France
Le Figaro led with a story on a “wave of resignations among the mayors of France.” The paper reported that in the face of increasingly strict regulatory and financial constraints, 1,021 mayors have quit their posts since the municipal elections in 2014 — twice as many as during the previous term. “Brexit without agreement: the great fear of Britain,” was Le Monde’s headline. A no-deal Brexit would pose “unsolvable” problems for the Brits, the paper wrote, including issues with transport and health care.
Spain
Papers in Spain focused on the arrival of the Open Arms boat carrying 87 refugees, which was allowed to dock in the port city of Algeciras after being denied entry by Italy and Malta. Its arrival has “reopened the wave of criticism from all sectors” of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his government’s migrant policy, La Razón reported. Andalusia “explodes,” was El Mundo’s headline, referring to the fact that the regional government has labeled the situation unsustainable.
Germany
Frankfurter Allgemeine led with Russian reactions to new U.S. sanctions imposed on Moscow over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. Die Welt focused on local affairs, reporting on the outcry in response to revelations on Thursday that Germany paid child benefits for 268,336 children living abroad in June 2018, up sharply since 2016.
United Kingdom
The fallout from Boris Johnson’s burqa comments continued to dominate British papers on Friday. The news that the Conservative Party will investigate Johnson has prompted a “fresh bout of infighting between his supporters and critics,” the Guardian reported. The Daily Telegraph cited an unnamed Tory MP as saying the probe would be an “unprincipled kneecap job on the favorite to succeed Theresa May.”
