PRESS REVIEW – Friday, September 5: We look at reactions in Italy after the death of "fashion king" Giorgio Armani. But first: questions are being asked in the Portuguese papers after a deadly streetcar accident. Who is to blame? Also, French daily Libération examines the perilous logistical journey of transporting the medieval Bayeux tapestry to the UK next year.
Lots of questions are being asked in the Portuguese press after Wednesday's streetcar accident killed at least 16 people and injured dozens of others. What was to blame? Why did the cabin suddenly detach? Diario de Noticias looks at the maintenance of the more than a century old streetcar. Carris, the company that operated the streetcars, is under particular scrutiny. Jornal de Noticias notes that the cable car was serviced on the morning of the accident and no issues were signalled. Yet eyewitnesses say they saw faults in the cable system's pulleys at the moment of the accident. Another Portuguese paper, Publico, accuses Carris of reducing its maintenance on the streetcars from a 24-hour period to just 30 minutes per operation.
Here in France, Libération is looking at the logistics of transporting the 900-year-old Bayeux tapestry to London on loan, this amid various petitions calling on President Emmanuel Macron not to send the fragile tapestry. France will loan the Bayeux tapestry to Britain in September 2026 for the first time in 900 years and it will be a huge logistical undertaking. An accordion-like box will be made to fold the tapestry, which will travel by truck to Britain. The truck will have temperature and vibration captors, enabling authorities to protect it from transport damage. A test run will take place before the tapestry is put in the truck. The total cost is estimated at €1 million.
In Italy, emotions are running high in the fashion world after the death of Italian pioneer Giorgio Armani. You can't look at a single Italian front page without seeing Armani's face. The 91-year-old passed away on Thursday, leaving behind an immense legacy and a large fortune. Il Giornale, the Italian daily, says, "The king is dead", adding that he was the undisputed top fashion designer and an icon of Made in Italy. A "genius and a giant", the paper says. Il Mattino headlines "Ciao Giorgio", hailing a "magician of beauty" on its front page. Meanwhile, Il Tempo traces Armani's illustrious career and his foray into Hollywood in 1980. He dressed Richard Gere in the film "American Gigolo" and became the stylist of Hollywood, the paper recalls.
Finally, from a king of fashion to a queen of ants: Gizmodo reports on a fascinating study from the University of Montpellier into the extraordinary behaviour of queen Iberian harvester ants. The senior study author describes how his team were stumped by a strange occurrence in the colony: the presence of another species of ants. These were not stray ants who had wandered in by mistake. Rather, the researchers discovered that the queen Iberian harvester ants appear to keep their own reserves of sperm from males of other species, which they then use to create hybrid clone workers. These little minions then handle the grunt work around the colony. As they say, teamwork makes the dream work!
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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