Belgium
The newspapers focused on a political brouhaha over State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Theo Francken from the Flemish nationalist N-VA party. Opposition politicians and campaigners have been calling for Prime Minister Charles Michel to fire Francken after he ordered asylum seekers be returned to Sudan, where they say their lives are at risk. N-VA leader Bart De Wever issued an ultimatum over the weekend: If Francken is fired or forced to resign, his party will quit Michel’s government, forcing a new election.
United Kingdom
An impending Cabinet reshuffle made the front pages of most British papers Monday. The Telegraph focused on Theresa May’s decision to appoint a “minister for no-deal Brexit.” The paper’s other front-page story was about the dramatic resignation of BBC China editor Carrie Gracie over what she said was an illegal gender pay gap at the network. The Guardian led with the reshuffle and also featured an obituary for the paper’s former editor Peter Preston, who died over the weekend. The Financial Times reported that Britain wants to keep being regulated by the European Medicines Agency after Brexit. The Daily Express wrote that the U.K. is in the grips of a killer flu epidemic.
Germany
Most German papers reported on the latest from talks, which kicked off Sunday, between Angela Merkel’s conservatives and Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats to revive a ruling “grand coalition.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung carried comments by Merkel, who sounded optimistic. The paper’s headline: “Merkel: I think it can be done.” The paper also featured a story on Donald Trump continuing to defend himself against allegations of mental instability, after the president tweeted that he was a “stable genius.” Die Tageszeitung’s front page featured a striking photo of the White House covered in snow, with the headline: “White Trash House.”
Spain
Spanish front pages were dominated with coverage of a storm that blanketed Madrid in snow and led to extreme traffic jams. La Vanguardia reported that the Popular Party had delayed funding for Catalonia.
France
Le Figaro reported that the heads of French railway operator SNCF were to meet Transport Minister Elizabeth Borne to explain why Parisian train stations repeatedly suffered incidents in the past year. Libération focused on President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day trip to China. Libé and La Dépêche also wrote about the death of pop star France Gall on their front pages. La Dépêche’s headline: “The death of a certain France.”
