Barnier, who has been in the job only since last month following an inconclusive general election, earlier this week survived a no-confidence vote brought by leftist deputies who feel they should have been appointed to govern by President Emmanuel Macron instead of the conservative premier.

But despite handily seeing off the opposition in that vote, Barnier remains hostage to the possibility of left-wing and far-right deputies teaming up in the future to force the government to step down in another vote of no confidence.

France’s annual budget debate has often triggered no-confidence motions and Barnier’s plan sparked vocal opposition even before all the details were known.

“This is the most violent austerity plan that this country has ever seen,” said Manuel Bompard, a lawmaker for the hard-left LFI party. “It will cause French people to suffer.”

Where did France’s culture of political compromise go, and is it coming back?

‘Our children’s future’

The government, under pressure from the European Commission to bring France’s sprawling deficits and growing debt under control, said it will improve its budgetary position by 60 billion euros.

Forty billion euros of that will come from spending cuts along with 20 billion from tax increases on high earners and some 400 large companies.

The budget also calls for a reduction of France’s civil service payroll, as well as a freeze on regular increases in pensions.

“We mustn’t sacrifice our children’s future” by writing “bad checks” or “blank checks”, Barnier said Thursday, insisting that the efforts required were “fair” and “balanced”.

Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin added: “We cannot wait. We must make brave choices now to avoid painful choices later.”

Barnier has argued that France has little wiggle room left as it risks a downgrade from debt rating agencies, an excessive deficit procedure by the EU Commission and a risk premium on new debt issuance demanded by investors.

“The attractiveness or credibility of the French signature must be preserved,” Barnier said.

France already pays a higher debt premium than Spain, and is edging closer to the high-risk yields demanded of Italy and Greece.

Meet the key ministers shaping France’s new government

Without a vote?

Most of the spending cuts focus on direct government spending, followed by social security and public healthcare spending.

France’s employers association Medef has already complained of reductions in state help for companies hiring low-wage workers and apprentices, saying “hundreds of thousands of jobs” were at risk.

The government will also charge higher levies on owners of polluting vehicles and on the maritime sector, as well as on the aviation industry although details were still being worked out, it said.

Barnier had promised to spare “the most vulnerable” and “those who work” from higher taxes. The income tax hikes will be limited to the 65,000 highest earners in the country over three years, according to the budget plan.

He hopes to bring France’s public-sector deficit to below five percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year, from an expected 6.1 percent in 2024.

The government hopes that in 2029 it will drop to below three percent, the agreed deficit ceiling for EU members.

France’s debt is expected to rise to close to 115 percent of GDP next year, which compares with an EU debt target of 60 percent, and is the highest national debt to GDP ratio among EU countries besides Italy and Greece.

In absolute terms, France’s debt stood at over 3.2 trillion euros at the end of June, having risen by about one trillion since Macron took power in 2017.

If the opposition parties in parliament come out against the budget draft law, the government has the option of forcing it through without a vote under Article 49.3 of the French constitution.

But this would open the door to another vote of no confidence, putting Barnier at the mercy of the opposition yet again.

The Elysée Palace described the talks with Zelensky as an opportunity for Macron to reaffirm France’s determination to continue to provide longterm and “unwavering support” to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

 It’s Zelensky’s the fifth trip to Paris since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

The Ukrainian leader says his country needs more aid to counter Russia‘s advantage in manpower and ammunition. Russia has made several battlefield advances in recent months.

Zelensky also wants clearance to use long-range weapons supplied by allies, including the United States, to strike military targets deep inside Russia.

The talks in Paris come after Macron on Wednesday made a highly unusual visit to a military camp in eastern France, whose precise location was not disclosed, to meet part of a brigade of Ukrainian troops France is training.

Fast progress

The French Army is training on French territory 2,300 soldiers from the brigade, named Anne of Kyiv, after the Kyiv-born princess who married the French 11th century King Henri I.

“The training is going very well. The Ukrainian soldiers are progressing faster than we thought,” French colonel Paul, who according to convention did not give his last name, told French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov who accompanied Macron.

Macron told the troops: “You have also made a lot of progress through your action and your resistance.”

Of the 4,500 soldiers in the brigade, 2,300 are being trained in France and the other 2,200 in Ukraine.

France and allies launch ‘artillery coalition’ to bring more weapons to Ukraine

France will equip it with 128 frontline armoured vehicles, 18 Caesar cannons, “more than 18” AMX-10 vehicles, 20 Milan anti-tank missile posts and 10 large TRM military trucks designed for support missions in difficult terrain.

Macron also announced in June the delivery of an unspecified number of French Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to the Ukrainians. Pilots and mechanics are already being trained on the aircraft that will be transferred.

France has already trained a total of more than 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers in various fields.

Zelensky on Wednesday announced meetings this week with several European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

He is reportedly set to meet new NATO chief Mark Rutte and Pope Francis.

Action plan for peace

In attendance at the “Ukraine-Southeast Europe” summit in Croatia on Wednesday, Zelensky said the European Union must unite the whole continent.

“If Europe is not united today it won’t be peaceful, so that integration processes that have begun must reach their result,” he said, pleading the case for his country and several Balkan states to be allowed into the bloc.

Zelensky repeatedly mentioned a peace plan prepared by Kyiv that he would like to present at a peace conference expected in November.

Russia threatens response as NATO partners send fighter jets to Ukraine

Kyiv has developed an “action plan that can bridge the gap between the current situation and a successful peace summit”, he said.

“For us this is a victory plan” and once it is “fully implemented, Russia will lose their ability to threaten us, to threaten Europe”.

Zelensky was due to attend an international meeting of more than 50 countries to discuss military support for Ukraine in Germany on Saturday.

But the US military said the meeting at the Ramstein air base was postponed and did not specify a new date.

US President Joe Biden has pulled out of a tour of Europe and Angola because of Hurricane Milton.

(with newswires)

Featuring data from 35,000 populations of more than 5,000 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, the WWF Living Planet Index shows accelerating declines across the globe.

In biodiversity-rich regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean, the figure for animal population loss is as high as 95 percent.

The report tracks trends in the abundance of a large number of species, not individual animal numbers.

It found that populations under review had fallen 73 percent since 1970, mostly due to human pressures.

The index has become an international reference and arrives just ahead of the next UN summit on biodiversity, which will spotlight the issue when it opens in Colombia later this month.

“The picture we are painting is incredibly concerning,” said Kirsten Schuijt, Director General of WWF International, at a press briefing.

One in five migratory species faces extinction, UN report warns

Tipping points

“This is not just about wildlife, it’s about the essential ecosystems that sustain human life,” said Daudi Sumba, chief conservation officer at WWF.

The report reiterates the need to simultaneously confront the “interconnected” crises of climate change and nature destruction, and warned of major “tipping points” approaching certain ecosystems.

“The changes could be irreversible, with devastating consequences for humanity,” he said, using the example of deforestation in the Amazon, which could “shift this critical ecosystem from a carbon sink to a carbon source.”

“Habitat degradation and loss, driven primarily by our food system, is the most reported threat in each region, followed by overexploitation, invasive species and disease,” the report said.

Other threats include climate change, in particular in Latin America and the Caribbean, and pollution, notably in North America, Asia and the Pacific.

‘Incredibly concerning’

The biggest decline is found in populations of freshwater species, followed by terrestrial and marine vertebrates.

“We have emptied the oceans of 40 percent of their biomass,” said Yann Laurans of WWF France.

Continent by continent, the average decline reached 95 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by Africa, down 76 percent, and then Asia and the Pacific, which declined 60 percent.

The reduction in populations is “less spectacular” in Europe, Central Asia and North America.

Some populations have stabilised or even expanded thanks to conservation efforts and the reintroduction of species, the report said.

Why the Congo plays a critical role in saving the world’s biodiversity

The European bison, for example, disappeared in the wild in 1927 but in 2020 numbered 6,800 thanks to large-scale breeding and successful reintroduction, mainly in protected areas.

While calling the overall picture “incredibly concerning,” Schuijt added: “The good news is that we’re not yet past the point of no return.”

She pointed to global efforts including a breakthrough pact landed at the last UN meeting on biodiversity in 2022 to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030 from pollution, degradation and climate change.

But she warned, “all of these agreements have checkpoints in 2030 that are in danger of being missed.”

Several scientific studies published by the journal Nature have accused WWF of methodological biases in its index that lead to an exaggerated extent of the decline of animals.

“We remain really confident of its robustness,” said Andrew Terry of the Zoological Society of London at a press briefing, highlighting the use of a “range of indicators, looking at extinction risk, biodiversity and ecosystem health to really broaden that picture”.

In 2007, after studying art and photography in Paris, Calligaro went to Afghanistan for what was meant to be a short trip, pursuing her dream of becoming a war correspondent.

She ended up staying for more than a decade, capturing the complexities of a country that grew on her over time.

It was in Kabul where she became a professional photographer, she tells RFI.

The exhibition “From Kabul with Love” is a selection of 50 photos from 2009 and 2022, depicting the extraordinary panorama of her time observing people going about their daily lives, despite the constant danger, crises and conflict.

“In Afghanistan, all the encounters I’ve had are noteworthy because the stories are not trivial. They are not always happy stories, even if the people are resilient. But it’s not just drama, there’s also joy,” she explains.

From the start, Calligaro focused on photographing women. As a woman, she had access to homes that male journalists found difficult to reach.

Paradoxically, she said, being a foreign female journalist gave her slightly more freedom, as she wasn’t expected to follow all the strict rules Afghan women faced, though she did cover her head in the presence of Taliban members.

Over the years, Calligaro built up a body of work that carefully documented the lives of girls and women and their ever-diminishing freedoms.

Becoming a mother also helped her take better stock of the situation for women, and they became true heroes to her, she says.

UN calls for ‘gender apartheid’ to be criminalised as Taliban denounced for abuse of Afghan women

Turning point

When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, the shock was immense, Calligaro recalls. Although not present in the country during the takeover, she arrived shortly afterwards to document the changes.

She mostly stopped photographing outdoors, finding it too dangerous. While she admired the strength of Afghan women, she also sympathised with the men she met.

“Women’s lives are hard, they rely on sisterhood,” she explains. “But it is not an easy society for men either. Men have a lot of pressure on their shoulders when it comes to the women in their family. And there are very few prospects.”

Calligaro describes meeting a 22-year-old man who was not lucky enough to go to one of the international schools because he grew up in a small village. His only instruction came from the madrasa – a Koranic school.

She photographed him standing guard with a gun in a palace in Kabul, a city he’d never seen before. His eyes are wide with wonder as he takes in the opulent, white marble hall.

“A Kalashnikov was put in his hands at the age of 12. Whether he chose to be Taliban, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s an informed choice in any case,” Calligaro says.

Many Afghans asked her for help obtaining visas to leave, but Calligaro had to tell them it wasn’t that simple.

“It’s very hard to face your own helplessness in this situation,” she says. “It makes me doubly sad because it’s a country that I particularly like.”

Chilling documentary reveals women’s struggle for survival in Afghanistan

Nuanced perspective

For the exhibition, it was important for Calligaro to show Afghanistan in all its complexity with what she calls “nuance and tenderness”.

Although violence and conflict are never far away, she has chosen to keep them out of the frame. Instead, she invites the viewer to sense a life beyond what is presented in the news.

“I tried to show that in life, in societies, nothing is fixed, white or black, it’s not the good guys on one side or the bad guys on the other. I tried to show that history is not linear,” she says.

“From Kabul with Love” is one of eight exhibitions at this year’s Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents’ festival, known as the Prix Bayeux.

The event kicked off on Monday and will host a programme of round tables, conferences, screenings, a book fair and the prize ceremony itself on Saturday evening.

The exhibitions remain open to the public until mid-November.

The president of the jury is award-winning CNN journalist Clarissa Ward, the first and only Western journalist to enter Gaza last December without explicit Israeli permission or escort.

While the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is very much in the spotlight this year, there is a focus on Russian war crimes in conflicts over the years including in Ukraine, as well as a look back at April 1975, a crucial turning point for wars in Cambodia and Vietnam.

France doubled its contribution to the NATO Response Force in Romania on 28 February, 2022, just four days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sending 350 additional soldiers as well as a dozen armoured vehicles and a dozen Leclerc tanks.

Since 1 May 2022, the deployed force, operating under the name “Mission Eagle” (“Mission Aigle“) has taken the form of a multinational battlegroup of which France is the core. France also deploys a MAMBA ground-to-air defense system, logistics and fighting units, totalling more than 1,000 French soldiers.

Last month, additional vehicles from the French 7th Armored Brigade  arrived in Romania. In total eight Leclerc tanks and six armed personnel carriers reached the army camp General Berthelot, just outside Bucarest, escorted by Romanian military police. 

The logistics are designed to support Mission Aigle’s participation in the Dacian Fall 24 and Dacian Spring 25 military exercises planned for next autumn and spring.

Exercises like Dacian Spring send a strategic message, reinforcing the alliance’s resolve and capabilities.

“We used to play war,” General Bertrand Toujouse was quoted as saying by Politico.

“Now there’s a designated enemy, and we train with people with whom we’d actually go to war.”

France to boost military presence in eastern Europe

According to Politico, France’s land forces have started a “profound transformation” to be ready for a high-intensity conflict similar to the war in Ukraine.

Quoting the French Defence Ministry, Politico says that the French army has “new marching orders from NATO,” meaning that by 2027 it “should be able to deploy a war-ready division in 30 days.” 

The upcoming exercise in Romania serves as an “intermediate step” toward this goal, with the French Army testing “its ability to deploy a brigade, typically 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, within a 10-day window.”

A division consists of between 10,000 to as many as 25,000 soldiers.

Vote tallying started shortly after polling stations closed at 6pm local time on Wednesday, with initial results expected in about two weeks.

Two of the main opposition leaders have already warned against electoral fraud in the southern African nation plagued by high levels of poverty and jihadist violence in the north.

Outgoing President Filipe Nyusi, 65, who is stepping down after a two-term limit, called for continued calm and patience after a day of voting with no major incidents reported.

“I would also ask that no group of citizens agitate or threaten others, that everything happen in peace and tranquillity and that we avoid announcing the results ahead of time,” Nyusi said.

After casting his vote, opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane was critical of the process, describing the electoral commission as “corrupt people, crooks, scoundrels.”

“People are not going to accept this kind of theft, this kind of shamelessness, this kind of electoral banditry,” Mondlane told reporters outside a polling station.

How Portugal’s Carnation Revolution changed the fate of its colonies in Africa

Popular among young voters, Mondlane was until June part of the main opposition party Renamo before joining the smaller Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos).

The last presidential election, in 2019, which Frelimo won with 73 percent of the vote, was marred by irregularities, while municipal elections in 2023 ended up in violence after results were contested by the opposition.

‘We need change’

“Change” was the buzzword on many voters’ lips, but analysts said they doubted the election would bring much of it.

“Mozambique is ready for a change,” said Elchrisio, a 25-year-old student who gave only his first name and was queuing at a polling station in Maputo.

“We need to elect somebody who has the capacity to rule the country,” he told AFP.

Mozambique goes to the polls as ruling party faces insurgency challenges

Participation in the last presidential election was around 50 percent. Observers said it could be higher this year, though no official number has been released.

In addition to a new president, Mozambicans are voting for 10 governors and 250 members of parliament.

Forest engineer Gisela Guambe, 42, who travelled 1,700 kilometres to vote, said she wanted change in parliament.

“There is not enough debate in parliament now. The opposition needs a different presence,” she said.

But analysts warned that was unlikely.

“Nothing is going to change,” said Domingos Do Rosario, a political science lecturer at Maputo’s Eduardo Mondlane University, pointing to weak institutions and rife political bargaining.

The electoral commission “is a joke”, he told AFP ahead of polling day.

“It manufactures voters,” said Do Rosario, expressing doubt over the body’s claim to have registered 17 million voters from a largely young population of 33 million.

More than 1,000 survivors of Mozambique hardline Islamist attack reach safety

Generational shift

The Frelimo candidate to replace Nyusi is the relatively unknown provincial governor, 47-year-old Daniel Chapo, who also called for calm after he cast his ballot.

His election would mark a generational shift: he would be the first Mozambican president born after independence from Portugal in 1975 and the first not to have fought in the devastating 16-year civil war between Frelimo and Renamo.

The two other candidates are Ossufo Momade, 63, of Renamo, and Lutero Simango, 64, of the Mozambique Democratic Movement.

Simango is also an outspoken critic of Frelimo, whose leaders he describes as “thieves dressed in red”, the party’s colour.

After casting his vote, Momade called for the “decision of the people to be respected.”

More than 74 percent of Mozambique’s population lived in poverty in 2023, according to the African Development Bank.

The country had hoped for an economic boost from the discovery in 2010 of vast gas deposits in the north, but jihadist violence in Cabo Delgado province led ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies to suspend their projects.

The economy will need to be a priority for the government, said Aleix Montana, an analyst at the UK-based consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.

“The new president of Mozambique will have to tackle high levels of public debt and weak revenue inflows, as key energy projects continue to suffer delays due to the insurgency in Cabo Delgado,” he said.

The Paris Olympic Games and Paralympics gave French-language songs huge exposure, adding new fans to the global audience already growing on streaming platforms. But what kind of music are non-French-speakers listening to and why? A new exhibition at the recently opened International Centre of the French Language asks the question. Its curator, the music journalist Bertrand Dicale, based the exhibit on the idea that songs reveal who were are, and he talks about what popular songs reveal about France. He also highlights some surprising differences between French and foreign audiences, which have allowed stars like Aya Nakamura and Juliette Gréco to enjoy huge success abroad despite being scorned at home. (Listen @0’00)

France lags behind many countries in the use of technology in classrooms and there is no clear policy from an ever-changing education ministry. But the disorganisation may be buying educators time to consider the consequences. A report commissioned in the spring by President Emmanuel Macron advised placing limits on young people’s use of smartphones and social media, and some schools are testing a smartphone ban this year. Founded by concerned educators, the collective Pour une éducation numérique raisonnée (“For a sensible digital education”) has raised its own concerns about the push to digitise textbooks and get students learning on screens. We visit a class taught by one of its members, and see how technology is – and is not – used. (Listen @22’00)

In the midst of Nobel season, a look at some of France’s 71 prizes, from the first ever Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 to the five won by members of the Curie family for physics and chemistry. (Listen @15’00)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

The popular landmark sported giant Olympic rings during this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics. Paris’s mayor Anne Hidalgo, who was encouraged by the popular success of the Games, wants to keep a version of the decoration on the tower until the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

But that proposal has polarised opinion in the French capital and at the highest level of state.

Already, it has been severely criticised by descendants of the tower’s designer Gustave Eiffel, as well as conservation groups.

Eiffel’s descendants call for Olympic rings to be moved to LA

At the end of last month, workers removed the 30-tonne steel rings that were first installed in June between the first and second floors of the tower.

Hidalgo has campaigned for lighter, less prominent, versions of the originals to be installed in their place.

But even this toned-down proposal is too much for sceptics, some of whom are also bitter political enemies of Hidalgo. The Socialist mayor has riled opponents with ambitious pro-cycling and anti-car projects, as well as a recent decision to cut the speed limit on Paris’s ring road, the Peripherique.

Heritage list

One of her most prominent critics is right-wing politician, Rachida Dati, who as leader of the opposition in Paris city hall has often locked horns with Hidalgo.

Having failed in a previous bid, she is expected to run for mayor again in 2026 at the next municipal election.

Dati was last month reappointed culture minister in Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s government, a position that gives her much influence over listed buildings and their protection.

On Tuesday, she announced that she had asked for the Eiffel Tower to be placed on the state heritage list.

If granted, that would effectively wrest control over work done on the tower from the city and her rival Hidalgo, placing it in the hands of the central government.

‘Further political aims’

Dati told the daily Le Parisien that the tower’s current status as an ordinary listed monument was no longer sufficient. Only its inclusion on the French state’s top heritage list, reserved for sites of national importance, would offer “true protection”, she argued.

Any work done on a building or monument with full heritage status requires the approval of the regional prefect, who answers to the government, or other state-run agencies.

Should Hidalgo refuse Dati’s request that the tower be added to the state’s top heritage list, Dati said she would make the change “by force”.

Asked about the initiative Tuesday, Hidalgo said the Eiffel Tower was already “very, very well protected”.

Dati’s remarks also caused anger at SETE, the company running the Eiffel Tower, which is majority-owned by the city of Paris.

SETE president Jean-Francois Martins told French news agency AFP that the culture minister was entitled to ask for heritage status if a site was endangered. “But that’s not the case for the Eiffel Tower,” he said.

The company was embarking on the tower’s “most ambitious ever” paint job, had renovated lifts and improved accessibility, he added.

Martins accused Dati of using the Eiffel Tower “to further her political aims”.

Meanwhile, some opposition members of Paris’s municipal council have suggested displaying the Olympics logo elsewhere in the capital.

After months of gloom and self-doubt in the run-up to the start of the Olympics on July 26, Parisians threw themselves into the spirit of the Games, which have been hailed as a resounding success.

Hidalgo, in power since 2014, also wants to retain other symbols of the event such as the cauldron placed in front of the Louvre museum, and the statues of illustrious women placed in the river Seine during the opening ceremony.

(With newswires)

The decision follows the EU’s recent imposition of steep tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).

France is likely to be the most impacted by China’s new measures, as it is the largest exporter of luxury drinks to China such as cognac and armagnac.

China launched an investigation this year into EU brandy imports into China, months after the bloc undertook a probe into Chinese EV subsidies.

Beijing said in August it would not impose provisional tariffs on brandy makers, even though it had found evidence of dumping, but did not rule out subsequent measures.

But after the EU slammed tariffs on Chinese EV’s last week, Beijing decided to retaliate with extra tax on EU liquor and operators will have to pay a “corresponding guarantee” to Chinese customs when importing EU brandy into the country, the commerce ministry in Beijing said in a statement.

The amount would be based on calculations involving prices approved by customs, as well as import taxes.

The investigation had “preliminarily determined that imports of certain brandy originating from the European Union were being dumped, threatening substantial damage to the domestic brandy industry,” the ministry said.

The probe also established “a causal relationship between the dumping and the threat of substantial damage”.

Shares plummet

The ministry released a list detailing the rates each company would expect to pay, ranging from 30.6 percent for cognac house Martell to 39 percent for Jas Hennessy and 38.1 percent for Remy Martin.

Shares in French spirits giants Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard fell sharply in Paris on Tuesday following the news.

France’s main cognac industry group said it had not yet received details of the new rules but the announcement sent an “additional signal” that China intended to implement further taxes.

“We will already have to pay money” for the guarantee given the biggest cognac exporters already have their own import subsidiaries in China, said Raphael Delpech, director general of the National Interprofessional Cognac Bureau (Bnic).

On 4 October, after the EU vote to impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, the Bnic issued a statement saying the higher tariffs would reinforce “the imminent threat of surtax on Cognac exports to China”, deporing that requests to postpone the vote and for a negotiated solution had been ignored.

“The French authorities have abandoned us. We do not understand why our sector is being sacrificed in this way,” according to the French brandy makers, who now fear that Beijing’s surtax “could exclude [French cognacs] from the Chinese market”.

• Are EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles a sign of weakness?

Status symbol

“The thirst for French alcohol prevails,” said a report by Shanghai-based research group Daxue Consulting, published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Sino-French relations in January 2024.

In 2022, France emerged as the leading exporter of alcoholic beverages to China, reaching a total value of €773 million, according to the report, pointing out that foreign liquors in China “serve as a status symbol, often reserved for special dinners and social gatherings”.

France has a 98.8 percent market share of hard liquor, according to the report.

Earlier this year, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited France, French President Emmanuel Macron thanked him for not imposing customs duties on French cognac, presenting him with bottles of the expensive drink.

But the EU gave a definitive green light last week to imposing extra tariffs of up to 35.3 percent on EVs imported from China, saying Beijing has unfairly subsidised its domestic industry to the detriment of European automakers.

Brussels is also investigating Chinese subsidies for solar panels and wind turbines.

And Beijing launched a probe into EU subsidies of some dairy and pork products imported into China.

Asked about the brandy measures and those probes on Tuesday, Beijing’s commerce ministry said the investigations were being conducted in “accordance with the law”.

A spokesperson reiterated that Beijing was mulling measures such as “raising tariffs on imported large-displacement fuel vehicles”, referring to cars with larger engines that typically produce more emissions.

“China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese industries and enterprises,” the spokesperson said.

(with newswires)

This Wednesday, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three pioneering scientists whose work has revolutionised our understanding of proteins – the fundamental building blocks of life – through the use of artificial intelligence.

The honour was shared by David Baker of the University of Washington, along with Demis Hassabis and John Jumper – both of Google DeepMind – an AI research lab based in London.

Baker has been instrumental in advancing the understanding of protein structures.

His breakthrough came in 2003 when he successfully designed a new protein, opening the door to numerous other innovative creations.

Since then, Baker’s research group has developed a wide variety of novel proteins with practical applications, such as pharmaceuticals, vaccines, nanomaterials, and highly sensitive molecular sensors.

AI ‘cracks the code’

Meanwhile, Hassabis and Jumper achieved a revolutionary feat by developing an AI model capable of predicting the structure of nearly all known proteins.

This includes the roughly 200 million proteins identified by researchers worldwide.

In 2020, they successfully decoded the problem of protein structure prediction using AI, a significant leap forward for both biology and computational science.

According to Linke, this achievement is akin to “cracking the code” of protein structure prediction.

He went on to explain that understanding protein structures is essential because proteins are the molecules that make life possible, forming bones, tissues, skin, and other biological materials.

Knowing the shape of these molecules is crucial to understanding their functions, and thus how life operates at a molecular level.

The significance of their work goes beyond just biology or chemistry – it showcases the immense potential that AI holds in transforming scientific fields.

• AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn

‘Potential dangers’

While AI has revolutionised fields like chemistry and biology, it has also sparked concerns about its rapid and uncontrolled development.

These concerns were highlighted earlier this week by John Hopfield, one of the recipients of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his foundational work on artificial intelligence.

Hopfield, a professor emeritus at Princeton, expressed deep concern over the unpredictable nature of modern AI technologies, which he warned could lead to potentially catastrophic dangers if not properly understood and regulated.

Speaking from the United Kingdom via video link, the 91-year-old Hopfield drew parallels between AI and two other powerful technologies: biological engineering and nuclear physics.

He argued that both these technologies have brought about both positive and negative consequences, and cautioned that AI might follow a similar trajectory.

“As a physicist, I’m unnerved by something that has no control, something which I don’t understand well enough,” Hopfield said, warning of the unforeseen risks that AI could pose if allowed to develop unchecked.

Hopfield is famous for creating the “Hopfield network,” an artificial neural network model that simulates how biological brains store and retrieve memories.

His work laid the foundation for the later advances of Geoffrey Hinton, who is widely regarded as the “Godfather of AI“.

• EU nations reach landmark agreement on AI regulation

‘Downfall of civilization’

Hinton’s contributions included the “Boltzmann machine,” which introduced randomness into AI models and helped pave the way for today’s deep learning systems.

However, Hinton has also become a vocal critic of AI’s rapid evolution, expressing grave concerns that AI could surpass human intelligence and, potentially, gain control over human affairs.

Both Hopfield and Hinton have called for a deeper understanding of AI systems, with Hopfield stressing that AI’s collective properties may not be fully predictable. He referenced the fictional “ice-nine” from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, an artificial substance that inadvertently freezes the world’s oceans, leading to the downfall of civilization.

While this scenario is fictional, Hopfield believes it serves as a warning about the unintended consequences of powerful technologies.

• France appoints engineer to lead artificial intelligence safety summit

OpenAI comes to Paris

These warnings come amid a wave of rapid advancements in AI, including the global expansion of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

OpenAI, based in California, announced this week that it will open new offices in Paris, Brussels, Singapore, and New York, reflecting its growing international influence.

The company recently raised $6.6 billion in funding, bringing its total estimated value to $157 billion.

According to Clara Chappaz, the new French Secretary of State for Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Economy, OpenAI’s expansion into France highlights the growing dynamism of the French AI ecosystem, a sector that the government aims to position as a world leader.

Paris will also host the next major international AI Action Summit in February 2025, where global leaders will discuss the future of AI and its impact on society.

Amid the growing influence of artificial intelligence, unresolved tensions persist between OpenAI and French press organisations, particularly concerning the use of content produced by the media.

Nevertheless, OpenAI’s expansion further highlights the central role AI is set play in shaping the future of technology, science, and everyday life – for better, or for worse. 

(with newswires)

The extreme weather destroyed homes, wiped out livestock and depleted food supplies, with the capital Niamey among the hardest-hit areas. 

This year’s floods have been far more destructive than previous years, with some regions seeing up to 200 percent more rainfall, according to the national meteorological agency. 

Floods are not uncommon in Niger, where the rainy season lasts from June to September, but the scale of devastation is unprecedented.  

The torrential downpours have also destroyed a historic mosque in Zinder, the nation’s second-largest city. The mosque, built in the mid-19th century, was an iconic structure in the Muslim-majority country. 

The flooding has pushed the government to postpone the start of the school year until late October, as many schools have been damaged and some are sheltering displaced families. 

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

Extreme weather pattern

The worsening floods are part of a broader pattern of extreme weather events across the Sahel linked to climate change.  

Scientists have warned that the increase in carbon emissions from fossil fuels is driving longer, more intense rainy seasons in countries like Niger.  

In 2022, 195 people died in similar conditions. Efforts to mitigate the impact of such floods have become increasingly urgent. 

Meanwhile neighbouring Mali is also facing its own disaster, with over 40 people killed and thousands displaced.  

The government has called on the international community for help, requesting €4.5 million to address material damage and prevent health risks. 

Lawmakers accused him of backsliding on democracy and siding with Russia over Ukraine, deepening the divide between Hungary and its European partners.

Known for his nationalist and hard-right policies, Orban has been at odds with the EU on several issues.

His government has stalled aid to Ukraine and has been criticised for undermining the rule of law at home.

In his speech, Orban declared that the “European Union needs to change” and that he would try to “convince” the parliament of that.

However, he quickly faced pushback from EU leaders.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took the floor right after Orban’s speech and responded sharply to his stance on Ukraine.

“There is only one path to achieve a just peace for Ukraine and for Europe,” she said.

“We must continue to empower Ukraine’s resistance with political, financial and military support.”

Von der Leyen’s message was clear: the EU’s support for Ukraine is non-negotiable, and Hungary’s hesitation to contribute is a problem.

Tensions rise as Hungary ignores EU deadline on Russian, Belarusian entry rules

Ukraine tensions

Orban’s government has long been criticised for its close ties with Moscow, with Hungary often seen as the EU’s most Russia-friendly member.

This has led to tensions over Hungary’s reluctance to join broader EU efforts to support Ukraine.

Since the war began in 2022, Hungary has resisted sending weapons to Kyiv and has delayed decisions on financial aid.

Von der Leyen did not hold back in criticising Orban’s stance, particularly his push for an early peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She took aim at those “who blame this war not on the invader but on the invaded, not on Putin’s lust for power, but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom.”

Orban’s speech to the European Parliament was part of Hungary’s presentation of priorities for its six-month presidency of the EU Council, a role it assumed in July.

However, his approach to foreign policy – particularly his uncoordinated trips to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing earlier this year – has caused friction with Brussels.

These visits were meant to promote peace talks but were widely seen as undermining EU unity.

One critic, Manfred Weber of the European People’s Party, dismissed Orban’s peace efforts, calling them a “big propaganda show for the autocrats”.

Hungary assumes EU presidency amid controversies and corruption concerns

‘Democratic backsliding’

Orban also faced significant criticism over Hungary’s democratic record. Since returning to power in 2010, Orban has steadily consolidated control, restricting media freedom and tightening his grip on the judiciary.

These moves have sparked multiple clashes with EU institutions, which have frozen billions of euros in funding for Hungary over concerns about the rule of law.

Orban’s speech acknowledged the “most serious period” in the EU’s history, pointing to conflicts on its borders and a “migration crisis” that he said threatened the Schengen zone’s open borders.

He warned that the system could “fall apart” without significant reforms.

However, his remarks did little to calm his critics. Green Party co-leader Terry Reintke was blunt in her assessment: “You are not welcome here. This is the house of European democracy.”

Orban’s government has drawn particular criticism over its handling of migration.

Von der Leyen singled out Hungary’s early release of convicted people-traffickers, accusing Orban of “throwing problems over your neighbour’s fence”.

She also condemned Hungary’s visa scheme for Russian nationals, calling it “a back door for foreign interference”.

Staunch defiance

Despite the intense criticism, Orban remains defiant. He has pointed to the rise of right-wing parties across Europe as evidence that his ideas are gaining ground.

In his view, the political tide in Europe is turning in his favour, with populist movements in Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria echoing many of his views.

Outside the parliamentary chamber, protests underscored the opposition Orban faces in Europe.

Left-wing lawmakers held up banners reading “no cash for corrupt” – a reference to the billions of euros in frozen EU funds that Hungary cannot access until it addresses rule-of-law concerns.

(with newswires)

The National Conference and Congress secured 48 of the 90 seats in the state assembly, which was dissolved in 2018 when Kashmir came under federal rule.

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 29 seats, dominating the Hindu-majority constituencies in the predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir.

The remaining 13 went to smaller parties or individuals; the Election Commission said hailing the staggered balloting “a resounding statement in favour of democracy.”

India’s Supreme Court had set 30 September as the deadline for the elections in Kashmir.

Landmark polls

The polls were also the first since 2019 when India’s BJP government stripped Kashmir’s autonomy and demoted it as a federal territory after splitting the region into two.

The government in Delhi says the action dealt a blow to festering militancy in Kashmir and boosted the economy of the Himalayan region, dependent on farming and tourism.

Some 5.6 million of Kashmir’s nearly nine million voters stamped ballot papers in the three-phased election which began on 18 September with results declared on Tuesday.

Kashmir holds first regional election since India scrapped its special status

Handwara, a militant hotbed, posted a voter turnout of nearly 73 percent, Kashmir’s highest.

 Several anti-India separatist outfits also ran for office in Kashmir, a subject of two of the three wars between India and Pakistan who hold the region in parts but claim the region in full.

Amina Jan, 19, was among the tens of thousands of young people who voted for the first time in Kashmir where unemployment stood at 18.3 percent, more than double the national average.

“I am hopeful my vote will change our situation,” she told the media during the balloting.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the winning team in Kashmir, where his BJP in 2014 had stitched a coalition government which fell apart four years later.

“This is the victory of the Indian constitution and democracy,” he said as the national election watchdog declared poll results in Haryana state that gave Modi’s BJP the mandate for a rare third term.

Modi addressing his followers attacked bitter rival the Congress, which won 37 of Haryana’s 90 seats.

“Many conspiracies are being hatched to weaken India’s democracy, its economy and social fabric… national parties like the Congress and their allies are involved in this game,” he insisted.

Statehood calls

In Kashmir, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said his government will campaign for the restoration of statehood and allayed fears of bias against Hindus who voted for the BJP.

“I would expect the incumbent government to travel to Delhi and meet the honourable prime minister, home minister and others and to ask them to live up to the promise they made to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

Meet the rappers giving voice to Kashmir’s protest generation

 “We will work with the government of India to have statehood restored and if that does not then we would look at what options are available with us,” added Abdullah, the chief minister designate.

Observers say without full-fledged statehood, the regional government will have limited authority and may have a federal governor as its boss.

On Monday, two Kashmiri campaigners petitioned the Supreme Court to act.

“There is no impediment to security concerns, violence or any other disturbances which would hinder or prevent the restoration of statehood,” activists Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and Khurshaid Ahmad Malik said in a joint appeal.

Ram Madhav, an influential BJP ideologue, promised statehood but warned the incoming government against demanding the release of jailed separatists in negotiations for statehood.

“That becomes a problem for larger security issues,” he said but did not specify a date for statehood’s restoration in the region of 12 million.

Tuesday’s impeachment motion accused the 59-year-old deputy to President William Ruto of corruption, insubordination, undermining the government and practising ethnically divisive politics, among a host of other charges.

In a historic move, the motion – the culmination of months of open conflict between Gachagua and his boss – was approved by 282 MPs in the 349-member National Assembly, more than the two-thirds required.

There were 44 votes against and one abstention, according to parliament speaker Moses Wetangula.

The motion will now proceed to the upper-house Senate and if approved there, Gachagua would become the first deputy president to be removed from office in this way since impeachment was introduced in Kenya‘s revised 2010 constitution.

“It is well,” Gachagua said in a short statement after the vote, alongside Bible verses calling for thankfulness in all circumstances.

Armed with a 500-page dossier, the scandal-tainted politician had earlier taken to the floor of the lower house during a sometimes heated 12-hour parliamentary session to reject the charges against him strenuously.

“Search your conscience… please make the right decision,” he urged lawmakers in a passionate appeal, adding that he was “undergoing a political process”.

At a press conference on Monday, he had branded the motion as “outrageous” and “sheer propaganda”, calling it a plot to hound him out of office.

Gachagua, a powerful businessman from Kenya’s biggest tribe, the Kikuyu, weathered previous corruption scandals to become deputy leader as Ruto’s running mate in a closely fought election in August 2022.

But in recent weeks, he has complained of being sidelined by the president and had been accused of supporting youth-led anti-government protests that broke out in June.

Political tensions have been running high since the sometimes deadly demonstrations erupted over unpopular tax hikes, exposing divisions in the top echelons of power – with Gachagua admitting that the motion could not have gone ahead without Ruto’s approval.

Meet the Kenyan man shaping a francophone future in East Africa

‘Fight to the end’

The feud echoes the public falling-out between then-president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto before the 2022 election.

Several MPs allied with Gachagua were summoned by police last month, accused of funding the protests.

No formal charges have been lodged by prosecutors and no judicial inquiry has been opened against Gachagua.

But lawmakers gave 11 grounds for impeachment, including accusations that he amassed assets worth 5.2 billion shillings ($40 million) since the last election, despite an annual salary of just $93,000.

Among the listed assets was Kenya’s renowned Treetops Hotel, where Britain‘s then-Princess Elizabeth was staying as she became Queen.

Gachagua says his wealth has come entirely through legitimate business deals and an inheritance from his late brother.

He has warned his removal would stir discontent among his supporters, and insisted on the eve of the vote that he would not resign.

“I will fight to the end,” he said on Monday.

Gachagua will continue to serve his in role until the removal is approved by Senate.

‘Lacks political patience’

Kenyan lawmakers initiated the impeachment process on 1 October, with 291 members of parliament backing the motion, well beyond the 117 minimum required.

Following Tuesday’s vote, the upper-house Senate must sit within a week of receiving the impeachment and will then have 10 days to deal with the motion, including allowing Gachagua to cross-examine the evidence.

It will require the support of at least two-thirds of senators to pass.

The impeachment can however be appealed through the courts.

Dismas Mokua, a Nairobi-based political risk analyst, told AFP that Gachagua had assumed he would co-lead with Ruto.

“He lacked the strategic political patience needed for the role, succumbing to the same fate as other deputies or vice presidents who sought quick, ‘instant coffee’ solutions,” he said.

While his potential impeachment was unlikely to cause organic protests, Mokua warned that “the probability of orchestrated unrest is very high”.

In 1989, then-vice president Josephat Karanja resigned from office when faced with a similar push for dismissal in parliament.

Born in Saudi Arabia, where he spent his early years, Omar bin Laden, 43, has also lived in Sudan and Afghanistan. He left his father at the age of 19 and eventually settled in Normandy in northern France in 2016, taking up painting.

France’s new interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X that Omar bin Laden had lived in the department of Orne in Normandy as a spouse of a British national.

The minister said that the jihadist’s son “posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism.”

“As a result, the prefect of Orne issued an order to leave French territory,” Retailleau said.

“The courts have confirmed the legality of this decision taken in the interests of national security,” he added.

The interior minister also said he had signed off on a ban preventing Omar bin Laden “to return to France for any reason whatsoever.”

He did not provide further details and it was not clear if Omar bin Laden had already left France.

Omar bin Laden’s marriage to British woman Jane Felix-Browne, a grandmother who had been divorced five times previously and over two decades his senior, had caused considerable media interest when it was confirmed in 2007.

After marriage she took on the Muslim name of Zaina Mohammed. Omar bin Laden sought to live in the UK, but his bid was rejected by the British authorities.

The announcement of Omar bin Laden’s expulsion comes as the French interior minister held a meeting on Tuesday with the police chiefs of the 21 departments most affected by illegal immigration.

(with AFP)

Thre report pointed out that 89 million overnight stays were booked in hotels over this period, 2.2 million fewer than in 2023.

In Île-de-France region in particular, there was “no positive effect from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games”, the report from Insee reads.

The number of overnight stays fell even more than elsewhere in France. 

The month of August did not allow hoteliers to make up the lost ground recorded in June and July. 

Hotels also saw their business clientele desert the capital this summer.

Significant drop in visitors to Louvre, Orsay museums during Paris Olympics

Campsites popular

In contrast, campsites were the only ones to record an increase in their customer numbers this summer in France, against a backdrop of falling purchasing power. 

Nearly 120 million overnight stays were booked between May and August 2024. Foreigners, in particular, choose camping.

Fewer tourists went to the coast this year compared to last year, except the Mediterranean, where the weather was milder than usual.

In the mountains, on the other hand, visitor numbers were slightly up this year.

“I have loved this service and this administration for 27 years: it is with a heavy heart that I leave,” Nicolas Jauniaux announced on Monday, stepping down as director of the Majicavo prison.

In a video broadcast on the website of L’info Kwezi, a local television station, Jauniaux said he wanted to “draw attention” to the working conditions in the overcrowded establishment, which was marked by a mutiny and hostage-taking on 28 September.

The prison houses 650 inmates for 278 places, a record in France. 

By resigning, he hopes to “contribute, in his modest way, to improving the working conditions of the staff and the living conditions of the inmates.”

Wilfried Fonck, national secretary of Ufap-Unsa Justice union, told Franceinfo on Tuesday that it was “a very strong and courageous act” on Jauniaux’s part.

How overseas Mayotte became ‘a department apart’ within France

Record overcrowding

“We have a record level of overcrowding, which has made it impossible for us to carry out our duties,” Fonck explained. 

He says Jauniaux’s resignation should bring attention to “the French prison system as a whole”, not only in Mayotte.

According to the trade unionist, “the situation in French prisons today is catastrophic.”

French prison population hits new record as overcrowding concerns grow

According to the French prison service, the average occupancy rate in French prisons on 1 September was 127 percent. 

But in establishments where prisoners are awaiting trial or serving short sentences, occupancy reached 153.6 percent. 

In Majicavo prison, it is over 181 percent.

Mayotte is the poorest French department, has long struggled with social unrest and a crippling migration crisis linked to the arrival of thousands fleeing poverty and corruption on the African mainland.

France’s interior minister last week said several deportation flights had been planned in October, as Paris seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration. 

(with newswires)

The agreement made on 3 October comes after nearly two years of negotiations and marks a significant turnaround after decades of British dismissals of Mauritian sovereignty claims.

Mauritius has claimed the Chagos archipelago – renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory – since its independence in 1968 and has garnered increased international support.

Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told his British counterpart Keir Starmer that the deal showed how a small country can “win justice against major powers”.

He added: “Today, 56 years after our independence, our decolonisation is complete. Now our national anthem can sound out even louder across our territory.”

Mauritian Foreign Minister Maneesh Gobin shared this sentiment on X, saying that 3 October would be “a day to remember”.

He described the agreement as “historic for respectful international law and diplomacy” and said it addresses historical wrongs while recognising the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.

Strategic military base

Located several hundred kilometres south of the Maldives, the Chagos Islands were colonised by France in the 18th century, ceded to Britain in 1814 and merged with Mauritius in 1903.

In 1965 Britain separated the Chagos islands from the rest of Mauritius, paying £3 million for them, the equivalent of around £50 million (€59 million) today.

In 1966, Britain leased the islands to the United States for 50 years to set up a military base on Diego Garcia island. That deal was renewed in 2016.

UK, Mauritius open talks on sovereignty of disputed Chagos Archipelago

The strategic military base’s continued operation is central to the 3 October deal. At the start of talks in 2023, both sides agreed that the base would remain operational regardless of the outcome.

Britain’s Foreign Ministry argued that without the agreement, “the long-term, secure operation” of the military base would be at risk, especially with potential legal challenges from international courts.

“The agreement secures this vital military base for the future,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said, adding that the deal would prevent the islands from being used as a “dangerous illegal migration route to the UK”.

A joint British-Mauritian statement confirmed that the base would remain open on an initial 99-year lease.

US President Joe Biden hailed the “historic agreement” to keep open a facility that “plays a vital role in national, regional, and global security”.

The base is used by US long-range bombers and ships and was notably used during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Additionally, the UK announced a “package of financial support” to Mauritius, including an annual payment and an infrastructure partnership. The two countries also agreed to cooperate on environmental issues and irregular migration.

Addressing past wrongs

Despite the enthusiasm from officials that the deal will resolve “wrongs of the past”, not everyone is satisfied. One ongoing issue is the plight of local people who were forced into exile when the military base was built.

Between 1968 and 1973, around 2,000 Chagossians were evicted, a move described in a British diplomatic cable at the time as the removal of a “few Tarzans and Man Fridays”.

Today, around 10,000 Chagossians and their descendants are spread between Mauritius, the Seychelles and Britain.

Chagos Islands sovereignty case – the end of the end of British colonial rule in Africa?

Over the years, apart from a compensation settlement in 1982, British authorities have consistently blocked the possibility of allowing Chagossians to return home. Chagossian Voices, a group representing exiled islanders, said it was excluded from the most recent talks.

“The views of Chagossians, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty,” Chagossian Voices said.

In February 2023, Human Rights Watch published a report accusing the UK and the US of committing crimes against humanity by displacing indigenous populations.

Turning point

In 2019 the International Court of Justice advised Britain to hand over the remote islands. During the hearings, the UK apologised for the “shameful” eviction of islanders, but ignored the ICJ ruling at the time.

The same year, the UN General Assembly also passed a resolution calling on Britain to “withdraw its colonial administration”.

Regardless of the next steps, the deal marks a huge shift in post-colonial relations between the UK and Mauritius, possibly serving as a blueprint for other countries.

African Union chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on X that the October deal “marks a major victory for the cause of decolonisation, international law and the rightful self-determination of the people of Mauritius”.

Philippe Sands, a Franco-British lawyer who defended Mauritius for 15 years in the case, said that the 2019 ICJ ruling was crucial to achieving this outcome.

“This is a great moment for Mauritians. It is a win-win agreement that shows that international law can be useful,” he told RFI’s correspondent in The Hague.

(with newswires)

Senegal, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Gambia, Ghana and Guinea-Bissau co-sponsored an effort to end the four-decade-old moratorium on commercial whaling at the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) most recent meeting in Peru. 

The resolution was ultimately withdrawn due to lack of support, along with a separate motion to declare whaling a source of global food security. 

However, its proponents are working to refine their case ahead of the next IWC meeting in Australia in 2026.

“This proposal was never about food security,” said Madison Miketa, a wildlife scientist at Humane Society International. “The nations that put it forward have no history or cultural traditions of eating whale meat.” 

Experts critical

More than 100 scientists and experts from the region publicly agreed there was neither a tradition nor a need for whaling in west and central Africa. 

Critics suggest Japan, known for its pro-whaling stance, may have influenced the African nations’ position. Japan left the IWC in 2019 but continues whaling in its waters. 

“We are relieved that the proposal by some West and Central African countries to falsely link ‘food security’ in West Africa to commercial whaling has failed,” said Maximin Djondo, of OceanCare.

He added that genuine food security was too important to be used as a political football. 

“It is shameful that some African governments are allowing themselves to be used for Japan’s commercial whaling interests,” Djondo said. 

Meanwhile Guy Aimé Florent Malanda, a Congolese wildlife official, described his country’s support for whaling as “unconscionable” and contradictory to national conservation laws. 

Ongoing battle

Established in 1946, the IWC is responsible for the conservation of whales and the management of whaling. It introduced a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. 

The withdrawal of the motion to resume whaling is a temporary victory for conservation efforts that comes as climate change also threatens whale populations.  

A study found that humpback whale numbers in the North Pacific dropped by 20 percent between 2012 and 2021 because there was less plankton, their main source of food. 

In the 20th century, humans killed nearly three million whales, putting some species at risk of dying out.  

Today, about 1,200 whales are still killed by hunters each year. 

Re-elected in September with more than 84 percent of the vote, Tebboune used his first televised interview with Algerian media to admonish France.

“I will not go to Canossa” he replied when asked if a long-awaited trip to Paris was on the cards.

The German expression “to walk to Canossa” has come to mean humbling oneself and asking an enemy for forgiveness.

Its roots can be found in an 11th-century power struggle between the pope and King Henry IV of Germany. Having been ex-communicated by the pope in 1076, the king was forced to go and beg the pope for forgiveness in Canossa, northern Italy.

Tebboune’s visit has been postponed several times and the most recent date was scheduled for late September or early October.

But given increasingly tense relations between the two countries, Algiers views an official visit to France as a potentially humiliating experience.

Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of vote: official results

Accusations of genocide

Just a few months ago, Tebboune held largely positive talks with President Macron on the margins of the G7 meeting in Italy.

According to the France’s Elysée palace, the two leaders discussed how to continue implementing the bilateral Declaration of Algiers signed in August 2022, praising progress made by a joint commission of historians created to reconcile colonial difficulties.

But relations nose-dived in July after Macron sent a letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco voicing support for the Kingdom’s autonomy plan in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

Algeria withdrew its ambassador to Paris in protest over what was seen as a shift in France’s policy away from Algeria.

France reiterates its support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara

Saturday’s interview provided an opportunity to voice other ongoing grievances against France, which ruled over Algeria from 1830 to 1962.

Tebboune reiterated long-standing Algerian demands that France recognise the massacres committed during French colonialism, accusing France of committing “genocide”.

The population of Algeria, Tebboune said, had been four million in 1830; 130 years later it had only doubled, at around nine million. “There was a genocide,” he stated.

While the commission of Algerian and French historians, who met in Alger in May this year for the fifth time, had intitially made progress, their joint work has since stalled.

Tebboune blamed “political declarations made a French minority that harbours hatred towards Algeria” for blocking the work.

France called to fully recognise use of torture during Algerian war

1968 accords

Algeria’s leader also tackled controversy surrounding a Franco-Algerian agreement that makes it easier for Algerian nationals to immigrate to France.

Signed in 1968, at a time when France needed workers for its economy, it grants Algerians special status in relation to rights of movement, residence and employment – allowing them to set up businesses as traders or self-employed professionals through “residence certificates” rather than residence permits.

The documents are generally quicker to obtain than for nationals of other countries. 

Last year the rightwing Republicans, backed by the far-right, anti-immigration National Rally (RN), tabled a motion calling for the termination of the agreement. In December, the French parliament rejected the proposal by 151 votes to 114.  

Tebboune said the agreement had become a “banner behind which an army of right-wing extremists” were marching.

RN – which historically has close ties to former French colonials in Algeria – has increased its clout since this summer’s snap parliamentary elections made it the largest political party in the National Assembly.

As a result, France’s new government has swung to the right, and left-wing politicians and some observers insist it is now dependent on RN support for its survival. 

Nuclear testing

Tebboune also raised the issue of the 17 nuclear tests France carried out in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1966.

Documents declassified in 2013 revealed ongoing significant radioactive fallout, stretching from West Africa to southern Europe.

“France’s responsibility for the nuclear tests … still claim lives in southern Algeria,” Tebboune said.

“You want us to be friends, come and clean up the nuclear test sites.”

Beyond the issue of French-Algerian relations, he spoke about the Brics organisation – an alliance of major developing countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – designed to challenge the political and economic power of wealthier North America and Western Europe.

“For the moment, we do not plan to join this organisation,” Tebboune noted. “Our interest lies in joining the Brics Bank, which is just as important as the World Bank.”

The Paris Olympic Games and Paralympics gave French-language songs huge exposure, adding new fans to the global audience already growing on streaming platforms. But what kind of music are non-French-speakers listening to and why? A new exhibition at the recently opened International Centre of the French Language asks the question. Its curator, the music journalist Bertrand Dicale, based the exhibit on the idea that songs reveal who were are, and he talks about what popular songs reveal about France. He also highlights some surprising differences between French and foreign audiences, which have allowed stars like Aya Nakamura and Juliette Gréco to enjoy huge success abroad despite being scorned at home. (Listen @0’00)

France lags behind many countries in the use of technology in classrooms and there is no clear policy from an ever-changing education ministry. But the disorganisation may be buying educators time to consider the consequences. A report commissioned in the spring by President Emmanuel Macron advised placing limits on young people’s use of smartphones and social media, and some schools are testing a smartphone ban this year. Founded by concerned educators, the collective Pour une éducation numérique raisonnée (“For a sensible digital education”) has raised its own concerns about the push to digitise textbooks and get students learning on screens. We visit a class taught by one of its members, and see how technology is – and is not – used. (Listen @22’00)

In the midst of Nobel season, a look at some of France’s 71 prizes, from the first ever Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 to the five won by members of the Curie family for physics and chemistry. (Listen @15’00)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

With a great deal of fanfare, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the leaving ceremony of Turkey’s energy research vessel Oruc Reis, which set sail this month to Somalia accompanied by two Turkish naval vessels.

Somali energy deal

The deployment of the Oruc Reis is part of an energy deal struck with Somalia and the latest step in Ankara’s long-term investment in the Horn of Africa nation.

“Turkey has its largest embassy in the world in Mogadishu. It has a military base there. The port of Mogadishu is controlled by a Turkish company, “explained Norman Rickelfs, a geopolitical consultant.

“[Turkey] signed a defense deal (with Somalia) in February, a two-part defense deal, and then an energy exploration deal in March. So, Turkey needs Somalia and Ethiopia to play well together.”

The threat of a new conflict in the Horn of Africa has been looming since January when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a breakaway state from Somalia.

The agreement gives Ethiopia secure sea access in exchange for recognizing the breakaway state, a deal condemned by Somalia for infringing on its territorial integrity.

Turkey enters fray mediating Ethiopia and Somalia’s high-stakes dispute

Somalia, Ethiopia and Turkey

Ankara which has good relations with Ethiopia, as well as Somalia has been mediating. But September’s round of talks, during which Ankara had indicated an agreement could be reached, has been indefinitely postponed.

The postponement follows Egypt signing a defense pact with Somalia in August. Last month, Egypt sent its first shipment of arms to Somalia in four decades.

Elem Eyrice-Tepeciklioglu, an African studies professor at the Social Sciences University of Ankara, warns that Egypt’s military involvement complicates Ethiopian Somali reconciliation efforts.

“There are also some hurdles on the way with some recent tensions, especially with the involvement of Egypt and its increasing relations with Somalia,” claims Eyrice-Tepeciklioglu.

Tepeciklioglu warns that the longer the Ethiopian-Somalia dispute continues, the greater the risk of contagion in an unstable region.

“The shifting alliances in the region are also a source of problem, because most of the regional countries have strained relations with each other. And then they often have conflicting interests. So this might complicate the situation,” explained Tepeciklioglu. 

 Egypt’s support of Somalia is the latest chapter in Egyptian-Ethiopian tensions. Those tensions center on Ethiopia’s damming of the Nile River, which Egypt depends on.

Cairo’s position

Cairo has strongly criticized the project, warning it poses an existential threat. “Egypt’s military deployment to Somalia is a natural progression for an actor seeking to strengthen their hand in a regional competition,” said Kaan Devecioglu of the Ankara-based think tank Orsam.

However, Devecioglu says the priority must be to prevent current rivalries from overspilling into confrontation. “Egypt already has this strained relationship with Ethiopia due to tensions over the Nile River, which makes its presence in Somalia geopolitically sensitive. The issue is not that states are rivals but ensuring they are not enemies,’ explained Devecioglu.

Egyptian President Al Fateh Sisi discussed Ethiopian Somali tensions during last month’s Ankara visit. The visit is part of rapprochement efforts between the countries. That rapprochement Ankara is likely to use to contain current tensions in the Horn of Africa.

However, some experts warn Ankara‘s mediation efforts could be running out of time.

“We see tensions escalating in the region, and we see both sides sort of trying to extract leverage and put pressure on each other,” said Omar Mahmood, a Senior Analyst of the International Crisis Group.

Mahmood says that given the Horn Of Africa is already plagued with conflict Ankara’s mediation efforts needs international support,

 “There needs to be a way to de-escalate, I think the mediation is very important. But I think there probably needs to be additional, you know, parties involved or additional pressure put on both sides in order to get to a breakthrough,” added Mahmood.

Currently, there is no new date for a new round of Turkish-brokered Ethiopian Somali talks, with Ankara saying it is negotiating with each country separately. But time is not on Ankara’s side as tensions continue to grow in the region, which is located on one of the world’s most important trade routes.

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!

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

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 bilingual 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.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our 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. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 7 September, I asked you a question about the Paris Paralympics 2024. You were to re-read our article “Golden glory for French para-triathletes despite delays over Seine water quality” and send in the answers to these two questions: How many medals did the French Paralympians win in the triathlon events that were held on 2 September, and: What are the three sports that make up a triathlon?

The answer is: French Paralympians won four medals in the triathlon events. Alexis Hanquinquant and Jules Ribstein both won gold in their divisions, Thibaut Rigaudeau and Antoine Perel won bronze in the competition for visually impaired athletes.

And which three sports make up a triathlon? Swimming, bicycling, and running. 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the scariest creature you have ever encountered?”, which was suggested by Alan Holder from the Isle of Wight, England.  

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Swapan Kumar Chandra from Kolkata, India – who is back in the kitchen with us after a long break … welcome back, Swapan! Swapan is also this week’s bonus question winner – congratulations!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are A. K. M. Nuruzzaman, the president of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Rasheed Naz, the chairman of the Naz RFI Internet Fan Club in Faisal Abad, Pakistan. There’s RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State in India, and last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Shihab Ali Khondaker from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: Le Boeuf sur le Toit by Darius Milhaud, performed by the Ulster Orchestra conducted by Yan Pascal Tortelier; “Love Me Do” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, played by The Beatles; “Les Jours Heureux” by Cyrille Aufort; “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 “At The Centerline” by Brian Blade, performed by the Brian Blade Fellowship Band.

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 “French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on trial for misuse of EU funds”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 28 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 2 November 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.

Click here to learn how to 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,  

This week, our focus shifts to the dynamics of Chinese-African-Western relations.

In September, as the United States pursued investments in nuclear energy projects in Ghana and Kenya, the China-Africa forum concluded with a series of new agreements between China and a number of African countries. These deals spanned key sectors, including industry, agriculture, natural resources, and renewable energy.

China’s new strategy in Africa: is the continent getting a fair deal?

Chinese President Xi Jinping also announced that Beijing will allocate $50 billion (€45 billion euros) to Africa over the next three years.

However, China’s overall investments in the continent have declined over the past year, creating an opening for both the US and Europe, who are both eager to re-establish their economic presence in Africa.

Russia has also entered the picture.

But what does Africa realy need?

To explore this, Jan van der Made and Melissa Chemam spoke with experts, including historians Daniel Large and Michael Dillon, as well as Igor Ichikowitz from the Ichikowitz Family Foundation.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome 

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale

At the UN, Erdogan again compared Israel to Hitler, calling for an “international alliance of humanity” to stop Israel as it did Hitler 70 years ago. However, such fiery rhetoric is finding a shrinking audience.

“It’s more conveying a message to their own base”, said Sezin Oney of the Turkish news portal Politikyol. “There isn’t an audience that really sees Turkey or Erdogan as the vanguard of Palestine rights anymore. On the contrary, that ship sailed long ago.”

Erdogan attempted to boost his image as a powerful regional player by meeting with the Lebanese and Iraqi Prime Ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. But Ankara is increasingly finding itself sidelined as a regional diplomatic player.

“Ankara‘s pro-Hamas approach has only marginalised Turkey in the international arena,” said international relations expert Selin Nasi of the London School of Economics. “So we see Egypt and Qatar receiving credits for their roles as mediators. And Turkey is locked out of international diplomatic efforts.”

Since Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent Gaza campaign, Ankara has tried to position itself among international mediating efforts to end the fighting, given its close contacts with Hamas.

Turkish youth finds common cause in protests against trade with Israel

Mediation efforts

“Turkey was asked by the United States to speak with Hamas people”, said international relations expert Soli Ozel at Vienna’s Institute for Human Studies.

However, Ozel says the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran denied Erdogan his diplomatic trump card.

“One big blow to Turkey has been the murder of Haniyeh, with which Turkey did have very close relations. For all I know, he may even have had a Turkish passport”, said Ozel.

“And I really don’t think Turkey has any relations or contacts with Yahya Sinwar, who is officially and effectively the leader of Hamas”.

With Israel already alienated by Erdogan’s fiery rhetoric along with Turkey imposing an Israeli trade embargo, Gallia Lindenstrauss of Tel Aviv‘s National Security Studies says Turkey has nothing to offer.

Turkey flexes naval muscles as neighbours fear escalating arms race

“There are two main mediators in this conflict: Egypt and Qatar. They’re the two actors that have leverage over Hamas. Turkey, despite its very open support of Hamas, has very little leverage on Hamas’s decisions,” said Lindenstrauss.

“So Turkey is not effective – it doesn’t have the money to push Hamas in a certain direction, it doesn’t have the political leverage over Hamas to push it in the right direction. In practice …Turkey is not very efficient.

“So I don’t think it’s a mistake that Turkey is not part of this [mediation] process.”

Ankara has been quick to point out that existing mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel have achieved little, with the conflict now spreading to Lebanon.

However, some experts claim Ankara’s diplomatic sidelining has a broader message of Arab countries pushing back against Turkey’s involvement in the region.

“None of the Arab countries would like to get Turkey involved in this process,” said international relations expert Huseyin Bagci, of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

“Turkey could be considered by their views as the enemy of Israel, but it is artificial. The Middle East Arab-Israeli conflict since 1948 has been an Arab-Israeli conflict, not a Turkish-Israeli conflict.”

Turkey and Egypt bury the hatchet with a dozen new bilateral deals

Regional ambitions

For more than a decade, Erdogan has sought to project Turkey’s influence across the Middle East, often referring to the years of Ottoman rule as the halcyon days of peace and tranquillity.

But the latest Middle East war has ended such dreams, analyst Ozel said.

“The Turkish government thought that they could dominate the Middle East. They played the game of hegemony seeking, and they lost it,” Ozel explained.

“When they lost it, Turkey found itself way behind [the position] it had prior to 2011 when their grandiose scheme of creating a region which would be dominated by Turkey began.”

As the Israel-Hamas war threatens to escalate across the region, Erdogan’s rhetoric against Israel will likely continue. But analysts warn that outside of the leader’s conservative base at home, few others in the region will be receptive.

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!

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

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 bilingual 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.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our 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. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 29 August, I asked you a question about the 2024 Paris Paralympics Games, which had just opened with a parade on the Champs-Élysées and a grand show on Place de la Concorde, designed by the Games artistic director Thomas Jolly. You were to re-read our article “Paralympic torch arrives in France ahead of opening ceremony” and send in the answer to this question: How many athletes will compete in how many events?

The answer is, to quote our article: “During the Games, around 4,400 athletes will compete in 549 events, which will take place in 18 competition sites, including 16 identical to their Olympic counterparts.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “With whom do you feel the happiest, and why?”, suggested by Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India.

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

The winners are: Razia Khalid, who’s a member of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan. Razia is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Razia!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are M. N. Sentu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club member Kashif Khalil from Faisalabad, Pakistan.  

Last but certainly not least, two RFI English listeners from Bangladesh: Shahanoaz Parvin Ripa, the president of the Sonali Badhon Female Listeners Club in Bogura, and Shihab Uddin Khan from Naogaon.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: Traditional music from the Middle Ages; the Allegro from the Piano Sonata K. 545 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by Gabriel Tacchino; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, sung by Cécile McLorin Salvant.

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, listen to Alison Hird’s report on political compromise in France on the Spotlight on France podcast no. 115, or consult her article “Where did France’s culture of political compromise go, and is it coming back?”, both of which will help you with the answer. 

You have until 21 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 26 October 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.

Click here to learn how to 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,  

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.