Erik Izraelewicz
Erik Izraelewicz, who was born in 1954 and died in November 2012, was the director of French newspaper Le Monde from 2011 until his death. He had earlier worked as a journalist there from 1986 to 2000 before leaving to take up roles heading economic daily Les Echos and then weekly La Tribune.
Updated: 29 November 2012
The first round of the presidential election, which was billed as a referendum on the fate of outgoing president, was marked by an unprecedented protest vote: a development which will be a godsend for the far right and a major challenge for the socialist favourite to win the contest, François Hollande. 
Standard & Poor's 13 January downgrade of France’s credit rating is a double blow: Nicolas Sarkozy and his presidential election rivals will come under even greater pressure from the markets while the North-South divide in Europe has grown significantly wider. 
The European Council and eurozone crisis summit which opens on October 26 must prevent debt contagion. But it's a second wind that the EU needs if it's to have a future. 
Settling the Greece crisis and ensuring the future of the single currency; the high stakes of the Euro Zone Summit require that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy finally assume their responsibilities, warns the French daily Le Monde in an editorial.