euro-press review

Borders, troops and campaigns

Also in Europe’s newspapers: Catalonia, glyphosate and Dieselgate.

France

Le Monde reported that the Italian government struck illicit deals with Libyan traffickers and militias to prevent migrants from arriving on Italian shores — a deal that seems to have succeeded, given a 20 percent dip in arrivals compared to last year. Le Figaro reported on the government’s decision to revamp a security program called Sentinel, in which troops patrol public spaces and tourist attractions such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Left-leaning Libération reported on a new study that found glyphosate, a herbicide, on more than half of 30 products tested, including cereals, pasta and lentils.

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel met with representatives of the auto industry on the campaign trail on Thursday. In the wake of the Dieselgate scandal, Frankfurter Allgemeine led with Merkel saying that the “automobile industry has to regain trust.” The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the European Commission had bowed to German, French and Austrian pressure in allowing an extension of internal border controls.

UK

The Telegraph reported that cuts to the military are hurting the British navy, making it “unable to send ships to sea.” The Mirror and the Guardian reported on the U.K. National Health Service employees’ demand for higher wages after the government signaled a willingness to end salary caps for police and prison officers.

Spain

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont gave a speech last night, which the Spanish media marked as the start of the campaign for the Catalan independence referendum scheduled on October 1. The national government still deems this illegal. “Separatism opens campaign without the government stopping it,” led El Mundo, in a not-so-subtle dig at the government for failing to do more. Pro-independence paper El Punt Avui led with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s comments that he will “respect” an independence vote if it comes to pass.