'The French correction' and 'Labour cuts £2bn from Army'

3 hours ago

News image — Many of Tuesday's front pages depict the unrest sweeping through France, where violence sparked by student protests continues to cause major disruptions. "The French correction" is the Metro's headline, embedding a picture showing a row of Paris riot cops next to the caption "Formez vos batallions". President Emmanuel Macron is quoted saying "extreme-left thugs and thieves will not win", as the paper goes on to explain: "French towns and cities have been told to declare curfews in a bid to end days of rioting and looting".

"The French correction," reads the headline on the front page of the Metro. — Many of Tuesday's front pages depict the unrest sweeping through France, where violence sparked by student protests continues to cause major disruptions. "The French correction" is the Metro's headline, embedding a picture showing a row of Paris riot cops next to the caption "Formez vos batallions". President Emmanuel Macron is quoted saying "extreme-left thugs and thieves will not win", as the paper goes on to explain: "French towns and cities have been told to declare curfews in a bid to end days of rioting and looting".

"Curfew imposed to stop France riots as unrest grips Europe," reads the headline on the front page of the Independent. — The Independent continues with "Curfew imposed to stop France riots as unrest grips Europe", below a photo showing a masked demonstrator in Marseille holding a French flag as a fire burns in the backdrop. "Italy prepares crackdown" it says as cost of living and housing anger spreads to "Lisbon, Albania and Serbia".

"Challenges facing Macron deepen after street clashes reignite French debt rout," reads the headline on the front page of the Financial Times. — "Challenges facing Macron deepen" says the Financial Times, taking a markets perspective of the riots to report "10-year bond yield sharply up" in France following a "self-off in French government debt". It cites experts who say "the protest had made investors 'more reluctant' to hold the debt" ahead of the "high-stakes election" when Macron gives up the presidency in 2027.

"Labour cuts £2bn from Army front line," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. — Returning to the UK, the Daily Telegraph writes: "Labour cuts £2bn from Army", reporting that the Ministry of Defence has "dropped plans to develop three new frontline vehicles". It comes as Chancellor John Healey "attempts to fill a hole in defence spending in his first Budget", due on 28 October.

"No increase to capital gains tax in the budget," reads the headline on the front page of the Times. — Continuing with pre-Budget speculation, the Times says "no increase to capital gains tax" is expected to be handed down as "chancellor resists pressure" from allies of Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Healey is quoted saying he wants a "steady as she goes" budget rather than, as the paper describes as a "huge package of tax rises and public spending that dominated the fiscal events of Rachel Reeves, his predecessor".

"Two-child cap on childcare benefits will be lifted by April," reads the headline on the front page of the i Paper. — The i Paper leads with its scoop that the government will lift the "two-child cap on childcare benefits" by April, meaning parents on benefits will get "£736 extra per additional child to assist with nursery costs". The paper quotes experts who believe "lifting the cap on nursery fee support offers a route back to work for parents on universal credit with more than two children 'at a critical time of rising costs'."

"Kemi: Budget could be even worse than Reeves bloodbath," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mail. — Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's criticism of John Healey's expected budget tops the Daily Mail, where it summarises her perspective: "Budget could be even worse than Reeves bloodbath". Badenoch suggests Burnham's new government could impose "more damage to the economy than his predecessor, despite Labour already hiking the tax burden to a post-war high", according to the paper.

"Burnham orders radical rethink of options to fix Thames Water," reads the headline on the front page of the Guardian. — The Guardian tops with Burnham ordering his policy advisers "to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company". It explains that the proposal is a "test" of the prime minister's promise "to bring the 'essentials of life' under public control".

"AIR HEADS: RAF fireball jet was flying with its fuel cap off," reads the headline on the front page of the Sun. — The Sun leads with a "£20m crash probe" after "two pilots steered away from buildings and ejected before the Hawk T2 nosedived and exploded near RAF Valley, North Wales, last month". According to an early investigation, the "RAF fireball jet was flying with its fuel cap off".

The headline on the front page of the Daily Star reads: "'Shampions set for deduction & relegation': Man City's tipping point". — The Daily Star picks up on the latest Manchester City alleged financial misconduct saga, reporting that they are set to get a "huge" points deduction risking "relegation", attributing the details to "shock reports". It could be "Man City's tipping point", the paper says.

"NHS is 'simply not ready' for another winter crisis," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Express. — The Daily Express carries the warning from NHS doctors that the health service is "simply not ready" for another winter crisis, writing that "patients are dying every week in struggling A&E departments" amid rising flu admissions.

"Best of Britain," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror. — Finally, the Daily Mirror caps off with a lighter touch headline about the paper's Pride of Britain awards. "Trophies and tears for nation's everyday heroes" it writes, as "Stars humbled by tales of courage and sacrifice", including young fundraiser of the year Kirsty Waugh and Dr Eli Prior "who helped train crash victims".

Many of the papers focus on the Budget next week. The Times says a "tax raid on banks" will be the biggest raiser of revenue, after the Chancellor resisted calls from "allies of Andy Burnham" to increase the rate at which capital gains is charged. According to the Daily Mail, the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, will warn that the Budget "risks being even worse than the two delivered by Rachel Reeves".

The Daily Telegraph says "Labour has slashed £2bn from front-line army equipment", dropping plans to develop three new vehicles. The Ministry of Defence said the changes related to "future spend that was uncommitted" and that it was "exploring alternative options".

The Sun reports that the RAF training jet that crashed in north Wales last month was "flying with its fuel cap off". Officials say the two pilots steered the aircraft away from buildings, and ejected before it exploded on the ground. The paper notes that it's unclear whether the cap's absence "caused or even contributed to the accident." The RAF said it was investigating and wouldn't comment further.

The Guardian says the prime minister has asked his officials for more "radical options" to "fix" the struggling utility company, Thames Water. The paper reports he previously said he would nationalise the firm, and that one new proposal was to convert outstanding fines into a government stake in the company.

The Financial Times says the street violence in France has "shocked the public" six months out from a "high-stakes presidential election". Writing in the i Paper, the French writer Agnes Poirier, argues the riots could make a victory for the right wing candidate, Marine Le Pen, more likely. The article says that could make a post-Brexit reset in EU relations "considerably harder", and "leave Britain more isolated in its support for Ukraine".

Pictures of a large drone lifting a Ukrainian infantryman appear in some of the papers. The Telegraph says it's the first time Ukraine has used an aerial drone to rescue a wounded soldier from the front line. The Mail notes the operation was a "last resort", as the man was in a minefield and "could not be safely evacuated by a rescue team or ground vehicle".

'The French correction' and 'Labour cuts £2bn from Army'

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