“Why France is a terrorist target,” headlines La Croix. The daily cites recent remarks made by the Minister of the Interior, who believes that there is a “real” and “imminent” threat of terrorist action in France. Authorities are convinced that the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb is behind the 13 September kidnapping of five French citizens in Arlit, Niger – an event that has contributed to fears of terrorist action that have been “permanent” since the deployment of 4,000 French troops in Afghanistan. The daily explains that other factors have also contributed to the increased risk of an attack. These include: “the 14 September vote to ban the wearing of full Islamic veils in public and recent French government criticism of Iran.”
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.