“I can’t allow people to say that the state has abandoned Mayotte,” Macron said on Thursday while surveying the damage in Mamoudzou, the capital of France‘s poorest department, after the island was hit by Cyclone Chido on Saturday, 14 December.

The French president – who will stay overnight in Mayotte – announced plans to introduce new standards to be used in the reconstruction of the island’s schools, housing and the hospital in the capital. “We will rebuild Mayotte,” Macron said.

Mayotte hospital on life support after cyclone

‘Starving and thirsty’

Frustration is mounting among survivors over the slow delivery of aid, with around 80 percent of the archipelago still without electricity.

RFI spoke with residents in Pamandzi – the location of Mayotte’s main airport – who described desperate conditions.

“We’re starving and thirsty. There’s no electricity, no water, and nothing to eat,” one local said. “They give us one can of sardines and a bottle of water per person. Where is the help? We’ve been waiting, but it hasn’t come.”

Residents in Pamandzi have set up a solar-powered charging station to keep phones and torches running. “It’s the only place where we can charge phones and have some light for the night,” another local said.

France pledges full crisis response as Macron visits cyclone-ravaged Mayotte

Some neighbourhoods remain completely isolated, with no visible signs of rescue or aid.

“I live in the heights of La Vigie, it’s completely devastated,” another resident told RFI. “Since the cyclone, no one has come up here to check if there are survivors or even to clear the paths so people can get through. No one until today.”

Military deliveries

Since 15 December, food and supplies have been arriving by air from Réunion and mainland France. A military vessel carrying 200 containers and several million litres of water reached the territory late last week.

Military personnel arrived on Wednesday with chainsaws and shovels to clear roads to isolated areas. A second night of curfew was imposed on Thursday to maintain security.

Macron arrived early on Thursday with a delegation that includes France’s Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, around 20 medical staff and four tonnes of food and medical supplies.

Mayotte cyclone lays bare the fragility of France’s ‘forgotten’ territory

The French president will visit more remote areas of the island on Friday.

“I will go to the bangas tomorrow morning,” Macron said, referring to the precarious settlements where nearly a third of the island’s residents lived before the cyclone.

His convoy faced protests earlier in the day, with crowds booing as it passed a petrol station where residents were queuing in long lines.

France’s new prime minister François Bayrou called it “the worst natural disaster in French history for several centuries”, as Mayotte officials warn the death toll could reach hundreds, even thousands.

Dominique Pelicot, who had already confessed to the crimes, was earlier found guilty by the court in the southern city of Avignon after an over three-month trial that shocked France and turned his former wife Gisèle Pelicot into a feminist hero.

Including Dominique Pelicot, all 51 defendants in the case were convicted by the court with no acquittals.

The historic case has profoundly shaken the country over the past several months.

Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted that for years he knocked his wife of 50 years out with drugs so he and strangers he recruited online could abuse her while he filmed the assaults. 

The appalling ordeal inflicted over nearly a decade on Gisèle Pelicot in what she thought was a loving marriage and her courage during the bruising and stunning trial have transformed the retired power company worker into a feminist hero of the nation.

On Thursday she said she respected the verdict, after some voiced objections that the sentences were too lenient.

Ex-husband in French rape trial asks ‘forgiveness’ from family

Calls for tougher measures

Stretching over more than three months, the trial galvanised campaigners against sexual violence and spurred calls for tougher measures to stamp out rape culture.

The 51 men were all accused of having taken part in Dominique Pelicot’s sordid rape and abuse fantasies that were acted out in the couple’s retirement home in the small Provence town of Mazan and elsewhere. 

Dominique Pelicot testified that he hid tranquilisers in food and drink that he gave his then wife, knocking her out so profoundly that he could do what he wanted to her for hours.

One of the men was on trial not for assaulting Gisèle Pelicot but for drugging and raping his own wife – with the help and drugs from Dominique Pelicot, who was also tried for raping the other man’s wife. 

Mass rape trial sparks demonstrations across France

Secret ballot voting

The five judges were voting by secret ballot in their rulings, with a majority vote required to convict. 

Campaigners against sexual violence are hoping for exemplary prison terms and view the trial as a possible turning point in the fight against rape culture and the use of drugs to subdue victims.

Gisèle Pelicot’s courage in waiving her right to anonymity as a survivor of sexual abuse and successfully pushing for the hearings and shocking evidence – including videos – to be heard in open court have fueled conversations both on a national level in France and among families, couples and groups of friends about how to better protect women and the role that men can play in pursuing that goal.

“Men are starting to talk to women – their girlfriends, mothers and friends – in ways they hadn’t before,” said Fanny Foures, 48, who joined other women from the feminist group Les Amazones in gluing messages of support for Gisèle Pelicot on walls around Avignon before the verdict.

“It was awkward at first, but now real dialogues are happening,” she said.

“Some women are realising, maybe for the first time, that their ex-husbands violated them, or that someone close to them committed abuse,” Foures added. “And men are starting to reckon with their own behavior or complicity – things they’ve ignored or failed to act on. It’s heavy, but it’s creating change.”

A large banner that campaigners hung on a city wall opposite the courthouse read, “MERCI GISELE” – thank you Gisèle.

French justice minister favours adding consent to legal definition of rape

Library of images

Dominique Pelicot first came to the attention of police in September 2020, when a supermarket security guard caught him surreptitiously filming up women’s skirts. 

Police subsequently found his library of homemade images documenting years of abuse inflicted on his wife – more than 20,000 photos and videos in all, stored on computer drives and catalogued in folders marked “abuse,” “her rapists,” “night alone” and other titles. 

The abundance of evidence led police to the other defendants. In the videos, investigators counted 72 different abusers, but weren’t able to identify them all. 

Although some of the accused – including Dominique Pelicot – acknowledged that they were guilty of rape, many didn’t, even in the face of video evidence. The hearings sparked wider debate in France about whether the country’s legal definition of rape should be expanded to include specific mention of consent.

Some defendants argued that Dominique Pelicot’s consent covered his wife, too. Some sought to excuse their behavior by insisting that they hadn’t intended to rape anyone when they responded to the husband’s invitations to come to their home. Some laid blame at his door, saying he misled them into thinking they were taking part in consensual kink.

(with AFP, AP)

After the trial was closed, Gisèle Pelicot emerged to give a full statement to reporters, speaking about the trial itself, the verdict and her hopes for the future.

After over three months of hearings regarded as historic, here is Gisèle Pelicot’s statement in full:

“It is with great emotion that I am speaking with you today. This trial has been a very difficult ordeal. And at this moment, I am thinking first and foremost of my three children: David, Caroline, and Florian.

I am also thinking of my grandchildren because they are the future. I also led this fight for them, as well as for my daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine.

I am also thinking of all the other families affected by this tragedy. And finally, I am thinking of the unrecognised victims, whose stories often remain in the shadows. I want you to know that we share the same fight.

Dominique Pelicot found guilty, jailed for 20 years in historic French rape trial

I would like to express my profound gratitude towards everyone who has supported me throughout this ordeal. Your messages have deeply moved me and have given me the strength to come back every day to face these long, daily hearings.

I would also like to thank the Association d’aide aux victimes (the Victim’s Aid Association), whose unwavering support has been invaluable.

Finally, to my lawyers, they know the gratitude and high regard I have for them, having accompanied me through every step of this painful process.

When I opened the doors to this trial that began on 2 September, I wanted all of society to be a witness to the debates that took place here. I have never regretted that decision.

I now have confidence in our capacity to find a better future where everyone – women and men alike – can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding.”

A reporter then asked Gisèle Pelicot about the court’s decision.

“I respect the court and its verdict,” she said.

Mathias Pogba, 34, went on trial last month at Paris criminal court with five other men.

They were accused of extortion, abduction and confinement to facilitate a crime, as well as criminal conspiracy.

The defendants, who included friends from Paul Pogba’s childhood, repeatedly intimidated Pogba, claiming he should have supported them after he became an international star.

They eventually demanded 13 million euros from Paul Pogba, who was held up at gunpoint by hooded men in March 2022.

Roushdane K, suspected of masterminding the blackmail, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Judges suspended two years of Mathias Pogba’s term and having already spent time in detention, the remainder of the former footballer’s sentence will be served under house arrest while he is monitored electronically.

A judge had ordered Mathias Pogba and the other men to stand trial following an investigation into whether Paul Pogba was the target of extortion.

During the inquiry, Paul Pogba told the court he paid 100,000 euros to the group including his brother.

The case became public after Mathias Pogba posted threats on social media to share what he called explosive revelations about his younger brother, the then Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé and Paul Pogba’s agent Rafaela Pimenta. 

Paul Pogba without a club

Feted as one of the best midfielders of his generation, Pogba appears to have squandered his talent and has made the headlines more often for his off-field problems than for his pyrotechnics on the park.

While playing for Italian giants Juventus in August 2023, Pogba tested positive for testosterone after a Serie A game against Udienese. He was slapped with a four-year ban by Italy’s anti-doping court.

But judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport slashed the suspension to 18 months. They acknowledged a lack of intent and said his positive test was the result of mistakenly taking a supplement prescribed to him by a doctor in Florida.

In December, Juventus said it had come to a mutual agreement with Pogba to cancel his contract. The 31-year old will be free to start training officially from next month before a return to competitive action in March.

Though linked with an array of clubs including Ligue 1 giants Marseille, Pogba has not announced a new destination where he can resuscitate his career.

In 2016, he became the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros.

At the end of his first season in north-western England, he was part of the Manchester United teams that won the League Cup and the Europa League.

In the 2018 world Cup final, he scored the goal that gave France a 3-1 lead in the 4-2 defeat of Croatia in the final in Moscow. Three years later, he helped France to the Nations League crown.

The West African nation’s information agency said in a statement that Captain Ibrahim Traore, the country’s president, welcomed Morocco’s diplomatic efforts and noted that France and Burkina Faso‘s relations had soured in recent years.

In a post on X Thursday, France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu described the detainees as French armed forces members.

The four were arrested in Ouagadougou in December 2023 on what Jeune Afrique and French media reported as espionage-related charges. Their detention came at a low point in France’s relations with its former colonies in the Sahel, including Burkina Faso.

After two coups, the landlocked nation of 20 million people expelled French forces and turned to Russia for security support.

Burkina Faso suspends French media outlet, accuses it of ‘discrediting’ military

Security, humanitarian crises

The ruling junta has since joined forces with neighbouring countries to form the Alliance of Sahel States. The alliance’s three countries – Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso – have each struggled to contain the security and humanitarian crises.

France’s Elysée Palace said in a statement that President Emmanuel Macron had thanked Morocco’s King Mohamed VI for mediating discussions that led to their release.

Morocco, which has made efforts to expand its role in the Sahel, lauded its own role in mediating between the two countries. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the negotiations a “humanitarian initiative”.

Amid France’s retreat in the Sahel, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have each sought to expand security and trade partnerships in the region.

Morocco has also aspired to play a larger role as a diplomatic mediator and economic partner, launching new initiatives to deepen ties and build infrastructure giving landlocked nations new gateways to access the Atlantic Ocean.

Morocco has also deepened its ties to France since July, when Paris shifted its stance and backed Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara.

Lawmakers approved the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill in February, drawing international condemnation despite gaining wide public support in the conservative West African country.

The proposed anti-LGBTQ legislation is considered among the most stringent in Africa, stipulating jail terms of up to three years for engaging in same-sex relations and up to five years for promoting or sponsoring LGBTQ+ activities.

The bill will only become law after being ratified by the outgoing president Nana Akufo-Addo or his successor John Mahama.

Akufo-Addo, who officially steps down on January 7 after two terms in office, has not yet announced his decision.

He had said he would first await the Supreme Court‘s ruling on the bill’s constitutionality.

Opposition leader, Mahama, who won the December 7 elections, voiced support for the anti-LGBTQ bill during the electoral campaign.

Gay sex is already illegal in the religious, mostly Christian nation, but while discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is common, no one has ever been prosecuted under the colonial-era law.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is a victory for Ghanaian values and cultural sovereignty,” Yaw Biney, a lawyer and supporter of the bill, told AFP.

LGBTQ+ rights campaigners voiced fear and disappointment.

LGBTQ+ gains thwarted by enduring discrimination and violence

‘Chilling message’

The court ruling followed cases filed by Ghanaian broadcaster Richard Dela-Sky, who challenged the constitutionality of the bill, and university researcher Amanda Odoi.

Odoi had sought to block the sending of the bill to the president for ratification.

But the court said it would be “premature” of it to make a judgement on the bill.

“Consequently, the action fails,” judge Avril Lovelace-Johnson, head of the court’s seven-member panel said, reading its judgement.

“Until there is presidential assent to the bill, there is no act of which the Supreme Court will use its supervisory jurisdiction to overturn,” she added.

Takyiwaa Manuh, African Studies professor at the University of Ghana and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, called it a “disappointing day for human rights in Ghana”.

“The Supreme Court had an opportunity to affirm the dignity and freedom of all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation, but this decision risks deepening discrimination and marginalisation against the LGBTQ+ community,” Manuh told AFP.

Esi Bonsu, an activist with the Ghana Coalition for Equality, said it sent “a chilling message to LGBTQ+ Ghanaians that their lives and rights are not valued”.

Fears for finances

The bill was initially introduced into parliament in 2021 but the vote faced delays.

It sparked criticism from the United Nations and several countries, including the United States, as well as concern from Ghana’s finance ministry, which warned of a risk of losing billions of dollars in World Bank funding.

The United States reiterated its misgivings over the proposed law.

“We have previously stated our concerns about this bill, and we remain in close contact with Ghanaian government officials and the incoming administration of President-elect Mahama across a range of issues,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington.

“Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of vulnerable populations and individuals. Nobody should be targeted, threatened harm or marginalised (for) who they are,” he said.

Ghana fears it could face the same fate as Uganda, which last year passed one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world.

The World Bank froze lending to Uganda in the wake of the law, which imposes penalties of up to life in prison for consensual same-sex relations and contains provisions that make “aggravated homosexuality” an offence punishable by death.

Ghana, emerging from its worst economic crisis in decades, is also under a $3-billion loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk condemned the passing of the bill in February, saying that consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalised.

Around 60 countries in the world ban same-sex relations, about half of them are in Africa, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

In an Instagram post, the film distributor Pathé France highlighted the revamped experience, “offering a lineup of essential daytime documentaries and unmissable cinematic films in the evening”.

The animated feature Mufasa: The Lion King and documentaries on the human body, blue whales, and the T. rex are currently screening.

Equipped with France’s first IMAX Laser 4K dome projector, La Géode now offers “sharper images, deeper contrasts, and an expanded color range, along with enhanced sound quality”.

The Gaumont-Pathé group now oversees operations at the venue, which is easily recognisable by its 36-meter shimmering spherical exterior, located next to the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in the 19th arrondissement.

‘First of its kind’

When it first opened in 1985, La Géode was the first of its kind in France, with a screen covering nearly the entire room and an IMAX projector that immersed viewers in the action.

Initially focused on showing spectacular documentaries, the cinema’s popularity waned due to growing competition from cinemas offering new technologies and the rise of alternative viewing platforms.

Although it attracted one million visitors annually in its early years, the venue had been operating at a loss since 2010.

In 2017, Universcience, the public institution overseeing the Palais de la Découverte and Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, launched a call for projects to revitalise it.

The cinema had been closed since 2018 for renovations.

(with AFP)

Tibetans and Tibetan scholars are alarmed at how Paris’ Guimet museum of Asian art has categorised its art and artefacts from Tibet. Tenam and other Tibetans in exile, who have been demonstrating regularly outside the museum, talk about the importance of using the name Tibet, and scholar Katia Buffetrille questions the role of China in putting pressure on a French public institution. (Listen @2’48”) 

Like many residents in the town of Malakoff, just south of Paris, Vincent Chévrier had an olive tree in his garden but wasn’t doing much with it. So he federated a group of fellow local olive tree owners and together they’ve made Born to be Olive – the first olive oil “made in Ile de France”. Their collective project isn’t just about making a locally grown, organic product, it’s brought people together in a unique way. (Listen @17’37”)

On 22 December 1974, the people of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean voted overwhelmingly for independence from France. But the island of Mayotte did not, and became France’s 101st department. It’s created an immigration conundrum, straining the island’s already sparse resources  which were laid bare by Tropical Cyclone Chido last week. Listen @13’40”)

Episode mixed by Hadrien Touraud. 

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).

More than 100 personnel, along with rescue gear, dogs and aid supplies, were being flown on military transport planes from Australia and New Zealand to the capital Port Vila.

The 7.3-magnitude quake struck off the Pacific nation’s main island on Tuesday, flattening multi-storey concrete buildings, cracking walls and bridges, damaging water supplies and knocking out most mobile networks.

Vanuatu has declared a seven-day state of emergency “due to the severe impacts”, along with a curfew from 6 pm-6 am.

Civilians joined in the immediate rescue effort despite multiple aftershocks shaking the low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people, which lies in the quake-prone Pacific Rim of Fire.

AFP photos showed rescuers working with mechanical diggers at night to save people in one large building, all its floors pancaked into a flat pile of concrete.

Rescuers were focused on searching for people in two collapsed buildings in Port Vila, said Glen Craig of the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council.

“We know people are trapped and some have been rescued, and there have also been fatalities,” he told AFP.

“My good friend that was killed in the earthquake – the funeral is at 2 pm today – but I have also got to think about the other 300,000 people in Vanuatu,” Craig said.

Australia’s government flew in a 64-person disaster response team equipped with two dogs, along with six medics, nine police and emergency response managers.

Death toll set to rise

“Australia’s emergency crews are now on the ground in Vanuatu following the devastating earthquake,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

A government-organised flight has also repatriated 148 Australians, she said.

New Zealand is flying in 37 people, mostly search-and-rescue specialists, government officials said. A separate C-130 military transport plane with 18 personnel, rescue equipment and disaster supplies landed on Thursday.

Nine people have been confirmed dead by Port Vila’s hospital and that number is likely to rise, according to the latest update by Vanuatu’s disaster management office.

Two of the dead were Chinese citizens and one French, their embassies have said.

The quake caused “major structural damage” to more than 10 buildings including the main hospital, it said, while also hitting three bridges, power lines, water reserves and mobile communications.

The shipping port is closed following a “major landslide”.

French engineers have declared Port Vila’s airport runway operational, although it has not re-opened to commercial flights.

The death toll will “definitely go up”, said Craig, of the Vanuatu business council.

However the country and its people depended on tourism and agriculture, he warned.

Small island nations lead fight for climate justice at UN’s top court

‘People need to come back’

“We can’t have an economic disaster on top of a natural disaster,” Craig said, urging a quick restart of the tourism business.

“The runway is in great condition and it has been a huge focus for the government to get that terminal open by tonight or latest tomorrow for commercial flights,” he said.

“People need to come and go, it brings normality back.”

Craig said he had visited four resorts, which were using generators for electricity and hoping for tourists to return next week.

“Generally, they are okay, there are some cracks and some tiles have popped out, but there is not bad damage.”

Basil Leodoro, an emergency doctor in Vanuatu with Respond Global, said landslides blocked airfields on some surrounding islands, raising concerns about food supplies.

Water supplies, including wells and storage systems, were damaged on some islands, he told AFP.

Earthquake injuries were only being reported on the main island of Vanuatu, however.

“As expected, we are seeing open fractures, wounds and closed fractures, soft tissue injury as a result of the earthquake,” Leodoro said.

He said he was helping to organise medical support from Fiji and Solomon Islands to relieve exhausted teams in Vanuatu.

“That is the burden we are seeing – it is not unexpected in these crisis situations.”

This is an unprecedented sanction for a former French head of state.

Nicolas Sarkozy will “evidently” respect the terms of the conviction after the Court of Cassation’s verdict, his lawyer Patrice Spinosi told French news agency AFP.

But he will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) within weeks, Spinozi added.

This action at the Strasbourg-based ECHR will not prevent Wednesday’s verdict from being enforced. The sanction now takes effect, as Sarkozy has exhausted all legal options available to him in France.

Spinosi said it was a “sad day” when “a former president is required to take action before European judges to have condemned a state over whose destiny he once presided”.

“I want to reiterate my complete innocence,” Sarkozy said after the trial, adding he would not  accept “profound injustice” after the court verdict.

Other cases  

This latest case, often dubbed “Bismuth”, comes on top of separate cases about campaign financing overspending, and the alleged financing by Libya of Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign.

Sarkozy had earlier been found guilty of illegal attempts to secure favours from a judge.

In 2021, a lower court found that he and his former lawyer, Thierry Herzog, had formed a “corruption pact” with judge Gilbert Azibert to obtain and share information about a legal investigation.

The court then sentenced him to a three-year jail term, two of which were suspended and one that was to take the form of home detention with an electronic tag allowing his movements to be monitored.

That verdict had already been upheld once, by an appeals court, last year.      

He is also suspected of conspiring to take cash from Libya‘s Kadhafi to illegally fund his victorious 2007 bid for the presidency.

Bygmalion, Libya, Bismuth: the trials and tribulations of Nicolas Sarkozy

Fall of a former president

Sarkozy, 69, has always claimed his innocence, with his lawyer saying he would “not give up this fight”.

Despite his legal problems, he continues to enjoy considerable influence and popularity on the right of French politics and is said to have the ear of President Emmanuel Macron.

Sources have told AFP however that Sarkozy held talks at the Elysee earlier this month in a bid to persuade Macron not to appoint veteran centrist Francois Bayrou as prime minister, but Macron went ahead and named him.

The right-winger, who was president for one term between 2007 and 2012, failing to win re-election, has been embroiled in legal troubles ever since leaving office.

 (with AFP) 

In an interview with RFI, the 74-year-old co-founder of the Sea Shepherd marine conservation organisation, discusses the political pressure surrounding his case, his plans to challenge Interpol and his determination to carry on with his work.

Environmental activist Paul Watson freed after Denmark refuses his extradition to Japan

RFI: How are you feeling after your release? 

Paul Watson: I am very much relieved that I will be able to see my children when I return to France in a couple of days. 

RFI: Does Denmark’s refusal to extradite you feel like a victory for you and your cause? 

PW: I believe it is a victory, and a recognition of the fact that Japan is killing whales illegally. They’re trying their best to set an example of me because they don’t want anybody interfering with their illegal operations. In this respect they failed to do that, so we’ll continue our opposition to their illegal whaling. 

My being in prison is really an extension of the campaign to expose illegal Japanese whaling operations, so I think it’s been very successful. We’ve probably brought more attention to what Japan is doing by my being in prison than if I had gone there with the ship. It’s been hugely successful towards that goal of exposing Japan’s illegal operations. 

RFI: Do you know how your case was ultimately resolved? 

PW: Denmark has an obligation and a commitment to human rights, and to do what’s right. The rules regarding extradition are clear. This is a very minor charge. It’s over 14 years old. It’s politically motivated. Those factors alone would prohibit extradition.

Japan was putting pressure on Denmark by threatening to cancel multimillion-dollar offshore wind turbine projects unless they delivered me to them. That, of course, is also indicative of how political this entire case is.

I think that we succeeded in exposing the fact that Japan is putting that economic pressure on. I don’t think Denmark really had a choice because Denmark is a country that supports human rights, always has. We knew that from the beginning.

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson requests French nationality

RFI: How did you cope with five months in detention? 

PW: The prison was not very bad. The prisoners were friendly, and the guards were friendly. I spent most of my time either reading or answering letters. I received about 4,000 of them and about 70 percent were from France.

I couldn’t answer everybody but I tried to answer as many as possible – especially letters from children. 

RFI: Do you plan to take legal action? 

PW: We intend to go to Lyon to confront Interpol about the political abuse of their authority. My case has been under investigation by a European committee looking into the abuses of Interpol since 2017.

Interpol has to make a decision here as to whether their agency can be used by countries to persecute people who oppose their political positions. 

RFI: The UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders has warned there has been increasing repression of activists. Are you concerned about this? 

Over the years there’s been more and more persecution of environmental activists. Things are far different than in the 1990s, 1980s and 1970s. The laws are much more repressive in order to protect the corporate profits of companies, and also to protect government abuse of power. So it’s becoming more difficult to be an activist now than it was 20 or 30 years ago.

Minister opposes transfer of whales from French aquarium to Japan

RFI: Will this change your approach or merely reinforce your determination? 

PW: Our methods have proven to be very successful over the last 50 years, so I don’t see us changing that. Our approach is what I call “aggressive non-violence” – we non-violently intervene against illegal activities. I don’t know of any other way to go about doing this.

The only alternative is for governments to uphold their responsibility under international law, but the problem right now is there’s a lack of political and economic motivation to enforce the law, forcing non-government organisations and individuals to do the job that governments should be doing. 

RFI: What’s next for you? 

PW: I will continue to work with Sea Shepherd France in order to oppose whaling and other illegal activities: the poaching of turtles, illegal fishing. We’ll carry on doing what we have been doing for the past 50 years. 

RFI: Iceland recently extended whaling permits to 2029, and Japan has expanded fin whale hunts. Are you still optimistic? 

Over the last 50 years, we’ve shut down whaling operations in Australia, South Africa, Spain, Peru and Chile. I’m confident that we will eventually shut down Icelandic, Norwegian and Japanese whaling.

But we also have to keep in mind that all of these whaling activities are highly illegal. They are in violation of international law, and we’re committed to upholding international conservation law. 

RFI: A few days ago, you were made an honorary citizen of the city of Paris. Are you returning to Paris now?

I live in France, I’ll be returning to Paris, my family’s in France… and it was because of France that I think that we won this case. The support of Sea Shepherd France, of President Macron, of the prime minister, of the president of French Polynesia, and thousands and thousands of French citizens across the country contributed to the decision and I’m very, very grateful for that. 

This interview by RFI’s Pauline Gleize has been lightly edited for clarity.

The IEA’s Coal 2024 report forecasts that global demand will surpass 8.9 billion tonnes this year, marking the third consecutive annual record.

The agency now predicts coal consumption will peak in 2027, revising earlier estimates that projected a peak this year.

China, the world’s largest coal consumer, is expected to burn 4.9 billion tonnes of coal in 2024 – a record high. The surge is driven by rising electricity needs and continued reliance on coal-fired power plants.

While China has heavily invested in renewables like wind and solar, its coal consumption remains substantial. China accounts for over one-third of the world’s total coal usage.

Emerging economies like India and Indonesia are also increasing their coal consumption, offsetting declining demand in advanced economies such as the United States and the European Union.

Fossil fuel rise drives planet closer to critical climate safety limit

Hot year, rising emissions

The report comes as 2024 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history, according to the EU’s climate monitor Copernicus.

Scientists have repeatedly warned of the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the catastrophic effects of climate change.

“Our models show global demand for coal plateauing through 2027 even as electricity consumption rises sharply,” said Keisuke Sadamori, IEA director of energy markets and security.

France, Morocco sign deals worth €10bn on energy, infrastructure

Transition challenges

Efforts to transition away from coal remain slow, with countries struggling to commit to phasing out fossil fuels. Cop29, held this year in Azerbaijan, failed to deliver stronger global commitments to reduce coal usage.

The IEA highlighted that countries like Turkey now import more coal than the EU, as European reliance on coal continues to fall.

However, geopolitical developments, such as the possible return of Donald Trump to the US presidency, could disrupt climate progress.

Trump has previously dismissed climate change as a “hoax”, raising concerns about weakening global climate commitments.

The Appeal Court of Paris upheld  the life sentence given to Philippe Manier, a former Rwandan gendarme, who was retried for his involvement in the Tutsi genocide, after six and a half weeks of appeal proceedings.

Garnier (born Philippe Hategekimana in Rwanda) was found guilty on nearly all the charges brought against him.

His involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, during which an estimated 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were killed by Hutu forces and their allies, was central to the trial.

This verdict is part of a broader effort in France to bring perpetrators of the genocide to justice.

The president of the court said he was “the zealous arm of the genocide” through his “determined but decisive action”, adding that without him, “the facts would not have reached such a magnitude”.

Paris court upholds dismissal of case against French soldiers’ inaction in Rwanda

Satisfaction

Standing in the dock to hear the court’s decision, Manier did not react to the announcement of the sentence.

The verdict handed down by the court is in line with the charges brought by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) on 13 December.

The President of the ‘Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda’ (CPCR), Alain Gauthier, told RFI after the hearing that the collective was “satisfied with this decision”.

“We had been waiting for it. Personally, I had no doubts about the decision that would be taken. Mr Hategekimana had the same line of defence as at first instance, i.e. that he was not present at the time of the acts of which he was accused. And frankly, it was an impossible defence,” he said.

Many massacres

Hategekimana, 67, became a naturalised French citizen in 2005 under the name Philippe Manier.

The former Rwandan gendarme has always denied any involvement in the genocide and has even claimed to have saved Tutsis.

In June this year, he was found guilty of participating in or encouraging the murder of dozens of Tutsis in the Butare prefecture in southern Rwanda in 1994.

Rwanda marks 30 years since genocide that horrified the world

Nicknamed Biguma at the time of the events, the former chief warrant officer was also accused of participating in or encouraging the murder of the mayor of Ntyazo, who resisted the implementation of the genocide in his commune.

According to the prosecution, Hategekimana had also ordered and supervised the erection of several “barriers”, some roadblocks “intended to control and kill Tutsi civilians”.

The prosecution also accused him of having participated in several massacres by giving orders, or even by being directly involved in the field.

The former gendarme’s lawyers have announced their intention to appeal to the French Court of Cassation.

 (with AFP) 

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alleges that Apple has bought contraband supplies from the country’s conflict-racked east and Rwanda, zones in which the materials are alleged to be mined illegally and then integrated into global supply chains before ending up in tech devices.

Apple’s French and Belgian units also deployed deceptive commercial practices to persuade consumers that its supply chains were clean, according to a statement from lawyers representing the DRC.

The French news agency AFP reports that complaints against Apple have been lodged in Paris and Brussels with the allegations encompassing war crimes, laundering, forgery and deception.

Last April, the legal team asked Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with Apple subsidiaries in France, about the potential inclusion of pillaged minerals in the company’s supply chain but did not receive substantive responses.

DR Congo accuses Apple of using ‘blood minerals’ from war-torn east

The DRC’s Washington-based lawyer Robert Amsterdam described the case as constituting a “first salvo” of judicial actions.

“Color Apple red, and not green. It is a trillion-dollar company that must be assumed to know the consequences of its actions. Enough with denials of accountability and hiding behind the false narrative of supply chain defenses!”, he said.

‘Endless enrichment’

Paris-based lawyer William Bourdon said the criminal complaints constitute “a first step towards making one of the biggest players in tech accountable for its policy of endless enrichment at the cost of the most serious of crimes staining African supply chains.”

Brussels lawyer Christophe Marchand added that “these complaints filed against Apple are a matter of great public interest at a time when European countries, consumers and non-governmental organisations are increasing their scrutiny of international supply chains.”

Computer chips and tech devices require a wide array of minerals and specialty metals.

Dark side of the mine: journalist unearths human cost of smartphones in DRC

The lawyers said that the scale and duration of the alleged activities have caused “unfathomable harm and suffering” for civilians, fuelling violence and conflict by financing militias and terrorist groups and contributing to forced child labour and environmental devastation.

They also cited investigations by the United Nations, the US State Department and international NGOs such as Global Witness to document the scale of the problem.

The lawyers said they have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to inform her of the criminal complaints and to request a dialogue on the EU’s role in working towards accountability and an end to armed violence in sub-Saharan Africa’s mineral supply chains.

Apple last year said it had “no reasonable basis for concluding” its products contain illegally exported minerals from conflict-hit zones. The tech giant has insisted it carefully verifies the origin of materials in its output.

Rwanda has also dismissed the allegations as unfounded.

“This is just the latest blow by the DRC government, which is constantly seeking to divert attention to Rwanda with false accusations,” Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told AFP.

DR Congo’s mineral-rich east has been racked by violence since the 1990s, with tensions worsening since a renewed offensive in late 2021 of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels in the DRC province of North Kivu.

Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of using M23 to take control of resource-rich eastern DRC.

(with AFP)

Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria’s new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad, ending decades of brutal rule and civil war.

Governments are carefully assessing their response to the new reality, especially in countries where the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group remains proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation.

HTS is rooted in Syria’s branch of Al-Qaeda, but since toppling Assad has sought to moderate its tone, vowing to protect members of all religious communities in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country.

A four-strong French diplomatic team is due in Damascus on Tuesday to “retake possession of our real estate”, make “initial contact” with the new authorities, and “evaluate the urgent needs of the population”, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday.

France welcomes fall of Syria’s Assad, calls for peaceful transition

Turkey, a key backer of HTS, reopened its embassy in Damascus, on Saturday.

Both Britain and the United States also confirmed they were in touch with HTS despite officially considering the organisation a terrorist group.

“We can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact,” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said as he announced an aid package for Syrians.

The embassy of the Gulf Emirate of Qatar is also to resume operations Tuesday, its foreign ministry announced Sunday as its diplomats visited the country and met with representatives of its transitional government.

Unlike other Arab states, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011.

Syrians hold rallies in Paris and across Europe to celebrate fall of Assad

‘Peaceful future’

Meanwhile, in a joint statement after a meeting in Jordan on Monday, diplomats from the European Union, the United States, Turkey, and Arab countries “affirmed the full support to the Syrian people at this critical point in their history to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future”.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the bloc, Syria‘s biggest aid provider, is “interested in rebuilding and reconstruction of Syria”.

“We can’t leave a vacuum,” Kallas said, adding: “For us, it’s not only the words, but we want to see the deeds going to the right direction. So not only what they are saying, but also what they are doing,” she indicated, referring to HTS leaders.

The EU and its counterparts called for a Syrian-led transition to “produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process”, with respect for human rights.

“Syria finally has the chance to end decades of isolation,” the group said.

The head of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in the country’s northeast, on Saturday appealed on social media platform X for Kurds “to adopt a favourable position toward the Syrian dialogue”.

UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen – who met interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir – urged participants in the Jordan talks to provide humanitarian aid and to ensure “that state institutions do not collapse”.

Assad – who has sought refuge in ally Russia on Monday said he left Syria only after Damascus had fallen and he denounced the country’s new leaders as “terrorists”.

Five former officials previously told French news agency AFP that hours before rebel forces seized Damascus on 8 December, the former Syrian president was already out of the country.

The officials said that the night before, Assad had even asked his close adviser to prepare a speech – which the ousted leader never gave – before flying from Damascus airport to Russia’s Hmeimim air base, and from there out of the country.

Waiting for ‘positive signals’

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the United States, UK, France, Germany and Italy will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday on developments in Syria, Italy’s Antonio Tajani said Monday.

“We hope that the first positive signals will transform into concrete positive signals,” Foreign Minister Tajani said at a conference of diplomats at the Italian foreign ministry.

Italy, which holds the presidency of the G7 group of rich nations in 2024, earlier this year named an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in over a decade.

(With newswires)

Envisaging a multi-orbital network of almost 300 satellites, Iris² aims to rival US satellite internet service providers such as Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper.

“This cutting-edge constellation will protect our critical infrastructures, connect our most remote areas and increase Europe’s strategic autonomy,” said European Commission vice president Henna Virkkunen.

The system, developed as a public-private partnership, will serve both governments and private clients.

With an estimated budget of €10.6 billion euro, Iris² is to allow for secure communications for military, defence and diplomatic purposes.

Surveillance, connectivity in natural disaster-hit areas and commercial broadband access are among its other potential uses, according to the European Union.

On Monday, the EU signed a 12-year concession for the implementation of the project with SpaceRISE, a consortium led by France’s Eutelsat, Spain’s Hispasat and Luxembourg’s SES.

Other partners include OHB, Airbus Defence and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Hisdesat.

The EU’s commissioner for defence and space Andrius Kubilius hailed the signing as the launch of “a vision of a stronger, more connected, and more resilient Europe”.

“Iris² demonstrates the Union’s resolve and commitment to strengthening Europe’s space global posture both in terms of security and competitiveness to the benefit of our governments, businesses and citizens,” said Kubilius.

More than half of the project’s budget will be footed by the EU, with €4.1 billion coming from private investment and €550 million from the European Space Agency (ESA).

The launch comes as the market for high-speed space connectivity, particularly useful for serving isolated regions, has become ultra-competitive.

Ariane 6 rocket debuts successfully restoring Europe’s space independence

6,000 satellites

Earlier this year, Starlink claimed to have already put more than 6,000 satellites into orbit, serving 2.6 million customers.

While Iris² counts on a lower number of satellites, its multi-orbital design puts it on par with a constellation of about 1,000 Starlink satellites in terms of performance, EU officials said.

Iris² earth-based infrastructure will be located exclusively in Europe with control centres in Luxembourg, France and Italy. The system will be fully operational by 2030.

“This programme not only addresses today’s connectivity needs but also lays the groundwork for Europe’s strategic autonomy in a digitalised world,” the bloc said in a statement.

Iris² is the EU’s third large space project, after the Galileo satellite navigation system and the Copernicus Earth monitoring satellite constellation.

(With newswires)

Out of the Bundestag deputies, 394 voted against Scholz while only 207 expressed confidence in the chancellor, with 116 abstentions.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier can now move to dissolve the legislature and formally declare the agreed 23 February election date.

Friedrich Merz – the top candidate of the conservative CDU-CSU opposition alliance of ex-chancellor Angela Merkel – is well ahead in opinion polls.

The political contest comes at a time when Europe’s top economy is struggling to revive its stuttering export-led industrial sector amid high energy prices and tough competition from China.

Berlin also faces major geopolitical challenges as it confronts Russia over the Ukraine war and as Donald Trump’s looming return to the White House heightens uncertainty over NATO and trade ties.

Minority government

Merz, a former corporate lawyer, has persistently attacked the alliance of the chancellor’s Social Democrats (SPD), the left-leaning Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

Coalition bickering over fiscal and economic woes came to a head when Scholz fired his rebellious FDP finance minister Christian Lindner on 6 November, the very day Donald Trump was re-elected.

The departure of Lindner’s FDP left Scholz at the helm of a minority government with the Greens of Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Unable to pass major bills or a new state budget without opposition support, the government is now limping along, with all sides in election mode.

Germany’s political turmoil comes as France has also been roiled by crisis and gridlock which saw President Emmanuel Macron on Friday asking centrist politician François Bayrou to try to form a new government.

Uncertainty looms over Germany as Scholz navigates political crisis

Politics ‘in crisis’

German politics in the post-war era was long staid, stable and dominated by the two parties, the CDU-CSU and the SPD, with the small FDP often playing kingmaker.

The Greens emerged in the 1980s, but the political landscape has been further fragmented over the past decade by the rise of the the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a shock for a country whose dark World War II history had long made far-right parties taboo.

Formed as a Eurosceptic fringe party, the AfD grew into a major political force when it protested against Merkel’s open-door policy to migrants, and now has around 18 percent voter support.

While other parties have committed to a “firewall” of non-cooperation with the AfD, some of them have borrowed from its anti-immigration and anti-Islam rhetoric.

Following the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, some CDU lawmakers were quick to demand that the around one million Syrian refugees in Germany return to their home country.

Germany’s Scholz says EU must not be daunted by Russia, but urges reform of the bloc

‘Plagued by doubt’

The winter election is all the more heated as it comes at a time “the German model is in crisis,” said Berlin-based political scientist Claire Demesmay of Sciences Po Paris.

According to Demesmay, Germany’s prosperity “was built on cheap energy imported from Russia, on a security policy outsourced to the USA, and on exports and subcontracting to China”.

She added that the country was now in a sweeping process of reorientation which is “feeding fears within society that are reflected on the political level”. 

“We can see a political discourse that is more tense than a few years ago. We have a Germany plagued by doubt”.

A report released recently ranks Eurostar as the worst-performing rail operator among 27 companies in Europe, citing expensive and unreliable service, while Italy’s Trenitalia claims the top spot.

“Our analysis shows that ticket prices do not correlate with higher service quality,” the report by Transport and Environment concluded.

While Austria’s “OBB and Trenitalia offer a strong price-to-quality ratio, operators like Eurostar charge nearly twice the European average price per kilometre, yet fail to deliver better services,” the sustainable transport NGO said.

Eurostar – which links France, Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands ranked only 14th on reliability. 

Pricing and reliability

The research group looked at eight criteria on medium and long-distance routes.

While comparing prices was important, the study also considered reliability, discount programmes, compensation policies in the event of delays, passenger experience and the existence of night trains or bicycle spaces.

Trenitalia was followed by Switzerland’s SBB with the Czech Republic’s RegioJet in third in the overall ranking.

France’s SNCF was fifth just behind OBB.

French rail company looks to greener future with zero emission hydrogen trains

Room for improvement

The study however said that all companies could improve their on-time performance. 

“The reliability of major rail operators in Europe remains disappointing. Of the 25 operators with punctuality data, only 11 achieve a rate above 80 percent,” it said.

Germany’s Deutsche Bahn – the largest train operator in Europe and which is struggling with an aging network – was 25th in reliability and 16th overall. 

T&E said the opening up of competition has improved service on several lines such as Madrid-Barcelona and Milan-Rome, but noted that privatisation did not improve train services in Britain.  

Transport and Environment also called on governments to invest in track networks to improve reliability and reduce fees on train operators in order to reduce ticket prices. 

(with newswires)

The landmark decision was announced on Sunday at an Ecowas summit of regional heads of state in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

The The Special Tribunal for Gambia will cover alleged crimes committed under military dictator Yahya Jammeh, whose rule from 1996 to 2017 was marked by arbitrary detention, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings.

Gambian court sentences five former spies to death for Jammeh-era murder

Jammeh lost a presidential election in 2016 to current President Adama Barrow and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after initially refusing to step down.

Calls for justice for the victims of the dictatorship had been growing for years in Gambia, a country surrounded by Senegal except for a small Atlantic coastline.

Crimes against humanity

In 2021, a truth commission in the country wrapped up its hearings with strong recommendations, urging the government to try perpetrators.

In May, Jammeh’s former interior minister was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a Swiss court for this crimes against humanity.

US moves to seize Gambia ex-leader Yahya Jammeh’s $3.5 million mansion

In November, a German court convicted a Gambian man, Bai Lowe, of murder and crimes against humanity for involvement in the killing of government critics in Gambia.

The man was a driver for a military unit deployed against opponents of Jammeh.

Gambia’s Justice Ministry described the move as a “historic development” that “marks a significant step forward for Gambia, the region, and international community” in a statement.

Tibetans and Tibetan scholars are alarmed at how Paris’ Guimet museum of Asian art has categorised its art and artefacts from Tibet. Tenam and other Tibetans in exile, who have been demonstrating regularly outside the museum, talk about the importance of using the name Tibet, and scholar Katia Buffetrille questions the role of China in putting pressure on a French public institution. (Listen @2’48”) 

Like many residents in the town of Malakoff, just south of Paris, Vincent Chévrier had an olive tree in his garden but wasn’t doing much with it. So he federated a group of fellow local olive tree owners and together they’ve made Born to be Olive – the first olive oil “made in Ile de France”. Their collective project isn’t just about making a locally grown, organic product, it’s brought people together in a unique way. (Listen @17’37”)

On 22 December 1974, the people of the Comoros in the Indian Ocean voted overwhelmingly for independence from France. But the island of Mayotte did not, and became France’s 101st department. It’s created an immigration conundrum, straining the island’s already sparse resources  which were laid bare by Tropical Cyclone Chido last week. Listen @13’40”)

Episode mixed by Hadrien Touraud. 

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 project, overseen by Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi, includes 22 short films spanning documentary, animation, and drama.

The films aim to share the voices of people living through the conflict in Gaza, offering a glimpse into their fears, dreams and hopes.

“The idea for From Ground Zero came immediately, in the second month of this ongoing war, to try to pick up films and stories from Gaza,” Masharawi told RFI.

He explained that the goal was to give filmmakers in Gaza the chance to make their own films.

As a recent report from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) underlines the toll of the war on Palestinian journalists, RFI spoke with him and his team in Paris.

RSF says Israel responsible for one-third of journalist deaths in 2024

The shorts, ranging from three to six minutes, are “a mix between fiction, documentaries, video art and even experimental films,” he said.

“We are filmmakers, we are dealing with cinema. Even if it’s a catastrophe, it’s very tough with all the massacres. But we were also trying to make cinema, to add life, to be optimistic and to add hope.”

The 112-minute collection is presented as a feature film in two parts. Contributors include Reema Mahmoud, Muhammad Al Sharif, Tamer Nijim and Alaa Islam Ayou.

From film festivals to the Oscars

After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September, From Ground Zero toured film festivals across Europe, North Africa and South West Asia in November and December.

Screenings have taken place at the French Arab Film Festival near Paris, the Bristol Palestine Film Festival and in London. Additional showings are scheduled for Morocco and Egypt.

Earlier this year, Masharawi held an outdoor screening of the film during the Cannes Film Festival to protest its exclusion from the event.

Now, the collection has been selected to represent Palestine at the Oscars in March 2025, with hopes of a wider release in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

UN rapporteur says Israel’s war in Gaza is ’emptying the land completely’

Emerging voices

The project was made possible by the Masharawi Fund for Gaza Filmmakers, launched in November 2023 to support creative talent from the territory.

Masharawi, who is from Gaza, is one of the first Palestinian filmmakers to have directed cinema projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.

His first film, Travel Document, was released in 1986, followed by The Shelter in 1989 and Long Days in Gaza in 1991.

The executive producer of the film, Laura Nikolov, who is French and based in France, is travelling with Masharawi to promote the film around the world.

“It’s a very unique project,” she told RFI. “We have now translated it into 10 different languages. We made this to allow the voices of the Gazan people [to be heard] and it’s working. I think we’ve reached more than 60, perhaps 80 screenings and festivals.”

With its selection for the Oscars, Nikolov is hopeful that the film will reach even wider audiences.

“This means it will be shown in cinemas in the United States,” she said, adding that they hope to expand its reach across Europe and the Middle East.

This dramatic end to the Assad family’s half-century rule over Syria marks a significant shift in the region’s balance of power, with analysts predicting that Turkey’s influence in Syria could now grow at the expense of its regional rivals.

“Turkey emerged… by proving its relevance, importance and its strength… out of these latest developments in Syria… as the clean, clear winner,” says Aydin Selcen, a former senior Turkish diplomat who served in the region and is now a foreign policy analyst for Turkey’s independent Medyascope news outlet.

“And Iran is definitely the loser. And Russia also is pushed aside.”

Success of rebel groups in Syria advances Turkish agenda

The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army played a role in the overthrow of Assad. However, it was the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahir Al Sham – or HTS – that led the offensive. And that, analysts say, will be a cause for apprehension in Ankara.

“Despite all the jubilation of the Turkish press and the government and the circles that support the government about the collapse of the Assad regime in general, I would think there is some uneasiness,” says Hasan Unal, professor of international relations at Ankara’s Baskent University.   

“I can see it through lots of problematic issues that would be coming out of what’s going to happen,” he added, “because of the ideological Islamist leanings of the incumbent government and… the Islamic jihadist terrorist groups associated with it.”

Support and protection

However, Turkey may not be entirely without influence over Syria’s new Islamist leaders. For years, it provided support and protection to the Idlib region of Syria, where HTS was based. 

Analyst Aydin Selcen suggests Ankara could retain significant influence if recent statements by HTS leadership calling for an inclusive Syrian government are honoured.  

“If pragmatism prevails, that’s perhaps where Turkey and Ankara may come in. And also Ankara definitely will be viewed as a positive outside contributor by these new Syrian rulers, because of the fact that we here in Turkey are hosting over 5 million Syrians and also that Turkey helped protect Idlib.”

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, addressing an international conference in Doha last Sunday, 8 December, said that Turkey is committed to helping secure a politically inclusive new Syria. 

Turkey’s Syrian refugees 

A stable Syria is also key to Ankara’s goal of sending home millions of Syrian refugees now living in Turkey. Public resentment over their presence has grown, as the country has grappled with an economic crisis over the past few years.

However, such a return may not be simple, predicts Sezin Oney, a commentator on Turkey’s independent Politikyol news site.

“The refugees, the Syrians you have in Turkey, are mostly women and children. So it has to be a [new Syrian] government, an administration, friendly to women and children, especially women.”

“But we don’t know if these Islamic jihadist groups will be really friendly towards these groups,” he added.

“There might be a Taliban 2.0 arising just across the border; we don’t know what kind of administration HTS and surrounding groups will be. It’s a big security risk; I don’t see Syria settling down to become a safe clash-free place.” 

‘Imperative’ to work against IS in Syria, Blinken tells Turkey

For now, Erdogan is celebrating the overthrow of Assad as a Turkish triumph, with European leaders and Washington queuing up to speak to him as Turkey positions itself as a key player in shaping Syria’s future.

But the sudden demise of the Assad regime underscores how quickly fortunes can change in the region, and the future of Syria – and Turkey’s role in it – are today more uncertain than ever. 

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 winners’ 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.

The RFI English team is pleased to announce that Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listening Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, won the RFI / Planète Radio ePOP video contest, in the RFI Clubs category. Bravo Saleem! Mubarak ho!

There are just two days left for you to be a part of our New Year’s Day show – get your New Year’s resolutions and/or wishes to me by this coming Monday, 16 December. Send them to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

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!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Zahurul Islam Joy from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Welcome, Zahural!

This week’s quiz: On 9 November, I asked you a question about the American composer and musician Quincy Jones, who died earlier that week.

You were to re-read our article “Tributes roll in for beloved musician and producer Quincy Jones, who died at 91”, and send in the answer to this question: What is the name of the legendary Frenchwoman with whom Jones studied in Paris in 1957?

The answer is: Nadia Boulanger, arguably the single most important composition teacher of the 20th century.  

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is the best way to flatter a mother-in-law?

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Chandra Kundu from West Bengal, India. Pradip is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Pradip!

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 Ataur Rahman Ranju, the president of the Alokito Manush Cai International Radio Listeners Club in Rangpur, Bangladesh. Rounding out the list of this week’s winners are RFI English listeners Shatrudhan Sharma from Rajasthan, India, and Mahfuz from Cumilla, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Tamasha” by Aamer Shafiq, Farhan Bogra, Shiraz Khan, and Sparlay Rawail, performed by Khumaariyan; “No Bones at All” by Quincy Jones, performed by the Quincy Jones Ensemble conducted by the composer; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and the traditional Mexican huasteco “La Huasanga”, performed by Xochicanela.

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 “France’s support for Syrian transition hinges on respect for minority rights”, which will help you with the answer.

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Kolawole Osinowo, CEO of Baobab Plus in Nigeria – a French-Nigerian energy distribution company – highlighted the challenges of energy access in the country.

“A lot of people in Nigeria don’t have access to electricity, so we’re supporting the government by bridging the gap,” Osinowo told RFI.

“There’s a connection in terms of technological and financial support that is key.”

Osinowo said he hopes to shift Africa-Europe relations from being aid-driven to investment-focused, aiming to boost Nigeria’s economy and create jobs.

“This is essential so that people don’t have to migrate and cause different migration issues around the world,” he said.

Creative partnerships

Uchenna Pedro, founder of the lifestyle platform Bella Naija and named one of Forbes Africa’s 50 Most Influential Women, emphasised France’s potential as a partner in Nigeria’s creative industries.

“French industries in my domains bring high value, and France’s belief in the arts makes it a great partnership,” said Pedro. Her platform already collaborates with French companies like L’Oréal in the beauty and fashion sectors.

Pedro is also a member of the French Africa Foundation’s young leaders group, which supports initiatives connecting France with African nations.

Nigerian businesses court French investors during Tinubu’s landmark visit

France as a cultural hub

Singer-songwriter and activist Chioma Ogbonna, known as Cill, also praised France’s prioritisation of the arts and its thriving creative industry.

“Because of how the arts and the creative industry thrive here in France and how it is prioritised, it is an important destination for Africans and Nigerians especially,” she said.

Tinubu’s visit underscored the potential for deeper collaboration between Nigerian businesses and French investors, particularly in energy, culture, and creative sectors.

Episode recorded and mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

The lightning offensive of Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, which has seen the rebels capture several major Syrian cities in less than two weeks, gives Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leverage over his Syrian counterpart President Bashar al-Assad.

“Turkey can easily stop both [rebel] entities and start a process. Turkey does have this strength, and Assad is well aware of it,” said Murat Aslan of the SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a Turkish pro-government think tank. 

Until now, Assad has rejected Erdogan’s overtures for dialogue to end the civil war peacefully. “The Turkish intention politically is not to escalate in Syria [but to] start a political, diplomatic engagement with the Assad regime, and come to the terms of a normal state, and that all Syrians safely return to their homes,” Aslan noted.

Syrian rebels surround Hama ‘from three sides’, monitor says

Syrian refugees an issue

Erdogan is seeking to return many of the estimated 4 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey, amid growing public unease over their presence in the country.

“According to the opinion polls here, yes, the Syrian refugees [are] an issue. For any government, it would be a wonderful win to see these Syrians going back to Syria of their own will,” explained Aydin Selcen, a former senior Turkish diplomat who served in the region and is now a foreign policy analyst for Turkey’s Medyascope news outlet.

However, Moscow has a lot to lose in Syria, as a key military backer of Assad, who in turn has granted Russia use of a key Syrian naval base. “For Moscow, it’s of crucial importance that the personality of Assad remains in power,” said Zaur Gasimov, a professor of history and a Russia specialist at the University of Bonn.

Syria rebel leader says goal is to overthrow Assad

Gasimov warns that Turkey could be facing another humanitarian crisis. “Russia would definitely use the military force of its aerospace forces, that can cause a huge number of casualties among civilians. Which means a new wave of migrants towards Turkish eastern Anatolia.”

With more than a million Syrian refugees camped just across the Turkish border in the rebel-controlled Syrian Idlib province, analysts warn a new exodus into Turkey is a red line for Ankara.

“If they refresh their attacks on the captured areas by indiscriminate targeting… well [we can] expect further escalations in the region,” warned Aslan of the pro-government SETA think tank. “And for sure there is a line that Turkey will not remain as it is, and if there is a development directly threatening the interests or security of Turkey, then Turkey will intervene.”

Pushing back the YPG

With the Syrian rebel offensive also making territorial gains against the US-backed Kurdish militant group, the YPG, Ankara is poised to secure another strategic goal in Syria. Ankara accuses the YPG of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is fighting the Turkish state.

France joins Germany, US and Britain in call for de-escalation in Syria

“Without putting up a fight, and without getting directly involved, they [Ankara] have achieved one of their goals – for YPG to pull back from the Turkish frontier towards the south,” explained Selcen. “I think Ankara now is closer to that goal.”

With Syrian rebel successes appearing to advance Ankara’s goals in Syria, some analysts are urging caution, given the rebels’ links to radical Islamist groups. “The crashing down of the Assad regime is not in the interest of Turkey, because there will be chaos,” warned international relations professor Huseyin Bagci, of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

“Who is going to rule? What type of [governing] structure are we going to have?” he asked. “They are radicals, and another Daesh-style territory would not be in the interest of Turkey – in Turkish prisons, there are thousands of Daesh people.”

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.