UK
Several British newspapers led with a “chilling” (in the words of the FT) warning delivered by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney to Theresa May’s Cabinet that a no-deal Brexit could lead to economic chaos, including causing house prices to fall by a third. The Guardian reported that Carney had warned a no-deal Brexit could be as bad as the 2008 financial crisis. The Daily Telegraph reported the BoE chief was now being criticized for his Brexit “gloom.”
Papers also reported on the latest developments in the Skripal poisoning case. The two Russians whom British officials named as the main suspects in the Novichok attack on former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in March gave an interview to Russian state television on Thursday. They claimed they visited the “wonderful town” of Salisbury as tourists to see the 123-meter high spire of the town’s cathedral. The Daily Telegraph carried comments by Theresa May noting that the Russians’ denial was “insulting the public’s intelligence.”
Germany
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung focused once more on the German head of the domestic security agency, Hans-Georg Maaßen, who is under fire for allegedly leaking confidential information to members of the far-right AfD. The newspaper reported that the Social Democrats were demanding Maaßen be fired. Die Welt wrote that the saga was becoming a “burden” for the country’s ruling coalition government. Die Welt further reported on the controversial removal of several climate activists from a forest near Cologne.
France
Le Figaro reported that Emmanuel Macron was “preparing for a duel” with far-right leader Marine Le Pen, referring to the two running neck-and-neck in opinion polls. Le Monde wrote that Macron would recognize that the French military tortured and killed Maurice Audin during the Algerian War in 1957, calling it a “historic gesture.” Ouest France focused on Macron’s newly announced plan to tackle poverty, reporting the government would spend €8 billion.
Spain
Spanish front pages were all about the latest trials and tribulations of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is under fire over allegations that he plagiarized his Ph.D thesis, the resignations of several Cabinet ministers and a number of political back flips. El País reported on developments in the plans to dig up the remains of former dictator Francisco Franco.
