Newspaper headlines: Paris shootout and diet drinks 'alert' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 21 April 2017

image copyright Reuters

The same image can be found on the front of several papers - police vehicles parked across the Champs-Elysee, as an armed officer stands guard nearby.

"France targeted again" is how the Sun puts it, saying a gunman known to the security services deliberately attacked officers on patrol.

The Daily Mail calls it a " rampage ... just days before the presidential election", while the Times says "terror has returned to Paris ".

The Daily Telegraph says there was immediate speculation about whether the attack would benefit the National Front leader, Marine Le Pen, who has put security high on her campaign agenda - but says analysts have noted that populist politicians did not receive a boost from previous attacks, such as that on the Bataclan theatre.

Changing tunes on Brexit

Issues surrounding Brexit provide several of the main stories. The Guardian quotes the president of the European Parliament as saying the UK would be allowed to change its mind about Brexit after the general election - despite Theresa May's insistence that there is "no turning back".

Antonio Tajani says the other 27 member states would be happy, and would be in favour. He also tells the Times that MEPs will veto any Brexit deal which fails to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.

The paper says a "particularly provocative" aspect of the demand is that the European Court of Justice would retain power to rule on those rights, when Mrs May has said she will end the court's influence in the UK.

image copyright Reuters

The Daily Mirror says the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, gave a "defiant" performance yesterday when he delivered a set-piece speech to kick off his election campaign.

It says his attack on cosy cartels and establishment elites showed that he was "up for the battle".

The Daily Mail's sketch writer Quentin Letts writes "the old boy was aflame" and full of energy - but calls the substance of the speech "plain nonsense".

The Daily Telegraph thinks Mr Corbyn was "channelling his inner Trump" with his claim to be on the side of the people

Diet drink warning

"Health alert", claims The Daily Express, as it reports on a study which has found people who have at least one artificially-sweetened - or "diet" - drink a day were three times more likely to suffer a stroke or develop dementia as those who avoid them.

The Telegraph adds that while no such link was found with sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks, scientists have warned one may still exist - so sugary drinks should not be treated as a healthy option.

image copyright PA

There is a welcome from the Daily Express for Theresa May's decision to retain the target of cutting net migration to the tens of thousands.

It calls David Cameron's original use of the number "ridiculous", but says things will be different after Brexit and that the pledge must be in the Conservative manifesto.

The Financial Times says Mrs May "defied her critics" by standing by the pledge , while the Telegraph suggests she is looking to capitalise on an area in which polls suggest Labour is seen as weak.

'Death tax dropped'

The Mail calls the government's decision to drop plans for a big rise in probate fees - or what the paper calls "a death tax" - a dramatic U-turn.