[Peace-discuss] [sf-core] French newspapers

[C. G. Estabrook]

http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/may/07/le-monde-france


On Apr 24, 2014, at 10:13 AM, C. G. Estabrook <carl at newsfromneptune.com> wrote:

> Mort--
> 
> I'm sure you're right about the French press, and even that "We have nothing equivalent to LMD in the U.S.," but I would point out that Znet occasionally picks up pieces from LMD. Even more, CounterPunch (on-line and hard copy) reprints many articles from LMD (e.g., <www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/10/the-normalisation-of-advanced-neoliberal-market-society/>).
> 
> Jeff St. Clair, editor of CP, and Serge Halimi, editor of LMD, form a mutual admiration society. 
> 
> CP can be seen daily at <counterpunch.org>, and one can subscribe to the print edition - with different content - there as well.
> 
> Regards, CGE
> 
> 
> On Apr 23, 2014, at 10:38 PM, Brussel, Morton K <brussel at illinois.edu> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Belden, I think that your comment last night at the IMC was way off track. As one who has travelled extensively throughout France, and read their regional newspapers, and one who reads the Paris papers and periodicals often, I couldn’t disagree more with you. On foreign policy issues, Le Monde is no different than the NYT, both follow American foreign policies, if not more so (as in Syria and Libya, Lebanon, etc. ). Le Monde is not even slightly left of the NYT on foreign policy issues, as you asserted. As to Libération, it is a weak  joke, hardly different than Le Monde. For example, all of them mimic the mideastern and Asian policies of the NYT—especially with respect to support of Israel. Le Figaro on foreign policy issues is not significantly different from Le Monde, sometimes better in fact (from an anti-imperialism viewpoint). L’Humanité is always on the verge of bankruptcy—it’s circulation is feeble indeed—and its voice is hardly recognized, but yes, it does offer a contrarian left viewpoint. 
>> 
>> Of course, there are French periodicals such as Politis and Le Monde Diplomatique which are truly independent and critical of the mainstream news and government policies, just like the Monthly Review, or to a lesser extent The Nation here. They are not newspapers, the subject of discussion. We have nothing equivalent to LMD in the U.S. (although one can subscribe to the UK English edition).
>> 
>> As to domestic issues, there are significant left-right differences in their newspapers, comparable to the differences between the NYT and The Wall Street Journal.
>> 
>> Whether the left is stronger in France than here can be debated. I believe it is, but so far it has been largely ineffective in changing national policy, as is true here. Yet, it is true that there are more people hoping for socialism in France than here. 
>> 
>> Best regards,
>> 
>> Mort
> 
>