European press review

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Thursday's European press focuses on the wave of social unrest in France.

The new Ukrainian leader's address to the Bundestag in Berlin comes under analysis, and the Romanian president is welcomed in Washington.

French transport strike

In France, Le Figaro sees Paris in danger of grinding to a halt in the latest of a series of stoppages in the public and private sectors for better pay, against job cuts and in defence of the 35-hour week.

Today's strike follows action earlier this week by students angry about education reforms, and scientists protesting against cuts in funding for research.

Paris commuters are expected to be the hardest hit in serious disruption across the sector, ranging from public transport to air traffic, not to mention postmen, teachers and ambulance drivers in a list which, the paper says, "has been growing by the day".

"With the referendum on the European constitution two-and-a-half months away," says an editorial in Le Monde, the government, after long maintaining what the paper calls "an autistic attitude" towards the social unrest, "is being obliged to take them seriously".

The system regulating the interplay of social forces in France is in tatters
Le Nouvel Observateur

"Such protests are above all the symptom of a discontent which might well be reflected in the ballot boxes on 29 May in the form of No votes or a low turnout," the paper predicts.

Le Nouvel Observateur agrees that the looming referendum calls for "a swift response" from the government.

"If the workers feel that their protests are going unheard," it warns, "many of them may be tempted to hold Europe hostage and vote No."

Regardless of the referendum, the paper says, "it must be recognized that the system regulating the interplay of social forces in France is in tatters."

Across the border in Germany, Die Welt sees France as a country in political and social turmoil.

The paper notes that shortly after a minister was forced to resign over his luxury Paris apartment, it emerged that the tax returns of six prominent politicians had disappeared.

There is something rotten in the Republic, the paper quotes an opposition politician as saying, adding that the French themselves "have been under this impression for quite some time".

The growing discontent finding a voice in today's strikes, the paper warns, could have wider repercussions.

"Europe, too, faces a debacle if the French vent their anger in the referendum on the EU constitution," it concludes.

Ukrainian leader in Berlin

Several German papers ponder the significance of Wednesday's address in the Bundestag by President Viktor Yushchenko, who urged support for Ukraine's European Union aspirations.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung looks at it from the angle of German domestic politics.

It notes that Foreign Affairs Minister Joschka Fischer is under pressure over a visa policy which is said to have led to an increase in illegal immigration from Ukraine.

The government, it says, "was all too willing to extend this invitation because it hoped for some relief in the visa affair with the help of the hero of the Ukrainian revolution".

But the paper notes President Yushchenko parried what it calls "this exploitation for domestic political purposes" and "self-confidently defended the right to be taken seriously as a European partner".

"The success of all efforts to entrench democracy, the rule of law and a market economy firmly in Ukraine," the paper believes, "depends on the fulfilment of this expectation."

The problem German politicians have with Ukraine is that this big country in eastern Europe does not mean very much to them
Berliner Zeitung

Die Welt says Mr Yushchenko was right to say that Ukraine belongs in Europe, observing that for a long time, most German politicians refused to accept this.

"Even today", it says, "many of them are afraid of the expanse of the country, of the Ukrainians who longingly look westward, and of the Russians, who clench their fists in the background because they still regard Ukraine as part of their empire."

Der Tagesspiegel says it is understandable if the European Union is cautious in its response to Ukraine's wish to become a member.

The paper argues that the EU will first have to "digest" the enlargement by 10 new member states last May.

The Union has since learned, it says, "that there will have to be a permanent status somewhere between being a full member and a complete outsider".

The Berliner Zeitung warns that Ukraine will remain what it calls "a very difficult case" for German politics for the foreseeable future.

"The problem German politicians have with Ukraine," the paper says, "is that this big country in eastern Europe does not mean very much to them."

It believes Germany will always define its interests first and foremost in relation to Russia, not least because of its dependence on Russian fuel.

Romanian president in Washington

In Romania, Bucharest's Evenimentul Zilei hails President Traian Basescu's first official visit to Washington and his meeting with President George W Bush.

"Only two months after being elected," the paper says, "Basescu has been received in the Oval Office, and for the first time in Romania's history, a Romanian president was allowed to give a press conference at the White House".

The development of a strong strategic partnership with the United States... will improve Romania's status in Europe
Nine O'Clock

The paper sees President Bush's description of Romania as "a special ally" and of his guest as "my friend", as evidence that Mr Basescu's visit was "extremely useful".

The English-language daily Nine O'Clock describes the meeting between the two heads of state as "fruitful and open".

"There is no doubt," the paper says, "that Bush was impressed by Basescu's clear vision of the world and by his fight at home against corruption".

"Indeed," it continues, "the development of a strong strategic partnership with the United States and the creation in the Black Sea region of an area of peace and stability will improve Romania's status in Europe and will help the West in its fight for a safer world".

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