PRESS REVIEW – Monday, March 16: French papers analyse the first round of the country's municipal elections. Next: Cubans protest amid worsening economic conditions. Also: The New York Times tells the story of a difficult recovery after an act of violence. Finally, researchers look into the delayed "maturation" of men and its effect on women's willingness to become mothers.
French papers are reacting to the first round of municipal elections. Les Echos writes that there's a sharp drop in voter turnout – to only 56 percent – despite it being "one of the French people's favourite elections". In an editorial, the paper says that we are seeing the "rise of extremes" – a worrisome signal ahead of the 2027 presidential elections. La Croix sees no "clear trend" emerging on a national level and calls the first round "scattered". The Catholic paper writes that the second round is shaping up to be intense. Right-wing paper Le Figaro's headline reads "the major shake-up of the first round". The "solid position" of the far-right National Rally and the "spectacular rise" of the far-left France Unbowed show an "increasingly fragmented political landscape". This assessment is echoed in the left-wing paper Libération. The paper says that after two terms under President Emmanuel Macron, "the democratic crisis has worsened under his rule".
In Cuba, people have taken to the streets to protest against worsening living conditions. The Wall Street Journal reports that Cubans are blaming the authoritarian regime for their "dire living conditions". In Moron, residents sacked the headquarters of the ruling Communist Party over the weekend and made a bonfire with the furniture. Meanwhile, El País reports that Havana has confirmed that it is in talks with the United States. People are protesting because Cuba's economy is on the brink of collapse, after an oil blockade was recently imposed by the Trump administration. Spanish newspaper Diario de Cuba quotes a pro-Kremlin Russian writer who says that Russia may lose one of its historical partners: the Cuban regime. The Russian writer says that Russia has invested "tens of billions of dollars in Cuba since the Soviet era".
In other news, The New York Times tells Emine Yilmaz's bittersweet story of recovery after she was pushed into a passing subway car – an act of violence that left her severely handicapped.
Finally, researchers in Britain are studying why fewer women want to have babies. British paper The Times says that around 3 million women across the UK will miss out on motherhood and "immature men" could be to blame, according to the research.
You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.
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