PRESS REVIEW – Friday, January 9: The French papers look at the industries that could benefit from the EU's free trade deal with South America. The Mercosur deal is set to pass in a vote in Brussels. Also, a new report shows overdose deaths from fentanyl are declining and it could be thanks to China's crackdown on the sale of precursor chemicals. Plus, the mayor of Berlin is in hot water over a tennis match he played while the city was in a power blackout.

France will vote against the Mercosur treaty, but the EU's free trade deal with South America is expected to pass this Friday during a vote in Brussels. It's a fiasco for France, with President Emmanuel Macron "trapped" in a no-win situation, the right-wing paper Le Figaro's editorial says. If he chose to follow Europe and sign off on the Mercosur deal, he risked angering France and its farmers. Despite choosing to defend France, the deal is likely to pass anyway, thanks in part to Italy's vote. It is a "cruel humiliation", Le Figaro writes. Macron will see France's diplomatic power declining as the vote is set to pass this Friday.

Not all is lost, though, as some French sectors could be winners from the deal, something that Le Parisien is looking at. The French wine industry will be a winner – this deal will allow them to export the bottles that sell less favourably in Europe. It's the same for the dairy industry, which exports 40 percent of its production and sees a lucrative market opening in South America. Business owners will also be thrilled with the deal, which will benefit European manufacturers and industries. But it cannot be denied that the French meat industry will stand to lose out – a sector already reeling from cattle disease. In any case, if the deal goes ahead, it will put an end to 26 years of "psychodrama", La Croix says. The first Mercosur negotiations began back in 1999.

In the US, a new report in the journal Science shows a surprising decline in fentanyl-linked overdose deaths since at least 2023. Science tells us that fatal overdoses from synthetic opioids like fentanyl increased more than 25-fold in the US in the last 15 years. In 2023, overdose deaths peaked at 76,000. But since then, the rate has steadily dropped and as Science notes, this is of major scientific and policy interest. The Washington Post outlines the reasons that could explain this decline: billions spent on addiction treatment, notably the overdose reversal drug naloxone; and law enforcement efforts to disrupt drug trafficking operations.

But there is another surprising reason: China. China's chemical and pharma industries have long been criticised for facilitating in part the international fentanyl trade. Since 2023, Beijing has shut down Chinese companies selling precursor chemicals to Mexican criminal groups, which allow them to produce synthetic, illegal fentanyl in labs. It's around the same time that the decline from overdose deaths started. As one writer for the Post reminds us, that was well before Trump was elected for a second term.

Finally, the mayor of Berlin is in hot water over his actions during a recent blackout in the city. The story is on the front page of German daily Tagesspiegel. Some 100,000 people were left without power during sub-zero weather last weekend. This came as climate activists claimed responsibility for an attack on Berlin's power supply. On Wednesday, Kai Wegner, Berlin's mayor, admitted to playing a game of tennis during the blackout, after previously omitting this in questioning. He said: "I had to switch off" – no pun intended, we guess! Despite calls to stand down, the centre-right mayor says he did everything he could to ensure power came back to households. There's no love lost for Wegner's tennis escapade, but Tagesspiegel says it was a serious double fault.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, January 8: US immigration authorities ICE kill a woman in Minneapolis in "self-defence" amidst anti-ICE protests in the city. It brings back painful reminders of George Floyd's death in 2020. Also, the press explores what Europe can do to stop Donald Trump seizing Greenland (hint, not much). Finally, it's shear mania as dozens of sheep invade a supermarket in Germany's Baa-varia region.

There are lots of reactions in the press after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was killed by immigration authorities ICE in the city of Minneapolis. The Canadian paper The Globe and Mail headlines with a picture captioned "Killing roils Minneapolis." The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that thousands of people gathered in the city to memorialise Good, who had a six-year-old son as well as two other children. Her death came amidst anti-ICE protests in the city.

Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem and ICE have said ICE agents were acting in self-defence, arguing that that Good attempted to run over and ram them with her vehicle. In an opinion piece, journalist Phil Morris calls Good's death "tragically predictable", accusing the federal government of "turning Minnesota into a testing ground for the most aggressive street-level immigration enforcement yet deployed". In another opinion piece, journalist Jennifer Brooks says the vigils held after Good's death are a painful reminder of 2020. Indeed, Minneapolis is also synonymous with another tragic death – that of George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer. His death sparked nationwide protests against racially-motivated police brutality. The conservative magazine National Review columnist says that Good appeared to be just trying to get away and in the process swiped her car in the agent's direction. At the same time, he argues that she didn’t appear to be trying to avoid running the agent over either, which will make prosecuting her death a tricky legal affair.

Denmark is seething as US President Donald Trump mulls a bid to brazenly buy Greenland. Tensions are also mounting between Trump and European leaders. Europe's response was muted as first, but they have scrambled to respond, issuing a statement defending Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland. One writer for the Christian Science Monitor says that in reality there's very little Europe can do to stop the US in its pursuit of Greenland, other than using diplomacy. Politico offers some other options to mitigate this situation. Option 1: They could negotiate a settlement that gives Trump what he sees as a win and allow Denmark and Greenland to save face. Option 2: Give Greenland a ton of cash. Option 3: Boots on the ground. Option 4: "The anti-coercion instrument" that would allow the EU to retaliate by imposing penalties against any country using coercion against it.

An article from The New York Times says that Trump may not even need diplomacy – a legal loophole could allow the US to take control of Greenland. Under a little-known Cold War agreement, the US is allowed to construct, install, maintain and operate military bases, house personnel, control operations of ships, aircraft and waterborne aircraft. It pretty much gives the US free rein over the island if "they ask nicely!" Purchasing Greenland, however, is a different story. Denmark can't sell Greenland – Greenlanders must decide for themselves and a recent survey showed 85 percent of them were against it. Furthermore, if it's the minerals that the US wants, then once again, the US just needs to ask nicely – Greenland has said it is open to doing business with just about anyone.

Finally, things got woolly in Germany's Bavaria region recently when a flock of sheep invaded a local supermarket. The Daily Mail reports it was shear mania in Germany's Baa-varia as dozens of hungry sheep entered the supermarket by force. They caused utter chaos as they rammed their way through the aisles. They spent about 20 minutes there after mistaking a shopping bag for a feed bag. Afterwards, they ewe-turned back outside. The woolly invaders even managed to bag a year's supply of free food – as thanks for the free publicity the supermarket got from the viral videos! 

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

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, January 7: Repression of protests intensifies in Iran, at a difficult moment for the regime. In other news, while Democrats commemorate the January 6 Capitol riot as a dark day for American democracy, the Trump White House issues its own account of events. Also, a new study sheds light on the sleeping habits of jellyfish. Finally, amid an icy spell across Europe, experts advise walking like a penguin to prevent slippage.

PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, January 6: After Venezuela, is Greenland under threat of being "seized" by the US? The Greenlandic and Danish press are taking President Donald Trump's threats very seriously. Also: as the US invests in graphite and cobalt mining in Canada, some fear that this could open the path to an eventual annexation. Finally, a suspicious bet: a mystery trader made $400,000 betting on Nicolas Maduro's capture just a few days before his kidnapping.

Donald Trump is doubling down on his threats to annex Greenland. His remarks are sparking worry and anger in the press there. Sermitsiaq, a daily paper from the capital Nuuk, quotes the Greenlandic leader Jens Frederik Nielsen as saying that the territory finds itself in a "special situation". He added: "Greenland is not Venezuela, Greenland is capable of defending itself and is not at imminent risk of being invaded by the US." Nielsen also extended an olive branch to the US, saying that Greenland would like to recreate the cooperation it previously had with the US. The Danish press focus on comments by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Jyllands Posten reiterated Frederiksen's comments about "Europe's unwavering support" for Denmark and Greenland, but she added that it's hard to know how sincere these lofty promises are. Scepticism reigns in the Danish daily Politiken, which says it's "totally possible" that Trump will implement his new security strategy. But how? No one knows, not even Trump himself. In any case, the paper feels that Europe is not taking the situation seriously enough. The paper wonders why European leaders have not already convened an emergency meeting.

We turn to reactions from Europe. The Guardian headlines on Trump's comments about Greenland, albeit with a factual, bottom corner front-page story. Libération, the French left-wing paper, wonders just where will Trump stop in his quest. In its editorial, the paper announces that the new American doctrine is based on "contempt": for international law, for the US people, for international agreements and for the principle that justice triumphs over the law of the jungle. La Croix, the French Catholic daily, announces the "new US imperialism", saying Trump intends to govern over the American continent as he sees fit.

Speaking of governing over the US continent, the Guardian reports that there are fears in Quebec over a new US graphite mine that's being built. Lomiko Metals, a company based in British Colombia, is set to build an open-air graphite mine in La Petite Nation in Quebec, with funding from the US Pentagon. It would produce 100,000 tonnes of graphite per year for 15 years. The project has already drawn controversy for its obvious environmental damage. Other projects in Canada include a cobalt refinery in Ontario and a bismuth and cobalt project in the Northwest Territories, both with major investments from the US. The Guardian reports that fears are growing that US investment in these projects could backfire ironically. To quote one person opposed to the project: "They are coming in to get our minerals to put in their weapons to then annex us."

Finally, a mystery trader made a very lucrative bet on Nicolas Maduro's capture a suspicious few days beforehand. The Wall Street Journal reports that less than five hours before Maduro was ousted, an unknown trader doubled down on bets on his ouster on the platform Polymarket. The prediction platform uses cryptocurrency to allow bets on future events, from the World Cup to TV characters being killed off. The trader pocketed more than $400,000, a 12-fold return on investment. This has fuelled suspicions of insider trading. The website Futurism says there is compelling evidence that someone connected to Trump is behind that winning bet. It says could it have been an insider in a New York or Washington newsroom, or an operative inside the Trump administration. Or, jokingly, it says it could have been Pete Hegseth making some beer money on the side.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Monday, 5 January 2025: Venezuelan papers react to Nicolas Maduro's abduction, while the South American press is outraged. Meanwhile, in Germany, an arson attack by an extreme-left group has left thousands without power. Next, Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has been producing thousands of non-consensual pornographic images. Finally, the Swiss press celebrate a milestone.

The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has sent shockwaves through the press. Venezuela News focuses on Delcy Rodriguez, now Venezuela's president by interim, and cites her as saying that "the priority is to establish a balanced and respectful relationship between Venezuela and the US". El Nacional calls on the Venezuelan people to resist American interference, comparing Maduro's Venezuela to the France of Charles de Gaulle. Opposition paper TalCual discusses Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia, the opposition candidate in the 2024 presidential election, who urged the government to release political opponents, whom he calls "regime hostages".

In neighbouring Colombia, El Espectador says that Trump is not Venezuela's saviour. In Brazil, Folha de Sao Paulo says that this intervention looks a lot like the Iraq disaster. Cuban daily Granma condemns the "cowardly attack" of the US against their "sister nation". 

Over in Berlin, an arson attack over the weekend has caused widespread power cuts and chaos. The attack is on the front page of the Frankfurter Allgemeine and the Tagesspiegel, which dedicates two pages to the story. Der Spiegel looks at what makes the repairs so complicated. The Berliner Morgenpost says that 45,000 households were initially affected by the power outage. As of Sunday evening, more than 10,000 households had been reconnected.  

Meanwhile, AI has been wreaking havoc on the internet over the weekend. The Atlantic takes a look at what it calls "Elon Musk's pornography machine". A Grok update meant that people were able to generate non-consensual pornographic images, even of young children.

The Washington Post talks about another consequence of AI chatbots: dangerous delusions. The Human Line community is a new online messaging platform designed for people to talk about their AI-linked mental health issues with other humans.  

Finally, it has been a tough few days for the Swiss press, but this Monday, they have something to celebrate. The Geneva-based newspaper Le Temps is celebrating its 200th anniversary.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, January 2: Several front pages headline on the tragic Swiss bar fire which killed dozens on New Year's Day. It's been described as the worst accident in recent Swiss history. In other news: the New Year brings new additions to the public domain, as cartoon Betty Boop, literary sleuth Nancy Drew and the 1930 film "All Quiet on the Western Front" all become copyright-free this year. Plus: we bring you some new travel trends for 2026.

The tragedy in Switzerland is dominating the front pages. A fire ripped through a bar during New Year’s celebrations in Crans Montana, a popular ski resort, early on New Year's Day. At least 40 people have died and many more are seriously injured. Several victims were young revellers. La Regione, an Italian-language Swiss daily, says the "reasons for this massacre of young people are still not known." Swiss investigators say that they are still looking into what caused the fire. Le Soir, the Belgian paper calls it the "New Year of horror" and notes that the "shock is immense". Switzerland has declared five days of national mourning. The paper's three-page coverage describes terrible scenes of chaos and quotes an eyewitness who said that candles in champagne bottles may have sparked a ceiling fire, which then spread very quickly.

"From party to nightmare", the French paper Libération says on its front page. This is not the first deadly bar fire potentially caused by fireworks, which is something that Swiss news website 24 Heures and Australian website Sydney Morning Herald are looking at. Pyrotechnics have been the source of other deadly fires – including a fire that killed dozens in Goa last month and the deadly Pulse club fire in North Macedonia in March that killed 63 people.

Turning to other news: the new year also means new additions to the public domain, as the 95-year time US copyright restriction on intellectual property frees up new works each year. It means that cultural works dating from 1930 enter the public domain – their image can be used for free. This year brings some notable additions, according to the US broadcaster PBS. Cartoon character Betty Boop becomes copyright free as four of her cartoons enter the public domain this year. PBS explains that she started out as the female sidekick dog to a character called Bimbo. But she eventually outshone Bimbo and morphed into the Jazz Age flapper with the groomed curls and flashy eyelashes for which she is best known. Other works entering the public domain are Mildred Benson's teen sleuth Nancy Drew, as her first four books appeared in 1930; Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon" and Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, who solved her first mystery in "Murder at the Vicarage". Elsewhere, the Oscar-winning film "All Quiet on the Western Front" and the song "Dream a Little Dream of Me" also enter the public domain.

Finally, we look at some new travel trends for the new year. According to the Indian Express, you can expect to see a continuation of micro-trips – travelling to nearby places, spending the day sightseeing and returning home at night. This year could also see more "glowcations": travelling for the specific purpose of beauty treatments – to Korea for K beauty treatments or India for Ayurvedic ones, for example. There will be more slow travel too: travelling for the purpose of doing absolutely nothing. Le Parisien offers another travel trend for 2026: supermarket safaris – travelling for the purpose of discovering local supermarkets and with it, local culinary habits!

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

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, January 1: Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as mayor of New York City ahead of his public ceremony. The press look at the challenges that lie ahead for the maverick mayor. Also: France will mull an Australia-style social media ban on teenagers this month. Plus we look at 2026 life predictions and 2025 trends that will become embarrassing this year!

Zohran Mamdani has been officially sworn in as mayor of New York City in a private ceremony held at midnight New York time. Mamdani's appointment comes with a lot of firsts: he is the city's first South Asian, millennial and Muslim mayor. His ceremony will also be the first to include the Koran. The New York Times notes he’s expected to use several unique Korans, including one that belonged to his grandfather and another that belonged to Arturo Schomburg, a Black writer and historian. Once the pomp and ceremony is over, Mamdani will face many challenges as mayor. Jacobin, a New York-based socialist magazine, says that he will have to raise taxes to fund promised programmes like universal childcare and transport. For this, he’ll need the support of Governor Kathy Hochul, who has previously said she will oppose said tax increases.

Here in France, President Emmanuel Macron has delivered his New Year’s speech and laid out his plans for 2026. Among them, French lawmakers have put forward a draft bill to follow in Australia's footsteps and ban social media access for teenagers. The Guardian notes that the bill cites the risks of excessive screen use by teenagers – including being exposed to inappropriate content, sleep issues and online bullying. The proposed legislation would ban social media for under-15s and ban mobile phones in high schools, affecting teens between 15 to 18 years old. Le Monde reports that the legislation will be debated this month, but only after it passes the legal review from the Council of State, France's highest administrative authority.

Finally, the new year also brings new trends, something a lot of the press is talking about. The New York Times looks at life predictions for 2026. It predicts we will return to "dumb phones" – with these old phones becoming a new status symbol. When it comes to dating, 2026 will no longer be about playing it cool – instead, embracing the risks of romance and declaring your love for that special person! The paper also predicts that we'll see a return to tobacco pipes in an apparent rebellion against "clumsy, charmless" vapes – but also in a desperate desire for "Dickensian glamour". Another trend we're expected to see this year: the "exfluencer" – the slow decline of influencers, who will seek more traditional careers. The Independent, meanwhile, looks at 2025 trends that will become embarrassing in 2026. These include: confessing to using ChatGPT for something you could have Googled yourself; giant water bottles that weigh the size of an infant; and (hopefully) Labubus!

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

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, December 19: A new batch of Epstein files includes photos of famous men, chat screenshots and "Lolita" quotes written on a woman's body. Next, Kristin Cabot, the HR boss caught on the Coldplay kiss cam, speaks out in an exclusive interview. Finally, we bring you some Christmas news in data format.

Papers are reacting to the latest release of a new batch of the  Epstein files. Wired Magazine calls the photos "terrifying". They include famous men, passports, chat screenshots and upsetting "Lolita" quotes written on a woman's body. The Daily Beast puts the spotlight on a New York Times columnist, David Brooks, who appeared in the photos. In November, he wrote an opinion piece entitled "The Epstein Story? Count Me Out". That article bashed Democrats for releasing information and the "QAnon mentality that has taken over America". In it, Brooks criticised America's "obsession" with the Epstein story, asking why this story needs to be a top issue. The opinion piece did not age well.

Vanity Fair has an article entitled "New Epstein Pictures, Same Old Greasy, Tired Gluttony on Display". The magazine says the newest photos are "some of the most disturbing ones yet", and they give us a clearer view of Epstein's life after his 2008 sex crimes conviction. The New York Times focuses on the friendship between Trump and Epstein. The paper says the two men "bonded over the pursuit of women" and that "chasing women was a game of ego and dominance" where female bodies were a "currency". The long article follows their "intense bond" and how it evolved over the years. 

Next, Kristin Cabot, the woman caught on the Coldplay kiss cam, has given an exclusive interview to The Times. The HR manager was caught cosying up to her married boss during a Coldplay concert, and the video went viral. She speaks about the 16 seconds that "ruined her life". Cabot says that both she and Andy Byron were at the time "amicably separated from their spouses", and they went on a date after bonding over their separation. She was then "on top of the world”, dancing and singing, before the kiss cam caught her with Byron. The rest is social media history.

Finally, we bring you some Christmas data news. Euronews answers the question of which European country spends the most on presents. Germany is the biggest spender in the European Union, with expenses expected to reach more than €85 billion. Next is France, with €71 billion. Outside of the EU, but with more than €100 billion, the UK is really feeling the Christmas spirit!

In more data news from CNN, Mariah Carey's seasonal hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has been dethroned by the 1984 single "Last Christmas". Perhaps love is not in the air this season.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, December 18: French paper Le Monde reveals who was behind the viral AI fake news video that announced a coup in France. Next, some good news: a mama polar bear adopts a cub in a rare case of polar bear bonding. Also: the new season of Emily in Paris is out and we calculate exactly how much it would cost to live like Emily. Finally, we do an art quiz with our presenter.

French paper Le Monde has tracked down the author of the viral AI video that falsely announced a coup in France. It was created by a teenager from Burkina Faso who just wanted to "make it big". He certainly succeeded, since the video has been watched more than 13 million times. The anonymous teenager said he "posted it just like that" and he was "amazed" when he saw the views, adding that he didn’t think the video would “cause such a stir". He also sincerely apologised and said his message was by no means political. 

Speaking of tech-savvy people, an article in Wired Magazine reports that "People are paying to get their chatbots high on drugs". It works through a code plugged into ChatGPT, for instance, that simulates the effects of weed, ketamine, cocaine, etc. It’s an idea by the Swedish creative director Peter Rudwall, who took data from research on the effects of substances and wrote a code with it.

Next, in some good news, The Guardian reports that a female polar bear has adopted a cub. Scientists in Canada documented the rare case, highlighting the complex relationships of polar bears. A researcher commented that "polar bears are really good mums" and if they see a lost cub, "they just can’t help themselves", but take the baby bear and look after it. 

The new season of "Emily in Paris" is out this Thursday. The French edition of Vanity Fair asks the question of how much money we should make per year if we want to live like Emily Cooper. She has a pretty nice wardrobe collection, with brands like Chanel and Hermès, which would be €65,000 per year. Emily also eats out all the time, takes taxis and drinks fancy cocktails, so that would be around €6,000 extra. Her apartment in central Paris surely costs more than €30,000 per year. Vanity Fair did the maths: Emily's life costs more than €100,000 euros year. In real life, a marketing expert in Paris like her makes around €40,000 per year. 

Finally, an exhibition in Spain puts art lovers to the test by mixing Neolithic pieces with modern works, as The Times reports. We tested our presenter on his knowledge.

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

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, 17 December 2025: Vanity Fair's interview of Susan Wiles makes headlines across the United States. Next, The New York Times investigates Jeffrey Epstein's wealth and career. Elsewhere, Kylian Mbappé has won a court case against his former club Paris Saint-Germain. Finally, Christmas elves hit the jackpot. 

A bombshell interview is rocking the press in the United States. Vanity Fair has published a series of 11 interviews it carried out over the course of a year with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The quote which got the most attention is in a CNN headline: "Wiles says Trump has an alcoholic's personality". The New York Times focuses on another part of the interviews and discusses Wiles calling JD Vance a conspiracy theorist. Politico looks at Republican reactions to the Vanity Fair piece. The New York Post has an exclusive interview with Trump on the subject, who says that Wiles was right to say he had an alcoholic's personality. Fox News accuses the piece of using quotes out of context.  

The New York Times has published an investigation which looks at how Jeffrey Epstein made his millions: with scams, schemes and cons.  

Les Bleus superstar Kylian Mbappé is also making headlines. The Financial Times has Mbappé celebrating on its front page. He has good reason to, since the striker has won his court battle against his former club PSG. According to Le Parisien, it is a total success for the now Real Madrid star. His lawyers said that Paris Saint Germain's president had acted out because of his hurt pride after the Frenchman left the club.

Mbappé is not the only person celebrating a big pay day. The Times of London reports that Father Christmas's elves have seen their wages increase by 7.6 percent this year.  

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