The scale of the security effort for the Paris Olympics 2024 is nothing short of colossal.

Over 45,000 police and paramilitary officers will be on duty, backed-up by 10,000 soldiers and 20,000 private security guards.

The security area stretches over six kilometres along the Seine, accommodating around 300,000 ticketed spectators and countless more residents and tourists in nearby buildings.

To add an extra layer of protection, a no-fly zone spanning 150 kilometres around Paris will be brought into force an hour before the ceremony begins at 7:30pm local time (17h30UT).

This will ground or divert all aviation in one of Europe’s busiest airport hubs.

‘High alert’

“This opening ceremony is the most extraordinary thing a country can do,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told BFM television.

He has emphasised the challenges of securing such a high-profile event in the current geopolitical and terrorist climate.

Securing an open-air site with fast-flowing water, overlooked by hundreds of buildings, is no small feat.

France remains on high alert for terror attacks, making the task even more daunting.

“Security of 100 percent does not exist,” noted Frederic Pechenard, a former head of the French police force, highlighting the inherent risks of such a complex operation.

• France says multiple Olympic accreditation requests rejected over security fears

Snipers will be positioned on rooftops along the route, ever-watchful for potential threats.

The water will be patrolled by navy boats equipped with divers and sonar to detect explosives or infiltration attempts.

Every boat in the parade, and those moored along the route, will be rigorously inspected by sniffer dogs and bomb disposal experts.

River traffic will be halted in both directions, with barriers and nets ready to be deployed if necessary.

The ambitious Seine parade concept initially faced resistance from senior security officials and was even dubbed “criminal madness” by criminologist Alain Bauer in 2022.

Originally planning for up to a million spectators, the plans have since been scaled back due to increased risks from global conflicts and domestic tensions.

‘Fortress Paris’

Since last week, central Paris has transformed into a fortress, with metal barriers sealing off both banks of the Seine. Only residents and hotel guests are allowed into the high-security zone.

The French army will oversee anti-drone operations, employing the latest electronic warfare technology to counter potential threats from the sky.

Drones operated by security forces, along with AI-augmented cameras, will monitor the crowds for suspicious activity.

• In pictures: ‘Phantom Paris’ as security measures take hold ahead of 2024 Olympic Games

France’s vigilance is understandable given its history of terrorist attacks over the past decade, including the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the Bataclan concert hall attack, and the bombing at the national stadium.

Recent threats from IS-affiliated groups and arrests of suspects plotting attacks against the Games have heightened security concerns.

Despite these challenges, confidence in the French security forces remains high. Jean-Michel Fauvergue, former head of the police commando unit RAID, recalled the successful security efforts during the Euro 2016 football tournament.

“The threat was high, but the Euros were maintained, and we didn’t have an attack,” he said.

As the world watches on, Paris is set to deliver a spectacular and secure Olympic opening ceremony, showcasing the city’s resilience and dedication to safety throughout the celebrations.

In readiness for the Olympics, homeless people have been removed from security zones, while municipal cleaning teams are busy ensuring that streets remain pristine for the 15 million visitors expected for the Paris Games.

RFI spoke to three Parisians about the changes: one who lives on the streets of the city, one who uses them as his canvas, and one who cleans them everyday.

Xavier, homeless person

I am homeless at the moment. I was kicked out of my tent because of the Olympic Games. I used to live in a tent near Austerlitz station, on the banks of the Seine river.

One morning, policemen came, ripped away my tent and threw all my belongings in a garbage van that was waiting on the side of the road.

We tried to resist but there was no point. They escorted us away by force.

We are a sore sight for the Olympic show.

If you do not have 600 euros for a hotel room, the Olympic Games is not great for homeless people.

Charities slam ‘social cleansing’ ahead of 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Zeko, graffiti artist

I am a Parisian artist who works a lot on the streets, but also in my workshop.

I don’t have the impression that the Olympic Games is making a big difference in the city, except that there are twice as many police than there are people.

Paris looks deserted these days. There are many police officers who came from the countryside as reinforcements, and they do not bother me when they see me painting on the walls.

I cannot wait to see what difference the Olympics will bring to the vibe of the city. There is usually lots of tourists in summer, there’ll be more coming while most Parisians have fled the city.

Will the tourists take over our city? I don’t know… we’ll see.

I am not going to follow the restrictions imposed in certain areas. I may even try to sneak into one of the sports events.

In pictures: ‘Phantom Paris’ as security measures take hold ahead of 2024 Olympic Games

Wilfried, bin worker

I have been working as a bin worker for the past 21 years in Paris.

The Olympic Games in Paris is so special, it last happened 100 years ago. It’s going to be a celebration.

We’ll have more people working to keep the city clean and with overtime, I think it’s going to be fine.

There’ll be definitely more waste as there’ll be more people. Yesterday at the Notre Dame site, for example, the public dustbin was overflowing with mounds of waste all around.

I won’t attend the Games as I do not have tickets. I’ll follow them on TV.

The Olympic Games is a big party. We’re not going to be bothered by the negative aspects, they’re not important.

‘Au revoir Ratatouille’ says Paris pest control ahead of Olympics

The hosts will also take on reigning Olympic champions Canada and New Zealand in the pool stages as boss Hervé Renard attempts to lead the team to its first piece of siliverware at a major international competition.

“The objective, like that of every French athlete at the Olympic Games, is to win a medal,” said Renard on the eve of the clash.

“It won’t be easy, but it has to be the aim,” added the 55-year-old Frenchman who will depart after the Olympic Games.

Veteran defender Wendie Renard (no relation to the coach) will skipper the squad at her third Olympic Games.

“I have to perform individually, that’s always been my principle and my values,” said Renard.

Challenge

“I want to perform first and then contribute my experience. At some point, you have to be able to say things, encourage and congratulate, but there will always be things to correct.”

World champions Spain take on Japan, Nigeria and Brazil in Group C while the United States – the most successful team in the women’s compeition – face Zambia, Austria and Germany in Group B.

The US won the inaugural women’s Olympic football event in 1996 and claimed three in a row in 2004, 2008 and 2012.

But they exited in the quarter-finals in 2016 and had to settle for bronze three years ago in Tokyo after losing to Canada in the semis.

Goal

That was followed by a shock last-16 exit at the World Cup a year ago in Australia and New Zealand. It was a failure that hastened the departure of coach Vlatko Andonovski.

The Americans come to Paris under the leadership of the British former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes.

The 47-year-old raised eyebrows when she omitted Alex Morgan, one of the leading players in the sides that won the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.

 “It was a tough decision of course,” said Hayes of the move to discard the 35-year-old striker. “Especially considering Alex’s history and record with this team but I felt I wanted to go in another direction and selected other players.”

The top two from the three groups advance to the last eight along with the two best third-placed sides.

Games will be played around France, with the semi-finals in Lyon and Marseille. However, the gold-medal match will be in Paris on 10 August.

Chaos

On Wednesday night in Marseille, France’s men began their tilt for a second title with a 3-0 victory over the United States.

Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring on the hour mark and eight minutes later set up Michael Olise to double the advantage.

Defender Loic Badé added the gloss in the closing stages. France will also take on Guinea and New Zealand in Group A.

Elsewhere in the opening round of games in the men’s tournament, in Group B Morocco shocked Argentina 2-1 in a tie that took nearly four hours to complete at the Stade ­Geoffroy-­Guichard in Saint-Étienne,

Cristian Medina thought he had salvaged a 2-2 draw for Argentina when he scored in second-half stoppage-time. The strike prompted a pitch invasion and forced the referee to take the players off the field.

Play was halted while the stadium was emptied and when the teams returned to the pitch nearly two hours later, the goal was ruled out for offside by the video assistant referees.

“We spent about an hour and a half in the dressing room where they never told us what was going to happen,” Argentina boss Javier Mascherano complained after the game.

“The Moroccan captains didn’t want to play, we didn’t want to continue, and fans threw things at us. It’s the biggest circus I’ve ever seen in my life. I don’t think the game should be played for three minutes after an hour and a half.”

In the rugby sevens, France will continue their push for a place in the last eight with a final pool match against Fiji.

On Wednesday, France launched their campaign with a 12-12 draw against the United States. It was followed by a 19-12 victory over Uruguay.

“On the eve of the Olympics, this operation demonstrates that different players in France and abroad are mobilised to fight against all forms of cybercrime,” Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement posted on social media platform LinkedIn.

She said investigators were targeting a network of bots suspected of infecting computers with PlugX malware and of stealing data from them “notably for purposes of espionage”.

She said analysts and investigators had managed to take control of a server that was controlling millions of the infected computers and were administering a fix.

Ransomware attacks

They launched the operation on July 18 and it is expected to last several months, having already aided victims in several European countries, the statement said.

According to the statement, “several million infected machines” were found worldwide, “including 3,000 in France.” 

It did not cite a specific threat to the Paris Olympics. But separately, the French government’s cyber security agency warned last week that ransomware attacks will be “inevitable” during the Games, which officially open Friday.

• France deploys crisis cell to deal with fallout of major cyberattack

(With newswires)

The Franco-Dutch airline had already warned in early July that the Games would hammer revenues as many tourists avoided one of the world’s most visited cities during the crowded competitions.

But the negative impact for the quarter is now set at €200 million euros, above the €160-180 million forecast a few weeks ago, the carrier said in a statement.

For June alone, the impact of lost ticket sales was estimated at €40 million.

As a result, second-quarter profit stood at €165 million, well below the €308 million estimated by an average of analyst forecasts by FactSet.

“The second quarter of 2024 confirmed an increasingly challenging environment for aviation,

with rising fuel prices and a continued pressure on costs. In this context, KLM and Transavia

delivered a stable yet sluggish performance, while Air France was in addition impacted by

exceptional events, including the negative effect of the Olympic Games in June,” according to Benjamin Smith, CEO of the Group, quoted by a press release.

The quarterly profit was also just over one-fourth of the €612 million booked in the same quarter last year, even as revenues rose 4.3 percent over the period to €7.95 billion.

The airline cited higher fuel and salary costs as also weighing on profits, even as traffic increased by 4.4 percent over the year to 25.7 million passengers.

In response, it lowered its forecast of capacity in available seat kilometres (ASK,) a key profitability metric for money generated per flight, to growth of four percent, down from five percent previously.

And after a hiring freeze imposed after a net loss of €522 million euros in the first quarter, it will now also cut advertising budgets and trim non-essential spending by 20 percent.

• Air France-KLM reports worse than expected financial results as costs soar

(With newswires)

The decision was taken by members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during a formal session in Paris.

France was the only candidate proposing to host the 2030 Games, but funding has been in question because there is no government in place following inconclusive snap elections.

‘Financial commitment’

The decision came after President Emmanuel Macron told IOC members that he would ask France’s next prime minister – yet to be named from ongoing talks to form a new government – to make a “financial commitment” and “guarantee” for hosting the Games.

He also promised to create an Olympic law.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “President Macron and all stakeholders in French Alps 2030 have today reiterated their full commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2030.

“We have full confidence in France to organise an outstanding edition of the Olympic Winter Games, with the same creativity, imagination and flair we are currently experiencing at Paris 2024.”

• French Alps the only bidder to host 2030 Winter Olympics
• Fillon Maillet caps second gold medal for France in Beijing Olympics

Deadlines set

A deadline of 1 October was set by the IOC for the next French prime minister to sign a document that will honour the key promises for the 2030 project.

The French national assembly will then have to ratify the document by 1 March 2025.

Macron also said France wanted to show “the rest of the world that the Winter Games are not just history – and we are proud to be part of it – but part of our future”.

Salt Lake City in the United States was also formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics this Wednesday following another vote by the IOC, which gives Utah its second Games after hosting the event in 2002.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milan, while the 2028 Summer Games will be hosted by Los Angeles.

(with newswires) 

Prosecutors said Tuesday that the man, born in 1984, was held in custody and placed under judicial investigation on suspicion of “organising events likely to lead to destabilisation during the Olympic Games”.

An investigation has reportedly been opened into “passing intelligence to a foreign power in order to arouse hostilities in France”, adding that the crime was punishable by up to 30 years in jail.

Prosecutors said a visit to the man’s home – at the request of the interior ministry – had uncovered evidence of the suspected plans.

They did not give any details of the alleged plot, except to say that it was not terrorist in nature, and that specialist anti-terrorist prosecutors were not following the case.

‘Access denied’

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told Paris Match magazine on Tuesday that the authorities have investigated over a million people, including athletes, coaches, journalists, volunteers, security guards and even local residents near event locations ahead of the Olympics.

Of those, 4,360 were denied access to the Games, with people close to Darmanin saying some 880 were barred over suspicions of foreign interference.

• France says multiple Olympic accreditation requests rejected over security fears

• France claims Russian interference over Star of David graffiti in Paris

In recent months, several high-profile stunts have raised suspicion that foreign actors are trying to influence French public opinion or stoke divisions, notably about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or Israel’s campaign in Gaza after the 7 October attack by Hamas.

They include dummy coffins labelled “French soldiers in Ukraine” left by the Eiffel Tower in June and red hands tagged on Paris’s main Holocaust memorial in May.

In October, soon after Hamas’s attack, Stars of David were tagged on buildings in the Paris region, with two Moldovans suspected to be working for the Russian FSB security service later arrested.

(with newswires)

As the Israeli team settled into the Athletes’ Village, the IOC studied a letter from the Palestine Olympic Committee asking for a ban on Israel, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter, sent days before Friday’s opening ceremony, “emphasised that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict”.

It reads: “Approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions”.

• France says multiple Olympic accreditation requests rejected over security fears

But IOC president Thomas Bach indicated that he would not be drawn into “political business”. 

He added, “The position of the IOC is very clear. We have two National Olympic Committees, that is the difference with the world of politics, and in this respect both have been living in peaceful co-existence,” he told a press conference in Paris.

“The Palestinian NOC has greatly benefitted. Palestine is not a recognised member state of the UN but the NOC is a recognised National Olympic Committee enjoying the equal rights and opportunities like all the other NOCs.”

‘Israeli athletes are welcome’

The Palestinian call highlights how the rising death toll in Gaza – 39,090, according to the latest estimate from the Hamas-run health ministry – and the growing humanitarian crisis is impacting the Paris Games.

Some left-wing French politicians have also called for Israel athletes to be barred in the same way as Russian and Belarussian athletes have been stripped of the right to compete under their national colours over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

• Olympic security jitters rise as French police deal with string of attacks

“Israeli athletes are welcome in our country,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.

“They must be able to compete under their colours because the Olympic movement has decided it,” he told France 2 television in an interview, adding that it was “France’s responsibility to provide them with security”.

“I condemn in the strongest possible way all those who create risks for these athletes and implicitly threaten them,” he said.

This comes as Israel’s National Security Council has issued a travel warning to Israelis attending the Olympics, underlining that jihadist groups have reportedly been calling for Jews and Jewish sites to be targeted during the games. 

In a live interview with broadcaster France 2 on Tuesday evening, Macron emphasized that the various parties within the divided parliament need to unite to form a broad coalition, particularly after the conclusion of the Paris Olympic Games.

He said: “Of course we need to be concentrated on the [Olympic] Games until mid-August”.

“From then… it will be my responsibility to name a prime minister and entrust them with the task of forming a government, with the broadest backing possible,” he said.

Macron surprised the nation by dissolving parliament and calling snap elections, with the second round of voting on 7 July producing a lower-house National Assembly with no clear majority.

• Macron urges mainstream coalition after election, angering leftist alliance

NFP alliance

The left-wing NFP alliance emerged as the largest grouping with 193 seats, against 164 for Macron’s centrists and 143 for the far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies.

Judging themselves the winners with the most seats, leftist parties have butted heads for weeks over a prospective prime minister.

They finally came up with a consensus candidate, little-known economist and senior civil servant Lucie Castets, just before Macron’s Tuesday prime-time TV appearance.

Working for the Paris city government, Castets is a total unknown to the wider public.

The 37-year-old told French news agency AFP she had accepted the nomination “with great humility but also great conviction”, believing herself a “serious and credible candidate” for PM.

Castets added that one of her priorities would be to “repeal the pension reform” that Macron pushed through last year, triggering widespread protests and discontent, as well as a “major tax reform so everyone pays their fair share”.

Comfort zones

It is Macron himself who must nominate any new prime minister.

When presidents have seen the opposition take control of parliament in the past, they have accepted prime ministers put forward by the new majority.

But any French government needs to be able to survive a confidence vote in the chamber or risk immediate ejection.

That leaves the situation unclear when no single bloc or alliance can marshal control of the chamber.

• Surprise election win for left-green coalition plunges France into uncertainty

“The question is what majority can emerge from the Assembly so that a French government can pass reforms, pass a budget and move the country forward?” Macron told France 2.

It was up to parties to “get out of their comfort zones and work out compromises. It’s not a dirty word,” he added.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his ministers remain in place in a caretaker capacity.

‘Worst kind of politics’

 Left-wing leaders were quick to denounce Macron’s position.

The president “wants to impose his republican front on us by force”, said Jean-Luc Melenchon, figurehead of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, referring to a decades-old strategy of France’s mainstream parties coming together to box out the far right.

Parties made temporary alliances for the second round to do just that on 7 July, stopping the RN from achieving an overall majority.

But Macron has lumped together LFI with the RN as “extreme” in repeated public statements, calling after the elections for a broad governing coalition that would effectively exclude both.

He sees parliament’s centre of gravity further to the right and has already struck deals with the diminished conservative Republicans party for key positions in parliament, such as the speaker’s chair.

Macron “is attempting a shameful misappropriation” of the election result, said Olivier Faure, head of the Socialist Party.

“When you call elections at the risk of causing chaos, you respect the result. Denial is the worst policy that leads to the worst kind of politics,” he said.

(with newswires)

Cancelling Macron’s key reform – which is aimed at protecting the state’s finances and boosting productivity – is one of the main projects of France’s left-wing camp which emerged as the strongest force from snap parliamentary elections last month while falling short of a majority.

“We will, today, put down a legal proposition to cancel the pension reforms,” said Mathilde Panot, who heads France Unbowed in the lower house of parliament, on France Inter radio.

The reform which pushes legal retirement age from 62 to 64, resulted in violent street protests last year, due to widespread opposition from workers.

Parliamentary deadlock

LFI’s bill, which is unlikely to be voted on before September, would need the support of lawmakers beyond the New Popular Front (NFP) left-wing coalition to pass.

The NFP – which bring together Socialists, Communists, Greens and the France Unbowed – has more than 190 seats in the National Assembly. 

The right-wing National Rally party, which holds 143 seats, had also campaigned on lowering the retirement age while Macron’s centrist bloc (164 seats) and other centre-right politicians said they would oppose such a move.

What is France’s new caretaker government and what will it mean?

France is in a state of parliamentary deadlock since Macron’s decision to call the election, with the current government likely to carry out its functions throughout the summer in a caretaker capacity.

Despite days of negotiations, the NPF alliance has still not managed to name a consensus candidate for prime minister.

Gabriel Attal – who stepped down from the role last Tuesday – will oversee daily affairs with restricted powers until a new government is named.

While Macron has not set a deadline for this process, he said on Monday he was hoping for a “political truce” during the Olympic Games.

Macron is set to elaborate on his political vision on Tuesday evening during a televised interview.

(with Reuters)

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo said early on Wednesday they will constructively participate in the talks to achieve “a comprehensive ceasefire across the country and facilitate humanitarian access to all those in need.”

“We reaffirm our firm stance which is the insistence on saving lives, stopping the fighting, and paving the way for a peaceful, negotiated political solution that restores the country to civilian rule and the path of democratic transition,” Daglo said in a statement, shared on social media.

The talks will include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers, Blinken said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia will be a co-host for the discussions, he added.

“The scale of death, suffering, and destruction in Sudan is devastating. This senseless conflict must end,” Blinken said, calling on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to attend the talks and approach them constructively.

Fifteen months of conflict

The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 and has since forced almost 10 million people from their homes, sparked warnings of famine and waves of ethnically-driven violence blamed largely on the RSF.

• Call for sanctions amid claims of ethnic cleansing in Sudan’s West Darfur

Talks in Jeddah between the army and RSF that were sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia broke down at the end of last year.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday that the goal of the talks in Switzerland was to build on work from Jeddah and try to move the talks to the next phase.

“We just want to get the parties back to the table, and what we determined is that bringing the parties, the three host nations and the observers together is the best shot that we have right now at getting the nationwide cessation of violence,” Miller said.

 (with Reuters)

Protesters marched on different streets in the capital Kampala on Tuesday shouting slogans and holding placards denouncing corruption by lawmakers.

At least 42 protesters were charged and remanded when they appeared at a magistrate’s court in Kampala late on Tuesday, Bernard Oundo, president of Uganda Law Society, who was heading a team of lawyers representing the suspects, said on Wednesday.

The charges outlined various offences including being “idle and disorderly” and being a “common nuisance”, the charge sheet produced in court said.

They pleaded not guilty and were ordered to return to court at different dates between 30 July and 6 August.

New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said the arrests demonstrated the government of President Yoweri Museveni‘s “lack of respect for people’s right to protest and express themselves.”

“Instead of being arrested and blocked from protesting, those people should have been given a platform and listened to,” Oryem Nyeko, senior Africa researcher at HRW said.

The police spokesperson did not answer repeated calls for comment.

Opposition leaders and rights activists say embezzlement and misuse of government funds are widespread in Uganda.

• Uganda police surround opposition leader’s party HQ ahead of protests

They have long accused Museveni of failing to prosecute corrupt senior officials who are politically loyal or related to him.

Museveni has repeatedly denied condoning corruption and says whenever there is sufficient evidence, culprits including lawmakers and even ministers are prosecuted.

Ahead of Tuesday’s march the military and police deployed heavily across the city seeking to deter the protest.

(with Reuters)

Preliminary data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) showed the daily global average temperature was 17.15 degrees Celsius on Monday, the warmest day in recorded history.

This was 0.06 Celsius hotter than the day before on 21 July, which itself broke by a small margin the all-time average high temperature set only a year before.

“This is exactly what climate science told us would happen if the world continued burning coal, oil and gas,” said Joyce Kimutai, a climate scientist from Imperial College London, on Wednesday.

“And it will continue getting hotter until we stop burning fossil fuels and reach net zero emissions.”

Copernicus, which uses satellite data to update global air and sea temperatures close to real time, said its figures were provisional and final values may differ very slightly.

It anticipated daily records could keep toppling as summer peaks in the northern hemisphere, and the planet endures an extraordinary stretch of unprecedented heat on the back of the hottest-ever year.

The monitor on Tuesday said global temperatures were expected to drop soon though there could be further fluctuations.

Global warming is causing longer, stronger and more frequent extreme weather events, and this year has been marked by major disasters across the globe.

The historic heat has been felt on many continents including Asia, North America and Europe, where heatwaves and wildfires have torn a path of destruction in recent weeks.

Fires have also ripped through the Arctic, which is warming much faster than elsewhere on the planet, while winter temperatures were well above normal in Antarctica.

‘Horrific temperatures’ 

Copernicus said it was less the fact daily temperature records were being rewritten than a broader pattern of never-before-seen warming that greatly worries climate scientists.

Every month since June 2023 has eclipsed its own temperature record compared to the same month in previous years, something never before seen.

The heat witnessed on Sunday and Monday only slightly exceeded the July 2023 record, but was far above the previous high of 16.8C set in August 2016.

Copernicus said that 16.8C record has been smashed 57 times since July 2023, around the time global temperatures began a steady rise into what scientists have called unchartered territory.

“The much used term ‘unprecedented’ no longer describes the horrific temperatures we are experiencing,” Christiana Figueres, a former head of the UN’s climate change body, said on Wednesday.

Copernicus records go back to 1940 but other sources of climate data such as ice cores, tree rings and coral skeletons allow scientists to expand their conclusions using evidence from much deeper in the past.

Climate scientists say the period being lived through right now is likely the warmest the earth has been for the last 100,000 years, back at the start of the last Ice Age.

The burning of fossil fuels is the primary driver of climate change and emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases keep rising despite global efforts to slow rising temperatures.

Copernicus on Tuesday said 2024 could pass 2023 as the hottest year on record but it was “too early to predict with confidence”.

(AFP)

Crowds of people were gathered at the site of the tragedy, some clawing through the mud with shovels or their bare hands, according to images posted on social media by the local authority.

The death toll rose to more than 229 on Tuesday afternoon, local authorities said, as quoted by French news agency AFP.

Earlier, the government-owned Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) said 157 people had died in the landslide in the Geze-Gofa district in an isolated mountainous region in the South Ethiopia regional state.

Five people had been pulled alive from the mud and were receiving treatment at medical facilities, the EBC reported more than 24 hours after the disaster struck on Monday morning.

The broadcaster quoted local administrator Dagemawi Ayele as saying that most of the victims were buried after they went to help the inhabitants of a house hit by an initial landslide.

“Those who rushed for live-saving work have perished in the disaster including the locality’s administrator, teachers, health professionals and agricultural professionals,” EBC quoted Dagemawi as saying.

Search continues

Earlier, the Gofa zone Communications Affairs Department, quoting local official Habtamu Fetena, said 146 people had lost their lives.

Habtamu said the bodies of 96 men and 50 women had been found, adding that the search was “continuing vigorously” and warning that the number of dead could increase.

Images posted on social media by the Gofa authority showed residents carrying bodies of the dead on makeshift stretchers, some wrapped in plastic sheeting.

Global climate change driving drought in Horn of Africa

Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with around 120 million people, is highly vulnerable to climate disasters including flooding and drought.

African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat said “our hearts and prayers” were with the families of the victims.

“We stand in strong solidarity with the people and Government of Ethiopia as rescue efforts continue to find the missing and assist the displaced,” he said on X.

Displacement due to flooding

Gofa is roughly 450 kilometres from the capital Addis Ababa, a drive of about 10 hours, and is located north of the Maze National Park.

“The area of the disaster is rural, remote and very mountainous,” an Ethiopian refugee living in Kenya who said he is from a district neighbouring Geze-Gofa told French news agency AFP.

Why winning the climate fight in Africa is a win for the world

“The soil in that area isn’t strong, so when heavy rains and landslides happen the soil immediately runs down to the ground below.”

The South Ethiopia regional state has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN’s humanitarian response agency OCHA.

It said in May that “floods impacted over 19,000 people in several zones, displacing over a thousand and causing damage to livelihoods and infrastructure”.

(with AFP)

Hayden Bushell is clocking up his third summer Games as procurement manager for the Australian Olympic team – a job he is visibly proud to carry out.

He began work on the design and manufacturing of the uniforms and equipment for delegates as soon as the Tokyo Olympics wrapped up in 2021, he told RFI.

Unlike most other countries, Australia chose to order its team supplies in Asia and have everything shipped directly to France to facilitate logistics.

The nine shipping containers, containing hundreds of boxes, arrived at the end of June and the contents were housed in a municipal gymnasium on loan from the town of Suresnes, 10 kilometres west of Paris.

Aussie green and gold

In total, around 1,000 athletes and officials will be kitted out with uniforms, shoes and accessories in Australia’s trademark green and gold.

“It’s one of the biggest delegations Australia has ever sent overseas,” Bushell says.

Of the 460 sportspeople, 256 of them are women and over 50 percent are first-timers to the Games. They will compete in 33 different sports at the Paris Olympics until 11 August.

That’s not counting the members of the Australian Paralympics team and their delegation, who have their own logistics operations.

80 items per athlete

Thanks to the latest technology, tracking the items on their journey to Paris has been relatively smooth, Bushell says, adding that the customs-free access France granted Olympic organisers made things much easier.

But other tasks have to be done manually.

To prepare each delegate’s kit, Bushell recruited a team of 10 local French workers to pack around 80 items into two different sports bags – a small white suitcase for July and then a large green wheely bag for August.

Each athlete also has a special outfit for the opening and closing ceremonies, which are zipped into labelled suit bags and kept separate.

• France to bring artisanal know-how to 2024 Olympic Games
• Architecture students design Olympic fan zones for Paris suburbs

Everyone also receives a pair of Asics trainers in pale yellow and white, made from recyclable material, says Bushell. These are for wearing around the village or on the podium, if they win a medal.

At the end of the Games, the athletes and officials are free to keep their items, although some may choose to swap them with athletes from different countries or give away souvenirs to their families or fans.

“Hopefully it’s a good keepsake and a good memory that they can look back on once they retire and see all their achievements,” says Bushell. 

“We hope they wear it with pride and are proud to wear the green and gold.”

The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureat said that since becoming Paris’s go-to guru on a more sustainable Olympic Games, world football’s governing body Fifa had approached him to address a regional conference on the issue of social impact projects.

The 84-year-old added that the team behind the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina had also contacted him over ways to replicate and implement some of the schemes that had flourished in Paris.

“Paris has been a lightning rod,” beamed Yunus. “It has been attracting attention. The people in Milan said: ‘We know what they’re doing in Paris, so why shouldn’t we?’

“Paris was the first place,” added the veteran economist and social justice campaigner.

“Milan will have an advantage as they will be able to look and see what was done in Paris and then the people benefit from that.

“So this is how it accumulates and feeds into the next event. This is what these Olympic Games in Paris are doing … triggering the minds of people and making them creative to see how the Olympics and sports can become relevant to the people and make a permanent impact in their lives.”

Circular economy

Yunus, who arrived in the French capital Paris on Monday morning from Bangladesh with his daughter and grandson, was speaking of his hopes for sporting events to generate social projects at the headquarters of the Paris-based Maison des Canaux which links businesses that want to keep goods and products in circulation for as long as possible with public and private finance bodies.

One company assisted by Les Canaux went on to provide 11,000 recycled plastic seats that will be used during competitions at the Aquatics Centre in Saint Denis, as well as a few kilometres to the south at the La Chapelle Arena.

“They were able to guide us with our project,” said Le Pavé co-founder Marius Hamelot. “And they put us in touch with various bodies. It worked out.

“The seats was a really interesting project because it was kind of a manifesto of what we wanted to show on a national and international scale,” Hamelot told RFI.

“And we were speaking about something with both sustainable impact and social impact.”

• Man behind recycled plastic seats in Olympic venues plots ways to stop the trash

• Macron hails ‘great human chain’ behind new Olympic Aquatics Centre

Les Canaux chief, Elisa Yavchitz,  said it was crucial for the Paris Olympic Games to show that they could benefit local populations, particularly people with disabilities or those trying to find their first jobs.

“Professor Yunus has been a wonderful godfather for us,” Yavchitz added.

“He chose to support the French bid for the Olympics at a time when there were several other candidates because he knew that in France there was the fabric of the social and solidarity economy as well as large companies that had worked with him on the issue of microcredit.

“He already knew enough about France to know that it would be possible.”

Tension at home

On Monday afternoon, Yunus was guest of honour at the inauguration of a square on the northern fringes of Paris that will bear his name.

“It’s not just for me and my family, it’s for all of the people in Bangladesh to see that something like this can happen in Paris,” said Yunus.

“It’s a shame that such a celebration happens with all that is going on at home,” he added.

Before leaving Bangladesh for France on Sunday, Yunus called on world leaders and the United Nations to do everything within their powers to end the violence that has left nearly 200 people dead.

“The last four days has been like a prison,” he told journalists in Paris.

“Twenty-hour curfews and the death toll at nearly 200 and the hospitals have not been giving out any information.”

Government officials have repeatedly blamed opposition politicians and student leaders for the unrest which exploded during demonstrations against admission quotas for plum jobs in the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Kagame won 99.18 percent of the total ballots cast, the National Electoral Commission said in a statement late Monday, giving him another five years in power in the small East African country. 

On social media, Rwanda’s leader thanked his international supporters for their congratulations.

The outcome of the 15 July poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation as de facto leader and then president since the 1994 genocide.

• Kagame ahead in Rwanda’s presidential election with 99 percent of the vote

Only two candidates were authorised to run against him in the presidential race out of a total eight applicants, with several prominent Kagame critics barred.

Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza won 0.5 percent against 0.32 percent for independent Philippe Mpayimana.

Opponent Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza wasn’t allow to take part in the polls as a candidate.

• Listen to our Spotlight on Africa podcast: Rwanda’s 2024 elections explained

In the parliamentary elections, the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and its allies secured 37 of the 53 seats in the Chamber of Deputies which are elected by direct suffrage.

This is down from 40 in the former parliament.

Habineza’s party retained two seats, while the remainder were won by RPF allies.

Twenty-four seats in the 80-member chamber are reserved for women, two for youth and one for people with disabilities, voted by indirect elections.

Human rights defenders criticised the Soviet-like score though, like the former head of Human Rights Watch and professor at Princeton SPIA, Kenneth Roth, who wrote on social media that Kagame wouldn’t allow any “serious political opponent” as he was “afraid of the free judgment of his people.”

(with AFP)

Humourously portrayed in the hit animated film Ratatouille, the French capital’s abundant rat population is no joke for the city’s residents – and could be an embarrassment as the Olympics spotlight falls on Paris.

“All of the Olympic sites and celebration areas were analysed (for rats) before the Games,” deputy mayor Anne-Claire Boux, who has responsibility for public health, told French news agency AFP in an interview.

As well as ordering a deep clean to remove any food residues that might tempt the scurriers from their underground lairs, the mayor’s rodent specialists also worked to close up exit points from the sewers around the sites.

“Where there were areas with lots of rats we put traps in place ahead of the Games,” Boux continued, adding that both mechanical rat-traps and chemical solutions were used to reduce troublesome populations.

The park behind the Eiffel Tower, where the beach volleyball is set to take place, and the Louvre gardens, where the Olympic cauldron is set to burn, are popular picnic spots – and previously rat infested.

“Ultimately, no one should aim to exterminate Paris’s rats, and they’re useful in maintaining the sewers,” she added. “The point is that they should stay in the sewers.”

A feature of French literature

Paris vermin, a feature in French literature from Les Miserables to the Phantom of the Opera, are frequently drawn into a contemporary debate about cleanliness in the French capital.

Current mayor Anne Hidalgo, a Socialist who relies on support from the Greens, is regularly accused by her conservative critics of failing to keep the capital free from the scourges of rubbish, rodents and dog excrement.

A viral social media campaign in 2021 called #SaccageParis (#TrashedParis) led to residents posting pictures of overflowing bins, badly maintained street furniture or overgrown green spaces that hurt the city’s cultivated reputation for elegance.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo takes plunge in Seine, signalling river is ready for Olympic events

The city unveiled a “manifesto for beauty” afterwards in response to the criticism.

Ahead of the Olympics, its boulevards and squares have been thoroughly spruced up, with many historic buildings given a makeover.

Boux stressed that rat problems were first and foremost caused by food being left out on the ground, or from overflowing waste bins, many of which are being changed around Paris to new rat-proof versions.

“The most important thing is that the bins are sealed and closed,” she said.

Olympic bonuses for cleaners

The city’s rodent exterminators – known as the “Smash” team – have also had an advisory role to the Paris organising committee, suggesting ways to design their sites to keep them clean and orderly.

Responsibility for waste removal and street-cleaning will fall to the city’s 7,500-strong cleaning and collection teams, whose three-week strike last year led to an estimated 10,000 tonnes of garbage pile up in the streets.

French police rally to demand better pay during Paris Olympics

They are set to earn bonuses of up to €1,900 for working through the Olympic period, while private contractors are also set to reinforce efforts to keep the city clean.

“I’m not at all worried (about rats),” deputy mayor in charge of waste, Antoine Guillou, told AFP. “On the contrary, the Games will help us show definitively that this idea that you run into lots of rats in Paris is false.

“There are some, we deal with them, but they’re not an issue specific to Paris nor on the scale that is sometimes suggested in a caricatural way,” he said.

(with AFP)

Watson was arrested in Greenland – an autonomous territory belonging to Denmark – on Sunday, and pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, he will be held until 15 August.

His ship had docked to refuel on its way to “intercept” Japan’s new whaling factory vessel in the North Pacific, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).

French screen legend turned animal rights activist Bardot told Le Parisien in an interview published on Monday that “the Japanese government… launched a global manhunt” against Watson who was “caught in the trap”.

“We must do everything to save Paul,” she said.

Outrage

Over 300,000 people have signed a petition in support of Watson, including French environmental activist Hugo Clément.

“We are deeply outraged that a man who dedicated his life to protecting endangered animals is today arrested at the request of a state that does not respect the law,” he told the press.

The statement calls on French President Emmanuel Macron “to contact the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, to demand the immediate release of Paul Watson.”

Watson, who featured in the reality TV series Whale Wars, founded the Sea Shepherd and the CPWF organisations, and has drawn attention for direct action tactics, including confrontations with whaling ships at sea.

Red Notice since 2012

“The Japanese arrest warrant is illegal. It violates all international treaties on human rights,” according to François Zimeray, one of Watson’s lawyers, judging that in the event of extradition, Denmark would “violate its own Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights”.

CPWF said it believed his arrest was in connection with an Interpol Red Notice related to Watson’s previous anti-whaling activities in the Antarctic.

• UN adopts first-ever treaty to protect high seas marine life

Japan’s government made no comment but a spokeswoman for the Japanese coastguard told French news agency AFP on Monday it was aware of the arrest.

“The coastguard will continue to take appropriate steps based on coordination with related entities,” the spokeswoman said.

The Red Notice was issued in 2012, with an Interpol statement at the same saying Watson was wanted by Japan on charges of causing damage and injury in two incidents in the Antarctic Ocean in 2010 against a Japanese whaling ship.

(with AFP)

Top jobs within the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s parliament, as well as the heads of its influential committees, are traditionally divided between lawmakers drawn from a mix of different parties.

But after MPs voted to fill the posts at the end of last week, the National Rally (RN) came away with nothing after mainstream parties joined forces to deny it plum roles.

Marine Le Pen, the party’s representative in parliament, accused its opponents of “scheming” that “trampled on democracy”.

The National Assembly “has become a lawless zone”, she told Le Parisien newspaper.

Division of power

Appointing the new Assembly’s internal leadership, known as the Bureau, was the first order of business when parliament opened its debut session last Thursday.

The powerful speaker’s chair was filled by Yaël Braun-Pivet, who held it in the previous legislature.

An ally of President Emmanuel Macron, she was re-elected as president of the house thanks to a pact between his centrists and the mainstream right.

Her six vice-presidents are drawn from the right, left and centre (two each).

Three financial administrator jobs are divided equally between the same camps. 

Nine of the 12 secretaries that make up the remainder of the Bureau come from the left. They are joined by two independents and one centrist.

Meanwhile the eight parliamentary committees are predominantly chaired by Macron’s allies, who took six of the posts, with the remaining two going to left-wingers.

Notably Éric Coquerel of the hard-left France Unbowed party held on to the top job on the powerful finance committee, a post the RN had had in its sights.

Gains lost

The RN’s opponents called for a united front to deny the far-right party a place in parliament’s leadership, as they did in the snap elections that kept it from winning enough seats to form a government.

Those polls, which concluded two weeks ago, relegated the RN and its allies to third place behind left-wing alliance the New Popular Front and Macron’s centrist grouping Ensemble.

Yet while each of those camps is made up of several smaller factions, the RN is the biggest single party in the Assembly and leads the largest unified parliamentary group. 

French election leaves far-right National Rally down but not out

With 126 seats in the new parliament compared to the 89 it held before, the RN had been counting on increasing its presence in the executive. 

Two of its members served as vice-presidents in the previous legislature, a first for the party, obtained in recognition of its growing clout.

In this weekend’s votes, RN lawmakers voted for candidates from other factions in accordance with parliamentary convention, one of the party’s MPs, Emeric Salmon, told RFI.

“Other groups should learn from our practices rather than denouncing them absurdly,” he declared.

While the left announced it wouldn’t vote for any RN candidates, Macron’s centrist bloc called on its MPs to shun both the far-right party and the hard-left France Unbowed.

What is France’s new caretaker government and what will it mean?

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr – tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution – told by the people it affects.

You do not need expensive video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine. And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry.  You can also write to us at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr, and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes on 12 September, but you know how “time flies”, so get to work now! We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI”  has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bi-lingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 22 June, I asked you a question about the world’s largest arms show – the Eurosatory weapons show – which was just ending up here in France. RFI English journalist Jan van der Made went out to take a look, and wrote an article about it for you: “Israel and Russia barred as world’s largest arms show opens in Paris”.

You were to re-read Jan’s article and send in the answer to this question: why is the arms fair called “Eurosatory”?

The answer is, to quote Jan’s article: “Eurosatory is named after Satory, a town near Versailles that is home to Paris’s 24th infantry regiment and the GIGN (an elite French crisis intervention group) headquarters.

The first Eurosatory show was held there in 1967, but due to its expansion over the years, the show moved to the Villepinte exhibition halls north of the French capital.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is your favorite food, and why?”, which was suggested by Momotaz Begum Nazu from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: Riaz Ahmad Khan, the president of the RFI Listeners Club in Sheikhupura, Pakistan. Riaz is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations Riaz, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and RFI Listeners Club member Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India.

Last but not least, there are RFI English listeners Nilu Dhakal from Mechi, Nepal, and Laily Akhter Nessa from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The theme from The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini; “No Apparent Reason” by Alex Norris, performed by Ralph Irizarry and Timbalaye; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Canon” by Siouxsie Sioux, Budgie, and Steven Severin, performed by Siouxsie and The Banshees.

Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Rwanda heads to the polls to likely re-elect Kagame for fourth term”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 9 September to enter this week’s quiz. The winners will be announced on the 14 September podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

Erdogan’s call for talks comes after widespread riots against Syrian refugees in Turkish cities. He aims to facilitate the return of Syrians who have fled to Turkey since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.

Soli Ozel, an international relations expert at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, says the situation is volatile.

“The country is like a tinderbox regarding refugees, especially as economic conditions deteriorate. Syrians have become easy scapegoats, and there’s widespread frustration with their presence, justified or not. This has become a significant political issue,” Ozel said.

He also stresses that key to any solution is a credible plan for the orderly departure of Syrian refugees to reassure the Turkish public.

Erdogan’s party suffered losses in local elections in March, largely due to growing hostility towards over three million Syrian refugees in Turkey and rampant inflation approaching triple digits. These factors have intensified pressure on Erdogan to address the refugee situation.

• Turkey vows to keep borders shut despite new exodus of Syrians

Russia’s position

Russia, under Putin, supports Erdogan’s diplomatic outreach, seeing it as a potential end to Turkish backing of Syrian rebels and a conclusion to the civil war.

This aligns with Moscow’s priorities, since resolving the Syrian conflict would allow Russia to redirect military resources to Ukraine.

However, Turkey’s extensive military presence in Syria complicates potential talks. Turkish forces are engaged in operations against Kurdish groups, which Ankara claims are linked to domestic separatists. The Turkish military also protects Syrian rebel forces along the border.

Aydin Selcen, a former Turkish diplomat and now a foreign policy analyst with Medyascope, suggests that Ankara’s willingness to negotiate could provide Syria with an opportunity to secure Turkish withdrawal.

“Assad relies heavily on external support and even internal factions” he said.

“Unable to forcibly remove Turkish troops, Assad’s only option is to request their withdrawal as a precondition for talks.”

Despite this, Erdogan insists on maintaining Turkey’s military presence until Syria can effectively secure its borders.

Sinan Ulgen of the Istanbul-based Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies said: “Turkey’s primary concern is preventing the border region from becoming a security threat post-withdrawal. Turkey needs assurances from Syria before considering troop removal.”

• Turkey’s Syrian refugees face local hostility as economic problems mount

Humanitarian crisis?

The news of Erdogan’s pursuit of dialogue with Damascus sparked unrest in rebel-held northeast Syria, with protesters targeting Turkish bases out of fear of potential abandonment by Ankara.

Erdogan maintains that any agreement with Damascus would safeguard returning Syrian refugees and rebels. However, Fabrice Balanche, a regional expert from Lyon University, warns of an impending humanitarian crisis.

“If the regime regains control of rebel areas, most residents will attempt to flee to Turkey. Turkey cannot accommodate four million additional refugees,” Balanche cautions.

“These people are acutely aware that remaining under regime control, even with promised amnesties, puts them at risk of targeting by security forces, conscription, or worse. There’s no real protection.”

Despite ongoing tensions in Turkey over the Syrian refugee presence, Erdogan is seeking Putin’s assistance to soften Assad’s stance on negotiations.

The Turkish leader has proposed hosting a trilateral summit this summer, though there’s been no positive response so far.

The current situation highlights the complex interplay of regional politics, humanitarian concerns and diplomatic manoeuvering in addressing the Syrian conflict and its far-reaching consequences.

• Syria’s Assyrians flee to Turkey

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr – tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution – told by the people it affects.

You do not need expensive video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine. And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry.  You can also write to us at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr, and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes on 12 September, but you know how “time flies”, so get to work now! We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI”  has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bi-lingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Tahmidul Alam Orin from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Welcome,Tahmidul! So glad you have joined us!

You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club – just write to me at english.service@rfi.fr and tell me you want to join, and I’ll send you a membership number. It’s that easy. When you win a Sound Kitchen quiz as an RFI Listeners Club member, you’ll receive a premium prize.

This week’s quiz: On 15 June, I asked you a question about the European Parliament elections, where the far-right National Rally party trounced President Macron’s centrist bloc. Macron then preceded to dissolve and call snap elections for France’s lower house of Parliament, which was a surprise to us all – even his Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, it seems.

You were to refer to Jessica Phelan’s article “Why did Macron call snap elections and what does it mean for France?”, and send in the answer to this question: What percentage of the votes did Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party win, and what percentage of the votes did Macron’s centrist bloc win in the European Parliament elections?

The answer is, to quote Jessica’s article: “With 31.4 percent of the vote to the Macronists’ 14.6 percent, National Rally leader Jordan Bardella called the results a “stinging rejection” of the president.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Father Steven Wara from Bamenda, Cameroon: “What do you do to help others have a secure and happy life?”   

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Jayanta is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Jayanta!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are two RFI Listeners Club members from Dhaka, Bangladesh: Monzurul Alam Ripon and Atikul Islam, who is also the president of the Narshunda Radio Listeners Family Club, and hailing from Hedehusene, Denmark, Hans Verner Lollike.

Last but not least, there’s RFI English listener Nizhom Yeasmin Kona from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The James Bond Theme written by David Arnold; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “I Love to Laugh” from the film Mary Poppins, music and lyrics written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman with George Stiles, and sung by Ed Wynn, Julie Andrews, and Dick Van Dyke, and John Coltrane’s “Naima”, performed by Eric Dolphy.

Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “What are the next steps now that France finds itself with a hung parliament?”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 26 August to enter this week’s quiz. The winners will be announced on the 31 August podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

Rwandans will cast their ballots on Monday in an election where President Paul Kagame is expected to secure another term, facing the same opponents he defeated in 2017.

Kagame, who has effectively led Rwanda since the 1994 genocide, confronts challenges from two other candidates: Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda (DGPR) and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.

The 66-year-old incumbent is lauded for steering Rwanda’s economic resurgence post-genocide, with GDP growth averaging 7.2 percent from 2012 to 2022. However, his administration faces criticism for suppressing political dissent domestically and alleged involvement in neighbouring Congo’s conflicts.

Kagame’s previous electoral victories have been overwhelming, securing over 93 percent of votes in 2003, 2010, and 2017, with his last win nearing an unprecedented 99 percent.

In contrast, his current rivals Habineza and Mpayimana garnered less than one percent each in the previous election.

Rwanda’s National Electoral Commission received a total of nine presidential candidacy applications. 

Phil Clark, Professor of International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS University of London talks to Spotlight on Africa about what’s at stake in the election.

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale. 

The recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Almaty, Kazakhstan, provided a platform for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet in person.

Their encounter was marked by a display of cordiality, with both leaders appearing at ease and Putin emphasizing the significance of their bilateral relationship.

Active engagement

Putin, standing alongside Erdogan, stated, “We continue to actively engage on crucial matters of international politics.” He further added, “Our communication is constant, and our respective ministries and departments regularly share information and align our stances on key issues.” Erdogan was observed nodding in agreement with these remarks.

• Turkey set on rebuilding bridges with China to improve trade
• How Turkey’s support for Ukraine is a double-edged sword

According to reports, a notable topic on the leaders’ agenda was Turkey’s aspiration to join BRICS, an economic alliance comprising Russia, China, and several nations from Asia, Africa, and South America. This potential membership represents a significant shift in Turkey’s international alignments.

Atilla Yesilada, a Turkey analyst at GlobalSource Partners, explains, “A core principle of BRICS is reducing the dollar’s role in mutual trade, which aligns with Turkey’s interests.” He argues that BRICS membership complements Turkey’s broader foreign policy objectives, stating, “The concept of a new platform fostering trade among geographically distant countries naturally appeals to Turkey and fits its foreign policy stance.”

Yesilada suggests that Turkey’s BRICS bid serves an additional purpose: “It signals to Putin that Turkey intends to maintain and strengthen its growing commercial ties with Russia.” This comes despite Putin’s recent cautions to Turkey regarding its efforts to improve relations with its traditional Western allies.

The Russian leader strongly supports Turkey’s BRICS membership bid. Ceren Ergenc, a China specialist at the Centre for European Policy Studies, posits that Moscow views Turkey’s potential BRICS membership as a strategic move to balance Beijing’s increasing influence within the group.

Turikey and BRICS

Putin strongly supports Turkey’s BRICS membership bid. Ceren Ergenc, a China specialist at the Centre for European Policy Studies, suggests this support is part of Moscow’s strategy to counterbalance Beijing‘s growing influence within BRICS.

Ergenc explains, “BRICS has become China’s domain, with recent membership invitations primarily extended to countries China seeks closer ties with, effectively sidelining Russia and India as the group’s other major powers.”

Turkey’s pursuit of BRICS membership coincides with its stalled EU accession process, hampered by Turkey’s non-compliance with the EU’s Copenhagen Criteria on human rights. This impasse is reportedly affecting Turkey’s trade relations with the EU. Atilla Yesilada, a Turkey analyst, notes, “Erdogan’s frustration with the EU’s lack of progress on Turkey’s accession and customs union update contributed to the BRICS bid.”

However, Yesilada argues that Turkey’s interest in BRICS transcends Erdogan’s presidency, reflecting a broader foreign policy strategy. He states, “This aligns with Turkey’s overarching policy goal, widely supported by the country’s policy establishment, of maintaining independence from any single political bloc, be it Western or Eastern.”

As Erdogan prepares to attend the NATO summit in Washington, where he’s expected to reaffirm Turkey’s Western security commitments, analysts view the BRICS bid as a clear indication that Ankara is diversifying its international partnerships beyond its traditional Western allies.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr – tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution – told by the people it affects.

You do not need expensive video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine. And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry.  You can also write to us at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr, and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes on 12 September, but you know how “time flies”, so get to work now! We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI”  has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bi-lingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it.” She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Tahmidul Alam Orin from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Welcome,Tahmidul! So glad you have joined us!

You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club – just write to me at english.service@rfi.fr and tell me you want to join, and I’ll send you a membership number. It’s that easy. When you win a Sound Kitchen quiz as an RFI Listeners Club member, you’ll receive a premium prize.

This week’s quiz: On 8 June, I asked you a question about an article we had written earlier that week about the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, China. On 4 June 1989, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army broke up protests by pro-democracy students in the Square. According to various reports, anywhere from hundreds to thousands of students were killed.

One of the student leaders, Wang Dan, after two periods of imprisonment in China, was allowed to emigrate to the US. He currently lives in San Francisco, where he leads the Dialogue China think tank.

He was in Paris recently and came to RFI for an interview, which you read in our article “Tiananmen Square at 35: top Chinese dissident looks back”.

In the interview, we asked Wang Dan: “How did the 4th of June 1989 change China?”  What does he answer? That was your question.

The answer is, as Wang Dan explained: “June 4th is a turning point in China’s contemporary history. There are two Chinas: the China of before 1989 and the China of after. The main difference is [that] before 1989, the state and the society cooperated. That’s why we took to the streets: we as, a representative society, go to the street and ask to cooperate with the government to promote democracy. There’s no difference between “us”. We think we are all “us”. We all take responsibility for this country.

But after 1989, many Chinese people gave up on this idea. “You” are the government. “We” are the normal Chinese people. There’s no more “us”. It’s just “you” and “me”. After 1989, the Chinese people gave up the responsibility for the country’s future because they thought that they could not do anything and that it is the government’s responsibility to change China, not the people’s.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the ideal human relationship?” It was suggested by Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India.

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Karuna Kanta Pal from West Bengal, India. Congratulations, Karuna.   

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in West Bengal, India, and RFI Listeners Club member Kashif Khalil from Faisalabad, Pakistan.   

Last but not least, there are RFI English listeners John Yemi Sanday Turay from Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Rafiq Khondaker, the president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra; “El Bueno y El Malo” composed by and performed by the brothers Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez (Hermanos Gutiérrez); “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra) by John Adams, performed by Edo de Waart and the San Fransisco Symphony. 

Do you have a music request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Jessica Phelan’s article: “The three-way factor that makes France’s election results so unusual”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 19 August to enter this week’s quiz. The winners will be announced on the 24 August podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

Madhya Pradesh is often referred to as the Heart of India. Located right in the middle of the country, the Indian region shows everything India has to offer through its abundant diversity. The IFTM trade show, which took place in Paris at the end of September, presented the perfect opportunity for travel enthusiasts to discover the region.

Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board, sat down to explain his approach to sustainable tourism.

“Post-covid the whole world has known a shift in their approach when it comes to tourism. And all those discerning travelers want to have different kinds of experiences: something offbeat, something new, something which has not been explored before.”

Through its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Shukla wants to showcase the deep history Madhya Pradesh has to offer.

“UNESCO is very actively supporting us and three of our sites are already World Heritage Sites. Sanchi is a very famous buddhist spiritual destination, Bhimbetka is a place where prehistoric rock shelters are still preserved, and Khajuraho is home to thousand year old temples with magnificent architecture.”

All in all, Shukla believes that there’s only one way forward for the industry: “Travelers must take sustainable tourism as a paradigm in order to take tourism to the next level.”

In partnership with Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board.

Also known as the Land of the Beautiful Islands, Malaysia’s landscape and cultural diversity is almost unmatched on the planet. Those qualities were all put on display at the Malaysian stand during the IFTM trade show.

Libra Hanif, director of Tourism Malaysia, explained the appeal of the country as well as the importance of promoting sustainable tourism today: “Sustainable travel is a major trend now, with the changes that are happening post-covid. People want to get close to nature, to get close to people. So Malaysia being a multicultural and diverse [country] with a lot of natural environments, we felt that it’s a good thing for us to promote Malaysia.”

Malaysia has also gained fame in recent years, through its numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include Kinabalu Park and the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley.

Green mobility has also become an integral part of tourism in Malaysia, with an increasing number of people using bikes to discover the country: “If you are a little more adventurous, we have the mountain back trails where you can cut across gazetted trails to see the natural attractions and the wildlife that we have in Malaysia,” says Hanif. “If you are not that adventurous, you’ll be looking for relaxing cycling. We also have countryside spots, where you can see all the scenery in a relaxing session.”

With more than 25,000 visitors at this IFTM trade show this year, Malaysia’s tourism board got to showcase the best the country and its people have to offer.

In partnership with Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. For more information about Malaysia, click here.