Eurotopics.net

Director Todd Phillips' film Joker tells the story of Batman's arch-rival. Rejected and humiliated by society, mentally ill Arthur Fleck becomes a killer clown. Widely criticised as excessively violent, the film is drawing strong reactions from Europe's press as it hits the screens.

Thousands of people demonstrated on the weekend against the government in Kiev's approval of the so-called "Steinmeier formula". This plan envisages elections and a special status for the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, but also the patrolling of the border with Russia by Ukrainian government forces. Europe's press discusses the opportunities and risks of the compromise.

Prime Minister António Costa's Socialist Party (PS) has won Portugal's parliamentary elections with 37 percent of the vote, but fell short of the absolute majority it had hoped for, meaning it will need the support of other parties. Commentators discuss how Costa secured the voters' support and what challenges he faces.

A long-time employee at the police headquarters in Paris killed four colleagues on Thursday before he was shot and killed by a police officer. The murderer had become radicalised since converting to Islam ten years ago, according to investigators. He had been in contact with Salafists but continued to work as an IT specialist in the police's counter-terrorism division. Commentators are dumbfounded.