PRESS REVIEW – Tuesday, October 13: "Act 5" of the French high school protest movement begins as teachers and farmers could join in too. In India, thousands of opposition supporters have marched to the Supreme Court demanding the resignation of the electoral board chief over fraud allegations. The Times of London publishes an investigation that shows FIFA boss Gianni Infantino received a second, undeclared salary. Finally, a cat in China goes viral with people flocking from around the world to meet her.
"Act 5" of the French high schoolers' protest movement takes place this Tuesday, with other students and teachers also set to join the demonstrations. Le Figaro announces that politicians from the left and far left will partake, as well as groups against police brutality, the Yellow Vests and a group of farmers. This "convergence of fights" comes against "a backdrop of violence," according to the right-wing daily. It doubles down on its criticism that the student movement's demands are "absurd and confusing." The right-wing paper L'Opinion looks at how this generation of student protests has put itself at the heart of the French presidential campaign. In May 2027, one in every nine voters will be between the ages of 18 and 24. The challenge for parties now is to seduce a "protest-oriented, pluralistic generation with a propensity for abstention."
In the left-wing papers, Libération headlines with a quote from Sophie Binet, the head of the CGT union, one of France's major unions. She said: "For the last decade, young people have been treated like dogs", hailing the "lucidity" of the high school protesters. It comes as the French budget will be debated in parliament this Tuesday. L'Humanité, the Communist paper, warns of a "state of emergency" concerning French schools. It accuses the government and local authorities of passing the buck on how to finance much-needed renovations of certain French school establishments.
Staying in France, MPs will hold a solemn vote in parliament this Tuesday on a bill to fight sexual violence against women and children. The divisive bill was brought forward by 140 associations representing women and child victims and debated vigorously late last month. L'Humanité looks at two key articles that didn't make the cut. The first article aimed to protect female victims without French papers from being deported from France. NGOs have asked the government to review this article again and are promising to debate it in the Senate, when the bill heads there after the MPs' vote. The second article proposed the creation of special paid leave for victims of violence. The rejection of this measure was all the more “strange” because it had the support of NGOs and the government too. Amnesty International has criticised the bill for excluding the "most vulnerable and susceptible women" – trans women, foreigners and sex workers. If adopted, this law would be a failure because it would not protect those who need protecting, the NGO says on its website.
We head next to India, where the front pages headline on a "March for Democracy" led by opposition supporters in New Delhi on Monday. Thousands marched through the capital to the Indian Supreme Court. They called on the election chief to resign, accusing him of electoral roll fraud. According to them, tens of millions of voters' names have been struck off the electoral lists. The government says they were duplicates or deceased voters, but the opposition says Modi's government is deliberately excluding Muslim voters. Pictures of that march are splashed across the front pages of the Hindu and the Free Press Journal. The Indian Express notes the government's reaction. It accused opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his party of "pure theatrics."
Elsewhere, The Times of London publishes an investigation accusing FIFA of not declaring a second salary paid to its president, Gianni Infantino. In addition to his salary and bonus, the investigation reveals that FIFA did not publicly disclose an extra $1.76 million paid to Infantino in 2024, plus similar sums in 2025 and 2026. Critics say this is a clear violation of FIFA rules. Sources say that some of the undisclosed money paid to Infantino was used to fund a luxury lifestyle in Miami in the lead-up to the World Cup, including a waterfront mansion rental. The Times investigation reveals that Infantino received two separate salaries – one from FIFA, declared; the other from a World Cup organising company, undeclared. The allegations will add pressure on the FIFA boss to resign. He became highly unpopular after his short-lived plan in July to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
Finally, a little cat in China has become a viral star! The China Daily reports on a furry feline in Guangzhou called MeiMei, who was named after a cat on a popular TV series. Her story began in 2022 when her owner Chen found her near a railway station. He left his job to rescue stray animals and decided to keep MeiMei instead of rehousing her. He started sharing videos of her and people expressed concern for her well-being – not just from China but from around the world. Then he spent six months explaining that she was a stray cat and concern turned to love for her. Some devoted MeiMei fans travel from as far as Chile, Romania and Morocco. But like a real diva, she is aloof and indifferent – only cooperating with fan interactions when food is involved!