The twice-delayed speech marked his first public address since a mutinous army unit backed anti-government protests, and followed reports that the 51-year-old leader had fled the country.

“Since September 25, there have been attempts on my life and coup attempts. A group of military personnel and politicians planned to assassinate me,” he said in a live address Monday evening on Facebook.

Sources told RFI that he had left Madagascar on Sunday on a French military plane.

“I was forced to find a safe place to protect my life,” he said, without revealing his location.

How Gen Z is taking the fight for their rights from TikTok to the streets

Constitution must be respected

The protests, led by mostly young Gen Z demonstrators, erupted over severe power and water cuts in the impoverished Indian Ocean country, but developed into a broader anti-government movement calling for Rajoelina to resign.

Rajoelina, a former mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, called for the constitution to be respected and ignored calls to step down.

“There is only one solution to these problems: to respect the constitution currently in force,” he said at the start of his address. “If we fail to do that, poverty will only worsen.”

“I am on a mission to find solutions,” he said.

Deadly protests erupt in Madagascar over chronic blackouts and water cuts

Mobilisations to continue

Eliott, a member of GenZ Madagascar, was sceptical. “He is clearly not open to dialogue, it is not even certain he will take part in national consultations or engage with stakeholders,” he told RFI.

“Mobilisations will continue, as will efforts to organise broad national consultations to find a way out of the crisis,” he added.

Rajoelina first came to power in 2009 following a coup sparked by an uprising that ousted former president Marc Ravalomanana.

While acknowledging that the constitutional framework should be respected, Ravalomanana called for the head of state to step down.

“The solution is a peaceful transition – to acknowledge the power vaccuum in Madagascar – but we are nonetheless obliged to respect the constitution,” he told RFI. 

Rajoelina has not appeared in public since Wednesday and his address, set for state television and radio, was twice delayed Monday as armed forces attempted to seize the state broadcaster.

French President Emmanuel Macron, has expressed “great concern” over the island’s crisis.  

“It is very important that constitutional order and institutional continuity are preserved in Madagascar, because the country’s stability – and the wellbeing of its people – depend on it,” Macron said.

(with newswires)

The Mouvement associatif, which represents 700,000 French organisations, organised a protest on 11 October to deliver what it called “a wake-up call” to public authorities across France.

“We came to support each other because our activities are in danger,” said Florence Bouhmana, an employee of Solidarité Laïqu, an organisation that fights inequality and promotes access to education in France and abroad. “Ça ne tient plus –  everything is falling apart,” she told RFI.

The Mouvement associatif points out that associations are facing increasing needs and rising costs due to inflation, while receiving fewer resources from public authorities in the midst of a “budget crisis”.

Organisations working in international solidarity, including Solidarité Laïque, are also feeling the strain of partially frozen funding from the French Development Agency (AFD), the main public funder in this sector.

Funding cuts 

These difficulties were highlighted in a survey across nearly 5,000 associations, whichwas first published in spring 2025 and recently updated.

According to this survey, 30 percent of the 1.4 million associations reported having little or no cash flow. 

Following delays in some payments – due to the 2025 budget only being adopted in January – 58 percent reported a decrease in public funding, and 20 percent even mentioned complete cuts in subsidies from the state or local authorities. 

France’s debt: how did we get here, and how dangerous is it?

“People have had enough,” said Lofti Ouanezar, CEO of Emmaüs Solidarité, lamenting the stagnant or declining resources despite growing hardship.  

“We’re seeing more and more people on the streets, but also new groups – more women, young people, and poor retirees. For example, in our daytime shelter at Châtelet, we’ve gone from 200 to 300 people a day, but with the same resources. Yet we are the last safety net: after us, it’s the street!” 

‘A dynamic sector’

The situation also impacts a dynamic economic sector that employs 1.8 million people – 11 percent of the salaried workforce.

One in three associations had to reduce their payroll in 2025, according to the same survey. Claire Thoury, director of the Mouvement associatif, stated during a press conference ahead of the protest that the number of liquidations and rescue plans had doubled since 2022. 

“We launched a redundancy plan just last week,” confirmed Marc Dixneuf, CEO of AIDES, an organisation that has been fighting HIV and hepatitis for 40 years. 

“Sixty-one jobs will be cut out of around 500, that’s 12 percent of our staff,” explains the director. This is due to “600,000 euros in subsidies from the Health Ministry cut overnight, changes in pricing for testing and health centers and effects of the Ségur healthcare reforms.”

In the middle of the crowd, Uriel Moulet walked around holding a sign that reads: “Do you have any questions?” The young woman works for CNAJEP, a coordinating body for youth and popular education organisations. 

“When I was younger, I didn’t realise that many of the things I had access to – summer camps, community and youth information centers – were tied to associations,” she explained. 

“Sports, culture, youth, popular education, international solidarity, social services, the environment… associations are everywhere,” she emphasizes. And “without them, society falls apart,” reads a placard.

“Associations carry out part of the work of public services through delegation,” explained Alexandra Cordobard, Socialist Party mayor of the 10th arrondissement of Paris, who came to support the protest. “So de-funding them also means abandoning those public policies.” 

Culture and sports sectors under pressure 

The cultural and sports sectors, representing 25 percent and 20 percent of all associations respectively, are particularly under pressure. 

A survey from May 2025 by the association of elected officials for sports (Andes) found that 43 percent of local governments cut their sports budgets this year.

Culture has been hit just as hard: almost half of local governments reduced their cultural budgets between 2024 and 2025, according to the Observatory of cultural policies (OPC).

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

At the national level, things haven’t been better. The government froze part of the Pass Culture funding for six months, and the Pass’Sport program, which gave discounts on sports club memberships, hasn’t been available since September for kids aged 6 to 13.

Feminist organisations

Feminist organisations have also raised concerns. At the end of August, the Fondation des femmes (Women’s Foundation) warned of a “particularly critical” situation for associations supporting women victims of violence, at a time when demand continues to grow. A survey of 148 organisations found that over 70 percent reported worsening financial conditions in 2025.

“For years, feminist associations have been a lifeline for thousands of women experiencing violence. By cutting their funding, we’re closing that door – and leaving women to face their abusers. That’s a grave political failure, with consequences counted in human lives,” Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the foundation, said.

“When associations are attacked, it’s the most marginalised people who are being attacked,” added Sarah Durocher, president of Planning Familial, at the Mouvement Associatif’s press conference.

Like others, she criticised a growing climate of mistrust, exemplified by the “Republican Commitment Contract” (CER) introduced in 2021, which associations must sign to receive public funding or accreditation.

Some funding cuts are simply “political choices,” she argued. 

This is a view shared by Cordobard: “Now you also have to agree with the government to get support!” she warned, in reference to threatening statements made by former Interior minister Gérald Darmanin (in 2023) about funding for the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH). 

“We need the associations doing the work,” the mayor insisted. “In my arrondissement, food is distributed every night. If associations don’t do it, who will?” 

This story was adapted from RFI’s original version in French.

Monday was the formal deadline for submitting the budget to the National Assembly. Under the Constitution, lawmakers have 70 days to examine and adopt it before 31 December.

Because of time pressure, the proposal is expected to be almost identical to the version sent to the High Council of Public Finances on 2 October.

That version already drew heavily on the previous plan by the previous prime minister François Bayrou but included fewer cuts.

Open for debate

While “not perfect”, the budget was “largely designed to allow for debate,” Lecornu said last week.

He indicated he could revise the deficit target to just under five percent of GDP, higher than the 4.7 percent planned earlier. But he insisted on keeping the long-term goal of cutting the deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2029, in line with European Union rules.

Lecornu’s team faces pressure from Brussels and financial markets to show fiscal discipline after months of political instability in France.

However, an austerity budget remains deeply unpopular and leaves the government exposed to potential motions of censure.

The far-right National Rally filed a no-confidence motion on Monday, a day after Lecornu unveiled his new cabinet. The party said it would also back a motion from the hard-left France Unbowed, aiming to bring down the government and force new elections.

Reappointed French PM faces tight deadline to form government, negotiate budget

Spending cuts

Lecornu is counting on support from the Socialist Party to survive the vote. That could mean reopening talks on the pension reform that took effect in 2023, raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The reform remains highly controversial. Lecornu has said he is willing to discuss a suspension – a key Socialist demand.

He has also promised not to use Article 49.3 of the constitution, which allows a government to push a bill through without a vote. Instead, he says his focus will be on reducing the deficit by cutting public spending.

He has said that his priority for reducing the deficit will be on cutting public spending, including a €6 billion cut in the state’s operating costs and tighter control of both social welfare payouts and spending by local authorities.

In terms of revenue, Lecornu has ruled out the so-called “Zucman tax”, supported by the left, which would introduce a minimum 2 percent tax on the wealth of the 1,800 richest taxpayers.

Though acknowledging a need for greater tax justice, he proposed a new financial wealth tax, which would target family holding companies that are sometimes used to avoid taxation, and which could generate between 1 billion to 1.5 billion euros.

(with AFP)

The 70-year-old will be held at La Santé prison in Paris, sources close to the case told the French news agency AFP.

Sarkozy learned the details of his detention during a short meeting at the financial prosecutor’s office earlier in the day.

An AFP journalist saw him arrive in a car with tinted windows and leave about 45 minutes later without making any comment. He was later seen returning home.

Sarkozy denies wrongdoing and has appealed against his conviction. A new trial is expected in the coming months, but he must begin serving his sentence while the appeal is pending.

Macron slams ‘unacceptable’ threats to judge after Sarkozy court ruling

First postwar leader jailed

Sarkozy will be the first French postwar head of state – and the first former leader of a European Union country – to serve time behind bars.

Extra security measures are expected to protect him, with the former president likely to be placed either in a unit for vulnerable inmates or in solitary confinement.

Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was found guilty in late September of criminal conspiracy. Judges ruled that he and his aides sought campaign funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi for his successful 2007 presidential bid.

“The offences were of exceptional gravity,” said presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino in the ruling.

French ex-president Sarkozy stripped of Legion of Honour

Secret deal with Gaddafi

Prosecutors said Sarkozy’s team struck a secret deal with Gaddafi in 2005 to secure illegal financing. Investigators believe that in return, Gaddafi was promised help in restoring his international image after Libya was accused of involvement in deadly plane bombings over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 and over Niger in 1989.

The court found Sarkozy guilty of criminal conspiracy but cleared him of other charges, including embezzling Libyan public funds, passive corruption and illicit campaign financing.

Sarkozy has called the verdict “a scandal” and insists he never took money from Gaddafi’s regime.

Kadhafi’s son breaks silence on Sarkozy Libya funding

Third fraud conviction

It is the third time Sarkozy has been convicted on fraud-related charges. In 2021, France’s top court upheld his conviction and one-year sentence for trying to bribe a judge in 2014. He served part of that term under house arrest with an electronic tag.

He was also given a one-year jail term – six months in prison and six months suspended – for illegal financing of his 2012 re-election campaign. That case is under final appeal, with a ruling expected late next month.

Despite his legal troubles, Sarkozy remains influential on the French right and is known to keep in regular contact with President Emmanuel Macron.

The evacuation followed an agreement with French president Emmanuel Macron. French authorities said they are not intervening in Madagascar’s internal crisis, which has rocked the country since 25 September.

The unrest began over widespread water and electricity cuts but has grown into a nationwide movement demanding Rajoelina’s resignation.

Security forces have used force to disperse demonstrations, while officers backing the protesters have taken control of the paramilitary gendarmerie.

Whereabouts unclear

Rajoelina was expected to address the nation on Monday evening, but his location was unclear before his evacuation was confirmed.

“The President will address the Malagasy people today at 7pm (4pm GMT),” the presidency announced on its official Facebook page.

He has not spoken publicly since the officers supporting the protests said they had taken control of the gendarmerie.

On Sunday the presidency warned of an attempted coup by members of Capsat, an elite unit that helped Rajoelina seize power during a 2009 coup.

Former prime minister Christian Ntsay and businessman Mamy Ravatomanga, a close ally of the president, flew to Mauritius on a private jet on Saturday night, according to local reports.

Rajoelina was also absent from a ceremony the same day to install General Nonos Mbina Mamelison as head of the gendarmerie.

The event was attended by Armed Forces Minister General Deramasinjaka Rakotoarivelo and General Demosthène Pikulas, whom Capsat has named as chief of the army.

Around a thousand people gathered on Sunday in Antananarivo’s symbolic Place du 13 Mai, in front of city hall, to celebrate the Capsat troops.

By midday, three armoured vehicles made their way through the cheering crowd, carrying soldiers who waved and smiled, weapons in hand, as demonstrators waved Malagasy flags.

(with newswires)

“Peace becomes possible for Israel, for Gaza, and for the region,” Macron said on X as the first hostages were handed to the Red Cross.

He added that he shared “the joy of the families and of the Israeli people”.

Hamas released the hostages in two groups early on Monday – seven first, then 13 later in the morning.

The handover marks the start of the Gaza ceasefire plan negotiated with US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediation. As part of the deal, Israel has agreed to free nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas took 251 people hostage during its attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Many were freed during earlier truces, but 47 remained in Gaza, only 20 of whom were still alive.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the release was “a major diplomatic success and a crucial step towards peace”.

“The release of hostages is a major diplomatic success and a crucial step towards peace. President Trump made this breakthrough possible,” she said on X.

Peace summit

Macron’s comments came as he arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh for a peace summit on Gaza co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

More than 20 world leaders are expected to attend, along with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Macron said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would also take part. Neither Hamas nor Israel will be represented.

Meanwhile, Kallas announced that the European Union will restart its monitoring mission at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Wednesday.

The European Union Border Assistance Mission, which includes French, Italian and Spanish police forces, aims to ensure a neutral presence at the strategic crossing point.

The mission had been redeployed in January before being suspended again in March.

(with newswires)

Half of the prize was awarded to Mokyr, a professor at Northwestern University in the United States and at the Eitan Berglas School of Economics at Tel Aviv University in Israel, for identifying the conditions needed for sustained growth through technological progress.

The other half went jointly to Aghion and Howitt for developing the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.

Aghion teaches at the Collège de France and INSEAD in Paris, and at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom. Howitt is a professor at Brown University in Providence, in the United States.

“Over the last two centuries, for the first time in history, the world has seen sustained economic growth. This has lifted vast numbers of people out of poverty and laid the foundation of our prosperity,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday, awarding the final Nobel prize of 2025.

The winners have also shown that economic progress cannot be taken for granted: “Economic stagnation, not growth, has been the norm for most of human history. Their work shows that we must be aware of, and counteract, threats to continued growth”.

Speaking by phone at the press conference, Aghion, called on Europe to keep the US and China from dominating technological innovation.

• Macron calls for UK-France AI alliance to catch up with US and China

“I think European countries have to realise that we should no longer let the US and China become technological leaders and lose to them,” Aghion told reporters by phone during a press conference in Stockholm announcing the winners.

He said the wealth gap had widened between the US and the eurozone since the 1980s.

“The big reason is that we failed to implement breakthrough, high-tech innovations,” he said, pointing to a lack of a financial ecosystem to support innovation.

“In Europe, in the name of competition policy, we became very anti any form of industrial policy,” he said.

“I think we need to evolve on that and find ways to reconcile industrial policy in areas like defense, climate, AI, biotech, where we are very good, we have very good research there.”

(with newswires)

The archives in the basement of Wits University are a real maze – but Ajit Gandabhai knows exactly where he is going.

“There are a multitude of categories,” he said. “But we’re heading for the sports section.”

It contains valuable resources for historians and sports enthusiasts: a collection of objects and documents that show how, long before the end of apartheid, black, Indian and mixed-race communities were already playing cricket, rugby and tennis.

“These are financial reports from clubs dating back to 1973,” Gandabhai said. “And this is the trophy for the cricket competition – only for the non-racial federations. The winner took it home.”

South Africa to examine past failures to prosecute apartheid crimes

Boycott and resistance

South Africa was expelled from the Olympic Games in 1964 and, six years later, from the football World Cup. The apartheid government tried cosmetic reforms to make it look more acceptable to the world.

Rejecting any compromise with the regime, activists created the South African Council of Sport (SACOS).

“Sport became a prime way to fight the segregationist state without violence,” said Gandabhai. “And we had the slogan: ‘No normal sport in an abnormal society.’ That is still true today.”

Along with campaigning for an international boycott of South African teams, SACOS and allied clubs built a parallel network of non-racial sport inside the country.

Keeping the memory alive

To make sure this history is not forgotten, activists and sports officials, including Gandabhai, set up a dedicated archive fund in 2014.

“We cannot lose the memory of the people who sacrificed their lives, who were detained by the police,” he told RFI. “This story must be told – and not just from 1995.”

The year 1995, when South Africa won the Rugby World Cup under president Nelson Mandela, is widely seen as the symbolic start of the country’s integrated sporting era.

Because official media under apartheid ignored these competitions, archivists have had to rely on alternative sources – records kept by former players and local supporters.

The legacy of Nelson Mandela 30 years after his election as president

Women’s sport still missing

Michael Kahn, the fund’s secretary-general, said the work is far from complete.

“Several sections are still not well documented,” he said. “And particularly in relation to women’s sport, there are gaps. Black women also played sport – in really difficult conditions.”

The archivists continue to track down testimonies, photographs and documents to fill those gaps and to honour all those who fought for the right to play on equal terms.

The people behind the archive say their work is not just about remembering the past. It also highlights how, three decades after the end of apartheid, access to sport in South Africa still varies sharply between communities.

This story was adapted from RFI’s original version in French

“We were treated like animals,” said Yacine Haffaf, a French surgeon. “It was three and a half days of daily humiliation, intimidation and abuse.”

Haffaf, 69, heads Waves of Freedom, which led the French contingent of the Global Sumud Flotilla. He was on board Jeannot III, one of the vessels intercepted by the Israeli military on 3 October, and among the 31 French citizens later expelled to Athens.

“Soldiers would suddenly storm into our cell when we were sleeping, pointing guns with green laser dots at us and ordering us into a corner,” he said. “We realised after a while that they didn’t intend to shoot but wanted to terrify us.”

The Global Sumud Flotilla left Barcelona in September to challenge Israel’s blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. The mission involved 42 boats carrying 462 civilians from 57 countries.

Most of the activists have since been released from Ketziot, a high-security prison in Israel’s Negev desert. The facility is mainly used to detain Palestinians accused by Israel of terrorist activity.

Israel said the flotilla’s “true goal was provocation in the service of Hamas, not humanitarian assistance”.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the participants “terrorists” in a video shared online.

He said he is “proud that the flotilla activists are being treated as terrorists”. In a second video, he said that they should not be sent home immediately.

“I think we must keep them in Israeli prison for a few months so they can get a taste of the terrorist wing,” he added.

French lawyers representing those expelled from Israel said legal proceedings are under way.

“We will file, in the coming weeks, a criminal complaint to the French public prosecutor for arbitrary detention and mistreatment of the French nationals who were in the Global Sumud Flotilla,” said Lucie Simon, one of five lawyers representing them.

Gaza flotilla boarded by Israeli navy amid calls to lift blockade

Claims of abuse in custody

Haffaf said the detainees were denied essential medicine.

“One of our comrades suffered an asthma attack. We hammered on the cell door to demand medicine, but it only came 48 hours later,” he said. “Despite the inhumane treatment, we refused to bow down and would chant ‘Free Palestine’ to the soldiers.”

Several other activists described similar treatment. Tabea Zaug, a Swiss national, said detainees were treated differently depending on their skin colour and passport.

“I have white skin, blue eyes, I have a Swiss passport. They treated me much better than other passengers on board,” she said after her release.

Zaheera Soomar, a South African activist, said her hijab was forcibly removed and she was stripped naked in front of Israeli soldiers. The South African group said they received harsher treatment than others.

French activist Lyna Altabal said dogs were released into the cell where she was held. French–Palestinian Rima Hassan, a member of the European Parliament for France Unbowed (LFI), told RFI she was beaten by soldiers.

French nationals on Gaza aid flotilla deported from Israel, sent to Greece

Shahd Hammouri, a lecturer in international law at the University of Kent, said Israel’s actions were illegal.

“The humiliating mistreatment of civilians illegally detained in an Israeli prison is a violation of their human rights and of the torture convention,” she told RFI.

Hammouri added that Israel acted unlawfully by seizing the ships in international waters and transferring the detainees to Israeli territory. “Israel does not have the authority to cross the borders with them,” she said.

“Under the law of occupation, you should never hold people you catch outside the territory where you caught them.”

She also rejected Israel’s claim that Palestine has no recognised borders.

“The International Criminal Court, one of the highest courts in the world, rejected these claims in a 2021 judgment and confirmed that Palestine is a sovereign state under international law,” Hammouri said.

Return to Greece

Thirty-one French nationals were expelled from Israel to Greece on 6 October. During their detention, they received consular protection from the French government.

A French diplomatic source said the Consulate General in Tel Aviv stayed in contact with Israeli authorities and the families of those detained. In Athens, consular staff met the group at the airport to help arrange their return home.

The source said officials helped them find flights, contact relatives, and, if needed, book accommodation for the night.

But Haffaf disputed this account.

“They brought chocolates and protein bars and explained that the French government would not pay for the plane fare to Paris,” he said.

“We were left to fend for ourselves in Greece. Thank God for the wonderfully generous Greeks who came to greet us with music at the airport.”

He said Greek supporters brought food and clothes, since the group was still wearing prison uniforms, and hosted them overnight. “We had nothing, no money, no phone, nothing,” he said.

“It is true that we knew the risks, but I thought our government would step forward and take care of us in our hour of need.”

Possible action against France

Lawyer Simon said that her team is considering taking the French state before the administrative court of justice for failing to protect French citizens wrongfully arrested in international waters and arbitrarily detained in an Israeli prison.

She argued that the government should have done more.

“Consular protection means protection before their arrests, protection through diplomatic channels or by sending a vessel like Spain and Italy to escort the flotilla and more specifically the French nationals,” she said.

Warning them of the risks before they travelled to Gaza is not enough, she added.

She compared the government’s stance to what she called “the short skirt theory”.

“You’re wearing a short skirt, so you know that you might get raped. It’s the same theory. I cannot understand that a state bound by international law can behave like that towards its citizens,” Simon said.

Meanwhile, MEP Rima Hassan is calling for strikes and blockades – similar to those in Italy and Spain – to increase pressure on the French government over its response to events in Palestine.

Looking ahead

Back in Paris, Haffaf – who has carried out humanitarian work in conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen – said that while he usually manages to return to normal life after a mission, this time is different.

“I am completely exhausted, both mentally and emotionally. It has been a roller coaster of emotions. Staring down the barrel of a gun is not the same as operating under bombs in Gaza,” he said.

Like most of the activists, he plans to volunteer again.

“This mission created a huge impact in mobilising the hearts and minds of citizens across the world,” he said. “We may not have succeeded in breaking the blockade this time, but we opened a way. We mobilised more people and more resources for future flotillas to Gaza.”

Rallied by online collectives including GenZ 212 and Morocco Youth Voices, thousands of mainly young Moroccans took to the streets in a dozen towns and cities last weekend waving placards and shouting slogans including: “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

Although the estimated €6 billion costs of building and revamping stadiums and roads for the World Cup appear to be the main conductor for their anger, the month-long Africa Cup of Nations that starts on 20 December could bear the brunt.

“Football is much more than entertainment or sport,” said Abderrahim Boukira, professor of the sociology of sport at Hassan 1 University in Settat.

“It’s a vehicle for national pride and identity and a perfect tool for social cohesion and inclusion – if it is used in the right way.

“But also football exposes structural weaknesses such as inequality, lack of spaces and social exclusion.”

Morocco Gen Z protests enter sixth day with calls to oust government

Double hosting duties

The Confederation of African Football (Caf), which organises the biennial Cup of Nations, declined to comment about the protests which, according to the Moroccan Interior Ministry, have left at least 589 police officers as well as 50 civilians injured and led to nearly 500 arrests.

The 35th Africa Cup of Nations was handed to Morocco in September 2023, a year after Guinea was stripped of hosting duties due to its lack of progress on revamping stadiums and roads.

A week later, Morocco’s football administrators were celebrating anew. The bosses at Fifa, world football’s governing body, awarded them co-hosting duties with Portugal and Spain for the centenary edition of the World Cup in 2030.

Two years on, with protests in their second week and GenZ 212 calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, a poser has emerged for Moroccan politicians and football tournament organisers.

Now that they have been questioned, how can they effectively appease the disaffection to ensure a friction-free Cup of Nations and show the demonstrators that they are responding?

Young and angry

Tahani Brahma, a researcher and secretary general at the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, told RFI: “Moroccan youth are taking to the streets to call for functioning hospitals, quality schools and decent jobs.

“They’re rejecting the reality of billions being spent on stadiums for the World Cup while basic services are collapsing.

“Most importantly, Moroccan youth do not want promises, they want their rights.”

People born between 1995 and 2010 make up a fifth of Morocco’s population of 38 million. In August, Morocco’s national statistics office reported unemployment rates of 35.8 percent for 15- to 24-year-olds and 21.9 percent for the 25 to 34 cohort.

The demographic’s ability to mobilise swiftly and vocally on the streets via online platforms such as TikTok and Discord has transformed them into an unpredictable mass with palpable reasons for anger – such as a string of deaths on a maternity ward in Agadir that they say are evidence of the public health sector’s shortcomings.

How Gen Z is taking the fight for their rights from TikTok to the streets

Akhannouch, who is also mayor of Agadir, responded to protests outside that hospital in early September by acknowledging that the centre had been facing problems for decades. 

The billionaire fuel and media tycoon insisted that the government was in the process of building and upgrading hospitals across all the country’s regions.

Data from the World Health Organisation suggests that quest could be long.

In 2023, WHO statistics showed Morocco having 7.7 medical professionals per 10,000 inhabitants and far fewer in certain regions, including Agadir, with 4.4 per 10,000. The WHO recommends 25 per 10,000.

Spending priorities

The government has also been accused of failing to adequately help victims of the earthquake that struck Morocco’s Atlas Mountains on 8 September 2023.

More than 2,900 people were killed and 5,500 people injured during the 6.8-magnitude tremor and its aftershocks.

Just over two years on, Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan inaugurated the 68,000-seat Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. Amid the pomp and ceremony for the heir to the throne, officials cooed over how the old stadium was demolished and replaced within two years with a state-of-the art venue that will host the first match at the Cup of Nations as well as the final.

Ongoing hardship for Moroccan quake survivors still struggling to rebuild

A few days later, dozens of quake survivors congregated in front of Morocco’s parliament as part of a public plea to the government to take reconstruction aid as seriously as the World Cup projects.

Brandishing banners with the names of villages destroyed during the earthquake, they chanted: “Quake money, where did it go? To festivals and stadiums.”

Tourism concerns

While GenZ 212 and other organisers are urging peaceful protests, there have been reports of violence in several smaller towns over the past week, including three deaths in the village of Lqliaa near Agadir on Wednesday night.

Officers fired on protesters “in legitimate defence” after they allegedly tried to storm a police station, the authorities said.

In Sale, near Rabat, groups of young men hurled stones at police, looted shops, set banks ablaze and torched police vehicles. Security forces in Tangier faced a barrage of stones, and in Sidi Bibi, masked youths burned the commune headquarters and blocked a main road.

Gatherings since then have been largely peaceful, but the shadow of unrest may be enough to worry tourism chiefs.

Tourism contributes significantly to Morocco’s economy, accounting for 7 percent of its GDP. Between January and the end of August 2025, Morocco welcomed 13.5 million visitors, a 15 percent rise on a similar period in 2024, said the Ministry of Tourism.

The 2025 Cup of Nations is expected to improve those figures. But the numbers arriving in Rabat, Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech and Tangier for the tournament could be affected if a threat of protests and violence were to stalk the nine venues.

Sports sociologist Boukira suggested it was the opposite of the image the Moroccan administration hopes to project.

“Football is also a tool of soft power,” he said. “Hosting big tournaments, improving infrastructure and attracting global attention shows that football functions beyond sport: it’s a way to project a modern image and to engage internationally.”

He also pointed out the potential benefits at home: “Events like the Cup of Nations and the World Cup also create employment, bring in more tourists and investments. And all that helps in our socio-economic development.”

But with young protesters demanding fundamental reform, there is no guarantee that logic will convince them.

“Young people in Morocco have been suffering for a long time, and not only young people, but the entire population,” said human rights campaigner Brahma.

“Young people are demanding freedom and dignity, and I think these demands will only increase.”

For many voters, the centre-right government of incumbent Petr Fiala had failed to tackle inflation, energy costs and stagnating wages.

That disillusionment paved the way for a populist comeback. “It was an easy path for Babis to take power,” Ondracka told RFI, referring to parliamentary elections held on 3 and 4 October.

Without a clear majority, Babis needs junior partners for a coalition government. The likely candidates are two smaller right-wing parties, the anti-immigration, eurosceptic Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the conservative, anti-Green Deal Motorists for Themselves.

Meanwhile, Babis’s personal dominance in the government is expected to be total.

Whatever coalition Babis chooses, he will wade into a “monstrous conflict of interest, because he is milking the state funds and subsidies”, claims Ondracka, a long-time critic of the billionaire agriculture tycoon.

He views Babis less as a geopolitical threat than as a self-interested pragmatist: “He is not a pro-Russian politician. He is pro-European, because that’s where he sees the most money for his own pocket.”

‘Trumpist’ billionaire wins Czech election, spelling shift on Ukraine

Opportunist

While some compare Babis to Hungary’s Viktor Orban or France’s Marine Le Pen, Ondracka sees him as more opportunistic than ideological: “Babis is not right-wing or left-wing. He tells you whatever you want to hear. What really matters for him is his own pocket and business interests.”

For Ondracka, this absence of ideology is “on one hand scary, on the other hand maybe even a relief”.

That ambiguity may end up working in favour of the status quo. Although Babis often positions himself against domestic elites and Brussels bureaucrats, he knows that EU membership, and crucially, EU funds, underpin his own economic power base.

Babis’s fortune, estimated at more than €3.7 billion, comes from the Agrofert conglomerate. Founded as a fertilizer company, it now has interests in multiple industries from construction to energy to media, and operates in both Europe and China.

Babis was its sole proprietor until 2017, when he was forced to transfer ownership to trusts controlled by his family to comply with conflict of interest rules.

He is embroiled in a legal battle against allegations that he fraudulently claimed €2 million of EU subsidies earmarked for small businesses, charges he rejects as a smear campaign.

European trend

Ondracka sees the Czech election results as part of a wider European pattern. “The elections reflect the very same societal divisions as we see in basically every European country,” he told RFI. “There are the city elites, and then you have people who simply feel betrayed by these elites, and they don’t trust them.”

This erosion of trust, he thinks, has fuelled resentment across the continent, with populists and nationalists offering “simple solutions” to voters seeking a break from liberal centrism.

Even if Babis’s populism is pragmatic rather than ideological, his win reinforces the EU’s broader rightward turn. The ANO victory also highlights the weakening of traditional party structures that once anchored Czech politics in predictable coalitions.

Europe at a crossroads as democratic erosion deepens, report warns

Meanwhile, the Visegrad Four – the alliance that unites the Czech Republic with Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – is unlikely to gain new momentum from Babis’s return.

“It seems that Babis will agree on some issues with Orban and [Slovak Prime Minister Robert] Fico,” Ondracka said, “but there is also huge opposition from Poland and from [Polish Prime Minister Donald] Tusk, so I don’t think the Visegrad Four will be a very actionable group. It will remain politically irrelevant within the EU.”

Still, cooperation inside the group will continue “because these are our neighbours, and we have to collaborate on many issues”, he says.

Outside influences

Babis has invited comparisons with United States President Donald Trump, declaring he wants to “make the Czech Republic great again”.

While some Czech politicians may “take inspiration and try to have a similar vocabulary” to hard-right US populists, Ondracka says the impact on the country’s politics is modest: “People simply vote according to their vital economic interests.”

From Washington to Warsaw: how MAGA influence is reshaping Europe’s far right

Russian influence, by contrast, remains a persistent undercurrent, amplified by disinformation networks.

Yet the election showed voters’ resistance to pro-Kremlin narratives. “Czech elections actually showed that majority of the Czech population doesn’t buy that narrative and they don’t want to come back to Russian influence at all,” Ondracka told RFI. “Most of the parties who were clearly pro-Russian actually lost.”

The Czech Republic bears tangible costs from the war in Ukraine, he added, including some half a million refugees in a country of 10 million. This has strained public services, but also deepened solidarity with Kyiv.

There is reason to believe, then, that the country’s pro-European mainstream remains intact, Ondracka concludes – even with Babis’s populist touch.

For media historian Barbara Laborde, of France’s Sorbonne Nouvelle University, the appeal lies in making viewers rethink how they experience time, in a media landscape that can be over-stimulating.

RFI: What is slow TV?

Barbara Laborde: Slow TV unfolds over long stretches of time, unlike most TV formats that are tightly scripted and cut to fit short slots. It can last for hours, weeks or even months.

The deer-rutting season on France Télévisions ran for three weeks – more than 500 hours in total – which is rare for TV programming.

Slow TV has no script, no storyline, no narrator. It is more like a setup: you put cameras in place, film in a single continuous shot and see what happens.

RFI: When did the first slow TV programme appear?

BL: On Norwegian television, with a train journey. A camera was fixed to the front of the locomotive and viewers watched as it travelled all the way from Bergen to Oslo – more than seven hours.

France 4 later aired Tokyo Reverse, a nine-hour show following a man walking backwards through Tokyo.

The footage was played in reverse so it looked as if the crowd was moving backwards while he moved forward. The route was set, but beyond that anything could happen. It was nine hours of watching a city stroll.

RFI: Was new technology, such as webcams, key to making this possible?

BL: Yes. Before big broadcasters picked it up, it often started with individuals who simply set up a camera and let it run. Now we have long-life batteries and recharging systems that allow extended filming of almost anything.

RFI: What recent example struck you most?

BL: I was struck by nest boxes fitted with webcams that let people watch birds laying eggs and chicks learning to fly. At home you can now observe this quietly. At this year’s CES tech trade show in Las Vegas they even showed birdhouses with AI that can identify species.

RFI: It sounds a bit like those moments in a David Lynch film, between boredom and surprise…

BL: The point is to film the everyday in a way that makes it fascinating – even art. That was the idea of the avant-gardes of the 1960s.

Andy Warhol’s Sleep simply filmed his friend sleeping for hours. There was an artistic intention behind it.

The risk is endless streams of dull images. We have to judge which settings have artistic value and which do not. Watching someone do the washing-up for hours is not necessarily compelling.

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RFI: Does slow TV change our sense of time?

BL: We live amid constant noise, images and over-stimulation. A one-hour talk show is chopped into short clips online for quick viewing. That is the frenzy of today’s media.

Slow TV takes the opposite stance. It shows that TV can offer something else. It makes viewers rethink time, and the pace of television itself.

RFI: Are fireplace loops also a form of slow TV?

BL: Yes, historically it started there. A New York channel, WPIX, realised many city apartments had no fireplaces. In 1966 it aired The Yule Log – a 17-second loop of a burning log, broadcast for three hours without ads.

TV is a window on to elsewhere. With the deer-rutting show, you might watch for hours and see nothing – perhaps a wild piglet if you are lucky.

But that is part of the experience: accepting a slower rhythm and even the possibility that nothing happens.

RFI: Is there an audience for slow TV?

BL: We live in a frantic era with calendars, online meetings and constant notifications. We are always told to be on time, to rush to the next thing.

We forget how to sit still and simply watch. That is why slow TV appeals. It also fits with the booming wellness industry.

People turn to yoga, meditation, breathing exercises. Technology has sped up our lives, yet many of us want to step back, pause and breathe.

This interview was adpated from the original version in French and lightly edited for clarity.

Dailon Rocha Livramento got the opener for the hosts just after the pause and Willy Semedo doubled the advantage in the 55th minute to the delight of the 15,000 partisans.

Just over 4,000km away at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, the only danger to the mounting delirium, were labouring 0-0 against Angola.

In the prelude to the match, Cape Verde coach Bubista described the game as the most important match in the country’s history and urged his players to seize their chance for history.

Once ahead, they maintained their control and structure to squeeze the life out of the pool makeweights.

And a composed performance was rewarded in stoppage-time when Stopira added the third.

“Giving this happiness to these people is enormous,” said Bubista. “It’s a victory for all the Cape Verdean people and, above all, a victory for those who fought for our independence.

“It’s a special moment in this celebration of the 50th anniversary of our independence.”

The goalkeeper Vozinha added: “We knew we could do better in the second-half and we did.

“I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a child. It’s time to celebrate.”

Cape Verde’s history men face South Africa for place in semis at Cup of Nations

World Cup feat

Cape Verde –  a nation of just under 600,000 people – will be the second smallest country after Iceland to send a team to the World Cup since its inception in 1930.

When Iceland featured in Russia in 2018, 32 sides battled for primacy. In 2026 in Mexico, the United States and Canada, 48 sides will fight for the crown.

The expanded version will increase the number of teams from Africa from five to nine. A tenth could participate  if they navigate intercontinental play-offs next March.

That route will be of little concern to Cape Verde who claimed Group D with 23 points from their 10 games.

The Blue Sharks – as they are nicknamed – started the road to glory inauspiciously with four points from their first three games against Angola, Eswatini and Cameroon.

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Bounce back

But after the 4-1 defeat to Cameroon in Yaounde, Cape Verde won five consecutive qualifiers, including crucial one-goal victories away to Angola and at home to Cameroon.

That left the islanders needing three points from their final two qualifiers. They notched up one in a drama-filled 3-3 draw in Libya before Monday night’s gala against Eswatini.

The qualification for the World Cup will serve as redemption for Bubista who botched the campaign to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Despite that failure, Cape Verdean football chiefs retained him and the former defender has repaid their faith.

Cameroon, one of the traditional powerhouses of African football, finished second on 19 points and could be in contention for a place in the play-offs as one of the four best runners-up.

Road to 2026: Morocco maintain surge as Nigeria slip up

Benin’s turn?

On Tuesday night, Benin will attempt to emulate Cape Verde. 

Gernot Rohr’s squad lead Group C. They are two points ahead of South Africa and three in front of Nigeria whom they face in Uyo.

“We still have to do something great against Nigeria,” said Rohr who steered the Nigeria side through the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“All is possible for South Africa, Nigeria and us,” added the 72-year-old German who took over in Benin in 2023.

“We have our destiny in our hands. This can be a little advantage. We will see.”

In other African qualifying groups on Tuesday, Group B pacesetters Senegal entertain Mauritania. Victory will assure Pape Bouna Thiaw’s side of passage to a second successive World Cup.

Democratic Republic of Congo will advance if they beat Sudan and Senegal lose their match. 

It is the first time scientists have declared that Earth has likely reached a so-called “tipping point” – a shift that could trigger massive and often permanent changes in the natural world.

“Sadly, we’re now almost certain that we crossed one of those tipping points for warm water or tropical coral reefs,” report lead Tim Lenton, a climate and Earth system scientist at the University of Exeter, told AFP.

This conclusion was supported by real-world observations of “unprecedented” coral death across tropical reefs since the first comprehensive assessment of tipping points science was published in 2023, the authors said.

In the intervening years, ocean temperatures have soared to historic highs, and the biggest and most intense coral bleaching episode ever witnessed has spread to more than 80 percent of the world’s reefs.

Understanding of tipping points has improved since the last report, its authors said, allowing for greater confidence in estimating when one might spark a domino effect of catastrophic and often irreversible disasters.

Scientists now believe that even at lower levels of global warming than previously thought, the Amazon rainforest could tip into an unrecognisable state, and ice sheets from Greenland to West Antarctica could collapse.

Indigenous knowledge steers new protections for the high seas

‘Unprecedented dieback’

For coral reefs, profound and lasting changes are already in motion.

“Already at 1.4C of global warming, warm water coral reefs are crossing their thermal tipping point and experiencing unprecedented dieback,” said the report by 160 scientists from dozens of global research institutions.

The global scientific consensus is that most coral reefs would perish at warming of 1.5C above preindustrial levels – a threshold just years away.

When stressed in hotter ocean waters, corals expel the microscopic algae that provides their distinct colour and food source.

Unless ocean temperatures return to more tolerable levels, bleached corals simply cannot recover and eventually die of starvation.

Since 2023, marine scientists have reported coral mortality on a scale never seen before, with reefs turning ghostly white across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

“I am afraid their response confirms that we can no longer talk about tipping points as a future risk,” Lenton told reporters.

Rather than disappear completely, scientists say reefs will evolve into less diverse ecosystems as they are overtaken by algae, sponges and other simpler organisms better able to withstand hotter oceans.

These species would come to dominate this new underwater world and over time, the dead coral skeletons beneath would erode into rubble.

Such a shift would be disastrous for the hundreds of millions of people whose livelihoods are tied to coral reefs, and the estimated one million species that depend on them.

Earth fails another critical health check, but scientists say it’s not too late

‘Danger zone’

Some heat-resistant strains of coral may endure longer than others, the authors said, but ultimately the only response is to stop adding more planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Exceeding 1.5C “puts the world in a greater danger zone of escalating risk of further damaging tipping points”, Lenton said, including the collapse of vital ocean currents that could have “catastrophic” knock-on impacts.

Scientists also warned that tipping points in the Amazon were closer than previously thought, and “widespread dieback” and large-scale forest degradation was a risk even below 2C of global warming.

That finding will be keenly felt by Brazil, which on Monday is hosting climate ministers in Brasilia ahead of next month’s UN COP30 conference in Belem on the edge of the Amazon.

In good news – the exponential uptake of solar power and electric vehicles were two examples of “positive” tipping points where momentum can accelerate for the better, said Lenton.

“It gives us agency back, policymakers included, to make some tangible difference, where sometimes the output from our actions is sometimes disproportionately good,” he told AFP.

Maignan, 30, will lead the side out at Laugardalsvollur Stadium on Monday night in the absence of Kylian Mbappé.

The Real Madrid striker returned to his club over the weekend after aggravating an injury to his right ankle during France’s 3-0 win over Azerbaijan on Friday night.

Mbappé scored for the third time in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign to help his team maintain their 100 percent record in Group D.

But his departure left Deschamps without a captain for the tie that could furnish the 2022 runners-up with a berth at next year’s tournament if Ukraine and Azerbaijan were to draw on Monday night.

“Mike is a leader,” said Deschamps of the player that he chose to replace Hugo Lloris after the defeat in the World Cup final in Qatar.

“Against Azerbaijan, when Kylian came off, Mike took over the armband,” Deschamps added.

“The fact that he has been able to play so many matches means that he is solid. He is a great competitor, even in training.

“He is a workaholic, sometimes a little too much in my opinion. But that’s how he is.”

Kylian machine: Mbappé fires Madrid’s Champions League rout of Manchester City

Force with France

France have won 12 and drawn four of their encounters with Iceland.

Mbappé was the star of the show when the teams clashed at the Parc des Princes in September.

The 26-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain striker swept home a penalty on the stroke of half-time to cancel out Andri Gudjohnsen’s opener for the visitors.

On the hour mark, Aurélien Tchouaméni lofted a pass over the Iceland midfield into the path of Mbappé who charged towards goal.

With the stadium anticipating another dead-eyed strike, he drew out the Iceland goalkeeper Elías Rafn Olafsson and passed for Bradley Barcola to slot the ball into the empty net.

After the trip to Iceland, France entertain Ukraine on 13 November and they end the qualifying phase for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada on 16 November with a voyage to Azerbaijan.

Macron spoke as reinstated Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s new government took office under mounting pressure to produce a 2026 budget and calm the turmoil that has rattled investors and business leaders.

“Never forget that the mandate given by the French people is to serve, to serve and serve, and to provide answers to the questions of everyday French people, and to do everything possible for the independence of France,” Macron told reporters in Egypt, days after reappointing Lecornu as head of government.

“That is the only thing that matters. The rest is the government’s business … I will continue to ensure stability.”

Macron’s second and final term ends in 2027.

Lecornu unveiled his new cabinet on Sunday night, keeping most key ministers in place despite pledging “renewal and diversity” when he was reappointed prime minister on Friday.

“A mission-driven government has been appointed to provide France with a budget before the end of the year,” Lecornu wrote on X on Sunday.

The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) said it would file a motion of no confidence on Monday, as did the far-right National Rally, meaning the new government will face a challenge before the end of the week.

The Socialists have not committed one way or another.

The new government must present a 2026 draft budget before a Tuesday deadline, giving parliament the constitutionally-required 70 days to examine the plan before year’s end.

Debate over the budget toppled Lecronu’s two predecessors.

New government, same faces

Lecornu, whose previous cabinet lasted 14 hours before he quit last week, reappointed Roland Lescure, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, as finance minister, a key role in preparing the budget.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin also kept their posts.

“A single imperative guides my decisions: to serve my country and the French people,” Darmanin posted on X. “Without renouncing any of my convictions, I am therefore taking leave from all partisan activity.”

The most notable change in the cabinet was the new Interior Minister, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, who replaces Bruno Retailleau, leader of the right-wing Les Republicans (LR) party, which said it would not participate in a new government.

Former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne was replaced by civil servant Edouard Geffray as Education Minister, and outgoing Labour Minister Catherine Vautrin took on the defence portfolio.

Monique Barbut, the former director of the French World Wide Fund will lead the ministry of environmental transition.

Rachida Dati, who is set to stand trial on corruption charges next year, also retained her post as Culture Minister.

Looming budget deadline

Macron reportedly wanted a government named before he left for Egypt late Sunday to support the Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by the United States – a trip that could delay the presentation of the draft budget.

Lecornu has pledged to work with all mainstream political movements to get the budget passed, but he is under pressure from all sides.

The Socialists want a repeal of Macron’s pension reform and a re-introduction of a wealth tax, which the right has said is a red line.

Lecornu signalled potential flexibility on the pensions issue on Saturday, saying “all debates are possible as long as they are realistic.”

The Republicans, previously allies, said they would only cooperate with the new government on a “bill-by-bill” basis.

The far-right National Rally, the largest party in parliament, has vowed to vote out any new Lecornu government.

(with newswires)

Alghorra (Zuma Press), who is still in Gaza, was recognised for his series “Trapped in Gaza: Between Fire and Famine”. Last year, he won Bayeux’s young reporter award.

His work on the plight of civilians trapped in the Palestinian territory by the Israeli military campaign also saw him pick up the 2025 Humanitarian Visa d’Or award at Visa pour l’image festival in Perpignan in September.

Gaza was the focus of the other two recipients for this category with Ali Jadallah (Anadolu Agency) in second place and Jehad Alshrafi in third.

Jadallah’s image of Israeli fire raining over Deir al-Balah in Gaza also won the Public’s Choice award.

In the print journalism category, Wolfgang Bauer (Zeit Magazin) from Germany won first place for “The Forgotten”, about the only hospital still able to perform surgery in Sudan‘s capital, Khartoum.

The journalist thanked “all the doctors, nurses and volunteers” at the hospital “who do everything they can to save lives every day” in a video message, on the verge of tears.

Reports from Gaza, Sudan, DRC honoured at French photojournalism festival

Second place in the print category went to Declan Walsh’s “Sudan on Fire” published by The New York Times. His article also won the honorary Ouest-France-Jean Marin prize.

Third place went to Alexander Clapp for “Cocaine, bananas, and tongueless children: behind the scenes of the world’s latest narco-state Ecuator” for The Economist.

Syrian women have their say

Swiss-Canadian journalist Maurine Mercier (RTS-RTBF) received the top prize for radio for her report “Pokrovsk: Two Flowers in the Ruins”, about the sexual lives of women in eastern Ukraine.

“These women live, they defend democracy and freedom,” Mercier told the nearly 1,560 spectators gathered at the award ceremony, “but I didn’t think you would be ‘punk’ enough to award this report.”

Second prize in radio went RFI’s Manon Chapelain for “Barrage de Tichrine: le dernier front de Syrie” (Tichrine Dam: Syria’s last frontline) and third prize to Radio France’s Aurélien Colly for “Syrie: la folie de la tyrannie” (Syria and the folly of tyranny).

In the television category, Julie Dungelhoeff, James André and Sofia Amara from France 24 won first place for their report, “Inside Assad’s terror machine”, focused on the prisons liberated by the Syrian regime.

“It’s important that we continue to go out into the field whenever possible to tell these stories,” said Amara told the audience.

The second prize in television went to Solenn Riou, Pauline Lormant and Oleksii Sauchenko for a report on Ukrainian commandos on the frontline.

The third prize went to Jomana Karadsheh, Tareq Al Hilou, Mohammed Al Sawalhi, Mick Krever and Mark Baron from CNN for their documentary about the lives of children in Gaza which also won the special Normandy Region Prize, designated by students and trainees.

A documentary on the conflict in Ethiopia called “Tigray: rape, the silent weapon” by Agnès NABAT, Marianne Getti (Kraken Films / Arte) scooped up the Grand Format television trophy, awarded by the Caen Memorial museum.

The Young Reporter Award was awarded to Pierre Terraz (Politis, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Grands Reportages), who distinguished himself with “Burma: A Clandestine Plunge into Civil War.”

“Every day, Burmese journalists are arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and executed, sometimes in public,” Terraz said on stage. “I think about them every day.”

Global press freedom at ‘tipping point’, media watchdog RSF warns

Tributes to journalists who perished

The Video Image Award went to Edward Kaprov (Lila Production for ARTE Reportage) for “Donbass, Between Life and Death,” a poignant account of the war in Ukraine.

Presided by American journalist Jon Lee Anderson, the international jury of the 32^nd edition of the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award combed through hundreds of entries to chose winners in the ten categories.

“This has definitely been one of the strongest journalistic offerings I have seen since I have come to the Prix Bayeux,” Anderson said after seeing the numerous entries.

“We evaluated an incredible array of material that included many examples of real journalistic excellence, and it came from all over the globe. We had vigorous debates which were always stimulating and ultimately rewarding. I am tired, but feel very satisfied by the process we have engaged in, and I trust that the public will agree with our choices,” Anderson said.

During the ceremony, tributes were paid to journalists killed recently in the line of duty.

Aida, the partner of French photojournalist Antoni Lallican, who was killed on 3 October in Donbass, eastern Ukraine, in a Russian drone attack, sent a message saying she “already misses the joy of living” of the “talented” reporter who died at the age of 37.

A tribute was paid to Syrian journalist Anas Kharboutli, who died a few days before Bashar al-Assad fled the country.

The Bayeux Calvados-Normany Awards for war correspondents exhibitions are open to the public until 9 November.

The CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers joined thousands of protesters in the city centre on Saturday in a major shift in a more than two-week anti-government youth-led protest movement.

The unit had earlier declared that it would “refuse orders to shoot” and criticised the gendarmerie, who have been accused of using heavy-handed tactics against protesters, causing several deaths.

“From now on, all orders of the Malagasy army – whether land, air or the army – will originate from CAPSAT headquarters,” officers of the CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers claimed in a video statement.

The officers said they had named General Demosthene Pikulas as the head of the army – a post that had been vacant since the former head was appointed minister of armed forces last week – although it was not clear if the posting could be considered official.

There was no immediate response from other units or the military command.

Soldiers based in the outskirts of Antananarivo on Saturday morning called on security units to “join forces” and to “refuse orders to shoot”, repudiating the violent crackdown on the protests.

Calls to resign

They clashed with gendarmes outside a barracks and rode into the city on army vehicles to join the demonstrators on the symbolic Place du 13 Mai in front of Antananarivo’s city hall, where they were welcomed with cheers and calls for Rajoelina to resign.

The president released a statement Sunday saying “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force, contrary to the Constitution and to democratic principles, is currently under way.”

“Dialogue is the only way forward and the only solution to the crisis currently facing the country,” he said, calling for “unity”.

Officers of the gendarmerie, which has been accused of violence against protesters, on Sunday morning released a video statement recognising “faults and excesses during our interventions” and calling for “fraternity” between the army and the gendarmes.

“We are here to protect, not to terrorise,” they said, adding that “from now on, all orders will come solely” from the gendarmerie’s headquarters.

The soldiers calling on the military to desist from cracking down on protesters were from the CAPSAT contingent of administrative and technical officers in the Soanierana district on the outskirts of Antananarivo.

The Soanierana military base in 2009 led a mutiny during a popular uprising that brought Rajoelina to power.

How Gen Z is taking the fight for their rights from TikTok to the streets

The African Union Commission on Sunday expressed “deep concern” at the situation in Madagascar.

“The Chairperson of the Commission welcomes the Government’s renewed commitment to dialogue and urges all Malagasy stakeholders, both civilian and military, to exercise calm and restraint,” it said in a statement.

Neighbour South Africa also called upon “all parties to respect the democratic process and constitutional order”.

Ready to listen?

Saturday’s demonstration in Madagascar‘s capital Antananarivo was one of the biggest since the protest movement erupted on 25 September, sparked by anger over power and water shortages.

The United Nations has said that at least 22 people were killed in the first days of the protests, some killed by security forces and others in violence sparked by criminal gangs and looters in the wake of the demonstrations.

Rajoelina has disputed the toll, saying last week there were “12 confirmed deaths and all of these individuals were looters and vandals”.

According to local media, the emergency services reported another two dead and 26 injured on Saturday. The CAPSAT unit said a soldier was also shot by gendarmes and died.

In an effort to address the unrest, Rajoelina last week dismissed his entire government. On Monday he appointed army General Rufin Fortunat Zafisambo as prime minister and gave him six months to improve basic services and curb corruption, a move which has failed to ease tensions.

The government on Sunday ensured that Rajoelina remained “in the country” and was “managing national affairs”, while the newly appointed prime minister said the government was “standing strong” and “ready to collaborate and listen”. 

Also on Sunday, Air France announced a suspension of flights to Madagascar for two days.

(with AFP)

At a march in Abidjan on Saturday, which had been banned by authorities the day before, security forces dispersed crowds with tear gas. At least 237 people were arrested, according to Interior Minister Vagondo Diomande.

Côte d’Ivoire‘s government earlier this month imposed sweeping bans on meetings and rallies protesting the exclusion of leading critics of President Alassane Ouattara from the 25 October vote.

Ex-leader Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, who heads the west African country’s largest opposition party, are among the figures who have been prevented from challenging 83-year-old Ouattara’s bid for a fourth term.

“Demonstrations for democracy, justice, and peace will continue every day across the country until the demands for political dialogue are met,” announced the Common Front, which unites the two main opposition parties, in a joint statement seen by French news agency AFP on Sunday.

Gbagbo and Thiam’s parties both reported numerous people injured on Saturday, and reaffirmed their “firm determination not to be intimidated or distracted by the regime’s brutal repression”.

The authorities in Abidjan had banned Saturday’s opposition protest on the grounds of the need to “maintain public order”.

No opposition leaders were seen at the march, but several groups took to the streets in several neighbourhoods, calling for democracy and opposing Ouattara’s candidacy.

Côte d’Ivoire presidential race begins amid rising tensions

“Alassane Ouattara is not the choice of the Ivorians. We are not in a democracy; we are under a dictatorial regime,” one activist told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Another woman said: “I came to demonstrate this morning because I’m tired of this country. His time has come, he (Ouattara) just has to leave.”

Security forces assaulted journalists covering the protest, seized equipment and deleted images.

The head of Thiam’s Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) in parliament, Simon Doho, told AFP the arrests were “arbitrary” and were a “serious risk to the stability of the country”.

“What we want for our country is democracy, freedom of expression, to vote, the participation of all candidates, and transparent elections,” he added.

‘Peace imposed by weapons’

The executive secretary of Gbagbo’s African People’s Parti Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), Sebastien Djedje, said peace was being “imposed by weapons”.

Some 300 kilometres away to the northwest, there was a festive atmosphere in the city of Daloa, where Ouattara launched his re-election campaign.

Why Côte d’Ivoire’s election could be more complex than it seems

“I love this Côte d’Ivoire that unites women and men from different communities,” the 83-year-old president said, addressing the crowd of cheering supporters at the Daloa regional stadium.

Heavy downpour failed to dampen spirits at the rally where Mamadou Toure, spokesperson for the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party, urged people to “vote for stability, peace, and continuity.”

In the upcoming election, Ouattara, will face off against former ministers Jean-Louis Billon and Ahoua Don Mello, as well as former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and Henriette Lagou, who previously ran for president in 2015.

(with AFP)

Along with a cheque for €515,000 Rinderknech collected 600 ranking points to propel him into the top 30 for the first time since he turned professional in 2018.

Vacherot zoomed from 204 in the lists to 40 with the 1,000 points harvested from the tournament.

The 26-year-old also doubled his career prize money.

Entering the tournament two weeks ago, Vacherot had earned €512,000 since hitting the international tour in 2021. The Monegasque departed with €969,000.

The 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph also left him bathed in the kudos of becoming the lowest-ranked winner of a Masters 1000 event, which are considered as the most coveted crowns on the circuit after the four Grand Slam events in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.

Vacherot can also boast the feat of the first player representing Monaco to win a tour-level title since tennis was opened up to professional players in 1968.

Before his exploits, Roberto Carretero in 1996 and Alberto Portas in 2001 had been the only other qualifiers to win Masters titles.

Sinner outwits Rinderknech to move into French Open clash with Gasquet

‘One family that won’

“I think there are two winners and just one family that won,” said Vacherot who went to China on the off chance that there would be a space in the qualifying tournament for the main draw.

Once admitted in the qualifiers, he negotiated the three rounds.

And in the main draw, he accounted for Laslo Djere in the first round to notch up only his second victory on the main tour.

Experienced operators such as Alexander Bublik, Tomas Machac and Tallon Griekspoor also fell.

Vacherot’s fairy tale continued with the elimination of the 10th seed Holger Rune in the last eight and he outmuscled the four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic in the semis.

“It’s only my fourth season on the tour,” Vacherot said. “I think of all the work I’ve done and to win is completely crazy.

“I tried to put it to one side that it was my cousin, the guy that I’ve been growing up with,” Vacherot added.

“In the first set I didn’t bring my ‘A’ game and Arthur was playing better than me.”

Alcaraz beats Sinner in longest final in French Open history to retain crown

‘Valentin was extraordinary’

Rinderknech, who had never been past the third round at a Masters 1000 competition in 21 previous attempts, admitted he was physically compromised after his semi-final against Daniil Medvedev on Saturday.

“Daniil makes you work extremely hard to earn points and it took a lot of effort on my part. I was not on the top of my game but that’s not why I lost.

“Valentin was extraordinary. I’m extremely proud of him, of what he did, of everything he showed this week in Shanghai.

“The little star above our heads shone a little brighter for him. I’m happy for him, for his coach, his parents, my aunt and the whole family. That’s what stands out most.”

The candidates were in full campaigning mode until Friday, having had just two weeks to set out their stalls before the 12 October presidential election.

The presidential party, the RDPC, campaigned for Biya without his physical presence until Tuesday, when he attended a meeting in Maroua, the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon. Biya had not made a public appearance at a party event until then, and hadn’t addressed Cameroonians since a 10 February Youth Day speech.

“I have an opportunity to tell you that my determination to serve you remains intact. I would like to reaffirm this today,” he told the crowd of supporters.

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

Enrica Picco, Central Africa director for the International Crisis Group (ICG), told RFI: “Many Cameroonians, inside and outside the country, hoped that President Biya would have listened to the many calls, from opposition parties, civil society and from his own party and allies, to step down after 42 years in power.” 

However, the opposition did not seize the opportunity to unite behind a strong alternative candidate.

“Though this is not the first time they were told to identify a single candidate to challenge Biya, they didn’t manage to do so,” said Picco.

She added that this could discourage many people from voting – especially those in the far north of Cameroon, where security is a huge issue, making going out to vote potentially dangerous. 

Anglophone regions

The election campaign has been severely disrupted in the country’s two predominantly English-speaking regions, the Northwest and the Southwest.

Since September, armed separatist groups have been calling for “ghost town” action, with varying degrees of impact. 

Civil society groups called on the belligerents, both armed groups and the state, to do everything possible to allow English-speaking citizens to vote this Sunday, so that these two regions would not be excluded from the electoral process.

Spotlight on Africa: Cameroon votes, Niger Delta oil pollution, South Africa – US ties

Ayah Abine, a leading figure in English-speaking Cameroon and president of the Ayah Foundation based in Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region, told one of RFI’s reporters in Cameroon: “The economy is on the floor, schools aren’t working, not much is really happening, that’s deplorable… but the brave will come out [to vote].”

“I, for example, will go to vote, really hoping that everything will go well,” he added. “But many won’t have the courage to face armed men.”

Electoral logistics

There are around 7.845 million registered Cameroonians voters, including 26,800 in the country’s diaspora.

For the previous presidential election on 7 October 2018, there were 6,687,000 registered voters, and participation was 53.85 percent across the national territory and 48.1 percent within the diaspora.

Outcry in Cameroon as opposition leader Kamto barred from presidential race

The presidential election in Cameroon is a single-round, majority vote. The candidate with the most votes wins the election, for a seven-year mandate, renewable without limit since the reform of the constitution in 2008.

There will be 30,357 polling stations open across the country on Sunday, and in 44 diplomatic missions and consular posts.

The authorities deployed the equipment and personnel of Elecam (Elections Cameroon), the body in charge of the election, the week before the polls opened.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) requires all non-EU citizens to register their personal details, including fingerprints and facial images, when they first enter the Schengen area – which comprises all EU nations, apart from Ireland and Cyprus, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The new electronic system removes the requirement to manually stamp passports at the EU’s external border and instead creates digital records that link a travel document to a person’s identity using biometrics.

It will be applied on arrival at airports, ports, train terminals and road border crossings in the Schengen area.

As the Schengen Agreement turns 40, how free is movement around Europe today?

Children under 12 need to be registered under the EES, but will only have their photograph taken. Travellers do not have to pay for EES.

Non-EU citizens with residence permits or long-stay visas for EU countries will be exempt from using the EES as will Irish and Cypriot travellers, despite their countries not implementing the system.

“This is a significant step towards a more secure and efficient border management system for the EU,” said EU spokesman Markus Lammert.

The EU says the system is intended to prevent illegal migration, combat identity fraud and identify overstayers.

Gradual rollout

Hotly debated for almost a decade, the system has raised concerns among transport providers and passengers, who fear it could lead to longer queues at airports and train stations.

To limit disruption, there will be a phased rollout. Data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossings from Sunday, with full implementation by 10 April, 2026.

The bloc’s biggest countries, including France and Germany, have said they will carry out only a handful of checks in a bid to avoid huge queues at airports.

EU countries tighten border checks amid security and migration fears

UK travellers

British nationals – no longer EU citizens, following Brexit – will be subject to the new rules.

UK authorities have already advised travellers to allow extra time when crossing into the Schengen zone, particularly at high-traffic ports such as Dover and train stations such as London St Pancras.

Transport providers including Eurostar and Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel, say they are ready for the rollout. But the UK’s Road Haulage Association has warned of potential delays during peak travel periods.

Passenger vehicle checks will commence in November at Dover, and by the end of the year at the Eurotunnel. Eurostar has said it will gradually introduce the new border procedures.

France reinstates border checks as immigration policies tighten

Online travel authorisation

The next phase in the EU’s border overhaul will be the launch of an electronic travel authorisation document – known by its acronym ETIAS – similar to the United States’ ESTA or its UK equivalent ETA.

Non-Schengen area citizens will need to apply for an ETIAS authorisation, provide personal information and details about their trip and pay a €20 fee before they travel. This authorisation will be valid for three years or until a passport expires, whichever comes first.

Since April, European visitors to the UK have had to purchase an electronic permit in advance.

(with newswires)

At Buffet Crampon’s large workshop near Paris, 15,000 clarinets are produced each year. The majority are exported to the United States – “around 30 percent of our production,” Jérôme Perrod, president of this 200-year-old company, told RFI. 

But since the implementation of US tariffs on 7 August, things have changed.

“We’re already seeing a decline in the market due to price increases. Stores are being very cautious and don’t want to renew their stock, because they fear that musicians will buy fewer instruments,” said Perrod.

The US market for wind instruments is shrinking because prices have gone up due to tariffs set by Donald Trump’s administration. According to Perrod, prices have increased by 10 to 15 percent.

US competition

Jakez François, CEO of Camac Harps, a pioneering French harp maker, shares the same concerns. The American market makes up a quarter of the company’s exports. 

“These tariffs caused our prices to jump overnight,” François explained. “And they come on top of the weak dollar against the euro. Combined, this has led to a 22 percent increase in our prices in the United States.”

On 15 September, Camac faced a setback that had long been feared. “We had a shipping container with about 15 harps ready to go,” said François. “Our main distributor cancelled more than half the order. We’re now in the exact situation we were worried about.”

It’s a significant blow, especially given that Camac’s main global competitor is based in the United States. “This puts us in a much tougher position against that competitor,” François added. 

Trump’s tariffs come into force, upending economic ties with Europe

Buffet Crampon, however, is almost in a monopoly position on the wind instrument market. Because of this, Perrod says he doesn’t understand the relevance behind these tariffs.

“We have no competitors in the United States, so no one is going to benefit from these American taxes.”

Impact on education

The customs duties agreed between the EU and the Trump administration appear to be a lose-lose deal. 

This is especially concerning since wind instruments have long been an important part of musical education and culture in the US. 

“There is a very strong tradition of instrumental practice in the United States, particularly in orchestras, starting in school. Half of all children between 9 and 12 years old choose to play a wind instrument, which inevitably leads to a career in music for some of them,” says Perrod.  

In the long term, this tradition could suffer the consequences of these tariffs, explains Coraline Baroux-Desvignes, general delegate of the Chambre Syndicale de la Facture Instrumentale (CSFI), the union which represents around 60 companies in the sector.

“Some musicians may delay purchasing musical instruments until the situation improves, which could have an impact on the quality of musical productions,” she said.

The price increase also impacts instruments made for students, which are more affordable.

“This could discourage young musicians from starting regular practice of an instrument,” added Baroux-Desvignes, who fears the consequences for “several generations of musicians”.

Partial unemployment

French instrument makers are now exploring new markets. The president of Camac Harps said he is working to grow the company’s presence in parts of Asia, particularly China, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Buffet Crampon is thinking about doing the same. “But these new opportunities will probably not compensate for the decline in export volumes to the United States,” said Perrod, as the US market buys half of all musical instruments made worldwide.

François says his company can manage for now, but Perrod has had to put some workers on partial unemployment to cut back on activity. 

EU winemakers left exposed after missing US tariff exemption

“It breaks our hearts to see the workshops empty on some Fridays,” he said.

According to him, this is the best option available. “It would take us years to re-train workers and get back to the quality we have today. Partial unemployment lets us keep our staff and when business picks up again, bring them back like before.” 

Perrod doesn’t believe the tariffs will be lifted anytime soon, but still hopes for an exemption from US taxes on wind instruments. 

The US Supreme Court is due to rule in early November on whether the tariffs imposed by Trump on US trade partners are legal.

This article has been adapted from the original version in French.

The resistance committee for El-Fasher, the North Darfur state capital, said the RSF hit the Dar al-Arqam displacement centre on the grounds of a university.

“Children, women and the elderly were killed in cold blood, and many were completely burned,” it said.

“The situation has gone beyond disaster and genocide inside the city, and the world remains silent.”

The committee had initially put the toll at 30 dead, but said bodies remained trapped underground.

It later said 60 were killed in the attack involving two drones and eight artillery shells.

The local resistance committees are activists who coordinate aid and document atrocities in the Sudan conflict.

The RSF has been at war with the regular army since April 2023. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and pushed nearly 25 million into acute hunger.

Starvation spreads from camps to besieged Sudanese city of El-Fasher

Strategic front

El-Fasher, the last state capital in the vast region of Darfur to elude the RSF’s grasp, has become the latest strategic front in the war as the paramilitaries attempt to consolidate power in the west.

The United Nations rights chief said Friday that he was “appalled” by the RSF’s recent killing of civilians in the city, including what appeared to be ethnically motivated summary executions.

“They continue instead to kill, injure, and displace civilians, and to attack civilian objects, including… hospitals and mosques, with total disregard for international law,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said. “This must end.”

Activists say the city has become “an open-air morgue” for starved civilians.

Nearly 18 months into the RSF’s siege, El-Fasher – home to 400,000 trapped civilians – has run out of nearly everything.

UN urges action on Sudan’s ‘forgotten war’ as humanitarian crisis takes hold

The animal feed that families have survived on for months has grown scarce and now costs hundreds of dollars a sack.

The majority of the city’s soup kitchens have been forced shut for lack of food, according to the local resistance committees.

In El-Fasher on Thursday, eyewitnesses said an RSF artillery attack killed 13 people in a mosque where displaced families were sheltering.

Between Tuesday and Wednesday, 20 people were killed in RSF strikes on El-Fasher Hospital, one of the last functioning health facilities in the city.

Pointing to other recent attacks on a maternity hospital, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for “immediate protection of health facilities, and also humanitarian access, so we can support patients requiring urgent care and health workers in dire need of health supplies”.

Hospitals targeted

Most hospitals in El-Fasher have been repeatedly bombed and forced to shut, leaving nearly 80 percent of those in need of medical care unable to access it, according to the United Nations.

Last month, at least 75 people were killed in a single drone strike on a mosque in the city.

According to UN figures released Tuesday, more than one million people have fled El-Fasher since the war began, accounting for 10 percent of all internally displaced people in the country.

Investigation uncovers RSF military base hidden in Libyan desert

The population of the city, once the region’s largest, has decreased by about 62 percent, the UN’s migration agency said.

Civilians say the daily strikes force them to spend most of their time underground, in small makeshift bunkers families have dug into their backyards.

If the city falls to the paramilitaries, the RSF will be in control of the entire Darfur region, where they have sought to establish a rival administration.

The army holds the country’s north, centre and east.

(with AFP)

Vast stretches of the country’s forest reserves have been stripped bare and water bodies have been contaminated. Activists are warning that without immediate, decisive action the damage could become irreversible.

Illegal mining – locally known as galamsey – is also threatening livelihoods and fuelling political and social unrest.

Civil society groups, environmental advocates and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference are among those now calling on the president to declare a state of emergency to combat the crisis.

Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said: “Such a declaration would empower extraordinary interventions: curfews in volatile areas, the securing of devastated lands, the dismantling of entrenched criminal syndicates and the halting of corrupt administrative complicities.”

Civil society demands

Darly Bosu, deputy director of environmental NGO A Rocha Ghana, has echoed this call, saying the time for political debate has passed.

“The devastation caused by illegal mining has gone far beyond control,” he said.

“Our rivers are poisoned, farmlands destroyed, and communities displaced. The survival of millions of Ghanaians is at stake. A Rocha Ghana is calling on [the president] to declare a national state of emergency on galamsey. This is no longer a political issue. It is about the very soul of Ghana – its water, its food and life itself.”

The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey has also demanded that the government declare a state of emergency in those areas most affected by illegal mining as justification for urgent intervention.

Kenneth Ashigbey, the Coalition’s convenor, stressed the need for security forces to be empowered through such a declaration to tackle illegal mining head-on.

“The Ghana Coalition Against Galamsey has called for a declaration of a state of emergency in areas prone to galamsey,” he said. “Illegal mining activities continue to devastate the environment, posing threats to lives. A state of emergency is needed to address this issue directly.”

Illegal logging threatens livelihoods of hundreds of Ghanaian women

Government reaction

President Mahama, however, says the National Security Council does not currently recommend declaring a state of emergency in response to the ongoing crisis.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on illegal mining in Accra, he explained that while he has the constitutional authority to make such a declaration, the decision must be informed by the counsel of the National Security Council.

“At this point, the Council believes we can overcome the galamsey challenge without resorting to emergency powers,” he said.

Human impact

The consequences of illegal mining are being felt across the country.

Forensic histopathologist Professor Paul Poku Sampene Ossei says his research has linked at least 500 cases of spontaneous abortion in Ghana to high levels of heavy metals in the placenta caused by illegal mining activities.

His research involved more than 4,000 placentas examined from different regions across Ghana, with results showing dangerous levels of contamination on both the maternal and foetal sides.

“I have about 500 cases where women [lose their babies] because of the concentration of these heavy metals in their placenta,” he said. “The placentas are all contaminated and polluted with heavy metals.”

Ghana unveils West Africa’s largest floating solar project, boosting renewable energy ambitions

Many communities have also been left without water as a consequence of illegal mining.

The Ghana Water Company has shut down its treatment plant at Kwanyako in the Central Region, and the government minister responsible for the area, Ekow Panyin Okyere Eduamoah, disclosed that around 10 of the 22 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the region are facing an acute water shortage as a result. 

“I visited the plant myself, and I realised that even if they were forced at gunpoint to provide water, you could not be sure of its quality,” he said. “I therefore asked that they stop.”

Farms destroyed

Meanwhile, Bismark Owusu Nortey, executive director of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, told RFI that illegal small-scale mining has devastated farmland across the country.

“A report that we’ve worked on shows that close to 1.2 million hectares of farmlands have already been destroyed due to galamsey,” he said.

“Behind these farmlands are over 500,000 individual farmers and their dependants who have been denied the opportunity to use farming as an economic tool to improve their livelihoods.”

Cleaner kitchens, healthier lives: Ghana’s cookstove revolution gains ground

The destruction of farmlands and the pollution of water bodies have drastically reduced farmers’ productivity, with some who had farmed all year round now restricted to seasonal cultivation.

Illegal mining has also claimed lives. On 1 October, seven illegal miners died after a pit collapsed at an unauthorised mining site at Kasotie in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.

In response to the escalating crisis, the minister for lands and natural resources, Emmanuel Amarh Kofi-Buah, has issued a directive to security forces tasked with fighting illegal mining, urging them to be “firm, resolute and ruthless” in their operations.

Environmental groups, however, insist that extraordinary measures are needed before the damage becomes permanent.

For many voters, the centre-right government of incumbent Petr Fiala had failed to tackle inflation, energy costs and stagnating wages.

That disillusionment paved the way for a populist comeback. “It was an easy path for Babis to take power,” Ondracka told RFI, referring to parliamentary elections held on 3 and 4 October.

Without a clear majority, Babis needs junior partners for a coalition government. The likely candidates are two smaller right-wing parties, the anti-immigration, eurosceptic Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the conservative, anti-Green Deal Motorists for Themselves.

Meanwhile, Babis’s personal dominance in the government is expected to be total.

Whatever coalition Babis chooses, he will wade into a “monstrous conflict of interest, because he is milking the state funds and subsidies”, claims Ondracka, a long-time critic of the billionaire agriculture tycoon.

He views Babis less as a geopolitical threat than as a self-interested pragmatist: “He is not a pro-Russian politician. He is pro-European, because that’s where he sees the most money for his own pocket.”

‘Trumpist’ billionaire wins Czech election, spelling shift on Ukraine

Opportunist

While some compare Babis to Hungary’s Viktor Orban or France’s Marine Le Pen, Ondracka sees him as more opportunistic than ideological: “Babis is not right-wing or left-wing. He tells you whatever you want to hear. What really matters for him is his own pocket and business interests.”

For Ondracka, this absence of ideology is “on one hand scary, on the other hand maybe even a relief”.

That ambiguity may end up working in favour of the status quo. Although Babis often positions himself against domestic elites and Brussels bureaucrats, he knows that EU membership, and crucially, EU funds, underpin his own economic power base.

Babis’s fortune, estimated at more than €3.7 billion, comes from the Agrofert conglomerate. Founded as a fertilizer company, it now has interests in multiple industries from construction to energy to media, and operates in both Europe and China.

Babis was its sole proprietor until 2017, when he was forced to transfer ownership to trusts controlled by his family to comply with conflict of interest rules.

He is embroiled in a legal battle against allegations that he fraudulently claimed €2 million of EU subsidies earmarked for small businesses, charges he rejects as a smear campaign.

European trend

Ondracka sees the Czech election results as part of a wider European pattern. “The elections reflect the very same societal divisions as we see in basically every European country,” he told RFI. “There are the city elites, and then you have people who simply feel betrayed by these elites, and they don’t trust them.”

This erosion of trust, he thinks, has fuelled resentment across the continent, with populists and nationalists offering “simple solutions” to voters seeking a break from liberal centrism.

Even if Babis’s populism is pragmatic rather than ideological, his win reinforces the EU’s broader rightward turn. The ANO victory also highlights the weakening of traditional party structures that once anchored Czech politics in predictable coalitions.

Europe at a crossroads as democratic erosion deepens, report warns

Meanwhile, the Visegrad Four – the alliance that unites the Czech Republic with Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – is unlikely to gain new momentum from Babis’s return.

“It seems that Babis will agree on some issues with Orban and [Slovak Prime Minister Robert] Fico,” Ondracka said, “but there is also huge opposition from Poland and from [Polish Prime Minister Donald] Tusk, so I don’t think the Visegrad Four will be a very actionable group. It will remain politically irrelevant within the EU.”

Still, cooperation inside the group will continue “because these are our neighbours, and we have to collaborate on many issues”, he says.

Outside influences

Babis has invited comparisons with United States President Donald Trump, declaring he wants to “make the Czech Republic great again”.

While some Czech politicians may “take inspiration and try to have a similar vocabulary” to hard-right US populists, Ondracka says the impact on the country’s politics is modest: “People simply vote according to their vital economic interests.”

From Washington to Warsaw: how MAGA influence is reshaping Europe’s far right

Russian influence, by contrast, remains a persistent undercurrent, amplified by disinformation networks.

Yet the election showed voters’ resistance to pro-Kremlin narratives. “Czech elections actually showed that majority of the Czech population doesn’t buy that narrative and they don’t want to come back to Russian influence at all,” Ondracka told RFI. “Most of the parties who were clearly pro-Russian actually lost.”

The Czech Republic bears tangible costs from the war in Ukraine, he added, including some half a million refugees in a country of 10 million. This has strained public services, but also deepened solidarity with Kyiv.

There is reason to believe, then, that the country’s pro-European mainstream remains intact, Ondracka concludes – even with Babis’s populist touch.

Erdogan said this week that Turkey would work with the United States on civil nuclear energy, in a new signal to Washington that Ankara is looking west for its energy needs.

Turkish companies last month signed a 20-year, multibillion-dollar deal with American firms to buy liquefied natural gas.

The agreement came during Erdogan’s visit to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump in late September. During that meeting, Trump urged Erdogan to reduce ties with Moscow and end Turkey’s reliance on Russian oil and gas.

“In a sense, he [Trump] is offering a grand bargain to Erdogan,” said Asli Aydintasbas of the Washington-based Brookings Institution.

She summed up the deal: “Stop the hedging, stop the stuff with Russia, stop the geopolitical balancing, and then let’s re-establish the partnership, and then we can move along and can really become key partners in the region.”

Turkey walks a tightrope as Trump threatens sanctions over Russian trade

Economic pressure

Trump often praises Erdogan as a “friend”, but the US leader has shown he is willing to use economic pressure. During his first term, he triggered a collapse in the Turkish lira over the jailing of an American pastor.

He could again target Ankara with secondary sanctions if Turkey keeps importing Russian energy.

Russian fossil fuels still provide nearly half of Turkey’s total energy. Zaur Gasimov, a Russian-Turkish expert with the German Academic Exchange Service, said Europe’s experience shows how costly a sudden break with Moscow could be.

“It was the case with some Western European countries in 2022 that caused an augmentation of the prices,” said Gasimov. “And the Turkish economy is struggling with inflation that would immediately and heavily affect the life of the average citizen. No party power in Turkey would take such a decision.”

Ankara has ruled out ending its Russian energy contracts, but oil imports from Russia have fallen to their lowest levels in a year.

Some gas deals, signed decades ago, are due for renewal. Analysts say Turkey may use that moment to slowly cut its dependence on Moscow – a move that would deal a serious blow to Russia, which now relies on Turkey as its last major European gas customer.

Druzhba pipeline: dependence, diplomacy and the end of Russian leverage in Europe

Strategic balancing

Energy trade has long been at the heart of Erdogan’s personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The partnership has survived the war in Ukraine, despite the fact Turkey also supplies arms and support to Kyiv.

Turkey’s balancing act helps keep regional rivalries under control, said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, who heads the Marshall Fund office in Ankara.

“Turkey and Russia have been fighting proxy wars in the Caucasus, in North Africa, in the Levant,” he said. “Turkey is getting the upper hand in the end. But Turkey could still manage its relationship with Russia.”

Unluhisarcikli added that Ankara would want guarantees from the West before distancing itself from Moscow, since “it would have security implications on Turkey”.

Turkey would have to be “certain” that it would be welcomed back to Europe and have assurances from the United States, he suggested.

Erdogan spoke with Putin by phone this week, though such contacts have reportedly become less frequent as their once-close relationship cools.

Ankara remains aware of the risks: when Turkey accidentally shot down a Russian bomber near the Syrian border in 2015, Putin responded with sanctions that hit Turkish exports and tourism, and several Turkish soldiers in Syria were later killed in what Moscow called an accident.

Turkey eyes Ukraine peacekeeping role but mistrust clouds Western ties

Declining leverage

With Russia weakened by sanctions and isolation over its war in Ukraine, analysts say its influence on Turkey is diminishing.

“It is the window to Europe. It is a way to the outside world,” Gasimov says. “The number of flights to Turkey is getting bigger and bigger.

“For Russia, Turkey remains a very, very important partnership. So the leverage Moscow once possessed over Ankara is getting less and less.”

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.

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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 24 July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognize a State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, which was in September.

Following Macron’s announcement, there was a two-day conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. Co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, ministers from across the world discussed fostering the Israeli and Palestinian states living peacefully side-by-side.

You were to re-read our article: “UN gathers to advance two-state solution to Israel-Palestine conflict”, and send in the answer to this question: Aside from recognizing Palestinian statehood, what other three issues were discussed at the conference?

The answer is, to quote our article: “Beyond facilitating conditions for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the meeting will focus on three other issues – reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalisation of relations with Israel by Arab states.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Rafiq Khondaker, the president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Rafiq’s question was: “What is your favorite historical site in your country? Why?”

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

The winners are: Fatematuj Zahra, the co-secretary of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Fatematuj is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Fatematuj.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Naved Raiyan, the president of the RFI Fan Club in Murshidibad, India, along with a fellow Murshidabadite, Asif Ahemmed, a member of the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club. There are RFI Listeners Club members Rodrigo Hunrichse from Ciudad de Concepción in Chile, and last but not least, RFI English listener Miss Kausar, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khānewāl, Pakistan.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Ständchen” by Franz Schubert, arranged by Franz Liszt and performed by Vladimir Viardo; the traditional “Longa Alla”, performed by the Ensemble musical de Palestine; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and the selections from the anonymous L’amour de moy, performed by Doulce Mémoire conducted by recorder player Denis Raisin Dadre with singer Jean François-Olivier.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article about the winner, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 3 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 8 November 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. 

As French politicians remain deeply divided over how to address the country’s growing deficit, one measure appears to unite public opinion across the political spectrum: the Zucman tax. Devised by 38-year-old economist Gabriel Zucman, the idea is to add a two percent tax on the ultra-rich, who often use holding companies to shield their wealth from income taxes. While the left sees it as fiscal justice, many on the right are concerned about additional taxes in a country that already has a lot, and maintain taxing the wealthiest will drive them abroad. (Listen @2′)

Ali Akbar left his native Pakistan aged 18, looking to make enough money to buy his mother a decent home. Since arriving in France in 1973, he’s managed to do just that – selling newspapers like Le Monde on the streets of Paris’s Left Bank district. A popular figure in the neighbourhood, Akbar – the capital’s last remaining hawker – was recently selected for the National Order of Merit by President Emmanuel Macron, a former customer. He talks about loving his work, the collapse of the newspaper culture and how recognition by France will help to “heal” the injuries of his past. (Listen @18’30”)

France abolished the death penalty on 9 October 1981. Forty-four years later, the justice minister who fought to change the law, Robert Badinter, is entering the Pantheon, the monument dedicated to French heroes. (Listen @11′)

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).

After a 13-year break, Turkish and Egyptian warships last week carried out a major naval drill in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The exercise is the latest step in repairing ties after years of tension that began when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“It marks the consolidation of the improvement in relations,” said Serhat Guvenc, professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, adding the drill sent “a powerful message to Israel of a new alignment”.

Guvenc said naval drills in the eastern Mediterranean have typically involved Cyprus, Greece and Israel, but this time Egypt broke with those countries, signalling it was no longer part of the anti-Turkey camp in the region.

Erdogan’s Washington visit exposes limits of his rapport with Trump

Shift in alliances

The Turkish-Egyptian exercise follows years in which Cairo built strong ties with Ankara’s rivals in the region. The shift has not gone unnoticed in Israel.

“Definitely, this is a major event that Turkey and Egypt have conducted a naval exercise after so many years,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss, an Israeli foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

The joint drill comes as Ankara has expanded and modernised its navy in recent years. Lindenstrauss said this has unsettled some of Turkey’s neighbours, giving Israel common ground with Greece and Cyprus.

“Some of them also have quite big disputes with Turkey, such as Cyprus and Greece,” she said. “Greece and Cyprus relations with Israel have been developing since 2010. We’ve seen a lot of military drills together. We saw weapons procurements between the three actors, and this has been going on for some time. So Israel is not alone.”

Turkey has long-standing territorial disputes with Greece and the Greek Cypriot government in the Aegean and the Mediterranean.

Guvenc said Israel has gained the upper hand over Turkey in their rivalry centred on Cyprus.

“The Greek Cypriots acquired a very important air defence system from Israel and activated it. They made life far more difficult for the Turkish military, in particular for the Turkish Air Force,” he said.

“This gives you an idea about the shifting balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean as a result of Israel taking sides with Cyprus and Greece.”

Macron and Erdogan find fragile common ground amid battle for influence

Tensions over Gaza

Despite those rivalries, Turkey and Egypt are finding common ground in their opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and in wider concerns over Israel’s growing regional power.

In September, Sisi reportedly called Israel an enemy.

“There is competition over who is the most dominant and important actor in the Middle East, in the Muslim world in general,” said Lindenstrauss.

“I really can’t imagine a unified Turkish and Egyptian action against Israel. I can imagine them cooperating to pressure Israel to change its position, which is what is happening now.”

Cairo and Ankara remain at odds over Libya, where they back rival governments. But analysts warn that the fallout from the Gaza conflict is increasingly shaping the region’s power calculations.

Guvenc said the outcome of peace efforts could determine the future balance in the Mediterranean.

“We see an alignment of Greece, Greek Cypriots and Israel. But once the Gaza issue is tackled, from an Israeli perspective, Turkey is strategically more important than these two countries,” he said.

“But if the strategic makeup of the region may not secure a solution, we may see deterioration in the general situation. Then outside actors will be invited by one side or the other, such as Russia, China or even India, to further complicate the issue.”

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 26 July, I asked you a question about Paul Myers’ article “Petition seeking repeal of new French farming law passes one million signatures”.

It was about the Duplomb law, which was passed by the French parliament on 8 July. The law would allow the pesticide acetamiprid to be used, after a ban since 2018. French farmers protested the ban because it is allowed at the European level; they say it puts them at a disadvantage with their European counterparts.

But two weeks after the bill passed, Eléonore Pattery, a young student from Bordeaux, launched a petition calling for a recall.

And that was your question: you were to write in with the number of signatures on that petition as of 20 July, and also how many signatures French law requires before the lower house of Parliament, the Assemblée Nationale, has the right to hold a public debate on the contents of the petition.

The answer is, to quote Paul’s article: “Late on Sunday, the 20th of July, the number of signatures had risen to 1,159,000.

Under French rules, once a petition crosses that threshold and has verified signatures from throughout the country, the Assemblée Nationale has the right to hold a public debate on the contents of the petition.

The regulations also state that even if a petition gathers 500,000 names, it does not mean that the legislation will be reviewed or repealed.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Jocelyne D’Errico from New Zealand. She wanted to know how you feel and what you think about soulmates.

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

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

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Akbar Waseem, a member of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan; RFI Listeners Club member Rasel Sikder from Madaripur, Bangladesh, and RFI English listeners Sadman Shihab Khondaker from Naogaon and Momo Jahan Moumita, the co-secretary of the Sonali Badhan Female Listeners Club in Bogura, both in Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: España by Emmanuel Chabrier, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ataúlfo Argenta; “Hoe-Down” from the ballet Rodeo by Aaron Copland, performed by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Mama Used to Say” by Junior Giscomb and Bob Carter, sung by Junior Giscomb.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Moldova’s pro-EU ruling party wins majority in parliamentary elections“, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 27 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 4 November 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. 

In his report for the European Sentiment Compass 2025, Pawel Zerka, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, suggests Europe is living its own “Truman Show moment”.

The United States, he says, is no longer the ally Europeans had been accustomed to having. Instead, under Trump, Washington is not only pulling the strings in trade, defence and digital disputes – it is waging an outright “culture war” on Europe.

The big question is whether the EU has the courage to step off the set, reclaim its autonomy and begin writing its own story.

Europe’s uncertainty after Trump’s first 100 days

Trump 2.0

Transatlantic tensions are nothing new. Rows over trade, NATO spending and climate policy have flared under every president from Kennedy to Obama. But Zerka insists that Trump marks a rupture.

“There is a clear difference vis-à-vis previous presidents, and even vis-à-vis Donald Trump 1.0,” he told RFI. “Before, we had never seen a US president targeting Europe so clearly and aggressively.”

This time round, the barbs are sharper, the interventions more deliberate. Trump openly mocks Europe’s migration and climate policies, last week using the world stage of the United Nations to declare that Europeans are “going to hell” with their “crazy” ideas.

Such rhetoric, Zerka argues, is not just bluster. It is part of a deliberate strategy to humiliate Europe, a way of painting the European Union as weak, dependent and incapable of agency.

And this culture war is not confined to speeches, Zerka says – the Trump administration has moved from commentary to active interference.

In Germany, US Vice President JD Vance and former Trump advisor Elon Musk openly backed the far-right AfD party during the country’s legislative elections in February.

Similar interference was seen in Poland, Romania and Ireland, where Washington lent support to Conor McGregor, a former mixed martial arts champion who had thrown his “Make Ireland Great Again” hat in the ring for the country’s upcoming presidential election on 24 October, but withdrew from the race in September. 

McGregor’s political ambitions had been boosted by an invitation to the White House on St Patrick’s Day, with Trump calling him his “favourite” Irish person.

“We haven’t seen anything like this before,” Zerka stresses. “There’s such active involvement in domestic politics of European countries, supporting rivals of the governments in place – and very often those rivals are problematic political players.”

“There is a lot of appetite among the European public for an assertive Europe, but leaders keep finding themselves in situations where they look ridiculous and Europe gets humiliated” – Pawel Zerka

Europe’s new right: how the MAGA agenda crossed the Atlantic

A Truman moment

So what does it mean for Europe to “walk off the set”? In Truman Burbank’s case, it was about courage – daring to leave behind the artificial comfort of a staged life. For the EU, Zerka says, it is about dignity and identity.

“European leaders must be ready,” he argues. “Currently they are buying time with Trump, because they depend so much on America for security, especially with Russia’s war in Ukraine. But the danger is that by playing along, they risk repeated humiliation – whether at NATO summits or in trade negotiations – where Europe ends up looking ridiculous to its own public and to the wider world.”

The challenge, Zerka believes, is that many EU leaders still don’t grasp the true nature of the confrontation.

They treat disputes over tariffs or defence spending as technical haggles, missing the larger picture – that they are part of a cultural battle over values, sovereignty and the very meaning of the West.

Without that recognition, Europe risks stumbling from one Trump-scripted crisis to another, always reacting, never setting the agenda.

The role of the prophet

In The Truman Show, it was a character named Sylvia who first whispered the truth to Truman, that his life was staged. In today’s Europe, Zerka sees Denmark as playing that role.

Trump’s suggestion that the US might buy Greenland directly questioned Danish sovereignty, giving Copenhagen a unique impetus for defending European autonomy.

“Denmark is the one country really trying to show Europe the difference between reality and illusion,” Zerka says, adding though that Sweden and Finland, both scarred by the Russian threat and largely resistant to Trump’s personal appeal, could also be well placed to push for European autonomy.

Then there are what he calls the “door holders”, the heavyweight countries whose choices could swing the EU’s future one way or another: France, Germany and Poland.

Each stands at a crossroads. Elections in the coming years could see them drift towards the pro-Trump “director’s crew” – Hungary, Italy, Slovakia – or rally behind the prophets calling for strategic autonomy.

The outcome, Zerka warns, will determine whether Europe claims its agency or sinks deeper into dependency.

Can Europe withstand the ripple effect of the MAGA political wave?

Walking the line

However, with Russian aggression on its doorstep, Europe cannot simply sever ties with Washington. Yet, Zerka argues, the notion that Europeans must appease Trump to preserve the transatlantic bond is a fallacy.

“It’s completely the other way around,” he says. “Only if Europe steps up in building its own capacities, and shows assertiveness, can it become a real partner rather than a subordinate.”

That means investment in defence, technology and energy resilience. It also means recognising the culture war for what it is, and refusing to be defined by Trump’s caricatures.

Trust in the EU is its strongest since 2007, with polls showing that citizens increasingly view the bloc not just as an economic club but as a community of shared values, and destiny.

Zerka believes European leaders must harness the public appetite for a more assertive Europe. The risk of inaction, he warns, is cultural subordination.

The reward of courage, by contrast, is the chance for Europe to write its own story, and participate in the transatlantic partnership as an equal.

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.