angela Merkel.

It complains that Mrs Merkel is back-pedalling on all the free market reforms she promised in the months leading up to the elections.

The paper asks: "What does Angela Merkel want? There is only one sure answer to this often-asked but never-resolved question. She wants to be chancellor, the first woman in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany to hold this office. But nobody knows the answer to the next question, about the direction in which she wants to take the country."

Russian reshuffle

After Russian President Vladimir Putin reshuffled his cabinet and promoted two close allies, Dmitriy Medvedev - now first deputy prime minister - and Sergey Ivanov - also a deputy prime minister now as well as continuing as defence minister, papers in the country are full of speculation about the reasons for and the significance of the changes.

A commentary in Moskovskiy Komsomolets says Mr Putin "set off a political bomb" with the move.

"Very likely that Medvedev's appointment shows that fighting has begun among the Russian ruling elite to take over the presidential post, and Putin wants to see Medvedev as his successor," it says.

Putin is trying to maintain a balance... leaving doors open to the right as well as to the left Vedomosti

"If Medvedev is a success as first deputy premier, he will be promoted," it predicts. "If he fails, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov will have his chance."

But a Nezavisimaya Gazeta commentary is less certain about the future.

"It is significant that this reshuffle was announced at the very time when Putin began to reiterate that he is not going to stay in office for another term," it begins.

"But it cannot be ruled out that Putin is simply experimenting... Do not forget how unpredictable Putin normally is."

According to a Gazeta commentary, the distribution of power among Russia's top-most politicians has been "radically altered".

"The liberal wing in the cabinet... is growing stronger."

But the business daily Vedomosti believes that Mr Putin is "trying to maintain a balance between extremes, leaving doors open to the right as well as to the left..."

The paper appears to sum up the diversity of comment and speculation in the press when it concludes that, "on the whole, the situation has not become clearer."

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