The deal, which would establish the world’s largest free trade zone, has become a flashpoint for growing dissatisfaction in the farming sector.

On Tuesday morning, more than 100 farmers set off from Beziers, a town in southern France, heading towards the French-Spanish border near Perpignan. 

Their goal is to block traffic along major highways for several days. 

As the convoy made its way along the A9 motorway, the procession included around 100 vehicles, among them six tractors. In Narbonne, they were joined by a dozen more cars.

Meanwhile, in Bordeaux, about 30 tractors gathered outside the regional authority’s headquarters, a symbol of the growing unrest in rural areas.

Despite the French government’s vocal opposition to the deal, farmers say President Emmanuel Macron and his administration are not doing enough to address their concerns. 

The protests, which began earlier this year, are now gaining momentum, with many in the agricultural community accusing the government of failing to deliver promised support.

Farmers warned of ‘zero tolerance’ as France braces for week of protest

Blocking food freight

The FNSEA farming union and Jeunes Agriculteurs (“Young Farmers”), which together represent most farmers in France, backed the protests.

Hardline farmers’ union Coordination Rurale threatened to step up pressure later this week and start blocking food freight, if no progress is made. The demonstrations are a continuation of broader frustrations within the agricultural sector. 

On Monday, farmers staged more than 80 protests across the country, setting up mock gallows and wooden crosses to symbolise the death of French agriculture.

They also blocked the Bridge of Europe, which links France and Germany to protest against the European Commission’s plan to conclude the Mercosur treaty following two decades of talks.

In Bordeaux, on the banks of the Garonne, several dozen farmers burned uprooted vines on Monday evening.

“Today, we are reigniting the flame of our fight,” said Jerome Freville, a 60-year-old winegrower. “Be careful. We will not back down.”

Low income, bureaucracy

French farmers complain about excessive bureaucracy, low incomes and poor harvests.

They say they have been waiting for the authorities to deliver on the promises of support made by the government before Macron dissolved parliament’s lower house in the summer, sparking a political crisis.

The proposed EU-Mercosur free trade agreement has provoked fresh anger.

Farmers fear the deal would flood European markets with cheaper South American products that do not meet the same strict standards on pesticides, hormones, and environmental protections required of European producers. 

Despite these concerns, Macron has reiterated that France is not alone in opposing the agreement. 

Speaking in Brazil on Monday at the G20 summit, the French president stated that several other EU countries were joining France in its resistance to the deal. 

Macron described the Mercosur accord as outdated, saying it was “based on preconditions that are now obsolete.”

(with AFP)

The leaders of the world’s 20 richest economies were under pressure during their summit in Brazil to break the impasse over climate finance at the deadlocked COP29 talks in Azerbaijan.

A statement issued by G20 leaders in Rio de Janiero overnight reiterated support for a deal to be reached in Baku, where the first week of negotiations ended in bitter stalemate.

“We needed to see a strong signal from the G20, and we got that on finance,” said Mohamed Adow, a Kenyan climate activist and founder of the Power Shift Africa group.

Jasper Inventor, from Greenpeace, described the support for a finance deal as “a positive signal”.

“This momentum must now be translated into concrete outcomes in Baku,” he said.

Climate, trade top the agenda as Macron visits Argentina ahead of G20 summit

Action against climate change

Rich nations are being urged to significantly raise their pledge of $100 billion (94 billion euros) a year in finance for poorer countries to take action against climate change.

But efforts to finalise the deal in Baku have been glacial, with rows over how much the deal should entail, who should pay it, and what types of finance should be included.

The chair of the G77 + China, a grouping of developing nations, told French news agency AFP that the Rio statement was a “good building block” for the climate talks as G20 leaders acknowledged that the needs were in the “trillions” of dollars.

However, Adonia Ayebare, the group’s Ugandan chairman, said that the G77 was “not comfortable” with vague wording saying the money should come from “all sources”.

“We have been insisting that this has to be from public sources. Grants, not loans,” Ayebare said.

Climate crisis takes centre stage as G20 summit opens in Brazil

Harjeet Singh, an activist from India, said the G20 “displayed a stark failure in leadership”.

“Their rehashed rhetoric offers no solace for the fraught COP29 negotiations, where we continue to see a deadlock on climate finance,” he said.

The statement did not explicitly repeat a pledge made last year at COP28 to transition the world away from fossil fuels, a flashpoint issue that has caused tensions in Baku.

G20 leaders made reference to phasing out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” but the key language enshrined to much fanfare in the commitment made in late 2023 was absent.

“Silence on the new climate finance goal and mutism on fossil fuel phase out are unacceptable coming from the biggest economies and emitters,” said Rebecca Thissen from the Climate Action Network.

(AFP)

Patrice Douret, president of the organisation, revealed plans to significantly strengthen their aid for young children, single-parent families, and others struggling with poverty. 

The initiative will focus not only on providing food and material resources, but also on fostering social connections and helping families integrate into society.

Douret emphasized that the charity is responding to an increasing demand, particularly from single-parent families, which now make up a quarter of the charity’s beneficiaries.

“This is a reality we can no longer accept,” Douret said, calling on the French government to provide more support to organisations fighting poverty, especially in light of the ongoing economic challenges.

At the launch of the new winter campaign, Douret was joined by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who visited the charity’s temporary headquarters in Gennevilliers, north of Paris. 

Barnier reassured that efforts to reduce France’s national deficit would not come at the expense of vulnerable populations. 

“We must reduce the debt, but I do not want these efforts to impact the most fragile,” he said, stressing that the budget for solidarity programs would not be cut.

Finances stabilised

The Restos du Cœur has long been a cornerstone of France’s social safety net, providing 35 percent of the country’s food aid. 

After experiencing a severe financial crisis earlier this year, the charity has managed to stabilise its finances. The organisation reported a surplus of 22 million euros for the 2023-2024 campaign, a remarkable turnaround from the expected 35 million euro deficit.

The charity had sounded the alarm in the fall of 2023 about its precarious financial situation, struggling to meet the needs of an increasing number of people facing food insecurity. 

French charity forced to cut number of beneficiaries as winter food drive begins

Rising operating costs, combined with a surge in demand, had forced Restos du Cœur to cut the income threshold for eligibility for food aid for the first time in its history. As a result, 110,000 people were turned away during the 2023-2024 campaign.

Over one million beneficiaries

Despite these challenges, the food bank was able to assist 1.3 million beneficiaries, maintaining the same number of people served as the previous year. 

The charity distributed 163 million meals, just shy of the 171 million served during the 2022-2023 campaign. 

“What will happen in the future as all indicators show that the situation has worsened since 2020?” Douret expressed concern, as rising poverty and inflation continue to impact vulnerable communities.

The most recent figures from France’s National Institute of Statistics (INSEE) reveal that more than nine million people in the country live below the poverty line, defined as earning less than 1,216 euros a month. 

This accounts for 14.4 percent of the population. 

For many, the Restos du Cœur provides not just food, but a lifeline to escape from the cycle of poverty.

(With newswires)

The whale shark, the largest fish on Earth, can grow up to 20 metres long and weigh over 30 tonnes, yet despite its awe-inspiring size, the species is facing an escalating risk of extinction. Overfishing, accidental bycatch, and collisions with ships are some of the major threats contributing to its endangered status.

In an interview with public broadcaster franceinfo on Sunday, Hugues de Kerdrel, founder of the marine conservation group Over The Swell, described the whale shark as a majestic creature.

“You see a huge mass, with a peace and tranquility that is extraordinary. It swims very slowly,” he said, highlighting the gentle nature of the giant fish.

Founded in Brittany, Over The Swell has taken up the cause of protecting whale sharks, now calling for the creation of an international protected zone in the South Atlantic. 

The campaign was sparked by de Kerdrel’s own encounter with a whale shark near Saint Helena island, located in the heart of the South Atlantic. This experience deepened his commitment to safeguarding the species, which is increasingly threatened by human activity.

Offshore corridor

According to a study published last month in Nature Climate Change, the risks to whale sharks are rising due to climate change, which forces the animals to migrate to areas with denser maritime traffic.

“We won’t be able to stop illegal fishing or industrial fishing,” de Kerdrel acknowledged. “But we can start by working on international marine protected areas.”

French fishing ban great news for dolphins, less so for industry

His organisation is pushing for the creation of the world’s first offshore corridor specifically for whale sharks, stretching between Cape Verde and Saint Helena island. 

By better understanding the sharks’ migration routes, de Kerdrel believes international bodies can be persuaded to protect the area.

Support from sailors

Last week, Over The Swell’s project received an official support from the Vendée Globe Foundation, which was created this year to promote the protection of oceans and marine biodiversity. 

Fabrice Amedeo, a sailor currently competing in the 10th edition of the annual Vendée Globe round-the-world race, voiced his backing for the project. 

40 skippers leave France to embark on gruelling ‘Everest of the Seas’

Amedeo emphasised the need for a shift in the approach to marine conservation, calling for an end to the silence surrounding the issue. He also stressed the importance of viewing sailors as “whistleblowers” rather than perpetrators when it comes to collisions with marine life.

Amedeo also pointed out that four of the 40 boats in the Vendée Globe unintentionally kill a whale every four years by striking the animals.

“What about the global commercial fleet?” he asked, urging a broader awareness of the devastating impact of ship collisions on marine wildlife.

In a move decried by Tehran, the 27-nation bloc said it prohibited the export, transfer, supply or sale from the EU to Iran of components used to make missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

It also banned any transaction with ports “owned, operated or controlled” by sanctioned individuals and entities, or otherwise used to supply Russia with drones, missiles, related technology and components.

“This measure includes the access to facilities of the ports and locks, such as Amirabad and Anzali, and the provision of any services to vessels,” the EU said in a statement as the bloc’s foreign ministers met in Brussels.

Amirabad and Anzali are two Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea.

Assistance could still be provided to vessels in need under certain circumstances such as for reasons of maritime safety, the EU added.

Shipping firms targeted

The bloc also adopted restrictive measures against Iran’s state-run shipping company IRISL, its director Mohammad Reza Khiabani, and three Russian shipping firms accused of ferrying weapons across the Caspian Sea.

Brussels had already imposed sanctions on prominent Iranian officials and entities, including airlines, accused of aiding Russia’s war effort against Ukraine.

Acting in parallel, Britain also announced fresh sanctions against Iran Monday, freezing the assets of IRISL as well as national airline Iran Air for transporting ballistic missiles and military supplies to Russia for use in Ukraine.

EU sanctions Iran over ballistic missiles transferred to Russia

The British foreign ministry also said the Russian cargo ship Port Olya-3, sanctioned for carrying missiles from Iran to Russia, would not be allowed to enter any UK port.

The British measures build on initial steps announced by the so-called E3 powers of the UK, France and Germany in September over Tehran’s alleged supply of short-range missiles to Russia.

Iran rejects Western accusations it has transferred missiles or drones to Moscow for use against Kyiv.

Boomerang effect

Ahead of the new sanctions’ announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday the EU was using the “non-existent missile pretext” to target its shipping lines.

“There is no legal, logical or moral basis for such behaviour. If anything, it will only compel what it ostensibly seeks to prevent,” Araghchi wrote on X.

EU leaders to consider using profits from Russian assets to arm Ukraine

“Freedom of navigation is a basic principle of the law of the sea. When selectively applied by some, such shortsightedness usually tends to boomerang.”

Iran’s economy is already reeling from biting US sanctions following the unilateral withdrawal of Washington in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran would decide how to respond.

 (AFP)

Washington has lifted restrictions on Ukraine using long-range US missiles to strike inside Russia.

Its policy shift – long demanded by Ukraine – apparently came in response to Russia allowing North Korean troops to help Moscow’s war effort, US officials have said.

On Monday, some European leaders expressed their support for the call.

Outgoing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said:  “I’ve been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them, in order to not only stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that French President Emmanuel Macron had already indicated in May that Paris was open to the idea of greenlighting the use of its missiles to strike on Russian soil. 

“We openly said that this was an option that we would consider if it would allow the striking of targets from where Russia is currently aggressing Ukrainian territory. So nothing new on the other side,” Barrot told reporters in Brussels on Monday. 

Biden answers missile pleas from Ukraine as clock ticks down

Missiles ‘will speak for themselves’

Washington’s lifting of the missile ban has not been formally announced, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “the missiles will speak for themselves”.

Zelensky has long pushed for authorisation from Washington to use the powerful Army Tactical Missile System, known by its initials ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia.

But US officials had previously worried about the danger of escalating the conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, as well as the risk of depleting Washington’s own stocks of the valuable munitions.

France and Britain have provided Ukraine with their long-range Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, but have held back from authorising their use inside Russia without American approval for ATACMS.

Ukrainian soldiers get crash course in combat at French military base

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Joe Biden was “fuelling the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions,” by allowing Kyiv to use US long-range weapons in Russia.

German drones

Meanwhile, in a separate development, Germany on Monday said that it was delivering 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine, but remains opposed to sending Kyiv the long-range Taurus missile system.

Berlin has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at an event in Bavaria that the drones being provided “were directed and supported by artificial intelligence” and that they could “take out the enemy’s electronic drone defences”.

The drones “can be delivered very quickly” and could be “deployed 30-40 kilometres behind the front line and hit combat posts, logistics hubs among other targets”, Pistorius said.

Along some parts of the front line in Ukraine, such a distance would reach into Russian territory.

Berlin had announced in June its intention to deliver drones to Ukraine but had not given details on their specifications.

(with AFP)

The three men were arrested earlier this month after travelling to the capital Bamako for what they thought were routine negotiations with the ruling junta.

Instead, British chief executive Terence Holohan and two of his colleagues were “unexpectedly detained” for questioning.

Resolute said it would pay the Malian government $80 million (€75 million) from “existing cash reserves”, with a further payment of $80 million in the “coming months”.

Since seizing power, Mali‘s leaders have vowed to claw back gold mining revenues from foreign companies operating in the country.

It was not immediately clear when Holohan and his two unnamed colleagues might be released.

Resolute said it was now “working with the government on the remaining procedural steps for the release of the three employees”, adding that they remained “safe and well” in the meantime.

It was the second time in recent months that employees of a foreign mining firm were detained.

Major export 

Gold contributes a quarter of the national budget and three-quarters of export earnings.

The $160 million (€151 million) payment is a significant hurdle for Resolute, which according to financial statements currently holds $157 million in cash.

Resolute holds 80 percent of a subsidiary that owns the northwestern mine of Syama, with the Malian state controlling the remaining 20 percent, according to the firm’s website.

UN experts call for global system to trace critical minerals

The Australian company also owns a gold production site in Mako in neighbouring Senegal, and has other exploration operations in Mali, Senegal and Guinea.

The arrest of the Resolute team came soon after four employees at another foreign mining firm, Canadian company Barrick Gold, were detained in Mali for several days in September before being released.

Barrick Gold said it had reached an agreement with the state and in October paid 50 billion CFA Francs (€76 million).

Provisional results showed 91.8 percent of voters had backed the new constitution, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) said in a statement.

An estimated 860,000 people in Gabon were registered to vote. The interior ministry said 53.54 percent turned out to cast their ballot.

National broadcaster Gabon TV said there were no serious incidents reported during voting across 2,835 polling stations nationwide.

The junta on Saturday extended a night curfew by two hours to midnight “during the whole electoral process”, according to a decree read on state television.

 Constitutional proposals

The proposed new constitution sets out a vision of a presidency with a maximum of two terms, but increases the length from five to seven years.

It also abolishes the post of prime minister and stops family members from succeeding a president.

Presidential candidates would have to be exclusively Gabonese – with at least one Gabon-born parent – and have a Gabonese spouse.

This would eliminate toppled ruler Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is married to a French woman, and his children.

His replacement, transitional president Brice Oligui Nguema, declared the referendum a “great step forward” as he cast his vote at a Libreville school. 

Who is General Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s new transitional leader?

“All Gabonese are coming to vote in a transparent fashion,” the junta chief told the press, having ditched his general’s uniform for a brown civilian jacket over jeans.

Oligui has vowed to hand power back to civilians after a two-year transition but has made no secret of his desire to win the presidential election scheduled for August 2025.

Opponents of the proposed text had dismissed it as tailor-made for strongman Oligui to remain in power.   

“We are creating a dictator who designs the constitution for himself,” lawyer Marlene Fabienne Essola Efountame said. 

Gabon junta sets August 2025 as ‘indicative’ election date

The interior ministry said it had done all it could to ensure Saturday’s referendum was transparent, including inviting international observers – who were not present in Gabon’s presidential election in August 2023.

The final tally will be announced by the constitutional court.

(with newswires)

Voting took place peacefully across the West African country, where governing Pastef party said 90 to 95 percent of ballots had already been counted.

Local media reported that Pastef had emerged as the winner in the majority of the first polling stations to give their provisional results, projecting Faye’s party would get between 119 to 131 seats in the 165-member parliament.

Pastef’s win comes just a few months after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye secured the presidency and now clears the way for him to carry out ambitious reforms.

“I pay homage to the Senegalese people for the large victory that it has given to Pastef,” government spokesman Amadou Moustapha Ndieck Sarre told TFM television.

Official provisional results will be announced on Tuesday, but the two main opposition parties have already conceded.

“I would like to congratulate Pastef, the winner of the election,” said Barthelemy Dias – head of SAMM Sa Kaddu, one of the opposition coalitions. His colleague Bougane Gueye Dany encouraged Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko “to look into the needs of the Senegalese people”.

Former President Macky Sall, who leads an opposition grouping from abroad called Takku Wallu Senegal, claimed the vote was marred by “massive fraud organised by Pastef”, but without providing details.

Former rivals Sonko and Macky Sall face off again in Senegal’s parliamentary elections

No major incidents

Various actors reported that the turnout on Sunday was typically lower than in the presidential election.

Pastef supporters headed onto the streets of Dakar on Sunday evening to celebrate their party’s victory.

“We’ve come to party,” Mamie Manga told RFI, among a crowd of young people on motorbikes trailing the vehicle of Pastef candidate Abass Fall. “Two victory in a year!” she said referring to the presidential and legislative elections.  

Senegal’s roughly 7.3 million registered voters were called to elect 165 MPs for five-year terms.

Voters have historically confirmed their presidential choice during parliamentary elections, say analysts.

RFI correspondents said the vote went off smoothly overall, with no major incidents apart from the huge queues that formed given the large number of electoral lists. 

Faye secured victory in March pledging economic transformation, social justice and a fight against corruption – raising hopes among a largely youthful population facing high inflation and widespread unemployment.

But an opposition-led parliament hampered the government’s first months in power, prompting Faye to dissolve the chamber in September and call snap elections as soon as the constitution allowed him to do so. 

Heads of state who arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for the G20 summit will spend Monday and Tuesday addressing issues from poverty and hunger to the reform of global institutions.

However, the ongoing UN Cop29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan have thrown a spotlight on their efforts to tackle global warming.

While the Cop29 summit is tasked with agreeing a goal to mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars for the climate, leaders of the Group of 20 major economies half a world away in Rio are holding the purse strings.

G20 countries account for 85 percent of the world’s economy and are the largest contributors to multilateral development banks helping to steer climate finance.

They are also responsible for more than three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

G20 ‘must lead’

“All countries must do their part. But the G20 must lead,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Cop29 last week.

“They are the largest emitters, with the greatest capacities and responsibilities.”

Reaching such an accord may only get tougher with the return to power of US President-elect Donald Trump, who is reportedly preparing to again pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord.

Trump is also planning to roll back landmark climate legislation passed by the outgoing Joe Biden, who will become the first US president to visit the Amazon rainforest when he makes a stop there on Sunday on his way to Rio.

• Climate, trade top the agenda as Macron visits Argentina ahead of G20 summit

Climate financing

UN climate chief Simon Stiell wrote a letter to G20 leaders on Saturday imploring them to act on climate finance, including boosting grants for developing nations and advancing reforms of multilateral development banks.

However, the same fights that have plagued Cop29 since it began last week are spilling over into G20 negotiations, according to diplomats close to the Rio talks.

Cop29 must set a new goal for how much financing should be directed from developed countries, multilateral banks and the private sector to developing nations. Economists told the summit it should be at least $1 trillion.

Wealthy countries – especially in Europe – have been saying that an ambitious goal can only be agreed if they expand the base of contributors to include some of the richer developing nations, such as China and major Middle Eastern oil producers.

• Macron seeks to stall Mercosur deal on visit to South America

‘Mission 1.5’

On Saturday, discussions of a G20 joint statement in Rio snagged on the same issue, with European nations pushing for more countries to contribute and developing countries such as Brazil pushing back.

The success of not only Cop29 but also the next UN climate summit – Cop30 hosted in Brazil next year – hinges on a breakthrough on climate finance.

A centrepiece of Brazil’s Cop30 strategy is “Mission 1.5” – a drive to keep alive the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

The UN estimates that current national targets would cause temperatures to rise by at least 2.6°C.

Developing countries argue they can only raise their targets for emissions reductions if rich nations, who are the main culprits for climate change, foot the bill.

Schools switched to online classes on Monday until further notice as worsening toxic smog surged past 60 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum.

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants – dangerous cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs – peaked at 921 micrograms per cubic metre at midday on Monday, according to IQAir pollution monitors, with a reading above 15 in a 24-hour period considered unhealthy by the WHO.

Delhi authorities put in place stringent restrictions from Friday, in an attempt to tackle issue which affects the densely populated towns and cities of India’s northern plains.

All construction work in an around the city has been banned and diesel-run intercity buses have been suspended.

Last Wednesday the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 473 for the first time this season in Delhi, a city of 20 million inhabitants, prompting calls for rapid action on the smog, which often lasts for three months starting mid-October.

Funding insufficient to tackle air pollution, world’s biggest health threat, study shows

On Thursday, the Supreme Court asked the city government’s Commission for Air Quality Management why preemptive steps had not been taken before air quality worsened.

Aprajita Singh, a lawyer appointed to assist the court, warned the situation could worsen.

“They have not done anything. We should not become the most polluted city in the world,” the Indian Express newspaper quoted her as saying in court.

Political battles

Politicians have criticised local legislators in the city, where air quality has remained in the “poor” category since 30 October, when the AQI was 307.

“The national capital has become a gas chamber,” said Shahzad Poonawala, a spokesman for the ruling BJP party, while appearing on live television wearing a gas mask after the AQI deteriorated to 780 in one working-class district of Delhi on Wednesday.

“Had it been the same in any other country, a medical emergency would have been declared by now,” echoed the opposition Congress party’s Abhishek Dutt.

City health minister Gopal Rai blamed the smog on vehicles, as well as on the bonfires started by farmers to clean up their land ahead of the winter sowing season, in the two states surrounding Delhi.

“All governments of the northern states will have to work together,” Rai said, as officials reported 7,600 illegal farm fires.

Meanwhile, tourists in the Taj Mahal town of Agra found the 17^th century mausoleum cloaked in smog. 

Alarm bells

According to a study published last week by Local Circles four out of 10 families in Delhi and its neighbourhood reported visiting a doctor or hospital for pollution-linked ailments in the past three weeks.

“81 percent of the families had one or more members with pollution-linked complaints; 33 percent of families bought cough syrup in the last three weeks and 13 percent of them acquired inhalers or nebulisers, the report added.

India’s leading climate watchdog said the situation was far worse than indicated by the random health survey.

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said air quality was worse than the previous winter in India’s northern plains, home to 523 million people.

Climate change threatens ‘truly terrifying’ future, UN rights chief says

“It is an omnipresent problem and requires urgent and deliberate action everywhere,” the Delhi-based Centre said in March and added India endured extreme weather on nearly 90 percent of the days in 2023.

The privately-run agency in a separate report also reported high ozone at ground-level in 10 major urban hubs, making the air more toxic.

“The problem was more widespread than in 2020, and the toxic build-up lasted longer,” CSE said.

“Toxic built-up lasted longer in locations affected by the problem (and) even smaller metropolitan areas witnessed rapid increase,” it said, adding the problem was not limited to the summer in India.

German website Statista said India suffered more than two million pollution-linked fatalities in 2021, up 60 percent since 1990.

On Sunday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau issued a stern warning to farmers by announcing a policy of “zero tolerance” for any lasting blockades of roads in anticipation of a week of demonstrations and disruption. 

During a meeting with agricultural union leaders, Retailleau emphasised the importance of maintaining open communication while setting clear boundaries.

He explained on the Grand Jury television programme that although the French constitution protects the right to protest, but there are three key limitations: no damage to property, no harm to individuals, and no prolonged blockades.

He also affirmed that police would be mobilised to ensure traffic flow if these rules are violated.

‘Commitment to dialogue’

When questioned about whether he would adopt a stricter stance than his predecessor, who allowed farmers to engage in symbolic protests like dumping slurry at police prefectures, Retailleau clarified, “I didn’t mention manure or symbolic actions as long as there’s no property damage, personal injury, or blockages”.

He expressed his commitment to dialogue with farmer’s unions to prevent an escalation.

Retailleau also contrasted the farmers’ protests with planned strikes by railway workers, stating that some railway unions regularly “hold French citizens hostage” through their actions.

• French farmers plan fresh protests as Mercosur trade deal looms
• France moves to block EU-Mercosur deal as farmers continue protest

As the main farming unions call for renewed action less than a year after protests blocked highways across France, they continue to voice their concerns over bureaucratic hurdles and inadequate incomes.

Despite government promises of emergency aid, they argue that their financial condition remains dire.

Additionally, they firmly oppose the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, which the government has pledged to resist using “all means” available.

Several Israeli strikes in recent weeks on Baalbek in the east of Lebanon and Tyre in the south – both strongholds of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah – hit close to ancient Roman ruins designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The petition, signed by 300 prominent cultural figures, was sent to UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay on Sunday – a day before a special session in the French capital to consider listing Lebanese cultural sites under “enhanced protection“.

It urges UNESCO to protect Baalbek and other heritage sites by establishing “no-target zones” around them, deploying international observers and enforcing measures from the 1954 Hague Convention on cultural heritage in conflict.

“Lebanon’s cultural heritage at large is being endangered by recurrent assaults on ancient cities such as Baalbek, Tyre and Anjar, all UNESCO world heritage sites, as well as on other historic landmarks,” the petition says.

It calls on influential states to push for an end to military action that causes destruction of damage to sites, as well as adding protections or introducing sanctions.

Immunity from military attacks

Change Lebanon, the charity behind the petition, said signatories included museum curators, academics, archaeologists and writers from Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

Hezbollah and Israel have been at war since late September, when Israel broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border, even as the Gaza war continues.

Enhanced protection status gives heritage sites “high-level immunity from military attacks”, according to UNESCO.

“Criminal prosecutions and sanctions, conducted by the competent authorities, may apply in cases where individuals do not respect the enhanced protection granted to a cultural property,” it said.

• Paris event raises $1bn in humanitarian and military support for Lebanon
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Baalbek targeted

In Baalbek, Israeli strikes on 6 November hit near the city’s Roman temples, destroying a heritage house dating back to the French mandate and damaged the historic site.

The region’s governor said “a missile fell in the car park” of a 1,000-year-old temple, the closest strike since the start of the war.

The ruins host the prestigious Baalbek Festival each year – a landmark event founded in 1956 and now a fixture on the international cultural scene – featuring performances by music legends like Oum Kalthoum, Charles Aznavour and Ella Fitzgerald.

According to preliminary information, the man brandished a dummy gun and was “very drunk” at around 6.00 am Sunday morning in the Paris suburbs.

Police were called to an incident which reported an armed man banging on a nieghbour’s door in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges in the southeastern of the French capital.

The man reporterdly threatened the police “by pointing a handgun and shouting ‘Allahu akbar'”, a Muslim expression of faith meaning “God is greatest“.

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A police officer then drew his weapon and shot the man, who died despite the intervention of the emergency services.

According to another police source, the officer fired his weapon three times, and the man was hit once.

The entire incident was captured by the police body camera.

The 30-year-old man, was reportedly known to police and had already been prosecuted in 2019 for committing an “apology for terrorism“.

In 2022, 38 people died in France as a result of police action – including 22 after being shot.

“It is always a pleasure to show my African films around the world,” Mauritanian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako told RFI.

The Oscar-Nominated director was in London, where his latest film Black Tea, closed the Film Africa festival in London this month, opening discussions on how African stories are perceived globally.

From 25 October to 3 November, the festival showcased over 70 films from 25 African countries, coinciding with Black History Month. Organised by the Royal African Society, it celebrates the richness of African storytelling.

“This is a great time for African cinema,” said Keith Shiri, the festival’s lead curator adding that African filmmakers no longer rely on foreign resources or perspectives.

Born in Zimbabwe, Shiri has worked in Johannesburg, in Nigeria and with the Africa Centre and the British Film Institute (BFI) in London for years, travelling to all parts of Africa.

“What matters is representing all parts of the continent, from east to west, from Sub-Saharan to North Africa.”

Shiri selected films from 25 countries to reflect the diversity of African creativity.

Paris showcases Nigerian cinema and society as Nollywood comes to town

Smaller events, such as Bristol’s Afrika Eye (9-16 November) and Hamburg’s African Film Festival (7-17 November), further emphasise the growing global appetite for African films.

Upcoming events in Marrakesh, New York, Nantes and Bordeaux will continue to spotlight the continent’s cinematic talent.

Worldly views

Sissako’s Black Tea follows a young woman’s transformative journey from West Africa to China, offering a unique lens on African experiences.

“What I see in Europe sometimes is a lack of curiosity for contemporary African narratives,” he said. “My goal is to make African stories travel – not just in Europe, but more widely within Africa.”

Shiri echoed this, highlighting the importance of festivals like Fespaco in Burkina Faso, a hub for African filmmakers, producers, and distributors.

“What we need are more opportunities, supported by national and regional policies, to help African films reach wider audiences,” said Sissako.

Franco-Senegalese documentary ‘Dahomey’ wins Berlin’s Golden Bear

Bright prospects  

A 2022 Unesco report noted significant growth in African film production, but stressed the need for investment in infrastructure.

Earlier this year, African cinema gained global attention when Franco-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop won the Berlinale’s Golden Bear with her documentary Dahomey.

Sissako was also invited to Berlin for Black Tea, almost 10 years after his last film, Timbuktu, competed for the Palme d’Or in Cannes, swept France’s Cesar Awards and was nominated for an Oscar in 2015 in what was then the best foreign language film category.

Actors like Idris Elba have long been vocal about his deep-rooted connection to the continent. 

The Golden Globe-winning British actor, born in London to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother, impersonated Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom and starred in many Africa films like the shot-in-Ghana Beasts of No Nation.

Speaking at the Africa Cinema Summit in Accra last month, Elba said he plans to spend more time in Africa – telling African stories from “home” – in places such as Accra, Freetown and Zanzibar.

He said he intended to “bolster the film industry” not from overseas but “in-country, on the continent”.

“I’m going to try and go where they’re telling stories – that’s really important,” he added.

The harvest began on Tuesday, with four refrigerated ships en route to Madagascar’s eastern coast to collect the lychees. The island nation supplies the sought-after delicacy to much of the European market during the end-of-year season.

But the mood in the country’s port city of Tamatave is tense, as industry leaders grapple with the prospect of a steep decline in the crop linked to an unusually early ripening – a shift that could have major economic consequences.

“There are several factors that can explain this situation,” said Judith Riccati, deputy executive director of the Tamatave Horticultural Technical Centre, which leads agricultural studies on the lychee industry.

“Exceptionally high rainfall the first three months of the year – around 2,500 millimetres – has greatly disrupted plant growth.”

The heavy rains caused some lychee trees to flower early, and many blooms were knocked off by the downpours.

Lychee trees also require a specific “climate shock” with temperatures dropping to around 15-16C, which “this year, we have had difficulty achieving,” Riccati told RFI.

“On top of that, the trees are very old, so they’re less responsive to climate shifts.”

Porridge is staving off child malnutrition in Madagascar – for nine cents a bowl

Search for solutions

To manage the shortfall, agricultural engineers are exploring possible solutions.

“We could reduce the export quota, but at this point that’s no longer a viable solution given the orders and logistical arrangements already in place,” said Riccati.

Another option is extending the harvest period by sourcing lychees from more remote areas to meet export demands.

This approach would require longer loading times for the ships, which are currently restricted to two and a half days due to cost constraints.

Although Madagascar’s lychee industry has discussed extending these loading periods for more than 20 years, the change is yet to be implemented.

As unpredictable weather patterns continue to impact agriculture in the country, the need for sustainable solutions grows more urgent.

This story was adapted from the original article reported in French by RFI correspondent Sarah Tétaud.

The prosecutors’ move to seek a “provisional execution” on the public office ban – a tough, rarely used tool that means the ban would stand irrespective of any appeal – casts doubt on Le Pen’s chances of running in the 2027 presidential election.

Le Pen and co-accused members of her National Rally (RN) party deny using EU funds to pay party workers in France. They denounce the case as a politically motivated attempt to keep the RN from power.

“The goal is to attack a political opponent. It is a very violent attack on democracy. It’s my political death that being requested,” Le Pen told TF1 television on Friday, reacting to the prosecutors request.

Taking to social media, Le Pen posted: “It is my political death that is being demanded. My political survival will depend on whether this political death sentence is carried out, with provisional execution or not. That, I believe, is the aim of this operation, which has been launched by political opponents.”

The furious response echoes the frequent attacks by US President-elect Donald Trump against the US judicial system over the legal woes he has faced since his first term.

Courts versus politicians

Judges and prosecutors around the world are wading into thorny political debates.

While some applaud them for holding politicians to account, critics rail against mission creep by unelected despots in robes.

In Brazil, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was banned from public office until 2030 for undermining faith in Brazil’s electoral system.

More recently, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacted furiously to judges blocking migrants being shipped to Albania.

“Look at what’s happening in the United States, look at what’s happening in Italy,” said National Rally MEP Jean-Paul Garraud, a former judge who joined the RN in 2018. “Clearly, France is not being spared.”

Even some mainstream French politicians expressed concern. Gerald Darmanin, who was President Emmanuel Macron’s interior minister until September, wrote on X that “it would be deeply shocking” if Le Pen were not allowed to stand in 2027.

• Marine Le Pen faces prison term and ban from office in fake jobs trial
• Le Pen denies wrongdoing in fake EU jobs trial

‘Politicised’ decision

The prosecutors’ said they sought a “provisional execution” against Le Pen and her co-accused for repeated efforts to play for time in a probe that stretches back nearly a decade. An obligatory ban would prevent repeat offences, they argued.

In the event of a conviction, judges may choose to reject the prosecutors’ request.

Ludovic Friat, the president of the USM, the largest union representing French prosecutors and judges, said the decision to request a “provisional execution” was unusual. 

“It’s a decision that could be viewed as politicised,” he said, adding that he believed prosecutors had used it “to say that what happened was not democratically acceptable.”

It remains to be seen how Le Pen will now adapt her political strategy. Her years-long push to professionalise the RN, seeking to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, stands in stark contrast to Trump’s anti-institutional movement.

Le Pen’s endeavours have paid off: The RN is now the largest single party in parliament, and props up Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s weak coalition government.

The letter, which is one of only two surviving authenticated documents bearing Joan of Arc’s signature, has been loaned from the municipal archives of Riom in central France.

“Only three letters signed by Joan of Arc have been recorded, one of which has since disappeared,” Cédric Broët, head of the city’s archives department, told RFI. The second letter is held in the municipal archives in Reims.

The document, dating from 9 November, 1429, was dictated by Joan of Arc, who could neither read nor write. It calls on the people of Riom to support France during the Hundred Years’ War.

The letter is addressed to the “churchmen, bourgeois and inhabitants of the town of Riom” and asks for weapons, supplies and clothing to support military efforts during the siege of La Charité-sur-Loire.

“It adds a bit of spice to think that the letter is leaving Riom for the first time to go to the country where the leaders had Joan of Arc burned at the stake,” said Broët, referring to the letter’s journey to England. “It gently mocks history.”

The letter was discovered by chance in 1844 among some old papers by Tailhand, president of the Royal Court of Riom. It originally bore a red wax seal, which has now been lost. Broët explained: “The legend says that attached to this seal, there was a lock of Joan of Arc’s hair, and that was probably the reason it was stolen.”

The letter was authenticated by historian and paleographer Jules Quicherat, and has faced preservation challenges over time. “At the start of the 20th century, the document was displayed at Riom town hall, which caused notable damage,” said Broët.

It is now a centrepiece in the British Library’s exhibition “Medieval Women: In Their Own Words“, running until March 2025. The letter travelled to London under tight security, escorted by an official from the Riom archives and with the exact route kept secret.

“The British Library approached us to request the loan of this document. The library also holds manuscripts related to Joan of Arc, including a copy of her trial [documents],” said Broët.

“A document like this is priceless, and having it in our collections is extremely rare and prestigious,” he continued. “We, as a small municipal archive service, have been placed on the same level as other, much more well-known institutions around the world, which have also lent documents and pieces for the exhibition, like the Louvre.”

The letter will return directly to secure storage in Riom after the exhibition, although a facsimile remains available for public viewing on request.

Turkey’s media regulator, RTUK, revoked the station’s licence, claiming it had failed to comply with an earlier fine and suspension.

That order came after a guest earlier this year referred to the 1915 killings of Armenians by Turkey’s then-Ottoman rulers as a genocide.

RTUK ruled that the comment incited public hatred. While Acik did pay the fine, it didn’t come off air, saying it was appealing the initial ruling in court.

The revocation of its broadcasting licence has drawn international condemnation and alarm. “Acik Radio has always adopted a moderate language, reflecting various political views,” Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative for Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told RFI. 

Onderoglu warns that banning Acik is part of a wider trend in the country of “eliminating media pluralism and weakening remaining minority voices”. He continued: “It is in line with a political mission to impose a single official view on society, what they call national and patriotic journalism.”

‘Cultural hub’

In Istanbul’s Kadikoy district, listeners have been chanting in protest over Acik Radio’s removal from the airwaves.

Elif Unal, an avid listener, said the station has been an important part of everyday life for a long time. “They ban everything that makes us smile, that makes us feel happy,” she said. “Most of the people in Istanbul, across Turkey, open their eyes listening to Acik Radio. Acik Radio is important because it’s a cultural hub and also a political supporter of many organisations, NGOs and activists.”

Armenians warn ethnic cleansing risks being forgotten – again

Protestor Mete Atature said he grew up listening to Acik. “Whichever programme you are listening to, you’ll learn something. Not like a lecture, not like an education programme, but there’s always something it leaves you with, and I miss that.”

He added: “From one side, of course, it’s a shock. From another side, it’s not unexpected, given the way the whole country is going. There is less and less free speech, and there’s more oppression, and this is another example.”

Diverse voices

Since its launch in 1994, Acik Radio has sought to bridge Turkey’s deep cultural and political divides. Volunteers produce and present social and cultural programmes that represent the country’s diverse population, including minorities.

Yetvart Danzikyan hosted Acik’s show “Radio Agos,” a programme aimed at Turkey’s Armenian minority.

“We tried to make the unheard voices of not only the Armenian community but also all the other minorities, the Greek, Jewish, and Suryani communities,” he said, adding that they were trying to bring even more unheard voices to the station’s programmes.

Turkey’s embattled civil society fears worst as foreign funding dries up

Turkey’s main opposition parties are supporting the station, and say the closure is a government attempt to further tighten its grip on the country’s media.

For now, Acik has returned to broadcasting via the internet, securing a licence under the new name of APACIK Radio. 

But those who run the station feel they are fighting an uphill battle. “The general atmosphere is getting towards more repression in Turkey,” Acik’s co-founder Omer Madra said wearily. “But we are very determined to fight on, and we’ve had some magnificent support from all the regions of the country.”

In the forest of Spincourt near Verdun, a clearing stands as a stark reminder of the lasting environmental impact of war.

Nothing has grown in these 1,000 square metres for almost 100 years. Soon, authorities will install a protective dome over this toxic site – known locally as the “gas place” – where the German army destroyed more than 200,000 arsenic chemical shells after the war, poisoning the land. 

“The First World War set a new standard in combat,” geologist and historian Daniel Hubé told RFI, explaining that more than 2 billion artillery shells were fired on the Western Front.  

Many failed to explode, and in 1929 in the Meuse region alone, 127 recovery workers and bomb disposal experts died trying to secure former battlefields. 

Those buried remnants pose risks even today. “We’re still digging up shells in very good condition. In some places, we’re literally walking on shells,” Hubé added.

Eugene Bullard, pioneering African-American aviator who flew for France in WWI

‘Red zones’ 

Immediately after the war, the French authorities established “red zones” in which many activities were temporarily or permanently banned due to contamination. 

However, farmers lobbied to reclaim and cultivate these areas, particularly in fertile regions such as Pas-de-Calais. The “red zone” there initially spanned 26,000 hectares, but pressure to reduce restrictions saw it reduced to just 472 hectares within four years. 

The post-war cleanup created its own environmental crisis and, paradoxically, was “even more polluting than the war itself,” according to Hubé. 

Military leaders had maintained their firepower in preparation for a final offensive planned for summer 1919. When the November 1918 armistice came unexpectedly, France found itself with massive stockpiles of munitions to dispose of – an estimated 2 million tonnes were destroyed between the wars. “Fields and factories were cluttered with munitions,” said Hubé. 

Unesco declares WWI memorials in France and Belgium world heritage sites

Water contamination 

The cleanup effort involved risky and damaging processes. The military initially deployed prisoners of war to detonate the remaining shells, often in areas already ravaged by four years of industrial warfare. Other munitions, including chemical shells, were dumped in lakes and seas.  

In 1920, overwhelmed by the scale of the task, the French government outsourced much of the disposal work to private companies which, Hubé explained, led to profitable opportunities for industrialists.  

The environmental impact became clearer in the latter half of the 20th century, when recreational activities such as diving revealed numerous submerged munitions. 

Large-scale decontamination efforts began in the 1990s, on sites such as Lake Gérardmer in the Vosges, in eastern France, and Lake Bleu d’Avrillé in Maine-et-Loire in the west of the country. 

In 2011, controversy arose when perchlorate ions – a by-product of explosives – were found in tap water across northern France, an area synonymous with First World War battlefields. 

“This contamination is probably linked to perchlorated explosives left on battlefields and munitions destruction sites, although agricultural sources are also a possibility,” Hubé explained.

By the autumn of 2012, drinking water in more than 500 communities in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments was deemed unsafe. Ten years on, questions about the water quality remain unresolved. 

Senegalese riflemen who fought for France granted right to state pension back home

700 years of cleanup

The scale of contamination remains staggering, with French land unique in its exposure to conflict. “No other country on earth has experienced three major interstate conflicts on its territory in less than a century,” said Hubé, referring to the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), which was partly waged on French soil, as well as the First and Second World Wars.

Officials estimate that it could take 700 years to completely clear French soil of buried munitions.  

These days, the environmental consequences of warfare receive greater attention. Since 1999, the United Nations has published more than 20 reports on the subject – studying regions including Kosovo, Ukraine and Gaza with the goal of developing international laws to minimise war-related ecological damage. 

This story was adapted from the original article reported in French by RFI’s Nicolas Pagès.

“Many clients are aware of their carbon footprint, and they are already working on reducing it. So some of them tell me: no plastic, I don’t want to see any plastic, only paper,” says Raphael Bodaire, director of sales for Raja, Europe’s largest packaging distributor. “They are aware not only of the laws, but they are also sensitive about the environment and their impact on it.”

This French company sells 1,200 different shapes of boxes for companies large and small to use for shipping their products, as well as the materials that go with them: tape, bubble wrap, cling film, crates…

These days both French and European rules and regulations are pushing the packaging industry to go green, which was evident at a recent trade fair at which Raja and other companies were showing their wares – at least a third were highlighting their sustainability credentials.

More in the Spotlight on France podcast:

The Lebhar Group, a small French company which produces paper-based food packaging, mostly for bakeries, was showing off an all-paper cake board – the card under a cake or pastry that makes it easier to lift and transport.

“In the bakery world, most often these boards are lined with plastic, because they protect against grease and humidity,” sales manager Frederique Monge explained. “No one wants grease spots on their pastry boxes or display cases.” 

A few years ago the company developed an all-paper version, which can work as a barrier against humidity. But this has its limitations, notably in how it looks.

Pastry chefs, especially at higher-end bakeries, like to use golden or glossy black cake boards, which for now cannot be made without a plastic film. “The plastic-free solution does not allow for this kind of decoration,” said Monge. “It is a more natural material, brown or white-coloured, and not shiny. It is less elegant.”

So the company continues to offer both products. Packaging companies in general aim to offer multiple solutions to meet the vast range of customer needs and wants, which are informed by their own environmental awareness, as well as an awareness of changing laws and looming bans.

Rules and regulations

In order to reduce waste, France intends to phase out single-use packaging by 2040, pushing companies to reduce the amount of material in their packaging, switch to reusable containers or move towards recyclable or compostable materials.

France produces 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, around half of which comes from households and half from industry.

A 2015 law has been progressively limiting single-use plastic food packaging, banning plastic straws and takeaway containers, among other things.

The 2021 Anti-waste for a circular economy (AGEC) law expanded on this ambition, and aims to phase out all single-use plastic packaging by 2040, with an initial aim of reducing it by 20 percent by 2025.

The EU position

However, the legal situation has led to some confusion in the industry. “Currently it is unclear, because things are going every which way,” said François-Xavier Franssen, sales director for FDR Emballages, which makes plastic-free packaging.

Alongside French laws and regulations are rules from the European Union, which is seeking to reduce waste across the continent.

The EU’s updated Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) directive came into force in February, and aims to harmonise packaging requirements across member states, with a target of 100 percent of packaging to be recyclable by 2030.

FDR makes compostable plastic film, initially developed 10 years ago and marketed to organic shops who used it to add clear windows to their paper bags.

Recent years have seen a growing interest – notably at the end of 2021, ahead of a ban of plastic wrapping for loose fruits and vegetables in supermarkets. “We received urgent calls then to replace the plastic wrappers,” Franssen recalls.

Cost factor

While there has been a move towards reducing and recycling packaging, it is currently difficult to imagine a world where single-use plastics will disappear completely.

FDR’s compostable cling wrap is more expensive than its petroleum-based alternative, and while some customers are willing to pay more, until taxes increase on petroleum, Franssen says the cost will remain prohibitive for some.

Plus, his product doesn’t work for everything – for now. “We do not have the equivalent for certain things, like chicory,” he explained. “It’s very problematic in terms of keeping the products fresh. They produce a lot of water, and are very sensitive to air and light.”

Greenwashing

Beyond the law, companies themselves are increasingly aware of the need to reduce waste, and consumers are asking for products that have less of an environmental impact.

“Very often consumer expectations move faster than regulations, which is what we have seen in organic farming,” said Emilie Cherhal, general manager of Ecocert Greenlife, which gives certifications for organic products.

“Regulation is one option, because it pushes industries to really rethink their models,” she said, but added that consumer expectations can be just as powerful a motivator, although they do want the assurance that comes from certification.

“Today anybody can say anything about eco-responsibility, sustainability – they can use the words,” said Cherhal, who believes certifications, such as the ones Ecocert provides, help to avoid greenwashing.

Ecocert has recently become affiliated with RecyClass, a European certification which evaluates the recyclability of packaging, with grades from A to F. Cherhal says: “It is a guarantee to the consumer that if it is certified, they can be sure the environmental impact is less.”

More on this story in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 118 here.

Turkey’s media regulator, RTUK, revoked the station’s licence, claiming it had failed to comply with an earlier fine and suspension.

That order came after a guest earlier this year referred to the 1915 killings of Armenians by Turkey’s then-Ottoman rulers as a genocide.

RTUK ruled that the comment incited public hatred. While Acik did pay the fine, it didn’t come off air, saying it was appealing the initial ruling in court.

The revocation of its broadcasting licence has drawn international condemnation and alarm. “Acik Radio has always adopted a moderate language, reflecting various political views,” Erol Onderoglu, the Turkey representative for Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told RFI. 

Onderoglu warns that banning Acik is part of a wider trend in the country of “eliminating media pluralism and weakening remaining minority voices”. He continued: “It is in line with a political mission to impose a single official view on society, what they call national and patriotic journalism.”

‘Cultural hub’

In Istanbul’s Kadikoy district, listeners have been chanting in protest over Acik Radio’s removal from the airwaves.

Elif Unal, an avid listener, said the station has been an important part of everyday life for a long time. “They ban everything that makes us smile, that makes us feel happy,” she said. “Most of the people in Istanbul, across Turkey, open their eyes listening to Acik Radio. Acik Radio is important because it’s a cultural hub and also a political supporter of many organisations, NGOs and activists.”

Armenians warn ethnic cleansing risks being forgotten – again

Protestor Mete Atature said he grew up listening to Acik. “Whichever programme you are listening to, you’ll learn something. Not like a lecture, not like an education programme, but there’s always something it leaves you with, and I miss that.”

He added: “From one side, of course, it’s a shock. From another side, it’s not unexpected, given the way the whole country is going. There is less and less free speech, and there’s more oppression, and this is another example.”

Diverse voices

Since its launch in 1994, Acik Radio has sought to bridge Turkey’s deep cultural and political divides. Volunteers produce and present social and cultural programmes that represent the country’s diverse population, including minorities.

Yetvart Danzikyan hosted Acik’s show “Radio Agos,” a programme aimed at Turkey’s Armenian minority.

“We tried to make the unheard voices of not only the Armenian community but also all the other minorities, the Greek, Jewish, and Suryani communities,” he said, adding that they were trying to bring even more unheard voices to the station’s programmes.

Turkey’s embattled civil society fears worst as foreign funding dries up

Turkey’s main opposition parties are supporting the station, and say the closure is a government attempt to further tighten its grip on the country’s media.

For now, Acik has returned to broadcasting via the internet, securing a licence under the new name of APACIK Radio. 

But those who run the station feel they are fighting an uphill battle. “The general atmosphere is getting towards more repression in Turkey,” Acik’s co-founder Omer Madra said wearily. “But we are very determined to fight on, and we’ve had some magnificent support from all the regions of the country.”

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.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

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 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 Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, The International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. 

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: In mid-October, our beloved sportsman Paul Myers wrote about yet another speedy Kenyan: Ruth Chepngetich. Chepngetich not only won the Chicago Marathon on 13 October, she set a world record, too. She finished the 42-kilometer course in two hours, nine minutes, and 56 seconds – beating the previous long-distance record set by almost two minutes. That record was set by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. 

Chepngetich also became the first woman to win the Chicago Marathon three times, since its inception in 1977.

You were to re-read Paul’s article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, and send in the answers to these questions: What are the names and nationalities of the women who took second and third place in the 2024 Chicago Marathon race?

The answer is: Ethiopian Sutume Kebede came second in two hours, 17 minutes and 32 seconds. Irine Cheptai from Kenya was third, with two hours, 17 minutes, and 52 seconds.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you describe real friendship? Give an example.” The question was suggested by Lata Akhter Murshida from Bogura, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Pradip Chandra Kundu from West Bengal, India. Pradip is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Pradip, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ali Shahzad, a member of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, and RFI Listeners Club members Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh as well as Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Tesha Akhter from Rajshahi, Bangladesh.  

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Sanoftob” by Thierry David; “Virtual Lifestyle” by Jean-Paul Merkel; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and In the Steppes of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin, performed by Evgeny Svetlanov and the USSR State Symphony Orchestra.

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 Isabell Martinetti’s article “Paris Photo fair focuses on photo books and their publishers”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 16 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 December 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

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.   

Zitouni Ould Dada, representing the FAIRR Initiative – a network raising awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in the food sector – underscores the need to transform global food systems.

“Since Cop15 in Paris and Cop26 in Glasgow, good progress has been made towards building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems,” he said. “Cop29 is a key moment to accelerate the transformation of food production.”

He calls on policymakers to strengthen climate commitments, integrate agriculture into national plans, and create policies to attract sustainable investment.

Financing green energy and addressing climate disasters are key issues at this year’s summit.

Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the African negotiators group and chair of the Green Climate Fund, coordinates the African Union Adaptation Initiative. He shared his perspective with RFI’s Christophe Boisbouvier.

Speaking from Baku, Nafo explored the question of responsibility for funding climate recovery in the most affected regions.

The negotiations come during what is expected to be the hottest year on record, underscoring the urgency of Cop29’s agenda.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Erdogan, who congratulated Trump as a “friend” on social media, sees this as a chance to reshape US-Turkey relations.

During Biden’s presidency, engagement was largely limited to foreign ministers – marking a stark contrast to the “strong leader-to-leader relationship” Erdogan and Trump had enjoyed, says analyst Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara.

Trump and President Erdogan met face to face about nine times, compared to only two “brief encounters” with Biden, he adds.

Chemistry

Erdogan often speaks warmly of his dealings with Washington during Trump’s first term in office.

“The chemistry is the same. Two charismatic leaders, two leaders who are unpredictable,” notes Turkish presidential adviser Mesut Casin, a professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Yeditepe University.

He believes their personal rapport could set the stage for greater bilateral and regional cooperation, including efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Erdogan has long sought to play a role in ending the Russia-Ukraine war, given his close ties with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and, more controversially, with Vladimir Putin – a relationship that drew criticism and suspicion from some of Turkey’s NATO partners.

“Trump will push for negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war. And I think that’s something that Turkey has always preferred,” predicts Asli Aydintasbas a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Turkey eyes US presidential race that stands to shake up mutual ties

YPG policy

Erdogan will also look to Trump for changes in US policy toward the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara views as linked to the PKK, a group fighting the Turkish state.

The YPG’s alliance with Washington against the Islamic State has strained US-Turkey relations, with Biden resisting Erdogan’s calls to end support for the group.

Former Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen predicts Erdogan will hope Trump might be open to a deal.

“Erdogan thinks that, like himself, Trump too is a pragmatic leader. So leaving aside principles or other such in brackets, the two sides can reach an agreement by giving and taking something between the two,” says Selcen.

Unpredictability

While Trump has often spoken positively about Erdogan, he nonetheless remains unpredictable.

“Can you rely on him?” asks Murat Aslan of SETA, a Turkish pro-government thinktank.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel could also complicate relations.

Erdogan has expressed hope that Trump will succeed where Biden failed in ending Israel’s war on Hamas and Hezbollah, but with Trump’s strong support for Israel and Erdogan’s backing of Hamas, a clash could be looming.

“What happens if there is an escalation in the Middle East with the polarisation of Israel and Turkey, as it currently is, and the attitude of Trump, it’s very clear that the Trump administration will threaten Turkey,” says Aslan.

With conflicts raging across the region, Erdogan views a new Trump presidency as an opportunity for Turkey and the region.

But given the leaders’ unpredictability, that opportunity doesn’t come without risks.

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.

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

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 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 Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, The International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. 

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 12 October, I asked you a question about the troubled relationship between France and Algeria.

Algeria’s recently re-elected president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accused France, its former colonial ruler, of “genocide”.

Tebboune has postponed trips to Paris to meet with Emmanuel Macron several times; the latest was scheduled for late September or early October, and that trip was also postponed.

You were to re-read our article “Algeria’s Tebboune refuses France visit in snub to former colonial ruler”, and send in the answer to this question: What happened last July that sent the Algeria/France relationship into a nosedive – even provoking Algeria to recall its ambassador to France?

The answer is, to quote our article: “… 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.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you remember things?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Bushra Nawaz, who’s a member of the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Bushra is also the winner of this week’s bonus question.

Congratulations, Bushra, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and Father Steven Wara, who lives in the Cistercian Abbey in Bamenda, Cameroon.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listeners Amara, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan, and Jahangir Alam, the president of the World DX International Radio Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Soul Bossa Nova” by Quincy Jones, performed by the Quincy Jones Ensemble; “Aghan” by Mohammad Rouane, performed by the Rouane Ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Asa Branca” by Luiz Gonzaga and Humberto Teixeira, performed by Rosinha De Valença.

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 “Tributes roll in for beloved musician and producer Quincy Jones, who died at 91”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 9 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 December 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

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.   

France produces 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, most of which does not get recycled. In the ongoing battle to reduce waste, a 2021 law is intended to phase out single-use packaging by 2040. We go to a packaging expo to see how this might happen and meet people being pushed to the front lines of waste reduction. (Listen @3’45”)

Bouchot mussel farmers in northern France are sounding the alarm about spider crabs devastating their crops. Warming waters have led to a four-fold increase in crab numbers, a prized marine resource, but which threatens the future of the industry. A mussel farmer talks about the impact, and a marine scientist presents possible solutions. (Listen @19’47”)

A hundred years ago this month, women and girls working in sardine canning factories in Brittany launched a six-week strike that has gone down in history as one of the earliest examples of women successfully organising to defend their labour rights. The granddaughter of one of the strikers describes its legacy. (Listen @12’20”) 

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).

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.