The News (Paris)

I've been mostly reading the small local newspapers, such as 20 minutes, and the bigger more famous ones such as Le Monde. For the most part all of the newspapers will report on national and international news though the larger ones go into much more depth just like the New York Times would in the U.S. However the headliners everywhere have been focused on Francois Hollande's (the current french president) and the problems he has been having with extremely low ratings on national polls. His polls have dipped down to 18% approval ratings at times but have mostly hovered at around 25%. His government is seen in general as full of failed policies and weak willed. Other headliners have been talking about the immigrant crisis, the Iran deal and other international events. I'd say that overall the Iran deal is covered much more positively here than in the US and that the immigrant crisis is on the other hand seen in a much more negative light. These views portrayed in the media are probably biased by the large economic deals that France is creating with Iran and the fact that many French are worried, especially after the attacks that happened last year, that the flood of immigrants may bring terrorists along with them into France's own borders.
I wouldn't say that moderate French media challenges the U.S.'s views of centrality and importance but instead simply tries assert that they have their own problems to be worried about and cannot always be completely on the U.S.'s side though their goals coincide often. In fact, the news coverage could probably even be used to prove that many French in fact do view the U.S. as central and important. I say this because of the high amount of coverage there is about U.S. economic and political developments. However they do tend to place more importance on the issues that affect the French directly. Some may think that they may be shocked by politicians such as Trump but they have their own radical party (the front national) which has been gaining in the polls for years and could easily draw some comparisons between them Trump or Cruz.
I wouldn't say that they have many blind spots concerning news coverage. It is fairly international and whenever something important happens internationally it could easily take the headliner spot from national news for a day.
I'd say that the French, and many Europeans in general, are better informed and more invested in current events and politics than many in America including Allegheny. It is not uncommon for French people that I have met to speak three or more languages and be constantly updated not only with the headliners but also with the details and facts that give them a true understanding of what is going on rather than simply a CNN soundbite. It has been much more common for people here to engage me in conversations about world events and possible solutions to major world problems than anywhere I've been in the US.
Overall I'm enjoying the news cycle here. I've always enjoyed getting my news from foreign news networks such as BBC, The Economist and Aljazeera so it's been great being introduced to another such reputable news source such as Le Monde.