French fury what the papers say
10 December 1999
French fury — what the papers say
By FWi staff
FRANCES latest refusal to lift its embargo on British beef receives hostile front-page treatment from most of Fridays national newspapers.
The tabloids home in on the fury felt by British beef producers and the political embarrassment that the crisis has caused Britains Labour government.
“Blair in a beef stew,” proclaims The Express. “France faces huge fines but British farmers wont benefit.”
The Suns front page took the opportunity to tell Britain that the French are “taking the oui-oui“.
Other papers take a similar tack, with The Mirror devoting its entire front page to call on its readers to boycott French Golden Delicious apples.
“The Mirror has given France every chance to back down over its ban on British beef,” says the paper, as if it was involved in negotiations with Paris.
“But now even weve lost patience. The French Golden Delicious apple is exported in huge quantities to Britain.
“We say: DO NOT buy their apples until they sell beef again.”
The Daily Mail says it is “time to freeze out the French” in a two-page story which, it claims, reveals why France “stabbed Blair in the back”.
“Frances Socialist premier knew that lifting the embargo would bring him no credit in France, only criticism.”
The Independent agrees that refusing to lift the ban on British beef is indefensible but warns against “the urge for crude retaliation”.
“The areas in which to take on Paris over beef are bilateral meetings, the council of European agriculture ministers and… the European Court.”
The Guardians leader concludes that the issue is now a test of Mr Blairs and Labours policy on Europe at another level.
“Engaging a sceptical British public in Europes future, let alone convincing them about membership of the Euro, has now become much more difficult.”
The Times says that relations between France and Britain “went into deep freeze” as Tony Blair arrived in snow-covered Helsinki for a European summit.
The Financial Times believes that “in the last resort” Lionel Jospin, the French premier, saw no political capital in lifting the ban.
It says he would have “risked a backlash” from his own Socialist-led coalition, as well as hostility from French consumer groups and the powerful farming lobby.
That Mr Jospin faces legislative and presidential elections in 2002 is thought to have been a major element that went into his calculation to maintain the embargo.
French newspapers have reacted favourably to the ongoing ban, suggesting that had he lifted it, Mr Jospin would have faced severe criticism at home.