PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, March 3: Papers discuss the new war in the Middle East and what it could mean for Russia's war in Ukraine. Also: Russian independent paper Meduza analyses the narrative of Russian state TV. Finally, did Jim Carrey attend the César Awards... or was it his clone? 

International papers focus on the new war in the Middle East. "Struck at its heart, Iran is choosing a strategy of chaos," reads the headline on the front page of French daily Le Figaro. The paper says that the Iranian regime is "faced with an existential threat", so it chose to set the Middle East "on fire", trying to save itself. "Devastating" reads the headline on the front page of the left-wing British daily Morning Star. The paper reminds us that "Iran has long threatened to drag the region into total war" if it gets attacked.

Meanwhile, the title of a feature article in The New York Times reads "As Maduro and Khamenei learned, it's harder than ever for leaders to hide". The article explains how a surge in sensors, cameras and artificial intelligence has transformed US intelligence. Today, it's much easier to track foreign leaders in real time. The New York Times writes that this ability opens up new horizons for presidents like Trump who wish to change "the attitude of foreign regimes – or change their leadership". 

Papers are also discussing the impact of the conflict on Russia's war in Ukraine. Politico writes that "Trump's Iran gamble risks leaving Ukraine as a forgotten war". The paper says that Europeans are struggling to deal with Trump's "inflammatory interventions", but there is one thing that's worse: losing his attention. European officials fear that the new war will distract Trump, who will lose interest in ending Russia's war in Ukraine. 

If the US gets itself into a long war in the Middle East, Ukraine may lose access to American-made weapons as well. It's an analysis echoed in The Kyiv Independent, too. The Ukrainian paper discusses how Zelensky's backing of Trump will impact Ukraine. It says that for Kyiv it's a logical choice, since Iran is a Russian ally and Volodymyr Zelensky wants to show that his country is reliable. However, it's unclear whether the strategy will work, because Trump's hostility towards Iran or Venezuela hasn't affected his relationship with Russia. 

The Russian independent paper Meduza analyses the narrative of Russian propaganda about the new war. Russian state TV channels are saying that "diplomacy is ruined" and "what is happening is reminiscent of wars in Iraq and Libya". They paint America as a "predator" and as someone who's been planning the war in Iran for a long time. State media also warn that Russia needs "to draw conclusions" from what is happening in Iran. The fear of Russia being the next target is also present in an illustration called "Panic in the Kremlin" by Ukrainian cartoonist Serhiy Kolyada. We see Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov watching the news from Iran, looking scared behind their desks. 

Finally, a conspiracy theory surrounding Jim Carrey's appearance at France's César Awards has gone viral. Many people think that a clone went to the awards and not the actor himself. Vogue France says that it all started as a joke, with people saying he got botox or a full facelift. The joke then turned into a more intense theory: what if this isn't the real Jim Carrey? Drag artist Alexis Stone posted a picture on Instagram suggesting that he had impersonated Carrey, fuelling even more conspiracy theories. Gregory Caulier, the general delegate of the awards ceremony, had to send a statement to Variety Magazine calling the rumours a "non-issue" and speaking about the actor's dedication to learning his speech in French.

You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.