Police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse crowds at Thursday’s protest, which was called to condemn persistent water and power cuts in the impoverished nation but descended into violence as stores were looted and buildings and cars set alight.

Demonstrators including university students gathered again in Antananarivo Saturday, holding placards with slogans that included, “We are poor, angry and unhappy” and “Madagascar is ours.”

Mostly dressed in black and with their faces covered, some wore the coloured straw hats that have become a symbol of defiance.

A wall of security forces prevented protesters from marching towards the city centre and there were reports that police used tear gas to disperse them.

An unidentified hospital source said five people were killed in Thursday’s violence, but no official has released a confirmed toll.

Deadly protests erupt in Madagascar over chronic blackouts and water cuts

In a video address late Friday, President Andry Rajoelina said that in response to the protest he had sacked his energy minister “for not doing his job”. He also condemned the violence as “acts of destabilisation”.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) grouping said Saturday it was concerned about “an unconfirmed number of fatalities, injuries, and extensive damage to both public and private property.”

The 16-nation SADC, of which Rajoelina is the current chairperson, commended in its statement “the government’s steadfast commitment to restoring peace and stability”.

The African Union called for restraint, calm and dialogue.

  (AFP)

The world’s oceans have reached critical levels of acidity, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) said in its annual Planetary Health Check, published this week.

It is the first time ocean acidity has crossed into the danger zone, the report warns, and latest red flag for Earth’s health.

The institute measures the state of the planet’s well-being by nine key thresholds, or “planetary boundaries” – seven of which have now been topped.

In an interview with RFI, climate scientist Levke Caesar, who co-authored the latest assessment, outlines how we might yet help the Earth’s systems recover.

RFI: What is a planetary boundary and what does it tell us?

Levke Caesar: Firstly, we have to understand that our living conditions on Earth – the climate as it is today, ecosystems, predictable seasons, etc – are not guaranteed forever. They are made possible by a climate and Earth system of unusual stability that has prevailed for 12,000 years, known as the Holocene. It is only thanks to this that agriculture, cities and human civilisations have been able to flourish.

Secondly, a healthy planet is characterised by three elements: its stability – predictability, fairly stable and narrow temperature ranges, and the fact that most places on Earth are habitable; its resilience, namely its ability to absorb external shocks – for example, the fact that forests can grow back after a fire, or that the oceans and land absorb around 50 percent of the CO2 we emit; and its habitability, enabled by vital functions such as the water cycle, breathable air, fertile soils and a protective ozone layer.

How forests decimated by wildfires still have the power to heal

Having these three pillars in place means that we are within what we call the “safe operating space” for humanity.

To remain within this space, we need to examine the key systems that regulate these three elements. Scientists have identified nine of them, known as planetary boundaries.

RFI: The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change uses the term “tipping points”. Is it the same thing?

LC: The concept of a tipping point is different but related.

Planetary boundaries are warning signs ahead of the cliff edge; tipping points are the edge of the cliff where systems can shift, evolve or fall irreversibly.

As long as we remain below planetary boundaries, within the safe operating space, we will most likely not cross many tipping points, hopefully none. But when we exceed one or more planetary boundaries, we may reach tipping points.

Whether breaching the boundary also means crossing the tipping points depends on the distance between the warning sign and the cliff. That’s a distance that we still need to work on determining scientifically.

Warmest oceans in history drive mass bleaching of world’s corals

What we do know is that we are in the red zone for several tipping points… They include part of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, the system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean, coral reefs, permafrost in high latitudes, and the Amazon rainforest, through the combined pressures of climate change and deforestation.

No threshold has been crossed with complete certainty – though evidence is stacking up for West Antarctica and warning signs are multiplying for the others. This is precisely the purpose of planetary boundaries: to avoid finding ourselves on the brink of disaster.

RFI: Is breaching these boundaries reversible?

LC: Yes, the good news is that it’s not too late. We can still reverse this trend and turn back the clock.

This is what happened in the case of the ozone layer, which is one of two of the nine boundaries that are now in the green. The situation was much worse a few years ago, and we have now returned to a safe operating range.

RFI: How?

LC: Through regulation. In the 1970s and 1980s, chlorofluorocarbons and other substances caused a significant depletion of ozone in the stratosphere. Many scientists warned that this was a worrying trend and we need the ozone layer to protect us from ultraviolet rays. They put a lot of pressure on governments.

This led to the Montreal Protocol, which regulated harmful substances. Today, the hole in the ozone layer is closing.

Could the Earth’s ozone layer be healing? The United Nations thinks so…

RFI: Is it appropriate to use the term “limits”? People might think that there’s no point in taking action once the limit has been exceeded.

LC: To be honest, I don’t know. I am a physicist by training, and that’s more of a psychological question.

In any case, the term is correct, because there are indeed limits or thresholds to Earth’s systems, and I would like people to be aware of that. Just as it is important to know that it is not too late and that we can turn back by taking action. We need to focus on that.

When it comes to the climate, for example, returning to a safe operating space requires reducing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere to around 350 parts per million (ppm). In 2025, we are at 423 ppm.

For biodiversity loss, we need to return to a species extinction rate of less than ten extinctions per million species per year, compared to more than 100 today.

RFI: The report shows that a seventh boundary, ocean acidification, has been exceeded, with an increase of 30 to 40 percent over the last 150 years. How did you measure this?

LC: We obtained new scientific data this year thanks to new measurement and modelling systems that combine high-resolution satellite readings with local, in situ readings…

We used this data to deduce where we believe the safe threshold lies. We can therefore say that the current acidification of the ocean has exceeded this threshold. The current level of acidity is already harming corals, crustaceans and other organisms that form the basis of marine food networks.

Nearly half of tropical coral species face extinction, report shows

RFI: What are the main factors?

LC: CO2 emissions and anything that increases the concentration of greenhouse gases, such as changes in land use change, like deforestation.

The ocean and atmosphere typically work to maintain a balance in CO2 pressure. That was the case before we began to significantly alter the Earth’s system. But we are releasing more and more carbon dioxide, which ultimately creates an imbalance.

RFI: Most of the boundaries have been crossed in the last two years. Why have there been so many breaches in such a short time?

LC: We need to differentiate between when the boundary is crossed and when we demonstrate it. In the case of acidification, we now have evidence that the threshold has been crossed, but that probably occurred in 2020…

It is only since last year that we have had the means to produce an annualised assessment. We can also say that, for each of the seven boundaries that have been crossed, there is a trend towards increasing pressure. This is obviously not good at all. It all points towards a need to rapidly correct the trajectory.

We are getting closer and closer to the high-risk zone. For the moment, the planet as a whole is holding up, but the window for returning to the green zone is getting narrower and narrower.

Window to save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is closing fast, report warns

RFI: Do these nine boundaries work together?

LC: They are all linked. Changing one boundary will have repercussions on one or more others, or even all of them. In both directions, in fact. If we reduce our CO2 emissions, ocean acidification will also decrease. Conversely, if, for example, we use too much fresh water for energy purposes [such as cooling a nuclear power plant], this affects one boundary while favouring another.

The same applies to carbon capture and storage: it may be good for the climate, but it can threaten the integrity of the biosphere by destroying natural spaces.

This is one of the key lessons of this report: these boundaries should not be viewed in isolation, as they are all interconnected to a greater or lesser extent. 

RFI: What are your recommendations at this stage?

LC: It is crucial to think about the synergistic processes of planetary boundaries in a holistic way – by not focusing solely on climate change or land use, for example.

RFI: In that case, are UN climate change conferences (Cops) the right place to move forward?

LC: The Cops are not ideal. I am quite frustrated by the lack of results, namely the failure to adopt regulations. But we don’t have any better alternatives, so it’s better than nothing.

All the Cops [on climate, biodiversity and desertification] should be combined into one, focusing on the Earth system and its health.

This article has been adapted from the original version in French by RFI’s Géraud Bosman-Delzons.

Constantin Uzdrish, a producer with television channel TVR Moldova, has seen this transformation firsthand.

Having begun his career in 2010, just after Moldova emerged from Communist rule, he describes a media landscape currently under siege.

“The climate in the Republic of Moldova? Our media are trying to survive,” Uzdrish told RFI, noting that the entire advertising market amounts to no more than €9 billion annually, creating a monopolistic environment where independent media struggles to thrive.

But the problem runs deeper than financial constraints. Moldova’s security services allege that Russia has spent approximately €100 million to undermine the upcoming elections, dwarfing local media budgets.

This massive investment has enabled sophisticated operations that have evolved from using traditional television broadcasts to social media networks.

‘Unprecedented interference’: how Russia is attempting to shape Moldova’s future

Soviet narratives

For decades, Russian influence in Moldova operated through conventional channels.

Uzdrish recalls how “many Russian channels were translated in Moldovan, starting from our independence in 1991 until 2022,” when the authorities blocked Russian television following the invasion of Ukraine.

However, he believes this came too late to prevent deep cultural penetration.

“During [the time that media oligarch Vladimir] Plahotniuc ruled Moldova’s media landscape, they banned just talk shows. But every year, from the end of April through 9 May [when the end of the Second World War is commemorated] all channels would broadcast translated World War Two movies,” he says.

These films consistently promoted Soviet narratives. “We fight for Stalin, we fight for our big country, we fight for the USSR,” Uzdrish says, recalling the main themes.

A digital army

When, in 2022, Russian-backed television channels were blocked, the operation simply migrated online.

Intelligence services have observed an increase in propaganda channels on TikTok and Telegram, as well as anonymous Facebook pages distributing sponsored extremist content.

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta has removed networks targeting Russian-speaking audiences in Moldova, which operated across multiple platforms including Facebook, Telegram and TikTok.

One pro-Russian disinformation campaign, dubbed “Matryoshka”, has promoted false claims including allegations that Moldova’s President Maia Sandu embezzled €24 million and is addicted to “psychotropic drugs”. This operation has came up with 39 such false claims in just three months.

Moldova President warns European parliament about Russia threat

Between December 2024 and March 2025, there were 11,250 pro-Kremlin articles published per million inhabitants – more than 18 times higher than in Romania and 56 times higher than the Western European average.

According to fake news watchdog Digital Forensic Research, the campaign employs artificial intelligence and creates networks of fake accounts.

Researchers have identified a “digital army” of at least 90 accounts associated with Russian operations.

Nicolae Mocanu, TVR Moldova’s director, confirms the unprecedented nature of the current interference.

“I think we never saw propaganda like today, because the Russians spend a lot of money here. They change their ways, they use artificial intelligence, they use everything,” he told RFI.

Existential challenge

Meanwhile, Moldova’s traditional media is facing an existential challenge as audiences migrate to digital platforms – a trend that plays directly into Moscow’s hands.

Uzdrish says that his outlet has responded by developing multiple social media channels, growing their YouTube audience from 10,000 to 30,000 subscribers in a single year.

“If you are not on the one web platform, you don’t exist within the media area,” Uzdrish says and, waving his mobile phone, adds that he estimates the elections will be decided for “more than 20 to 25 percent by this gadget”.

Moldova will keep pro-EU course despite Russian threat, Popescu tells RFI

The implications go far beyond Moldova’s borders.

During the country’s 2024 presidential elections and EU referendum, attempts were made to buy an estimated 150,000 votes through criminal networks tied to pro-Russian actors.

“Moldova is at war with Russia, even though not a single shot has been fired,” noted the United States Institute for Peace in a report.

For Uzdrish, EU membership represents not just a political choice but a survival mechanism.

“Moldova needs to become a EU member, it is a necessity for our existence. We are a small country without big possibilities.”

Ankara is celebrating a diplomatic win after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.

In the Oval Office, Trump praised his guest in front of the world’s media.

“He’s a highly respected man,” Trump said. “He’s respected very much in his country and throughout Europe and throughout the world, where they know him.”

Erdogan smiled as he listened. The Turkish leader had been frozen out by President Joe Biden, who made clear his dislike for the Turkish leader.

Trump, by contrast, has long cultivated a friendship with him. But even that relationship has limits, with Israel’s war on Gaza still a source of strain.

Turkey walks a tightrope as Trump threatens sanctions over Russian trade

Restraint over Gaza

Erdogan is a strong supporter of Hamas, which he refuses to label a terrorist group, calling it instead a resistance movement. Yet he chose not to let the issue overshadow his visit.

Analysts say this restraint was deliberate.

“There’s been a concerted effort not to get into a spat about Gaza,” Asli Aydintasbas, of the Washington-based Brookings Institution, told RFI. “Uncharacteristically, he remains silent on the Gaza issue and that is by design.”

During his trip, Erdogan kept his criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza to remarks at the UN General Assembly, echoing broader international condemnation.

He also met French President Emmanuel Macron in New York and welcomed France’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

Erdogan is also seeking wider backing as concerns over Israel’s actions grow, an issue that also came up in his talks with Trump.

“Turkey’s concerns with Israel are not actually limited to Gaza,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara.

He said Ankara is also uneasy about Israel’s actions in neighbouring states, adding that the two countries’ policies towards Syria clash sharply.

“Turkey wants a stable Syria and one that’s centralised,” he said. “Whereas Israel wants a decentralised and less stable Syria.”

Turkey warns Kurdish-led fighters in Syria to join new regime or face attack

Energy and Russia

Turkey’s close ties with Russia risk becoming another flashpoint.

Sitting beside Erdogan at the Oval Office, Trump called for an end to Turkish purchases of Russian energy. He also criticised Erdogan’s long-standing policy of balancing relations between Washington and Moscow.

“Trump does not want a balancing Turkey, at least today,” said Aydintasbas. “That was more obvious than ever in his rhetoric and his dealings with Erdogan.”

She said Erdogan had assumed for the past decade that his balancing act between the West and Russia was acceptable. “It must come as a surprise,” she added.

Turkey is the third-largest importer of Russian oil and gas. But in a move seen as an attempt to placate Trump, Ankara this week signed a multibillion-dollar deal to buy US liquefied natural gas over 20 years.

The two leaders also signed a strategic agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, which could pave the way for Turkey to buy US-made nuclear reactors.

As Trump rails at UN and shifts Ukraine stance, Macron urges US to end Gaza war

Limited gains

Despite these gestures, analysts said Erdogan achieved little in return. He had hoped Trump would lift a US embargo on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets. Instead, Trump only gave a vague promise to address the issue.

For Erdogan, however, the White House meeting itself may have been the main prize.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said before the meeting that Trump wanted to give Erdogan “legitimacy”.

“For Erdogan, this is a big win,” said Sinan Ciddi, of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. The Turkish leader, he said, has long sought a White House photo-op to showcase at home.

“He gets to show that he has met the US president, has gravitas on the world stage and is signing deals with Washington,” Ciddi added.

“At a time when he is jailing leaders and dismantling democratic governance inside Turkey, he is being legitimised by the leader of the so-called free world.”

Republican time began on 22 September, 1792. Gone were the eras BC and AD – the new France needed a new calendar, one that no longer counted years from the birth of Jesus or was paced by Christian holidays.

It was the first day of the “era of liberty”.

One of the most ambitious reforms of the Revolution, it would also prove to be one of the shortest lived.

Symbolic beginnings

People had been talking about an epochal shift since the storming of the Bastille in July 1789, but it took another three years for legislators to found the First Republic, and a year after that to switch to the Republican calendar.

Adopted on 5 October, 1793, it was backdated to begin the day after the proclamation of the Republic – which, by coincidence, was also the day of that year’s autumn equinox.

The committee of politicians, mathematicians, astronomers and geographers tasked with designing the new calendar latched on to the symbolism of day and night reaching equal lengths, just as equality was being enshrined as the founding value of the new Republic.

They declared the new year would begin on every autumn equinox from then on. 

La Bastille – medieval symbol of oppression, modern symbol of liberty

Making a decimal point

A Republican year measured the same as those before it – 365 days, or 366 in leap years – divided into 12 months. 

But its months all had 30 days, followed by five to six days at the end of the year making up the difference. Each month was split into three blocks of 10 days that replaced the seven-day week, dubbed décades. 

Days were named sequentially: a décade started with primidi (“first day”) and ended with décadi (“tenth day”), the designated day of rest.

It chimed with a broader quest for more “rational” ways of measuring. The same era saw France adopt the metric system and a decimal currency, the franc.

The Metre Convention: a milestone that’s changed modern life immeasurably

It even attempted to decimalise the days themselves. Along with the Republican calendar came decimal time, which divides days into 10 hours instead of 24. Each hour lasts 100 minutes and each minute 100 seconds.

The change didn’t stick. It was mandatory on official documents for a few months, but the majority of the population never changed their clocks.

The natural world

The Republican calendar wasn’t all logic. Poet Fabre d’Eglantine was responsible for naming the new dates, and he sought to put the natural world at their heart.

Months were named for the season’s weather and crops, with the year starting in autumn in Vendémiaire (from vendange, the grape harvest) and ending in summer in Fructidor (fruit).

In winter, Nivôse (snow) gave way to Pluviôse (rain), and in spring Germinal (germination) was followed by Floréal (flowers). 

Fabre d’Eglantine also replaced the calendar of saints with an almanac of “objects that make up the true riches of the nation” – flowers, fruits, trees, animals and farm tools.

The first day of the Republican year, 1 Vendémiaire, was the day of grapes. The days that followed honoured chestnuts, horses, carrots and parsnips. 

“As the calendar is something that we use so often, we must take advantage of this frequency of use to put elementary notions of agriculture before the people – to show the richness of nature, to make them love the fields,” wrote Fabre d’Eglantine in his report to legislators.

This too was typical of the age. Nature took on the weight of a religion during the Revolutionary period, according to historian Julien Vincent of Panthéon-Sorbonne University. 

“Nature became a value – not only financial, but also religious and moral,” he told RFI. 

Loss of holidays

The loss of the Christian calendar, though, left a gap nothing could fill: holidays. 

People now had to work nine days in a row before getting a day off, and since the break was no longer necessarily a Sunday, many workers found themselves unable to go to church. 

Instead of more than a dozen religious holidays scattered throughout the year, the only official celebrations were a handful of memorable dates from the Revolution.

There were also the five or six bonus days clustered at the end of the year, and dedicated to wholesome Republican values such as virtue, labour and reason. 

The summer France got its first paid leave and learned to holiday

People resented the upending of centuries-old cycles of work, rest and worship.

While, at first, authorities vigorously tried to enforce the Republican calendar, even to the point of forbidding newspapers from giving the “old” date alongside the new, within a few years the public and politicians alike were lamenting the loss of the old ways.

Critics pointed out that starting the year on the autumn equinox, which varies each year, threw off the calculation of leap years.

Meanwhile, the natural rhythms the calendar supposedly tapped into belonged only to the north of mainland France, leaving warmer parts of the country perpetually out of synch. 

And most inconveniently of all, the system put France on a different calendar to the rest of the world.

How Republican time ran out

When Napoleon Bonaparte took power in 1799, it was the beginning of the end for Republican time. 

After he allowed the church to regain some of its former sway, the Republic did away with the 10-day week so that workers could once more take Sundays off. Then four Christian holidays were reinstated. 

Soon the new calendar was just a formality, an extra line on official documents. On 9 September, 1805, little more than 12 years after it was introduced, the Republican calendar was officially retired.

It would return under the short-lived Paris Commune insurrection of 1871 – for all of 18 days. Since then, few have argued for reviving it, although it turns up occasionally on novelty calendars or anarchist newsletters.

But in the main the Republican calendar serves merely as a reminder of the limits of reform: there’s only so much you can overthrow, even in revolutionary France.

During his address to the thousands packed into the BK Arena in Kigali for the opening ceremony last Sunday, David Lappartient, the boss of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) basked in the moment of history.

“What a pleasure to be here in Kigali,” he beamed. “When I was running for the presidency of the UCI in 2017, it was our collective dream to bring our pinnacle event to Africa and it is in Africa, in Rwanda in Kigali.”

After the cheers had subsided, Lappartient lavished praise on the Rwandan leader Paul Kagame for his support. “Because without his vision and our vision, the championships would have been impossible,” he added. “And we are so proud.”

Citing the TV deals in 130 countries to broadcast the championships, he added: “It means hundreds of millions of people will be able to discover your passion and the beauty of your country.”

“For Rwanda, this is more than an event,” said Rwanda‘s Minister of Sports Nelly Mukazayire. “It’s a commitment to the next generation.”

Africa is ready

For Kimberly Coats, CEO of Team Africa Rising, a non-profit organisation working for the development of cycling on the continent, it was a good choice to make Rwanda the first African country to host the event.

“They have the infrastructure and they have the resources to be able to do the races,” Coats told RFI.

“But ultimately I don’t want the narrative to be: ‘Well, that was fun. But Africa’s not ready.’

“Because Africa is ready. We need sponsors and prospective sponsors to see that the continent is worth the investment.”

Australia beat France to keep mixed relay title at world championships in Kigali

Amazing career

Coats recalls the story of Adrien Niyonshuti who is now coaching the Benin team and providing the guidance for youngsters entering the sport.

“He’s he’s had an amazing career,” she said. “He’s beloved in the cycling community and to see the trajectory of his life. I know that we made a difference to Adrien.

Niyonshuti, who competed for Rwanda in the cross country mountain biking at the 2012 Olympics in London at the age of 25, finished second to last.

“People in Rwanda were like: ‘Why didn’t he win?’ But that wasn’t the goal,” Coats explained. “The goal was for him to finish and he did. And he made history.

Teenagers take centre stage at road world championships in Kigali

“And what’s more important is that Adrien is going to make a much more significant impact long term than we ever could. We’re outsiders. We did the things we needed to do to help him be successful. And he showed up to the bike every single day and worked his hardest.

For Coats, the championships in Kigali were more about bringing the experience of high level racing to the African teams.

In the prelude to the world championships, she organised the participation of the Benin women’s cycling team in the inaugural women’s race at the Maryland Cycling Classic around Baltimore.

None of the four riders finished the 115.2km course.

“We were hoping one of them would, but they did about half the race,” said Coats. 

“After that experience, their comments were: ‘OK, we get it. We get it now. This is a whole new level. We have to train harder, manage our diet better, all those things that make a world class cyclist.'”

Wheels in motion

Back at the first world road race championships in 1921 in the Danish capital Copenhagen, only an amateur men’s road race was staged.

Fast forward just over a century, 13 disciplines were listed, including a new separate event for the women’s under-23 individual time trial (ITT).

In the three years since a medal has been handed out in the category, the under-23 champion was simply the woman in that age bracket who finished highest in the women’s elite ITT.

Zoe Bäckstedt from Britain won the 2025 race. She covered the 22.6km course in 30 minutes, 56.16 seconds. Viktoria Chladanova from Slovakia was second and the Italian Federica Venturelli was third.

Martha Ntakirutimana from Rwanda was the highest placed African at 27th, some five minutes off Bäckstedt’s pace.

Of the 14 local riders in the 47 starters, the top three finished 27th, 32nd, and 34th. One did not finish and the other 10 occupied the last 10 places.

For Coats, despite the challenges, the wheels of the future are already in motion, on and off the track.

“There’s still a long way to go. Lack of racing, lack of ability to travel, poor finances. There are a lot of things going against African cyclists that European cyclists just don’t face.

“But now we have this whole group of young men and hopefully African women that are coming back into the sport as coaches, she says.

“That’s where we’re going to see the biggest long term gain in the sport.”

Lecornu was named by President Emmanuel Macron to stabilise a political crisis on 9 September as the seventh premier of his mandate.

But the new premier, 39, has shown no hurry in shaping a government which will seek to avoid the fate of his two predecessors who were ousted by parliament.

“The government will be appointed before the start of the parliamentary session” which begins on Wednesday (1 October), he told Le Parisien newspaper in one of his first major interventions since taking office.

Asked by AFP, his office declined to confirm a specific date for the appointment of the government, or whether it would take place before Wednesday. Unions are due to hold nationwide protests on Thursday.

“I want to continue working on the budget proposal. Ministers who want to join the government will have to endorse it,” he added.

His predecessor, Francois Bayrou, was brought down in a standoff over the budget after proposing a radical 44-billion-euro cost-saving plan to bring down France’s debt.

France roiled by anti-austerity protests as unions demand budget rethink

Lecornu said that “preparing a budget of austerity and social regression is out of the question”.

He said his budget would foresee a budget deficit of 4.7 percent of GDP, as opposed the the 4.6 percent proposed by Bayrou, with this coming in line with three percent by 2029 in keeping with eurozone rules.

Lecornu said he was “starting from scratch” from the previous administration to take into account his consultations with unions and political forces.

The shape of Lecornu’s government remains unclear, with sources quoted in French media saying he was maintaining a near-monastic silence over who would be appointed to key positions.

Lecornu ends perks for former PMs, while balancing demands from left and right

He appeared to rule out any intention of poaching figures from the Socialist Party, as future ministers will have to “share the broad guidelines of the common core”.

Lecornu also opposed reversing the 2023 pension reform, one of Macron’s flagship domestic changes but which caused protests, saying this would “solve none of the problems”.

He also said he “did not believe” that a mooted wealth tax, dubbed the Zucman tax after the economist who suggested the levy on the ultra-rich and which has wide support on the left, would be a “good response”.

 (AFP)

“I’m struck by the silence of the Russian press on the latest events in Gaza,” says Jean de Gliniasty, research director at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (Iris) and a former ambassador to Moscow. “So far, there’s been no strong reaction.”

Yet Moscow’s involvement in the Middle East crisis goes back decades, and it has played a significant role.

In 1948, the Soviet Union became the first state to recognise Israel, which at the time appeared to have socialist leanings – partly in hopes of speeding up Britain’s withdrawal from Palestine.

However, as Israel grew closer to the West and with the rise of Arab nationalism, the Kremlin switched tack, forging close ties with Palestinian resistance groups.

By 1988, the USSR had become one of the earliest countries to recognise Palestine.

Russia’s Putin searches for allies in meeting with Iranian and Turkish leaders

Russian diaspora

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia tried to keep doors open on all sides – with Israel, the Palestinians and the wider Arab world.

The controls that had previously prevented Russian Jews from emigrating were lifted. And for more than 75 years, Russia has advocated a two-state solution and the implementation of United Nations resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

When he was elected president in 2000, Vladimir Putin cultivated warm relations with Israel, which is home to 1.3 million Russian speakers – representing 15 percent of the population and making Russian the third most common native language in Israel after Hebrew and Arabic.

He struck up personal ties with prime ministers Ariel Sharon and, later, Benjamin Netanyahu.

“During his various terms as prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu has visited Moscow no less than four times, more than any other capital city – except, of course, Washington,” says David Rigoulet-Roze, a researcher at the French Institute for Strategic Analysis.

“Some of these meetings even took place during the civil war in Syria, when the Israeli army was regularly bombing pro-Iranian militias and Iran’s Al-Quds force, despite the fact that Iran was Russia’s ally in Syria. Moscow pretended not to know what was going on, much to Tehran’s dismay.”

At the same time, Putin has shown his support for the Palestinian cause. In 2022, his foreign minister welcomed former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, in an attempt to capitalise on his role as mediator and on Russia’s return as a new power in the Middle East.

‘A turning point’

However, the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, followed by the devastating war in Gaza, have shifted the dynamics.

“This was a turning point,” said Rigoulet-Roze. “The depth of the ties that had existed until then between Israel and Russia is beginning to be called into question due to Moscow’s continued relations with Hamas.”

The Kremlin received a delegation from the group on 26 October 2023, barely three weeks after the massacre, he noted. Israel denounced this as an “act of support for terrorism”, while the Kremlin insisted the visit was about securing the release of Russian-born hostages.

Putin waited several days before offering condolences to Israeli families, and the Kremlin criticised Israel’s “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza, sparking the fury of Netanyahu – who had always treated Putin carefully due to the situation in Syria.

Moscow then called for a ceasefire, tabled a UN Security Council resolution – vetoed by Washington – and revived talk of the long-dormant Quartet, established in 2002 to facilitate the Middle-East Peace Process negotiations and involving the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States.

For Rigoulet-Roze: “Russia has felt somewhat marginalised since the launch of its war in Ukraine. It would like to get back in the game. The Quartet was, in a way, the format of the great powers of the Cold War era, for which Vladimir Putin paradoxically feels a kind of nostalgia. It was a kind of consensus for a process that would lead to the implementation of the two-state solution.”

Macron, Putin discuss Iran, Ukraine in first talks since 2022

Between Tel Aviv and Tehran

In February 2024, Moscow hosted numerous delegations from Palestinian organisations, including the Palestinian Authority, Islamic Jihad and Hamas – for whom the support of a member of the UN Security Council is essential.

In January 2024, the Russian deputy minister of foreign affairs also received a delegation of Houthis from Yemen.

At the same time, the Kremlin continued to forge closer ties with Iran, Hezbollah, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia – all hostile to Israel.

Yet links with Israel remain. Daily flights connect Moscow and Tel Aviv, and Russia sees its large diaspora there as an important lever of influence.

However, the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in December 2024 has weakened Moscow’s hand in this regard; without a reliable ally in Damascus, Russia has lost much of its regional leverage.

According to Rigoulet-Roze: “From that moment on, Moscow’s geopolitical position weakened. On the Israeli side, Moscow also lost importance. From the moment Assad fell, in a way, the implicit deal with Putin on Syria was strategically devalued because Israel no longer needed Moscow’s tacit agreement to carry out military strikes against anything that could be seen as maintaining a pro-Iranian presence.”

Russia, Iran harden military and trade ties in new pact

Moscow’s motives

Moscow’s shift in its hitherto moderate approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is motivated partly by the desire to divert attention from the war in Ukraine. Russia also wants to take a stand against the US, which unconditionally supports Israel – with Putin calling the 7 October attacks and their aftermath “a clear failure of US policy”.

The Kremlin hopes to win favour in the Global South too, particularly in Africa, where rhetoric about ending Western colonialism – particularly French – plays well.

Flexing its muscles in the Middle East is a way for Moscow to remind the world that it’s still a global player. “All the skill of Russian diplomacy, which is real, which is very good, is not enough to compensate for the considerable weakening of the country,” points out de Gliniasty.

“They are losing ground in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and the agreement signed in Washington between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a slap in the face for Russia. So they are seeking to remind the world, as much as possible, of the global nature of their power.”

By maintaining good relations with Hamas, Moscow is also seeking to ensure it does not support Islamist groups within Russia – which is home to nearly 30 million Muslims.

Some made their voices heard at the end of October 2023 when they stormed the tarmac at the airport in Makhachkala, capital of the Muslim-majority Russian republic of Dagestan, after the arrival of a flight from Israel was announced.

Bridge builder?

Later this year, Putin plans to host the first Russian-Arab summit in Moscow, hoping to showcase Russia as a bridge builder and power broker, and inviting the leaders of all Arab League member states to participate.

“It remains to be seen which countries will actually attend and at what level of representation,” Rigoulet-Roze told RFI. “He wants to reposition himself in the Middle East and maintain a foothold in the region, because the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has largely pushed him out of the game.”

In this regard, it is no coincidence that Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been invited to the event.

However, according to de Gliniasty: “The problem is that Arabs are even less responsive than Westerners to what is happening in the Gaza Strip.

“If there were suddenly a chorus of protests from the Arab side, the Russians would probably raise their voices. They are very much aligned with Saudi Arabia because Riyadh controls the price of oil, which is vital for the Russians. So if Saudi Arabia raises its voice, the Russians will do the same.”

This article was adapted from the original French version by RFI’s Anne Bernas.

Embroiled in legal problems since losing the 2012 election, Sarkozy, 70, had already been convicted in two separate cases but managed to avoid going to jail.

But after a judge sentenced him on Thursday to five years for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to find funding from Libya‘s then-leader Moamer Kadhadi for his 2007 campaign, Sarkozy appeared to acknowledge that this time he will go behind bars.

Prosecutors have one month to inform Sarkozy when he must report to jail, a measure that will remain in force despite his promised appeal.

“I will assume my responsibilities, I will comply with court summonses, and if they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I will sleep in prison but with my head held high,” he told reporters after the verdict.

“I am innocent. This injustice is a scandal. I will not accuse myself of something I did not do,” he added, declaring that hatred towards him “definitely has no limits”.

The drama and defiance were typical of Sarkozy, who is still seen by some supporters on the right as a dynamic saviour of his country but by detractors as a vulgar populist mired in corruption.

France’s Sarkozy ordered to serve prison time in historic first

‘Won’t hear about me anymore’

Born on January 28, 1955, the football fanatic and cycling enthusiast is an atypical French politician.

The son of a Hungarian immigrant father, Sarkozy has a law degree but unlike most of his peers did not attend the exclusive Ecole Nationale d’Administration, the well-worn production line for future French leaders.

After winning the presidency at age 52, he was initially seen as injecting a much-needed dose of dynamism, making a splash on the international scene and wooing the corporate world. He took a hard line on immigration, security and national identity.

But Sarkozy’s presidency was overshadowed by the 2008 financial crisis, and he left the Elysee with the lowest popularity ratings of any postwar French leader up to then.

Few in France have forgotten his visit to the 2008 agriculture show in Paris, when he said “get lost, dumbass” to a man who refused to shake his hand.

Sarkozy failed to win a second mandate in 2012 in a run-off against Socialist Francois Hollande, a bruising defeat over which he remains embittered more than a decade on.

The 2012 defeat made Sarkozy the first president since Valery Giscard d’Estaing (1974-1981) to be denied a second term, prompting him to famously promise: “You won’t hear about me anymore.”

That prediction turned out to be anything but true, given his marriage to superstar musician and model Carla Bruni and a return to frontline politics. But the latter ended when he failed to win his party’s nomination for another crack at the presidency in 2017.

The series of legal woes left Sarkozy a behind-the-scenes political player, far from the limelight in which he once basked, although he has retained influence on the right and is known to meet President Emmanuel Macron.

But Sarkozy is tainted by a number of unwanted firsts: while his predecessor and mentor Jacques Chirac was also convicted of graft, Sarkozy was the first postwar French former head of state to be convicted twice and the first to be formally given jail terms.

Already stripped of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest distinction, he will now be the first French head of state to go to jail since Philippe Petain, France’s nominal leader during the Nazi occupation.

Macron also defended France’s recent recognition of the state of Palestine, arguing that it is a necessary step to isolate Hamas and create a pathway toward peace in Gaza.

Following his criticism of “double standards” in the international handling of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Macron used the interview to outline France’s strategic approach to both crises, emphasising diplomacy, security, and civilian protection.

Gaza and Hamas

Macron cautioned that a full-scale military campaign in Gaza is unlikely to defeat Hamas and will inevitably put civilians at risk. “Total war kills civilians, it does not destroy Hamas. This is factual,” he said, highlighting the limits of Israel’s ongoing operations.

He acknowledged that Israel’s military has restored its deterrent capability, which was weakened by the attacks of 7 October.

Macron warns Israel that Gaza occupation plan risks ‘war without end’

While the Israeli army has achieved “remarkable military successes” and decapitated Hamas leadership, Macron stressed that the militant group “is not disappearing, it has just as many fighters as at the start of the war”.

He questioned the military purpose of Israel’s continued campaign, noting that tactical gains have been made but the broader strategic goal of dismantling Hamas remains elusive.

“Our objective is the release of hostages held by Hamas – and it is clear that total war does not allow this. It even puts them in danger,” he said.

He added that France’s second aim is “a ceasefire, saving lives in Gaza and resuming humanitarian work”.

Macron argued that recognition of Palestine is “the only way to isolate Hamas,” noting that the move has already led the Palestinian Authority to condemn the 7 October attacks, call for Hamas’s demilitarisation, and begin a process of internal reform.

Macron says embassy in Palestine will open only after release of hostages

Defending France’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood, Macron placed it within the framework of reviving diplomacy for a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“France’s position has not changed, we have always supported the two-state solution,” he said, rejecting suggestions that recognition is merely symbolic.

“The decision to recognise Palestine stems from our aim to put in motion a process that enables a path to peace,” he added, linking it to efforts to end the war and secure the release of hostages.

France’s Macron repeats warning on Netanyahu’s military plan for Gaza

European security and Russia

Turning to Europe, Macron emphasised the importance of NATO unity in confronting Russian aggression.

He expressed support for Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pledge to “shoot down” any encroaching Russian aircraft, stressing that NATO members must remain “collectively uncompromising” when dealing with threats.

“The security of Europe is at stake today. We cannot allow the idea to take hold that Poland, Estonia, and Romania are in a weak position, because the next in line would be Germany and then us,” he said.

Macron described Russia as “a destabilising force for all of Europe,” referencing recent Russian incursions into NATO airspace.

He defended NATO’s response as proportionate, noting France’s deployment of additional Rafale fighter jets to Poland to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank. “If there are further incursions, we will have to step up our response,” he warned, adding that such action “would not be in Russia’s interest”.

Macron, Merz and Tusk join Moldova independence day with show of EU support

Ukraine

Macron noted that Russian territorial gains have been limited since Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive in 2022, which stabilised the front line.

“The US has witnessed Ukraine’s ability to resist and our collective capacity to do more,” he said, highlighting Europe’s role in supporting Kyiv alongside partners in the so-called Coalition of the Willing.

He welcomed Washington’s “new perspective” on the war, noting that recent comments from US President Donald Trump highlighted Russia’s weaknesses.

Macron says Russia does not want peace, stresses security for Ukraine

“This is a very clear message from the US president that Russia is undoubtedly weaker and more fragile than he has sometimes thought,” Macron said, describing it as “a salute to the resistance of the Ukrainians and their ability to hold on to their territory and perhaps take it back”.

Despite this optimism, Macron remained sceptical about the prospects for a ceasefire. “Ukraine’s Zelensky is ready, but Putin has shown no sign he is any more open to peace than he was before,” he said, calling for continued pressure on Moscow to engage in meaningful talks.

Macron says 26 countries pledge troops as a ‘reassurance force’ for Ukraine

Macron’s remarks illustrate France’s dual approach: advocating for diplomatic solutions and civilian protection in the Middle East, while reinforcing European security and NATO unity in response to Russian aggression.

The strategic use of peat bogs, marshes and floodplains in warfare has a long history. As early as the 16th and 17th centuries, the Dutch destroyed their dykes to repel Spanish and French invaders.

In 2025, as EU countries scramble to strengthen their defence capabilities in the face of the Russian threat, a group of German, Ukrainian and Polish scientists believe that restoring the continent’s eastern wetlands could be part of the solution. In a document addressed to EU member states, the researchers posit that by restoring them, Europe could kill three birds with one stone.

“Firstly, it would strengthen our defences, as peatlands are very difficult to access,” explains Hans Joosten, professor emeritus of peatland science at the University of Greifswald and the initiator of the project.

“Secondly, it’s good for the climate. Dried-out peatlands are huge CO2 emitters, and we need to restore them in order to comply with the Paris Agreement targets.

“And thirdly, it would be very beneficial for biodiversity, as the species that live there are all endangered. And it would fit perfectly with the European law on nature restoration.”

Russia and Belarus war games fuel European fears over Ukraine conflict

‘Natural barriers’

Among wetlands, peatlands in particular have several advantages.

They produce more biomass than they degrade, and the result is “the formation of organic layers that we call peat,” explained Joosten. “These peat layers are preserved as long as the bog remains wet. And it stores large amounts of CO2, up to 10 tonnes per year per hectare.”

“But for agricultural and forestry reasons, many marshes have been drained over the last few centuries,” he added. “This leads to massive CO2 emissions that would otherwise be stored in the peat bogs. But if the marshes are rewetted, these CO2 emissions cease immediately.”

Von der Leyen urges Europe to fight for ‘independence moment’

The peatlands which Joosten and his colleagues are focused on stretch along the eastern borders of Europe, from Finland through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to Romania, as well as eastern Germany.

“In Europe, we have millions of hectares of peat bogs. Many national borders are located in peat bogs. As they are difficult to access, they have always been natural barriers. This is an international phenomenon,” said Joosten.

Obstacles 

The research group also insists that once restored, these peatlands could complement the EU’s future defence strategy.

“Instead of laying minefields, it is better to restore peatlands,” said Joosten. “A living peat bog is 95 percent water. It is impossible to drive heavy vehicles such as tanks or lorries on it. In Lithuania, an American tank got stuck in a peat bog and couldn’t get out. Its occupants died. So peat bogs make any rapid attack impossible.” 

It’s an idea that appears to be gaining ground. The Polish army has commissioned a plan to “use the natural environment as a border security measure”. And for the German army, “wetlands are an important factor in the planning of operational barriers”.

Poland calls emergency UN meeting over drone raid blamed on Russia

However, the plan is not without obstacles. Peatlands have been drained over the centuries to make them suitable for cultivation. To restore them, their owners would have to be compensated and viable economic alternatives offered.

And once the decision to restore them has been made, it will take two years for the peatlands to return to their original natural state.

This article was adapted from the original version in French.

In a letter sent to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas Thursday, Macron confirmed France’s intention to press ahead with recognition and work to convince other partners to do the same. 

To date, about 144 of the 193 UN member states have recognised a Palestinian state, including most of the global south as well as Russia, China and India. Only a handful of the 27 EU countries do so, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.

Spain, Ireland, Norway and Slovenia did so last year.

If Macron keeps his promise, France – a permanent member of the UN Security Council – will become the largest Western power and the first G7 country to recognise Palestinian statehood. 

The decision is mostly symbolic, with Israel occupying the territories where the Palestinians have long sought to establish such a state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

But it makes Israel appear more isolated on the international stage over the war in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting Hamas militants since the 7 October 2023 terror attack.

Why now?

Macron’s announcement on Thursday has been fuelled by the rising global outcry over starvation and devastation in Gaza.

According to the World Health Organization and a number of international aid organisations, Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery have led to mass starvation in the enclave, though Israel blames Hamas for the suffering.

Macron had been leaning towards recognising Palestine for months as part of a bid to keep the idea of a two-state solution – traditionally defended by France – alive. But he has speeded up the timetable.

“Emmanuel Macron has realised that, in reality, he cannot, unfortunately, expect French diplomacy to have a knock-on effect,” says Middle East specialist Frédéric Encel. “A few months ago, he had hoped that Saudi Arabia, or at least one Arab state, would recognise Israel as a price for France’s recognition of Palestine. That’s obviously not the case,” he told RFI.

Faced with Washington’s huge influence in the region and France’s diminishing influence there, Macron “decided to take the bull by the horns closer to the date of the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly at the beginning of September”. 

As co-host alongside Saudi Arabia of next week’s UN conference in New York aimed at promoting the two-state solution, France was also under pressure to clarify its stance.

“It’s difficult for France to chair a coalition in favour of a two-state solution if France itself does not recognise one of the two states,” says Hasni Abidi, director of the Geneva-based Centre for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World (CERMAM).

Israel’s war and settlements a strategy to block Palestinian state: legal expert

France still counts

Palestinian authorities in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank have largely welcomed France’s decision.

“At last, France is aligning itself with international law – a system that was invented and built in Europe,” says Anwar Abu Eisheh, the PA’s former culture minister.

“France, like Germany and the United Kingdom, is a major global player with considerable influence,” Eisheh told RFI. “And France is also a permanent member of the UN Security Council – that carries weight. This could help accelerate a genuine state-building process.”

Given that Palestinians have lost faith in the West, after lots of talk about values and human rights but little evidence on the ground, “this could at least help limit the damage”, he argues.

“More than 148 states have recognised a Palestinian state,” Abidi notes. “France can only be part of this march of history. What is happening today in Gaza is the result of international resignation and the lack of interest in the Palestinian question and the Palestinian state. And that, in my opinion, is an important factor that led President Macron to anticipate this decision.”

Jean-Paul Chagnollaud, a Middle East expert and co-author of the Atlas du Moyen-Orient, agrees. “It’s a crucial move. It reasserts the principles of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions calling for a two-state solution. France’s recognition of Palestine is a step in that direction.”

Going it alone

Encel, however, plays down the importance of Macron’s contribution.

“It won’t be a decisive contribution. Firstly, because it will change absolutely nothing on the ground. Secondly, because without the knock-on effect France will lose credibility.”

Macron’s announcement has indeed opened the door for other major G7 nations such as Britain, Germany and Canada to possibly jump on board.

Chagnollaud says that the announcement was initially scheduled to coincide with a conference in New York in June, which was postponed due to hostilities between Israel and Iran. “At that time, French diplomacy was actively seeking support from other players – Canada and the UK in particular. It was clear that France hoped to bring others on board, not just within Europe, but globally.”

In the immediate term, Malta and Belgium have indicated they could be the next EU countries to recognise a Palestinian state but whether bigger international players will follow is far from sure.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that his government would recognise a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France.

After discussing with Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ways to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza, Starmer said he was focused on the “practical solutions” that he thought would make a real difference to ending the war.

Earlier on Friday, a German government spokesperson said it was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and that its priority was to make “long-overdue progress” towards a two-state solution.

Chagnollaud says Germany “remains paralysed by the historical weight of its responsibility for the Holocaust. 

And without Germany, Encel insists EU pressure on Israel will be minimal.

“As long as Germany, which is Israel’s economic heavyweight and main economic partner within the European Union, does not take this kind of step, the Israeli government will not take the French position into account.”

Does Macron’s pledge on Palestine signal a return to France’s ‘Arab policy’?

‘Rewarding terrorism’

“Despite the announcement, many Palestinians criticise France for remaining close to Israel, so I wouldn’t call it a breath of fresh air,” Encel says. “As for the Israeli government, it will make little difference –  they’re a far-right coalition that couldn’t care less what France or most European states do.”

Israel has reacted angrily, accusing France of “rewarding terrorism” in reference to Hamas.

In a statement, Hamas welcomed Macron’s decision as a “positive step” towards justice and self-determination for the Palestinian people.

Israel argues French recognition of Palestine will encourage Hamas to hold a harder line in ceasefire negotiations but France insists the announcement – which also called for Hamas to be demilitarised – was not about rewarding Hamas but rather “proving it wrong”.

“Hamas has always rejected the two-state solution. By recognising Palestine, France is proving this terrorist movement wrong. It is proving the peace camp right against the war camp,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X.

Israel slams French plan to recognise Palestinian state as a ‘prize for terror’

Domestic differences

France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim populations so any decisions relating to Israel and the Palestinians can have an impact on the domestic front.

Announcing his decision, Macron said “the French people want peace in the Middle East”.

However, a poll last month found that only 22 per cent were in favour of immediate and unconditional recognition while 47 per cent would accept recognition once Hamas had laid down its arms and released all the Israeli hostages.

Opinion among France’s political class is also divided. Jean-Luc Mélénchon, figurehead of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, which has long defended Palestinian rights, described Macron’s decision as a “moral victory”. Socialist MP Arthur Delaporte said that faced with famine and ongoing massacres “the priority is to stop the violence,” adding that recognition of Palestine, while not enough, is a step in the right direction.

The conservative Republicans party (LR) said that while it had “always been favourable” to recognising a Palestinian state, the conditions were not met.

“At present it would give victory to Hamas – a terrorist organisation – while the [Israeli] hostages have still not been freed”, it wrote in a statement. 

The far-right National Rally (RN) party, closely aligned to Israel’s right-wing Likud, said Macron’s decision was “precipitated”.  RN lawmaker Julien Odoul went further saying it legitimised Hamas.

“Be as violent as possible and you’ll be handed a state on a silver platter. The signal this sends to the world, especially from France, is appalling.”

Macron’s supporters within the government back the move as both a principled and strategic step.

Neutrinos are sometimes called “ghost particles.” They have almost no mass, carry no electric charge, and rarely interact with anything at all. Trillions of them pass through your body every second without leaving a trace. Catching even one requires a detector on an extraordinary scale — which is exactly what researchers in the KM3NeT project are creating.

“These are very different types of telescopes,” explained Paschal Coyle, spokesperson for KM3NeT and research director at the Marseille Particle Physics Centre. “Normal telescopes look up at the sky and collect light. Our telescopes look down through the Earth to detect neutrinos. From the Mediterranean, our best view is actually of the sky above Australia — seen through the planet itself.”

France takes record for longest lightning bolt

Two detectors are under construction:

• ORCA, near Toulon, France, sits 2.5 kilometers underwater. It will help scientists study how neutrinos change from one type to another as they travel through space.

• ARCA, off the coast of Sicily, Italy, is even deeper at 3.5 kilometers. Its mission is to hunt for neutrinos from extreme cosmic events such as exploding stars, colliding galaxies, or black holes.

Each telescope is built from long strings holding hundreds of glass spheres. Inside the spheres are ultra-sensitive photodetectors that can spot the tiniest flash of light.

“When a neutrino finally collides with matter, it creates a charged particle that gives off a burst of blue light in the water,” Coyle said. “Our detectors are sensitive enough to catch that flash.”

Earlier this year, the ARCA detector captured the highest-energy neutrino ever observed — a sign of just how powerful this new tool may become. By mapping where these ghostly particles come from, scientists hope to uncover the sources of cosmic rays and gain new insights into some of the most energetic processes in the universe.

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For now, the telescopes are still being built, but their promise is enormous. By listening for whispers of light deep under the sea, scientists may soon unlock secrets written across the cosmos — carried to Earth by particles that almost never leave a trace.

Of the hundreds of people evacuated from Gaza to France since the conflict in the enclave broke out in October 2023, 73 have come as part of a partly state-funded humanitarian programme known as Pause.

Run by the prestigious Collège de France research institute, Pause provides special one-year visas to artists and scientists in danger.  

Since 2017, it has supported more than 700 people from more than 40 countries, including Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan. For Palestinians in Gaza, it represents one of the few pathways to safety. 

‘A life jacket’

“The Pause programme was literally a life jacket for us,” says Abu Joury, a well-known Gazan rapper who arrived in the town of Angers in western France in January, with his wife and three children.

Sponsored by a local organisation, Al Khamanjati, he has been able to provide financial stability and security for his family – something he says has become impossible in Gaza.

But that life jacket is no longer available.

On 1 August, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that “no evacuation of any kind” would take place until further notice.

The trigger was a Palestinian student at Sciences Po Lille who was accused of sharing antisemitic statements in 2023, and was subsequently expelled to Qatar. 

The student was not part of the Pause programme, but the decision to halt all evacuations has left more than 120 people – 25 approved candidates and their families – stranded in what the UN has described as genocidal conditions. 

France halts Gaza evacuations over antisemitic posts by Palestinian student

“They’ve been waiting for months and are sending us constant messages calling for help,” says Marion Gués Lucchini, head of international diplomacy for the Pause programme. “They’re saying: ‘why are we being condemned for comments made by just one person? Why have we been abandoned?'”

The decision is unprecedented, Gués Lucchini says. “Because of a single person, all the others are condemned to remain in Gaza.

“We’ve been around for eight years. We’ve had people from all over the world, including countries where there may be sensitivities – Russia, Iran and so on. We’ve never had a security problem, we’ve never had anyone who was supposedly close to a terrorist group. Never.” 

She adds that all Pause candidates are subject to rigorous screening by four different ministries, including security checks by the Interior Ministry.

Listen to an audio report featuring Abu Joury on the Spotlight of France podcast:

‘Collective punishment’ 

After President Emmanuel Macron recognised Palestinian statehood at the UN on Monday, the French government now faces mounting pressure to reinstate evacuations.  

A collective of Palestinian and migrant rights groups has filed a case with the Conseil d’Etat – France’s top court – claiming the suspension of evacuations for Gazans is in breach of the constitution.

Last week, some 20 acclaimed writers, including French Nobel laureates Annie Ernaux and J.M.G. Le Clézio, called on Macron to “restore this lifeline” as soon as possible. 

“This suspension of evacuation programmes on the basis of one case of a racist social media post is a form of collective punishment at a time when all signatories to the Genocide Convention should be doing their utmost to save Palestinians from annihilation and should refuse to be complicit in crimes against humanity,” they wrote in an open letter.

While evacuating only writers, artists and researchers was “inadequate and even cruel in the context of the killings and destruction in Gaza”, they underlined that “today this programme is one of the only ways by which a few people in Gaza can be saved from genocide, a part of which is scholasticide”.

The authors called on France to “follow through on its proclaimed humanist values”.

Israeli ambassador slams French recognition of Palestine as ‘historic mistake’ on RFI

‘I fear for my friend’

Mathieu Yon, a 48-year-old fruit farmer from southern France, has become an unlikely advocate for Palestinian evacuation rights.

On Wednesday he took up position on a bench in front of the Foreign Ministry holding a sign addressed to Barrot: “Monsieur le ministre, resume the reception of Gazans.”

Around six months ago, Yon struck up a friendship with Gazan poet Alaa al-Qatrawi after reading her poem “I’m not well”, about losing her four children in an Israeli bombing in December 2023.

“She lost her four children and yet she’s still full of love and without any anger or aggression,” he says. “I fear for my dear friend.”

He, his wife and two friends have raised the necessary €48,000 to cover al-Qatrawi’s year-long residency.

They have work and accommodation lined up for her in their home town of Dieulefit, north of Avignon. “Everything is in place,” Yon said, hoping that his protest will see her file, handed in on 26 August, treated as a matter of urgency.

As Gaza aid flotilla comes under attack, NGOs urge Europe to act

From a refugee camp in Gaza, al-Qatrawi describes the constant danger: “Every Palestinian living now in Gaza is at risk of being killed at any second and in any place you can think of. You are exposed to assassination attempts throughout the day. And if you survive, you think about how you are going to survive the next day.” 

Her four children – Orchid, Kenan, Yamen and Carmel – were killed on 13 December, 2023. “There was a cordon around the area. The occupation [by the Israeli army] prevented ambulances from arriving,” she told RFI’s sister radio station MCD. 

The Ma’an collective, which helps Pause applicants, reports receiving increasingly desperate messages from Gaza.

“These are no longer calls for help, but testaments and farewells,” it said in a statement. One read: “I am writing to you, and maybe my last words. We are starving and losing everything around us.” 

Ahmed Shamia, an architect who had been accepted by the Pause programme, was killed in bombardments on 1 May this year, just days before he was due to be evacuated.

“It was very difficult for us all,” says Gués Lucchini. “It was the first time [someone selected for] the programme had died.”

Conflating Gazans with terrorists

Gués Lucchini laments that a programme offering a lifeline to scientists and artists has become a target for the far right, with Pause dealing with online attacks.

“These accounts created the controversy surrounding the student [in Lille], which led to the suspension of the evacuations. Since then there have been other smear campaigns against [people selected for] the Pause programme. It’s clear there is a desire to confuse aid and support for Gazans – scientists, artists and others – with support for a terrorist group.”

The French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, which has a controversial far-right editor, recently accused Pause of “opening the door to Hamas”.

Yon, who has Jewish ancestry and whose great-uncle was deported to Auschwitz, rejects any suggestion that Gazans pose an inherent security risk. “There are antisemitic people in Gaza. But I think there are in France, too. There are in all countries, not especially in Gaza.”

He added: “This is a collective punishment without any kind of justice. In France we have the principle of presumption of innocence, but this is presumption of guilt.”

France’s Foreign Ministry has not commented publicly on when evacuations of Gazans will resume. But a diplomatic source told RFI: “Since the Israeli authorities have suspended evacuations, no operation is possible at this stage.”

French services are effectively dependent on local authorities, in this case Israel, who grant or deny exit permits based on lists submitted by the French authorities.

Macron on Gaza and Ukraine: diplomacy, hostages and European security at stake

Race against time 

For those still waiting, time is running out. “Every day that passes is another day that we take the risk that someone supported by a French national programme will die,” Gués Lucchini warns. 

Joury could be considered one of the lucky ones. But despite finding safety and a “very warm welcome” in France,  he remains haunted by those left behind – especially his mother and brother, who didn’t manage to reach Egypt before Israel closed the Rafah crossing.

“I’m physically out. But my mind is still in Gaza. My mother and my brother, I’m thinking of them all the time. My soul is still in Gaza,” he said.

As Yon continues his vigil outside the Foreign Ministry, he reflects on how hard it was to tell al-Qatrawi evacuations had been halted.

“She said, ‘even if it doesn’t happen, this relationship, this poetry exists. Even if the result is sad for our life, all of this poetry, all of this love, all of this kindness is real’.  

“This relationship has a value in itself,” Yon concludes. A lifeline of friendship – but no life jacket.

The UN nuclear watchdog on Friday said that inspectors had been allowed to return to Iranian sites, but Western powers did not see enough progress to agree to a delay after a week of top-level diplomacy at the UN General Assembly.

European powers set the clock ticking a month ago for the “snapback” of the UN sanctions, accusing Iran of failing to come clean on its nuclear program — including through countermeasures it took in response to Israeli and US bombing.

Iran on Saturday recalled its envoys in Britain, France and Germany for consultations, after the three European countries triggered the mechanism, Iranian state television said.

The sanctions are set to go into effect at 0000 GMT on Sunday (8:00 pm on Saturday in New York).

They will set up a global ban on working with companies, people and organisations accused of developing Iran’s nuclear program or ballistic missiles.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said there was no reason to reach a deal when, in his view, Israel and the United States were seeking to use the pressure to topple the Islamic republic.

“If the goal had been to resolve concerns on the nuclear program, we could easily do that,” Pezeshkian told reporters, as he insisted again that Iran will never pursue nuclear weapons.

Pezeshkian, who met during the week with French President Emmanuel Macron, said France had proposed that Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in return for a one-month delay in the return of sanctions.

“Why would we put ourselves in such a trap and have a noose around our neck each month?” he said.

He accused the United States of pressing the Europeans not to reach a compromise.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s friend and roving negotiator, had said that the United States does not want to hurt Iran and was open to further talks.

But Pezeshkian charged that Witkoff lacked seriousness, saying he had backtracked on agreements during earlier talks — which abruptly stopped when Israel launched its military campaign.

Nuclear watchdog hails new deal with Iran, but inspections remain on hold

No Russia enforcement

The sanctions are aimed at imposing new economic pain to pressure Iran, but it remains to be seen if all countries will enforce them.

Russian deputy ambassador Dmitry Polyansky said Friday that Moscow, a top partner of Iran, considered the reimposition of sanctions “null and void.”

Russia and China sought at the Security Council Friday to delay the reimposition of sanctions until April but failed to muster enough votes.

The United States already has unilateral sanctions on Iran and has tried to force all other countries to stop buying Iranian oil, although companies from China have defied the pressure.

Trump imposed a “maximum pressure” campaign during his first term when he withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former president Barack Obama, which had offered sanctions relief in return for drastic curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.

The new sanctions mark a “snapback” of the UN measures that were suspended under the 2015 deal, which had been strongly supported by Britain, France and Germany after Trump’s withdrawal.

The International Crisis Group, which studies conflict resolution, said in a report that Iran seemed dismissive of the snapback as it had already learned to cope with the US sanctions.

But it noted that the snapback was not easy to reverse as it would require consensus at the Security Council.

“It is also likely to compound the malaise around an economy already struggling with high inflation, currency woes and deepening infrastructure problems,” the report said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a defiant UN address Friday urged no delay in the snapback and hinted that Israel was willing to again strike Iran’s nuclear programme, after the 12 days of bombing in June that Iranian authorities say killed more than 1,000 people.

Pezeshkian said that Iran would not retaliate against the sanctions by leaving the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, warning that unnamed powers were seeking a “superficial pretext to set the region ablaze.”

 (AFP)

The Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian convoy of around 50 boats carrying hundreds of activists, lawyers, parliamentarians and aid workers, has set sail from Greek waters bound for Gaza – despite fresh warnings from Israel that it will not be allowed to dock.

The flotilla, which set sail from Barcelona earlier this month, is making its way across the Mediterranean Sea with the aim of breaking Israel’s 18-year naval blockade on Gaza and delivering urgently needed humanitarian supplies.

Among those on board is Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who said this week from the deck of a boat off Crete: “We are not just delivering humanitarian aid. We are trying to deliver hope and solidarity, to send a strong message that the world stands with Palestine.”

Flotilla bound for Gaza finally sets sail amid escalating Israeli strikes

Drone attacks

According to witness accounts gathered by RFI, the flotilla has already been the target of drone attacks several times – first off the coast of Tunisia, and most recently by a wave of drones on the night of 23 September as the boats crossed international waters near Crete.

Participants in the flotilla described hearing explosions and seeing smoke rising from neighbouring vessels, with some donning life jacket.

A dozen boats were damaged, with sails shredded and masts broken.

Louay Cherni, a Tunisian content creator, reported “a noise of explosion” on the nearby Spectre at 1:43am.

Though no one was injured, the flotilla called urgently for international protection, underscoring its peaceful purpose of bringing aid into Gaza.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto condemned the attacks, which he said were carried out by “currently unidentified actors”, and confirmed that a frigate has been deployed towards the flotilla for potential rescue operations.

Spain has also dispatched a naval ship in support of its citizens on board.

Gaza aid flotilla ‘should not have to exist’ says Thunberg

NGOs protest

These incidents have prompted sharp criticism from humanitarian and rights groups in France and the Netherlands.

In a joint statement released on Thursday, Amnesty International France, Reporters Without Borders, Greenpeace France, Médecins du Monde and Médecins Sans Frontières Netherlands have denounced what they called “illegal drone attacks” against a “perfectly lawful civilian initiative”.

They urged European governments to speak out, saying: “Attacking these ships is unacceptable. Nothing can justify blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza when the population is suffering famine and catastrophic living conditions.”

The groups argued that international humanitarian law explicitly protects aid operations and journalists during armed conflicts, and pressed governments to demand that Israel allow the flotilla safe passage.

UN demands probe after drone ‘attack’ on Gaza aid flotilla

Israel’s stance

Israel insists the flotilla will not be allowed through its blockade, and argues that the initiative only aids Hamas.

Its foreign ministry has suggested that organisers could offload their supplies in Cyprus for transfer to Gaza via the Catholic Church’s Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem – an offer the flotilla has rejected.

The Israeli authorities have also invited flotilla members to hand over their aid directly to Israel for delivery.

Organisers, however, remain adamant that the mission is as much about political symbolism as material relief.

Diplomatic tensions

The presence in the flotilla of high-profile figures and parliamentarians from 45 countries has transformed what might otherwise have been a fringe protest into a diplomatic concern.

Italy has warned its participating citizens that they are responsible for any risks they take, while Greece has promised to secure safe passage through its territorial waters but not beyond.

The United Nations Human Rights Office has condemned the drone strikes and called for an independent investigation, stressing that freedom of navigation under international law must be respected.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said: “No attack, no drone strike, no seizure or use of force against the flotilla is acceptable.”

Despite the attacks, organisers say the flotilla will continue towards Gaza.

(with Reuters)

Of 14 people who landed in Ghana from the US on 6 September, lawyers say 11 were kept in detention. After around two weeks at a military camp near Accra, six of them were allegedly taken across the border to Togo.

“The deportees were forced by armed military guards to climb wire fences,” said Samantha Hamilton, an attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), a civil rights organisation that has filed a lawsuit in the US on behalf of the migrants.

“A woman in her late 50s was thrown on the back of a motorcycle and smuggled across the border.”

The lawyers believe that Togo was chosen for its proximity. It is two and a half hours’ drive from where the deportees were held in Ghana.

Only two of the people removed between 18 and 19 September are Togolese nationals, according to their lawyers, the others hailing from Nigeria, Mali, Liberia and Gambia. 

“A Malian woman who only speaks Bambara was left to fend for herself in Togo. She was sexually assaulted,” Hamilton told RFI.

A spokesperson for the Ghanaian government, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, told RFI on 23 September that “all deportees have left Ghana for their respective home countries”.

Yet their lawyers say they have information that indicates four other deportees were not transferred to their countries of origin but sent by Ghanaian authorities to different countries. One of the deportees has reportedly been released to family in Ghana.

Public embarrassment

Hamilton believes it was a “calculated attempt to get rid of these people”.

The migrants were transferred after they filed lawsuits against the authorities in Ghana, suing for their release and to avoid being repatriated to countries where they could be in danger. 

After an initial hearing on 17 September, a judge adjourned the case until 23 September. By then, the 11 deportees were no longer in Ghana – so the lawyers had to withdraw the application for an injunction to prevent their repatriation and the application for the government to produce them in court.

West Africans deported by US sue Ghana for ‘unlawful detention’

“What the government did was try to circumvent and frustrate the court processes,” said Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a senior partner at Merton & Everett law firm in Accra and one of the lawyers representing the deportees.

“There was every attempt to keep this under wraps. The government was embarrassed by the lawsuits and this becoming public,” he claimed.

“The deportees told us that the military hierarchy and those who were holding them were in an apparent state of confusion regarding the publicity and wanted to get rid of them as fast as they could.”

Lawsuits ongoing

Barker-Vormawor told RFI that the case against the government in Ghana for breach of human rights remains ongoing.

“We’re also pursuing the government for the detention of the deportees in a military facility. They were detained as civilians in a military facility for around 14 days without being brought before a court,” he said.

The matter will be taken to the court of regional body Ecowas, involving lawyers from the US, including the American Civil Liberties Union.

An action is being filed to compel Ghana’s government to disclose its agreement with the US and halt its implementation until it is submitted to parliament for ratification.

Ghana’s foreign affairs minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that his government was not under any obligation to produce its memorandum of understanding with Washington.

Opposition parties, however, point to a 2017 Supreme Court ruling that states any international agreement must be ratified by parliament.

US efforts

In the US, the AAJC has also been trying to get hold of the agreement – “but the US government has been unwilling to provide that information”, said Hamilton.

“This seems like a scheme to disappear people in violation of American immigration laws as well as international law.” 

Hamilton claims President Donald Trump’s administration entered a deal with Ghana while knowing it has a history of unlawfully repatriating people to countries where they face torture and persecution, as documented by the US Department of State.

We want to put an end to this third country removal policy completely,” she said. “There’s a lawsuit pending in a federal court in Boston challenging this policy.”

Several US federal courts have ordered the return to the US of people who have been deported to third countries, Hamilton noted.

“These federal courts are some of the only tools we have to try hold the Trump administration to account… The Trump administration has flouted the rule of law repeatedly. I have to believe, for my own sanity, that one of these days the government will comply with court-ordered decisions, because that’s all that we’ve got.”

How Trump’s ‘deportation campaign’ is reshaping ties with Africa

‘Pan-African solidarity’

Ghana, one of five African countries to agree deportation deals with Washington, is preparing to take in more people expelled from the US.

According to Barker-Vormawor, some 14 more deportees reached Ghana on 19 September.

“We know that the government is taking extreme measures to prevent any leak of information about the detention of these persons,” he said.

Last week, foreign minister Ablakwa announced that 40 more deportees were to be transferred to Ghana from the US.

He also said that accepting them in Ghana was an act of “pan-African solidarity” designed to provide “temporary refuge” and prevent suffering.

Barker-Vormawor dismissed that justification. “Given what we have uncovered, the government’s PR about pan-African solidarity does not stand,” he said.

“We think that the initiative came from the US, whereby certain actions from Ghana might be favourably looked upon by the Trump administration. We think that was the deal on the table, and that’s why the government accepted it.”

Despite the curfew, demonstrators built barricades of burning tyres and rubbish and ransacked shops. Cable car stations were also attacked as unrest spread through the city.

RFI correspondent Guilhem Fabry reported that loud blasts were heard near the city centre until about 2am on Friday and that a strong smell of smoke hung in the air.

Authorities have imposed a curfew in Antananarivo from 7pm to 5am, saying it will stay in place “until public order is restored”.

Schools across the capital and nearby districts were closed on Friday, and the suspension was extended to the city of Antsirabé, where clashes also broke out.

Energy crisis looms large as Macron makes rare visit to Madagascar

Tear gas, rubber bullets

Thursday’s protests in Antananarivo, which began as peaceful marches, were met with tear gas, rubber bullets and large numbers of police.

What started as demonstrations against the shortages quickly escalated into one of the biggest challenges faced by President Andry Rajoelina in years.

Hundreds of people tried to reach central Ambohijatovo Square despite a government ban on gatherings, but were blocked by heavy security.

Protesters split into smaller groups to get around the cordons, carrying banners denouncing the outages and accusing the government of failing to guarantee basic rights.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as masked officers charged the crowds.

Online mobilisation

Two lawmakers have reportedly had their homes vandalised, including senator Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy – a former minister and vocal supporter of Rajoelina.

Addresses of pro-government figures had been widely shared on social media, amid massive online mobilisation.

While most of the posts called for peaceful protests, some included addresses of officials to “target” or even DIY guides for making explosives. 

Security forces claim that bad actors are taking advantage of the protests to destroy property, while legislators have tried to frame the movement as a plot.

Ahead of Thursday’s protests, 13 out of 18 senators denounced what they called an “attempted coup d’état” by the opposition.

Rajoelina has yet to address the situation. Having spoken at the UN General Assembly in New York earlier in the week, it remains unclear whether the president has returned to Madagascar.

He first came to power through a coup in 2009, before going on to win presidential elections in 2018 and 2023. 

Andry Rajoelina re-elected Madagascar president: poll body

Persistent shortages

Only around a third of Madagascar’s 30 million people have access to electricity, according to the International Monetary Fund. Power cuts often last more than eight hours a day. 

Poor governance of the state-owned utility, Jirama, is at the heart of the problem and for months there have been protests outside their headquarters in Antananarivo.

Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 75 percent of people living below the poverty line.

Yet Jirama uses up 10 percent of the state’s revenue. Critics point to mismanagement and corruption as key factors behind the company’s failings.

Hundreds of women descended on the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Monday to push for a bill that would add women-only seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Several African countries, from Senegal to Rwanda, have increased their number of female legislators by using quota systems.

Nigeria, which has some of the lowest numbers of women in parliament worldwide, has no such system.

It counts just four women senators out of 109, and 16 women in the 360-member House of Representatives, according to the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), a local NGO.

Dubbed the “Special Seats Bill”, the legislation would add one woman-only seat for both the House and the Senate in each of Nigeria’s 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory – although implementing the changes would require a constitutional amendment.

Advocates say that reserved seats would serve as a corrective to the financial barriers, entrenched gender roles and domination of politics by men that keep women out of power in Africa’s most populous nation.

The women chose Monday to stage their protest as a national public hearing on constitutional reform was taking place at the National Assembly, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review.

Hobbled at home, Nigerian sportswomen dominate abroad

‘The majority of the electorate’

“We want the legislature to work for women,” said Dorothy Njemanze, one of the organisers of the protest. She said she had counted more than 1,000 demonstrators in attendance.

RFI’s correspondent in Abuja spoke with Ebi Austin, a lawyer, who had also participated in a March 2022 blockade of the National Assembly. That year, parliamentarians rejected five bills aimed at improving the place of women in governance in Nigeria.

“The parliamentarians of the previous legislature refused to vote on these bills,” Austin told RFI. “They betrayed us. And we promised them revenge, as we women are the majority of the electorate. And many of them were defeated. So, this time, the current elected officials are very cautious.”

Africa sees gender equality progress, but continent ‘still only halfway there’

Awodogan Idowu was leading a delegation of around 20 female students from the public university in Abuja. At 18, this was her first time participating in such a march. And for her, if parliamentarians reserve seats in parliament for women, more women will become involved in politics.

“I’ve seen many young women who really want to get involved in politics,” she told RFI. “But they feel that men are stronger and that they don’t stand a chance. By creating seats for them, we’re also opening a path for them.”

The demonstration ended with the delivery of signatures in support of the legislation to the House Committee.

‘I want that seat’

President Bola Tinubu’s minister for women’s affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has signalled support for the legislation.

However, the PLAC, in its legislative analysis, warned that constitutional amendments are “no walk in the park” – with two-thirds of the National Assembly and 24 state legislatures required to approve any changes.

Several similar attempts at creating reserved seats for women have failed in recent years.

“I want that seat, because tomorrow, I may be the one contesting [it],” Onu Ihunania, a 50-year-old civil servant, told French news agency AFP.

How French women won, and used, their right to vote in 1945

A National Assembly with more women might better focus on women’s health and economic inclusion, said Nyiyam Ikyereve, 40, who had travelled several hours from Benue state to join the protest.

The lack of women’s representation came to a head earlier this year when Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended from the chamber after she complained about sexual harassment.

The Senate president maintained that Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for a separate incident, related to an argument that erupted in the chamber over her seating arrangement.

 (with AFP)

Launched in 2017 by France and Germany and later joined by Spain, the Future Combat Air System – known by its French acronym Scaf – is designed to deliver Europe’s next flagship fighter aircraft, alongside drones and a “combat cloud” network that connects all vehicles.

But what was once touted as a model of European cooperation now looks mired in deadlock.

Business news service Bloomberg recently reported that Berlin is even considering sidelining France’s Dassault Aviation altogether, possibly seeking fresh partners in Sweden or the UK – or pushing ahead with Spain alone.

Dassault’s chief executive, Éric Trappier, responded defiantly: “If they want to do it by themselves, let them,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“French industry has all the skills and expertise to develop a new-generation aircraft on its own.”

Tussling for territory

At the heart of the dispute is who gets to lead each element. Dassault – developer of the Rafale fighter jet – was initially chosen as prime contractor for the new fighter itself.

Airbus’ German arm took the lead on the combat cloud and accompanying drones.

However, the arrival of Airbus’ Spanish subsidiary shifted the balance, with Airbus now effectively speaking for both Berlin and Madrid – and reluctant to grant concessions to Dassault.

Germany and Spain have grown frustrated with Dassault’s demands for greater autonomy in its role as industrial lead. The French manufacturer insists on being able to choose its own subcontractors, even if that alters the workload originally allocated to each country’s industry.

France’s Dassault says stepping up Rafale warplane output

Defence ministers to meet

During a visit to Madrid last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz struck a more conciliatory note, saying Germany and Spain wanted to “try to reach a solution by the end of 2025”.

Standing alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Merz acknowledged the difficulties: “We share the same opinion: the current situation is not satisfactory. We are not moving forward on this project.”

The partners must sign a new contract for the next phase of the project, scheduled to begin in 2026, by the end of the year. 

A meeting of the three countries’ defence ministers is pencilled in for this October, according to Berlin.

At the 28 September elections in Moldova, most people in the breakaway region of Transnistria won’t vote.

“There are no polling stations. They consider themselves independent,” says Nico Lamminparras, an expert in the politics of Transnistria based in Helsinki.

Transnistrians who want to vote can do so, if they cross the artificial border formed by the Dniester river into Moldova proper, where the government will open several polling stations.

The inhabitants of Transnistria are predominantly pro-Russian and “local authorities continue to promote an Eastern [pro-Russian] orientation,” Lamminparras told RFI. 

The region held its own referendum in 2006, opting to “go back home, to Russia,” he added – a move that underlined the enclave’s metaphorical, if not geographical, distance from Moldova and the European Union.

Moldova will keep pro-EU course despite Russian threat, Popescu tells RFI

It is unclear how many Transnistrians will turn out to vote later this month.

According to Chisinau-based Regional Trend Analytics, a socio-economic watchdog, during last year’s presidential elections and referendum some 30 polling stations were opened but only a few people turned up because of false reports of mines and blocking of bridges.

Soviet era

Transnistria has historically been multi-ethnic, its population shaped by waves of migration during the Soviet era, with substantial Russian and Ukrainian communities.

Joseph Stalin’s annexation of Bessarabia from Romania in 1940 merged it with Russian-speaking Transnistria to form the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. 

Following the Soviet collapse, as Moldova drifted towards nationalism and a potential union with Romania, people in Transnistria, wary of losing Russian cultural ties, declared independence in 1990.

Armed conflict, resulting in some 1,000 dead, broke out in 1992, with the 14th Guards Combined Arms Army branch of the Russian Army intervening to support the separatists.

The resulting ceasefire cemented Transnistria’s de facto independence, although this is not recognised internationally and a “frozen conflict” persists to this day.

Moldova President warns European Parliament about Russia threat

Different model

Transnistria is not the only Moldovan region that wants to chart its own course.

Still under Moldovan control, southern Gagauzia offers a different model. The enclave is home to the Gagauz, a Turkic Orthodox Christian people.

It also declared independence in the early 1990s. But rather than secede, Gagauzia accepted autonomy within Moldova in 1995, obtaining constitutional guarantees and substantial cultural self-determination.

Russian remains the dominant language, and Gagauzia continues to harbour pro-Russian sentiments, occasionally threatening to secede if Moldova were to change its status of autonomy.

Yet unlike Transnistria, Gagauzia participates in Moldovan elections and retains economic links to the central government, making its autonomy more functional and less destabilising.

Macron pledges France’s ‘determined support’ for Moldova joining EU

EU accession

The Transnistrian question casts a long shadow over Moldova’s EU accession process.

“The pro-Europeans will have a clear majority,” predicts Laminparras – albeit a declining one, meaning that “Moldovan policy will keep on as it is”.

For Transnistria, he says, a possible Moldovan accession could prove disastrous.

“The EU process implies tariffs for the Transnistrian products passing the boundary,” which he added would deepen the economic gulf between the two banks of the Dniester.

Others, however, are more optimistic. 

“It’s clear that it’s much better to join the European Union without a separatist conflict,” Nicu Popescu, Moldova’s former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, who is running in the parliamentary elections on the list of the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, told RFI. “The EU itself was founded on a divided state – West Germany.”

According to Popescu, in the case of Moldova “the hope is that by joining the EU, reintegration of the country will in fact be made easier and more sustainable”.

France’s national pharmacists’ council has strongly criticised calls from some within the profession to boycott orders of Covid-19 vaccines, warning that such a move would harm patients and undermine public health.

The row comes as preparations get under way for this autumn’s dual vaccination campaign against flu and Covid-19, due to kick off on 14 October.

Pharmacists were able to start placing their first vaccine orders via Santé publique France’s portal on Monday.

But on pharmacists’ online forums and social media groups, messages have been circulating urging colleagues not to order vaccine doses – a move intended as a form of protest against government policies.

Carine Wolf-Thal, president of the National Council of the Order of Pharmacists (CNOP), voiced her disapproval.

“Personally, and on behalf of the Council, I don’t think it’s a good idea to take patients hostage. Lawmakers have entrusted us with crucial public health missions, particularly improving vaccination coverage,” she told French news agency AFP.

She stressed that pharmacists are not only responsible for vaccinating their own patients, but also for supplying Covid-19 vaccines to other health professionals.

“So not only would some pharmacists refuse to vaccinate, but they’d also prevent other professionals from doing so,” she said.

‘Close for a day so we don’t close forever’: French pharmacies to go on strike

A profession under pressure

Pharmacists’ unions have been quick to distance themselves from the boycott idea, describing the calls as “isolated actions” and “local initiatives” that go against the profession’s responsibility to safeguard public health.

Still, they acknowledge that the mood among pharmacists is unusually tense. On 18 September, more than 85 percent of pharmacies closed their doors and staff took to the streets in large numbers.

The protests were fuelled by anger over looming financial losses, triggered by a reduction in commercial discounts on generic drugs and another round of price cuts on medicines.

Philippe Besset, president of the majority union, the Fédération des pharmaciens d’officine (FSPF), urged his colleagues to resist such tactics.

“We shouldn’t embark on individual actions that risk turning public opinion against us, especially when it is currently on our side,” he said.

While he acknowledged that boycotts may seem like “a way to keep up the pressure,” he warned they could ultimately backfire.

Cyril Colombani, spokesperson for the Union of Pharmacists’ Syndicates (Uspo), admitted the leadership was struggling to contain grassroots frustration.

“We’re being overtaken by our base,” he said. “The call to boycott is spreading like wildfire. Pharmacists are at breaking point – some are even saying they don’t want to vaccinate against flu anymore.”

Five years on from the Covid-19 pandemic, what legacy has the virus left?

The suggestion of a vaccine boycott has also sparked outrage beyond pharmacy circles.

Thierry Hulot, president of Leem, the employers’ federation representing France’s pharmaceutical industry, branded the idea “irresponsible”.

Speaking at a press conference this week, he added: “I don’t believe for one second that my fellow pharmacists, who like me swore the Hippocratic oath, would stoop to playing this pitiful game.”

For now, it appears the majority of pharmacists’ leaders remain firmly opposed to vaccine boycotts, preferring to keep the focus on negotiating with the government over financial reforms.

(with newswires)

France had filed a petition against Tehran at the ICJ in May over the detention of Cécile Kohler, who turned 41 on Thursday, and Jacques Paris, 72.

The pair were arrested in Iran in May 2022, accused of spying for Israel.

The petition said they were being held under a policy that targeted French nationals travelling in Iran “by accusing them of various offences relating to Iranian national security”.

The French application accused Iran of “serious and repeated breaches” of its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Both countries are parties to the treaty, which regulates consular access.

However, on Thursday the Hague-based court said France had requested “the discontinuance of the proceedings” and that this “was not opposed by Iran”.

The French government’s decision has prompted confusion for the family of Kohler, who held rallies on Thursday evening to mark the fourth anniversary of her captivity.

Waiting for clarification

Kohler’s sister, Noémie Kohler, told French news agency AFP that the family had contacted the French government for “clarification” on the decision to withdraw the request, but “would not try to draw any conclusions” without more information.

The families of the prisoners have described their situation as increasingly desperate.

On 23 June, Evin Prison – where Kohler and Paris were being held – was bombed in a strike Iran blames on Israel. Iranian officials said 79 people died.

Although unharmed, the couple were badly shaken and then moved to unknown locations.

In July, France told the ICJ it feared “irreparable harm” to Kohler and Paris, warning that new charges could expose them to the death penalty.

French couple face death penalty in Iran on spying and conspiracy charges

Prisoner exchange

Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a television interview that a prisoner swap involving the French pair was nearing its “final stage” – with a proposed exchange for Mahdieh Esfandiari, an Iranian woman arrested in France in February over promoting terrorism on social media.

Iran has repeatedly requested her release, arguing that she was unjustly detained.

Kohler and Paris are among around 20 Europeans currently detained in Iran, including Lennart Monterlos, a 19-year-old Franco-German who was cycling from Europe to Asia and was arrested in the country in June, during the brief war between Iran and Israel.

French diplomat visits jailed couple in Iran after families demand proof of life

The French government has reiterated that securing the couple’s release remains a top priority.

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, French President Emmanuel Macron met with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday.

During the meeting, they discussed the release of French citizens, who France considers “state hostages” held by Tehran.

“We have a solid perspective, so we’re working on it. We’ll have clarifications in the coming weeks,” Macron told RFI, while remaining cautious. “But I don’t want to be definitive here because unfortunately, it doesn’t depend solely on us.”

“Cécile Kohler, Jacques Paris and Lennart Monterlos, state hostages arbitrarily detained in inhumane conditions in Iran, must be released immediately,” Macron reiterated via social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

Lack of transparency

However, the lawyer for the Kohler family, Chirinne Ardakani, said the reality is more complicated.

According to her, the last direct news from the couple came on 13 September.

The family has only had two brief instances of contact since June, “without the possibility of speaking freely,” Ardakani told the Public Sénat website.

“We know they are alive, but neither the place where they are imprisoned nor their conditions of detention are communicated,” she added.

She also criticised a lack of transparency from the French authorities. “I’m not saying that nothing is being done, but if measures exist, the families are not aware of them.”

Ardakani insists it is time for “emergency measures and recognition of Iran as a criminal state”.

(with AFP)

After he was cleared of corruption charges, the court ordered that the 70-year-old politician should be placed in custody at a later date.

Prosecutors have been given one month to inform the former head of state when he should go to prison.

“I will sleep in prison with my head held high,” said Sarkozy after announcing he will appeal against the verdict which will remain in force despite his pledge to continue his fight to clear his name.

Presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino told the Paris criminal court that as minister and president of the UMP, a centre-right party, Sarkozy had “allowed his close associates and political supporters – over whom he had authority and who were acting on his behalf” to approach the Libyan authorities.

They did so “in order to obtain or attempt to obtain financial support in Libya with a view to financing the 2007 campaign”.

But the judges rejected the case made by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, which had described Sarkozy as a beneficiary of corruption through the alleged use of Libyan funds.

The court acquitted him of concealment of embezzlement of Libyan public money, passive corruption and illegal campaign financing.

“For the court, the material elements have not been established that a corruption offence has been committed,” said Gavarino.

Paris court to rule on Sarkozy’s fate in Libya financing scandal

Guéant, Hortefeux guilty

Two of Sarkozy’s closest allies were also convicted. Claude Guéant was found guilty of passive corruption and forgery. Brice Hortefeux was found guilty of criminal conspiracy.

Eric Woerth, treasurer of the 2007 campaign, was acquitted.

The court confirmed that charges against Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine had been dropped following his death in Lebanon on Tuesday, after receiving an official death certificate. Takieddine had been a key figure in the case.

Prosecutors argued that in exchange for illicit funding, Sarkozy helped ease Moamer Kadhafi’s Libya back onto the international stage.

Sarkozy corruption trial wraps up over Libya campaign fund allegations

A litany of trials

Sarkozy’s judicial setbacks have multiplied since he left the Élysée in 2012.

In 2021 he became the first French president since World War II to be sentenced to jail when he received a one-year term for corruption. He served it at home with an electronic tag before being granted conditional release.

He was later convicted in the so-called Bygmalion affair over overspending during his failed 2012 re-election campaign.

An appeals court last year upheld the ruling but reduced his sentence to six months in prison and six months suspended. Sarkozy is still contesting that decision.

Despite his court battles, Sarkozy has kept influence within the French right.

Nicknamed the “hyper-president” for his restless style in office, he continues to be received at the Élysée and has offered counsel to President Emmanuel Macron. Many conservative voters remain drawn to his combative approach.

Sarkozy’s critics say years of trials and corruption claims have permanently tarnished his record. Supporters argue instead that he is the victim of a relentless campaign to drive him off the political stage.

Thursday’s verdict is unlikely to mark the end. Sarkozy is pursuing multiple appeals, and even his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has been charged with witness tampering in a related case.

A report from the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – a partnership between the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) – says that democracy in France is sliding.

The report posits that state authorities are increasingly stigmatising civil society organisations and the causes they champion – particularly when those causes challenge established power.

It says this shift has been especially visible since 2017, following the formal end of the state of emergency that had been introduced after the 2015 terror attacks.

The authors of the report say that full democratic normality has not been restored.

Macron signs controversial French ‘anti-rioters’ bill into law

There has been a notable surge in administrative orders prohibiting demonstrations. These orders, the report warns, are often deployed excessively, with around 80 percent later overturned by the courts.

“It’s a bulwark,” Aïssa Rahmoune, secretary-general of FIDH, told RFI, “but how long will it last? In Nice, for instance, the prefecture issues bans so late that protesters have no realistic judicial recourse.”

These police bans are sometimes announced just hours before a protest is due to begin, which makes it almost impossible for organisers to lodge a timely legal appeal, even though French administrative courts often suspend such orders

Pushback

According to the report, even when protests are authorised, participation is increasingly constrained.

Under France’s 2019 anti-riot law, police can carry out checks and identity controls on potential protesters before they even join a march.

The report also warns over the normalisation of force, as France deploys one of the most militarised policing arsenals in Europe.

Demonstrations often end in the mass detention of participants – too often without any subsequent prosecution. In practice, authorities seem less interested in accountability than in dissuasion, the report says.

Why is France facing its biggest strikes in years?

In terms of pushback, however, the report notes there is an active and engaged human rights community, with civil society organisations drawing public attention to these trends.

The high rate of judicial pushback – including the high rate of bans being suspended – also shows that the French legal system remains intact and impartial, it says.

In 2023, for example, a court in Paris suspended a prefectural order banning non-declared demonstrations – explicitly citing its illegality and the impact on fundamental rights.

As Rahmoune notes, institutional checks and balances and civic resistance remain alive and well in France – and when under pressure, those checks gain a renewed purpose.

Evacuations from Gaza to France were suspended on 1 August after a Gazan student in Paris was found to have published antisemitic social media posts before her arrival. The suspension has left applicants for the largely state-funded Pause programme, which welcomes scientists and artists facing persecution, in limbo. French and international writers and Palestine solidarity groups have denounced it as “collective punishment”. Gazan rap musician Abou Joury, who arrived in France in January, talks about finding safety and financial stability. Meanwhile French fruit farmer Mathieu Yon – whose friend and “sister”, the poet Alaa al-Qatrawi, is currently stuck in Gaza – has taken up position in front of the Foreign Ministry, pushing for evacuations to resume. (Listen @3’50”)

A record 19 percent of France’s GDP is now in savings accounts – the highest level outside of the exceptionally high rate recorded during the Covid pandemic. While the French have always had a tendency to squirrel money away, sociologist Jeanne Lazarus says the current increase is a sign people are feeling anxious about the economy and the long-term viability of France’s famously supportive social welfare system. (Listen @22’20”)

The story of how French revolutionairies overturned not only the monarchy but time itself, by instituting the Republican calendar from 22 September 1792. (Listen @16’25”)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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

The “yes” vote won with 89.4 percent of ballots, according to the official provisional results announced by Ibrahima Kalil Conde, minister of territorial administration and decentralisation.

According to Conde, total election turnout stood at 86.4 percent. Final results will be announced by the Supreme Court at an unspecified date.

The opposition, many of whose leaders are based abroad, had called for a boycott, describing the vote as a power grab with predetermined results.

Despite their plea, Guineans flooded to the polls, with the majority interviewed by French news agency AFP stating they had voted to move forward with a new constitution.

Guinea votes on new constitution as junta leader eyes presidency

Some 6.7 million Guineans out of a population of approximately 14.5 million people were eligible to cast a ballot.

Campaigning had been strong in the referendum’s “yes” camp: rallies, marching bands and posters depicting 40-year-old Doumbouya were prevalent throughout the country.

Doumbouya, at the head of a military junta ousted long-serving president Alpha Condé in September 2021 and dissolved the government and constitution.

The “no” campaign was virtually non-existent, mainly carried out on social media and often led by the junta’s critics in exile.

Exiled former prime minister and fierce junta critic Cellou Dalein Diallo on Tuesday called the vote a “masquerade” that was aimed at “whitewashing” the 2021 coup that brought the junta to power.

Diallo and other members of the opposition had called for a boycott of the vote.

Authorities deployed 45,000 members of the security forces across the country Sunday for the vote, along with 1,000 light and armoured vehicles and combat helicopters, the National Gendarmerie said.

The military had initially pledged to return power to civilians before the end of 2024.

What we know about Guinea coup leader and war master Mamady Doumbouya

Crackdown on media

Although its authorities are now promising presidential and legislative elections before the end of the year, the junta has not yet set a date.

The new constitution will replace the country’s “transitional charter”, introduced by the military government, that had prohibited any junta member from running for election.

There is no such restriction in the new constitution, however, paving the way for Doumbouya’s candidacy.

Guineans AFP spoke with were divided between hoping for the return of civilian rule under a new constitution and supporting the junta leader and his potential candidacy in a future presidential election.

Since 2022, the junta has banned demonstrations and has arrested, prosecuted or pushed into exile several opposition leaders, some of whom were victims of forced disappearances.

On 23 August, the junta suspended two of the country’s main opposition parties for three months.

Several media outlets have also been suspended and journalists arrested.

Interviewed by AFP on Sunday, the secretary-general of the presidency, General Amara Camara, stated that “this constitution is the profound expression of the aspirations of the people of Guinea”.

“Many had expressed doubts about the organisation of this vote, and we have allayed them; we hope that we will also be able to organise the legislative and presidential elections” when the time comes, he said.

(with AFP)

Ankara is celebrating a diplomatic win after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hosted by US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.

In the Oval Office, Trump praised his guest in front of the world’s media.

“He’s a highly respected man,” Trump said. “He’s respected very much in his country and throughout Europe and throughout the world, where they know him.”

Erdogan smiled as he listened. The Turkish leader had been frozen out by President Joe Biden, who made clear his dislike for the Turkish leader.

Trump, by contrast, has long cultivated a friendship with him. But even that relationship has limits, with Israel’s war on Gaza still a source of strain.

Turkey walks a tightrope as Trump threatens sanctions over Russian trade

Restraint over Gaza

Erdogan is a strong supporter of Hamas, which he refuses to label a terrorist group, calling it instead a resistance movement. Yet he chose not to let the issue overshadow his visit.

Analysts say this restraint was deliberate.

“There’s been a concerted effort not to get into a spat about Gaza,” Asli Aydintasbas, of the Washington-based Brookings Institution, told RFI. “Uncharacteristically, he remains silent on the Gaza issue and that is by design.”

During his trip, Erdogan kept his criticism of Israel’s offensive in Gaza to remarks at the UN General Assembly, echoing broader international condemnation.

He also met French President Emmanuel Macron in New York and welcomed France’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

Erdogan is also seeking wider backing as concerns over Israel’s actions grow, an issue that also came up in his talks with Trump.

“Turkey’s concerns with Israel are not actually limited to Gaza,” said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara.

He said Ankara is also uneasy about Israel’s actions in neighbouring states, adding that the two countries’ policies towards Syria clash sharply.

“Turkey wants a stable Syria and one that’s centralised,” he said. “Whereas Israel wants a decentralised and less stable Syria.”

Turkey warns Kurdish-led fighters in Syria to join new regime or face attack

Energy and Russia

Turkey’s close ties with Russia risk becoming another flashpoint.

Sitting beside Erdogan at the Oval Office, Trump called for an end to Turkish purchases of Russian energy. He also criticised Erdogan’s long-standing policy of balancing relations between Washington and Moscow.

“Trump does not want a balancing Turkey, at least today,” said Aydintasbas. “That was more obvious than ever in his rhetoric and his dealings with Erdogan.”

She said Erdogan had assumed for the past decade that his balancing act between the West and Russia was acceptable. “It must come as a surprise,” she added.

Turkey is the third-largest importer of Russian oil and gas. But in a move seen as an attempt to placate Trump, Ankara this week signed a multibillion-dollar deal to buy US liquefied natural gas over 20 years.

The two leaders also signed a strategic agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, which could pave the way for Turkey to buy US-made nuclear reactors.

As Trump rails at UN and shifts Ukraine stance, Macron urges US to end Gaza war

Limited gains

Despite these gestures, analysts said Erdogan achieved little in return. He had hoped Trump would lift a US embargo on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets. Instead, Trump only gave a vague promise to address the issue.

For Erdogan, however, the White House meeting itself may have been the main prize.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said before the meeting that Trump wanted to give Erdogan “legitimacy”.

“For Erdogan, this is a big win,” said Sinan Ciddi, of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies. The Turkish leader, he said, has long sought a White House photo-op to showcase at home.

“He gets to show that he has met the US president, has gravitas on the world stage and is signing deals with Washington,” Ciddi added.

“At a time when he is jailing leaders and dismantling democratic governance inside Turkey, he is being legitimised by the leader of the so-called free world.”

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

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

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 counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s 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 excellent staff of 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. 

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all 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 19 July, I asked you a question about RFI English journalist Dhananjay Khadilkar’s video and article about the study of exoplanets, or extrasolar planets, which are planets outside of our solar system.

As you read in Dhananjay’s article “Swiss exoplanet pioneer reflects on Earth’s place in the cosmos”, Didier Queloz, along with Michel Mayor, discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star in 1995, which ushered in, as Dhananjay wrote, a new era in astronomy and planetary science. The two scientists won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work.

Dhananjay met with Didier Queloz, who told him, and I quote: “Looking for exoplanets is essentially looking for us.”

What did Professor Queloz mean by that? You were to send in the answer to this question: According to Queloz, what is the essential reason for studying other planets?

The answer is, to quote Dhananjay Khadilkar’s article: “In essence, by studying other planetary systems, scientists are holding up a mirror to our own. Are the conditions that led to Earth’s habitability common or exceedingly rare? Is our solar system an outlier, or just one example among countless others?”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Is it up to the State, the government, to decide what is fair, or what is just?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Dipita is also the winner of this week’s bonus quiz. Congratulations, Dipita, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners is RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Basak from Kerala, India, and RFI English listeners Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India; Liton Rahaman Khan from Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Rashidul Bin Somor, the General Secretary of the Source of Knowledge Club, also in Naogaon.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: The allegro di molto from the Symphony No 38 in C Major (the “Echo” symphony) by Franz Joseph Haydn, performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer; “Space Ambient” produced by Space Relax; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Young at Heart” by Johnny Richards and Carolyn Leigh, sung by Connie Francis.

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 Paul Myers’ article “Dembélé and Bonmati win Ballon d’Or as PSG take team and coach prizes”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 20 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 25 October podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

Click here to find out how you can 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. 

Evacuations from Gaza to France were suspended on 1 August after a Gazan student in Paris was found to have published antisemitic social media posts before her arrival. The suspension has left applicants for the largely state-funded Pause programme, which welcomes scientists and artists facing persecution, in limbo. French and international writers and Palestine solidarity groups have denounced it as “collective punishment”. Gazan rap musician Abou Joury, who arrived in France in January, talks about finding safety and financial stability. Meanwhile French fruit farmer Mathieu Yon – whose friend and “sister”, the poet Alaa al-Qatrawi, is currently stuck in Gaza – has taken up position in front of the Foreign Ministry, pushing for evacuations to resume. (Listen @3’50”)

A record 19 percent of France’s GDP is now in savings accounts – the highest level outside of the exceptionally high rate recorded during the Covid pandemic. While the French have always had a tendency to squirrel money away, sociologist Jeanne Lazarus says the current increase is a sign people are feeling anxious about the economy and the long-term viability of France’s famously supportive social welfare system. (Listen @22’20”)

The story of how French revolutionairies overturned not only the monarchy but time itself, by instituting the Republican calendar from 22 September 1792. (Listen @16’25”)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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

“We are fighting for the future of Turkey‘s democracy,” said party leader Ozgur Ozel to tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in Ankara on Saturday.

Ozel has been travelling the country since March, when Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on graft charges. The case marked the start of a legal assault on the CHP. Ozel now speaks at rallies twice a week, despite his often hoarse voice.

The party is also defending itself in court over alleged voting irregularities at a congress two years ago that elected Ozel as leader. If the court rules against them, Ozel and the rest of the party leadership could be removed and replaced by state-appointed trustees.

“It’s unprecedented,” said political analyst Sezin Oney of the Politics news portal. “There has not been such a purge, such a massive crackdown on the opposition, and there is no end in sight, that’s the issue.”

Macron and Erdogan find fragile common ground amid battle for influence

Arrests and polls

On Wednesday, another CHP mayor in Istanbul was jailed, bringing the total to 16 detained mayors and more than 300 other officials. Most face corruption charges.

The arrests come as the CHP’s new leadership is stepping up its challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Recent opinion polls give Imamoglu and other CHP figures double-digit leads over the president.

Oney said the prosecutions are part of Erdogan’s wider strategy.

“He’s trying to complete the transformation, the metamorphosis as I call it, of Turkey to become a full authoritarian country,” she said.

“There is an opposition but the opposition is a grotesque opposition, that can never have the power actually to be in government. But they give the perception as if the country is democratic because there are elections.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan peace deal raises hopes of Turkish border reopening

‘Multi-front attack’

Ilhan Uzgel, the CHP’s foreign affairs coordinator, said the party is under siege.

“We are under a multi-front attack from all directions at almost every level, running from one court case to another,” he said.

He argued that Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is using fear to force defections. “Sixteen of our mayors are in jail right now, and they threaten our mayors. You either join our party or you face a jail term,” Uzgel said.

Erdogan rejects any suggestion of coercion and insists the judiciary is independent. Since he came to power more than 20 years ago, however, not a single AKP mayor has been convicted on graft charges – though on Friday at least two local mayors from the ruling party were detained as part of a corruption investigation.

Turkey warns Kurdish-led fighters in Syria to join new regime or face attack

Political risks

Despite appearing dominant, Erdogan may face a backlash. Atilla Yesilada, a political analyst with Global Source Partners, said the crackdown is fuelling public anger.

“You look at recent polls, the first complaint remains economic conditions, but justice rose to number two. These things don’t escape people’s notice; that’s what I mean when I say Erdogan took a huge political risk with his career,” he said.

Erdogan currently trails behind several potential challengers, but elections are still more than two years away.

Yesilada said much depends on the stance of Erdogan’s ally Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party.

“It’s quite possible at some point, Bahceli will say enough is enough, you are destroying the country, and may also end the coalition,” he said.

Bahceli formed an informal alliance with Erdogan in 2018, when Turkey switched to a presidential system. Erdogan relies on Bahceli’s parliamentary deputies to pass constitutional reforms needed to secure another term.

Bahceli has voiced concern about the pressure on the CHP, which has been trying to win his support. But with the court expected to rule next month on the party’s leadership, the CHP says it will keep fighting.

“The only thing that we can do is rely on our people, our electorate, and the democratic forces in the country. We are not going to give up,” said Uzgel.

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from Erwan, Paul, and me.

Be sure you send in your music requests. Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Picadillo de Soya” by José Luis Cortés, performed by José Luis Cortés and NG La Banda; “Electricity” by Paul Humphreys and Andrew McCluskey, performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and “One Life to Live” from Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, performed by Teresa Stratas with the Y Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz.

The quiz will be back next Saturday, the 27th of September. Be sure and tune in! 

Cameroonians are set to go to the polls for the presidential election on 12 October, but the opposition remains fragmented, despite efforts to unite behind a single candidate to challenge President Paul Biya, who, at 92, is seeking an eighth term.

In the first week of September, the United Nations raised concerns over whether rising tensions in the country could jeopardise the possibility of free and fair elections.

According to Enrica Picco, Central Africa director for the International Crisis Group (ICG), this lack of unity, combined with the perception of an absent or weak opposition, could lead to low voter turnout. The ICG also warns that ongoing instability in the country may further depress participation.

On Saturday, Issa Tchiroma Bakary was named the opposition’s “consensus candidate” for the October vote. But will this be enough to galvanise voters?

The 10 other opposition candidates, who remain officially in the race, have yet to comment on Tchiroma Bakary’s appointment.

We have Enrica Picco on the line to discuss the potential flashpoints and the ICG’s recommendations ahead of the election.

Fears over divided opposition and instability, as Cameroon heads to the polls

 Oil pollution in Nigeria

In Nigeria, major oil companies are facing allegations that they have abandoned decades of pollution in the Niger Delta without addressing the environmental damage.

A UN-appointed panel of experts has written to Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, warning that the firms cannot simply sell off their assets to evade their responsibilities to local communities.

We’ll hear the reaction of community member Celestine AkpoBari, an Ogoni-born activist who coordinates the Ogoni Solidarity Forum and leads the Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI).

Oil giants accused of dodging Niger Delta clean-up as UN panel intervenes

South Africa and the US

Finally, in South Africa, since Donald Trump assumed office in the United States, companies, business leaders and diplomats have been working behind the scenes to strengthen relations, particularly for the hundreds of South African seasonal farmers who spend a few months each year in the US to supplement their income.

One prominent advocate for these farmers is Neil Diamond, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, based in Atlanta.

We discuss the importance of these work opportunities in the US for South Africans, as well as the final three months of South Africa’s G20 presidency — a historic first for an African nation.

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and 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.