Press Review

Unsurprisingly perhaps, all of Tuesday's dailies again devote a lot of attention to the success of the far-right Jean Marie Le Pen in the first round of France's presidential election; "the French have shocked both themselves and Europe" reads the headline on page one of Mlada fronta Dnes.

Mlada fronta Dnes also carries a report on the glossy ads which were included in that same newspaper on Monday. They bore a photo of the insignia of the Czech air force on green rusted metal along with the slogan "Time to do Something" and explained the Ministry of Defence's plan to reform the armed forces.

The back of the glossy ad carried text such as "professional army - less people, more human". Some 500,000 copies went out but the Defence Ministry refused to tell the daily how much it had spent on the ad campaign. An advertising executive described the ads as a waste of money. It was badly done and more likely to annoy people than anything else, he told Mlada fronta Dnes.

The number of Slovaks working in the Czech Republic - where they can earn higher salaries - is rising fast, writes Hospodarske noviny. One Slovak government official told the daily that the trend was being described as an exodus of the intelligentsia in Slovakia. The people who are moving to the Czech Republic are educated professionals, he told the paper. Slovaks need only register with the local employment office if they want to work here in the Czech Republic.

A sociologist tells Hospodarske noviny that it is hardly surprising that the Czech Republic is an attractive destination for Slovaks. It's near, they can understand the language and the cultures are very similar - what's more Czechs have a very friendly attitude to Slovaks, he tells the daily.

The question of whether foreign minister Jan Masaryk jumped to his death or was pushed in 1948 has vexed historians for many years. Now, writes Pravo, a new approach is being taken. The Prague state attorney's office is going to ask the Russian Federation for help, in the belief that Russian archives may hold the answer to the mystery. An official admitted to the daily that it would be complicated - possible suspects are unlikely to be still alive.

Lidove noviny has a series on Tuesdays called Czech Legends of the 20th Century, and this week it features Frantisek Krizik - the man who brought electricity to the Czech lands. Krizik's arc lamps were world famous and he introduced the first electric trams and railways to this part of the world. He is the only engineer buried at the national cemetery at Vysehrad in Prague.

Pravo carries a photo of a smiling Social Democrats leader Vladimir Spidla holding what looks like a silver-headed hammer. A few pages later it has a photo of US President George Bush carrying a large axe and grinning. Was Monday "International Happy Politicians Carrying Tools Day"? We should be told!