"Florence Cassez, an affair of state," announces Le Figaro in the wake of Mexico’s decision to cancel its participation in France’s “Year of Mexico” cultural programme. The crisis has been prompted by the case of Florence Cassez, a 36-year-old French woman who in April 2008 was sentenced to a 90-year jail term (later commuted to 60 years in 2009) for kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and possession of firearms and ammunition. Paris, which has been demanding her transfer to a French prison for three years, recently took a harder line after her conviction was upheld by a Mexican appeal court on 10 February. "As it stands, the situation remains in deadlock," notes Le Figaro, adding that "trade between the two countries will likely suffer. The ‘Year of Mexico’ was supposed to promote commercial as well as cultural relations.”
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.