The parade, which takes place later this evening, will see up to 7,500 competitors travel down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the Seine on a flotilla of 85 boats.

Friday’s attacks were launched as the French capital was under heavy security ahead of the Games opening ceremony, with 300,000 spectators and an audience of VIPs expected at the event.

What was targeted?

Fires that affected France’s Atlantic, northern and eastern lines led to cancellations and delays at a time of particularly heavy traffic for summer holiday travel.

“Early this morning, coordinated and prepared acts of sabotage were perpetrated against installations of SNCF,” the national rail operator, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said.

SNCF chief executive Jean-Pierre Farandou said the attackers had started fires in “conduits carrying multiple (fibre-optic) cables” that relay “safety information for drivers” or control the motors for points that change rails.

Who is affected?

Around 800,000 passengers are expected to be affected over the weekend as the damage is heavy and labour-intensive to repair.

France’s rail network was expected to be busy this weekend, not only due to the Olympics but also as people return from or leave for their summer holidays.

“There are huge and serious consequences for the rail network,” added Attal.

Passenger services chief Christophe Fanichet said there were delays of 90 minutes to two hours on services between Paris and France’s north and east.

“We ask people please not to come to the station, because if you haven’t heard from us, your train won’t be running,” Fanichet told reporters.

One major branch of the network, the line to France’s southeast, was spared.

High-speed rail operator Eurostar said around one in four services across its network linking France, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany would be cancelled, including trains from Paris to London.

Others would be slower as they will run on regular lines not designed for high-speed trains.

No-fly zones and AI security measures deployed for Olympic opening ceremony

What happens now?

Farandou of SNCF said: “There’s a huge number of bundled cables. We have to repair them one by one, it’s a manual operation” requiring “hundreds of workers”.

But by early afternoon Friday, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said that some departures were going ahead, with “one in three” trains operating from Paris’s Montparnasse station, terminus of the line towards Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast.

He too urged people not to come to the station without confirmation of their trip.

At Montparnasse, passengers were waiting for information, with display boards showing delays of more than two hours.

“Normal traffic is expected to resume on Monday, July 29,” read one of the signs in the departure hall.

Paris’s RATP transport network was also operating under “increased vigilance” following the railway attacks, its chief executive Jean Castex said as he visited a control station.

Sabotage shuts down Paris Gare de l’Est station all day

Who are the culprits?

SNCF CEO Farandou said railway workers doing night maintenance in central France had spotted unauthorised people, who fled when the workers called in police.

France’s intelligence services were scrambling to determine the perpetrators of the sabotage, a security source told AFP. The arson method used resembled past attacks by extreme-left actors, the source added.

In September, arson attacks on conduits holding railway cables caused travel chaos in northern Germany, with a claim of responsibility posted to an extreme-left website.

What legal action is being taken?

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement her office had opened a probe into a suspected bid to undermine “fundamental national interests”.

Her statement described the acts of sabotage as “deliberate damage caused to sites of SNCF on the night of July 25-26, 2024.”

VIPs are arriving in the city of light for the long-awaited gala opening of the 2024 Paris Games, but Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is not be among them.

No Russian official representing Putin’s government has been invited either.

Russia – a long time Summer Olympics powerhouse – has been banned from the Paris Games in response to Putin’s war against Ukraine, now in its third year, although a tiny squad of neutral athletes will represent the country.

Ukraine has yet to announce whether President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the three-hour ceremony.

• Police arrest Russian over alleged Paris Olympics ‘destabilisation’ plot

Speaking on Wednesday, Zelensky said that the very fact that Ukraine was participating in the Games was an accomplishment in wartime and added that the athletes’ presence in Paris would help people back home maintain “normal lives”.

Ukraine is fielding a team of about 140 athletes, the smallest contingent it has sent to the Olympic Games in post-Soviet times.

Ukraine has lobbied hard, since the Russian invasion of February 2022, to ensure athletes from Russia and its closest ally Belarus were barred from taking part in the Games.

UK and US presence 

The new British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who is keen to strengthen ties with France, will be in the stands overlooking the Seine to watch the spectacular river parade.

Paris 2024 “is a big event for France but also for the UK,” said Menna Rawlings, the British ambassador to France, adding that around 500,000 tickets had been sold in the UK.

Samuel Ducroquet, France’s ambassador for Sports has declared: “We are ready to welcome the world”.

Other European leaders expected to attend include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella, Finland’s Alexander Stubb, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

US President Joe Biden – who has announced he is dropping his re-election bid and is recovering from Covid – will not fly to Paris, but US First Lady Jill Biden, will attend. 

The closing ceremony will be attended by Douglas Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is now in the running for the White House.

• Olympics chief and Macron reject Palestinian demand to ban Israel from Games

Israeli and Arab delegations

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will attend the ceremony, under heavy protection, despite protests from Tehran, which on Tuesday called to ban Israel from the Olympics because of the unrelenting bombardment of Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks.

The head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, Jibril Rajoub, will represent Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – popularly known as MBS – and Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have kept their plans under wraps.

But the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a member of the International Olympic Committee, was spotted in Paris at the traditional pre-Games session.

• In pictures: Paris’s River Seine on the eve of Olympics opening ceremony

Global representation

Chinese President Xi Jinping will be represented by Vice President Han Zheng and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has entrusted his wife Rosangela with representing the nation.

Argentina’s leader Javier Milei and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro have confirmed they will attend on Friday.

However, the participation of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is uncertain, as is that of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Regarding royalty, Britain’s Princess Anne, sister of King Charles III, and Prince Albert of Monaco arrived on Monday to attend the IOC meeting – both are IOC members.

Meanwhile, the King of Spain Felipe VI is also expected, while Denmark will be represented by King Frederik X and Queen Mary, as well as Princess Benedikte, the sovereign’s octogenarian aunt.

• Senegalese rifleman who fought for France prepares to carry Olympic flame

African leaders

Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon and Faustin Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic will both be present, but the attendance of Cameroonian leader Paul Biya has not been officially confirmed.

The new Senegalese president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, will be also there but South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa will not.

The opening ceremony coincides with the first anniversary of a coup that ousted Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum, and the country will be represented by sports ministry official Abdoulaye Mohamadou. 

While wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other places continue,  the Games provide an opportunity for intense diplomatic activity.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to call on nations to “lay down their arms”, and President Macron has also called for “an Olympic truce“.

(with AFP)

On Friday at 7:30pm around 326,000 spectators on tiered seating on the banks and bridges of the river Seine will begin watching a spectacular waterborne show.

Thousands more will be glued to 80 massive screens along the route, and an estimated 1.5 billion worldwide.

So what will they be watching?

The 7,000 or so athletes sailing in a flotilla of vessels of course, but also a story about Paris – its history and monuments and how they’ve shaped present-day France and its people.

It will likely not be the greatest story ever told, but it could indeed be a great story.

And you could scarcely dream of a bigger stage – a six-kilometre stretch of the river Seine with the city of Paris itself as the set.

Whatever happens, and there is a degree of unpredictability, it will go down in history as the first Olympic opening ceremony to take place outside a stadium.

“For the first time we’re not going to go round in circles in a stadium but over a 6km stretch of water,” says historian Patrick Boucheron, one of the four writers enlisted by the ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly to script the show.

“We’re going to give a voice to the City of Paris – she has the leading role on this extraordinary stage,” he told RFI.

Reconnaissance on the river

When Jolly and the four writers began their collective adventure at the end of 2022, the route had already been traced out.

Beginning in the east at the Gare d’Austerlitz, heading past relics of the Middle Ages including Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Conciergerie – where Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned – Le Louvre and the glass-domed Grand Palais, it ends at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

 “We put on our puffer jackets and went out on boats up and down the river from the Austerlitz bridge to the Eiffel Tower,” Jolly told Le Monde daily.

“We looked at everything that was part of the history of Paris – the streets, the monuments, the squares, the statues. We went through literary correspondence, films, musicals.”

After much brainstorming they wrote, in secret, for about nine months.

Wary of being drawn into the dreamlike Paris of the French cult film Amelie Poulain or American Netflix series Emily in Paris they knew they had to “play with the clichés, the American take on France, but without poking fun,” Jolly said.

The real star of the Paris Olympics is the storied River Seine

12 scenes to paint a portrait of the time

They divided the show into 12 tableaus – along, above and even rising out of the Seine – intermingled with the parade of athletes on some 90 boats.

More than 3,000 dancers and actors will perform on the quayside and bridges.

Each tableau draws on the city’s emblems and what they evoke both past and present, taking the world on a journey through Parisian history and architecture.

Notre-Dame Cathedral, for example, means many things to different people – a Gothic monument, a link to 19^th century writer Victor Hugo, but also a raging inferno.

“The last time the world saw Notre-Dame on television it was on fire,” says Boucheron. “So there isn’t just a story of pride and grandeur but also one of emotion, of reconstruction.

“That’s basically the story we wanted to stage  – about the dogged and creative will to live together despite everything.”

Boucheron, who’s described himself as a “historian in love with the present”, says the ceremony had to address as many people as possible.

“It’s not like throwing a party and putting on your favourite playlist. It has to speak from the world to France and from France to the world.

“We just tried to paint a portrait of the time, so that people could relate to it.”

He insists on the originality of putting the story in motion on the Seine to “try and build a sense of momentum”.

The value of joy and excitement

President Emmanuel Macron said the ceremony would offer a “great story of emancipation and freedom” – going from the 1789 French Revolution through to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed at the spot where the parade ends.

While the details of the ceremony are shrouded in secrecy, there’s a presumption that French values will be celebrated in some way or other, though there’s little consensus nowadays on what those values are.

French-Moroccan novelist Leila Slimani, another of the storytellers, says she appreciates the way Paris values collective effort – how “we’re capable of building the unthinkable when we’re together,” she told Le Monde.

She said the four writers wanted their story to have a generous spirit.

“There had to be joy, emulation, movement, excitement and sparkle, and not just those famous traditional philosophical values that France likes to display with sometimes too much confidence.”

Franco-Moroccan author France’s most read in 2016

No repeat of Rugby World Cup

The team watched old videos of previous opening ceremonies, including Beijing 2008 whose history lesson to the world was precisely what they didn’t want to emulate.

They identified more with London 2012, with its mix of UK pop culture, pomp, history and self-deprecating humour.

Meanwhile, last September’s Rugby World Cup opening ceremony in Paris served “as a counter example”, Boucheron said.

Featuring Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor from “The Artist”, sporting beret and baguette, cycling round a mock-up of 1950s French villages waving to milkmaids and dancers, the show was panned by many critics as an outdated, clichéd representation of France. And a very inward-looking France at that.

“We can’t just settle for an old-fashioned image, nor an ode to the present,” the historian maintains. 

“History is in flux, we have to remember that a nation is not an identity, it’s a project, a political project. So it speaks to the future.

“That’s why we have this big travelling along the Seine, to try and get everyone on board.”

Bicentennial of the French Revolution

Among the more inspirational shows, Boucheron cites the 1989 ceremony marking the bicentennial of the French Revolution, with spectacular scenography by Jean-Paul Goude.

Boucheron was 20 years old at the time and watching it convinced him to become a historian.

“It was a moment of acute historical awareness, A lot of things were happening in the world in 1989, in the Soviet Union, in China [with the Tiananmen Square protest].

“At that time we could still proclaim loud and clear the values of what was then called multicultural France. It’s become more difficult, there’s a form of disenchantment, but we must not let ourselves be intimated.”

A few weeks ago there were genuine concerns that the far-right National Rally could take power in France following parliamentary elections. In that case, Jolly said the show would have been “transformed into a sort of ceremony of resistance”.

In the end, Marine Le Pen’s party did well, but not well enough to require a rewrite.

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

However, the need to resist violence remains.

“We desperately need this moment of peace and sharing, a moment suspended in time, far from the violence that’s breaking out everywhere,” Slimani said.

“I very much hope that the audience will let themselves go with the flow. On 26 July we all have to find the child within us, the joy of discovering. It’s become so rare.”

“The military authorities in Niger have cracked down on the opposition, media, and peaceful dissent since taking power in a coup one year ago,” Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said in their joint report.

The groups called on the ruling authorities to “immediately release all those held on politically motivated charges; guarantee respect for fundamental freedoms, particularly the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and association”.

The military, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, seized power on 26 July last year, after deposing elected president Mohamed Bazoum over allegations of failing to protect the West African nation from jihadist attacks.

Bazoum, who remains under strict detention with his wife Hadiza in the capital Niamey, should also be released, said Samira Daoud, Amnesty’s regional director for West and Central Africa.

On Friday, the military regime marks its first year in power holding festivities over several days.

Niger’s military coup widely condemned following overthrow of President Bazoum

Arrests and restrictions

According to the rights groups, the military regime had “arbitrarily arrested at least 30 officials from the ousted government, including former ministers, members of the presidential cabinet and people close to the deposed president, failing to grant them due process and fair trial rights”.

Among those arrested, some “were detained in secret by the intelligence services, before being transferred to high-security prisons on trumped-up charges”, lawyers cited in the NGOs’ statement said.

Meanwhile, “media freedom has been severely restricted in the country”, with journalists being threatened and “arbitrarily” arrested, leading to self-censorship for fear of reprisals, the NGOs said.

“The long list of attacks on journalists over the past year demonstrates the authorities’ determination to restrict press freedom and the right of access to information,” said Drissa Traoré, secretary general of the FIDH.

In June, the new regime in place in Niger also reinstated prison sentences for cyber-crimes involving disseminating information that “may disturb public order”, a measure “that could be used to silence any voice deemed to be dissenting”, Traore added.

Military regimes have turned the Sahel into a ‘black hole’ of information

At the end of January, a decree also suspended the activities of the independent media group Maison de la Presse, while installing a new committee headed by the Interior Ministry to oversee the organisation.

“Public oversight of the military’s economic activities is not only critical for restoring civilian democratic rule and holding military officials accountable for abuses, but also for preventing the loss of public resources to corruption and mismanagement,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The Niger authorities should commit to transparency and accountability by immediately disclosing verifiable financial information about military spending.”

 (with AFP) 

Koniambo Nickel SAS, which is in serious financial difficulty with a colossal debt of over €13 billion, had been looking for a buyer since the departure last February of the Anglo-Swiss group Glencore – its main shareholder.

KNS said in a press release on Friday: “While the search for a buyer is continuing actively and three groups continue to show an interest in our company … we have neither a finalised offer nor visibility on the financing of the operations”.

“As a result, we are obliged to continue the process of collective redundancies for economic reasons,” KNS added.

According to management, the 1,200 employees will be made redundant on 31 August.

Around 50 of them will stay on after that date, “to ensure that the site remains on cold standby”.

Debt management

The KNS site – one of the main employers in New Caledonia – has also relied on subcontractors employing some 500 people.

Glencore had agreed to fund salaries until the end of August to allow operations to be put on a so-called “hot standby”, enabling a rapid resumption of activities in the event of a takeover.

The company said Friday that the decision to lay off almost all the staff “does not call into question the process of finding a new economic partner”. 

Until now, the company’s debt had been entirely assumed by Glencore, under the terms of a shareholders’ agreement linking the group to Société minière du Pacifique Sud (SMSP), which is owned by public interests representing the archipelago’s pro-independence North Province.

• Blow for France as Glencore quits struggling New Caledonia nickel mine
• New Caledonian capital Noumea ‘under control’ after deadly riots

Market collapse

New Caledonia is bearing the full brunt of the global nickel crisis, and the territory’s two other plants are also threatened with closure.

Prony Resources in the south of the archipelago has come to a complete standstill, while SLN in the capital Nouméa posted a net loss of €72 million in the first half of the year, according to figures presented on Thursday by its main shareholder, the French group Eramet.

The difficulties have been exacerbated by the insecurity and civil unrest that has reigned in New Caledonia since mid-May, disrupting ore supplies and employee access to many sites.

Recent riots, sparked by a vote on a proposed reform of the territory’s electoral body – which the pro-independence faction opposes – have resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people, including two policemen, and considerable material damage to the archipelago’s infrastructure, estimated at over €2 billion.

(with newswires)

“I went to Mexico City to win the race, not to necessarily make a statement,” said the 80-year-old who claimed the 200 metres dash in October 1968 in a world record time of 19.83 seconds.

“It was talked about only moments before the race,” Smith recalled. “It wasn’t something John and I decided months before … only that we had to win the race to make a statement. What statement? I really didn’t know.”

But the plan to highlight racism against black people in the United States did involve black gloves. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with them,” Smith added. “But I did know that they could be useful in what I needed to say.”

However, as Smith and Carlos prepared to go out onto the track to receive their respective gold and bronze medals with silver medallist Norman, Carlos said he had forgotton his gloves. Norman suggested sharing.

“My glove … was on the right hand. John’s was on his left … the gloves belong to me.”

Such spectacular improvisation brought ramifications. Norman was reprimanded by the Australian Olympic Associaion. Avery Brundage, the president of the  International Olympic Committee (IOC), threatened to kick out the entire US track and field team if Smith and Carlos were not sent home for what he called a domestic political statement unfit for the apolitical, international forum of the Olympic Games. Smith and Carlos were dispatched.

Nearly six decades on, history has avenged the athletes and Brundage’s reaction  – though very much in keeping with Pierre de Courbentin’s ur-concept of the Games, emits the stench of barbaric times.

But ever since de Courbentin and his cohorts established the IOC in 1894 and the modern Olympic Games in 1896, the Games have been infused with political grandstanding.

Berlin in 1936 was Adolf Hitler’s blitz for Aryan purity. Forty odd years later, the American-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games in protest over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan emerged from President Jimmy Carter’s waning political heft.

Brundage’s administrative heir, Thomas Bach, faces the fallout from latterday savageries: a war between Russia and Ukraine as well as conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus will be able to participate in Paris under a neutral banner much to the chagrin of Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky who last year threatened to boycott the Games.

Challenges

Israeli competitors will also feature despite calls from the Palestinian Olympic Committee for them to be excluded.

But the inclusion merely adds another level of anxiety – the spectre of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre in which 11 Israelis were killed by Palestinian militants following an attack on the Olympic village.

“With regard to the security of the Israeli athletes, we have the full confidence in the French authorities,” said Bach following a meeting of the IOC in Paris on the eve of the games.

“They’re working very meticulously. They’re working very professionally.

“The Israeli athletes since 1972 have taken their own additional security measures and they feel comfortable with this situation.”

And with consummate ease, Bach declared himself satisfied that the Paris Games would be spectacular.

The sagacity of such self-basting will receive the initial waves of feedback after the official opening ceremony on 26 July. It will be the first to be held outside a stadium. 

A six-kilometre stretch of the river Seine between Pont d’Austerlitz and the Pont d’Iena has been selected for a son-et-lumière extravaganza during which around 7,000 athletes will be ferried along in a flotilla of vessels past monuments such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre and finish up at Trocadéro where the Eiffel Tower will provide the backdrop for the quintessential Parisian panorama.

All brilliant on paper but in the practice Thomas Jolly’s choreographed pageant screams security and logistical nightmare. The original attendance figures were cut from 600,000 to 300,000. Around 45,000 police and security officers will monitor the course for the usual petty miscreants as well as serious nasty pieces of work.

Adventure

“It’s been a fantastic adventure so far,” said Tony Estanguet, who heads the Olympics organising committee.

“France has been waiting for 100 years for the Games to come back. It’s a big responsibility and we have put a lot of energy and determination to make sure that it will be a fantastic editionof the event.”

The first medals of the 2024 Games will be dished out on 27 July in the 10m air rifle mixed shooting and the distribution will continue in 329 disciplines across 31 other sports at the 35 Olympic venues until 11 August

Old faithfuls such as athletics and swimming will assuredly hog the headlines with their testosterone-fuelled posturing.

Games debutant breaking will inject freshness. B-Girls and B-Boys will whirl their wonders between 9 and 10 August at Place de la Concorde which will be the venue for the second appearance in the Olympics of the 3X3 basketball as well as the skateboarding.

Organisers who have been trumpeting their eco-friendly credentials over the reduced carbon footbprint of the Games in comparison to recent editions in London and Tokyo, have also stressed its inclusivity.

Companies trying to keep goods and objects in circulation for as long as possible have been able to munch into the 6 billion-euro Olympic pie under programmes monitored by the Bangladeshi microfinance guru Muhammad Yunus.

The 11,000 seats made from recycled plastic in the Aquatics Centre in Saint Denis just to the north of Paris and the La Chapelle Arena a few miles further south have been provided by a local outfit Le Pavé.

Chance

Co-founder Marius Hamelot set up the firm in 2018 with childhood friend Jim Pasquet and Judith Sebban.

“I felt like the inauguration of the Aquatics Centre was the end of five years of hard work for this project,” Hamelot told RFI

“It was the end of a really important step for the company but I feel like there is so much to do still.”

Yunus, who arrived in Paris from strife ridden Bangladesh with his daughter and grandson on Monday, to attend the opening ceremony, concurs. “For so long sporting events seemed to be taking from the people,” said Yunus.

“But these events must be about the social and conventional markets coming together. These spectacles must have a social meaning,” 

Efforts in that realm might mitigate the griping from the great unwashed. Complaints have flowed over the hike in transport costs, the reserved lanes on viciously clogged roads for the “Olympic family” and sealed-off sectors in neighbourhoods.

“What we’ve seen is a record uptake of tickets for events,” countered Estanguet. “Thousands of people have offered to become volunteers. Millions have turned out to watch the passing of the Olympic flame even in places where there aren’t any competitions. We remain confident that it will be a really popular celebration.

“Obviously we’ll look at it again after the event. But at the moment all the indicators suggest that the French are up for the show.”

Sixteen days of a summer will prove or destoy the claim.

The team behind putting on the gala opening along the iconic river Seine have been hinting over the past few months about what can be expected, but have flatly refused to give any specifics.

However, based on public statements and press leaks, there is some idea of what the concept for the grand opening will be.

Compared with the muted opening of the Covid-struck Tokyo Olympics that were postponed to 2021, spectators can expect the Paris games to begin with a bang. 

• Macron insists ‘France is ready’ to host the Paris Olympics

‘Games wide open’

Instead of using the main athletics stadium for the opening parade, as is customary, organisers have moved the event outside and into the heart of the capital – in keeping with their motto “Games Wide Open“.

Between 6,000 and 7,000 athletes are set to sail down a six-kilometre stretch of the river Seine from the Austerlitz bridge in the east of the city to the Eiffel Tower, on 85 barges and boats.

Some 300,000 people are set to watch in person from specially built stands, where tickets have sold for up to €2,700, on the riverbanks for free and from overlooking balconies and apartments.

Earlier this month, chief organiser Tony Estanguet remarked: “Organising a ceremony on the Seine is not easier than doing it in a stadium … but it has more punch.” 

Because of the size and complexity of the parade, it has never been rehearsed in full.

That’s entertainment

The show has been designed by theatre director Thomas Jolly, a 42-year-old known for reviving hit rock-opera musical “Starmania”.

He brought on board a creative team that includes the writer of French TV series “Call My Agent“, Fanny Herrero, as well as best-selling author Leila Slimani and renowned historian Patrick Boucheron.

The show has been split into 12 different sections, with around 3,000 dancers, singers and entertainers positioned on both banks of the river, the bridges and nearby monuments.

A tribute to Notre-Dame cathedral – in the process of being renovated after a devastating fire in 2019 – is guaranteed, possibly with dancers on its scaffolding.

Starting at 19:30 local time, two thirds of the ceremony will take place in daylight, then dusk – Jolly is hoping for one of Paris’s stunning summer sunsets – and will end with a light show.

The music will be a mix of classical, traditional chanson française, as well as rap and electro.

Franco-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura is to perform despite criticism from far-right politicians, including Marine Le Pen who suggested an appearance by her would “humiliate” France.

French electro superstars Daft Punk said they had turned down an invitation to play, while globe-trotting French DJ David Guetta has been overlooked – much to his irritation.  

• Paris market traders share hopes and concerns about 2024 Olympics

Celebration of diversity

Asked to sum up his message for the event last week, Jolly said it was “love”.

Despite the risk of irking conservatives, he said his work would be a celebration of cultural, linguistic, religious and sexual diversity in France and around the world.

“I think the people who want to live together in this diversity, this otherness, are much more numerous, but we make less noise,” he said.

It is fair to assume it will be nothing like the widely panned, retro-styled opening ceremony of last year’s rugby World Cup, which featured a succession of French clichés from baguettes to berets and the Eiffel Tower.

Jolly’s team is also wary of over-emphasising France’s historic contribution to the development of democracy and the concept of universal human rights thanks to its Enlightenment philosophers and 1789 Revolution.

So don’t expect a three-hour tribute to French greatness to rival the nationalistic pageantry seen at the Beijing Games in 2008.

• No-fly zones and AI security measures deployed for Olympic opening ceremony

Big moments?

With so much still under wraps, that’s hard to predict.

Jolly has strongly hinted that a submersible or submarine could emerge from the waters of the Seine at some point.

“You have the sky, you have bridges, you have water, you have banks, you have so much space to make poetry,” Jolly told reporters last week. “So why not under the river also?”

Thankfully, hundreds of dancers who were threatening to strike during the opening ceremony have called off their protest after receiving a new pay offer.

Some of them had protested on Monday during rehearsals by the river Seine by stopping and holding their fists aloft for eight minutes.

The biggest moment of all might simply be the end if everyone gets home safely.

The ceremony has given French police cold sweats ever since it was unveiled in 2021 because of the difficulty of securing so many people over such a vast urban area.

However, one-off payments of up to €1,900 have been agreed for police and municipal workers in Paris.

Around 45,000 members of the security forces will be on duty during the Games. 

(With newswires)

Oxfam said that despite the reported windfall, taxes on the rich had plummeted to “historic lows”, warning of “obscene levels” of inequality with the rest of the world “left to scrap for crumbs”.

Brazil has made international cooperation on taxing the super-rich a priority of its presidency of the G20, a group of countries representing 80 percent of the world’s GDP.

At this week’s summit in Rio de Janeiro, the group’s finance ministers are expected to make progress on ways to raise levies on the ultra-wealthy and prevent billionaires from dodging tax systems.

The initiative involves determining methodologies to tax billionaires and other high-income earners.

‘Litmus test for G20’

The proposal is due to be fiercely debated at the summit on Friday, with France, Spain, South Africa, Colombia and the African Union in favour, but the United States firmly against.

Oxfam dubbed it a “real litmus test for G20 governments“, urging them to implement an annual net wealth tax of at least eight percent on the “extreme wealth” of the super-rich.

“Momentum to increase taxes on the super-rich is undeniable,” said Oxfam International’s head of inequality policy, Max Lawson.

• Surge in global wealth sees number of millionaires hit new high
• France’s top CEOs earn 130 times more than their employees, says Oxfam

“Do they have the political will to strike a global standard that puts the needs of the many before the greed of an elite few?”

Oxfam said that the $42 trillion figure was nearly 36 times more than the wealth accumulated by the poorer half of the world’s population.

Despite this, billionaires “have been paying a tax rate equivalent to less than 0.5 percent of their wealth” across the globe, the NGO said.

Nearly four out of five of the world’s billionaires are from G20 countries, Oxfam noted.

He will carry it through the streets of Saint-Denis, the ethnically diverse northern Paris suburb that is home to the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre, the town’s mayor Mathieu Hanotin told French news agency AFP on Monday.

Other carriers in Saint-Denis Friday will include French actress Laetitia Casta, French rapper MC Solaar , French actor Jean-Pascal Zadi and Ukrainian retired pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka.

The Olympic flame has spent two months crossing France, and Friday morning it will be carried through the athletes’ village which straddles Saint-Denis and neighbouring Saint-Ouen, before going to the Olympic Stadium and the Aquatics Centre a few kilometres away.

Snoop Dogg, 52, was born in greater Los Angeles, which will host the next Games in 2028.

The torch relay will not be the rapper’s only appearance at the 2024 Games as he will also be an Olympic commentator for US television station NBC.

Olympic torch continues its final relay across France

Meanwhile, Team USA have announced two-time Olympic gold medallist LeBron James as the male flagbearer carrying the nation’s flag at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer will become the first male basketball player to carry the Stars and Stripes at an opening ceremony during the parade of athletes on 26 July in Paris.

He will be accompanied by tennis woman Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion.

At just 20 years old, Gauff will lead the US tennis team and represent her country as the first American tennis player in history and the youngest American to ever carry the flag during the opening ceremony.

(with AFP)

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)

A French law criminalising clients of sex workers does not infringe the European Convention on Human Rights, the continent’s top rights court ruled Thursday.

A group of 261 men and women sex workers had turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the 2016 law, which threatens buyers of sex with fines of up to €1,500, which can more than double for repeat offenders.

The rarely-enforced law was hailed as a major step forward by campaigners hoping to eliminate prostitution.

But the claimants backed by around 20 associations said it had pushed them into the shadows and increased their risk of harm, including assault and infection with sexually transmitted diseases.

After failing with their challenge in French courts, they turned to the Strasbourg-based ECHR in 2019.

• French Senate tears up controversial prostitution law

They argued that the law endangers their physical and mental health, as well as harming their own and their clients’ right to a private life and sexual freedom under the Convention’s Article 8.

Judges said they were “fully aware of the undeniable difficulties and risks to which prostituted people are exposed while exercising their activity”, including their health and safety.

But they added that these were “already present and observed before the adoption of the law” in 2016, being attributed at the time to the since-repealed law against soliciting.

The judges said “there is no consensus on the question of whether the negative effects described by the claimants are directly caused by the… criminalisation of buying sexual acts, or their sale.”

They went to note there is no consensus whether the negative effects “are inherent or intrinsic to the phenomenon of prostitution… or a whole array of social and behavioural factors.”

French authorities had “struck a fair balance between the competing interests at play,” they added, finding no violation of Article 8.

Anna Blus, a women’s rights researcher at Amnesty International, criticised the ruling, saying in a statement that “criminalising sex work increases discrimination and stigmatisation and jeopardises the safety of sex workers”.

Laws against prostitution produce “obstacles for sex workers in accessing housing, healthcare and other critical services, and can lead to abuse, violence, harassment and extortion,” she added.

Amnesty submitted its research into criminalisation of sex work in several countries to the court as it considered the French case, with judges referring to it in their published reasoning.

(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)

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.