The secondary school student was arrested after attacking the 31-year-old assistant with a knife during a bag search in Nogent in eastern France, officials said. 

The pupil is 15 years old and did not have a criminal record. 

The teaching assistant received several knife wounds just as classes were starting, and the alleged attacker, who was overpowered by gendarmes, “appears to be a student at the school,” officials said.

Education Minister Elisabeth Borne was on her way to Nogent “to support the entire school community and the police.” 

“I commend the composure and dedication of those who acted to subdue the attacker and protect the students and staff,” she said on X. 

France has in recent years seen a series of attacks on teachers and pupils by other schoolchildren.

French PM calls for tighter security in schools after deadly knife attack

At the end of April, after a fatal attack at a school in Nantes, the education ministry reported that 958 random bag checks in schools had led to the seizure of 94 knives. 

After that knife attack, which left one person dead and three injured, Prime Minister François Bayrou called for “more intensive checks around and inside schools”. 

In March, French police started random searches for knives and other weapons concealed in bags at and around schools. 

France rolls out school bag searches to combat knife violence

“While protecting our children, a teaching assistant lost her life, the victim of a senseless wave of violence,” Macron wrote on X, commenting on the latest in a spate of such incidents at French schools. 

“The nation is in mourning and the government is mobilised to reduce crime,” he added. 

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen denounced what she called the “normalisation of extreme violence, encouraged by the apathy of the authorities.” 

“Not a week goes by without a tragedy striking a school,” Le Pen said on X. 

“The French people have had enough and are waiting for a firm, uncompromising and determined political response to the scourge of juvenile violence.” 

(with AFP)

“In French Polynesia, the ocean is much more than a territory: it is a source of life, culture, and identity,” Brotherson told attendees at the UN Ocean summit in Nice on Monday.

“By strengthening the protection of Tainui Atea (the existing marine managed area that encompasses all French Polynesian waters) and laying the foundations for future marine protected areas in the Austral, Marquesas, Gambier, and Society Islands, we are asserting our ecological sovereignty while creating biodiversity sanctuaries for our people and future generations,” Brotherson said.

“This ambitious choice also carries a universal message to the international community: that of an Oceanian people who protect their vital space not only for themselves, but for all of humanity.”

For over a decade the French Polynesian government has been working closely with local groups and communities, scientists and international partners to support the creation of a wider marine protected area.

The waters of French Polynesia are renowned for their exceptional marine biodiversity and ecosystems, providing a habitat for 21 shark species and a remarkable reef system, home to 176 coral species and 1,024 recorded fish species, according to the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy group. 

Macron rallies nations to protect oceans as UN sounds alarm on marine crisis

Artisanal fishing zones

Under the new plan, almost the entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Pacific archipelago, or around 4.55 million square kilometres, will be placed under “minimum” protection.

Part of this zone (900,000 square kilometres) will be recognised as having “high level” protection, where all activity is prohibited, according to the French Ministry of Ecological Transition.

The highly protected areas will cover 220,000 square kilometres of waters near the Society Islands and 680,000 square kilometers around the Gambier Islands.

Access will be restricted and all forms of extraction, such as fishing and mining, will be prohibited to create refuges for marine life, including migratory manta rays, coral atolls, and seabirds.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

The government will also create artisanal fishing zones totaling 186,000 km², extending 15 nautical miles around the Austral, Marquesas, and Gambier Islands, and 30 nautical miles around the Society Islands.

Fishing in these zones will be limited to traditional line fishing practices carried out on boats less than 12 metres long.

Industrial fishing will be prohibited, while allowing local communities to perpetuate centuries-old fishing practices.

The artisanal fishing zones and the two highly protected areas will be established as marine protected areas (MPAs), covering a combined area of ​​1,086,000 km² – an area approximately twice that of mainland France.

“We congratulate French Polynesia for its vision and hope that this is a new trend in the establishment of highly protected MPAs on a large scale,” Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in a statement on Monday.

Brotherson also said he wanted to strengthen conservation measures by including public participation in management, strengthening fisheries management plans and banning deep-sea mining.

Public support for protection

According to a survey carried out in January by the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy group, more than 90 percent of Polynesians support the creation of new highly protected areas.

Respondents saw conservation as a way of “respecting cultural values ​​and drawing inspiration from traditional management practices such as rāhui, an ancestral method of temporarily closing natural areas to promote their regeneration.”

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the decision as “a historic one that marks a turning point in the protection of the Pacific Ocean.”

“We will provide Polynesia with the means to monitor these areas,” he added.

Pristine coral reef discovered near Tahiti, unaffected by climate change

Polynesia’s announcement alone allows France, whose maritime domain covers 11 million km2 (the second largest in the world), to increase the proportion of its waters under protection to 78 percent, a broad term that includes areas where activity restrictions are minimal.

Of this area, 14.8 percent is now considered highly protected, compared to 4.8 percent before Polynesia’s announcement.

Just eight percent of global oceans are designated for marine conservation, despite a globally agreed target to achieve 30 percent coverage by 2030.

Macron said he hoped that coverage would grow to 12 percent by the summit’s close on Friday.

(with newswires)

French President Emmanuel Macron said that imposing a moratorium on seabed mining was “an international necessity”.

His comments at the opening of the UN Ocean Conference in southern France on Monday came as nations expressed concern over the United States ambitions to give the green light to deep-sea mining.

“I think it’s madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks – when we know nothing about it,” Macron said.

The world’s oceans, both international waters and those under national jurisdiction, are rich in minerals and metals, like cobalt, nickel and copper.

These are important for building electric car batteries, for instance, and other technologies as countries try to transition away from fossil fuels.

The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery

Trump was not among the roughly 60 government officials in Nice, but his spectre loomed large as leaders attempted to discuss one of the globe’s key environmental concerns.

Of particular concern is Trump’s move to sidestep the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and speed up the permit-issuing process for companies wanting to extract nickel and other metals from waters beyond US jurisdiction.

Canadian firm, The Metals Company used its American subsidiary to apply after Trump signed an executive order in April.

‘Not for sale’

The deep sea, Greenland and Antarctica were “not for sale”, Macron said in further remarks directed clearly at Trump’s expansionist claims.

The ISA, which has jurisdiction over the ocean floor outside national waters, is meeting in July to discuss a global mining code to regulate mining in the ocean depths.

In Nice, the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations said that the number of countries opposed to seabed mining rose to 36 on Monday.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for “clear action” from the seabed authority to end a “predatory race” for deep-ocean minerals.

“We now see the threat of unilateralism looming over the ocean. We cannot allow what happened to international trade to happen to the sea,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he urged caution as countries navigate these “new waters on seabed mining”.

“The deep sea cannot become the wild west,” he said, to applause from the plenary floor.

Island nations also spoke out against seabed mining, which scientists warn could result in untold damage to ecosystems largely unexplored by humanity.

‘Reckless’ behaviour

“Here in Nice, we can feel that the looming threat of deep-sea mining, and the recent reckless behaviour of the industry is seen by many states as unacceptable,” said Megan Randles from Greenpeace.

Deep-sea mining is just one of several key points evoked in the so-called “High Seas Treaty“, adopted by UN member states in June in 2023.

French NGOs slam ‘lack of ambition’ after Macron’s bottom trawling announcement

The treaty covers international waters that fall outside the jurisdiction of any single state, and account for more than 60 percent of the world’s oceans.

Macron told reporters that 55 nations had ratified the agreement, just five shy of the number required for its enactment by 1 January, 2026.

According to the UN, 18 new ratifications took place on Monday, bringing the total to 50. Others could arrive in the coming days.

(with AFP)

Far from being a film set or museum piece, LUNA is a testbed for the future. It supports not only astronaut training but also the development of new tools and systems for operating in the harsh lunar environment. The facility sits within the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), ESA’s hub for human spaceflight activities.

A giant sandbox for space science

At the heart of the facility lies 780 tonnes of lunar soil simulant, carefully engineered to match the physical and chemical properties of regolith — the powdery, abrasive dust that covers the moon’s surface.

“We’ve produced approximately 780 tonnes of regolith material here. We based this material on what we understand the moon is made of. We know from the time of Apollo — we know from the samples they brought back — what the moon is comprised of,” Aidan Cowley, EAC Spaceship Coordinator, ESA, told RFI.

ESA at 50: looking back and launching forward

This simulated terrain is split across two key zones:

• A deep-area floor, around 3 metres deep and filled with 1.5 metres of regolith. This allows researchers to simulate tasks like drilling, buried excavation, and even the creation of craters for navigation or scientific study.
• A shallower flat area, ideal for testing rover movement, tool handling, and mobility exercises.

These physical scenarios help scientists refine operational techniques before any real astronauts step onto the moon again.

Preparing for lunar reality

Although the Artemis programme led by NASA is receiving much of the public attention, ESA is a key partner, contributing the European Service Module for Orion spacecraft and playing a leading role in astronaut training and surface operations.

ESA plans to send European astronauts to the moon through international collaboration. Facilities like LUNA help ensure these missions will be well-prepared, safe, and efficient.

Training includes:

• Geological sampling techniques, to study lunar history.
• Locomotion practice in simulated lunar gravity.
• Testing how astronauts and robots can work together in real-time scenarios.

The controlled environment allows teams to rehearse scientific tasks and problem-solving in ways that mimic the challenges of operating on the moon’s surface — where every movement is slowed by gravity, and communication back to Earth can be delayed.

ESA at 50: five decades of space innovation and cosmic achievements

Why lunar dust matters

Lunar dust may look soft and harmless, but it’s one of the greatest challenges facing space missions. The regolith is sharp, fine, and gets into everything — from spacesuit joints to camera lenses.

“The Moon is comprised of this regolith material… It’s a really interesting material. It’s quite aggressive. It’s very dusty. It infiltrates everything from mechanisms to seals to equipment. So it’s also a hazard, and it’s something we have to respect when we go there,” Cowley added.

Dust can degrade equipment rapidly, reduce the efficiency of radiators, and damage delicate electronics. Testing gear in this simulated environment allows engineers to improve sealing systems and develop new dust-resistant materials.

First commercial launch of Europe’s Ariane 6 carrying French military satellite

Building with moon dust

Beyond training and testing, researchers at LUNA are experimenting with how lunar regolith could be used as a building material — a key step toward long-term human presence on the moon. Using materials sourced on the Moon, rather than sending supplies from Earth, could drastically reduce mission costs and improve sustainability.

“We’ve actually taken regolith sand, and we’ve used it combined with a small amount of polymer filler… and by combining it together you get the ability to make the plastic stick the regolith together and produce things that are very easy to make into different shapes like bricks or tools,” Cowley said.

This kind of in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) is at the core of ESA’s vision for space exploration. If structures can be 3D-printed or assembled using local materials, future astronauts could build shelters, landing pads, or even radiation shields on site — vital for staying longer and travelling farther into the solar system.

A strategic asset for Europe

The LUNA facility gives Europe a critical platform to contribute to global Moon missions, including NASA’s Artemis programme and ESA’s own lunar plans. As international momentum builds toward a sustained human presence on the Moon, this facility will ensure Europe remains at the forefront of science, technology, and exploration.

By offering a controlled, flexible testbed for both human and robotic operations, the LUNA facility is not just a scientific playground — it is a proving ground for the future of space.

The defendants – 13 men and 3 women – are suspected of having prepared violent actions against Muslims in France between 2017 and 2018.

They were members of the group Action des Forces Operationnelles (AFO, “action of operational forces”) –  dismantled in 2018.

According to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat), AFO was a “structured and hierarchical” organisation whose objective was to carry out “concrete acts of violence in symbolic places such as mosques” or by targeting halal food.

The defendants include individuals from diverse backgrounds – a former police officer, antique dealer, teacher, nurse and diplomat. Many have a military background or have mentioned an attraction to the army.

Prosecutors say they united around a common goal – to “combat Muslim influence in France”.

The accused, who describe themselves as patriots or resistance fighters, have “widely denied having personally intended to carry out violent actions” the Pnat says.

But prosecutors argue the investigation uncovered “covert plans targeting members of the Muslim community,” driven by an ideology linking jihadist terrorism with Islam more broadly and by fears of the so-called “Great Replacement” theory – according to which white Europeans are being deliberately supplanted by non-white immigrants.

Court allows controversial ultra-nationalist rally in Paris

Firearms uncovered 

The alleged projects, some of which were merely declarative, included “Operation Halal,” which aimed to poison halal food in supermarkets with cyanide or rat poison to discredit Muslim dietary practices and throwing grenades into “Arab cars” and “killing 200 radicalised imams”. Other ideas included targeting the rapper Medine or preacher Tariq Ramadan, and “exploding a couscous maker from a distance”.

During police raids, authorities uncovered firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and components for making explosives.

While the acts were initially considered criminal, the charges have since been reclassified as misdemeanours following the Pnat’s requisitions.

Pnat told France’s AFP news agency that despite the seriousness of the alleged plots, its decision reflects standard policy in cases “where plans for violent action are not fully operational”.

All 16 defendants are appearing in court under judicial supervision and remain free during the proceedings.

The trial is expected to run until 27 June.

France has seen an increase in both Islamaphobic and anti-Semitic attacks in recent years, and particularly since the Israel-Hamas conflict triggered by the 7 October, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel. 

Last week, a Frenchman accused of shooting dead his Tunisian neighbour in a village in southern France was formally indicted for murder as an act of terrorism, motivated by the victim’s origins.

(with AFP)

Stone’s publicist confirmed he passed away in Los Angeles on Monday, surrounded by family, after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other health issues.

“While we mourn his absence, we take solace in knowing that his extraordinary musical legacy will continue to resonate and inspire for generations to come,” the family added.

Born Sylvester Stewart in Texas in 1942, Stone worked his way up as a disc jockey and record producer. By the late 1960s, he formed Sly and the Family Stone. A multi-instrumentalist, he not only led the band but wrote lyrics, sang lead vocals and produced.

The group was one of the first major American bands to feature both black and white members, as well as both men and women – symbolising the ideals of the civil rights era.

Family of Martin Luther King hits back at Le Pen for comparing struggles

Optimism and disillusion

Blending soul, rock, funk, and psychedelia, they got their breakthrough in 1968 with Dance to the Music – the title track of their second album – which reached the top 10 in the charts. 

The group’s success was short but influential. Between 1968 and 1973, they released several top-10 singles such as Family Affair. The abums There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Stand! and Greatest Hits sold more than a million copies each.

Their work reflected both the optimism and disillusionment of the time.

Sly and the Family Stone’s performance at Woodstock in 1969 remains one of the festival’s most iconic moments. Taking the stage in the early hours of the morning, the band electrified the crowd with a high-energy set, embodying the spirit of unity and rebellion that defined the era. Their call-and-response anthem I Want to Take You Higher turned the muddy field into a massive, dancing crowd – a moment often cited as one of Woodstock’s emotional high points.

‘Force for positive change’

Stone’s innovative style influenced generations of artists, from George Clinton and Prince to contemporary hip-hop and R&B performers. His riffs and vocal arrangements have been sampled by artists such as Dr. Dre and the Beastie Boys. A tribute disk was recorded in 2005 with Maroon 5, John Legend and The Roots.

For French music journalist Olivier Cachin, Sly Stone was “a pioneer of funk and a key figure in 20th century music”.

Sly and the Family Stone were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.  “Their songs were more than danceable hits – they were a force for positive change” it said.

Prince: the artist who defied the music industry

But Stone struggled to contain the forces and pressures that came with fame. He slid into addiction, missed concerts and his musical output, once bankable, became erratic.

By 1973, the band imploded.

In his 2023 memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), Stone acknowledged he was lost in a deluge of cocaine and PCP, but that he finally went clean in 2019.

Drugs gave him “confidence” and energy, he wrote.

But he regretted “the way I let drugs run my life,” he added.

“I thought I could control them but then at some point they were controlling me.”

(with newswires)

Demonstrators waving Palestinian flags, holding banners, and chanting slogans such as “Free Palestine” and “Gaza, Gaza, we are with you”, gathered in major French cities including Paris, Marseille, Lille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Nice, demanding the release of the 12 activists aboard the sailing vessel Madleen and the continuation of their humanitarian mission. 

LFI, which called for the rallies, claimed 150,000 demonstrators nationwide, including 50,000 in Paris and reported “nearly 200 gatherings” across the country. National police recorded 24,700 participants in 97 rallies outside the capital and 8,000 in Paris.

A dozen activists – French, German, Brazilian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish, and Dutch nationals – left Italy aboard the Madleen on 1 June to raise awareness of food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations has called the “hungriest place on Earth”.

After 21 months of war, the UN warns the entire 2-million population is at risk of famine.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and French-Palestinian MEP Rima Hassan of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) were among those aboard.

The boat was “intercepted” overnight from Sunday to Monday by the Israeli military and arrived Monday evening at the Israeli port of Ashdod.

UN experts warn of ‘annihilation’ in Gaza amid Israeli strikes

Five French activists detained

Israel’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had deported activist Thunberg back to her home country of Sweden. It posted a photo of her seated on a plane. 

Adalah, a legal rights group in Israel representing the activists, said Thunberg, two other activists and a journalist had agreed to be deported and leave Israel. The other eight activists refused deportation, were being held in detention and their case was set to be heard by Israeli authorities, Adalah said. The activists were expected to be brought before a court later Tuesday, the group added.

Sabine Haddad, a spokeswoman for Israel’s Interior Ministry, said the activists who were being deported Tuesday had waived their right to appear before a judge. Those who did not will face one and will be held for 96 hours before being deported, she said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that one of the detained French activists signed an expulsion order and will leave Israel on Tuesday for France. The other five refused. He said all the activists received consular visits.

LFI said Rima Hassan, who is of Palestinian descent, was among those who had refused to sign.

“They refused to sign a document which, in addition to imposing a 100-year ban from Israeli territory, made it a condition that they acknowledge that their entry into the country was illegal, which is obviously absolutely false’, said Mathilde Panot, leader of the LFI deputies in parliament, at a press conference on Tuesday. 

‘Act of piracy’

Speaking at the Paris rally alongside other left-wing leaders, LFI figurehead Jean-Luc Mélenchon called the Israeli operation an act of “international piracy”.

“We fear the worst, because those who carried out this interception have shown themselves capable of the worst under any circumstances,” said the former French presidential candidate.

He criticised the French government’s response, saying it “apparently has nothing to say about an act of piracy.” Mélenchon also called for a new “mass mobilisation of the French people in support of Palestinians” on 13 June.

RFI joins 135 NGOs and media groups in urging unrestricted press access to Gaza

President Emmanuel Macron has requested that the French nationals be allowed to return to France as quickly as possible, the Elysée said.

On Monday evening Macron stated that France remained vigilant and “stands by all its citizens when they are in danger,” adding that Paris had conveyed all necessary messages to Israel to ensure the activists’ protection.

He also condemned the humanitarian blockade on Gaza. “This is a scandal, unacceptable, that is playing out in Gaza. What’s been happening since early March is a disgrace,” he said.

French left-wing parties and groups such as Amnesty International argue the boat’s interception constituted a violation of international law.

(with newswires)

Just 26.1 percent of the global seafloor – including both shallow and deep areas – has been mapped using modern sonar, according to the Seabed 2030 project, which aims to chart the entire ocean floor by the end of the decade. 

But mapping from above is not the same as seeing it up close. Scientists estimate that humans have directly observed less than 0.001 percent of the deep seafloor – defined as depths below 200 metres. That’s an area roughly one-tenth the size of Belgium. 

That figure comes from a study published this month in Science Advances led by explorer and scientist Katy Croff Bell who, along with colleagues, compiled data from more than 43,000 deep-sea dives carried out since the 1950s.  

The results show how lopsided ocean exploration has become. Nearly two-thirds of all observations happened within 200 nautical miles of just three countries: the United States, Japan and New Zealand. Five nations conducted 97 percent of all dives. 

This leaves entire regions of the ocean floor completely undocumented – particularly in waters around poorer countries that lack the tools and funding for deep-sea research. 

“As we face accelerated threats to the deep ocean – from climate change to potential mining and resource exploitation – this limited exploration of such a vast region becomes a critical problem for both science and policy,” Bell, founder of the non-profit Ocean Discovery League, told Scientific American. 

France pushes for action as high seas treaty hangs in the balance

Charting the unknown 

Some of those gaps are starting to close thanks to new tools. 

NASA’s SWOT satellite – short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography – was launched in December 2022 to track changes in water height across oceans, rivers and lakes.

By measuring tiny shifts in sea surface elevation – sometimes just a few centimetres – it helps scientists detect what lies below, including underwater mountains, ridges and deep-sea trenches. 

A study published in the journal Science last December found that SWOT delivered clearer images of the seafloor in a single year than earlier satellites achieved in three decades. 

“In this gravity map made from merely one year of SWOT data, we can see individual abyssal hills, along with thousands of small uncharted seamounts and previously hidden tectonic structures buried underneath sediments and ice,” said Yao Yu, a postdoctoral researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

“This map will help us to answer some fundamental questions in tectonics and deep ocean mixing.” 

Climate-driven changes to ocean colour fuel urgency ahead of UN summit

Why mapping matters 

But maps like these do more than fill scientific gaps. They help pinpoint safe sites for offshore wind farms, guide where to lay submarine cables and flag areas at risk from tsunamis or underwater landslides. 

These kinds of insights are becoming central to marine policy – especially as countries look to balance economic development with protecting the ocean. 

Still, many scientists say there’s no substitute for a direct look. Visual dives don’t just show topography – they reveal entire ecosystems, offering clues about what species live there, how they interact and how fragile they may be. 

“Being able to explore, or at least accelerate, the exploration of the other 99.999 percent of the deep ocean is really going to give us an amazing opportunity to ask new questions we’d never even thought of before,” said Bell. 

New Caledonia bans ‘dangerous’ seabed mining for half a century

Eyes on the deep 

New expeditions are already pushing into the deep.  

This year, the research vessel Nautilus, operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, is exploring the Mariana Islands – a region dotted with more than 60 underwater volcanoes.

Scientists are using remotely operated vehicles to study hydrothermal vents and collect biological and geological samples from depths of up to 6,000 metres. 

Further north, teams led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are surveying the Aleutian Arc off Alaska, where only 38 percent of the seafloor has been mapped. They’re studying deep-sea coral habitats, volcanic formations and possible mineral deposits.

These missions are part of a growing global effort to unlock the secrets of the deep – an environment that helps regulate climate, store carbon and sustain biodiversity. 

Plastic Odyssey on sea-faring mission to target plastic waste in Madagascar

High-stakes summit 

The ocean feeds 3.2 billion people and generates an estimated $2.6 trillion in economic value each year. Yet just 8 percent is formally protected – and only a fraction of that is off-limits to damaging activities. 

That disconnect will be centre stage in Nice, where world leaders, scientists and campaigners are meeting for the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) from 9 to 13 June.  

Co-hosted by France and Costa Rica, the summit follows a string of high-level events already under way. 

More than 2,000 scientists are taking part in the One Ocean Science Congress this week, while the Blue Economy and Finance Forum in Monaco this weekend will bring together investors and policymakers to address the multi-billion-dollar funding gap in marine protection. 

A public exhibition area called La Baleine has been open since Monday at Nice’s Palais des Expositions, while the Ocean Rise and Coastal Resilience Coalition summit on Saturday will focus on coastal communities affected by rising seas. 

The goal in Nice is to secure new voluntary commitments under the Nice Ocean Action Plan – pledges from governments, businesses and civil society to protect marine life and support the sustainable use of the seas. 

But for many researchers, it starts with something more basic: actually knowing what’s down there. 

The leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon seems inclined, at the moment, to stand for a fourth time – having taken third place behind National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen in the 2022 ballot.

On the left, a broad church

The 2022 result, alongside the collective memory of the relatively short-lived Nupes left-wing alliance, as well as the divisions that arose in the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance in the wake of their victory in the 2024 legislative elections, will have certainly pre-armed Mélenchon with knowledge of the contention he arouses in some sections of the electorate, and on his side of the political spectrum.

Over at the Socialist Party (PS), the internal ballot currently under way to elect a new leader raises the crucial question of whether the party will field its own presidential candidate for 2027, or take part in a wider primary within the left.

President Macron set to unfurl two-year plan amid prospect of referendums

The latter is the line taken by the current First Secretary Olivier Faure – “a primary from Ruffin to Glucksmann”. 

François Ruffin was a key organiser of the rapidly formed NFP leftist alliance during the 2024 elections, and is now a member of the Ecologist Group in the National Assembly, having parted ways with LFI and Mélenchon during the campaign. 

MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament, was named one of 20 “Rising Stars” at The Parliament Magazine’s annual MEP awards last year.

Known for his campaigning on forced labour in China and the plight of Uyghurs held in the Xinjiang internment camps, he was one of five MEPs under sanction by China until April this year, lifted following negotiations with the European Parliament.

This kaleidoscopic primary could also include feminist activist Clémentine Autain, one of a group of MPs who founded the L’Après (“The Aftermath”) party in the wake of a split from LFI, as well as Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist Party and their candidate for the 2022 election – in which he came eighth. 

While Ruffin is in favour of this wider primary, Glucksmann is not, and the other candidates in the PS internal ballot – Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol and Boris Vallaud – would also like to see the party set out its own stall for the election.

In the centre, the great reshuffle

Former PM Gabriel Attal, now the leader of Macron’s Renaissance party in the National Assembly, may not have declared his intentions, but is considered to be taking his first steps towards the Elysée Palace – having been greeted with chants of “Attal president!” at a rally on 6 April in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, as reported by Le Monde.

Meanwhile, his fellow former PM Édouard Philippe has announced that he will run, as widely expected. 

“I’m preparing to propose things to the French. What I propose will be massive. The French will decide,” Philippe told Le Point magazine on 3 September last year, adding that he would prioritise education, public order and the budget.

A right-winger who was Macron’s first prime minister has remained a popular figure since resigning in July 2020, after which he returned to his job as mayor of Le Havre and formed his own centre-right party, Horizons.

Former French PM Edouard Philippe announces 2027 presidential bid

At Renaissance, although Élisabeth Borne has not ruled out a candidacy, she will have heard those chants of “Attal president” coming loud and clear from Saint-Denis

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the current president of the National Assembly, has not made any announcements about the 2027 elections – but she has published a book. À ma place (“In My Place”) was published on 10 April. In an interview on that day when asked whether she was considering running in 2027, she said: “I’m not thinking about it. My focus today is having a country that functions democratically.”

Nor does the book contain any mention of a potential candidacy, although she does write that “women need to take the lead”.

On the right, a new order emerges

After the melodrama of Éric Ciotti’s departure from the Republicans (LR) – following his calls for an alliance with the far-right RN ahead of last summer’s snap legislative elections – the centre-right party has finally settled the question of its leadership, with Bruno Retailleau elected as president last month.

Retailleau wins leadership of Les Républicains party, paving way for 2027 presidential bid

While Interior Minister Retailleau will be making the most of his dual role, many believe he will also be focusing on his candidacy for the presidency. But does this mean the choice of candidate is a done deal for the Republicans? 

Xavier Bertrand, who played a key role in Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign; Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard (notable as one of the mayors who in 2016 attempted to ban the burkini); Laurent Wauquiez, who was defeated by Retailleau in the leadership contest, and even former prime minister Michel Barnier, may beg to differ 

For the time being, there is no general consensus emerging from the conservative end of the political spectrum. 

To their (far) right, Le Pen’s previous election defeats loom large, as does her conviction for embezzling EU funds, which rules her out of the 2027 election thanks to a five-year ban on running for office – although she has said she will appeal this decision.

Does ‘politically dead’ Marine Le Pen still have a path to power?

Pending this ruling, inevitably the question of whether Le Pen’s dauphin and RN president Jordan Bardella will take her place in the running arises – although this could bring with it electoral uncertainty.

Meanwhile, despite Éric Zemmour’s far-right Reconquest party currently holding no seats in the National Assembly or the Senate, and having one MEP in the European Parliament – his partner, Sarah Knafo – Zemmour himself has not disappeared from view, and Knafo is increasingly visible.

The 32-year-old is known to be a fan of both Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and the couple were guests at Trump’s January inauguration – among the few French politicians to receive invitations.

(With newswires, and partially adapted from this article from RFI’s French service.)

Since its founding in 1975, ESA has contributed to a broad range of scientific and technological areas. One of its most notable moments came in 2014 with the Rosetta mission, when the Philae lander became the first human-made object to land on a comet. The event drew global attention and is considered a major milestone in robotic space exploration.

Copernicus and Galileo

ESA has also developed long-running programmes such as Copernicus and Galileo, which continue to serve scientific, environmental, and practical purposes. Copernicus, the European Union’s Earth observation programme, uses satellite data to monitor environmental changes. According to ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, “Without those satellites that we have built – and Europe has built many of those – we would not understand the extent of climate change.”

Ariane 6 rocket debuts successfully restoring Europe’s space independence

Meanwhile, Galileo, ESA’s satellite navigation system, now in its 30th year, has become a key infrastructure for location and timing services. Aschbacher described it as “the most accurate navigation system in the world,” with wide applications across transport, telecommunications, and emergency services.

Over the years, ESA has also expanded its international cooperation. It works with agencies in the United States, Japan, India, the UAE, and Australia, among others, across a range of missions and projects. “Partners want to work with us. We have something interesting to offer,” Aschbacher said, referring to ESA’s role in collaborative initiatives.

 New objectives?

Looking to the months ahead, a major point of focus is the ESA Ministerial Council, to be held in November. Occurring every three years, the council allows ESA’s 22 member states to allocate funding to various programmes. Unlike some international agencies, ESA operates on a voluntary contribution model. “I have to make proposals that are very attractive that member states want to participate and want to put money in. Otherwise, I’m not succeeding,” said Aschbacher.

The funding proposals being prepared for the Council span a wide range of domains, including Earth observation, satellite navigation, telecommunication, astronaut missions, launch systems, and planetary exploration, including the Moon and Mars.

First commercial launch of Europe’s Ariane 6 carrying French military satellite

ESA also has a busy launch schedule for 2025, with over ten missions planned. These include new Sentinel satellites under the Copernicus programme, further Galileo satellites, as well as the April launch of Biomass Earth Explorer mission, which will measure tropical forest biomass as part of broader efforts to monitor carbon cycles.

Several smaller missions based on CubeSats and micro-satellites are also in development, incorporating onboard artificial intelligence to process data in orbit more efficiently.

ESA is placing increased emphasis on the role of space-based technologies across different sectors. In Aschbacher’s view, their relevance is likely to expand significantly in coming decades.

“Space today already has many applications… but in 20 years from today, you cannot live without space technology,” he said, comparing the trajectory of space tech to the early development of the internet.

As ESA reaches the 50-year mark, attention is focused not just on past achievements but also on how space technologies might be integrated more deeply into scientific research, infrastructure, environmental monitoring, and industry in the years ahead.

The French buy an average of 48 items of new clothing per year per person, but two thirds of those garments remain in the wardrobe, while others are thrown away and pollute the environment. Thirty-five garments are thrown away every second, according to Ademe – France’s environmental agency. 

On Monday, lawmakers in the upper house begin debating a proposed law to “reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry” – estimated to be responsible for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide

In March 2024, MPs voted unanimously to define and regulate imports of low-cost, high-turnover clothing – known as ultra-fast fashion – embodied by Chinese online retailers like Shein and Temu. 

“Today, these giants of ultra-disposable fashion are invading the market without any oversight. We need to set rules and hit them as effectively and as hard as possible,” said Sylvie Valente Le Hir, a senator with the conservative Republicans and rapporteur of the bill.

Under the legislation, the legal definition of “fast fashion” would be based on factors such as production volume, product lifespan and repairability.

Companies falling under this definition would face new obligations, including environmental transparency and potential penalties through a bonus-malus system indexed to environmental labelling. It would reward virtuous production methods and penalise companies that adopt wasteful, fast-fashion practices.

Advertising for fast fashion would also be limited. 

French parliament votes to slow down fast fashion

Weakened proposals

However, following amendments by a Senate commission in February, the text put before senators is weaker than the original.

The proposed ban on advertising will now apply only to influencers, after senators argued it could infringe on economic freedom. 

Environmental labelling as the basis for the bonus-malus system has also been dropped. 

For Impact France, an NGO that spearheaded advocacy efforts for the law, the latest version is no longer aligned with France’s ecological transition goals.

“What made the first version of the text so strong was that it contained two measures that worked well. The first was a ban on advertising, and the second was a bonus-malus system based on the environmental impact of clothing,” said Impact’s co-president Julia Faure.

“The combination of these two measures made it possible to change the paradigm of the textile industry. If you take away half of the measures, you halve the effectiveness of such a text,” she told RFI.

Fashion and climate: why the greenest garment is the one you already own

Protecting France-based business

The amendments follow Shein’s intense lobbying of the French parliament. The Chinese giant hired former minister Christophe Castaner as a consultant. French media reported that Castaner had presented himself to MPs as a defender of low-income consumers.

The bill now targets mainly Asian ultra fast-fashion giants such as Shein and Temu. Critics such as the Stop Fast Fashion coalition fear this could turn the legislation into “an empty shell with no deterrent effect” by letting large European and French fast fashion platforms off the hook.

However, senator Sylvie Vallin, of the conservative Republicans party, defends the idea of excluding European fast fashion chains.

“Ephemeral fashion brands such as Zara, H&M and Kiabi are found in our shopping centres and city centres. And these brands and shops pay their taxes and employ people,” she told RFI. “I’m not going to green the entire textile industry with a bill like this one. However, we are seizing this opportunity to have an impact on the biggest Chinese giants, and then we are working at European level.”

The European Commission is considering introducing a tax on small parcels entering the EU – most of which come from China. In late May it urged Shein to respect EU consumer protection laws and warned it could face fines if it failed to address the EU’s concerns over the sale of unsafe and dangerous products sold on the sites of both Shein and Temu.

Donated clothes an environmental disaster in disguise for developing world

Impact France is calling for four key provisions to be reinstated in the fast fashion legislation – environmental labelling, inclusion of multi-brand platforms, a comprehensive ad ban, and extending producer responsibility on an international level.

“The fashion industry needs rules that reflect the scale of its impact,” Faure said. “We have an opportunity to set a global standard, France shouldn’t miss it.”

While the Senate opposes a blanket ban on fast fashion advertising, the government has said it will try and reintroduce it into the bill, with backing from the left.

Despite hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people, the situation in the country has received limited international attention, insufficient humanitarian funding and minimal political engagement, according to the NGO.

“It’s a case study in global neglect,” Laila Matar, NRC’s director of communications, told RFI. “There’s little media coverage, no meaningful diplomatic engagement and chronic underfunding. People are really struggling to survive.”

Cameroon is grappling with humanitarian emergencies driven by three distinct situations – violence in the far north, ongoing conflict in the anglophone regions, and an influx of refugees from neighbouring Central African Republic.

These crises have left the country’s services overwhelmed and under-resourced.

Uprooted and forgotten, Cameroon’s climate refugees living in despair

According to the NRC’s report, covering 2024, 11 percent of Cameroon’s population now faces acute food insecurity.

“1.4 million children are crammed into poorly maintained and overcrowded classrooms,” said Matar. “There’s simply no meaningful investment coming in from the global community.”

Cameroon’s 2024 humanitarian response plan was only 45 percent funded, leaving a gap of more than $202 million (almost €178m).

Alongside Cameroon, the NRC’s report highlights nine other displacement crises suffering from similar neglect and lack of aid funding, including those in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Burkina Faso, each grappling with ongoing conflict.

‘Inward-looking policies’

To explain this reduced support and lack of engagement, Matar says: “Donor fatigue is certainly a factor. But more worrying is the shift we’re seeing from international solidarity to more inward-looking, security-focused policies in countries that used to be generous donors.”

Several developed countries have made significant cuts to their overseas aid budgets.

France announced it would reduce public development assistance by more than €2 billion – nearly 40 percent of its annual allocation.

The United Kingdom has cut its overseas development assistance from 0.5 percent to 0.3 percent of gross national income, while Germany and the Netherlands are amongst others to have announced substantial reductions in foreign aid.

France’s proposed budget cuts set to slash overseas development aid

This comes as the United States – formerly the worlds largest contributor to overseas relief funding – has shut down or drastically reduced several aid programmes, including USAID, amid accusations of inefficiency from the Trump administration. 

These decisions carry serious consequences for the humanitarian work of NGOs such as the NRC.

“We’re layering compromise upon compromise,” Matar told RFI. “And those compromises are deadly.”

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

The NRC report also makes an impassioned plea for a shift in priorities, with the organisation’s secretary-general Jan Egeland saying: “Displacement isn’t a distant crisis. It’s a shared responsibility. We must stand up and demand a reversal of brutal aid cuts which are costing more lives by the day.”

While governments and institutions must lead the charge, Matar stressed that ordinary people also have a role to play.

“Humanitarian aid works. It helps people start to dream of a future again,” she said. “We can write to our MPs, speak out, and demand that our governments stop cutting aid in our name. We don’t need these crises to come to our borders to care about them.”

Aimed at marking one year since Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) crushed opponents to win their best-ever vote share in European elections, the get-together in Mormant-sur-Vernisson south of Paris brought together far-right leaders from across Europe.

The mood was buoyant and confident in the wake of Donald Trump’s return to the White House earlier this year and strong election results across the continent.

Viktor Orban, revelling in his self-proclaimed status as the “black sheep of the EU” and “Brussels’ nightmare”, likened European migration policy to “an organised exchange of populations to replace the cultural base” of the continent.

Boasting of having been able to “push back migrants” in his country, even if it meant incurring sanctions from Brussels, Orban told the several thousands present: “We will not let them destroy our cities, rape our girls and women, kill peaceful citizens.”

National Rally host far-right leaders at ‘Patriots for Europe’ event

‘Finish the game’

Le Pen, in her speech, described the European Union as a “graveyard of politically unfulfilled promises” and termed it “woke and ultra-liberal”.

“We don’t want to leave the table. We want to finish the game and win, to take power in France and in Europe and give it back to the people,” she said.

Her party previously backed France’s exit from the EU. But now it preaches European reform while remaining a member as Le Pen seeks to make the party electable and shake off the legacy of her late father Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Other attendees included Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the League party Matteo Salvini, the leader of Spain’s Vox party Santiago Abascal and former Czech premier Andrej Babis.

They are all part of the Patriots for Europe faction in the European parliament, one of no less than three competing far-right factions in the chamber.

Salvini meanwhile described migration as a “threat” to Europe.

“The threat to our children is an invasion of illegal immigrants, mainly Islamists, financed and organised in the silence of Brussels,” he affirmed from the podium, calling on European “patriots” to “work together” to “take back control of the destiny and future of Europe.”

In a sign of the controversy over the meeting, some 4,000 people from the left, hard left and trade unions protested in the nearby town of Montargis, according to organisers, vowing to “build resistance” and proclaiming the far-right leaders were “not welcome”.

“You have here the worst of the racist and xenophobic European far right that we know only too well,” said French hard-left MEP Manon Aubry.

‘Brussels guillotine’

The meeting also comes less than two years ahead of presidential elections in France where President Emmanuel Macron, who has long promoted himself as a bulwark against the far right, cannot stand again and the RN sees its best ever chance of taking power.

But it is far from certain if Le Pen will stand for a fourth time as her conviction earlier this year in a fake jobs scandal disqualifies her from standing for public office.

She has appealed. But waiting in the wings is her protégé and RN party leader Jordan Bardella, who would stand if Le Pen was ineligible.

Bardella ready to lead National Rally if Le Pen barred from 2027 elections

Polls suggest Bardella is set to win the first round of presidential elections if he stands. He is working on his image, and recently gave a long TV interview aimed at showing his softer side.

“We reject the Europe of Ursula von der Leyen,” Bardella told the rally, referring to the chief of the EU Commission. “We reject the Europe of Macron… We represent the rebirth of a true Europe.”

As well as Le Pen’s legal limbo, the contours of the French 2027 presidential election remain largely unclear, with centre-right former prime minister Edouard Philippe the only major player to clearly state he will stand.

Orban urged the RN to emerge triumphant from the elections.

“Without you, we will not be able to occupy Brussels (…) We will not be able to save Hungary from the Brussels guillotine,” said Orban.

(with AFP)

Tundu Lissu is the leader of Tanzania’s main opposition Party for Democracy and Progress (Chadema). He was arrested on 9 April.

Treason charges were brought against him on 10 April, and he could receive the death penalty.

Amnesty International’s regional director for east and southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, reacted by saying that the Tanzanian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Tundu Lissu, whose arbitrary arrest and detention comes amid a growing crackdown on opposition leaders ahead of the October 2025 general election.

He added, “The authorities’ campaign of repression saw four government critics forcibly disappeared and one unlawfully killed in 2024. The police have also prevented opposition members from holding meetings and other political gatherings, subjecting them to mass arrest, arbitrary detention, and unlawful use of force.”

Tanzanian politician’s lawyers ask UN to declare his detention arbitrary

However, the opposition leader has not been released, nor have the charges been dropped. On the contrary, other members of his party have since been arrested and even subjected to torture.

Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam, between 19 and 23 May, after attempting to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

The crisis extends beyond Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, where activists from a rights coalition in Kenya also accused police officers of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month.

In this context, this week on Spotlight on Africa, RFI speaks to Tundu Lissu’s international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, who has lodged a complaint with the UN Working Group as part of a broader campaign of pressure.

This month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Lissu’s arrest as politically motivated. Amsterdam also stated that he intends to petition the US State Department to impose sanctions.

Meanwhile, in Namibia, the first national commemoration was held on 28 May for the victims of mass killings by colonial-era German troops, in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the 20th century.

When first the Herero and then the Nama revolted against the colonial administration, the response from Germany was brutal. An extermination order was sent by the Second Reich, and several concentration camps were built across the country.

Namibia holds controversial first commemoration of German colonial-era genocide

Some organisations representing victims’ descendants have declined to take part.

To discuss what is at stake with this commemoration, for Namibia but also for other former African colonies, we talk to the German historian Henning Melber, of the Nordic Africa Institute, who is also affiliated to the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein in South Africa.

He says that while the announcement of an official Namibian Genocide Memorial Day has been long overdue, the chosen date of 28 May remains controversial, and that communities of descendants were excluded.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

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

In beating Inter Milan 5-0, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secured its first Champions League win since the club was founded in 1970. 

It was a demonstration of football prowess that would not have been possible without the state-owned Qatar Sports Investments.

The players recognised as much, lifting PSG’s president Qatari Nasser Al-Khelaïfi high in the air as soon as they’d received the trophy.

The following day President Emmanuel Macron praised Al-Khelaïfi as a representative of Qatar, noting that the victory “also owes much to you”.

“PSG owes it completely to Qatar,” says Raphaël Le Magoariec, a specialist on the Gulf states. “PSG is an extension of Qatar, it’s not a French team.”

A gamble that paid off

Under Qatari ownership, PSG have gone from perennial underachievers to one of Europe’s most glamorous and successful clubs.

“Qatar bought the club in 2011 for just over €70 million. The PSG brand is currently valued at over €4 billion,” says sports economist Pierre Rondeau. “It proves the gamble was a sucess for Qatar.”

The Gulf state has since injected a lot of money into the club – an estimated €2bn on transfers and player purchases, buying superstars such as Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham and Lionel Messi. In 2017 the club secured Neymar from Barcelona for €222m and Kylian Mbappé from Monaco for €180m.

Money has also been pumped into bricks and mortar – more than €200m has been spent on renovating PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, and €300m on building a new training centre.

“All this investment in the club, and the capital, helped the team reach the Champions League final,” says Rondeau.

But this fountain of Qatari investment has created resentment among other French clubs and their fanbases, with some arguing PSG’s dominance is artificial.

The reality, Rondeau says, is that you won’t get far without big money nowadays. “You can always say it’s only thanks to money that PSG succeeded, but without money it’s very rare to be able to win an average European Cup. You need a minimum budget of €450m to even reach the semi-finals.

“Today PSG’s budget is €800m. Qatar has given itself the ambition [to succeed] and the means to achieve it.”

Football as soft power

Qatar’s main interest, however, “is not financial – it’s geopolitical,” says Le Magoariec. “It wants to appear untouchable on the international scene.”

Scarcely bigger than Corsica, with Iran and Saudi Arabia as neighbours, Qatar needed to secure allies abroad, wield influence and diversify its interests beyond oil and gas, Le Magoariec explained.

Marrying one of the most famous cities in the world with the world’s most popular sport was a good way in.

“Qatar is looking, above all, to create networks of influence through the image of PSG,” he said.”It’s like a ministry of defence, with PSG as one of its weapons. It’s just one of several cogs forming the backbone of Qatar’s foreign policy – a soft power tool.”

The Qatar-PSG alliance has its roots in a dinner at the Elysée Palace in November 2010, shortly before Fifa was due to decide which country would host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Qatar had its sights set on 2022.

Among the guests at then-president Nicolas Sarkozy‘s table were Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Michel Platini, the head of Europe’s football authority Uefa. 

“The aim was to get 2022, so Qatar had to find allies,” Le Magoariec explained. “Sarkozy was an ally – he was a big PSG fan and the club was in crisis at the time.”

Qatar won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, and seven months later Qatar Sports Investments had the keys to the Parc des Princes – PSG’s stadium in the upmarket west of Paris.

France, meanwhile, had strengthened its relationship with a big investor.

Qatar to invest €10bn in key sectors of French economy by 2030

A global brand

PSG’s superstars didn’t always deliver on the pitch, but they did transform the club into a global brand, says sports economist Jean-Pascal Gayant.

“When the Qataris took over in 2011 Paris was known worldwide, but PSG wasn’t. They helped turn the club into one of the most famous brands in the world, giving it global notoriety to then progress through merchandising, sponsorship and commercial rights.” 

PSG’s largest boutique is not on the Champs-Elysées, but on Fifth Avenue in New York.

“It’s the club that sells the most football shirts on the North American continent, and it has supporters in every corner of the globe,” Rondeau says.  “Qatar has gained in terms of its reputation, as well as on the sport and economics side.”

At the Champions League final, the stadium was awash with the Qatar Airways logo – and not just on the shirts of the PSG players. The airline is also Inter Milan’s major sponsor and an official partner of the Champions League. Whoever won the match, it was a guaranteed win for Qatar.

Sportswashing

Qatar has faced international criticism over its treatment of migrant workers – notably those involved in building venues for the 2022 World Cup – and PSG boss Al-Khelaïfi has also had his share of scandals.

As CEO of the Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports, which spent hundreds of millions buying the TV rights to French football, he was tried in a media rights case in 2020, although later acquitted.

In February this year he was charged with complicity in abuse of power concerning shareholder voting at a company. 

“He’s involved in almost all the corruption stories surrounding Qatar, he’s constantly playing it close to the wire,” says Le Magoariec. 

Yet French media has done a remarkable U-turn in its reporting on the PSG boss. “Two months ago they were heavily criticising Al Khalaïfi in particular and now the Qataris are heroes,” Le Magoariec notes. 

However, when t comes to so-called sportswashing, the use of sport to polish up a tarnished image, he says: “Qatar didn’t invent this.”

Has Qatar succeeded in ‘sportswashing’ its global image?

He also cites industrialists such as French billionaire Bernard Arnault, CEO of the world’s largest luxury goods company LVMH, whose family recently became majority shareholders in Paris FC, as one of several public figures who “use sport to enhance their image and reputation”.

Back in 2014, Al-Khelaïfi told the Paris-based Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper that he had a very clear vision. “In five years we want to be one of the best clubs in Europe and to win the Champions League.”

It took slightly longer than planned, but Qatar has finally achieved that goal. “Dream Bigger” – the motto it rolled out for PSG ten years ago – has paid off.

Albert Ojwang died just a few hours after his arrest. He had been detained for allegedly criticising the police on his blog and social media.

According to the police, he injured himself by banging his head against the wall in his cell—an official explanation that his family and supporters strongly dispute.

His autopsy was initially scheduled for Monday but was postponed and is now set for Tuesday.

The results are eagerly awaited. Ojwang’s father has been waiting for hours at the morgue, according to one of RFI’s correspondents in Kenya. He finds the police’s version of events unconvincing, and many questions remain.

Julius Juma, the family’s lawyer, told the press: “We do not yet know the exact cause of Albert’s death or who is responsible. If he was arrested for the reasons given, why was he placed in solitary confinement? Why are we being told he hit his head against the wall? His body showed numerous injuries—to his head, hands, and shoulders. His head was completely swollen.”

Several human rights activists also gathered at the morgue to demand justice for Ojwang.

Hussein Khalid, head of the human rights group Vocal Africa, spent the day there and told RFI: “We say: ‘enough is enough’. We have lost too many lives at the hands of the police. Whatever the circumstances, no one should die in police custody.”

Protests in Nairobi

A protest march began in the capital, Nairobi, on Monday, near the Central Police Station where Ojwang died while in custody.

Some protesters clashed with the police after officers used tear gas on activists twice.

Police claoim that Ojwang was found unconscious in his cell and taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

All officers present that night have been suspended to facilitate the investigation. The police department announced that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority has launched an investigation.

Officers who were on duty when Ojwang died in custody will also not be returning to work while they await the outcome of investigations, said police Inspector-General Douglas Kanja.

Many remain skeptical of the proceedings however.

“Until now they have not told us the truth. We know there were more injuries. They have decided to sacrifice junior officers. We want justice for Ojwang and many others who have lost their lives,” Khalid, from Vocal Africa, said.

Rights group Amnesty Kenya said in a statement that Ojwang’s arrest raises serious questions and that the results of the IPOA report must be made public and any officers found responsible must be held fully accountable.

Mistrust in the government

This blogger’s death comes almost a year after several activists and protesters were killed and abducted by Kenyan police during finance bill protests in 2024.

Kenya’s Ruto withdraws finance bill after anti-tax protest deaths

Economic frustration remains high, despite the proposed taxes being scrapped last year.

“Our demands are still not met. The joblessness they had last year is tenfold. The killings are still happening,” Ndungi Githuku, activist from the People’s Liberation Party, told AP.

“So, nothing was resolved out of the protests that we had. We have freedom that is half baked. This country belongs to the rich, so it is time for the poor to rise. This is what is going to happen (on the anniversary) in a few days.”

And Ojwang’s death continued to spark outrage online. It has clearly renewed calls for protests to demand accountability from the government.

“This government is actually urging us to come out in the street again,” Githuku added.

“They are saying they have not repented; they are saying that they will continue abducting and assassinating us. So, we are saying that it’s better to shout and die than to keep quiet and be gotten from our homes while we are quiet.”

 (with AP)

The British drama series “Adolescence”, which explores the troubling impact of misogynistic content on social media, is set to be used as an educational tool in schools, France’s Education Minister Élisabeth Borne announced on Sunday.

Speaking on the LCI parliamentary channel, Borne revealed that the producers of the Netflix series had granted the French government the rights to use it in classrooms.

As a result, the Ministry of Education will develop and introduce five educational sequences based on the series to help students engage with the issues it raises.

Posting on X, Borne wrote: “Featuring situations of violence, social media use and distress, this series is a useful educational tool for raising awareness and supporting students.”

Already shown in some secondary schools across the UK, selected excerpts from the mini series are, according to Borne, “highly representative of the kind of violence young people can experience.”

These segments will be accompanied by tailored teaching resources and will be made available from fourth year onwards. 

The average ages of fourth year students in the French secondary school system is between 13 and 14 years of age. 

EU countries push for stricter rules to keep children off social media

Combatting mysogynist ideology

In late March, Downing Street announced that the series would be incorporated into secondary school lessons across the UK to prompt discussion and help “prevent young boys from being drawn into a vortex of hatred and misogyny.”

Borne stressed that the initiative aims to raise awareness among young people of the dangers of “screen overuse, the normalisation of online violence”, and the rise of so-called “masculinist” ideologies – misogynistic networks that promote hatred and violence against women.

Adolescence follows the story of 13-year-old Jamie, a British teenager from a quiet English town who is arrested after being accused of fatally stabbing a classmate.

Through police interviews and emotional sessions with a psychologist, each episode examines how harmful online ideologies may have influenced Jamie, while also portraying the confusion and helplessness of adults trying to make sense of social media’s darker side.

France struggles to decide what place screens should have in schools

Anti-Semitic incidents on the rise

In a separate development, Borne also addressed rising concerns over anti-Semitism in schools, following the discovery of anti-Semitic graffiti at a primary school in Le Havre.

She announced that her ministry would soon “update guidance for headteachers and teaching staff” to help them better respond to emerging forms of anti-Semitism.

This includes tackling issues such as the “refusal to teach” and the “shift from anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism,” she said.

An investigation into the graffiti incident, which was discovered last Thursday, is currently under way.

Speaking at the opening of the third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, French President Emmanuel Macron injected optimism into the global effort to safeguard the planet’s oceans, expressing confidence that the landmark High Seas Treaty could enter into force by the end of the year.

Joined by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Macron welcomed delegates with the announcement that 50 countries have already ratified the treaty, with a further 15 pledging to follow suit – just short of the 60 required to activate it.

“We are within reach of making history for ocean protection,” Macron said. “Let’s not miss this opportunity.”

Posting on X, Macron wrote: “Every action taken to protect our oceans is a transformation of consciousness to maintain balance and preserve biodiversity. Let’s make the Nice conference a success together.”

The High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023 after years of negotiation, would allow countries to establish protected marine zones in international waters – areas that make up nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans yet remain largely unregulated.

At present, only around 1 percent of these waters enjoy any legal protection.

World leaders arrive in France for UN summit on ocean threats

Ecosytems close to collapse

Macron’s remarks came alongside a stirring appeal from Guterres, who warned that human activity – ranging from illegal fishing and plastic pollution to the unchecked warming of ocean waters – was pushing marine ecosystems to the brink.

“The ocean is the planet’s shared lifeline. But we are failing it,” Guterres said.

He pointed to collapsing fish stocks, rising sea levels, and acidification as clear signs of an ocean in distress, adding the world can not let the deepest oceans “become the wild west.”

Oceans absorb about 30 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and are a vital buffer against climate change. But hotter waters are damaging ecosystems and threatening this natural carbon sink.

“These are symptoms of a system in crisis – unravelling food chains, destroying livelihoods, and fuelling instability,” Guterres said.

He called on world leaders to accelerate ratification of the treaty and increase investment in ocean health, noting that just $10 billion was committed globally between 2015 and 2019 – far below the $175 billion per year the UN says is needed.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

US delegation absent

While the United States has yet to ratify the treaty or send senior officials to the conference, Macron was undeterred.

“We know where some nations stand, but momentum is building,” he said. “Let’s deliver for future generations.”

The conference also saw a contribution from the UK’s Prince William, who described the challenge of protecting the oceans as “unlike any we have faced before.”

This initiative, accessible on starfishbarometer.org, was presented at the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice.

The barometer is accompanied by a scientific article published in the journal State of the Planet, but was designed to reach citizens with serious data that is easy to understand.

Its symbol wasn’t chosen at random, explains Pierre Bahurel, director of Mercator Ocean.

“With a five-armed starfish, we illustrate that to tackle the topic of the ocean, we can’t rely on just one aspect,” he told RFI’s Pauline Gleize.

“That means we will describe the state of the ocean (branch one), but we will also examine human pressures on the ocean (branch two) and the harmful consequences this can create (branch three). We will also look at positive protection actions and the opportunities that can arise from them (branch five),” explains Bahurel.

The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery

Ocean health

It’s a health check of the ocean — and it’s not in good shape.

Around 1,677 marine species are at risk of extinction, with one-third of them being shark species.

Since 1901, sea levels have risen by 23 centimetres, and pressures are increasing: ever more CO2 emissions, and nearly 38 percent of fish catches come from unsustainable fishing.

On a more economical aspect, the barometer shows that sales of marine-derived pharmaceuticals have increased by 7.5 percent over five years.

Land pollution is drowning the oceans in plastic, French experts warn

But Starfish is not just an environmental barometer.

“The method involved bringing together scientists from different fields — economists, physicists, oceanographers, biologists. And the perspective was truly about examining the relationship between humans and the ocean — or rather, between humanity and the ocean,” emphasizes Bahurel.

The number of migrants who died at sea was also recorded: 9,002 last year, a ten-year high.

Starfish will be published every year on 8 June.

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella welcome a host of Europe’s far-right leaders to the French countryside today, as the National Rally (RN) marks the one-year anniversary of its historic win in the 2024 European elections.

The gathering, taking place near Mormant-sur-Vernisson in the Loiret region, south of Paris, is both a celebration and a strategic show of strength – designed to spotlight the party’s growing international alliances and domestic ambitions.

The event draws key figures from across the European far-right, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, Spain’s Vox leader Santiago Abascal, and senior figures from Poland, Greece, Belgium, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

‘Free Le Pen’: US conservatives rally behind French far-right leader

Together, they represent the “Patriots for Europe” group in the European Parliament, which now holds 85 of 720 seats and positions itself as a rising force against Brussels bureaucracy and mainstream politics.

Bardella posted on X that the event is being held “for a Europe of nations, peoples, freedoms, protections, identities, production and innovation, farmers and entrepreneurs!”

‘Summit-style’ atmosphere

For Le Pen and Bardella, it’s an opportunity to underline their influence beyond France’s borders, to present a united front with their ideological allies, and to shift the spotlight firmly onto their leadership ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

With the RN having topped the polls with over 31 percent in last year’s European elections – the best first-round result in its history – they are determined to show it wasn’t a one-off.

Set against a rural backdrop of food trucks, flags and festive supporters, the event is dubbed “Victory Day”– a nod to 9 June 2024.

But it’s also a calculated moment of political theatre.

Orban, never one to mince words, has already set the tone with a social media post accusing “Brussels bureaucrats” of promoting “submission and decline” through migration, debt-sharing and war funding.

He pointed to civil unrest in the nearby town of Montargis – following the death of a 17-year-old, killed at a police checkpoint in a Paris suburb in 2023 – as evidence of what happens when “patriots lose control”.

Just ten kilometres away from today’s event, Montargis will see a counter-demonstration led by left-wing MPs and trade union leaders, highlighting the political polarisation the gathering has drawn.

Bardella ready to lead National Rally if Le Pen barred from 2027 elections

Message of unity

Back in Mormant-sur-Vernisson, however, the far-right message is unified, at least on the surface.

Previous attempts at such international summits, like a meeting in January in Madrid, revealed cracks – especially around Donald Trump-style politics and social conservatism – but today’s event appears tightly stage-managed.

Le Pen and Bardella even held a closed-door meeting on Sunday in Fontainebleau to iron out any potential hiccups.

At home, the RN is still navigating a complicated political landscape. While its European success was striking, the momentum didn’t fully carry over to the 2024 legislative elections, where chaotic candidate selection and a reinvigorated Republican front left the party with only 120 MPs – well short of the 289 needed to propel Bardella to the role of Prime Minister.

Still, Bardella’s star continues to rise. His popularity rivals Le Pen’s, his book sales are moving off the shelves, and many now see him as a viable presidential contender – especially with Le Pen’s future clouded by a possible court ruling on her eligibility in 2027.

For now, the two are presenting united front, with today’s gathering designed to reinforce far-right unity. 

(with newswires)

The leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) Jean-Luc Mélenchon seems inclined, at the moment, to stand for a fourth time – having taken third place behind National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen in the 2022 ballot.

On the left, a broad church

The 2022 result, alongside the collective memory of the relatively short-lived Nupes left-wing alliance, as well as the divisions that arose in the New Popular Front (NFP) alliance in the wake of their victory in the 2024 legislative elections, will have certainly pre-armed Mélenchon with knowledge of the contention he arouses in some sections of the electorate, and on his side of the political spectrum.

Over at the Socialist Party (PS), the internal ballot currently under way to elect a new leader raises the crucial question of whether the party will field its own presidential candidate for 2027, or take part in a wider primary within the left.

President Macron set to unfurl two-year plan amid prospect of referendums

The latter is the line taken by the current First Secretary Olivier Faure – “a primary from Ruffin to Glucksmann”. 

François Ruffin was a key organiser of the rapidly formed NFP leftist alliance during the 2024 elections, and is now a member of the Ecologist Group in the National Assembly, having parted ways with LFI and Mélenchon during the campaign. 

MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, a member of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament, was named one of 20 “Rising Stars” at The Parliament Magazine’s annual MEP awards last year.

Known for his campaigning on forced labour in China and the plight of Uyghurs held in the Xinjiang internment camps, he was one of five MEPs under sanction by China until April this year, lifted following negotiations with the European Parliament.

This kaleidoscopic primary could also include feminist activist Clémentine Autain, one of a group of MPs who founded the L’Après (“The Aftermath”) party in the wake of a split from LFI, as well as Fabien Roussel, leader of the French Communist Party and their candidate for the 2022 election – in which he came eighth. 

While Ruffin is in favour of this wider primary, Glucksmann is not, and the other candidates in the PS internal ballot – Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol and Boris Vallaud – would also like to see the party set out its own stall for the election.

In the centre, the great reshuffle

Former PM Gabriel Attal, now the leader of Macron’s Renaissance party in the National Assembly, may not have declared his intentions, but is considered to be taking his first steps towards the Elysée Palace – having been greeted with chants of “Attal president!” at a rally on 6 April in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, as reported by Le Monde.

Meanwhile, his fellow former PM Édouard Philippe has announced that he will run, as widely expected. 

“I’m preparing to propose things to the French. What I propose will be massive. The French will decide,” Philippe told Le Point magazine on 3 September last year, adding that he would prioritise education, public order and the budget.

A right-winger who was Macron’s first prime minister has remained a popular figure since resigning in July 2020, after which he returned to his job as mayor of Le Havre and formed his own centre-right party, Horizons.

Former French PM Edouard Philippe announces 2027 presidential bid

At Renaissance, although Élisabeth Borne has not ruled out a candidacy, she will have heard those chants of “Attal president” coming loud and clear from Saint-Denis

Yaël Braun-Pivet, the current president of the National Assembly, has not made any announcements about the 2027 elections – but she has published a book. À ma place (“In My Place”) was published on 10 April. In an interview on that day when asked whether she was considering running in 2027, she said: “I’m not thinking about it. My focus today is having a country that functions democratically.”

Nor does the book contain any mention of a potential candidacy, although she does write that “women need to take the lead”.

On the right, a new order emerges

After the melodrama of Éric Ciotti’s departure from the Republicans (LR) – following his calls for an alliance with the far-right RN ahead of last summer’s snap legislative elections – the centre-right party has finally settled the question of its leadership, with Bruno Retailleau elected as president last month.

Retailleau wins leadership of Les Républicains party, paving way for 2027 presidential bid

While Interior Minister Retailleau will be making the most of his dual role, many believe he will also be focusing on his candidacy for the presidency. But does this mean the choice of candidate is a done deal for the Republicans? 

Xavier Bertrand, who played a key role in Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2007 presidential campaign; Mayor of Cannes David Lisnard (notable as one of the mayors who in 2016 attempted to ban the burkini); Laurent Wauquiez, who was defeated by Retailleau in the leadership contest, and even former prime minister Michel Barnier, may beg to differ 

For the time being, there is no general consensus emerging from the conservative end of the political spectrum. 

To their (far) right, Le Pen’s previous election defeats loom large, as does her conviction for embezzling EU funds, which rules her out of the 2027 election thanks to a five-year ban on running for office – although she has said she will appeal this decision.

Does ‘politically dead’ Marine Le Pen still have a path to power?

Pending this ruling, inevitably the question of whether Le Pen’s dauphin and RN president Jordan Bardella will take her place in the running arises – although this could bring with it electoral uncertainty.

Meanwhile, despite Éric Zemmour’s far-right Reconquest party currently holding no seats in the National Assembly or the Senate, and having one MEP in the European Parliament – his partner, Sarah Knafo – Zemmour himself has not disappeared from view, and Knafo is increasingly visible.

The 32-year-old is known to be a fan of both Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and the couple were guests at Trump’s January inauguration – among the few French politicians to receive invitations.

(With newswires, and partially adapted from this article from RFI’s French service.)

The United Nations says oceans face an “emergency” and leaders gathering in Nice will be under pressure to commit much-needed money and stronger protections for the ailing seas and the people that depend on them.

The UN Ocean Conference (Unoc-3), hosted jointly by France and Costa Rica, must try to turn a corner as nations feud over deep-sea mining, plastic litter and exploitative fishing, against a backdrop of wider geopolitical tensions.

“We have a duty to mobilise because the science is clear and the facts are there,” declared Macron on Sunday, during a visit to Monaco, at the closing of a forum on the blue economy and finance.

“There is the possibility of sustainable fishing. There is the possibility of sustainable maritime transport. There is the possibility of sustainable tourism,” Macron insisted.

Planet in danger

“The planet can no longer tolerate broken promises,” warned Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, whose country will host the UN environment summit Cop30 in November.

“Either we act, or the planet is in danger,” he insisted. 

Lula da Silva is one of the more than 50 heads of state to attend the Nice summit, alongside Macron and his counterpart from Costa Rica Rodrigo Chaves Robles.

As part of Sunday’s activities, Macron also witnessed a maritime parade, organised as part of the World Oceans Day celebrations and visited the Nice Exhibition Center, transformed into the belly of a whale.

Researchers presented him with the recommendations of the scientific conference that preceded the Nice summit, as well as the new Starfish barometer, which measures the state of the ocean.

In the evening, Macron was to host leaders for a dinner of Mediterranean fish ahead of the summit’s formal opening on Monday.

US absent

Peaceful demonstrations are expected over the five-day event and France has deployed 5,000 police to the heritage-listed city where scientists, business leaders and environmental activists are also attending in big numbers.

A strong turnout is also expected from Pacific Island nations, whose delegations will demand greater financial assistance to fight the rising seas, marine trash and plunder of fisheries that threatens their very survival.

The United States under President Donald Trump – whose recent push to fast-track seabed mining in international waters sparked global outrage – is not expected to send a delegation.

Ocean’s survival hinges on finding the billions needed to save it

Conservationists have warned the summit – which will not produce a legally binding agreement – risks being a talk fest unless leaders come armed with concrete proposals for restoring marine health.

Chief among these is securing the missing finance to get anywhere near protecting 30 percent of the world’s oceans by 2030, a globally agreed target.

“We’ve created this sort of myth that governments don’t have money for ocean conservation,” Brian O’Donnell, director of Campaign for Nature, told reporters.

“There is money. There is not political will,” he said.

Samoa leads the way

So far, only around eight percent of oceans are designated marine conservation zones and even less are considered truly protected.

Greenpeace says at this rate, it could take another 82 years to reach the 30 percent goal.

In a boost this week, Samoa declared 30 percent of its national waters under protection with the creation of nine new marine parks.

Conservationists hope others at Nice follow suit.

“All eyes should be on the many Pacific leaders attending… Their ambition and dedication to ocean protection can serve as inspiration to all countries,” said Kevin Chand from the nonprofit group Pristine Seas.

There has also been a concerted push for nations, including France, to ban bottom trawling – a destructive fishing method that indiscriminately scrapes the ocean floor.

French NGOs slam ‘lack of ambition’ after Macron’s bottom trawling announcement

On Saturday, Macron told the Ouest-France newspaper that bottom trawling would be restricted in some national marine protected areas.

Inching closer toward the numbers required to ratify a global treaty on harmful fishing subsidies, and another on high seas protection, will also be a summit priority.

France is spearheading a separate push in Nice to build support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of a closely-watched meeting of the International Seabed Authority in July.

(with AFP)

The Russian paramilitary group Wagner is leaving Mali with its mercenaries after three and a half years of presence and is handing over to Africa Corps, another paramilitary group more firmly under the control of the Kremlin.

“Officially, Wagner is no longer present in Mali. But the Africa Corps is stepping up,” one diplomatic source in the Sahel region cited in French news agency AFP,  said.

A Telegram account affiliated with Wagner said: “Mission accomplished. PMC Wagner is going home.”

In Bamako, none of the sources in official circles contacted by RFI confirmed or denied the departure of the Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group from the country however, as the Malian junta has always denied the presence of these mercenaries on its territory, preferring the term “Russian instructors.”

Mali, along with neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade been battling an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

But since military juntas seized power in coups in 2020 then in 2021, Mali broke off ties with former colonial power France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support.

France withdrew its 2,400 troops from Mali in 2022 after ties with the junta soured and anti-French sentiment surged among the public.

Sahel ministers in Russia for talks after breaking with western allies

The Kremlin ‘in control’

Wagner is Russia’s best-known mercenary group, and was disbanded and restructured after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash in August 2023 following a short-lived rebellion against Moscow.

Kremlin silent on reported death of Wagner boss Prigozhin in plane crash

Mali has never officially admitted Wagner’s presence, insisting it only worked with Russian instructors.

“The Kremlin remains in control,” the same diplomatic source added.

“Most of the Wagner personnel in Mali, who are originally from Russia, will be reintegrated into Africa Corps and remain in northern regional capitals and Bamako.”

The Africa Corps is another paramilitary group with links to the Kremlin and seen as the successor to the Wagner group. Like Wagner, its mercenaries are actively supporting several African governments.

For over three years, Mali had been reported to rely on Wagner in its fight against jihadists who have killed thousands across the country.

“Wagner yesterday or Africa Corps today, our point of contact remains the same, it is the central power in Russia, that is to say the Kremlin,” a Malian security source said Sunday.

“Although Wagner claims that its operations and support strengthened the Malian army, Africa Corps will need to continue training and support, especially after the recent wave of attacks against the FAMA (Malian Armed Forces),” said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at the Washington think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Brutality and killings

The paramilitary group’s brutal methods on the ground in Mali have been regularly denounced by human rights groups.

A UN report accused Mali’s army and foreign fighters of executing at least 500 people during a March 2022 anti-jihadist sweep in Moura, a claim denied by the junta. Western governments believe the foreign fighters were Wagner mercenaries.

Wagner mercenaries and Mali army accused of killing civilians near Gao

Last April, bodies were discovered near a Malian military camp, days after the army and Wagner paramilitaries arrested dozens of civilians, most from the Fulani community.

In December, Human Rights Watch also accused Malian armed forces and the Wagner Group of deliberately killing at least 32 civilians over an 8-month span.

Wagner’s withdrawal comes amid what the Malian army calls a “resurgence” of jihadist attacks, including two assaults that killed dozens of soldiers and forced troops to abandon a key central base. 

 (with newswires)

Albert Ojwang, 31, was found unconscious in a cell in Nairobi police station on Saturday and later pronounced dead in hospital. The police said he hit his own head against the wall.

“We saw the body yesterday… (it) had a lot of injuries on the hands, the shoulder area, but the head was swollen all around the frontal part… the nose, ears… and there was a lot of blood,” Julius Juma, lawyer for Ojwang’s family, told reporters and supporters, who had gathered outside the morgue in Nairobi on Monday.

Kenya was already on edge as it marks a year since massive protests over tax rises and corruption that triggered a police response in which at least 60 were killed.

Kenya rights groups decry abductions as government cracks down on protests

Ojwang’s death came just a few weeks before this anniversary of the deadly unrest in the protests, which sparked a crackdown on critics by President William Ruto’s government.

Call for investigation

Police said in a statement that Ojwang had been arrested for a “false publication” and suffered head injuries after striking his head against a cell wall.

Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja told reporters that Ojwang was arrested along with several others following a complaint by his deputy, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat.

“There was a complaint that had been launched by the (deputy inspector-general) about his name being tarnished. It is on that basis that investigations were actually being carried out because he also has a right to be protected by the same law,” Kanja said.

Amnesty International said Ojwang’s death “must be urgently, thoroughly and independently investigated”.

“We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Albert Ojwang, who died last night at the Central Police Station in Nairobi,” the organisation wrote in a statement.

“No Kenyan should lose their life in police custody, and those entrusted with their protection. Police officers have a legal and moral duty to ensure the safety and well-being of every person under their custody. The death of Albert Ojwang while in detention raises serious questions that must be urgently, thoroughly, and independently investigated by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).”

The death also sparked outrage among Ojwang’s supporters online.

“We demand answers. This death cannot be swept under the rug. How many more young lives must we lose to this rotten system?” journalist Lynn Ngugi wrote on socials.

Harsh crackdown

Kenyan authorities have been accused of a harsh crackdown on critics of the government, with more than 80 illegally detained since the June 2024 protests, according to rights groups, some just for sharing cartoons or satirical images of President William Ruto.

Kenya probes alleged police involvement in abduction of government critics

Former attorney general Justin Muturi, who says his own son was illegally detained by security forces during the protests, spoke out against Ojwang’s death.

“The circumstances surrounding his death, including the alleged ‘suicide attempt’ in custody, are not just suspicious, they are outrageous,” he wrote on social media.

“They insult the intelligence of Kenyans and raise very serious questions about the conduct and accountability of our law enforcement agencies.”

 (with AFP)

The epic finished 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 after five hours and 29 minutes on centre court.

Alcaraz pulled off his salvage operation when Sinner, up two sets to one, led 5-3 in the fourth set.

The 22-year-old Spaniard fell to 0-40 on his serve as Sinner appeared to have a clasp on the Coupe des Mousquetaires perched just behind him on the ledge of the presidential tribune at the Roland Garros Stadium.

But Alcaraz refused to yield. For a brief moment in legend, control replaced flamboyance allowing him to claw his way back and force Sinner to serve for match.

The 23-year-old, who lost to Alcaraz at the Italian Open earlier in May, could not.

And Alcaraz went on to take the fourth set shoot-out seven points to three to level the match at two sets apiece after four hours and 12 minutes.

Marathon opening game

Four hours earlier, a 12-minute opening game in which Sinner saved five break points before holding his serve augured the swings and roundabouts to follow as ascendancy flitted between the contenders.

Alcaraz eventually claimed Sinner’s service in the opener to lead 3-2 but was immediately pegged back to 3-3.

The Italian took the set 6-4 and moved into a 3-0 lead in the second set displaying the composure and surgical precision which had cut through the players in the top half of the men’s singles draw.

He served for the set at 5-3 but faltered as Alcaraz began to find his range and brio to go on a three-game winning streak.

Sinner stopped the rot to level at 6-6 and he ran away with the shoot-out seven points to four to take a 6-4, 7-6 lead after nearly two hours.

Turn in fortune

The turn in fortune came, appropriately for a showman like Alcaraz, when the gig looked done. 

In the third set, with a point to consolidate the advantage, Sinner put the shot for 2-0 – a routine forehand – into the tramlines.

Reprieved, Alcaraz went on a four-game winning streak and held his advantage to serve for the set at 5-3.

Sinner stopped him to peg him back to 5-4. But he still had to hold his service.

And there, the third set spectacular kicked in. A couple of Sinner errors allowed Alcaraz to within two points of claiming it.

A forehand winner down the line notched up three set points and a vicious forehand drive and a volley into the open court brought the explosion of joy from the stands.

Alcaraz held his hand to his ear to soak up the adoration as he gained a foothold.

And it was he who wore the mantle of the home town hero. Every winning point was raucously greeted after he broke Sinner at the outset of the decider to take control of the match.

Change of circumstances 

Sixty-nine minutes after serving for his first French Open crown, Sinner had to hold serve to stay in the contest. He fulfilled that mission.

Five hours into what had become a landmark and around 75 minutes since saving match points, Alcaraz stepped up for his tilt at glory. 

He declined the invitation and then with Sinner leading 6-5 lead, he held his nerve to take the match into a final set 10-point super tiebreak.

Alcaraz turned that extended shoot-out into his own money-time extravaganza.

He waltzed into a 7-0 lead spraying forehand winners and a drop shot, drive volley combination to bedazzle Sinner and and become only the eighth man since tennis was opened up to professional players to retain the French Open crown.

“It was a privilege to share this history with you,” Alcaraz told Sinner after receiving his trophy from the 1999 champion Andre Agassi.

“You are an inspiration for so many young players,” Alcaraz added as he savoured his fifth triumph at a Grand Slam tournament.

“And you are an inspiration for me. I want to congratulate you on the fortnight you have played.”

Sinner, in only his second tournament after returning from a three-month doping ban, hailed his conqueror. “Amazing performance, congrats Carlos. Well done to you and your team.”

And gesturing to the packed stands, he added: “Thank you for the support throughout the fortnight. It has been amazing. I hope to see you next year.”

Show  time

Looking for entertainment? Where better to find it than at the French Open. For five hours and 29 minutes, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner gave us thrills and spills on centre court. Alcaraz defended his crown and emulated his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal who pulled off the feat numerous times as he clocked up 14 trophies. Players including Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and Gustavo Kuerten have also won two on the trot since tennis was opened up to professional players in 1968. The 2025 French Open crown becomes a fifth trophy for Alcaaz at one of the prestigious Grand Slam tournaments in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.

it’s the length, stupid. 

Always good to inject a bit of politics into the review. So apologies to James Carville for playing with his insight. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo came out early on Day 15 to say what a wonderful event the 2025 French Open has been. Well, she would say that wouldn’t she? And since the review wants to go back next year, we’re in no position to nitpick. Mauresmo was pressed on the issue of the lack of women’s matches in the night session. The tournament that purports to be among the best in the world appears to be hamstrung. “I always talk about the length of the matches, men compared to women,” said Mauresmo. “I think we wouldn’t be having this conversation if we had the same format for both games. In my opinion it’s the length or the possible length of the match that is making it hard for us in terms of scheduling.” Et voilà. No women’s matches. So, it’s a size thing. Strap for some gender politics.

Super Rafa

A moving tribute took place for honcho extraordinaire Rafael Nadal on the first Sunday at the French Open to salute his dazzling achievements. And there are moves afoot to make sure Nadal remains inextricably liked with the place that helped to define him. Now that all the bally-hoo of the tribute and the competition are over, French Open tournament director says there will be a powwow with Nadal to see what he can do for the French Open. “We will be resuming our discussions so that this common story that the tournament has had with Rafa over the past 20 years may continue in one way or another,” said Mauresmo. “So, yes, there is a common desire and we will find out how to do it.” Global warms the cockles of the review’s heart. 

Italian job

Well, even if Jannik Sinner didn’t succeed, there was happiness for Italy as the Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini won the women’s doubles title. The duo, who lost in last year’s final to Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova, beat Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunić 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to lift the trophy.  “Last year we were close to it,” said Paolini. “But I am happy that this year we managed to win the trophy. It’s an amazing feeling. It was a tough match. They were playing good, tactically also.”

Super respect

Jannik Sinner’s relentless, suffocating style offered the perfect foil for the mercurial flights of Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles final which will surely figure on the list of greatest matches of all time. It had cadences, drama and scintillating quality. And a champions in victory and defeat. “Making the final, this is the good part of the sport,” said Sinner and hour or so after the five and a half hour battle. “Also today it got me the sad part, no? But, you know, if you watch only the sad part, you’re never going to come back, no? I believe I have improved as a player since last year, which is good. So we try to keep pushing.”

Tundu Lissu is the leader of Tanzania’s main opposition Party for Democracy and Progress (Chadema). He was arrested on 9 April.

Treason charges were brought against him on 10 April, and he could receive the death penalty.

Amnesty International’s regional director for east and southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, reacted by saying that the Tanzanian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Tundu Lissu, whose arbitrary arrest and detention comes amid a growing crackdown on opposition leaders ahead of the October 2025 general election.

He added, “The authorities’ campaign of repression saw four government critics forcibly disappeared and one unlawfully killed in 2024. The police have also prevented opposition members from holding meetings and other political gatherings, subjecting them to mass arrest, arbitrary detention, and unlawful use of force.”

Tanzanian politician’s lawyers ask UN to declare his detention arbitrary

However, the opposition leader has not been released, nor have the charges been dropped. On the contrary, other members of his party have since been arrested and even subjected to torture.

Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam, between 19 and 23 May, after attempting to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

The crisis extends beyond Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda and Kenya, where activists from a rights coalition in Kenya also accused police officers of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month.

In this context, this week on Spotlight on Africa, RFI speaks to Tundu Lissu’s international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, who has lodged a complaint with the UN Working Group as part of a broader campaign of pressure.

This month, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Lissu’s arrest as politically motivated. Amsterdam also stated that he intends to petition the US State Department to impose sanctions.

Meanwhile, in Namibia, the first national commemoration was held on 28 May for the victims of mass killings by colonial-era German troops, in what is widely recognised as the first genocide of the 20th century.

When first the Herero and then the Nama revolted against the colonial administration, the response from Germany was brutal. An extermination order was sent by the Second Reich, and several concentration camps were built across the country.

Namibia holds controversial first commemoration of German colonial-era genocide

Some organisations representing victims’ descendants have declined to take part.

To discuss what is at stake with this commemoration, for Namibia but also for other former African colonies, we talk to the German historian Henning Melber, of the Nordic Africa Institute, who is also affiliated to the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein in South Africa.

He says that while the announcement of an official Namibian Genocide Memorial Day has been long overdue, the chosen date of 28 May remains controversial, and that communities of descendants were excluded.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

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

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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” and 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: Brother 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 Brother 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 3 May, I asked you a question about women’s right to vote. Frenchwomen were granted the right to vote in 1944; the first election they voted in was in 1945. This is long after many of their sisters in other countries.

You were to re-read our article “How French women won, and used, their right to vote in 1945”, and send in the answer to this question: Which country was the first to grant women the right to vote, and in which year? I also asked you to send in the names and dates of the countries that followed the ground-breaker.

The answer is, to quote our article: “New Zealand was the pioneer, granting women the right to vote in 1893, followed by Australia in 1901, Finland in 1906, Denmark in 1915, Uruguay in 1917, Germany in 1918, the United States in 1920, and the United Kingdom in 1928.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, which was suggested by Father Stephen Wara from Bamenda, Cameroon. Father Steve wanted to know: What big anniversary do you have coming up? A birthday? A wedding? Something else? How will you celebrate it? How many guests will you invite?

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Mr. M. Ganesan from Goa, India, who is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Mr. Ganesan.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week – all women, to celebrate our big sister suffragettes who opened the door for us – are Hasina Zaman Hasi, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Jocelyne D’Errico from New Zealand; Jahan Ara Hussain from Odisha, India, and Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj in Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “Eid Al-Adha Mubarak” by Babu and Shahnawaz, sung by Nawal Khan; Duet for Viola and Violoncello and Obligato Eyeglasses WoO 32 by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by Keith Hamm and Julie Hereish; “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 “Oi! Altas undas que venetz sus la mar” by Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, performed by the Eduardo Paniagua Spanish-French-Moroccan Ensemble.

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 Amanda Morrow’s article “The big blue blindspot: why the ocean floor is still an unmapped mystery”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 30 June to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 5 July 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.   

On Wednesday, a suburb of Istanbul witnessed the latest demonstration in support of the city’s detained mayor. Despite the protest taking place in a traditional electoral stronghold of President Erdoğan, tens of thousands attended.

İmamoğlu masks

In a recent attempt to quell the unrest, Istanbul’s governor’s office issued a decree ordering the removal of all images, videos, and audio recordings of İmamoğlu from state buildings and public transport across the city. Within hours, social media was flooded with footage of people wearing İmamoğlu masks while riding public transport.

Turkey’s youth rise up over mayor’s jailing and worsening economy

“Up to 75% are against İmamoğlu’s arrest, as the aversion to Erdoğan’s attempt to sideline his opponent with foul play was widely distributed by all parties,” claimed political analyst Atilla Yeşilada of Global Source Partners, citing recent opinion polls.

Yeşilada argues that the poll’s findings underscore the opposition’s success in winning over public opinion.

“There is a strong reaction. This is not a temporary thing. It’s a grievance that will be held and may impact the next election whenever they are held,” he added.

Recent opinion polls also show İmamoğlu enjoying a double-digit lead over Erdoğan in a prospective presidential race, with a majority of respondents believing the corruption charges against the mayor are politically motivated—a claim the government denies.

Erdogan’s jailed rivals

Political analyst Sezin Öney of the independent Turkish news portal Politikyol suggests Erdoğan may have expected İmamoğlu to follow the same fate as other jailed rivals, whose influence faded once imprisoned. “The government is counting on the possibility that İmamoğlu is jailed, is out of sight, out of mind, and the presidency will have his ways,” explained Öney.

Further arrests as Turkey cracks down on protests over jailed Istanbul mayor

Turkish authorities have persistently sought to curtail İmamoğlu’s presence on social media. His accounts on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky have been frozen following court rulings.

The fate of opposition journalists

Similar actions have been taken against opposition journalists and their supporters. “The operation goes deeper and deeper in recent months; it’s just a very concerted policy to create a blackout in this vibrant society,” claimed Erol Önderoğlu, Istanbul representative of the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

The legal crackdown on the Istanbul municipality continues, with further waves of arrests extending even to İmamoğlu’s personal bodyguard. His party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), is also under investigation for alleged irregularities at its party congress.

Analyst Öney predicts that further crackdowns are likely, given the potential implications for Erdoğan’s political future. “I am sure this is being calculated and recalculated every day—whether it’s beneficial to throw more cases at him (İmamoğlu), by weakening his party, the Republican People’s Party, weakening him personally, or whatever is convenient. But the sky is the limit,” explained Öney.

Nevertheless, each new crackdown appears only to fuel the momentum behind opposition protests, which continue to attract large crowds across the country—including in Erdoğan’s own political bastions.

Protest movement

The leader of the main opposition CHP, Özgür Özel, has earned praise for his energetic performances and has won over many former sceptics. However, analyst Yeşilada questions whether Özel can sustain the protest movement.

“I feel in the summer months, it’s very difficult to keep the momentum; the colleges are closed, and people are shuffling through the country, so if that (protests) is the only means of piling the pressure on Erdoğan, it’s not going to work,” warned Yeşilada.

Istanbul’s mayorial elections mean more than just running the city

Yeşilada believes the opposition leader must elevate his strategy. “Özel needs to find new tricks. It will take two things: A) hearing what the grassroots are saying, in particular the younger generation, and B) being able to reshuffle the party rank and file so true activists are promoted—so they can energise the base,” he added.

In 2013, Erdoğan weathered a wave of mass protests which largely dissipated with the closing of universities and the arrival of the summer holidays. This year, he may again be relying on summer to quieten dissent. For the opposition, the challenge is to ensure that Erdoğan’s summer is anything but peaceful.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India, Alan Holder from Isle of Wight, England, and Karuna Kanta Pal from West Bengal, India.

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all.  

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme:  “A Million Roses” by Raymond Pauls and Leon Briedis, performed by L’Orchestre Dominique Moisan; “Anak” by Freddie Aguilar, performed by Aguilar and his orchestra, and “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira, Wyclef Jean and Archie Pena, performed by Shakira and Wyclef Jean.

The quiz will be back next Saturday, 7 June. Be sure and tune in! 

On 26 May, pro-EU centrist Nicușor Dan was sworn in as President of Romania, having vowed to oppose “isolationism and Russian influence.”

Earlier, Dan had emerged victorious in a closely contested election rerun, widely viewed as pivotal for the future direction of the NATO and EU member state of 19 million people, which shares a border with war-torn Ukraine.

The vote followed a dramatic decision by Romania’s Constitutional Court five months prior to annul a presidential election, citing allegations of Russian interference and the extensive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner—who was subsequently barred from standing again.

Although nationalist and EU-sceptic George Simion had secured a commanding lead in the first round, Dan ultimately prevailed in the second-round run-off.

RFI speaks with Claudiu Năsui, former Minister of Economy and member of the Save Romania Union, about the pressing challenges facing the country—from economic reform and political polarisation to the broader implications of the election for Romania’s future, including its critical role in supporting Ukraine amid ongoing regional tensions.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Donald Trump in Washington last Wednesday.

The meeting took place amid tensions over several issues, including the United States’ resettlement of white Afrikaners – whom President Trump has controversially described as victims of “genocide” – and South Africa’s ongoing land reform.

South Africa’s Ramaphosa to meet Trump on high-stakes White House visit

However, the US President defied all expectations of diplomacy by repeating allegations against Ramaphosa and accusing South Africa of the alleged killing of white farmers.

President Ramaphosa remained composed, however, and the visit continued the following day with further discussions on bilateral relations and trade.

To discuss, the recent evolution of the relations between the two countries, Spotlight on Africa has two guests this week:

• Cameron Hudson, senior fellow at the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington DC
• Ivor Ichikowitz, founding director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and keen observer of South Africa’s foreign affairs.

We also visit the Paris Noir exhibition, currently on display at the Pompidou Centre  in central Paris. It showcases the largest collection ever assembled of works by Black artists who created art in the French capital from the 1950s onwards.

Paris Noir is at the Pompidou Centre in Paris until 30 June, 2025.

‘Paris Noir’ exhibition showcases work made in French capital by black artists

Finally, we go on a tour with the black British photographer, writer and broadcaster Johny Pitts, who has himself documented the black and Afropean communities all over Europe for over ten years. 

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

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

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.