Le Figaro, 11 August 2010
"France has become the world leader in electricity production", rejoices Le Figaro on its front page, following the August 10 announcement of the acquisition of International Power (IP) by French group GDF Suez. "The interest of the operation is in the geographical expansion of markets: IP opens the door to Australia as well as providing improved contacts in Asia and the Middle East", observes the daily. The new group has posted combined sales of 84 billion euros for 2009, which puts it in second place worldwide in terms of production capacity, just behind another French company, Electricité de France (EDF).
The leader of Greece’s leftist alliance SYRIZA is the new bright hope of Greek politics. Steering a course between pragmatism and the rhetoric of class warfare, he has unsettled Berlin, and not just those who back Angela Merkel's austerity policies. 
Europe’s economic woes have forced us to try to understand the secret Olympian world of global finance. But now that we pay more attention to bond yields and stability mechanisms, isn’t it clear that the experts up on their lofty peaks don’t know what’s going on either? 
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is hosted by Azerbaijan, a country that is far from being a model democracy. An Estonian journalist takes a critical look at the deferential treatment enjoyed by the regime in Baku.