PRESS REVIEW – Monday, 6 July 2026: First, the French papers ready themselves for an upcoming verdict in far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's embezzlement case. Next, the New York Times features a long read on the battle for the internet’s soul. Also, Folarin Balogun will play in Team USA’s next game after US President Donald Trump lobbied FIFA to remove the match suspension he received after being shown a red card in the previous game. Finally, the Belgians have become shrimp shelling world champions.
Libération features a photo of far-right National Rally leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella on its front page this morning. Le Pen’s appeal verdict in her embezzlement case should be announced tomorrow. The left-wing paper Mediapart says that the National Rally’s legal troubles are unlikely to end there, as the paper looks at a document from the European Parliament’s anti-fraud unit that has found “irregularities” in several contracts awarded between 2024–2025 by a group chaired by Bardella. Politico reports that Bardella and his group breached spending rules by at least €4.3 million.
The New York Times, meanwhile, has an interesting long read about the battle for the “soul of the internet”. It reports that Wikipedia has become the political battleground in the fight for the internet’s soul. The article says that the monument of collective online fact gathering is under threat from multiple fronts.
Meanwhile the 2026 World Cup is in full swing, but one news story is to be getting a lot of coverage. The Guardian reports that US President Donald Trump reportedly called FIFA to get them to remove Folarin Balogun’s suspension. The star striker received a red card and a one-game ban but will now be back for team USA’s game against Belgium. An opinion in the Times says that FIFA has precedent for bending the rules, while the Belgian paper Le Soir says that FIFA President Gianni Infantino is using the rules to manipulate the tournament.
The Belgians might get their revenge on the pitch, but in the meantime, Ici en France reports that they have just become world champions in an unusual sports event: the shrimp shelling world championship.
You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.
English (US) · 