Morning papers returned to Friday evening's Rouen-Caen TER derailment near Elbeuf, fixing the toll at 44 injured with five still hospitalised. The focus moved from rescue to cause after a 300-kg rail was found on the tracks, with police sources favouring a malicious act, before prosecutors in the evening said no element yet allowed such a conclusion.
Coverage then shifted to the political rentrée. Live feeds followed the scattered left at the Fête de l'Humanité, where Roussel refused to withdraw and called for roundabout occupations, Mélenchon denounced fuel margins and proposed a sliding wage scale, while Retailleau promised to rebuild France in a civilisational combat and Philippe cast himself as tortoise against hares.
The evening closed on Céline Dion's first Paris show at the Plenitude Arena, opened with On ne change pas after six years off stage, as Matignon floated donation easing and pension de-indexation for the 2027 budget.