France
As 12 million French students return to school, Libération focused on Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer’s warning that he will be watching both students and teachers. “Smile, you are evaluated,” was the paper’s headline. Le Figaro declared that Emmanuel Macron is no longer untouchable. Listing a range of scandals and challenges facing the French president — from the Benalla affair and the resignation of his popular Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot to headaches sparked by Macron’s attempts to reform France’s tax system — the paper said the executive was “dangerously poisoned.”
Germany
Most papers continued their coverage of the ongoing far-right protests in Chemnitz. Die Tageszeitung ran a striking aerial photo of the rally and the headline: “The followers.” Die Welt focused on comments made by Bundestag Vice President Thomas Oppermann, who told the paper that the far-right AfD party “directly attacks the foundations of our constitutional state and stirs up violence.” Der Tagesspiegel reported that Berlin is seeking to push back on the influence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Muslims living in Germany. State Secretary of the Interior Ministry Markus Kerber told the paper that the ministry will act more strongly on foreign influence, even if doing so means a conflict with Ankara.
United Kingdom
Never one to shy away from attention, Boris Johnson is back on the front pages. The ex-foreign secretary used his weekly column in the Telegraph to take aim at Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy. “Scandal of Brexit is not that we’ve failed, but that we have not tried,” the paper trumpets, using a quote from the op-ed. Unusually, the photo that accompanied the column features a serious-faced Johnson straightening his tie (presumably figuratively as well as literally). Several other papers focus on a speech planned for Monday morning by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on the threat posed by online child sex abuse. “Is any child safe online?” asks the Daily Mail. The Independent, meanwhile, splashes on a report that reveals more than 350 staffers have left the U.K.’s Department for Exiting the European Union in just two years — a 50 percent turnover.
Monday’s Daily TELEGRAPH: “ ‘Scandal of Brexit is not that we’ve failed, but that we have not tried’ “ #bbcpapers #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/plHrXcoEkV
— Allie Hodgkins-Brown (@AllieHBNews) September 2, 2018
Belgium
Le Soir covered former Belgian PM Elio Di Rupo’s call for a new “progressive coalition” to deal with increasing poverty in the country. The Socialist leader plans to start at the Francophone level before expanding country-wide, he said. De Morgen focused on a plan to stop cars driving on streets where schools are located in the mornings and evenings in order to improve air quality.
