European press review

Some newspapers debate the pros and cons of France's controversial new youth employment law. There is concern as more illegal immigrants drown on their way to Europe, and unease at plans to send EU peacekeeping troops to DR Congo. Scandinavian papers comment on an apparent move to the right by voters in the wake of the Muhammad cartoons saga.

French job plan protests

One day after hundreds of thousands marched in France over a new type of labour contract for young people, France's Liberation accuses the prime minister of a lack of dialogue over the issue.

Young people needed nobody to help them figure out that the CPE institutionalizes job insecurity for everybody under 26 Liberation

The paper rejects suggestions that young people have been manipulated by the left and trade unions into protesting against the First Employment Contract, or CPE, which is currently going through parliament.

It says the demonstrators included many young people who had taken to the streets "to defend their future".

"Young people needed nobody to help them figure out that the CPE institutionalizes job insecurity for everybody under 26," the paper says.

France's Le Monde says the controversy over the CPE is the first real test for Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin.

The paper points out that, according to a recent opinion poll, more than threequarters of 18-to-25-year-olds believe that measures allowing firms to hire and fire younger workers more easily will increase job insecurity.

Measured against what more and more jobless young people are going through, this is a chance Berliner Zeitung

And it recalls that "almost all" of the prime minister's predecessors failed "when the pressure of the street was too strong".

However, Germany's Berliner Zeitung believes that young people in France, which has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in Europe, will benefit from the new law.

"Measured against France's decades-old social standards, this is crude capitalism", the paper says.

"But measured against what more and more jobless young people are going through, this is a chance," it feels.

Austria's Der Standard is also in favour of the law, which it sees as an "essentially reasonable" measure for which the young French should be grateful.

"It is better to lose a job you had than to be unemployed years after finishing school," the paper believes.

It points out that the new law is also in line with the EU agenda for economic growth. Without a flexible labour market, especially in France, Italy or Germany, there will be neither employment nor economic growth.

"And anger over this painful development will drive the same populace onto the street," the paper feels.

Spain's tide of death

Spain's El Pais focuses on the weekend tragedy in which at least 45 sub-Saharan boat people drowned off the coast of Africa when two boats heading for the Canary Islands sank at sea.

In an editorial entitled "Boats of Death", the newspaper says the latest deaths take the shine off recent statistics showing a 25% drop in the numbers of shallow-draft boats arriving in Spain in 2005.

The problem of illegal immigration from Africa to Europe is not just the problem of the destination country El Pais

"This tragedy is not an isolated event", laments the daily, adding that many other anonymous deaths have probably taken place on this route, "which is much longer and much more dangerous than the straits".

The daily warns that Mauritania is becoming the main departure point for "poor, desperate people at the mercy of organized mafias".

The only way to combat the traffic, it says, is for improved coordination with the transit countries - Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria and Libya - and "the firm cooperation of the EU".

"As has been repeated many times before", the paper says, "the problem of illegal immigration from Africa to Europe is not just the problem of the destination country".

EU Congo deployment

Germany's Die Welt is against the deployment of EU soldiers to DR Congo.

"Apparently Brussels believes that the sight of Europeans alone would ensure eternal peace," the paper feels, adding that if this is the case then "Europe is suffering from megalomania."

There is a great risk of the EU ending up taking sides in the DR Congo conflict Der Tagesspiegel

It points out that around 750,000 soldiers would be needed to help DR Congo properly. "But Europeans cannot and do not want to send that many troops, and rightly so," it says.

It points out that DR Congo is not at the centre of European or German interests.

"Europe is setting off to an unnecessary adventure," it feels.

Germany's Der Tagesspiegel is equally sceptical of EU deployment in DR Congo.

"There is a great risk of the EU ending up taking sides in the DR Congo conflict," the paper says.

It points out that European soldiers should first look after security in Europe.

"And this - as the EU military deployment to Bosnia shows, has already proved too much," it feels.

Scandinavia moves to the right

Denmark's B.T. notes that opinion polls throughout Scandinavia indicate that voters' political preferences are shifting to the right in the wake of the controversy over the Muhammad cartoons.

"According to the polls, there would be clear majorities for nonsocialist governments in Denmark, Norway and Sweden if elections were held now," it says.

No, Danes and Norwegians. Sweden has no reason to envy your democratic drift Sydsvenska Dagbladet

Sweden's Sydsvenska Dagbladet also comments on the trend, noting that the far-right Progress Party is currently the best-supported in Norway and that the Danish People's Party is making significant gains.

"There is an election in Sweden this autumn. At the moment there does not seem to be any sign that right-wing populists are close to making similar progress," it says.

But it points out that a right-wing populist party could find support if "a skilful, charismatic political entrepreneur" were to emerge .

The paper feels such a movement has not come onto the scene because Sweden's established parties have "taken responsibility" not to copy, cooperate with or legitimize their Scandinavian neighbours.

"No, Danes and Norwegians. Sweden has no reason to envy your democratic drift", it concludes.

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