United Kingdom
The Mail continued its coverage of Tuesday’s House of Lords vote in favor of making continued membership of the European Economic Area a priority in Brexit negotiations. The paper called the peers “traitors in ermine,” and urged the Conservative Party to abolish the upper chamber. The Daily Express focused on the same issue, featuring a photo of the duke of Wellington and calling him a “meddling Brexit-wrecker” who relies on “EU handouts.” The Times and the FT focused on Donald Trump’s decision to reinstate sanctions on Iran, with both papers writing about EU efforts to salvage the Iran nuclear deal (and avoid falling foul of the sanctions).
France
Trump’s torpedoing of the Iran nuclear deal dominated French front pages. Libération featured a photoshopped image of the U.S. president from behind, his trademark red tie slung over his shoulder and hair askew, facing down French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.K. PM Theresa May. The paper’s headline: “Iran advances without him.” Le Figaro wrote of the “open crisis between Trump and Europe.”
Italy
Italian papers focused on the breakthrough in coalition talks between the populist 5Star Movement and the League. Silvio Berlusconi gave the green light on Wednesday for the League to try to form a government with the 5Stars, removing the main obstacle to the tie-up. La Repubblica wrote that “the veto of Berlusconi” has “fall[en] towards the government.”
Spain
Spanish papers reported on a spat between Albert Rivera, the leader of Ciudadanos, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. According to La Vanguardia, Rivera is threatening to withdraw his support from the government if it isn’t more forceful in its dealings with the Catalan independence movement. The other top story in Spain’s papers was Iran, with most carrying images of the anti-American protests on Iran’s streets and in parliament. ABC’s headline: “Trump burns Iran and Europe.”
