In an address to the nation, Macron said that the French were “legitimately worried” about the start of a “new era” after Trump began his second stint in the White House by reversing US policy on Ukraine and risking a historic rupture with Europe.

“I want to believe that the United States will stay by our side but we have to be prepared for that not to be the case,” he said bluntly.

Europe ready to ‘step up’ defence commitments in Ukraine: Macron

Trump has made clear his desire to swiftly end the war caused by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine through direct negotiations with Moscow.

But Macron offered a stark picture of Russia’s aggressive behaviour, which he said does “not seem to know borders” after its invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia has become, at the moment I am speaking to you and for the years to come, a threat to France and Europe,” he said. “It would be madness to remain a spectator in this world of danger.”

 But he also warned Trump that “peace cannot be agreed at any cost” and there cannot be a ceasefire that is “too fragile”.

“In the face of this dangerous world, remaining a spectator would be madness,” the French president said in the 15-minute televised address, delivered on the eve of a crucial European Union (EU) summit in Brussels set to approve a massive reinforcement of continental defense.

EU chief unveils €800bn plan to ‘rearm’ Europe and support Ukraine

In response to these threats, Macron welcomed the EU’s expected “decisive steps” on Thursday in Brussels to invest hundreds of billions of euros in European defense, implementing measures that “France has been advocating for years.”

Budgetary effort

However, he acknowledged that this would require a difficult budgetary effort given France’s already strained public finances. Strengthening the military will necessitate “additional investments that have now become essential,” but “without increasing taxes,” he promised.

“For this, we will need reforms, choices, and courage,” he emphasized, calling on political leaders and social partners to propose “solutions for tomorrow” that “cannot be based on yesterday’s habits.”

“The homeland needs you and your commitment,” the president told his fellow citizens, advocating for European unity and praising “the resilience of a nation.”

In recent weeks, Macron has worked alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to consolidate European unity and maintain transatlantic dialogue.

He also announced that Paris will host a meeting next week of “the chiefs of staff of countries willing to take responsibility” for ensuring a future peace in Ukraine, possibly even through “the deployment of European forces.”

While confirming his intention to “open a strategic debate on protecting… European allies through…nuclear deterrent,” he reassured people that the decision to use nuclear weapons “has always been and will remain in the hands of the president of the Republic.”

France and EU move to secure Ukraine minerals as US pushes for deal

Dialogue resumes

Immediately after his speech, Macron hosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for dinner. Orban, a supporter of both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, is one of the most dissenting voices within the EU.

Following a dramatic altercation between the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Friday in the Oval Office – and Monday’s announcement of a freeze on American military aid to Kyiv, which is vital for resisting Moscow – dialogue appears to be resuming.

Macron has spoken with both leaders, and on Tuesday evening, in a speech before the US  Congress, the American president said he had received a letter from Zelensky expressing his willingness to negotiate a “durable peace” with Russia “as soon as possible”.

Ukraine to lead agenda during Washington talks between top EU and US diplomats

The Ukrainian leader had already signaled this intent earlier in the day, suggesting an initial “air and maritime ceasefire,” aligning with a proposal previously advanced by Macron.

A potential “short-term” visit to Washington by the Franco-British duo, alongside Zelensky, was even mentioned on Wednesday morning by the French government’s spokesperson—though the Élysée Palace quickly denied that such a trip was “being considered at this stage.”

Beyond the Ukraine crisis, Macron also expressed his hope of “dissuading” the US president from imposing “tariffs on European goods,” calling such a move “an incomprehensible decision for both the American and European economies.”

(With newswires)

Harvey Elliott scored the winner in the 86th minute, just 40 seconds after replacing a spectral Mohamed Salah on the right wing.

It was a goal that contrasted ghoulishly with PSG’s delicacy and finesse.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, who had kept his side in the tie with half a dozen spectacular saves, hoofed the ball in the direction of Darwin Nunez. The Liverpool forward jumped up with PSG skipper Marquinhos and Nunez, the fresher of the pair, gained control on the edge of the box as Marquinhos slipped to the turf.

Rather than shooting, the Uruguayan side-footed the ball over to the right for the on-rushing Elliot to slide it past the PSG goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma.

“If you have seen the game, it’s a very good result for us,” said Liverpool boss Arne Slot.

Quality

“I knew the quality of PSG before the game. They won 10 times in a row, scored goal after goal after goal. They have incredible pace with the wingers. Every underlying statistic shows you that they were the best team in the Champions League so I wasn’t surprised that they were so good.”

Few outfits have mastered Liverpool during their rampage into a 13-point lead at the top of the English Premier League and the League Cup final.

But from the outset Luis Enrique’s men stated their intent to dominate.

With Vitinha and Joao Neves respectively as schemer and toiler-in-chief in the midfield and Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola roving down the wings, they engulfed Slot’s men with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the January signing from Napoli, adding more trickery.

It was Dembélé’s wizardry though that set up the first big chance of the night.

The 27-year-old France international whirled past Andy Robertson and Alexis Mac Allister on the right touchline and centred but Joao Neves scuffed his shot into the ground and the ball looped over the bar.

PSG continued the push forward and after 20 minutes, Kvaratskhelia curled the ball elegantly around Alisson into the net.

In vain. The Georgia international was offside when he received the pass.

Despite the escape, Liverpool’s response failed to materialise and Slot’s men were fortunate that Ibrahima Konaté was not sent off half an hour into the encounter for bringing down Barcola on the edge of the penalty area.

Barcola should have punished more backline sloppiness minutes later but he lashed the rebound over the bar after Dembélé had brought a good save from Alisson.

Changes

To the delight of the partisans in the house, it was a case of déjà vu after the pause. PSG monopolised possession, weaved intricate patterns and Liverpool repulsed.

Alisson’s strong arm stopped Dembélé’s effort and the 32-year-old Brazilian added to his highlights reel after 80 minutes with a flying save to push Désiré Doué’s curler from the left away for a corner.

“Alisson had a great game,” Enrique said. “We didn’t let them play. Liverpool were better than us for the first five minutes and then it was all PSG.”

Enrique, whose side enjoys a 13-point cushion at the top of the Ligue 1, is likely to rest his star players for the weekend game at Rennes.

“We go to Liverpool next week with nothing to lose,” added the Spaniard. “And that makes us dangerous.

“It was potentially one of our best games of the season,” he lamented. “We did everything to keep the ball. We played a full game. Their best player was their goalkeeper. That tells you everything.”

Lille in the hunt

Three days after losing 4-1 in Ligue 1 at PSG, Lille drew 1-1 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night. Karim Adeyemi opened for the scoring at the Signal Iduna Park afer 22 minutes.

But the hosts failed to match the intensity of the visitors in the second-half and paid the price for their lack of aggression when Hakon Haraldsson muscled through the Dortmund backline to level.

“We were timid in the way we used the ball’ in the first-half,” said Lille boss Bruno Genesio. “We didn’t take enough risks going forward, and we didn’t make enough runs to offer options for the pass.

“But the second-half was much more accomplished. We took more risks and we deservedly got back on level terms. Overall I’m satisfied with a positive result.

The second leg will take place on 12 March at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.

“Given what we showed in the second-half in Dortmund, we almost regret not scoring a second goal but there’s another match coming up. It’s going to be a very tight game.”

“A new era is upon us,” von der Leyen said in a letter presenting the plan to EU leaders on Tuesday – two days before a summit aimed at cementing joint action on support for Ukraine and European security.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us has seen in our adult lifetime,” she told reporters in Brussels.

The first part of the plan involves the suspension of strict budget rules to allow EU countries to ramp up their spending on defence.

“This will allow member states to significantly increase their defence expenditures without triggering the excessive deficit procedure,” von der Leyen added, referring to a procedure that forces governments to bring deficit levels down if they violate the rules.

Loans for defence investment

The second proposal will be a new “instrument” that will provide €150 billion of loans to member states for defence investment.

“This is basically about spending better – and spending together,” said von der Leyen. “We are talking about pan-European capability domains – for example: air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition drones and anti-drone systems.

This would enable the immediate delivery of military equipment to Ukraine, she said.

The third component would involve using the existing EU budget “to direct more funds towards defence-related investments”.

That would include allowing member states to repurpose so-called “cohesion” funds targeted at helping the development of poorer European countries – and using them for defence.

The last two areas of action would involve the bloc’s lending arm, the European Investment Bank, which EU states want to drop limits on lending to defence firms, and a savings and investments union to help companies access capital.

US President Donald Trump’s direct outreach to Russia on ending the Ukraine war has thrown the country’s future into question and left Europe reeling on the sidelines.

Thursday’s Brussels summit, on the heels of weekend crisis talks also involving Britain and NATO, comes as Europe contemplates the stark prospect of the US withdrawing longer-term support from Ukraine and more broadly from its European allies.

“We are living in the most momentous and dangerous of times,” von der Leyen said. “This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up.”

(with AFP)

The sharp decline in US-Ukraine relations has raised doubts about American support for Europe, as the continent assesses its ability to defend itself against a threat from Russia.

Donald Trump’s decision to cut military aid to Ukraine this week signals a  shift in US foreign policy and raises questions about America’s commitment to Europe’s security.

From shortages in the number of tanks and the availablity of artillery, to the debate over a unified European army, leaders must decide whether to bolster national forces or embrace deeper military cooperation.

As France and the UK guard their nuclear arsenals and Russia tests Europe’s resolve, can the EU build a credible deterrent, or will it continue to rely on America?

The Director for Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa at the Institute for Economics and Peace, Serge Stroobants, explained to RFI that Europe lacks the capacity to react quickly to security threats, with defence procurement bogged down by fragmentation and slow production timelines.

As early as 2016, Germany’s defence industry acknowledged that no major projects would reach completion for at least six to eight years. Today the projections are even worse.

“If you want to invest quickly in the military – into defence, into new equipment and weapon systems – these need to be bought off the shelf outside of Europe,” with the US, Turkey, and South Korea as key suppliers, he says.

Defence neglected

Beyond military upgrades, Europe faces a broader challenge as its entire economic and state system must adapt to meet modern security demands.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recent pledge to cut red tape for defence procurement is a step in the right direction, Stroobants says, but it comes too late and under pressure from events rather than forward planning.

“The problem is – as is so often with the EU – we are doing this under the pressure of the events. We’re not doing this in advance. We’re not planning. We don’t have a strategy.”

Despite being a continent of 500 million people – and the world’s third-largest economic and military power – Europe remains unable to ensure its own security due to a longstanding lack of strategic foresight and neglect of defence spending.

As it stands, a unified EU defence force remains a challenge due to Europe’s struggle to coordinate military policy alongside foreign diplomacy and development.

Stroobants explains that peace and security are based on three pillars – diplomacy, development and defence. “When you look at the EU, this has been done for almost 75 years, but if you are not able to integrate foreign policy and foreign development…and have common influence outside of European borders? Well, it doesn’t really help to only unify just one of those three pillars,” he said.

While the EU has made progress in development and soft power, true strategic influence for the bloc requires the full integration of defence and diplomacy to establish an undivided foreign policy and a stronger global presence.

‘Europe must do the heavy lifting’ in Ukraine, needs ‘US backing’: UK’s Starmer

Reshaping Europe

“For 30 to 35 years now, we have been divesting from defence, but it’s much more than defence. It’s the entire society that has lived with the idea that we would live eternally in peace,” Stroobants says.

He argues that to independently deter Russian aggression, European nations must go beyond bolstering their military capabilities – they need to rethink their entire strategic approach.

“If you want to be ready, you need to invest in defence…but you also need to reshape your society and your infrastructure,” he adds.

He also points out that with France and the UK as Europe’s only nuclear powers, their cooperation on a nuclear umbrella remains uncertain. France insists its deterrent will stay national but may engage allies without losing autonomy. Both nations favour a “coalition of the willing” over an EU or NATO-led approach, prioritising national security.

‘Deterrance and power’

While Moscow takes America’s military threat seriously and views European states as weak, Stroobants added,  Europe must take concrete steps to change this perception and restore credible deterrence.

European security hinges on two key concepts: deterrence and power. Deterrence relies not just on military capability but on the will to use it – because, as Stroobants puts it, “you can have 20,000 nuclear warheads, but if you have nobody who is strong enough to use them, they are not going to be a deterrent.

“And that’s exactly what’s happening with the EU at the moment”.

True power – accroding to Stroobants – is essentially a combination of military, economic, and diplomatic strength,comboined with a clear strategy and the political will to act.

Britain holds back as France pushes for truce between Russia and Ukraine

While Europe possesses significant resources, it lacks a unified vision on how to confront Putin’s Russia and define its role in an increasingly aggressive global order – leaving it strategically adrift and unable to deter adversaries effectively.

The absence of key nations – including the Baltic states – from a recent high-level security meeting in London only underscores the challenge of consolidating a unified European deterrent.

“After having lived in the military for 30 years, in Europe and under the NATO umbrella, not incorporating all the allies or member states [at high level meetings] is really strange,” he said.

For Stroobants, Europe now is facing the disintegration of alliances that have taken over seven decades to build.

Vance’s comments about the planned British- and French-led European peacekeeping force caused politicians and veterans in both countries to say he was dishonouring hundreds of troops killed fighting alongside US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Tuesday Vance said it was “absurdly dishonest” to suggest he had criticised British or French troops in his comments, made in an interview with Fox News on Monday.

“I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” he said on X.

Only Britain and France have publicly committed to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Vance said on Tuesday he was referring to other potential countries in what British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called at the weekend “a coalition of the willing” that would contribute to any post-war peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

In the past 40 years, British and French troops have fought alongside US troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

EU chief unveils €800bn plan to ‘rearm’ Europe and support Ukraine

Angry reactions

James Cartlidge, the British opposition Conservative Party’s spokesman on defence, called Vance’s comments “deeply disrespectful”.

Johnny Mercer, a British veteran and a former junior defence minister, called Vance a “clown”.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said in parliament: “We respect the veterans of all the allied countries. We will make sure that our own veterans are respected.”

French President Emmanuel Macron‘s Renaissance party on X said: “The French and British soldiers who died fighting terrorism, who fought and sometimes died alongside American soldiers, deserve better than the disdain of the American vice president.”

Nigel Farage, the leader of the British right-wing populist Reform party and a friend of U.S. President Donald Trump, said: “wrong, wrong, wrong” when asked about Vance’s comments.

Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, said after the criticism of Vance that no country in Europe has the military resources to meaningfully deter Russia without American assistance.

“Many of these countries have served valiantly in support of American and NATO missions in the past, but it’s dishonest to pretend those contributions amount to anything comparable to the mobilization that a hypothetical European army would need,” she said.

France divided over Ukraine as parliamentary debate sparks tensions

Minerals deal

Vance told Fox News on Monday that the best way to ensure peace in Ukraine was to open up Ukraine’s minerals to the US.

“If you want to actually ensure that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” he said.

“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”

Demonstrations organised by the Alliance police union saw officers gather outside police stations in several cities including Caen, Nantes, Besançon and Nanterre – the Paris suburb where the shooting occurred.

Nahel, 17, was killed in June 2023 by a bullet fired at point-blank range by a police officer – identified as Florian M – who was checking the vehicle when the teenager attempted to restart it. 

Police initially claimed the young man had driven towards them, but this version was contradicted by amateur video footage shared on social media. 

The officer had been held in custody for five months before being released under judicial supervision. 

On Monday the Nanterre prosecutor requested that he face trial for murder, and that charges against a colleague for complicity in murder be dropped. 

France re-enacts fatal shooting of teenager that led to riots

Modest protests

Around a hundred police officers gathered to protest the move in Nanterre – although initial reports had suggested that “several hundred” officers were expected. 

“We are here today to symbolically support Florian,” Fabien Vanhemelryck, secretary general of the Alliance union, told BFMTV at the Nanterre protest. 

“We are all Florian. Saying that a colleague is a murderer is intolerable and unacceptable. A murder is voluntarily causing someone’s death. We cannot say that a police officer is a murderer.” 

Media reports said that in Caen about 30 officers stood on the steps of the police headquarters in a silent demonstration, while in Besançon some 40 officers gathered outside the Gare d’Eau police station despite it being during school holidays. 

At the Nantes central police station, several dozens of officers briefly assembled “in a symbolic way before quickly returning to their ranks”, according to Ouest France.

Grandmother of teen killed by French police pleads for riots to stop 

Unions divided

Police unions have taken different approaches to supporting their colleague. While Alliance called for nationwide gatherings, the Un1té union advised against protests. 

“In accordance with our values and our unwavering commitment to Florian, Un1té will always act in his interest and in protection of his rights. Consequently, we will not call for any gatherings,” Un1té said in a statement cited by Le Figaro. 

Alliance has taken a more confrontational stance.

“If today a police officer can be tried as a murderer for having faced a refusal to comply, then tomorrow, no police officer will be able to intervene without fearing the courts,” the union said in its statement. 

The footage of Nahel’s shooting, and apparent disconnect with the official version of events by police, galvanised months of violence and protests against police brutality across France.

The doctors, who qualified outside the European Union, also plan to demonstrate outside the Health Ministry in Paris on Saturday. 

Many work in medical fields facing staff shortages, including geriatrics, emergency medicine, visceral surgery and psychiatry. 

They earn significantly less than their French counterparts – sometimes three times less – and are often employed on short-term contracts that renew every six months. 

“We find ourselves in an unacceptable precarious situation,” Abdelhalim Bensaïdi, a diabetologist who has worked at Nanterre Hospital for more than six years, told France Inter.  

Three-quarters of foreign-trained doctors come from five Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco and Lebanon. Many have been working in France for years, supporting a health system struggling with staff shortages. 

France admits more foreign doctors than ever before, but inequalities remain

Unmet promises 

In January 2024, the government pledged to extend work permits for foreign doctors who had failed a highly selective national exam required for them to be fully integrated into the French system.

More than a year and two governments later, that promise remains unfulfilled. 

To gain full recognition of their qualifications in France, the doctors must pass knowledge verification tests. The process is highly competitive. In 2023, some 20,000 foreign-trained doctors applied for positions, but only 2,649 succeeded – a pass rate of just 13.5 percent. 

During the most recent exam session, 20 percent of the positions that should have been awarded were not granted, a decision Bensaïdi described as “arbitrary”. 

Reforms to address France’s ‘medical deserts’ pit doctors against nurses

For many doctors with years of experience and proven clinical skills, the exam represents an unfair barrier to job security. 

They say the uncertainty affects not just their careers but their personal lives, making it impossible to settle in France. 

“Our entire family life depends on this exam and the renewal of our papers,” Nadir, an anaesthetist-reanimator earning €1,476 per month, told France 3 in January.  

“How can we take out a loan or plan for the future when we don’t even know if we can stay?” 

Essential workforce 

Healthcare experts have emphasised the vital role these foreign doctors play in the French system. 

“If the French hospital system hasn’t collapsed, it’s because a wave of foreign doctors has arrived during each crisis period,” Louis-Vladimir Vandermeerschen, national delegate of the Public Health Managers Union, told left-leaning daily Libération. 

President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged their contribution earlier this year, conceding they “sometimes single-handedly keep our care services running”.

RFI: In the newspaper Der Spiegel, you compare today’s events to both the 1938 Munich meeting and the 1945 Yalta Conference, where Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin shaped Europe’s future. How do these historical parallels apply now?

Ralf Fücks: It’s always a little bit dangerous to slip into this kind of historical comparison. There is no fatalism to repeat history, but I think we have to be aware that we are now again in an extremely critical and dangerous situation in Europe.

Munich, after Hitler took power, is the reference for appeasement policy. But Donald Trump is even going further than Chamberlain went in Munich in 1938 with Hitler’s Germany. He is not only trying to appease Putin with concessions, but taking sides with neo-imperial and authoritarian Russia against Ukraine and against former European allies of the US.

The situation is more like Yalta, because Trump is sharing the idea of Putin and of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, about a new world order where the world is dominated by the big powers which can do what they want without being restricted by rules.

Smaller nations submit to the big powers which divide the world into spheres of influence, like big boys who are at the same time collaborating and competing with each other.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in his June 2020 essay on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, very clearly said that his vision was the one that came out of Yalta: the return to an agreement with the US about the division of the spheres of influence.

He does not believe in the idea of equality and shared sovereignty between all the nations. NOTE: Putin’s essay reads, “The major historic achievement of Yalta and other decisions of that time is the agreement to create a mechanism that would allow the leading powers to remain within the framework of diplomacy in resolving their differences.”

Trump also shares this view, notably that nations like Ukraine are to have only limited sovereignty and that they have to accept that Russia has a veto power over Ukraine’s future.

And this is a total contradiction of the European post-Cold War order. If we accept that, Europe will become a playground for China, the US and Russia.

RFI: What should Europe do?

Ralf Fücks: It is very hard to believe that the West as a political entity of liberal democracies is over and that we are entering a new political era, no longer relying on the US security guarantees, but one where the United States, at least under the presidency of Donald Trump, will turn on Europe and treat us not as friends, but as adversaries.

This moment is extremely critical, not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe. It is a litmus test as to whether Europe will stay relevant globally or if we will become a punching ball between China, Russia and the US.

As for Ukraine, the test is about our ability to defend the European security order, the principles on which this order was built, and if we can defend our values.

It is not just about solidarity with Ukraine, a country which is now suffering more than three years of war of destruction. It is also about defending Europe.

In the short term, the answer is weapons, weapons, weapons. We have to replace American military supply to Ukraine. Possibly for an interim period, the Europeans [could]  buy weapons in the US and send them to Ukraine. But then we have to build up our own military industries.

We must enable Ukraine to resist and to come into a better negotiation position with Russia, not from the defensive, but from a position of strength.

And we must build a common European Defence Union with Ukraine. Ukraine could be an asset for European security.

Europe scrambles to boost defence as US wavers on Ukraine support

RFI: You have mentioned the failures of the Minsk agreements. What lessons can we pull from those negotiations and what comes after in possible future negotiations with Russia?

Ralf Fücks: Ukraine should never again negotiate from a position of weakness. In Minsk 2014-2015, Ukraine was on the brink of military collapse. And this may never happen again. So if we want to have negotiations with Russia, we have to bring Ukraine into a position of military strength. The outcome of negotiations will depend on the military balance of force.

The second consequence from Minsk is that we cannot bring Russia into a position of brokering a deal. We have to treat Russia as an adversary. And the Europeans cannot be neutral in this conflict. We have to take sides with Ukraine. And we should not lift sanctions on Russia prematurely.

Sanctions go further than military support for Ukraine, our most effective tool to change Russia’s policy. Lifting sanctions wouldn’t only be about ending the war. We must raise other issues: the retreat of Russian nuclear arms from Belarus, from Kaliningrad, to reduce the nuclear threat to Europe. The release of political prisoners from Russian prison camps.

So we must build a package of political demands to Russia as a precondition for restoring economic relations.

RFI: Given all the changes in the US foreign policy, how do you feel that in the current situation the relationship can be saved?

Ralf Fücks: As long as Trump and his fellows are ruling in Washington, it only can be about damage control. We have to be strong economically, military, politically, in order not to be blackmailed by the US. 

We have to accept that with Trump you can only do transactional policies. So we have to define our interests and then negotiate with the US where we can strike deals in our interest.

One point of interest could be future policy towards China. If the US wants us to become tougher against China, especially in economic terms, reducing our economic dependency on China, not delivering critical technology to China, then we should ask the US in return to keep engaged in Europe.

The critical point is the nuclear guarantee. At the moment, even the combined French and British nuclear capacities will not be sufficient to deter Russia and to create a nuclear balance with Russia. So we have to increase our nuclear capacities. This is an issue we cannot avoid.

Ukraine to lead agenda during Washington talks between top EU and US diplomats

RFI: France and Germany together are the motor of the European Union. But the relationship has not been great, with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, differing in style and approach. Will the relationship get better under Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become Germany’s new Chancellor after the elections on 23 February?

Ralf Fücks: Let’s be realistic. I think there is no way back to this former exclusive French-German leadership in Europe. This is over. We have to recognise that the central eastern European nations, especially Poland, but also [the Czech Republic] the Baltic states, the Scandinavians, will play a much more self-assertive and important role.

So, we have to broaden the leadership board of the European Union.

But of course, a restart of Franco-German relations is absolutely crucial. We are almost in an all-time low. The same with Poland. And the designated new German Chancellor, Merz has already, before the elections, announced that his first visit will lead him to Warsaw and Paris.

And I think this is the right signal.

As the war in Ukraine rages on and air raid alerts in Kyiv remain a daily occurrence, a somewhat surprising new trend has flourished on TikTok – young people are posting about the race to get hold of theatre tickets. 

“Before, we used to announce new seasons a month in advance. Now we open ticket sales three months in advance and within two hours, everything’s gone,” said Victoria Bourkovska, the administrator of the Ivan Franko National Theatre – currently celebrating its 105th anniversary – who can hardly believe this turn of events.

In 2024, the hot ticket was for The Witch of Konotop, an adaptation of a 19th-century satirical novel about a Cossack chieftain battling witches. On TikTok, videos of the play have been viewed millions of times. 

EU leaders in Ukraine to mark third anniversary of Russia’s invasion

In front of the pastel blue facade of the theatre, Veronika and her group of friends are delighted to be among the lucky few who have seen the play. Yet Grehori, 32, confesses that before the war, he had never set foot in a theatre. One day he went along, and loved it. Tonight, the group don’t know what they’re going to see: “We just took whatever tickets they had.”

Evgeny Nuschuk, director of the Franko Theatre since April 2024, said: “There is a theatre craze at the moment. And it’s not just in Kyiv. With theatre, there’s this here and now aspect.” A living art form, a format that chimes with current events, it is also a source of inspiration for the future, as reflected in the theatre’s slogan for the new season: “Today’s theatre must reflect tomorrow’s society.”

There have been adjustments since the invasion. Big Russian names such as Pushkin and Chekhov have been eliminated from the repertoire – but a new generation of directors has seized upon Ukraine’s literary and theatrical heritage.

Fundraising for armed forces

In the event of an air raid alert, the play is stopped. And familiar faces have disappeared from audiences. “We have lost some regulars,” says Nuschuk. “They had bought tickets for the evening of 1 January, intending to start the year with us. Some other spectators brought flowers to lay on their seats.”

Before taking over the reins of the establishment, the director twice served as the country’s minister of culture. In the early days of the war he volunteered, and the theatre is engaged with the war effort. “In six months, we have collected more than 55 million hryvnias [almost €1.3 million] for our armed forces. Our troops perform in military hospitals and we lend our spaces to displaced troops from Sumy, Kherson or Mariupol every Monday,” said Nuschuk.

Zelensky hails Ukraine’s ‘heroism’ on third anniversary of Russia’s invasion

“There has always been a renaissance of Ukrainian culture in difficult times,” Tetiana and Olha told RFI. These two students have also become regular theatre-goers since the start of the war.

“Remember the proliferation of poetry and theatre in the 1920s, for example [at the time of the occupation by the Soviet Union]. But I also think that one of the reasons for the craze we are experiencing is that today’s directors are reviving a certain authenticity in Ukrainian culture, breaking away from the rigid and overwhelming Russian culture embodied by the great authors and the great ballets.”

Language as resistance

In this cultural war, language is another battlefield. In a country where most people have historically mastered both Russian and Ukrainian, the former is being rejected while use of the latter has become a symbol of resistance.

On Khreshchatyk Avenue – Kyiv’s Champs-Élysées – where Vladimir Putin was planning a victory parade in 2022, the Sens bookshop opened its doors a year ago. On this Saturday afternoon, its two floors are bustling with people, particularly young people. With its café and stylish interior, it’s eminently Instagrammable. The store’s motto? “You can do what you like here, but not in Russian.” You won’t find any books in the language of Tolstoy for sale in this shop.

When the first Ukrainian language only bookshop opened, just before the full-scale invasion of February 2022, many people were sceptical, says Oleksii Erinchak, one of the owners and founders of Sens. “We would always hear that books in Ukrainian were more expensive, that there were few translations and therefore little choice… We wanted to promote books in Ukrainian. And we’ve shown that there is a demand for them.”

He added: “Of course, it’s an act of resistance. For centuries, Russia stifled our culture. This is like putting a protective dome over it.” He believes culture is a weapon, one Russia had tried to deploy in Ukraine long before the invasion: “Putin thought that the Ukrainians would welcome the Russians with open arms because culture had already prepared the ground.”

Before the war, around 75 percent of the book market in Ukraine was made up of books imported from Russia, illustrating Russian influence. Since 2022, these have been banned.

Today, eight of the shop’s top ten bestsellers are written in Ukrainian. They include a collection of love poetry, an anthology on Ukrainian nationalism, and a thrilling detective novel by Illarion Pavliuk, a Ukrainian writer and journalist turned soldier.

The bookshop also organises the collection of Russian-language books for recycling, with the money raised going to anti-aircraft defence.

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Maria Smirova, who is browsing for books to give as gifts with her husband Dimitrov, said: “Before the war I only bought books online, and most of them in Russian. Now everything has changed. We only speak to each other in Ukrainian and we’ve got rid of all our books in Russian.” For her, shopping here also means supporting Ukraine. 

Over the last two years, some 50 new bookshops have opened across the country. According to Rostyslav Semkiv, a professor of literature at the University of Kyivand a literary critic, this “cultural blossoming” can be explained by “a reformatting of our identity”.

“Before 2014, the cultural landscape was dominated by a post-Soviet identity. The large-scale invasion shattered this identity. This Ukrainian ethnic identity has become political. Many people are starting to take an interest in Ukrainian history, art and literature. What makes up Ukrainian culture? There is a search for ‘Ukrainianness’,” he explained.

Somoloskyp (meaning “torch”), the small Ukrainian-language publishing house run by Semkiv, is a testament to this movement. “Ten years ago, for us, printing 1,000 or 2,000 copies of a book was huge. Today, we have average print runs of 4,000 to 5,000 copies, and we can go up to 30,000. And every book that comes out goes very quickly,” he says. Production is in fact struggling to keep up with demand, with the printing works slowing down as a result of the war. 

Renaissance and resilience

In a basement in the centre of Kyiv, around 30 people have taken their seats. “Glory to Ukraine! Putin, you dickhead!” shouts stand-up comedian Arthur Petrov as he takes to the stage.

Nadiya and Stanislas, who discovered Petrov on YouTube, are here hoping to escape for an hour “from our difficult daily lives, and hear a few good jokes about Russkies, fighting and body bags,” says Stanislas, with a heavy does of irony.

“Laugh and keep your head up” is the name of the programme offered by this venue, the Underground Standup Club, which was founded in 2016 and sends 20 percent of its takings to the armed forces. 

When the hour is up, Petrov has another engagement – a charity show with two other comedians in the town of Irpin, near the capital, which has been hit hard by the war. The money raised will go to a charity that buys drones.

The show is taking place in the brand new community hall of a newly built neighbourhood, on a street formerly known as Dostoevsky Street and now renamed for Olha Kobylianska, a Ukrainian feminist writer. The atmosphere is warm among this young, hip audience. 

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Taxi drivers, the Montessori education method, talking in Ukrainian during sex, air raid alerts… war is not the only ground covered by the comedians, and laughter is clearly an outlet. Far from silencing it, the war has seen a huge increase in the number of comedians performing in Ukraine.

“Before the war started, most of the big stand-up shows in Ukraine were in Russian,” says Anton Zhytlov as he leaves the stage. “With the start of the war, we stopped using Russian and this has led to a sort of renaissance in Ukrainian humour.”

In the audience, Rima is happy to be able to relax a little. Her husband is at the front, but she doesn’t know where exactly. “It’s invaluable for our mental health,” she says.

For Zhytlov, the fact that Ukrainians still go to stand-up shows and comedians continue to perform, despite the war, is indicative of the national mentality: “We are courageous and we look fear in the eye. We’re not afraid of anything.”

This article has been adapted from the original in French, by our correspondent in Kyiv.

Nataliia greets us with a big smile and gifts: her favourite Ukrainian sweets, which helped her get through her exile in Paris. We first met in February 2023, when she was living in the French capital her two children, Hanna and Ivan. The family had fled Ukraine days after the Russian invasion, and the destruction of their home. Nataliia’s husband, Volodymyr, had stayed behind in Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital. Forbidden from leaving the country, he set about rebuilding a home for his family.

Today, we meet Nataliia in the centre of Kyiv. She wants to show us the old town. “It’s a bit like Montmartre,” she says as she takes us down Andrew’s Descent, a street renowned for its artists.

Last July, she packed the family’s bags, sold their furniture and left Paris to return home, despite the war that is still raging.

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In front of the sky blue St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, destroyed tanks sit as a reminder of the Ukrainian resistance that prevented Russian forces from entering the capital. “This represents our success,” says Nataliia. “There are also civilian cars. I think these are vehicles that were bombed by the Russians in Bucha or Irpin, when people were trying to evacuate.”

‘I’m on home ground’

Since her return, Nataliia hasn’t had much time to herself. So, after more than two years away, this walk around her city means a lot. “I’m on home ground, I’m in my hometown,” she says, excited. “And it’s important for me to be able to bear witness to life in war, to remind us of our history, who we are and why we’re fighting: for this freedom, for our children’s future.”

It’s hard to know how many Ukrainian refugees, like Nataliia, have made their way home. According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, of the 14 million Ukrainians who have fled their homes since 24 February, 2022, almost 4.3 million have already returned – around a quarter of them from abroad.

Nataliia says she will remember the moment she and her children crossed the border back into Ukraine, on the train from Warsaw, for the rest of her life. “The children were asleep and I started to cry with joy – at last, I’m home! It was crazy.”

At the station, her husband was waiting for her with a bouquet of flowers. “Before the war, he didn’t give me many flowers! And then my mother had prepared plenty of food, and the whole family was around the table, saying hurrah, you’re finally with us.”

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The first few weeks, however, were challenging. The family had to get used to the power cuts again, and the daily air raid alerts. “When we first came back, I couldn’t sleep. The children couldn’t even hear the alerts! I took medication, but after that I couldn’t wake up. So at one point, I said that’s enough. I turned everything off, the alerts and the news.”

Seven months on, the siren that wails as we warm ourselves up in a café no longer bothers her. The illusion of normality that Ukrainians have had to live with for almost three years has once again become her daily routine.

In the middle of the crowd on Independence Square, the nerve centre of Kyiv and the scene of the Maidan Revolution in 2013, she notes there is a “ballistic threat” and calls her children to check they are following “the two walls rule” – meaning there must be two walls between you and the street. On the other end of the line, Ivan and Hanna reply distractedly: “Yes, yes, Mum…”

“I was more stressed in France than here,” says Nataliia. “Here, I see the alert on my phone and life goes on. In France, I was always following the alerts on Telegram. When I saw that it was in Kyiv, I sent text messages, then when nobody answered I couldn’t sleep.”

A return to ‘normality’

Today, the family lives in a residential area of Kyiv. The work to rebuild a house on their land has been delayed, but they work on it every weekend, even if it bears little resemblance to the beautiful yellow house they lived in before the invasion. They are making do – with compensation from the city of Kyiv and help from the Ukrainian Fund for International Volunteers, a French humanitarian organisation.

On her return, Nataliia was lucky enough to be able to return to her job as a language teacher at the National Defence University of Ukraine, a military higher education institute. “I’m doing what I know how to do and what I like to do. That’s important to me,” she says, with relief.

In Paris, with the help of the Lesoult family, who took Nataliia and her children in on their arrival, and to whom she is “infinitely grateful”, she was taken on as a reception assistant for the Democratic Movement political party, where she also wrote articles on the situation in Ukraine for the party’s blog.

She has rediscovered the sense of purpose she had been missing 2,000 kilometres from home, even though she sent money to the army every month during her time away from Ukraine.

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Her pride in teaching English to officers in the Ukrainian army can be heard in her voice – she leads intensive four-month sessions, six hours a day, to enable soldiers to communicate or handle equipment sent from abroad. She also continues to give online French lessons to Ukrainian refugees, and refuses to “let them go before they’ve reached survival level!”.

At first glance, Nataliia looks like she’s picked up where she left off in March 2022. But as her story unfolds, it becomes clear things are not that simple. Inevitably, her two and a half years away were not without consequences.

“I don’t regret coming back at all, because I’m with my family, as are my children, I’m with my husband. For us, that’s the most important thing.” But, she confides, “the separation was a complicated period” for the couple, and when she got back they had to learn to live together again.

The most painful thing has been the lack of understanding she sometimes feels among those close to her who have stayed in Kyiv throughout. It’s a rift that’s hard to heal, and it’s also fed, she thinks, by a feeling of betrayal, even jealousy perhaps. For many Ukrainians, she says, even before the war Europe sounded like an El Dorado – a place that promised a better life.

“Everyone thought it was a thousand times better than Ukraine. We had fantasies, no doubt linked to the Soviet Union and when the borders were closed.” So for those who stayed at home, for her to come back to a country at war, with children, when she had a flat and a job in Paris and spoke the language… “They can’t understand. They think, is she crazy or what?”

‘Life is difficult for refugees’

The decision to return was not an easy one. “I wanted to come back from day one, but I always had doubts about whether I was doing the right thing for my children, because my husband was always telling me no, you have to stay, the children have to live in peace, you have to sleep well, that’s what’s important.”

Right up until her last day in Paris, he hoped that she would change her mind. But for Nataliia, life in France had become unbearable. 

“We are very grateful for what France has done for us and for all the Ukrainian refugees,” she insists. “But it’s too complicated to be away from your family. And life is very difficult, especially for refugees, both materially and morally. Because all our roots are here in Ukraine. Over there, I was alone, everything was on my shoulders. I had to deal with all the problems, paperwork, for the flat, at work, with the schools… Everything I earned went to the rent. It was my husband who paid for our food. I couldn’t live there on my own with two children.”

The children went to school in France for two years, but also continued to follow the Ukrainian curriculum via distance learning in the evenings and at weekends, in the hope of eventually returning. For Nataliia, on top of everything else, this timetable was too much. “I said stop, we can’t live like this!”

Especially since she could see, on her visits home to see her family, that “people were still living here, trying to enjoy themselves”. “I said to myself, why do my children and I have to suffer in France if we can be with our families, be together and enjoy every day? Why do I have to cry myself to sleep every night without my husband, without my children’s father, without my parents, without my loved ones? Of course,” she concedes, “if we lived in occupied territory, if we didn’t have a roof over our heads, things would be different.”

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It was in a Telegram messaging group set up by a Ukrainian psychologist that she found the support she needed to put her fears to bed and take the plunge and go home. In the group, women, often mothers like her, refugees all over Europe, shared their worries. Others, who had already returned, talked about their experiences. 

Nataliia does not want to seem ungrateful to France. Her favourite things there, she says, were the châteaux, Normandy, the ocean and Berthillon ice cream – “a great stress reliever!” She knows that having temporary protection status made her situation among refugees rather enviable. But her eyes mist over and her jaw clenches when she thinks back to those two and a half years, when she felt herself drowning in problems.

How are Hanna and Ivan, now 13 and 11? “They’re happy, they’ve got their own room and their friends back,” she says. “Everyone thinks there’s no future here. But if everyone leaves, what will become of this country? Nothing. So it’s up to us and our children to rebuild.”

We pass beneath the imposing Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People, a monument from the Soviet era, then named the Peoples’ Friendship Arch, Nataliia explains. Night has fallen, it’s cold, and yet there are lots of people around. “We live each day,” says Nataliia – day by day. “Before, I wouldn’t buy anything, I’d save for the children, for work [on the house]. But now, no… you have to live now, you have to enjoy it. You never know what tomorrow will bring.”

This article has been adapted from the original French version, by our correspondent in Kyiv.

“What is exciting and quite unique is to find various objects from as far as Ireland, England, the Netherlands and Germany buried with the corpses in this part of western France, in the late 8th century,” archaeologist Annie Bolle, of France’s National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), told RFI.

Bolle is the scientific project manager for excavations taking place at La Flotte, a village on the Ile de Ré, off the French Atlantic coast.

INRAP was called in to look at a plot of land ahead of the construction of a house – because in 1985 a Gallo-Roman villa dating back to the 4th century was unearthed next door.

Between October and December 2024, the INRAP team uncovered around 50 graves in and outside a chapel. Having belonged to the priory of Saint Eulalie, according to texts from 1156, it was later destroyed during the French Wars of Religion, between Catholics and Protestants, in the 16th century.

“The findings provide rare tangible evidence of close ties between the Carolingian Empire [a Frankish empire in Western and Central Europe during the early Middle Ages] and a population from the North and Celtic Seas,” said Bolle.

Unusual burials

Five of these graves stood out. The position of the bodies and the artefacts they were buried with “are quite rare to find on Ile de Ré or even in western France,” explained Bolle.

Two of the bodies were not positioned in the customary Christian fashion, with the heads facing east towards Jerusalem, but were orientated towards the south.

The lower limbs of some were bent rather than extended, as would be expected. Furthermore, two others were laid on their sides and one female was found lying face down.

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“The bodies in the five graves were buried with various objects and ornaments. This practice, common during the 6th and 7th centuries, disappeared later in the 8th and 9th centuries, around the time we think the five were buried,” said Bolle.

The archaeologists found two combs and necklaces made of amber, glass, bone and copper beads.

The findings from the La Flotte excavations have been preserved and will undergo analysis to gather information about their composition and provenance.

“By finding out what technique was used to make the combs, we will be able to tell when and where they were made. DNA testing of the material used – bones or antlers – will help us to more accurately determine where they came from,” Bolle explained.

Other artefacts unearthed include a metal belt with an intricate design, and a knife similar to one previously found in the south-east of England.

Social status

“Stable isotopes analysis of the human bones will help us to reconstruct the diet of the individuals,” Bolle said, explaining that what they ate will give an indication of where they came from – as well as their social status, given usually only people with means could afford meat.

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“Paleogenetic analysis of the skeletons’ DNA should help us determine the sex of the individuals and whether they were related or not,” she added.

The findings have been sent to various laboratories around France, with some at the Arc’Antique Laboratory in Nantes, while some of the DNA testing – of the combs, for example – will be done at the Natural History Museum in Paris.

Trade links

Most of the artefacts unearthed from the graves appear to originate from northern Germany, the Netherlands, south-east England and the area around Dublin in Ireland. The beads are Irish, the knife or the belt could come from England and the combs may come from the Frisian region in north-western Europe – in modern times, parts of the north of the Netherlands and north-west Germany.

“What is fascinating is trying to uncover how the various objects from so many different places found their way in this small plot of land on Ile de Ré,” Bolle said.

“The La Flotte excavations [have uncovered] rare archaeological evidence of the active trade relations we’ve read about between the Carolingian Empire and the population around the North Sea.”

Danish and German archaeologists have already shown an interest in the La Flotte findings. Now follows at least two years of investigation to uncover the story behind them.

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“What we don’t know yet is whether the individuals were locals buried with their own objects or whether they were foreigners buried on this land,” said Bolle. “It says a lot if the foreigners were buried amongst the locals. It means that they were well accepted. And, resonates with what is happening nowadays in terms of tolerance towards migrants.”

A woman’s voice emanates from Michel-Marie Maudet’s laptop, sitting on a desk at the headquarters of his software development company Linagora, in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, south of Paris.

“Hello, I am Lucie, a large language model trained on a massive data set of text and code in French and other European languages.”

Speaking English with a French accent, she continues: “I am able to understand and respond to questions in a way that is sensitive to the nuances of European culture and language.”

This chatbot, which can communicate in French and several other European languages, uses the word “nuance” frequently when describing itself – which Maudet echoes. 

“It is a question of nuances. These large language models are statistics, and if the models are trained mainly on US content, you are more likely to get answers influenced by US culture.”

Listen to an interview with Michel-Marie Maudet (and “Lucie”) in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 124:

The idea is that different content will be generated on a tool that has been trained on different languages.

“Languages are our culture, our civilisation, our values, and we developed Lucie, our large language model, to fix this under-representation of our culture,” said Maudet.

Lucie was released to the public in January with little testing beforehand, and ran into problems as users found it was generating nonsense – and worse. It was taken offline three days later.

Maudet said that while the release was premature, it generated interest – notably about the training data, which was made public at the same time as the chatbot, because Linagora is committed to developing open-source tools.

Behind the curtain of AI

“It’s a completely open-source model,” he said. “If you want to build transparency and trust in an AI system, you have to know where and how these models are built.”

The training data set was downloaded 10 times more than the actual model, revealing the level of interest in how these tools work.

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And while Lucie’s release was something of a public relations disaster, Maudet says it also demonstrated an interest in alternatives to tools developed by US tech giants.

This was borne out at the AI Action Summit held in Paris earlier this month, at which France and other European countries sought to stake their claim in terms of innovation and governance.

European identity

“People are asking for this kind of technology, as an alternative to Chinese or US companies,” Maudet added. “I think the debates around Lucie were very interesting, because they raised an expectation that we want to have our own technology, our own strategy, our own mastery of our digital future.”

Linagora is not the only company developing these alternatives, and far from the most powerful. But the company is dedicated to transparency and open sourcing, in its aim to create a tool that can generate text not derived from American content.

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“We want to incorporate these systems into our daily life, and I am not sure we have the same approach in the US as our social system here in France or Europe,” Maudet explained.

However, the company’s mission presupposes a European identity that is not always clear, or unanimous.

“A big challenge for Europe is to act as one continent,” said Maudet. “AI models could ease a common vision of what we call Europe. We will be stronger and better if we play collectively and act as a single continent and one entity.”

Listen to an interview with Michel Maudet in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 124, listen here.

His first comments as the go-to face of the impending winter extravaganza were as assured as yesteryear’s surge to glory. 

“The challenge ahead of me is like a long field of bumps,” quipped Grospiron, who embarked on a career as a motivational speaker after hanging up his skis. “So you’re going to need strong knees … don’t worry, I’m used to it.

“We’re going to encounter bumps, but our mission is going to be to overcome them, to face them. The bigger the obstacle, the greater the opportunity behind it, and that’s what we’re going to be working on together with the organising committee.”

Top of the list will be the selection of a chief executive to help share the load. Around €600 million worth of sponsorship will also need to be secured to pad out the two billion euros allocated for the 26th Winter Olympic Games.

The egos of local, regional and national political leaders will have to be flattered and pampered while adhering to the icy demands of national and international Olympic administrators.

Global warming – leading to the amount and quality of the snow – will be a likely concern.

In the flurry of interviews after his anointment, Grospiron maintained his composure. 

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Task

“I don’t see it as a nightmare at all,” Grospiron told RFI. “On the contrary, I see it as a big challenge. And big challenges lead to big victories, and small challenges to small victories.

“What’s interesting about this project is that in France, we have extraordinary resources and we’re going to be able to mobilise them.

“They are already well mobilised to serve this project. It is a magnificent project that should also help to provide answers to the climate challenges we face”. 

Sports administrators in France are basking in the glow of a successful Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The three-time Olympic canoeing champion, Tony Estanguet, headed that organising committee with drive and panache and French athletes then harvested record hauls of medals to justify the financial investments in their bids for personal and national kudos.

In the wake of those coups, regional government officials gleefully parade their savoir-faire during tours with delegations from future Olympic cities such as Los Angeles and Brisbane.

“It’s all about teamwork and synergy,” said Grospiron. “Managing to unite all the energies that will enable us to get there. Obviously, Paris 2024 leaves a legacy in terms of human resources, that are, shall we say, plug and play. And that’s a real opportunity”.

Grospiron emerged as a candidate after former biathlete Martin Fourcade quit at the beginning of February. Fourcade, France’s most successful Winter Olympian with six golds and a silver from Vancouver, Sochi and Pyeonchang between 2010 and 2018, fell out with local politicians and clashed over the siting of the organising committee’s headquarters. The 36-year-old preferred a base in Grenoble, Chamonix, Albertville or Aix-les-Bains rather than Lyon.

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Chance

His withdrawal was a huge blow to the prestige of the project a few months after President Emmanuel Macron described him as the Estanguet of the Alps.

Though unable to boast a dazzling array of Winter Olympic hardware – Grospiron took bronze in the moguls in 1994 – a sense of pragmatism emerges from the 55-year-old’s experiences as chef de mission for the France team at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and as head of Annecy’s bid to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“The only politics I’m going to have is knowing what’s good for the project and how the elected representatives are going to be able to help me deliver these Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Grospiron insisted. “Because that’s really what’s at stake.

“Tony [Estanguet] was faced with the same thing and he succeeded. He managed to get people on board the project”.

After an opening ceremony along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, the ice sports, except for the speed skating, will be staged in the city.

Some 600km away to the north, La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand in the Haute-Savoie section will provide the venues for the cross country skiing and biathlon. La Plagne, Courcheval and Méribel in the Savoie cluster will host inter alia the bobsleigh, luge and the alpine skiing. Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre in the Briançon cluster will stage the freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

“On the basis of the budgetary realities and the environmental realities we face, we have to find solutions that will enable us, that must enable us to deliver games,” said Grospiron.

“The concept of these Olympic Games is a fragmented one that would have made purists howl 30 years ago,” he added.

“And I understand that. But this concept is an opportunity to spread the load, particularly of spectators. And that’s an opportunity”.

During Monday’s debate in the National Assembly on how best to back Ukraine and protect European security, French MPs from all sides expressed their support for Kyiv and saluted the country’s ambassador to France, Omelchenko Vadym, who was in attendance.

However, MPs from the far right refrained from applauding Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s denunciation of US President Donald Trump’s treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last week.

The debate, which did not lead to a vote, was symbolic and allowed parties to position themselves on European and French security, but also to reiterate support – or opposition – to Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic efforts towards European solutions.

Ukraine in the EU

Bayrou addressed the Assembly to lay out the government’s “vision” on a need for European countries to come together, as the US pulls away from its traditional alliance, declaring: “It is up to us, Europeans, to guarantee the security and defence of Europe.”

The alliances created after the Second World War are “finished,” he said, adding that the European Union is the “only path and the only possible strategy,” with France playing a “central role in building this new world”.

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The head of each political group in the Assembly then presented their position. Former prime minister Gabriel Attal, head of the Ensemble pour la republique group, which allies itself with Macron, called for an “acceleration” of the process of admitting Ukraine into the EU.

“It is the solution that will enable us to stand up to future exchanges,” he said, adding that there should be “safeguarding clauses” to protect agriculture from Ukrainian competition – a concern raised by the far-right National Rally (RN).

Far right on Russia

For their part, the RN’s leader, Marine Le Pen, called for “realism” in France’s support for Ukraine, “keeping in mind our own national interests”.

She praised the “heroism” of the Ukrainian people against the “indefensible Russian aggression,” but reiterated her opposition to Ukraine’s joining either the EU or NATO.

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Throwing out a barb to the government, she added that there should be concern about “France’s gradual abandoning of its unique role as a balancing power” and blamed what she called “the consolidation of a Russia-China axis” on “Western intransigence towards Russia in recent years”.

Throwing back the barb, Attal denounced what he called the RN’s “capitulatory instinct, saying: “Ukraine is burning, and you are still looking the other way.”

He called for France to reconsider its position on frozen Russian assets and use them to “help Ukraine” – a move supported by Boris Vallaud, leader of the Socialists in the Assembly. 

“France’s position is that these Russian assets… belong notably to the Russian central bank,” finance minister Eric Lombard told France Info on Tuesday, adding that to use them to aid Ukraine “would be contrary to international agreements that France and Europe have signed up to”.

European defence

The question of European defence is crucial, now that the US has cut off military aid to Ukraine, and the French right would like to see higher spending in this area.

Michel Herbillon, head of the Republicans (LR) in the Assembly, agreed with Attal that the defence budget should be exempt from the 3 percent deficit limit. He also called for a “massive reorientation” towards European military equipment, as “nearly two-thirds of European defence purchases are made from American manufacturers”.

At the other end of the political spectrum, Cyrielle Chatelain, leader of the Ecologist MPs, echoed this, saying she wants the EU to become “a political and military force” and to commit to supplying equipment, training soldiers and to “the reinforcement of European troops in countries bordering Ukraine”.

For their part, Socialist leader Vallaud called for “a major joint loan of €500 billion”.

‘Absurd’ figures

The disagreement on spending came from the political extremes – on the left and right.

“These discussions of abstract figures are absurd,” said Aurélien Saintoul of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), who criticised France’s joining of NATO’s integrated command in 2008.

He agreed that France was too “critically dependent on the United States” but said the solution was not to outspend it. Instead, he called on a France to “reverse the logic of competition and predation on the planet”.

He also added that international law requires “the same support to the Palestinian people” be given as to Ukraine – an idea backed by Chatelain.

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Le Pen said that European security should come not from a European defence, “but from the concerted reinforcement of each of Europe’s defences” and argued strongly against France sharing its nuclear arsenal.

While Macron has opened the idea of sharing France’s nuclear deterrence with other countries, as a so-called “nuclear umbrella”, he has said that France would remain “totally sovereign” when it comes to any decision to use the weapons.

“To share deterrence is to abolish it,” Le Pen told the Assembly. “Triggering the use of nuclear weapons is inextricably linked to national and popular legitimacy.”

Following on the heels of British sanctions last week, Canada announced punitive measures on Monday, in response to the M23 offensive in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The sanctions include the suspension of new trade initiatives between the two governments or new export permits for controlled goods and technologies to Kigali.

This week, Germany also announced that it would be suspending its aid to Rwanda.

“We will suspend new financial commitments and high-level meetings with Kigali and review existing cooperation with Rwanda,” the German Cooperation Ministry announced in a statement on Tuesday, according to RFI’s correspondent in Berlin.

The statement condemns the offensive by the M23 group and denounces a “violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC.”

Kigali receives annual aid of 50 million euros per year from Germany, for projects related to economic development, energy, climate protection or vaccine production.

In its talks with Kigali, Berlin has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Rwandan armed forces from the DRC and an end to their support for the M23.

“During the meeting, it was also stressed that Rwandan security concerns must be taken seriously and that Germany is also in contact with the Congolese side on this issue,” the German ministry added.

Betrayal

The Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by saying in a statement published on social media that the German “politicisation” of development cooperation was “wrong and counterproductive.”

“Germany contradicts its own claims of supporting the African-led process to resolve the conflict in eastern DRC by letting the DRC off the hook for numerous violations, which only reinforces its belligerent posture and needlessly prolongs the conflict,” the ministry also posted in a statement on social media.

The Rwandan authorities describe the European decisions to apply sanction as “shameful”.

Kigali is also asking London to pay the outstanding balance of the controversial agreement on sending to Rwanda migrants who arrived illegally in the United Kingdom. This project was abandoned last year when the Labour government came to power.

According to Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo, the UK had asked Kigali to “discreetly” waive the final payment under the migration deal with London, based on the trust and good faith that exist between the two nations.

“The British authorities have betrayed this trust,” she continued, by taking “unjustified punitive measures to force Rwanda to compromise its national security.”

UK resolves Rwanda asylum cases after govt drops policy

London had announced on 25 February that it was suspending most of its financial aid to Rwanda.

On Monday, when Ottawa announced that it would “suspend the issuance of permits for the export to Rwanda of regulated goods and technologies”, it also denounced new government economic projects, and reviewed its participation in international events organised in Rwanda.

Long conflict

The offensive by the M23 has drawn widespread international condemnation.

The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC, in the face of limited resistance from Congolese forces.

It now controls large tracts of the troubled region, and valuable mineral deposits. Its rapid advance has sent thousands fleeing.

Rwandan-backed M23 gains in eastern DRC spark UN warnings and regional fears

Kigali says Kinshasa is collaborating with the FDLR, a military group they accuse of persecuting Congolese Tutsi people and Tutsi refugees from Rwanda, who were pushed to leave during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

“Both governments claim their involvement in conflicts in the eastern part of the DRC are linked to protecting ethnic populations,” according to Christopher P. Davey, visiting assistant professor at Binghamton University in New York state and a specialist in the genocide.

“In reality, however, the persistent fighting is destroying economies and livelihoods,” he wrote.

The research published in the Lancet medical journal used data from 204 countries to paint a grim picture of what it described as one of the great health challenges of the century.

“The unprecedented global epidemic of overweight and obesity is a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure,” lead author Emmanuela Gakidou, from the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), said in a statement.

The number of overweight or obese people worldwide rose from 929 million in 1990 to 2.6 billion in 2021, the study found.

More that 1 billion of world’s population is clinically obese, study shows

Without a serious change, the researchers estimate that 3.8 billion adults will be overweight or obese in 15 years – or around 60 percent of the global adult population in 2050.

The world’s health systems will come under crippling pressure, the researchers warned, with around a quarter of the world’s obese expected to be aged over 65 by that time.

They also predicted a 121-percent increase in obesity among children and adolescents around the world.

A third of all obese young people will be living in two regions – North Africa and the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean – by 2050, the researchers warned.

But it is not too late to act, said study co-author Jessica Kerr from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia.

Global food system

“Much stronger political commitment is needed to transform diets within sustainable global food systems,” she said.

That commitment was also needed for strategies “that improve people’s nutrition, physical activity and living environments, whether it’s too much processed food or not enough parks,” Kerr said.

More than half the world’s overweight or obese adults already live in just eight countries – China, India, the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Egypt, the study said.

While poor diet and sedentary lifestyles are clearly drivers of the obesity epidemic, “there remains doubt” about the underlying causes for this, said Thorkild Sorensen, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen not involved in the study.

For example, socially deprived groups have a “consistent and unexplained tendency” towards obesity, he said in a linked comment in The Lancet.

The research is based on figures from the Global Burden of Disease study from the IHME, which brings together thousands of researchers across the world and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

(with AFP)

Since last year,  police have received more than 150 complaints of violence, sexual assault and rape against former religious figures and lay personnel at the Notre-Dame-de-Bétharram boarding school. The alleged abuse occurred between the 1950s and 2010’s.

A judicial investigation was opened on 21 February for rape and sexual assault. Only one of the three men placed in police custody was indicted – the other two benefiting from the statute of limitations, some dating back 70 years.

The Catholic priests who ran the school for many years spoke out on Tuesday for the first time.

“We are still deeply affected by what happened … by the suffering of these children who came here to be protected, educated, but instead … were destroyed,” priest Laurent Bacho told French media on behalf of the Congregation of Fathers of Bétharram. 

“It took us time to reach an irreversible, common position,” the 75-year-old said.

Bacho said he had met eight victims so far and had “never doubted their words”. He described discovering the allegations against his “brothers” as “painful” for the congregation.

“It wasn’t me personally, but I am part of this body. I’m not guilty but I am responsible,” he said.

French former Catholic priest convicted of raping and sexually abusing four boys

Compensation and inquiry

The congregation has so far paid out €700,000 – 60 percent of its financial resources – in compensation to 19 victims of abuse. The cases are prescribed since they fell beyond the statute of limitations.

The congregation said it planned to extend compensation to victims of abuse by lay staff by selling off some of its real estate.

Bacho promised an independent commission, funded by the congregation, will also be created to investigate the causes of the abuse, which he attributed to “deviant individuals” rather than a systemic failure.

French Education Minister Élisabeth Borne said last month that “the State failed to intervene”, noting that the institution was inspected only once in 30 years (in 1996), despite multiple reports of abuse.

French Catholic Church to use its own assets to compensate sex abuse victims

Case against Bayrou dismissed

The Betharram scandal has piled pressure on Prime Minister François Bayrou, who was education minister from 1993 to 1997. Several of his children attended the school, and his wife taught bible studies there. 

Bayrou has repeatedly denied accusations that he’d been informed of the abuse as early as the 1990s and failed to act on them, despite testimonies suggesting otherwise.

Why Catholic school sexual abuse scandal is plaguing France’s prime minister

Two MPs with the hard-left France Unbowed party filed complaints with the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) over the prime minister’s failure to take action.

On Monday, Rémy Heitz, the attorney general at the Court of Cassation, dismissed the complaints.

“Given the elements brought to the attention of the general prosecutor’s office and the results of the verifications carried out, no offence falling under the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the Republic appears to be established against Mr. François Bayrou, in his capacity as former education minister from March 30, 1993, to June 2, 1997,”  Heitz said in a statement.

However, the scandal and the way Bayrou has communicated on it has seen his popularity plummet over the last month. A recent survey for Public Sénat found that only 26 percent of the French thought he was a good head of government. 

French Prime Minister François Bayrou in parliament later on Monday broke from the more diplomatic tone traditionally favored by French President Emmanuel Macron, with a stinging critique of the US and its handling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.  

Bayrou saluted the fact that Zelensky did not “fold” to US pressure, describing Trump and Vance’s attempted takedown of the Ukrainian leader as “a shocking scene, marked by brutality and a desire to humiliate.

“All this was summed up in one phrase before the planet’s cameras: ‘Either you find a deal with Putin or we will abandon you,’” Bayrou said, apparently referring to Trump’s comments in the Oval Office. Trump’s actual words to Zelensky were “you’re either going to make a deal or we’re out.”

European allies rally behind Ukraine after White House clash

He said the scene had left two victims: “the security of Ukraine” and “a certain idea of the alliance” between the United States and Europe.

The Oval Office scene “compromised another fundamental alliance: the one that the United States had with themselves, their history, and with a certain ideal of defending the law, of defending the weak against the forces of tyranny.”

Bayrou added that Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its diplomatic fallout have left Europe in grave peril.  

He spoke of “an historic situation that in our eyes is the most serious, the most destabilised, the most dangerous of all those that our country and our continent have experienced since the end of World War II.”

“It is up to us Europeans to guarantee the security and defence of Europe,” he said recently at a debate on Ukraine and European security.

France and EU move to secure Ukraine minerals as US pushes for deal

(with news agencies)

The police officer, identified only as Florian M., shot 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk at close range during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on 27 June, 2023.

The incident was captured on mobile phone footage that went viral.

The officer has been charged with voluntary homicide but was released from custody in November 2023 after five months in detention.

On Monday, the prosecutor’s office in Nanterre said it had concluded an investigation into the shooting and recommended that the officer be tried, and that charges against a colleague for complicity in murder be dropped.

The investigating judge, however, has to decide whether to open such a trial, and the policeman’s lawyer can appeal.

Officer charged with assault should not be in jail, says French police chief

Contradictory evidence

In the police officer’s original version of events, he had fired at Nahel after the teen failed to comply with an order to stop his car. Nahel allegedly drove at the officer, who shot in self defence.

But mobile phone footage showed two police officers standing by the side of a stationary car, with one pointing a weapon at its driver.

The images, and apparent disconnect with the official version, sparked several nights of violence and protests against police brutality – both in the victim’s home town of Nanterre and other cities.

The two officers claimed their lives were in danger because they were trapped between the car and a wall. But the investigation showed the teenager’s car had been blocked in traffic.

“Even if he had tried to restart the car, he does not appear to have represented an immediate threat” to the policemen, the final report stated.

“It seems that the reason for the shot being fired was the extreme tension of the situation. But as an experienced police officer, (the policeman) should have kept his cool,” the report concluded.

France re-enacts fatal shooting of teenager that led to riots

‘Unbelievable’ trial

Lawyer Frank Berton, representing the victim’s mother, said his client welcomed the news.

Mounia Merzouk has been hoping for a trial to establish that her son’s murder was intentional, he said, adding the act was “voluntary and the intention to kill clear”.

In May, the probe included the reenactment of the crime scene, with the police officer, the colleague who was on duty with him that day, and several witnesses present.

The analysis dismissed accounts by witnesses and fellow passengers that the police officers had hit the teenager.

Linda Kebbab, of police union Un1te, said she was “astounded” by the prosecutors’ announcement.

She asked how a police officer could possibly end up in court when their only aim had been to “make streets safer”.

Alliance, France’s largest police union, denounced “an unacceptable requisition and disastrous signal for the police force!”, and called for all members, whatever their grade or union, to gather Wednesday in protest.

(with AFP)

Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day (IWD) originated from the labour movements of the early twentieth century.

On 8 March, women around the world – and throughout the month in some countries – are celebrated and recognised for their social, cultural, economic and political achievements.

The day also serves as a call to action to accelerate progress towards gender parity.

In 2025, the United Nations will mark International Women’s Day under the theme: “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”

While the situation for women in parts of Africa is undeniably influenced by conflicts, disasters, and insecurity, this episode focuses on progress and empowerment.

Empowering

Spotlight on Africa’s first guest is Magalie Lebreton Traoré, an expert in digital transitions across the African continent at the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

As Unesco leads training for women in AI across Africa’s five regions, Magalie joins us to discuss how women are taking the lead in shaping high-tech industries, particularly artificial intelligence. This technological leap presents significant opportunities for women’s leadership and innovation.

Moreover, a study published in Nature revealed that 79 percent of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be improved or achieved through AI.

To tackle gender and geographical inequalities in AI, Unesco has made these issues a priority in its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – the first global standard-setting framework in this field, unanimously adopted by Unesco Member States in November 2021.

Celebrating

And to broaden the conversation, we also talk to a curator and two artists from Johannesburg in South Africa, who are organising a special exhibition to highlight the work of artist-mothers and women artists caring for families.

Lara Koseff is a curator at INCCA, the Independent Network for Contemporary Culture & Art in Johannesburg. She has established the second edition of ‘Art After Baby‘, with the support of the National Arts Council South Africa.

These female artists and mothers have been selected to receive support and mentorship in order to complete and exhibit a body of work in solo exhibitions at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg until the end of March.

Lara Koseff, Siviwe James and Phumelele Kunene join us on the line from South Africa.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

President Macron made the fight for gender equality and against violence against women “a national priority” when he came into office in 2017. But ambitions have been “buried” the French branch of anti-poverty charity Oxfam said on Monday.

 French women still earn 23.5 percent less than their male counterparts in the private sector, and France was ranked the 48th country in the world for economic gender equality by the World Economic Forum in 2024, Oxfam said in a statement released Monday, in the lead up to International Women’s day on 8 March. 

While successive governments under Macron have announced strong measures such as equitable shared parental leave, a public early childhood service, and a reform of the professional equality index (Egapro), they’ve been “slow to materialise”.

“A real public early childhood service is essential to reducing gender inequalities, given that women still sacrifice their careers when children arrive,” said Sandra Lhote Fernandes, Oxfam France’s gender justice campaign manager.

French pay gap sees women start ‘working for free’ from Friday

‘Insufficient’ funding

Macron has repeatedly rejected accusations of inaction. 

The government has highlighted, in particular, increased financial support for the 3919 helpline for women victims of violence, the deployment of emergency protection phones and anti-approach bracelets, as well as the professional equality index.

Last month the Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé, announced a 20 percent budget increase for 2025, raising funding to €94 million.

Oxfam argues this is insufficient, representing just 0.02 percent of the overall state budget.

“The 2025 budget for the Ministry of Women’s Rights is barely half the cost of organising last June’s snap legislative elections,” Oxfam said, lamenting that close to 99 percent of the total state budget is “blind to gender inequalities”.

Oxfam has proposed 15 emergency measures to improve the state of gender equality. They include: introducing “gender-based conditions” in public procurement, raising wages in female-dominated sectors, strengthening the Egapro index, creating an additional 200,000 public childcare spots, and implementing parental leave of at least six months shared between both parents.

France’s foreign ministry unveils two-year gender equality strategy

Framework law against sexual violence

Oxfam also called for more concrete action to tackle sexual violence, urging the government to introduce a comprehensive framework law against sexual violence – a request made in November by a coalition of feminist associations, but dismissed by the previous Barnier government.

A survey published in November showed sexual violence was on the increase – 484,000 women said they had been victims of violence by a partner or former partner in 2023.

Official figures for that same year showed 93 women were killed at the hands of their partner or former partner.  

In the wake of the Mazan mass rape trial, the government in November promised to expand the system for filing complaints in hospitals and awareness-raising campaigns on “chemical submission”. 

France announces new measures to combat violence against women

(with newswires)

The body was found on Monday by municipal workers cleaning the area around a reservoir in Saint-Paul, on the western side of the Reunion island.

“A fifth victim is to be mourned,” said the prefecture in a statement, explaining that this man had previously been “reported missing.”

This death brings the total number of people killed by the cyclone to five.

The body was tangled in branches and pebbles torn up by the cyclonic rains.

According to the gendarmerie, “a family had reported the disappearance of a person on Friday just before Garance passed through.”

In addition to these five deaths, Garance caused at least five injuries and significant damage.

More than 180,000 people were left without electricity and more than 170,000 without water on Saturday.

Cyclone death toll rises to four on ravaged French island

Overseas Minister Manuel Valls is scheduled to visit the island on Thursday and Friday to assess “the necessary aid to address the extent of the damage caused,” according to the ministry.

(with AFP)

Around 40 high-profile defendants are on trial in Tunisia, including former diplomats, politicians, lawyers and media figures. Some of them have been vocal critics of President Kais Saied.

In the courtroom, relatives of the accused chanted “Freedom” and accused the judiciary of acting on government orders.

Some defendants have been detained since February 2023, after Saied labelled them “terrorists”.

Saied was elected in 2019, after Tunisia’s Arab Spring, but he has since staged a sweeping power grab, especially from 2021. Rights groups regularly raise concerns over a rollback on freedoms. He was reelected in early October 2024.

Fear and resignation ahead of Tunisia’s ‘lopsided’ presidential polls

Brahim Belghith, a lawyer in Tunis, has denounced the “serious violations of the rights to a fair trial.” He told RFI that they “are accused of being conspirators, traitors, fifth columnists, of all the evils that Tunisia has known”, on no real ground.   

‘Unjust’ trial

Politician and law expert Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Ennahdha leader Abdelhamid Jelassi, and Issam Chebbi, founder of the opposition National Salvation Front coalition, have all been charged.

So too have activists Khayam Turki and Chaima Issa, businessman Kamel Eltaief, and Bochra Belhaj Hmida, a former member of parliament and human rights activist now living in France.

The charges include “plotting against the state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”, which could entail hefty sentences and even capital punishment, according to lawyers.

Some have already been in detention for a while, and are not allowed to attend the trial in person; they are following it remotely, according to journalists present in the courtroom.

Their lawyers and rights groups argued this was unjust and demanded their right to appear before a judge.   

Some remained free pending trial while others have fled abroad, according to the defence committee.

Several of the defendants are also suspected of getting in contact with foreign parties and diplomats amid the alleged conspiracy.

In a letter from his cell, Jawhar Ben Mbarek called the trial a form of “judicial harassment” aimed at “the methodical elimination of critical voices”, claiming the accusations were baseless.

Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, head of the National Salvation Front (FSN) and himself named in the case, called the trial “unjust”. He said the defendants were “figures in Tunisia known for their pacifism and respect for the law”.

Contrary to his brother Issam, he remains free while awaiting the trial’s verdict.

Lawyer Samir Dilou said the real conspiracy in the high-profile case was that of “the government against the opposition”.

French lawyer Christian Charriere-Bournazel, who is defending some of the accused, described the case as “surprising”.

“There is no evidence that justifies a plot against state security,” he told AFP.

Pattern of arrests

The defence committee told news agencies that all the charges were “based on false testimony”.

The United Nations urged Tunisian authorities last month to bring “an end to the pattern of arrests, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment of dozens of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, activists and politicians”.

But Tunisia’s foreign ministry dismissed the UN statement with “astonishment” and denounced its “inaccuracies”.

“Tunisia can give lessons to those who think they are in a position to make statements,” it said.

 (With newswires)

Jeffrey Okoro is the executive director of the NGO CFK Africa in Kenya. He said that since the decision of the US government to freeze US Agency for International Development (USAID) spending in January, Kenyans working in healthcare are directly affected.

The decision has already disrupted efforts to stop the spread of diseases like HIV and tuberculosis.

“A sizeable portion of the Kenyan government funding for health counselling comes from international organisations from foreign governments,” Okoro told RFI from his office in Kenya.

And this has affected a huge portion of the health workforce, mainly through the ‘stop work’ order.

“A number of healthcare workers and other personnel were put on stop, meaning that they could not go to work. And even despite the order being rescinded, we have had a huge number of healthcare workers reporting low morale and basically being afraid for their jobs.”

Closed clinics, lost jobs

CFK Africa is an international nonprofit dedicated to empowering youth in informal settlements across Kenya, through public health and youth leadership programmes.

They have already reported severe impacts on the communities they serve after US President Donald Trump decided the abrupt withdrawal of support through USAID. 

Since January, tens of thousands of Kenyans received notification that they would be laid off, disrupting long-standing efforts to stop the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and HIV.

Okoro says he works with really good health care people who give a lot of time.

“The morale is low now,” he continues, “and seeing that they fear for their jobs, seeing that some of them have already lost their work, it’s not a good place where our health care workers are currently.”

He confirms that the NGOs can already feel the effect of the US decision, as the UK has also announced it would cut aid spending.

“Even to maintain the supply lines on the fight against HIV has been disrupted by this,” he adds. “We’ve had hospitals that have been closed. We have had specialists who have also had to be stopped. And so this has definitely dented the efforts made in fighting HIV and TB.”

South Africa faces HIV crisis as Trump’s aid freeze halts treatment and research

Patients afraid to die

With cuts to USAID-funded projects, the nonprofit is facing uncertainty around its critical care clinic for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, staff are unclear what to share with patients, and access to data has become limited.

In addition, CFK’s clinics are experiencing an influx of patients and requests from community members who previously received care from organisations that were grant recipients of USAID and now have nowhere to turn.

“Some patients are now coming into our healthcare clinics asking us if they are going to die,” according to Eddah Ogogo, CFK Africa Programme Lead for Clinical Services. “They are asking for longer refills for prescription drugs and making plans for what might happen if they cannot continue to get care.”

Officials with CFK Africa noted that the sudden drop in funding has upended Kenya’s health care system, which was supported directly and indirectly through USAID in several ways.

This is leading to new discussions about how the Kenyan government and other NGOs should respond to ensure life-saving care continues.

New approach

For NGOs like CFK, the situation shows that it is time to rethink how they approach development work and how aid is delivered.

The health workers advocate for localisation, local financing and even “changing the look around all the challenges that exist in these communities”, Okoro told RFI.

“For example, we work in Kibera, which is one of the most disenfranchised places in Nairobi, but at the same time, it has resources. And so we need to think about breaking barriers and investing in community assets. So it’s not constantly just about bridging the gap, but enabling the local communities to address the challenges.”

CFK is deeply committed to supporting people despite the current challenges, but there is also a lot of misunderstanding on what aid or development work is, according to Okoro.

“To me, it restores dignity, brings out the best in humanity, and lessens suffering, and I think that is missed from a lot of the current news stories on the pullback of aid,” he said.

“We don’t know what will happen next, but we are turning to our partners, reassuring our patients, and staying focused on our mission. At CFK Africa, our communities come first.”

Madagascar has been particularly hard hit by deforestation, having lost half its forests over the past 60 years.  

While Congo-Brazzaville has maintained a low deforestation rate compared to neighbouring countries in the Congo Basin, its forests are increasingly under pressure from logging, agriculture and infrastructure development. 

The forest partnership builds on an existing cooperation deal signed between the two countries back in 1984, which is now being revamped with an environmental focus. 

Exchanging expertise 

Successful restoration efforts in Congo-Brazzaville, officials say, could serve as a valuable model for Madagascar – while Congo stands to benefit from Madagascar’s approach to biodiversity management. 

“The Republic of Congo has committed to restoring what was destroyed in major afforestation and reforestation campaigns, while Madagascar has very interesting things for us in terms of transforming products from their biodiversity,” said the Congolese ambassador to Madagascar, Constant-Serge Bounda. 

Nations agree hard-fought plan to finance nature protection

“We also see how the Malagasy authorities manage their national parks. We are therefore here for an exchange so that all parties can benefit from their experiences.” 

Congo-Brazzaville’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park and Odzala-Kokoua National Park are key biodiversity hubs, home to endangered species such as forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, bongo antelopes and leopards.  

Details unclear 

Despite Monday’s symbolic tree planting ceremony, both countries have yet to announce specific investment figures or concrete objectives for their partnership. 

While officials present the renewed partnership as a step forward, critics argue that broader environmental policies in Madagascar are inconsistent with conservation goals.  

Environmental groups in Madagascar have expressed doubt over President Andry Rajoelina‘s environmental commitments. 

At the Cop29 climate conference in Baku last November, more than 60 Malagasy organisations condemned the government’s planned highway project connecting the capital Antananarivo to the port city of Toamasina. 

Protected areas offer hope for Africa’s vanishing forests and wildlife

They warned the road would cut through protected forests that shelter endangered lemurs. 

According to European lawmakers who raised concerns with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), another proposed roadway known as the “Route du Soleil” risked fragmenting biodiverse Makira Natural Park, further threatening Madagascar’s forest ecosystems. 

In December, dozens of MEPs urged the IMF to withhold $321 million in funding to Madagascar until the country promised not to harm protected areas with either road project. 

Local communities say that construction work is already damaging rice fields, water sources and cultural sites. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said after European leaders rallied around Ukraine at a summit in London that France and Britain were proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure”.

‘Good will’

Such a move “would allow proof of the good will of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin if he commits to a truce,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio on Monday.

‘Europe must do the heavy lifting’ in Ukraine, needs ‘US backing’: UK’s Starmer

“It’s then that real peace negotiations would start. We want a solid peace and a durable peace,” he added, emphasising that such a truce would not involve the withdrawal of Russian troops on the ground.

Britain, which hosted the summit, stepped back from embracing the plan on Monday, with Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard telling several media outlets that no truce agreement had been made.

It is “not a plan we currently recognise”, he told the BBC.

EU leaders in Ukraine to mark third anniversary of Russia’s invasion

“Certainly there are a number of different options being discussed privately between the UK, France and our allies at the moment,” he added.

Ukraine peace plan

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that European leaders had agreed to draw up a Ukraine peace plan to present to the United States, without going into details.

Macron said in an interview published in Le Figaro late on Sunday that under the plan, European ground troops would only be deployed to Ukraine in a second phase.

For Ukraine, any agreement must include security guarantees.

Front line ‘getting closer’, warns French FM as MPs prepare to debate Ukraine

“We need peace, not endless war. And that is why we say that security guarantees are the key to this,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky in a message posted Monday afternoon on the Ukranian presidency’s official site.

Russia said on Monday that the clash between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in Washington showed how difficult it would be to reach a settlement on the conflict.

France and EU move to secure Ukraine minerals as US pushes for deal

European Union leaders will meet for an extraordinary summit on Thursday, 6 March, to discuss additional support for Ukraine, European security guarantees and how to pay for European defence needs.

(with Reuters, AFP)

A critical freeze for this country. The impact of the recent US decision to suspend humanitarian and development aid to the poorest countries is already being felt in Sudan.

Many NGOs have expressed their opposition and concern over the US decision.

According to the UN, thirty million people, more than half of the Sudanese population, are suffering from hunger and need emergency assistance.

Global aid in chaos as Trump proposes to slash funds and dismantle USAID

Struggle for survival

Community kitchens, launched by volunteers among the inhabitants, at the beginning of the war in 2023, are feeling a heavy impact.

These kitchens initially relied on donations from the local society and the diaspora until they were able to benefit from aid allocated by international agencies that struggle to reach conflict zones. Their goal is to help those displaced by the war, in extreme need.

With the cuts, they are facing major difficulties. The volunteers report the closure of a thousand of these kitchens. Therefore, two million people in an absolute food emergency, who benefited from this aid, no longer have access to it.

According to some estimates from local workers gathered by RFI, American aid financed between 70 and 80 percent of the sum needed to operate these kitchens, but today the usual channels for receiving cash are no longer available.

Now, some volunteers told RFI they buy products on credit from fishermen and producers in order to keep their kitchens running at a minimum. With no assurance of ever being able to repay the money borrowed.

Acute hunger

Over half the population faces high levels of acute food insecurity in Sudan, according to the UN.

Famine conditions have been confirmed in five locations in North Darfur and the eastern Nuba mountains, and expected to spread to five more areas by May of this year.

“Conditions for millions of civilians in North Darfur have become catastrophic, and now humanitarians in Sudan are grappling with the abrupt cut in US funds which have crippled numerous life-saving aid operations”, according to a press release sent by Avaaz.

“This is a critical moment, as the consequences of food insecurity are already being felt in parts of South Kordofan, where families are surviving on dangerously limited food supplies, and malnutrition rates are rising sharply,” warned Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

The sharp decline in US-Ukraine relations has raised doubts about American support for Europe, as the continent assesses its ability to defend itself against a threat from Russia.

Donald Trump’s decision to cut military aid to Ukraine this week signals a  shift in US foreign policy and raises questions about America’s commitment to Europe’s security.

From shortages in the number of tanks and the availablity of artillery, to the debate over a unified European army, leaders must decide whether to bolster national forces or embrace deeper military cooperation.

As France and the UK guard their nuclear arsenals and Russia tests Europe’s resolve, can the EU build a credible deterrent, or will it continue to rely on America?

The Director for Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa at the Institute for Economics and Peace, Serge Stroobants, explained to RFI that Europe lacks the capacity to react quickly to security threats, with defence procurement bogged down by fragmentation and slow production timelines.

As early as 2016, Germany’s defence industry acknowledged that no major projects would reach completion for at least six to eight years. Today the projections are even worse.

“If you want to invest quickly in the military – into defence, into new equipment and weapon systems – these need to be bought off the shelf outside of Europe,” with the US, Turkey, and South Korea as key suppliers, he says.

Defence neglected

Beyond military upgrades, Europe faces a broader challenge as its entire economic and state system must adapt to meet modern security demands.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recent pledge to cut red tape for defence procurement is a step in the right direction, Stroobants says, but it comes too late and under pressure from events rather than forward planning.

“The problem is – as is so often with the EU – we are doing this under the pressure of the events. We’re not doing this in advance. We’re not planning. We don’t have a strategy.”

Despite being a continent of 500 million people – and the world’s third-largest economic and military power – Europe remains unable to ensure its own security due to a longstanding lack of strategic foresight and neglect of defence spending.

As it stands, a unified EU defence force remains a challenge due to Europe’s struggle to coordinate military policy alongside foreign diplomacy and development.

Stroobants explains that peace and security are based on three pillars – diplomacy, development and defence. “When you look at the EU, this has been done for almost 75 years, but if you are not able to integrate foreign policy and foreign development…and have common influence outside of European borders? Well, it doesn’t really help to only unify just one of those three pillars,” he said.

While the EU has made progress in development and soft power, true strategic influence for the bloc requires the full integration of defence and diplomacy to establish an undivided foreign policy and a stronger global presence.

‘Europe must do the heavy lifting’ in Ukraine, needs ‘US backing’: UK’s Starmer

Reshaping Europe

“For 30 to 35 years now, we have been divesting from defence, but it’s much more than defence. It’s the entire society that has lived with the idea that we would live eternally in peace,” Stroobants says.

He argues that to independently deter Russian aggression, European nations must go beyond bolstering their military capabilities – they need to rethink their entire strategic approach.

“If you want to be ready, you need to invest in defence…but you also need to reshape your society and your infrastructure,” he adds.

He also points out that with France and the UK as Europe’s only nuclear powers, their cooperation on a nuclear umbrella remains uncertain. France insists its deterrent will stay national but may engage allies without losing autonomy. Both nations favour a “coalition of the willing” over an EU or NATO-led approach, prioritising national security.

‘Deterrance and power’

While Moscow takes America’s military threat seriously and views European states as weak, Stroobants added,  Europe must take concrete steps to change this perception and restore credible deterrence.

European security hinges on two key concepts: deterrence and power. Deterrence relies not just on military capability but on the will to use it – because, as Stroobants puts it, “you can have 20,000 nuclear warheads, but if you have nobody who is strong enough to use them, they are not going to be a deterrent.

“And that’s exactly what’s happening with the EU at the moment”.

True power – accroding to Stroobants – is essentially a combination of military, economic, and diplomatic strength,comboined with a clear strategy and the political will to act.

Britain holds back as France pushes for truce between Russia and Ukraine

While Europe possesses significant resources, it lacks a unified vision on how to confront Putin’s Russia and define its role in an increasingly aggressive global order – leaving it strategically adrift and unable to deter adversaries effectively.

The absence of key nations – including the Baltic states – from a recent high-level security meeting in London only underscores the challenge of consolidating a unified European deterrent.

“After having lived in the military for 30 years, in Europe and under the NATO umbrella, not incorporating all the allies or member states [at high level meetings] is really strange,” he said.

For Stroobants, Europe now is facing the disintegration of alliances that have taken over seven decades to build.

Officially recognised by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day (IWD) originated from the labour movements of the early twentieth century.

On 8 March, women around the world – and throughout the month in some countries – are celebrated and recognised for their social, cultural, economic and political achievements.

The day also serves as a call to action to accelerate progress towards gender parity.

In 2025, the United Nations will mark International Women’s Day under the theme: “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”

While the situation for women in parts of Africa is undeniably influenced by conflicts, disasters, and insecurity, this episode focuses on progress and empowerment.

Empowering

Spotlight on Africa’s first guest is Magalie Lebreton Traoré, an expert in digital transitions across the African continent at the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

As Unesco leads training for women in AI across Africa’s five regions, Magalie joins us to discuss how women are taking the lead in shaping high-tech industries, particularly artificial intelligence. This technological leap presents significant opportunities for women’s leadership and innovation.

Moreover, a study published in Nature revealed that 79 percent of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be improved or achieved through AI.

To tackle gender and geographical inequalities in AI, Unesco has made these issues a priority in its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – the first global standard-setting framework in this field, unanimously adopted by Unesco Member States in November 2021.

Celebrating

And to broaden the conversation, we also talk to a curator and two artists from Johannesburg in South Africa, who are organising a special exhibition to highlight the work of artist-mothers and women artists caring for families.

Lara Koseff is a curator at INCCA, the Independent Network for Contemporary Culture & Art in Johannesburg. She has established the second edition of ‘Art After Baby‘, with the support of the National Arts Council South Africa.

These female artists and mothers have been selected to receive support and mentorship in order to complete and exhibit a body of work in solo exhibitions at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg until the end of March.

Lara Koseff, Siviwe James and Phumelele Kunene join us on the line from South Africa.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

In a packed conference hall in an Istanbul hotel, Ahmet Turk, a leading member of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Dem Party, read a statement by Ocalan calling for the organization, which he founded, to disarm and dissolve itself, declaring an end to the decades-long conflict.

 The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has been fighting for autonomy and Kurdish minority rights in Turkey since the 1980s.

Ocalan, imprisoned in a Turkish jail since 1999, made his disarmament call after the PKK suffered significant military setbacks in recent years.

 “The PKK is almost finished within the borders of Turkey,” explained Mesut Yegen, a political scientist at the Istanbul-based Reform Institute.

However, Yegen claims with the PKK now primarily based in northern Iraq on Turkey’s frontier, while its affiliate in Syria, the SDF, controls a large swathe of territory bordering Turkey all sides still have an interest in peace.

“We know that the Turkish state needs a peace process because it’s worried about the future development in the region in Syria and Iraq,” added Yegen.

Turkey looks for regional help in its battle against Kurdish rebels in Iraq

Cautious response

The Turkish government gave a cautious response to Ocalan’s statement, saying it’s waiting for the PKK to disarm. The PKK leadership based in Iraq, ahead of Ocalan’s statement, declared it is looking for gestures from the government before any disarmament.

“The peace process in Turkey will largely depend on what emerges, what kind of a deal emerges inside Syria,” Asli Aydintasbas, a visiting senior fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, said.

“So we’re also seeing Turkey be more cautious. That doesn’t mean, you know, Turkey won’t reverse course if it feels there’s no room to go with Syrian Kurds or inside the peace process in Turkey.”

Turkish armed forces are massed on the Syrian border with Ankara, demanding the SDF merge with the Syrian army under the control of Syria’s new rulers, with whom the Turkish government has close ties.

For now, the SDF leader Mazloum Abdi declared his force is not bound by Ocalan’s disarmament call while demanding Ankara end its ongoing attacks on its troops.

Turkey’s Saturday Mothers keep up vigil for lost relatives

Scepticism

Analyst Mesut Yegen adds that ending the PKK conflict will come at a price for Ankara.  “They’re (PKK) expecting that in return for that, the state promises that at least a kind of autonomy or status for Syrian Kurds is going to be recognised by the Syrian regime, the new regime, and that the Turkish state also supports this kind of solution.

“In addition to this, of course, the expectation is that some reforms will be implemented in Turkey with regards to the Kurdish question.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has distanced himself from the current efforts to end the conflict, other than saying a historic opportunity exists for Kurds and Turks to live in peace but offering no concessions.

For months, a crackdown on Turkey’s legal Kurdish movement continues, with the removal of elected mayors and arrests of journalists and human rights activists. 

Trial of alleged PKK figures accused of financing terror begins in France

Turkish commentator on Turkey’s Politikyol news portal, Sezin Oney, warns unless the causes of the conflict are addressed, there’s little hope of a permanent peace.

 “Probably, any disarmament or any disbanding of PKK would be a gimmick,” warns Oney.

“It wouldn’t be a real actual disbanding, and it might just appear in a year under a different name. Because they would still have the pretext to argue that armed struggle is necessary because the Kurds in Turkey don’t have their democratic rights.”

With previous peace efforts failing, opinion polls indicate that the public remains sceptical of this latest effort. But for 75-year-old Ocalan, analysts warn it may be his last chance of any hope of freedom.

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.

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!

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 1 February, I asked you a question about our article “African nations set to light up the homes of 300 million people by 2030”.

Nearly 600 million Africans live without access to electricity, which is higher than any other continent. The World Bank and the African Development Bank have a plan: Dubbed “Mission 300”, it’s meant to connect half of those homes to power by 2030.

You were to send in the names of four African countries that have committed to reform their electricity utility companies, push renewable energy integration, and raise targets to improve access to national electricity. The World Bank grant will only be available to countries once these reforms have been carried out.

The answer is, to quote our article: “In Nigeria, an estimated 90 million people, 40 percent of the population, don’t have access to electricity. The country, along with Senegal, Zambia and Tanzania is one of a dozen that committed as part of the Mission 300 Plan.”

The other countries are Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, DRC, Niger, Liberia, Madagascar, and Malawi. 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What item have you held on to as a remembrance of something?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State, India. Radhakrishna is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Radhakrishna, on your double win !

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ahsan Ejaz, a member of the RFI Fans Club in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, and Sharmin Sultana, a member of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Rounding out the list are two RFI English listeners: Subhas Paul, a member of the RFI Students Radio Club in West Bengal, India, and Christian Ghibaudo from Tende, France.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The “Vivace” from Serenade for Small Orchestra by Jean Françaix, performed by the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Louis Lane; “Djourou”, performed by Ballaké Sissoko and Sona Jobarteh; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Baul Song” by Lalan, performed by Torap Ali Shah.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “French president Macron set to brief EU leaders over details of Trump talks”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 24 March to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 29 March 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.   

The United States’ military presence in Syria has been called into question, as President Donald Trump faces conflicting pressure from Turkey and Israel over the 2000-strong US force supporting a Syrian Kurdish-led coalition.

The US force is supporting an Arab-Kurdish coalition of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its war against the Islamic State (IS) group.

Thousands of IS militants are currently being held in SDF prisons, but the US military presence now hangs in the balance. 

Turkey analyst Sinan Ciddi, of the Washington-based research institute, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says Trump is in a dilemma because he ran on this promise of putting America first. “Getting out of foreign entanglements, not committing US troops and US money to parts of the world in which the US doesn’t have any interest,” he tells RFI.

However, Ciddi warns a quick withdrawal would not be without risk: “The dilemma for Trump is that in a theatre such as Syria, if he were to pull back 2,000 troops, then you’ve got this major security threat.”

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

Turkey labels SDF ‘insurgents’

However, a US pullout would be welcomed by its NATO ally Turkey. Ankara strongly opposes Washington’s military support for the SDF, which it accuses of being linked to Kurdish insurgents fighting Turkey.

International relations expert Bilgehan Alagoz, of Istanbul’s Marmara University, maintains the US deployment has poisoned relations between the two allies, but says a withdrawal by Trump would offer a reset in ties.

“I believe that there is going to be a new ground between Turkey and the United States,” Alagoz said. “And Turkey will guarantee the safety of US soldiers and a successful withdrawal from Syria. So it is all going to be a kind of new negotiation between Turkey and the United States.”

Until now, US soldiers in Syria have prevented the Turkish military – massed on the Syrian border – from overwhelming the SDF, but time may be running out for the Kurdish-led forces.

“Assuming that the US withdraws at one point from Syria … this will mean the end of the diplomatic umbrella for the SDF that the US was able to put over them,” according to Aydin Selcen, a former Turkish diplomat and now foreign policy analyst for Turkey’s Medyascope independent news outlet.

Selcen warns that the SDF has only a small window to secure its future: “Time is of the essence for the SDF to get their act together and join forces with Damascus… to fold their forces into the Syrian armed forces, which would also satisfy Ankara’s security concerns.”

Turkey steps up military action against Kurds in Syria as power shifts

Israel sees SDF as key against IS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has close ties with Syria’s new leaders, and is demanding that the SDF disband or face a Turkish assault.

However, the Israeli government is voicing support for American backing for the SDF, given the risk posed by the Islamic State.

“We know that the SDF controls prisons in which there are around 10,000 Islamic State fighters and families,” explains Gallia Lindenstrauss, a foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“Nobody wants to see the resurgence of the Islamic State. And I think in this respect, the US understands this is a small number of troops [and] they are effective. So why pull them out?”

Paris hosts global conference on shaping Syria’s future

Lindenstrauss told RFI: “Israel has voiced that it does want to see the West continue supporting the Kurdish presence in northeast Syria, so there will be Israeli diplomatic efforts to keep the [US] troops there.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, recently underlined the importance of the Syrian Kurds as an ally to Israel – a message that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to have delivered to Trump during his visit to Washington this month, Ciddi believes.

“We’ve seen an increase in moves by the Israeli government to provide more formal and government support for non-state actors, such as the Syrian Kurds,” he said. “Because they understand that hitherto they’ve been entirely reliable in thwarting some of the major security concerns that the Israelis hold close to their heart.”

Greece is reacting furiously against France over the potential sale of the Meteor air-to-air missile to Turkey. The missile sale and the Turkish bid to procure Europe’s Eurofighter threatened to erase Greece’s military edge over its rival Turkey.

Despite France and Greece recently signing a defence pact, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly rejected Greek calls to block the missile sale, which is made by a European consortium headquartered in France.

“I think that France’s decision is related to what is going on in Ukraine,” claims international relations Professor Federico Donelli of Trieste University in Italy

“Turkey and European countries have the same geo-strategic interest,” adds Donelli. “If you ask Turkey and Turkish policymakers, for them, the main threat to the security and stability of the country and integrity of the country remain Russia. So I think that on this point that France, Turkey, even other European countries converge”.

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

Force

With more than 800,000 personnel in its armed forces, including reservists, Turkey is Nato’s second-largest army.

The importance of the Turkish military to European security could be ascending with the looming threat of Russia and Washington demanding Europe take more responsibility for its defence.

“We think it’s an important part of being in a shared alliance together that the Europeans step up while America focuses on areas of the world that are in great danger,” warned United States Vice President JD Vance at this month’s Munich Security Conference.

Turkey’s poor human rights record has strained relations with the European Union, along with the authoritarian reputation of the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But such concerns are being trumped by security fears.

“After the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkey is starting to be perceived by Nato members as an important ally,” explains Donelli.

“Maybe it’s not the best ally ever because we know that Turkey’s not an easy partner, but at the same time it is the most useful one”. 

Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump

Threat

European leaders met this month to discuss Ukraine and the security threat facing the continent. With the Turkish army dwarfing its European counterparts, Ankara says it can play a key role in Europe’s defence.

“European allies understood that without Turkey, we cannot continue the defence of the European continent and Euro-Atlantic security,” claims Turkish presidential advisor Mesut Casin. “And is Turkey ready to support this European security and defence capability? The answer is: ‘Yes.'”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, too, is eyeing Turkey’s military. During his visit to Turkey on Tuesday, Zelenskyy underlined the importance of Ukraine’s allies deploying soldiers to guarantee any peace agreement reached with Russia.

“Two issues that are very, very important: a strong Ukrainian army, and the deployment in Ukraine from other armies like from Europe, and the United States, our partners,” declared Zelensky at a joint press conference with Erdogan.

Zelensky said he had discussed the issue with Erdogan but that it was too early to reveal the outcome of the talks. While Erdogan has close ties with his Ukrainian counterpart, the Turkish leader has also maintained good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Casin insists if all agree, Ankara is well placed to assist. “Turkey, maybe we send our troops to peacekeeping operations. Why do I say it like this? Turkey joined many UN peacekeeping operations, and the Turkish army is very powerful,” said Casin.

The Turkish military has participated in some of the world’s most difficult UN peacekeeping operations, from Kosovo to Somalia.

However, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out any Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the importance of Turkey’s large and capable army could still play a key role in Europe as European concerns grow over the reliability of their American ally.

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.