Tensions in France’s already deeply divided parliament have further crystallised over how to tax its wealthiest citizens.

Left-wing lawmakers want a 2 percent tax (known as the “Zucman tax”) on individuals whose total assets – including real estate, salary, professional and financial assets – exceed €100 million.

Crafted by French economist Gabriel Zucman, he says it would apply to around 1,800 households and could generate 15-20 billion euros a year.

Above all, it would ensure the ultra-rich pay at least as much, proportionally, as average earners.

Currently, the average French household pays around 50 percent of its income to the state, through income tax, social charges and VAT.  Billionaires pay an average of 27 percent, thanks in part to various forms of fiscal optimisation.

The tax was approved by MPs in February, but the conservative-dominated Senate threw it out in June. 

French government faces threat of censure over wealth tax

Privileging the economy

Polls suggest the tax is hugely popular with the general public, so it’s returned to parliament for debate as the government scrambles for ways to raise revenue to reduce the deficit.

However, the government is wary that such a broad tax could hurt French firms, deter investment and destroy jobs.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has therefore proposed a 2 percent levy on assets in holding companies not used for business purposes.

The tax, which would raise no more than 1 billion euros, would target taxpayers’ personal assets held in some 4,000 holding companies that serve no economic purpose other than to reduce their tax bill, Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin said.

“Our aim is not to achieve tax justice at the expense of the economy,” Montchalin told lawmakers during the debate.

Would tax hikes for the wealthiest really drive them to flee France?

‘Tax justice’

The government has to get the 2026 budget bill passed by lawmakers before next Tuesday.

Lecornu does not have a majority and is reliant on support from Socialist lawmakers to get the budget passed and the government to survive potential votes of no confidence.

Socialist lawmakers have acknowledged that the Zucman tax will likely fail to get approved after its rejection by the Finance Committee last week. Conservative Republicans and the far-right National Rally have also refused to back it.

They have therefore introduced a lighter alternative version  –  a 3% tax on assets of more than €10 million,  while excluding innovative companies and family companies.

“We are not calling for dispossession or confiscation, we are demanding tax justice,” Socialist lawmaker Boris Vallaud said ahead of the vote, which is expected late Friday afternoon.

France targets the rich with temporary tax hikes to bring down debt

The final shape of the tax could still change when the budget bill reaches the Senate in the coming weeks, though the lower house will have the final say.

The legislation will also face scrutiny from the constitutional court, which has previously struck down tax laws it deemed confiscatory.

(with newswires)

In a complaint filed Thursday evening, the group of 30 lawyers argued that the minister’s visit is likely to “undermine the public’s trust in the justice system and its professionals.”

Darmanin met the former head of state’s for 45 minutes on Wednesday evening at La Santé prison in Paris, in the presence of the jail’s director.

The lawyers stated that “Darmanin’s actions are causing harm to their practice and reputation, making it necessary to file this complaint with the Petitions Committee.”

The complaint was filed with the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), the only court authorised to prosecute incumbent or former ministers for alleged offences committed while in office.

France’s Sarkozy proclaims innocence as five-year jail term gets underway

After meeting with Sarkozy, Darmanin discussed security conditions throughout the prison, as well as those concerning Sarkozy’s security arrangements with the director, according to a source cited by French news agency AFP.

Last week, Darmanin told the media he intended to visit Sarkozy to ensure his security conditions were adequate for his “exceptional status”.

“I feel great sadness for President Sarkozy,” Darmanin told broadcaster France Inter. “I was his colleague and cannot be insensitive to another man’s distress.”

Last month Sarkozy, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, was handed a five-year jail term for criminal conspiracy over a plan for late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund his electoral campaign.

He was incarcerated at La Santé prison on 21 October and remains in a nine square metre cell in the prison’s solitary confinement wing to avoid contact with other prisoners.

Two armed two policemen are stationed around the clock in nearby cells.

Sarkozy’s is legal team has requested his release pending his appeal trial.

Appeal for release filed

The lawyers behind the legal complaint accused Darmanin of “implicitly offering” Sarkozy his “support”.

They said they were “particularly outraged by the statements made by the justice minister” who publicly expressed “his compassion for Sarkozy by emphasising the personal ties between them.”

Darmanin “took a position in a matter over which he has administrative power”, said the complaint a copy of which was seen by AFP. 

Such a stance, they added, “is likely to compromise the impartiality and objectivity of Mr Darmanin who, as justice minister, cannot take such a position in a pending case.”

The fall of France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, from palace to prison

Darmanin has already sought to address the controversy.

“Ensuring the safety of a former president in prison, which is unprecedented, in no way undermines the independence of magistrates but is part of my duty of vigilance as head of the administration,” Darmanin has said on social media platform X.

The lawyers are not the only ones to have spoken out against the visit.

Top prosecutor Remy Heitz previously warned that such a visit risked “undermining the independence of magistrates”.

(with newswires)

The woman who accused the two officers said the alleged assault took place on Tuesday night in Bobigny, a town north of Paris, prosecutor Eric Mathais said on Thursday.

She had been brought before the Bobigny public prosecutor’s office for “acts of parental neglect,” he added.

The woman is 26, while the two accused officers – who “have not been police officers for long” – are 23 and 35, according to a source close to the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The policemen were taken into custody on Thursday, Mathais said.

Paris police prefect Patrice Faure said on X that he had “immediately suspended” the two officers.

In an administrative report laying down their version of events, the officers admitted having sex with the woman, but claim it was consensual.

Former French child protection officer on trial, accused of raping Filipino boys

‘Serious and unacceptable’ actions

France’s internal police investigation service, the IGPN, is investigating the case.

The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, has described the officers’ actions as “extraordinarily serious and unacceptable” and promised the utmost firmness if they are proven. 

In a separate incident, a police officer is due to stand trial next year for raping a woman inside a police station in the Seine-et-Marne region, also near Paris.

The plaintiff, an undocumented woman of Angolan nationality, reported being raped twice by the officer in 2023. She had gone to the station to file a complaint for domestic violence, French daily Libération reported.

In 2014, a former police officer was jailed for 10 years for raping a woman detained for being drunk and disorderly. He claimed there had been a “sexual misunderstanding”.

France has been rocked by a series of high-profile rape cases in recent months, notably the case of Gisèle Pélicot, that have sparked a debate about consent.

On Wednesday France voted to change its criminal code to define rape as sex without consent – a vote hailed by supporters as a move from “a culture of rape to a culture of consent”.

(with AFP)

France saw a record surge in homeless deaths in 2024, with 912 people dying while living without stable housing, according to figures released Thursday by the collective Les Morts de la Rue.

The organisation described the toll as “an appalling new record” and called for urgent government action to address poverty and homelessness.

Sharp rise in fatalities

The figure represents a sharp rise from the 735 deaths recorded in 2023. Tracking homeless fatalities since 2012, Les Morts de la Rue reported that the vast majority of those who died were men (82 percent), but the proportion of women (13 percent) is increasing, signaling a “feminisation of homelessness.”

Homeless deaths in France reach ‘unprecedented level’

The collection also said children accounted for four percent of deaths, including 19 under the age of four – double the rate seen over the 2012–2023 period.

Those who died were on average just 47.7 years old, highlighting a life expectancy gap of 32 years compared with the general population. The collective also warned that official records capture only about one in five homeless deaths, suggesting the real toll is likely much higher.

“Faced with this tragedy, the urgency is twofold: to protect the most vulnerable and to reform public policy so that the right to decent housing finally becomes a reality,” the group said in a statement.

Of the 912 deaths, 304 occurred on the streets, 243 in temporary accommodations, while the living situation of 365 individuals could not be determined. In many cases, the cause of death remains unknown (40 percent), with 17 percent classified as violent deaths, including drownings, assaults, and suicides.

France’s winter housing ‘truce’ ends, advocates warn of record evictions

Geographically, the Île-de-France region, which includes Paris, accounted for 37% percent of deaths, while Hauts-de-France saw fatalities double to 163, many linked to attempts to cross the English Channel.

Estimating France’s homeless population remains challenging. The Foundation pour la Lodgement -formerly the Abbé Pierre Foundation – now puts the figure at around 350,000, while the last official estimate by the national statistics agency, Insee, in 2012 stood at 143,000. Insee is currently conducting a new study to update these numbers.

Child homelessness 

Earlier this year in August, research by Unicef France and the Federation of Solidarity Actors (FAS), a network supporting vulnerable populations, shows child homelessness is increasing rapidly. The number of homeless children rose by 6 percent over the past year and 30% since 2022.

On 18 August 2025, 2,159 children, including 503 under the age of three, were without a place to sleep. This figure likely underestimates the scale of the problem, as it only includes children whose parents contacted the emergency hotline for homeless people (115).

“There are all kinds of children, but what worries us most is the rising number of very young ones,” said Adeline Hazan, president of Unicef France at the time.

“Between 500 and 600 children are under three, and that number is increasing fast, as is the number of single mothers with children.”

Child homelessness soars in France as aid groups denounce political inaction

For 11-year-old Jayyed, who arrived in Lyon from Italy five years ago, life on the streets was a daily struggle. “We slept on bits of cardboard. I had trouble falling asleep, I was afraid we’d be attacked,” he told AFP. “To go to school, I couldn’t take a shower, just wash my hands in fountains.” Jayyed’s family has since found temporary shelter through the grassroots collective Jamais sans toit (Never Without a Roof).

The figures underscore a growing crisis in France, highlighting both the urgent need for protective measures and comprehensive housing reforms to ensure that the right to shelter is more than just a promise.

(with newswires)

MPs backed the motion to end the 1968 bi-lateral accord by just one vote – 185 in favour to 184 against.

Tabled by the far-right National Rally (RN), it was backed by some conservative Republicans (LR) and members of former prime minister Édouard Philippe’s Horizons group.

While the resolution is non-binding – only the president and prime minister have the power to end an international agreement – it marks a strong symbolic victory for the far-right party whose resolutions have usually been rejected by centrists, conservatives and the left.

“This is a historic day for the National Rally,” said Marine Le Pen, leader of the parliamentary group, shortly after Thursday morning’s vote. “For the first time, a text presented by the National Rally … has been adopted,” she continued, adding this was despite opposition from the left, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance bloc, and the government.

With Franco-Algerian relations at an all-time low, can they get back on track?

Left-right divide

Signed six years after Algeria gained independence from France, the 1968 agreement allows for Algerians and their families to obtain French residency certificates – similar to residency permits issued to other foreigners – through an expedited procedure.

Algerians are also allowed to set up as freelancers or start their own businesses without the extra formalities other foreigners may face.

Le Pen urged the government to take parliament’s vote “into account”, arguing that the 1968 accord was outdated and no longer reflects France’s immigration needs.

“We consider there is no longer any justification for maintaining this convention,” she said.

Left-wing parties condemned the move. “Shame on the RN, which endlessly continues the wars of the past,” Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed, said in a post on X.

The left denounced the text as racist, prompting heated exchanges with the far right over whether the motion was justified.

France should overhaul costly 1968 Algerian migration deal, say Macron allies

Just one vote

Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure criticised the low turnout by Macron’s Renaissance parliamentary group, led by former prime minister Gabriel Attal.

“Where were the Macronists? Gabriel Attal was absent,” he wrote on X.

“We were short of one vote – the one that could have stopped the RN,” added Cyrielle Chatelain, leader of the Greens parliamentary group.

Attal was attending a forum on the sustainable transformation of tourism at the time of the vote. 

In January, Attal had himself called for the 1968 agreement to be revised, saying it was necessary “to set limits and assume the balance of power with Algeria”, notably in the light of the detention of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal.

Earlier this month, two MPs from Macron’s party penned a report arguing for the agreement to be overhauled.

“The text and spirit of the ’68 agreement have gradually been diverted from their original intention,” MP Charles Rodwell told the commission, referring to subsequent agreements and changes to the accord – which he said have increased the cost to French taxpayers to at least €2 billion a year.

Discomfort over the vote was reflected in the turnout, which was low across all political stripes.

Only 30 out of 92 Macronist MPs were present, with three abstaining.

The idea that Artificial Intelligence might take our jobs once seemed like pure science fiction. Yet, less than three years after the emergence of ChatGPT, the speed at which these tools have infiltrated our professional lives is nothing short of dizzying.

Workforce reorganisation

AI is driving a profound reorganisation of the workforce and has accelerated the automation of administrative functions, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025.

Banking, insurance, communications, marketing, logistics and data analyst positions are among those most exposed to this transformation, according to the report, with repetitive and predictable tasks the most easily automated.

“I feel like I have a sword of Damocles hanging over my head,” Fanny tells RFI.

A freelance translator for fifteen years, lately she’s been thinking more than ever about changing careers. Around her, job postings for career changes are piling up. The reason: the rise of tools like DeepL and ChatGPT, capable of producing increasingly convincing texts.

“For now, I still have enough well-paid work, probably because I translate from German and do a lot of work for Switzerland, where quality is still valued,” she explains.

But some of her clients have simply disappeared. None of them have told her they preferred automated translation services, but she’s under no illusions. Her expert eye can recognise the typical turns of phrase in AI-generated translations.

‘By humans, for humans’: French dubbing industry speaks out against AI threat

New professions

Artificial intelligence hasn’t only transformed the way translations are done, it’s created a new profession – that of “post-editor”. In other words, someone needed to correct machine-generated translations. Obviously, Fanny points out, it’s much “less well-paid,” “not very interesting,” and “the deadlines are shorter”.

Underlining this significant shift, in 2024, the language learning app Duolingo terminated the contracts of 10 percent of its freelance translators, before parting ways with some of its authors.

Its CEO, Luis von Ahn, stated at the time that he wanted to “stop using contractors to do the work that AI can generate.”

While there are no studies on the number of translator jobs destroyed by AI, the sector has served as a laboratory for what some see as the equivalent of the industrial revolution for knowledge-based professions. 

Speedy innovation

In May, Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, predicted that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and raise unemployment to 10-20 percent within five years.

At online retail and cloud computing giant Amazon, this fiction has become a reality.

On Tuesday it announced a reduction of its workforce by 14,000 posts to streamline operations as it invests in artificial intelligence, without saying where the cuts will be made. This represents four percent of its 350,000 administrative positions.

This announcement was presented as the first step in a wave that could affect 30,000 people.

The types of jobs affected include support functions, human resources, logistics, cloud computing, and advertising.

Nearly one in 10 jobs could be replaced by AI within decade, says OECD

Amazon’s Vice President of Human Resources Beth Galetti directly linked this decision to generative AI: “This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, and it allows companies to innovate much faster than ever before,” she said in a statement on the group’s website.

Amazon is no longer an isolated case. IBM was one of the first to automate its HR functions. Accenture has laid off 12,000 employees, primarily in the United States, as part of an AI-driven plan, and the restructuring is set to continue. The firm has warned that employees unable to adopt these tools are likely to be the next to be laid off.

As for Salesforce, its CEO, who boasted that AI “performed 30 to 50 percent of the work” at the enterprise software company, has dismissed 4,000 employees.

In early September, Microsoft confirmed the reduction of 200 positions, or 10 percent of its workforce in France, as part of a global plan citing “improved operational efficiency” and massive investments in artificial intelligence.

However, some companies have backtracked. Earlier this year, the Swedish fintech company Klarna, a payment specialist, reduced its workforce by 40 percent, justifying it by the widespread adoption of AI in its marketing and customer service departments. Ultimately, faced with dissatisfied customers, it rehired staff.

Difficult to measure

While the United States is already facing AI-related restructuring, Europe is still proceeding cautiously.

In France, no large-scale social plan has yet been explicitly attributed to AI, and the effects remain “difficult to measure,” commented Antonin Bergeaud, associate professor at HEC and innovation specialist, in a written response.

“The American market has always been more responsive than the French market,” he says. “But we should expect the same consequences: companies slowing down recruitment in high-risk professions, while waiting to see how the technology evolves.”

The first signs are there, however. According to a study by the LHH group (a subsidiary of Adecco) published at the end of September, covering 2,000 senior executives in 13 countries, 46 percent of executives say they have already reduced their workforce because of AI, and 54 percent plan to employ fewer people in the next five years.

Mistral and ASML forge €1.7bn alliance to shape Europe’s AI future

However, notes Michaël Chambon, managing director of LHH France, only 12 percent of the employees concerned identify this technology as the reason for their departure. “There’s a disconnect here. Management acknowledges the impact, but employees aren’t aware of it.”

“We are in a process of transformation, not yet destruction,” he adds. “But this transformation is silent, because it involves not replacing employees or freezing hiring.”

The effects also appear contradictory. “We see that companies adopting AI have a slight increase in productivity and therefore recruit more, which represents an apparent paradox,” he notes.

The PwC AI Jobs Barometer 2025 supports this: the number of job offers in AI-related professions jumped by 273 percent in France between 2019 and 2024.

“The upheaval will only really be seen in the average company when a comprehensive AI strategy is put in place. This is currently only happening in large companies,” explains Antonin Bergeaud.

Junior positions at risk

According to the World Economic Forum, internships and entry-level jobs are likely to be replaced by automation.

Jean-Amiel Jourdan, executive director of HEC Talents, has already observed this: “The adoption of AI is reducing the number of traditional junior positions. Analysis, synthesis, and report-generating tasks are being automated” at a lower cost.

New recruits must now be able to “supervise and validate the content generated by AI.”

This shift could, he warns, place employers in “a dilemma”: how to build a pool of experienced talent if we reduce the recruitment of juniors?

A Stanford study in the United States confirms the trend: since the widespread adoption of generative AI, employment among 22-25 year olds in the most exposed professions has declined by 13 percent.

The impact is most visible in the most exposed jobs, such as developers, where the drop has reached 20 percent since the peak at the end of 2022.

AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn

“The market has slowed down in the tech sector over the past two years, and this is being felt enormously in the developer ecosystem, a population that had never experienced a crisis,” explains Greg Lhotellier, recruiter and founder of Dev with IA, for whom this situation stems primarily from a less favorable economic climate. “I haven’t yet seen any cases where hiring stops because AI is doing the job.”

In the medium term, he anticipates a shift in the profession towards “AI manager” positions. “AI will generate code, but a human will always be needed to control, arbitrate, and understand it.”

Constant evolution

One in four jobs presents a risk of exposure to generative AI, according to a study by the International Labour Organization. However, few jobs are fully automatable.

Lhotellier remains cautious: “The social fallout is likely to be real, but the impact of AI on employment remains, for the moment, out of step with the alarmist rhetoric.”

A divide is likely to emerge between employees “augmented” by AI and those whose tasks will be partially replaced by AI or who will be left behind by this technological innovation, he explains.

“There are jobs that could disappear, but most are jobs that are evolving,” continues Michaël Chambon, who emphasises the importance of anticipating and training. Even if, in the long run, it’s difficult not to imagine a net loss of jobs.”

This article is based on the original in French by Aurore Lartigue and slightly edited for clarity.

RFI: Could you first give your reaction to the election results? 

BS: It completely changes the political landscape in the Netherlands. It seems that parties in the middle of the political spectrum have either gained ground or at least not lost any, while the Wilders party – which has been quite dominant over the past two years – is losing a substantial number of seats, even though it remains one of the larger parties in the country.

RFI: What is the next step?

BS: Parliament will appoint a person to explore possible options for forming a new government. However, the number of scenarios is fairly limited, as some of the parties that performed well in these elections have already ruled out working with the PVV.

Wilders was responsible for the previous government’s downfall, and these parties are unwilling to collaborate again with his right‑wing movement. As a result, there are four main coalition possibilities – broadly along centre‑left and centre‑right lines – unless a very broad coalition of multiple parties from either side is formed.

Talks among party leaders will start immediately to determine who is willing to cooperate in forming the next government. 

RFI: How likely is it that parties which pledged not to cooperate with Wilders might change their position if coalition talks drag on?

BS:It’s not going to happen. Many of those party leaders have worked with Wilders before. The PVV is essentially a one‑man party, and that has not gone well in the past – twice, in fact. Over the past year, there was constant quarrelling and little progress in addressing the many problems the Netherlands faces.

Centrist D66 narrowly leads far-right PVV in knife-edge Dutch vote, exit polls show

Wilders continues to focus relentlessly on a single issue – halting migration abruptly. None of the other parties view this as a credible or comprehensive agenda that addresses broader challenges such as the environment, nitrogen pollution, affordable housing or healthcare. None of these issues were effectively tackled by the previous government, in which Wilders played a prominent role.

RFI: Whoever wins, the margin will be slim. It also represents a major setback for the far right, at least for this particular party. From a European perspective, how do you interpret the result?

BS: It is not an election about Europe, but in addressing some of the issues mentioned above, – it is necessary to work together with other countries. Europe is a partner in taking steps in a direction that also benefits the Netherlands.

RFI: What message do you think this result sends to France’s Rassemblement National, Marine Le Pen’s far‑right party, which has close ties with Wilders? And do you think French voters will take note?

BS: It shows that right‑wing parties can also lose. There has been a sense that the growth of right‑wing movements reflecting populist views was unstoppable.

This outcome shows that another direction is possible, but it all depends on the agenda offered to voters.

It suggests that a positive, forward‑looking programme addressing a wider range of issues than just immigration is likely to appeal to more citizens than a narrow one claiming that migration is the source of all problems.

RFI: Across Europe, far‑right forces have been aligning more closely, boosted in part by the US “Make America Great Again” movement. In that context, how do you explain Wilders’ setback?

BS: It’s linked to a slightly different phenomenon. You said that the far right lost. That’s not entirely true. It’s fragmented again. As in other countries, the right‑wing, like the left, is not a coherent bloc but a mix of different parties.

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

In the Netherlands, at least four or five parties occupy that corner of the spectrum. If you add up their votes, their combined share is roughly the same as last time. The left, on the other hand, has become smaller compared to twenty years ago.

What we’re seeing is a shift towards a different outlook, notably how to tackle social and economic issues that matter to voters. That’s the main development and, perhaps, the main success of this election: citizens increasingly realise that a narrow, negative agenda doesn’t help to solve real problems.

RFI: So if the far right is fragmented, where do the fault lines lie? Why can’t they unite?

BS: Because there’s no coherent agenda. Wilders focuses almost entirely on migration. In recent debates, he’s twisted nearly every issue – housing, public health, purchasing power — back to immigration. Yet environmental issues, for example, have nothing to do with migration but with polluting industries.

Other right‑wing parties, such as JA21, promote a milder environmental policy and take differing positions on migration. There are many nuances on the right, just as on the left, which makes collaboration difficult.

RFI: Do you see parallels between the Dutch result and developments in other EU member states?

Not many. I wouldn’t even call the German results a “victory for the centre,” given the recent surge of the Alternative für Deutschland. It’s not comparable to what we’re seeing in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, there’s a clear return to the centre and a step away from the extremes. Whether that marks the beginning of a broader European trend is difficult to say but it’s certainly a positive sign for now.

The opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), which has been more than twenty years in the making, had been slated to open its doors back in 2013.

After countless delays – from the Covid-19 pandemic to regional instability – the grand unveiling is now set for 1 November. 

Located just a stone’s throw from the pyramids of Giza, the museum will be the largest archaeological and antiquities museum in the world dedicated entirely to ancient Egypt.

In October 2024, GEM offered a sneak peek, opening its first 12 galleries to around 4,000 lucky visitors.

Why is France so fascinated by exhibitions on Ancient Egypt?

Monumental design

The final phase, planned for 2025, will unveil the Tutankhamun treasure rooms. Some 5,000 objects from the boy king’s tomb – including his world-famous gold funerary mask – will go on show.

Designed by Irish architect Roisin Heneghan, the building features a facade of translucent alabaster.

Its north and south walls are precisely aligned with two of the Great Pyramids – those of Khufu and Menkaure – creating a direct visual link between past and present.

Extraordinary treasures of Egypt’s Ramses the Great go on display in Paris

100,000 artefacts

“This museum is the largest in the world dedicated to a single civilisation – in this case, ancient Egypt,” Ahmed Ghoneim, director of the Grand Egyptian Museum, told RFI.

“It’s a museum that embraces the latest scientific innovations, using state-of-the-art technology to restore and conserve artefacts.

“It also reflects the most modern museography, with carefully curated displays that bring history to life. We’re proud that Egypt can share this with the world.”

More than 100,000 artefacts from Egypt’s ancient past will be displayed across 22,000 square metres of exhibition space.

King Tut’s treasures come to Paris, record visitors expected

A billion-dollar wonder

Building the museum has cost more than one billion dollars, a investment covered in part by international touring exhibitions of Egypt’s most iconic treasures, including those of King Tutankhamun and Ramses II.

In 2019, the exhibition “Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh” drew nearly 1.5 million visitors to Paris’s Grande Halle de la Villette – a record-breaking success that helped raise funds for the GEM project.

With its grand opening finally approaching, the Grand Egyptian Museum aims to welcome up to five million visitors each year.

This was adapted from an original article by RFI’s Spanish service and lightly edited for clarity.

The robbery has also reignited the debate over museum security in France. Shortcomings have been previously pointed out on numerous occasions, and the Louvre heist, carried out in broad daylight at the world’s most visited museum, is just the latest in a series of incidents.

Among the stolen items were a tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, which features nearly 2,000 diamonds. The thieves also took a sapphire necklace belonging to Marie-Amélie, wife of Louis-Philippe I and the last queen of France, and Queen Hortense, the mother of Napoleon III which is composed of eight sapphires and 631 diamonds, according to the Louvre’s website.

Experts have said it would be impossible to resell these jewels in their current state, as they are listed in royal and imperial inventories, as well as in museum inventories.

They say the most likely scenario is that the jewellery will be resold once it has been dismantled.

Louvre remains shut for a second day as police hunt jewel heist gang

Magali Teisseire, a jewellery expert for the auction house Sotheby’s said: “An old-cut diamond can be recut into another shape and resold. Unfortunately, if they are recut, it is impossible to determine their origin as they are no longer stones with recognisable cuts, facets and inclusions.”

For auctioneer Olivier Valmier, the investigation into the heists is also a race against time to prevent the destruction of the pieces, whose gold could be quickly melted down.

“This week, [gold] reached a record price of €120,000 per kilo. But the value of gold is less than that of precious stones per unit,” he added.

Experts capable of cutting diamonds of this size optimally are rare, and the work could take several months.

Missing works

Around 60 investigators from the Paris judicial police’s banditry squad (BRB) and the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC) have been mobilised.

On Sunday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron promised: “We will recover the works and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this.”

However, many priceless objects stolen from global cultural institutions have never been recovered.

In 1990, two men dressed in police uniforms robbed Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum by setting off the fire alarm in the middle of the night.

They removed 13 paintings and drawings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Manet from their frames. The museum is still offering $10 million dollars for any information on their whereabouts.

In 2002, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam was targeted by the Neapolitan mafia. The thieves climbed on to the roof with a ladder, broke a window and descended into the exhibition hall using a rope.

The two Van Gogh paintings they took were discovered in 2016 during a raid on the home of one of the Camorra mafia bosses.

In 2018, a Berlin gang stole 21 pieces of jewellery from a museum in Dresden, Germany, three of which are still missing.

This is not the first time the Louvre has been targeted. In 1911 its most famous exhibit, The Mona Lisa, was stolen – by a glazier who worked for the museum. The painting was returned two years later.

The Paris museum was last targeted in 1998, when a painting by French painter Camille Corot was stolen and has still not been recovered.

Louvre plagued by leaks and crumbling infrastructure, museum boss warns

Questions over security

“We have failed,” said French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin on Monday, the day after the Louvre theft.

The museum “has failed to keep up in the deployment of equipment designed to protect the works”, according to a previous report by the Court of Auditors consulted by French news agency AFP.

The Court, which examined the period between 2019 and 2024, noted a “persistent delay” in this area.

It found that many rooms in the museum are not protected by video surveillance, and the that obsolescence of much of the equipment has accelerated “at a much faster rate than the pace of investment by the institution to remedy the situation”.

In January, the president of the Louvre, Laurence Des Cars, alerted Culture Minister Rachida Dati to flaws in the museum’s security.

Trade unions have denounced a lack of security staff at the museum. On 16 June, the Louvre was closed for several hours due to a strike by employees, carried out as a warning over the shortage of security personnel.

“The Louvre Museum is short of several hundred reception and security staff,” Alexis Fritche, secretary-general of the CFDT Culture union, told RFI’s Laurence Théault. “When the theft took place, there were four staff members on duty instead of the six scheduled. There was a glaring shortage of staff.”

“We believe that there needs to be an audit of security and prevention measures. It is often the staff who are best placed to talk about the difficulties and weaknesses that may exist, particularly in a security system,” Fritche added. 

Christian Galani, a representative of union CGT Culture, told AFP that the Louvre’s security team had seen “200 jobs cut in 15 years, while visitor numbers have increased 1.5 times”.

“You can walk through several areas without seeing a single security guard, and several rooms are systematically closed due to a lack of available staff,” he said.

Series of recent thefts

The theft at the Louvre is only the latest in a series of incidents. In September, a thief removed 6 kilograms of gold nuggets from the Natural History Museum in Paris.

The museum’s alarm and video surveillance systems had been “inoperative” since a cyberattack on 25 July, AFP learned from police sources – which the museum has neither confirmed nor denied.

Also in September, two Chinese platters and a vase – classified as “national treasures” and worth several million euros – were stolen from the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges.

Chinese woman arrested following September gold theft at Paris museum

“We are well aware that French museums are highly vulnerable,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged on Sunday when asked about possible flaws in the Louvre’s security system.

On Monday, he sent instructions to all prefects to strengthen security measures around cultural institutions where necessary.

Des Cars is due to be heard by the Senate on Wednesday. Laurent Lafon, chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee, told AFP that she must provide “her explanations following Sunday’s theft”.

A commission of inquiry into the security of museums across the country will also be proposed to the National Assembly.

The Louvre, which remained closed on Tuesday, is set to undergo major renovations. At the beginning of the year, Macron announced works estimated to cost up to €800 million over a period of 10 years.

This article was adapted from this report and this report by RFI’s French service.

The new Fondation Cartier is located in a striking glass building offering 6,500 square metres of exhibition space.

Housed within an historic Haussmann-era complex that once hosted an antiques market, the modern art centre faces the Louvre and hopes to benefit from footfall to the world’s most visited museum to reach a new audience.

Pompidou Centre in Paris closes until 2030 for extensive renovations

Established by luxury jeweller Cartier in 1984, the foundation previously housed its collection of more than 4,500 artworks at a much smaller site in southern Paris, also designed by Nouvel.

The new-look premises were conceived as “a journey into the future” and “a museum of the 21st century”, Nouvel said when he unveiled the plans last year.

With five mobile steel platforms allowing for the modulation of space and light, its design borrows as much from “aircraft carriers as it does from the theatre”, according to the award-winning architect.

The foundation’s new home – within a “mythical” cultural hub comprising the Louvre, the Comédie Française theatre, the Museum of Decorative Arts and the Bourse de Commerce, which houses the art collection of French businessman François Pinault – is “worthy of the scale of the collection and its history”, said its director, Chris Dercon.

A trailblazing Paris show for indigenous Australian artist Sally Gabori

The institution plans to showcase some 600 works on rotation from its collection of works by 500 contemporary artists including Damien Hirst, David Lynch, Joan Mitchell, Patti Smith, Chéri Samba, Raymond Depardon and Malick Sidibé.

Its inaugural show, General Exhibition, highlights key works and moments from the foundation’s 41-year history.

The move cost an estimated €230 million in total, according to Fondation Cartier’s president, Alain Dominique Perrin.

(with AFP)

It began in Moldova. In late December 2023, a video purportedly showing President Maia Sandu disowning her government and mocking the country’s European ambitions went viral on Telegram.

The Moldovan government swiftly dismissed the clip as fake, but the damage was done.

According to Balkan Insight, an investigative news website, and Bot Blocker, a fake-news watchdog, the Kremlin-linked bot network “Matryoshka” generated the clip using the Luma AI video platform.

The footage, voiced in Russian, caricatured Sandu as ineffective and corrupt, recycling earlier disinformation tied to fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor.

French cybersecurity agency Viginum later described how AI-generated deepfake videos, including the one mimicking President Sandu, were distributed through Telegram and TikTok by a pro-Russian propaganda network affiliated with the Russian media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Viginum said websites like moldova-news.com were backed by what it called a “structured and coordinated pro-Russian propaganda network.”

Troll factories and cloning

Saman Nazari, a researcher with Alliance4Europe, a Europe-wide pro-democracy platform, told RFI the use of AI to influence elections is massively increasing.

In the past, he said people who wanted to influence elections would copy-paste the same text over and over again.

“They just have AI rewrite them, publish them across different accounts, different pages, with small variations aimed at specific target audiences,” Nazari said.

Nazari also said AI tools are now used to make disinformation operations look legitimate.

France’s Foreign Ministry said Storm 1516, a cyber-attack group, had launched 77 Russian disinformation campaigns targeting France, Ukraine and other Western countries since 2023.

According to Nazari, the operations were run by the successor to the Saint-Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency [founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2013 and dissolved in 2023], the Russian Foundation for Battling Injustice – which created websites that look exactly like well-known media outlets.

The groups running these websites clone news sites, fill them with stolen articles that are rewritten or translated and then re-publish them to appear credible, Nazari said.

Alliance4Europe has counted hundreds of such websites during European elections.

“In the past, it was quite a big job to create a website and fill it with content, but now it’s being done almost automatically,” Nazari said. 

Personal targets

The threat is spreading into Western Europe. Professor Dominique Frizon de Lamotte of CY Cergy Paris University was targeted by an AI-generated video that faked his image and voice and attempted to link him to pro-Russian groups in Moldova.

“I have no connection with Moldova; I don’t even use Telegram,” he told France 3 television. The video was flagged by EUvsDisinfo, an EU misinformation monitoring group, and French media as an attempt to undermine trust in academics.

The 2024 presidential election in Romania brought further evidence of AI-linked interference.

Officials said the interference, widely attributed by European governments to Russian-backed actors, led to the annulment of the election results by Romania’s Constitutional Court, an unprecedented move in Europe.

During the rerun in mid-2025, far-right narratives and fabricated content circulating on TikTok and Telegram sought to influence public opinion. Pro-European candidate Nicusor Dan ultimately won the repeat vote.

All eyes on Hungary

Hungary is preparing for a flood of AI-influenced content ahead of its 2026 elections.

Pro-government groups, including the National Resistance Movement, have already spent over €1.5 million promoting unlabelled AI videos attacking opposition leader Peter Magyar.

Some clips show fabricated scenes of Hungarian soldiers dying in Ukraine to provoke nationalist sentiment. Magyar has called the videos “pathetic” and “election fraud”.

Analysts say that even when viewers think content might be fake, emotional impact still shapes opinions.

Within a larger legal framework, the European Union has rules forcing platforms to show who is behind political adverts.

Within a wider framework, the European Union has already introduced the Digital Services Act in 2022 to strengthen platform rules on transparent political advertising.

The commission also operates a Rapid Alert System and an AI Integrity Taskforce to detect and counter manipulative content across languages and borders.

French cyber agency warns TikTok manipulation could hit Romania’s vote, again

Voters at risk

Nazari said young people are used to seeing altered images and deepfakes online.

“Young people have grown up with memes, with people making deep fakes. Edited images and videos and so on. [They] are familiar with the concept.”

But older voters, he told RFI, are more likely to be misled.

“They might not be able to distinguish between a real video and a deep fake video,” Nazari said, adding they are especially vulnerable in countries where digital literacy is not very high.

Ivorians go to the polls on Saturday to choose their next president. Incumbent leader Alassane Ouattara, 83, is seeking a fourth term and faces four challengers. Two of those challengers are women.

On both the president’s side and in the opposition, women have become a driving force. Some attend every meeting. Others help run campaign offices. MPs, mayors and other elected women are also involved.

Even candidates’ wives, such as Henriette Gomis Billon – married to main challenger Jean-Louis Billon – are busy trying to win support.

Female contenders

Two women are standing for president: Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, a former first lady and ex-wife of Laurent Gbagbo (who was excluded from the race along Tidjane Thiam), and Henriette Lagou.

Lagou told the media she hopes to embody a female alternative in a competition dominated by the traditional male figures of Ivorian political life. A former minister for women, she also founded the movement Two Million Girls for Gbagbo to support young Ivorian women and girls.

They are seen mainly as symbols of female involvement rather than likely winners. Still, their presence on the ballot shows how many women want a greater role in decisions that shape the country.

To appeal to female voters, both Ouattara and Billon have recruited dozens of women organisers and supporters.

Martine Vléon, national campaign director of the women working for Billon, said: “This page in our country’s political history will be written by women who stand tall, dignified and determined – women who know that Côte d’Ivoire’s future will not be built without them.”

She added that women have always had a strong role in Ivorian politics.

Voices on the ground

“We want peace in Côte d’Ivoire,” a Billon supporter told RFI. “Someone who will give us peace. We want to live in tranquility, in joy, in love. That’s what we’re looking for. We don’t want someone who will come and create problems, no… We want to work.” 

For Ouattara’s women supporters, what matters is the legacy of the president.

“I’m here to support my Papa ADO (Alassane Dramane Ouattara), the father of orphans, the one who built today’s great Côte d’Ivoire, which now looks like Paris. I don’t need to go to Paris anymore; I stay in my country, thanks to ADO. My country is the most beautiful country in the world. Papa ADO, I adore you.”

Another woman praised what she sees as progress.

“He’s a good president. Thanks to him, there are so many markets today, and jobs,” she told RFI. “We don’t struggle to sell anymore, you know what I mean?”

She said school and childbirth are free and added: “There are evening classes for adults. And today we no longer suffer to give birth like before, you see? That’s why we women come out today to say thank you. May God give him a long life. You don’t change a winning team!”

Representation gap

Women are often seen as those who hold families, businesses and society together.

Their political activism has deep roots too, including the Women’s March on Grand-Bassam in December 1949, when women travelled from Abidjan to Grand-Bassam to demand the release of political leaders held by the French colonial authorities.

Still, their seats at the table remain limited. In 2023, women represented only 13 percent of members of parliament. They were 7 percent of mayors and barely 6 percent of regional elected officials.

A 2019 law set a 30 percent quota for women in list elections and it has encouraged more women to stand. But real parity is still far off.

“Ivorian women have always carried the country on their shoulders,” Vléon said at a meeting in Abidjan.

“They feed our families, educate our children, care for our sick and participate in economic and social life with courage and selflessness.”

Many hope that after this campaign women will not only be visible – they will finally be heard.

Released in French cinemas on Wednesday, Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol (A Magnificent Life) is the joyful tale of a French icon and his towering contribution to the arts. It was directed by Sylvain Chomet, the French animation artist behind international hits including The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist.

Aton Soumache, one of the film’s producers, called it “a tribute to creativity and to cinema” and insists it doesn’t matter whether audience were already familiar with Pagnol’s works, saying: “He lived an amazing life.”

Born in 1895, the year the Lumière Brothers produced the first moving picture, Pagnol was a teacher, novelist, playwright and pioneer filmmaker.

Despite hitting the big time in Paris in the 1920s and 30s, Pagnol’s loyalty remained with his southern roots, and with his family and close friends who followed him throughout his career. He included local actors to keep the authenticity of the accents and also opened his own studio in Marseille.

Although he admired American prowess, Pagnol remained deeply loyal to his homeland and even founded an organisation to protect French cinema, which later became the National Centre for Cinema (CNC).

Postcard from Cannes #3: Surfing a wave of French cinematic nostalgia

Taking risks

He embraced technology and invention but focused on telling stories. With each invention, he set out to make his mark, always taking risks – a story echoed in the making of A Magnificent Life itself.

“I think the best cinematic propositions are those where we take risks. So sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But in any case, we have the feeling of doing something different,” Soumache told RFI.

Making a feature-length biopic in animated form was ambitious, Soumache says. It took a budget of around €15 million and almost eight years from its conception to its premiere in Cannes in May 2025.

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro backs stop-motion animation studio in Paris

Soumache calls the film “a mirror of our own times”, in terms of its use of new technology, be it digital tools, artificial intelligence or streaming platforms.

He believes artists need to take these things in their stride and find a way to keep telling stories, just like Pagnol did in his day.

Pagnol, who died in 1974, was greatly influenced by the major technological advances of his time and his career was forever changed by the moving picture.

Witnessing a film with dialogue for the first time in London in 1929 – he was delighted as he had never been a fan of silent movies. He went about adapting his popular theatre pieces to film, including Topaze, Marius and Fanny and became the first French director to use dialogue in films.

He also experimented with colour, and with shooting scenes outdoors as well as in a studio. 

“It’s a film about resilience, about how Marcel Pagnol kept reinventing himself,” he said. “At 63, having never written a book, he became a member of the French Academy and the great novelist we now know, though he had mostly been a playwright and filmmaker. He lived 10 lives, and we show seven or eight in the film.”

‘A universal language’

Pagnol’s grandson Nicolas gave Chomet complete creative freedom to interpret the life of a national treasure, whose voice is poignantly performed by Laurent Lafitte.

Animation, Soumache says, brings a touch of magic to telling Pagnol’s story, while respecting the real-life elements.

“Animation is a universal language” he said, adding that it also made it easier to bring Pagnol and his entourage to life, rather than trying to find actors who look the part.

Chaplin’s ‘The Gold Rush’ shines at 100 years old

For Nicolas Pagnol, the finished product is proof that the themes of his grandfather’s work are timeless. “They can speak to everyone, in every era, like Molière.”

He added: “We thought it would be released for the 50th anniversary of his death, in 2024. But I prefer that it comes out for the 130th anniversary of his birth because this film is a rebirth for Marcel.”

The five were arrested late Wednesday night in separate police operations in Paris and surrounding areas, including the Seine-Saint-Denis region, Prosecutor Laure Beccuau told RTL radio on Thursday.

One is suspected of being part of the four-person team that robbed the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery in broad daylight on 19 October, the prosecutor said. He was identified through DNA traces left at the crime scene.

She gave no further details about what role the other four newly arrested people may have played in the theft, but said they “may eventually inform us about how the incident took place”.

The new arrests come after two men “partially recognised” their involvement in the theft on Wednesday following their arrest last Sunday. They face preliminary charges of criminal conspiracy and theft committed by an organised gang. 

Both had criminal records. One was arrested while trying to board a one-way flight to Algeria, but contrary to earlier media reports, the other man had not been planning to leave France, Beccuau told reporters.

Video surveillance cameras showed there were at least four people involved in the heist, Beccuau said. The fourth suspect has not yet been caught.

DNA leads and video trail drive search for stolen Louvre crown jewels

Possible wider network

Jewels worth €88m were taken from the Louvre on 19 October. Four suspects arrived onboard a truck equipped with a freight lift that two of them used to climb up to the museum’s window.

All four left onboard two motor scooters along the Seine River toward eastern Paris, where they had some other vehicles parked, she said. 

Beccuau has said she did not rule out the possible involvement of a wider network, including a person who could have ordered the theft and been the mastermind behind it.

However, she said there was no evidence at this stage to suggest the theft was an inside job, confirming the robbers had no accomplices within the museum’s staff.

She made a plea to those who have the jewels: “These jewels are now, of course, unsaleable … Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. There’s still time to give them back.”

The heist exposed security lapses at the world’s most-visited museum and has been seen by many as a cause for national humiliation.

The Louvre’s director Laurence des Cars has admitted it was a “terrible failure” and took responsibility for the security weaknesses. 

(with newswires)

At least 23 people have been killed in Cameroon as a result of security forces cracking down on protesters since the weekend, a civil society group known as “Stand up for Cameroon” said in a media briefing on Wednesday.

The governor of the economic capital of Douala, which has experienced some of the worst violence, told a press conference on Tuesday that over 200 people had been arrested in connection with the protests.

France, which ruled Cameroon until independence in 1960, issued a statement Wednesday calling on “all those involved to show restraint and engage in a constructive dialogue that restores peace, security and calm to the Cameroonian people”.

“We believe it is essential that democracy, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law be scrupulously respected and that all persons arbitrarily detained since the beginning of the electoral process be released in order to preserve national cohesion,” the Foreign Ministry said in its statement Wednesday.

It noted that “several civilians have been killed by gunfire and hundreds of people have been wounded”.

Cameroon: Amnesty calls for release of 36 activists, five years after crackdown

Contested election results

The Constitutional Council confirmed Tuesday that Paul Biya, the world’s oldest state leader at 92 and in power since 1982, won the presidential election held on 12 October.

He beat Cameroon‘s main opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a former government spokesperson turned Biya rival, winning 53.7 percent of the vote to Tchiroma’s 35.2 percent.

Tchiroma contests the result; other opposition leaders have alleged widespread fraud, which the government rejects.

“We remain united, mobilised and will continue to resist until the final victory,” Tchiroma said late on Tuesday following the council’s decision, which is final and not subject to appeal.

On Wednesday morning, Tchiroma’s supporters defied protest bans and again took to the streets of Douala, which were still strewn with debris and burnt tyres after days of unrest.

Cameroon’s Biya re-elected despite deadly protests and claims of fraud

Alleged incitement to violence

Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji acknowledged on Tuesday that “during these criminal attacks, some assailants lost their lives“.

But he accused Tchiroma of inciting the violence and rebellion after prematurely declaring victory on 13 October.

“This irresponsible candidate, driven by the desire to push through the plot to disrupt public order, issued repeated calls on social media inciting civil unrest,” Nji said in a statement.

He said small groups “often under the influence of drugs” had looted shops and set fire to public buildings. He did not provide any evidence that the protesters had taken drugs.

The Stand up for Cameroon group said arrested protesters and other civilians were being held in “inhumane” conditions.

“The lawyers’ testimonies describe swollen faces, bruises, and humiliating treatment inflicted on citizens who sought to exercise their constitutional rights,” it said in a statement.

(with Reuters)

Some 500 red hands were painted last year on a stone monument honoring those who saved Jews in France during World War II. The graffiti was initially viewed in the context of the war in Gaza, which has led to a rise in antisemitic incidents and tensions around Europe.

But French intelligence services claim the red hands are part of a long-term strategy by Russia to use paid proxies to divide public opinion, stoke social tensions and spread false information, according to court documents.

Four Bulgarians are charged in the Holocaust Memorial case, but only three are in custody and were present for the trial, which began on Wednesday. The alleged ringleader, Mircho Angelov, is at large.

Plaintiffs include the Paris Holocaust Memorial and the League against Racism and Antisemitism.

The trial runs through to 3 November. Suspects face charges including criminal conspiracy or aggravated degradation of property based on race, ethnicity or religion. If convicted, they could face up to seven years in prison €75,000 fines.

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

Apologies and regrets

The first to testify, Georgi Filipov, said he painted the red hands in exchange for 1,000 euros to help pay child support for his 9-year-old son. He said he was paid by Angelov and did not address accusations of Russian involvement.

“I acknowledge having participated in these acts. I formally apologise to the victims, and I apologise for the damage. I also apologise to the French authorities,” he told the court through translators.

Filipov said he was a former neo-Nazi and that he might have been recruited because his social media feeds showed him with neo-Nazi tattoos and a t-shirt praising Hitler. He claimed he only understood the antisemitic nature of the act on his return to Bulgaria.

Kiril Milushev said he’d been paid 500 euros to film the graffiti at Angelov’s instruction and regretted “having participated in this act”.

The third defendant, Nikolay Ivanov, was questioned about his role in four incidents of alleged Russian interference. He denied any pro-Russian connections or sentiments, and any responsibility for the red-hands graffiti.

Ivanov is accused of buying plane tickets for the other defendants from the Bulgarian capital Sofia to Brussels, and then Brussels-Paris bus tickets, and paying for their hotel in Paris. He said he bought the tickets and hotel stays at Angelov’s request, and had only “rendered a service to a friend”.

Foreign actors amplifying calls to ‘block everything’ in France

String of strange incidents

The red hands graffiti is among several strange incidents over the past two years in France, and the first to come to trial. 

In October 2023, shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, stencils of blue Stars of David appeared on Paris buildings. French authorities accused Russian security services of stirring up controversy around the stars. Two Moldovans were detained and deported in the case.

France claims Russian interference over Star of David graffiti in Paris

In June 2024, five coffins appeared at the foot of the Eiffel Tower with references to Ukraine ahead of a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Filipov, the defendant in the red hands case, said he was initially recruited to transport the coffins but testified that he backed out when he was told to put them beneath the famous Paris landmark.

Three other men, born in Bulgaria, Germany and Ukraine, are suspected in the case, and a warrant has been issued for their arrest.

Last month, severed pigs’ heads were found near nine Paris-area mosques, five of which had President Emmanuel Macron‘s name written on them. An investigation is under way.

(with newswires)

Gerald Darmanin met Sarkozy on Wednesday evening at La Sante prison in the presence of the jail’s director, and discussed the former head of state’s security arrangements, according to a source cited by AFP.

Before he was locked up, Darmanin said he intended to visit Sarkozy to ensure his security conditions were adequate for his “exceptional status”.

Judicial independence?

Top prosecutor Remy Heitz at the time warned that such a visit risked “undermining the independence of magistrates”.

Fifty-seven percent of French people also disapproved of the visit, according to a survey of 1,025 people published last week by Taluna Harris.

The fall of France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, from palace to prison

The right-wing leader who led France from 2007 to 2012 was found guilty last month of trying to get election campaign funding from Moamer Kadhafi’s Libya.

The 70-year-old was handed a five-year prison term for criminal conspiracy.

Sarkozy in jail

Sarkozy’s legal team has requested his release pending his appeal trial, but said he is expected to remain in jail for at least “three weeks to a month”.

Two security officers are stationed in a neighbouring cell to ensure his protection, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

Sarkozy is the first former head of a European Union state to be jailed, and the first French leader to be incarcerated since Philippe Petain, the Nazi collaborationist head of state who was jailed after World War II.

Sarkozy set to begin jail term over Libyan funding scandal

He has faced a flurry of legal woes since losing his re-election bid in 2012, having already been convicted in two other cases.

Sarkozy still enjoys some popularity on the French right. Days before starting his prison sentence, he visited French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.

(with AFP)

Police in Tanzania‘s main city of Dar es Salaam fired gunshots and teargas on Thursday to disperse dozens of protesters who returned to the streets a day after elections were marred by violent demonstrations, Reuters reported.

Protests broke out in Dar es Salaam and several other cities during the presidential and parliamentary vote on Wednesday with demonstrators setting fire to vehicles and a local government office.

They are angered over the exclusion of Hassan’s two biggest challengers from the presidential race, as well as what they say is increasing repression of government critics.

Police ordered an overnight curfew in Dar es Salaam, a city of more than seven million people, and internet access remains disrupted across the country. Global internet monitor NetBlocks described the interruption a “nationwide digital blackout”.

The US embassy said that some major roads, including the main one leading to Dar es Salaam’s international airport, were closed.

On the Zello app, some protesters discussed plans for further demonstrations, including marches on government buildings.

The government has remained silent and the heavily controlled local media made no mention of the unrest, nor provide any update on the election. 

There are reports that upwards of 30 people may been killed in Wednesday’s violence, a diplomatic source told AFP, but this could not be verified. 

Tanzania blackout after election chaos, deaths feared

Civil servants and students told to stay home

In a post on his Instagram account, government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa said all civil servants should work from home on Thursday except for those whose duties require them to be present at their workplaces.

The state television channel also announced that students should study from home on Thursday.

Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema had called for protests during the election, which it said amounted to a “coronation” of Hassan.

Chadema was disqualified in April from the election, which also included votes for members of parliament and officials for the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago, after it refused to sign a code of conduct. Its leader Tundu Lissu was charged with treason.

The commission also disqualified Luhaga Mpina – the candidate for the ACT-Wazalendo opposition party, leaving only minor parties to take on Hassan.

Reports say voter turnout in Dar es Salaam was low, with many people reluctant to show up amid safety concerns.

The electoral body is expected to announce results over the weekend.

Tanzanian opposition leader to represent himself in court over treason charges

Increasing censorship

Hassan is expected to win the election. Her ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi – Swahili for “Party of the Revolution” (CCM), has dominated Tanzania politics and won all the elections since the country gained independence from Britain in 1961.

But the unrest presents a major test for Hassan.

She was initially praised after taking office in 2021 for easing repression of political opponents and censorship that had increased under her predecessor John Magufuli.

In recent years, however, rights campaigners and opposition candidates have accused the government of unexplained abductions of its critics.

Hassan said last year she had ordered an investigation into reports of abductions, but no official findings have been made public.

(with newswires)

The current tally shows a 1700-vote gap between the centrist liberal D66 and the far-right PVV, with each party looking likely to win 26 seats in a close fight.

Having processed 98.6% of the vote, projections indicate that both the centrist liberal D66 and the far-right PVV will be the major winners. However, in the current scenario the PVV will be down from 37 seats, while D66 will gain 17.

By 5 o’clock in the morning, the margin between the parties stood at just over 2,000 votes.

This represents a substantial shift from the previous evening. An Ipsos I&O poll published shortly after voting ended on Wednesday night had projected D66 to win 27 seats, with Geert Wilders’ PVV close behind on 25 and the liberal-conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) on 23.

The left-green alliance GL-PvdA is forecast to secure 20 seats and the Christian Democrats (CDA) 19, which would be a considerable gain.

‘Great day for democracy’

In a polling station in Rijswijk, a suburb of The Hague, Sven van den Berg led his team of volunteers in counting the votes after the polls closed at 21:00. 

In total,  he said around 850 people turned up to vote during the day, which was  a little bit more than last time. “It was a great day for democracy,” one of the vote counters told RFI.

Meanwhile, at a jubilant gathering in Leiden, D66 leader Rob Jetten told supporters that the early figures showed “a vote of confidence in openness, in Dutch democracy, and in the future of Europe.”

Jetten, 38, has campaigned on a pro‑EU and progressive ticket, promising a coalition that would “restore pragmatism and stability” to Dutch politics.

Dutch voters cast ballots amid discontent over politics and stalled promises

All four parties in the governing coalition –⁠ the PVV, VVD, New Social Contract (NSC) and Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) –⁠ are projected to lose ground. Wilders reacted on X. “The electorate has spoken. We remain the second and perhaps even the largest party in the Netherlands,” he wrote.

Among the smaller parties, JA21 is expected to move from one seat to nine, while Thierry Baudet’s Forum for Democracy (FVD) is expected to go from three to six seats. BBB was projected to fall back to four from seven, and the Socialist Party (SP) slipped to three from five. NSC, which entered parliament in 2023 with 20 seats, is now projected to lose all representation.

Other minor movements include the return of the pensioners’ party 50Plus with two seats, and small shifts affecting Christian Union (CU) at two, Volt at one, and Denk, the Party for the Animals (PvdD) and the orthodox SGP all holding steady on three.

According to Ipsos I&O, about 80,000 voters took part in the nationwide “shadow election” at 65 polling stations, completing anonymised replicas of the real ballot. The firm emphasised that the exit poll serves only as an indication: in exceptional circumstances, the final tally could differ by as many as three seats.

Turnout was estimated at 76.3 percent, slightly down from 77.7 percent in 2023. Early official results were expected overnight, with smaller municipalities reporting first.

For much of Europe, the Dutch result is being watched as a barometer of the far right’s resilience after recent electoral surges in Italy, France and Austria. Whether Jetten’s centrist revival can hold when full counts arrive remains uncertain, but for the first time in years, the political tide in The Hague may be moving against Wilders.

The conference aims to drum up an international response to the crisis in the eastern DRC and support efforts by Qatar and the United States to mediate in the conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo government and the M23 rebel group, according to the French Foreign Ministry.

Known as the Ministerial Conference in Support of Peace and Prosperity in the Great Lakes Region, the event has been organised in close coordination with Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé, the African Union’s mediator in the Congo-Rwanda crisis.

Approximately 50 countries and international organisations are expected to attend the talks which are part of the Paris Peace Forum –⁠ a two-day summit on conflict resolution and multilateral cooperation.

French President Emmanuel Macron will address the gathering alongside his Congolese counterpart Félix Tshisekedi on Thursday afternoon.

“The main objective is to show that there is no forgotten crisis. The DRC and the Great Lakes region must be at the centre of international attention,” a presidential advisor told the press.

Collapse of essential services

The other objective is pushing for a significant increase in humanitarian funding.

More than 21 million people need humanitarian aid in the DRC – nearly one-fifth of the population, according to NGO Oxfam France.

The aid charity is one of 12 NGOs and NGO networks that signed an open letter ahead of the conference, calling on the participants of the conference to go “beyond declarations of intent”.

Thousands without lifesaving aid in DRC, says UN agency

“This crisis goes beyond the immediate emergency, it also stems from the gradual collapse of essential services (health, water, education, electricity, food), on which the survival and dignity of the population depend,” the coalition wrote on Tuesday.

The crisis is particularly severe in the east of the vast central African country – a region rich in natural resources that has been plagued by conflict for three decades.

Violence intensified in January year when the M23 armed group, backed by neighbouring Rwanda, seized the major eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu in a lightning offensive.

Millions displaced

More than 1.6 million people have had to flee their homes since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of internally displaced people to 7.8 million, including about one million children.

Ninety percent of those displaced are in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri.

In addition, some 500,000 refugees have fled to Uganda, 100,000 to Rwanda and 100,000 to Burundi, according to French authorities.

These displacements, often repeated and forced, have “undermined people’s ability to access livelihoods, weakening their food security, health, and resilience” the coalition of NGOs said.

DRC and Rwanda hold fresh talks in Washington to revive fragile peace deal

Food supplies are also critical, with nearly “28 million people suffering from hunger”, while health services are overwhelmed and infrastructure destroyed.

Sexual violence has reached alarming levels, with “one woman raped every four minutes”, Oxfam France said.

RFI’s correspondent in Kinshasa reported that since the fall of Goma, the entire system for supplying medicines and other essentials has been disrupted in the region due to the closure of local airports.

As a result, 85 percent of health facilities are experiencing stock shortages, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“We’re lacking everything,” says Francois Moreillon, the ICRC’s country representative, “antimalarials, vaccines, antiretrovirals, and post-rape kits.”

Funding decline

Despite this emergency, international aid has steadily declined, particularly from the United States.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of 15 October of this year, only 16 percent of the €2.1 billion humanitarian response plan has been met.

Last year, 70 percent of aid to the DRC came from the United States, while France covered only 0.5 percent of the country’s humanitarian needs, Oxfam France said.

African healthcare at a crossroads after United States pulls WHO funding

In 2025, the largest donor is the European Union, with €112 million in aid, followed by the US with just under €55 million.

On a broader diplomatic and economic level, France hopes the Great Lakes conference will reinforce its presence in this part of Africa.

Keynote speaker Eléonore Caroit –⁠ France’s Minister Delegate for Francophonie and International Partnerships –⁠ told RFI that the conference was a chance to “redefine the diplomatic models between France and Africa”, thanks to the involvement at every level, from government to civil society.

A second segment of the conference is set to address the so-called “root causes” of the crisis through regional economic integration.

The proposal, presented in January after a landmark trial that saw 51 men convicted of abusing Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged and unconscious, passed in the Senate by 327 votes, with 15 abstentions.

After the lower house of parliament also approved it last week, France‘s criminal code will now be updated to state that “any non-consensual sexual act constitutes sexual assault”.

French law previously defined rape a sex act committed “by violence, coercion, threat or surprise”.

The new wording says consent must be “freely given, informed, specific, prior and revocable” and specifies that it “cannot be inferred solely from the silence or the lack of reaction of the victim”.

Council of Europe demands action on sexual violence against women in France

Watershed moment

Lawmakers have submitted proposals to add consent to France’s rape law since 2023, but the efforts gathered momentum with the high-profile Pelicot trial last year. 

Some defendants argued that they hadn’t used force or threats to penetrate the sedated Pelicot, claiming to believe she was a willing participant based on information from her husband, who orchestrated the assaults. 

After the court rejected those arguments in December, a parliamentary report called for urgent reform of French law to make affirmative consent central to the definition of rape.

French government called on to do more against use of ‘date rape’ drugs

“By modifying the law, what we want to do is reaffirm that for something to qualify as a sexual relationship, there must be freely given consent. Otherwise it’s an act of violence, of domination – it’s rape,” Marie-Charlotte Garin, who co-authored the report with fellow MP Véronique Riotton, told RFI.  

“We need to clarify the law, to remind people what constitutes sexuality and what constitutes violence and domination. And the best way to do this is to include the notion of consent.”

The pivotal 1970s trial that rewrote France’s definition of rape

European precedents

Only far-right lawmakers, who criticised the changing definition of consent as “subjective, shifting and difficult to grasp”, opposed the bill in the lower house.

National Rally lawmaker Sophie Blanc said the change would put the focus on the victim’s actions, “not the violence of the perpetrator”.

Gisele Pelicot honoured on Bastille Day for advocacy against sexual violence

But supporters of the reform say it will shift the burden onto offenders to prove there was consent.

Several other EU countries have already enshrined consent in their rape laws, including Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

(with newswires)

“The two men are suspected of being the ones who entered the Apollo Gallery to seize jewels,” she told reporters.

“They are currently being brought before investigating judges with a view to being charged with the offences of theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy.’

The crimes carry jail terms of 15 years and 10 years respectively.

Beccuau said the men, aged 34 and 39. would appear before magistrates and prosecutors would ask them to be remanded in custody.

The younger man was of Algerian nationality and living in France, Beccuau said. The other was born in Aubervilliers, northern Paris, and was in the area when he was arrested on Saturday night shortly after the 34-year-old was arrested at Roissy Airport as he was preparing to travel on a one-way ticket to Algeria.

Louvre under fire: Senate culture chief warns museum’s security is outdated

Heist of the century

Four people took less than eight minutes to steal jewels worth nearly €100 million on 19 October. They used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s façade and forced open a window.

Once inside the Galérie d’Apollon, they smashed display cases and made their way back out before speeding away on scooters.

“If such a spectacular theft took place, it’s a failure — a failure for everyone,” said Culture Minister Rachida Dati during a two-and-a-half hour session with the Senate’s culture committee on Tuesday night.

DNA leads and video trail drive search for stolen Louvre crown jewels

“There were indeed security breaches and we will have to address them. Such an event cannot go without consequences or immediate action. We cannot just say: ‘Move along, nothing to see here.’”

On Wednesday night, Beccuau ruled out help from inside the museum but admitted the possibility of “a wider network involving a mastermind or potential recipients”.

“The jewels are, as I speak to you, not yet in our possession,” Beccuau added. “I want to remain hopeful that they will be recovered.”

Security questions raised after Louvre heist of ‘unsaleable’ royal jewels

Just before Beccuau outlined the latest developments in the investigation into the theft, Paris‘ top police officer Patrice Faure told French senators that ageing security systems and delays to upgrade them had compromised the gallery.

“A technological step has not been taken,” he said. He told senators that parts of the video network were still analog and produced lower-quality images that are slow to share in real time.

A long-promised revamp — a €90 million project requiring roughly 60km of new cabling – would not be finished before 2029–2030, he said.

Faure and his team said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.

“Officers arrived extremely fast,” Faure said, but he added the lag occurred earlier in the chain — from first detection, to museum security, to the emergency line, to police command.

Louvre reopens as senators prepare to grill museum chief over jewel heist

Search for solutions 

Faure pushed back on quick fixes. He rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast, mobile crews.

“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”

He urged lawmakers to authorise tools currently off-limits: AI-based anomaly detection and object tracking to flag suspicious movements and follow scooters or gear across city cameras in real time.

After two years under a government led by Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), Dutch voters appear increasingly weary of the coalition’s indecision, harsh rhetoric, and polarising remarks. Wilders himself brought the coalition to an end, pulling his PVV out of government after claiming its migration policy did not go far enough.

The final debate  – marked by fierce exchanges, personal attacks and some genuine discussion – took place on Tuesday evening, just hours before polling stations were due to open.

According to Dutch broadcaster NOS, the day before the 2025 election has “rarely been so tense,” with parties drawing ever closer in the polls and five of them now having a realistic chance of becoming the largest: Geert Wilders’ far-right PVV, the left-green alliance GroenLinks–PvdA, centrist parties D66 and CDA (Christian Democrats), and the liberal VVD.

Yet with nearly 40 percent of voters still undecided, there remained much to play for among the party leaders.

On Wednesday, election day, things began quietly at a polling station in Rijswijk, a suburb of The Hague. The station, located on the first floor of a glass-and-steel office building, opened at 7:30 am to give voters time to cast their ballots before work.

One voter, dressed in a bright red windbreaker, declined to say which party he voted for. “That remains a secret,” he said. But he did share that he is far from satisfied with the current government.

Dutch voters decide future amid rising far-right influence

“The last couple of years, the people in government were fighting each other instead of trying to make the country better,” he told RFI. “That’s the task for those now elected to parliament.”

“Wilders has already walked out of government twice because he didn’t get his way – and that’s no way to run a country,” he said.

Another voter shared similar concerns. “It’s a bit of a mess, isn’t it?” said Mark, an IT developer in his thirties.

“What really worries me – and you can see this happening internationally too – is that conservatives are increasingly willing to work with the radical right.”

He added that once politics heads in that direction, debates become more personal, the quality of discussion deteriorates, and politicians seem more focused on point-scoring than on actually getting things done. “The overall standard of politics right now is just dismal,” he said.

Sandra, in her late fifties, said she voted for D66, a centrist party that often acts as a kingmaker in the Netherlands’ tricky coalition politics.

“Mostly because I really care about the environment,” she explained. “I didn’t hear much about it during the debates, so I really hope they’ll do something.”

Ilse, another voter, chose not to say who she backed, but like Mr De Haan, she said she had been disappointed by the past two years.

“Nothing has happened. I hope we’ll move back towards the centre. Then, perhaps, things might take a different direction. As it stands, nothing changes. They made plenty of plans, but nothing came of them. We also need a bit more respect for each other — that seems to have completely disappeared, in my view.”

Polling stations will close at 9 pm, with counting starting immediately afterwards. National broadcaster NOS will then release exit polls based on research by Ipsos I&O, conducted at 65 polling stations across the Netherlands with around 80,000 voters.

At 9:30 pm, Ipsos I&O will update the exit poll as results begin to come in from across the country. Before midnight, results from larger cities — those with more than 100,000 residents — are expected to start filtering through.

Once all results are in on Thursday, the Dutch news agency ANP will publish a final projection, although the outcome will only be officially confirmed by the Election Council next week.

Twenty people arrived in France on Sunday, fewer than expected due to the complexity of the operations, diplomatic sources told French news agency AFP, without specifying how many more are expected.

“These operations are carried out under extremely difficult conditions on the ground and involve very high risks for both the evacuees and the people operating the convoys,” the sources said.

France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the war between Hamas and Israel started in October 2023, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists.

France halts Gaza evacuations over antisemitic posts by Palestinian student

But evacuations were halted on 1 August after a Palestinian student at Sciences Po Lille was accused of sharing antisemitic statements in 2023. She was ordered to leave the country and subsequently expelled to Qatar. 

The diplomatic sources said the evacuees were undergoing thorough screening before their arrival in France.

“We are scrupulously ensuring that those evacuated to our country respect the values and principles of the republic,” the sources said.

Growing calls for France to lift ‘collective punishment’ ban on visas for Gazans

Further evacuations were expected to be carried out “as soon as conditions allow”, they added.

(with AFP)

They are accused of posting malicious comments on the internet about Brigitte Macron’s gender and sexuality, and of associating the 24-year age gap with her husband with “pedophilia.”

During the hearings at a court in Paris, defendants – who include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist – told the court the comments they posted were humour or satire and they did not understand why they were on trial.

On the second day, Brigitte Macron’s youngest daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, told the court about the deterioration of her mother’s life after messages spread claims that Brigitte Macron is a man.

“She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière said.

“I’d like to express what her life looks like since she was the target of massive cyberbullying.

“This has repercussions on her children and grandchildren. They hear things at school such as: ‘Your grandmother is a man.’ I don’t know how to make it stop,” Auzière said.

Brigitte Macron launches appeal against acquittal in gender rumours case

The Macrons for years have been dogged by theories that Brigitte was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux, who supposedly took the name Brigitte as a transgender woman.

Jean-Michel Trogneux is the name of Brigitte’s brother.

Asked whether she sees her uncle, Auzière said: “I saw him a few months ago and he was doing very well.”

The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in a Delaware court in the United States.

Their lawyer said they are seeking “substantial” damages from the American influencer Candace Owens if she persists with claims that Brigitte is a man.

Auzière told the court in France that many images of Macron are being misused online: “As a result, she is forced to be careful about her outfits, her posture and her everyday life.”

Ten stand trial in Paris over sexist cyberbullying of Brigitte Macron

The investigation followed a complaint lodged by Brigitte Macron on 27 August 2024. It led to several waves of arrests in December 2024 and February 2025.

Trial over online abuse

Investigators said they selected “only the most virulent” offenders. If convicted, the accused face up to two years in prison.

Among the people on trial are a 41-year-old advertising executive Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, known on social media under the pseudonym “Zoé Sagan”.

His X account, since suspended, has been the subject of several complaints and is often described as being linked to conspiracy circles.

Another defendant is 51-year-old medium, self-styled journalist and “whistleblower” Delphine J, known online as Amandine Roy.

She played a significant role in spreading the rumour that Brigitte Macron, born Trogneux, was a transgender woman whose birth name was Jean-Michel, referring to her brother.

Delphine J was convicted of defamation by a French court in September 2024 alongside independent journalist Natacha Rey. She was ordered to pay several thousand euros in damages to Brigitte Macron and €5,000 to Jean-Michel Trogneux.

She was later acquitted on appeal on 10 July this year.

Brigitte Macron and her brother have lodged an appeal before the Court of Cassation against that ruling.

(with newswires)

Dutch voters head to the ballot box on Wednesday for an election that will be closely watched around Europe for the performance of the far-right led by anti-Islam, anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders.

Polls suggest Wilders and his PVV Freedom Party could repeat their stunning election success from 2023 and top the vote, although the gap to other parties has narrowed.

Even if he were to win, he is unlikely to become Prime Minister, as all other parties have ruled out a coalition with him.

Campaigning reached fever pitch this week, with several major debates between the main party leaders.

The leaders of the three other major parties – GL-PvdA (centre-left alliance between the Labour Party and Greens), the Christian Democrats (CDA) and the liberals (VVD) – accused Wilders of “not having done enough” during the last two years when his party was in power, whilst categorically excluding any future cooperation.

Frustrated that he could not push through his hard-line anti-immigration plans, Wilders pulled out of a coalition with the VVD, the farmers’ party BBB and the New Social Contract party NSC (a splinter from the Christian Democrats), causing the collapse of the government on 7 July.

Since then, a caretaker government has been running the day-to-day governance of the Netherlands, whilst political parties started to solidify their positions, hoping to gain a place in a new coalition after the elections on Wednesday.

Domestic priorities and immigration

Apart from affordable housing and healthcare, immigration features high on the campaign agenda, with half the electorate calling it their main concern.

The PVV is pushing a hardline anti-asylum stance, advocating a “total halt” to new arrivals and the deportation of dual nationals convicted of crimes  – measures that directly contradict European and international law.

The BBB (Farmers’ Party) and VVD also offer tough measures, including limits on asylum applications and the criminalisation of undocumented status. GL-PvdA, by contrast, supports civilised reception for undocumented migrants and fair arrangements for those refused residence, reflecting a more compassionate approach.

Support for Ukraine and EU membership

On EU membership, the major parties’ views reflect a divided society. Wilders’ PVV is openly Eurosceptic, proposing a “Nexit” and opting out of core EU migration policies, whilst seeking limits on Brussels’ ability to dictate Dutch laws, especially on pensions and agriculture.

By contrast, the VVD remains strongly pro-European, focusing on reform from within rather than challenging Dutch participation. The CDA and GL-PvdA are generally pro-EU, arguing for continued Dutch leadership in European cooperation and defence.

Despite the far right’s rise, the most recent coalition agreement maintains strong support for military assistance to Ukraine and the NATO alliance – a stance also championed by centrist and mainstream parties.

However, Wilders’ PVV has voiced a desire to halt Dutch arms supplies to Ukraine, preferring to redirect spending to domestic defence priorities. This duality means future Dutch policy will likely balance continued backing for Ukraine with new debates on spending and priorities.

Wilders, Le Pen and the rightward shift

Over the past decade, ties between Geert Wilders and France’s Marine Le Pen have grown closer, forming one of Europe’s most visible far-right alliances.

Le Pen openly celebrated Wilders’ electoral success, calling it an inspiration for protecting national identities across the continent.

This partnership symbolises a broader shift: as Wilders’ PVV steers the Dutch political agenda, a right-leaning bloc is consolidating in opposition to Brussels on migration, attracting supporters from France, Italy and Germany.

The implications could be profound. A closer PVV-Le Pen axis empowers eurosceptic forces, undermines traditional EU consensus on asylum and human rights, and prompts Brussels to brace for further opposition on key policy matters.

The Netherlands, long viewed as an anchor for European integration, now finds itself at the vanguard of a continent-wide swing to the right.​

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

Or does it? Whilst the PVV gained an unprecedented 37 seats in the 150-seat Parliament just two years ago, and all opinion polls indicated a major lead over the other parties, that advantage began to shrink suddenly just a week before the elections.

According to polling institution Maurice de Hond, Wilders’ PVV would now secure 29 seats, whilst the Christian Democrats, Liberals and centre-left party have gained considerably since 2023. And as all parties have now indicated that they will not cooperate with a possible PVV-dominated coalition, the chances of Wilders steering Dutch politics for another term are becoming slimmer.

The main players

Geert Wilders (PVV)

The peroxide-blond populist has been the face of Dutch Euroscepticism since 2006, living under armed guard and vowing to freeze asylum and rewrite relations with Brussels. Wilders’ party has only one real member – himself – emphasising strong central leadership, albeit with little internal dissent.​

Frans Timmermans (GroenLinks-PvdA)

Erudite, experienced and formerly a European commissioner, Timmermans leads the left-green alliance, arguing for climate justice and humane migration. Though knowledgeable, he has faced challenges in winning the hearts of ordinary voters.

Dilan Yeşilgöz (VVD)

Now leading the centre-right after Mark Rutte, Yeşilgöz’s personal story as a former refugee merges with tough rhetoric on migration and a strong social media presence. She champions business-friendly reforms and increased defence spending, but takes a strict position on asylum.

Henri Bontenbal (CDA)

A relative newcomer, Bontenbal revitalised the traditional Christian Democrats with policies aimed at housing reform and cautious conservatism. His leadership is credited with a renewed focus on centre-ground policies and appeals to former supporters of New Sociaal Contract, a party that split from the CDA but was decimated after its leader left politics. 

(with newswires)

Hassan is running for her first full term at the head of Chama Cha Mapinduzi – Swahili for “Party of the Revolution” – which has ruled the country since its independence from Britain in 1961. The party has never lost a national election.

She came to power in 2021 after the sudden death of then-president John Magufuli, under whom she served as vice president.

Her main rival, opposition leader Tundu Lissu, has been imprisoned since April on treason charges. His Chadema party, along with another key opposition movement, ACT-Wazalendo, is barred from the ballot.

Another prominent contender and ruling party defector, Luhaga Mpina, has also been excluded.

That leaves Hassan facing only minor challengers in what analysts describe as Tanzania’s least competitive election in decades.

Many citizens had wanted a more genuine contest, Aloyce Nchunga, a political analyst in Tanzania, told RFI.

“If you look through comments on social media, you can still see that Tanzanians really wanted there to be a strong opposition … with real back-and-forth and genuine competition, like in past elections,” Nchunga said.

He recalled that in 2015, when Hassan was running as Magufuli’s VP candidate, the ruling party won one of its narrowest victories – clinching just 58 percent of the vote.

Tanzania opposition presidential candidate banned from running

Fading hopes for reform

When Hassan took office, many hoped for a gentler, more open style of leadership. But observers say political space has only tightened since.

“The Samia Hassan presidency started out with a lot of anticipation of opening of democratic space after the Magufuli period,” Alex Vines, Africa Director at the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR), told RFI.

“But in fact, there have been more disappearances and incarcerations under President Samia than there was under Magufuli. This is the first time she’s tested by the electorate.”

Hassan, from Zanzibar – a semi-autonomous archipelago off Tanzania’s coast – comes from a political minority within the country’s broader landscape. “There is more diversity by gender within the political system, if not from political pluralism, given the repression,” Vines said.

That diversity is built into the system: the constitution reserves 113 parliamentary seats for women, increasing female representation. In total, there are 264 seats up for grabs on Wednesday – 214 from the mainland and 50 from Zanzibar.

But critics say those gains in representation mask a broader erosion of civic freedoms.

Reports by UN experts and Human Rights Watch – which the government strongly denies – describe abductions and attacks on activists, journalists and religious leaders.

Hassan has said her administration is committed to human rights and ordered an investigation into abductions last year, though its findings have not been made public.

Tanzanian opposition leader to represent himself in court over treason charges

Zanzibar tensions

The islands of Zanzibar, long a political bellwether for the mainland, often mirror Tanzania’s national divides. Security forces and election staff began voting there on Tuesday, a day ahead of the rest of the country.

Nearly one million voters are registered, and past elections have been marked by fraud allegations and unrest.

In 2020, the opposition denounced massive fraud before being forced into a unity government.

Zanzibar’s main opposition candidate, Othman Masoud Othman, told the French news agency AFP the Zanzibar Electoral Commission was allowing ineligible voters to take part in early voting, describing it as “early stealing”.

“We have scrutinised the voters registry… There are people who are deceased, quite a number of them,” Othman said.

Opposition officials also say around 50,000 people have been added to the voter roll for early voting, which should have covered only about 7,000 security and election staff.

The tense atmosphere in Zanzibar adds to wider fears that Wednesday’s vote could deepen mistrust in Tanzania’s democratic process.

Silencing dissent in Tanzania, reckoning with genocide in Namibia

Economic stakes

Tanzania, rich in gold and gas and home to a growing tourism industry, has one of East Africa’s largest economies. The International Monetary Fund forecasts growth of 6 percent this year.

Hassan has campaigned on stability and development, pointing to major infrastructure projects such as new rail links and hydropower dams.

Her government has also pursued new investment deals in mining and energy, including a $1.2 billion uranium project and plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal led by Shell and Equinor.

But political tensions have unsettled some investors, while negotiations on large-scale gas exports have stalled.

Economists warn that without a more open political environment, the benefits of growth may remain unevenly shared.

In Spotlight on Africa this week, you’ll hear from the people RFI met and interviewed in Abidjan – the main economic hub of Côte d’Ivoire and its administrative capital  – located in the south of the country on the Atlantic coast.

Although Yamoussoukro is the official capital, Abidjan remains home to most embassies, the National Assembly, and one of the presidential palaces. 

Côte d’Ivoire‘s recent economic growth depends heavily on its cocoa and coffee producers as well as on the mining sector. Abidjan is also recognised as a cultural hub for the whole of West Africa.

In this episode, you’ll hear from campaign supporters – particularly young people and women – about their expectations for the post-election period and its outcome.

We’ll then head to the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny to hear from students and their lecturer, Wise Bogny.

In Cocody, we also take you to the shop of Axel Emmanuel Gbaou, Le Chocolatier Ivoirien, the first Ivorian chocolate maker.

We then head to the Maison de l’Art, in Grand Bassam, which opened in late September and which now hosts the first museum of African contemporary art in Côte d’Ivoire.

Finally, in the last part of this episode, you’ll hear from the AKAA, (Also Known As Africa) the African contemporary art fair in Paris, which closed on Sunday, with our arts journalist Ollia Horton. 

Paris fair celebrates modern African artists reinventing traditional crafts

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.

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

Securing 63 percent of the vote, Tufan Erhurman’s victory in last weekend’s election took Erdogan by surprise.

“The defeat was so big, 63 percent was such a landslide, Ankara was really shocked,” said former Erdogan advisor Ilnur Cevik.

Erhurman’s Republican Turkish Party backs a united island. Erdogan supported incumbent Ersin Tatar, whose National Unity Party wants two separate states.

“Ankara had amassed all its political clout on the island,” Cevik added. “It had sent its vice president five times to the island; it had sent numerous delegations led by deputies and mayors.”

It failed to win Turkish Cypriots over because “the essence of it was Turkey’s interference, which created huge resentment among the Turkish Cypriots”, Cevik said.

Cyprus has been split since Turkey invaded in 1974. Erdogan had pushed for international recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara.

Turkey ready to help rebuild Gaza, but tensions with Israel could be a barrier

Shift away from partition

Analysts say Erhurman’s win has dealt a final blow to Erdogan’s two state strategy for Cyprus.

“The two independent states idea was dead on arrival, and now it’s officially dead,” said Soli Ozel, of Kadir Has University’s International Relations Department.

He said Erdogan’s reaction to the election points to a change in approach.

“President Erdogan’s message of congratulations to [Erhurman] suggests at least for the moment he’s ready to turn the page on that.”

Erdogan’s stance is very different to that of his coalition partner Devlet Bahceli, who called for the result to be overturned and for the north of the island to be integrated with Turkey.

Former Turkish ambassador Selim Kuneralp said the election gives Erdogan a chance to drop a policy that has become a growing obstacle to improving EU defence relations.

Turkey and Egypt’s joint naval drill signals shifting Eastern Med alliances

EU ties on the line

Cyprus has long blocked Turkey’s hopes of deeper EU defence cooperation and access to a 150 billion euro arms programme known as SAFE.

“So far, everything has been blocked by the Cyprus problem,” said Kuneralp, adding that the election result offers a rare opening.

“Now you’ve got these election results that open a small window. So that’s why the present situation might not be so bad for Erdogan.”

European governments see Turkey as an important partner in defending themselves against Russia.

A shift to unification talks could suit both sides, analyst Soli Ozel said.

“Given Russia’s proclivities, it makes sense for [Turkey] to be part of SAFE. And it doesn’t make sense for the Europeans because of the Greek and Greek Cypriot opposition to leaving Turkey out,” he said.

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

Changing priorities

EU leaders have new priorities that could help clear a path.

“The European Union is no longer the European Union of our grandmothers; the issues of human rights and rule of law no longer count for anything,” Ozel said. 

“That’s a relation that is cleared of its thorns.”

Turkey’s backsliding on democracy has long held back cooperation with Brussels. Human rights is not expected to feature much during German Chancellor Frederick Mertz’s visit to Ankara later this month.

Deepening defence ties is set to top the agenda, but how far Erdogan supports unification could decide his next steps with the EU.

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.

It sounds early, but it’s not. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. So start thinking now, and get your resolutions to me by 15 December. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

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

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos 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 27 September, I asked you a question about Paul Myers’ article “Dembélé and Bonmati win Ballon d’Or as PSG take team and coach prizes”. The French Ballon d’Or award is awarded every year to the top football players in Europe, both men and women.

You were to send in the answer to these three questions: What is the name of the football prize for strikers, who won the men’s, and for which teams does he play?

The answer is, to quote Paul’s article: “In other awards, Viktor Gyokeres received the Gerd Müller Trophy to honour the striker of the year. Playing for Sporting Lisbon and Sweden, he netted 54 goals in 52 matches to top the scoring charts across the continent.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?”, which was suggested by Rafiq Khondaker, the chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Rafiq Khondaker, the chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Rafiq is also the winner of this week’s bonus question – and the listener who asked the question!

Congratulations on your double win, Rafiq, and thanks for all the bonus question ideas you regularly send to us.  

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in West Bengal, India, and Ras Franz Manko Ngogo, the president of the Kemogemba RFI Club in Tarime, Mara, Tanzania.

There are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, who’s also the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and last but assuredly not least, Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj in Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Mathar”, mixed by Brendan Lynch and performed by the Indian Vibes Ensemble; “Carnival De Paris” by Dario G, performed by the Dario G Ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Hurt” by Trent Reznor, sung by Johnny Cash.

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 “Paris police hunt Louvre thieves after priceless jewels vanish in daring heist”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 17 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 22 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. 

Turkey responded to a call from Hamas for assistance with locating the bodies of Israeli hostages still unaccounted for in the ruins of Gaza, sending specialists to help in the search.

Ankara maintains close ties with Hamas, which some analysts say could make it a useful mediator – although strained relations with Israel could stand in the way of any peacekeeping or reconstruction mission, despite Turkey’s experience in these areas.

“Turkey does have expertise for this – it has a doctrine,” said Murat Aslan of the SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a pro-government think tank.

“In Afghanistan, Bosnia, some African countries like Somalia or Sudan, and in Kosovo, Turkey contributed either through its Tika aid agency, responsible for reconstruction, or through its armed forces.”

Aslan believes Turkey’s approach would be similar in Gaza. “Turkey will send soldiers for sure, for the protection of the civilian units,” he said.

Hamas says committed to Gaza truce and returning hostage remains

High risk

However, others warn the mission would not be easy.

“Turkey can become part of this protection force, but it will not be easy. At the moment it seems more problematic than many people assume,” said Huseyin Bagci, an international relations professor at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

Bagci fears Gaza could slide into chaos as rival groups fight for control.

“There are fights between Hamas and the clans,” he said. “It will not be easy because Hamas has to give up its weapons, which is the primary condition. Hamas is not 100 percent trusting Turkey – if not, Israel will probably act.”

Turkey and Egypt’s joint naval drill signals shifting Eastern Med alliances

Deep mistrust

Any Turkish deployment would also require Israel’s consent, which appears unlikely given the collapse in relations between the country’s leaders.

Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have regularly traded insults since the start of the current conflict in Gaza, and Ankara’s vocal support for Hamas has further deepened mistrust.

Israeli analysts say the government is hesitant to allow Turkish troops in Gaza, citing deep tensions and mistrust between the two countries.

Gallia Lindenstrauss of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv said there is little enthusiasm for involving a Muslim peacekeeping force, as any casualties could inflame anger across the Muslim world and worsen relations.

“This conflict in Gaza has heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel, particularly between the two leaders,” she added.

Counting on Washington

Any Turkish role in Gaza would likely need US backing to move forward, given Israel’s resistance, observers warn.

Aslan believes Washington could help bridge the divide. “Erdogan does have a charming power over Hamas,” he said.

“So it’s on Turkey to urge Hamas to accept some things, and it’s on the United States to push Israel to accept the terms of a long-term peace. I believe that Trump is well aware of it, because there is no trust of Israel. That’s a fact, not only for Gazans or Palestinians or Turks, but [across the world] overall.”

Aslan says trust would be essential to persuading Hamas to disarm. “I believe Hamas will lay down their arms when they feel safe, and they have to see friendly faces in Gaza to be persuaded.”

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

Road to normalisation

Turkish involvement in Gaza could also help pave the way for a reset in relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv.

Bagci believes Erdogan is hoping for political change in Israel to make that possible. “There will be elections,” he said. “Erdogan [is counting on] Netanyahu losing. But if he wins, then he has to deal with him because both sides have to be pragmatic and realistic.”

Bagci said much of the fiery rhetoric from both men is aimed at domestic audiences, with both having reputations as political survivors and pragmatists.

If peace efforts gain ground, observers say cooperation in Gaza could offer a path towards rebuilding trust – and serve both countries as they compete for regional influence.

(with AFP)

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 30 August, I asked you a question about France’s budget problems … since I asked that question, two governments have been dissolved: that of François Bayrou, and that of the next in line, Sébastien Lecornu, who quit after just a few days, but now he’s back. It’s a high-level game of musical chairs, and we still are not anywhere near coming up with a budget.

You were to read our article “French PM puts government on line with call for confidence vote” and send in the answers to these two questions: What is France’s budget deficit, and what is the official European Union limit for a country’s budget deficit?  

The answer is, to quote our article: “After years of overspending, France is on notice to tame a budget deficit that hit 5.8 percent of gross domestic product last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3 percent.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is your favorite memory of your mother?” The question was suggested by Liton Rahaman Mia from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India. Debashis is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Debashis.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Paresh Hazarika, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India, and RFI Listeners Club members Shadman Hosen Ayon from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, as well as Arne Timm from Harjumaa in Estonia. Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Rowshan Ara Labone from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Les Feuilles Mortes” by Jacques Prévert, set to music by Joseph Kosma and sung by Yves Montand; “Twelfth Street Rag” by Euday L. Bowman; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Serenade to a Cuckoo” by Roland Kirk, performed by Kirk and the Roland Kirk Quartet.

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 “Morocco Gen Z protesters call for ‘peaceful sit-ins’ to demand reforms”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 10 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 15 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. 

Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš has swept back into power after voters, frustrated by unfulfilled promises and a stagnant quality of life, turned their backs on the centre-right government.

According to Ondračka, Babiš’s resurgence reflects deep public disillusionment with the political establishment – alongside his skill as a pragmatist who “tells people whatever they want to hear.”

While Brussels voices unease over his return, Ondračka argues that Babiš is neither aligned with Moscow nor guided by ideology.

Instead, he describes him as a tycoon whose loyalties lie squarely “where the money is” – inside the European Union.

Czech populist’s comeback a win for politics of pragmatism in shifting Europe

As the Czech Republic enters coalition talks and joins Hungary, Slovakia and Poland in navigating a shifting political landscape, Ondračka warns that Europe’s populist wave is far from receding, continuing to test the strength of the liberal centre.

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.