Macron landed in Port Louis on Thursday in a visit to a country that has become an economic success story in the Indian Ocean.

Mauritius sits just north of the French overseas territory of Réunion and has a per-capita GDP of more than €8,600, according to the World Bank.

From Mauritius, Macron will head to South Africa for the G20 summit at the weekend, then to Gabon for talks with the country’s new president Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema two years after the coup that ended the Bongo family’s long rule.

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Inflation worries

Home to just over 1.2 million people, Mauritius has changed sharply over the past three decades. Once reliant on sugar cane, it moved into tourism and financial services, though recent years have exposed some economic weaknesses.

Even so, the Elysée said the island is “a success story” in which French businesses have played a strong role.

A former French then British colony, Mauritius gained independence in 1968 and keeps a strong French-speaking tradition even though English is the official language. Around 15,000 French nationals now live there.

Macron’s visit, which includes a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam Thursday evening, aims to revive a relationship that has been politically cool for decades. No French president has visited since François Mitterrand in 1993.

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Regional friction

The timing is delicate as a recent coup in nearby Madagascar has reignited anti-French sentiment, especially after RFI reported that Paris helped exfiltrate former president Andry Rajoelina, an episode that angered many Malagasy people.

Macron also wants to reinforce France’s position in the south-west Indian Ocean as China, Russia and India show growing interest.

Maritime security is a key focus, with French and Mauritian authorities facing rising trafficking, including drug-running, illegal fishing and irregular migration.

On Friday, Macron and Ramgoolam will visit the French Navy vessel Champlain, which works closely with the Mauritian coastguard.

Ecology and the fight against plastic waste will also be discussed during a visit of the French ship “Plastic Odyssey” on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the French Development Agency is preparing to sign agreements aimed at strengthening the island’s electricity network – under strain from ever-more violent weather events – and modernising its water sector.

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Economic stakes

Throughout the tour, Macron is expected to promote what the Elysée calls “win-win partnerships” that aim to support African countries while also helping French businesses and citizens.

French firms see openings in Gabon as the government tries to diversify an economy still heavily tied to oil.

Mining is an area where Paris believes French expertise could help.

In South Africa, Macron will attend the launch of a new Franco–South African business council based on a model already used in Nigeria.

French mining group digs in as Gabon tightens grip on manganese exports

A policy under strain

Macron’s trip also reflects the problems facing his wider Africa strategy first set out in his 2017 Ouagadougou speech. His attempt to shift away from France’s colonial legacy, often called Françafrique, has not always worked as intended.

His turn towards English-speaking countries has raised concerns in francophone Africa, while his decision to engage directly with young people and civil society rather than heads of state caused friction at the 2021 Africa-France summit in Montpellier.

These moves were sometimes seen as paternalistic and came during rising anti-French sentiment in the Sahel that forced French troops out of several countries.

France’s share of Africa’s trade has also kept falling.

(with newswires)

Lula flew into the Amazonian city on Wednesday to bring the weight of the presidency to the summit, in a rare late-stage visit by a head of state or government at the annual gathering.

Cop30 host Brazil released a draft pact on Tuesday and pushed negotiators to work through the night, hoping to get nations to agree on the most disputed points as soon as Wednesday — two days before the conference is scheduled to end.

Lula, who has invested political capital into making what he dubbed the “Cop of truth” a success, shuttled between rooms to meet with ministers of various negotiating groups.

He burst jovially into the evening’s press conference two hours late, singing the praises of Belem and the state of Para, boasting: “From the beginning, I had no doubt that we were going to organize the best Cop of all those held so far.”

He then returned to his “roadmap” away from oil, coal and gas that he first floated earlier this month, lighting the fuse for the summit’s ambitious tone.

“We need to show society that we want this without imposing anything on anyone, without setting deadlines for each country to decide what it can do within its own time, within its own possibilities,” he said.

“But we are serious – we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to start thinking about how to live without fossil fuels.”

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No more money

Lula “said clearly the roadmap is what he wants to see coming out of the conference,” Marcio Astrini of Brazil’s Climate Observatory told AFP.

“We need to see all this optimism reflected in the final text,” added Greenpeace Brazil.

Still, much work remains to reach consensus, not only on the roadmap away from fossil fuels – supported by a coalition of more than 80 countries but opposed by the oil-producing bloc – but also on trade measures and other divisive topics.

Negotiators are notably at odds over pressure from the developing world for developed countries to provide more financing to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and deploy renewable energy.

The COP29 summit in Baku last year concluded with developed nations agreeing to provide $300 billion a year in climate finance, a figure criticized by developing countries as woefully insufficient.

The EU, where many countries are facing economic headwinds and soaring debt, has led the opposition to demands for more money.

“We’re not looking at any increases in adaptation finance,” Irish climate minister Darragh O’Brien said.

The EU is also fighting attempts led by China and major developing economies to have language against its tax on imports of carbon-intensive goods such as steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers.

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Grants, not loans

“There should be at least a mention (of trade measures), because they become a disabler instead of an enabler. So, I think they will be mentioned in some way,” Mexican environment minister Alicia Barcena told AFP.

Aisha Humera Moriani, Pakistan‘s head of delegation, told AFP that “it’s extremely important that we find something on the operationalization of that $300 billion.”

She added that most of the funding should boost climate-vulnerable countries’ resilience to extreme weather and a larger share needs to come as grants, rather than loans that further burden poor nations with debt.

A new text is expected to be published on Wednesday.

Cop30 is due to end on Friday, but climate summits regularly run into overtime.

In a sign that Brazil wants to stay on schedule, delegates sleeping on two cruise ships serving as floating hotels have been told to vacate their cabins on Saturday morning.

Fresh figures from the Interministerial Mission for the Protection of Women (Miprof show the number has increased over the past year.

“Every seven hours, a woman is killed, attempted to be killed, driven to suicide or attempted suicide by her partner or ex-partner,” said an annual letter from the National Observatory on Violence Against Women, which is part of Miprof.

The data shows 107 women were victims of domestic femicide last year, 270 were victims of attempted domestic femicide and 906 women faced harassment by a spouse or ex-spouse that led to suicide or attempted suicide.

Ahead of 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Observatory warned that the harm documented in the figures remains severe.

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Victim of assault ‘every 2 minutes’

In total, 1,283 women were victims of direct or indirect femicide or attempted domestic femicide in 2024, compared to 1,196 in 2023. That represents 3.5 women every day.

The observatory said these figures cover couples only and do not show all femicides outside relationships or deaths following violence within couples.

The letter notes that data from the Interior Ministry’s 2023 “experiences and perceptions of security” survey shows a woman is the victim of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault every two minutes.

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It also states that every 23 seconds, a woman faces sexual harassment, sexual exhibitionism or unsolicited sexual content.

Miprof Secretary General Roxana Maracineanu said the figures present “an indisputable fact”.

In 2024, girls and women remained “the main targets – if not the almost exclusive targets – of gender-based and sexual violence, at all ages and in all spheres of their personal and social lives”.

She said breaking “this vicious cycle” will require constant training of frontline professionals and that identifying and reporting violence “must become a reflex”.

(with newswires)

Appearing before MPs on Wednesday, the director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, announced new security measures – while also acknowledging criticism over the 19 October daytime raid on the world’s most-visited museum.

“I accept responsibility for the failure represented by the theft on 19 October,” she said. “It is an immense wound that has been inflicted upon us. I feel it deeply.”

Following a meeting with the head of the Paris police department, she said around 20 emergency measures would be introduced, including officers being stationed inside the Louvre and 100 new security cameras installed around the museum.

The loss of jewels worth more than €87 million – which are yet to be recovered – exposed gaps in CCTV coverage and the inability of police to quickly reach certain parts of the vast former royal palace.

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The Louvre’s security shortcomings were underscored again last week when two Belgian TikTok pranksters managed to pin their own portrait next to the Mona Lisa without being stopped by museum staff.

“We constantly face incidents in the rooms of the Louvre,” the museum’s director told MPs, while insisting her staff remained “vigilant”.

‘Not a good state’ 

Adding to its current woes, the Louvre announced the temporary closure on Monday of one of its galleries due to safety concerns over the ceiling.

The incident underlined the dilapidated state of some of the museum’s structures, as well as the challenges of welcoming millions of people every year to a building that mostly dates back to the Renaissance era.

Des Cars used her appearance on Wednesday to defend a renovation plan of €700 to €800 million announced by President Emmanuel Macron in January this year.

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Culture Minister Rachida Dati said on Tuesday that structural problems, as illustrated by the closure of the Campana Gallery housing Greek pottery, were not surprising.

“To bring this museum completely up to standard and fully restore it, it would almost need to be closed permanently,” she told the BFM news channel.

“[But] we don’t want to deprive visitors, and we also don’t want to deprive the staff of their work. We are forced to do it in stages,” she explained.

“The building is not in a good state,” chief Louvre architect Francois Chatillon told MPs on Wednesday, saying there were “a bunch of patch-ups that are at the end of their lifespans”.

 (with AFP)

At 56 in the world rankings of World Cup organisers Fifa, DRC were allocated a place in the “Path 1” final of the inter-confederation playoffs in a draw at Fifa headquarters in the Swiss city of Zurich on Thursday.

New Caledonia and Jamaica will play on 26 March for a slot in the showdown, which is scheduled for 31 March.

Iraq, who are 58th on the Fifa list, were put in the “Path 2” final and will face either Bolivia or Suriname following their semi-final on 26 March. All the matches will be played in Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico. 

Jamaica and Iraq, like DRC, will be seeking a second trip to the World Cup.

When the DRC was called Zaire, it appeared at the 1974 World Cup in what was then West Germany.

Just a few months after claiming the 1974 Africa Cup of Nations, the squad lost all three of their games and conceded 14 goals – nine of them against Yugoslavia.

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‘Voodoo’ claims

Just over 50 years on, their heirs saw off Cameroon and Nigeria to claim the Confederation of African Football’s playoff place at the inter-confederation tournament.

After last Sunday’s final against Nigeria in Rabat, the Nigeria boss Eric Chelle lashed out at the antics of the DRC’s bench during the penalty shootout.

Chelle said a DRC coach was making arm movements during the 12-minute shootout at the Stade Moulay Hassan. “I don’t know if it was [meant to mean throwing] water or something like that,” he told reporters. “During the entire penalty shootout, the guy from the DRC was doing voodoo. Every time, every time. That’s why I was a bit annoyed.”

Chelle’s counterpart, Sébastian Desabre, had to intervene to prevent the Nigeria coach from confronting the assistant.

“Nigeria played well,” said Desabre. “We could so easily have not gone through. These games come down to the smallest margins but overall I think we deserved the win.”

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Africa Cup of Nations

Nigeria had been trying to reach the World Cup for a seventh time.

Last Thursday, they thrashed Gabon 4-1 to set up the African showdown with DRC, who had edged past Cameroon 1-0.

The setback heaps further pressure on Chelle, who will lead the side into the Africa Cup of Nations next month in Morocco.

Nigeria, who finished finished runners-up at the last event in Cote d’Ivoire, have been placed in Group C with Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania.

DRC will also feature at the Cup of Nations. They have been drawn in Group D with Benin, Senegal and Botswana.

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World Cup debut dreams

Several other teams in the playoffs are dreaming of World Cup qualification against the odds.

Bolivia was among the 13 teams that featured at the inaugural World Cup in Uruguay in 1930. But they have only graced the competition on two other occasions – 1950 in Brazil and 1994 in the United States.

Suriname and New Caledonia will be bidding to appear at the World Cup for the first time since its inception.

“If we can qualify for this World Cup, it will be an extra celebration for Suriname and an extra gift,” said Suriname coach Stanley Menzo.

“These things come together,” added the 62-year-old former Netherlands international goalkeeper. “Fifty years of independence and being at the last step for qualification for the World Cup. Let’s make it a big party.”

All 16 teams will play in eight “semi-finals” on 26 March. The victors will advance to a “final” on 31 March with a place up for grabs at next summer’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

In Path A, Italy will play Northern Ireland and the winner will face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In Path B, Ukraine, who finished runners-up to France in Group D, take on Sweden before going up against Poland or Albania. 

A third place at the World Cup will be available to Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo who are trying to advance to the World Cup for the first time since it became an independent nation in 2008.

Denmark, who shipped two late goals against Scotland on Tuesday night to drop to second in Group C, will pit their wits against North Macedonia. The victor of the match will play the Czech Republic or Republic of Ireland.

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The 2026 World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams since the inception of the competition in 1930, kicks off on 11 June at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

The football fest ends with the final on 19 July at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Sides will be ranked one to 16 and put in four pots. The top eight in pots one and two will play the first game – dubbed a semi-final – at home.

Teams from pot three will play away at the outfits from pot two. And the four sides in pot four will be pitted against those in pot one. If a semi were to end level after extra time, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout.

A separate draw at the headquarters of World Cup organisers Fifa will determine which side hosts the one-off “final”.

The final teams to join the likes of Italy, Wales, Ukraine, Turkey and Kosovo in the playoffs was decided on Tuesday night.

Late heartbreak for Danes in Glasgow

Denmark entered second-half stoppage time against Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow at 2-2 and with a slot at next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

But a sumptuous strike from 25 metres from the Celtic defender Kieran Tierney gave the hosts the lead. As the Danes pressed for salvation, Kenny McLean broke up a Danish attack, advanced upfield and from just inside his own half, sent a shot over the Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to seal the victory and Scotland’s place at the tournament for the first time since 1998.

“What a gigantic drama!” the Danish sports website Bold said on Wednesday after the game.

“Denmark is not sure of making it to the World Cup next summer and the Danish defeat [to Scotland] must be described as a huge disappointment and failure.

“Football is a brutal game. And on one night at Hampden Park, Denmark felt the brutality firsthand,” the website added.

“The downturn is a failure for the Danish national team. Coach Brian Riemer had said that Denmark had to live up to its status as the favourite. They didn’t.”

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Bosnia-Herzegovina also suffered late heartbreak to go into the playoffs.

They were 1-0 up against Austria – and heading to the World Cup for the second time – following Haris Tabakovic’s 12th minute opener at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna.

But Michael Gregoritsch equalised 13 minutes from time to push the Austrians into the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

The semi-finals will be played on 26 March and the finals on 31 March.

The 2026 World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams since the inception of the competition in 1930, kicks off on 11 June at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

The football fest ends with the final on 19 July at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey.

Published on Tuesday, the Insee study shows the wealthiest households now earn 31 times more than average families, up from 21 times in 2003. It defines very high incomes by counting all taxable earnings and social benefits, minus direct taxes, then adjusting for household size.

Around 40,000 households qualify as “very high income”, earning more than €463,000 annually. Nearly half live in the Paris region, and 82 percent are married or in civil partnerships.

Their wealth comes not just from salaries or pensions but from profits on professional activity such as farmland, rental income and financial assets including shares, business stakes, life insurance and investment contracts.

The gap between rich and poor has grown even more starkly. The wealthiest now earn 167 times more than the poorest households, compared to 95 times two decades ago.

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Income gaps widen

“Between 2003 and 2022, the average income of very high-income households increased more than that of other tax households, benefiting from the rise in financial and property income,” the institute said.

Their earnings can be more volatile during economic shocks. Even so, the wealthiest households contributed €10.7 billion in income tax revenue in 2022. Yet their tax rate fell from 29.2 percent in 2003 to 25.7 percent last year.

Professional footballers from Ligue 1 clubs make up more than a third of the top 100 highest-paid employees in France, with 36 appearing on the list. The remaining spots are filled by company directors and high-level executives.

Women remain heavily under-represented at the top.

Among very high salaries, defined as the top 1 percent of private sector positions earning more than €10,219 net per month, women account for just 24 percent. This compares to women representing 42 percent of full-time equivalent employees overall.

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Women a minority

Only 10 women feature among the 100 wealthiest individuals.

“This lower representation of women among very high salaries contributes significantly to increasing the wage gap between women and men,” Insee noted.

The most affluent overall are those combining both high living standards, defined as the wealthiest 10 percent with more than €39,100 in adjusted annual income, and high wealth of more than €716,300 euros. This group comprised 1.6 million households in 2021.

Fifty-one percent were aged between 50 and 69, while 58 percent were managers or self-employed. Forty-seven percent lived as couples without children and 38 percent resided in the Paris area.

“Wealth inequalities are greater than living standard inequalities,” said Michel Duée, head of the household resources and living conditions department at Insee.

Rising property prices have contributed to increasing disparities, he added.

One of the biggest flashpoints is a new global checklist for adaptation – a set of measures showing whether countries are helping communities cope with climate impacts.

African, Latin American and Arab negotiators are blocking approval of this 100-point checklist unless rich nations commit between $120 billion and $150 billion a year for adaptation by 2030.

The existing $40 billion pledge ends this year, and wealthy states are delivering only $25 billion.

Climate Action Network (CAN), a coalition of more than 2,000 organisations, said talks now stand at a crossroads and warned that across all tracks “the implementation gap is a finance gap, and credibility will not be restored until that gap is addressed”.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opened the summit by warning that climate change “is not a distant threat but a current tragedy”, and called for “a road map for humanity to overcome, in a just and planned way, its dependence on fossil fuels, reverse deforestation, and mobilise the resources needed to do so”.

Ministers now face rising pressure to deliver.

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Money gap

A draft text on the Global Goal on Adaptation includes an option to triple adaptation finance by 2030 to at least $120 billion a year.

CAN said this shows recognition of need but not yet agreement on delivery. It said that in talks on national adaptation plans and just transition, developing countries cannot implement their climate plans “without real, predictable, grants-based finance”.

The Loss and Damage Fund has opened its first funding requests, but with only $250 million allocated for 2025-26, critics say it is woefully under-resourced.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, a US-based science advocacy group, said the shortage of climate finance from richer nations “remains a festering source of frustration and distrust for lower-income countries”, especially on adaptation.

Brazil’s flagship Tropical Forest Forever Facility has secured $5.5 billion of its $125 billion  target. Norway has pledged $3 billion, but only if Brazil secures another $9.8 billion first.

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Fossil fuel showdown

Ministers are under pressure to turn Lula’s roadmap vision into concrete action.

Small island states and several African delegations want stronger phase-out language for oil, gas and coal to keep the 1.5C goal alive.

Brazil is pushing for a formal fossil fuel phase-out plan, building on the 2023 Dubai deal to begin “transitioning away” from oil, gas and coal.

A coalition including France, Britain, Colombia, Denmark, Germany and Kenya supports the move, but major producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia are resisting.

More than 70 organisations have issued an open letter urging governments to create fossil-free exclusion zones in high-integrity tropical forests.

“We must put a definitive end to the encroachment of the fossil fuel industry upon high-integrity forests that act as safeguards against a runaway climate crisis”, the groups wrote.

New maps show oil and gas blocks overlapping 183 million hectares of tropical forest across the Amazon, Congo Basin and Southeast Asia.

Cities are adding their own pressure.

C40 Cities, a network of almost 100 mayors, says Cop30 needs to move from talk to action with a clear plan for a just and orderly fossil fuel phase-out. C40 member cities have already pledged to halve their fossil fuel use by 2030.

The group says Brazil’s stance is helping push that shift. “Brazil is sending a powerful signal that the world must turn commitments into action and end the fossil fuel era”, said C40’s Caterina Sarfatti.

London mayor Sadiq Khan told city leaders that “the climate wreckers want to chain us to the fossil fuels of the past”, but said the alternative is “freedom of lower bills and better health” and “the hope of a fairer, safer, cleaner, brighter, and more prosperous tomorrow”.

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Indigenous voices

Belem has seen the largest indigenous presence at any Cop, with 3,000 people including 1,000 accredited leaders. Brazil has created a People’s Circle chaired by Indigenous Minister Sonia Guajajara.

A peaceful march of up to 70,000 people moved through Belem on Saturday, including a staged funeral for coal, oil and gas.

Indigenous leaders are demanding land rights, consent-based decisions and an end to what they call “extractive violence” linked to fossil fuels and transition minerals.

“This was promised to be the indigenous Cop, yet thousands of indigenous peoples are still outside”, said Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, a Widjabul Wia-bal woman and board member of Climate Action Network International.

She said they were promised access to be heard on “what’s happening to their territories – the privatisation of their waters, the illegal mining of their land”.

Protesters twice blocked the venue in week one.

During Friday’s action, Cop President André Corrêa do Lago spoke with demonstrators for nearly an hour. A protester placed a child in his arms, and he smiled as they talked before the group dispersed.

Aya Khourshid, an Egyptian-Palestinian member of A Wisdom Keepers Delegation – a group of indigenous representatives from around the world – said the Cop so far was a testament that unfortunately “for indigenous peoples to be heard, they actually need to be disruptive”.

The Union of Concerned Scientists said the Amazon setting has pushed the link between biodiversity and climate “to the forefront”.

Senior climate scientist Astrid Caldas said indigenous and local communities “play an integral role in conservation and stewardship of the land” and that closer cooperation between climate, biodiversity and desertification agreements is “a welcome signal”.

Information integrity is also on the agenda for the first time.

The new Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, the first Cop initiative aimed at securing accurate and reliable climate information, signals what the Union of Concerned Scientists called “unprecedented international collaboration to address pernicious disinformation”.

The group warned that big tech is amplising and monetising disinformation on a range of topics including climate change.

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Just transition clash

Just transition has become a major political clash.

CAN said the G77+China push for a Global Mechanism for Just Transition was the standout move of week one, echoing long-running demands from civil society and trade unions for a Belem Action Mechanism.

The European Union has put forward its own proposal.

But the network said wealthy countries have pushed back hard against creating any new mechanism, arguing that existing structures are enough. It warned this reflects “denial of responsibility” and a refusal to recognise that transitions without justice are neither durable nor legitimate.

Trade and carbon markets are adding strain.

Developing countries want unilateral trade measures such as the EU’s border carbon tax examined in climate talks, while rich nations refuse outright, activists warn.

In carbon market talks under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, which covers global carbon trading rules, it said some states tried to weaken safeguards – putting environmental integrity and human rights at risk.

Brazil avoided an early agenda fight by moving four sensitive issues into closed presidency consultations – climate finance duties under Article 9.1, which sets out finance obligations for richer nations, EU trade measures, emissions transparency and keeping 1.5C alive.

A Sunday progress report from the presidency is expected to guide ministers this week.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell has urged countries “to give a little to get a lot” as ministers take over. 

President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu signed the promotion into law on Monday, and it was published in the so-called Journal officiel (Official Journal) of new legislation on Tuesday.

“The French nation posthumously promotes Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general,” the law reads.

Parliament’s lower house unanimously approved the legislation in June, and the Senate backed it earlier this month.

The law is seen as a symbolic step in the fight against antisemitism in France, at a time of growing alarm over hate crimes targeting Jews in the context of the Gaza war.

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‘Dreyfus affair’

Dreyfus, a 36-year-old army captain from the Alsace region of eastern France, was accused in October 1894 of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to a German military attache.

The accusation, based on a comparison of handwriting on a document found in the German’s wastepaper basket in Paris, kicked off what would become known as the “Dreyfus affair“.

Dreyfus was put on trial amid a virulent antisemitic press campaign. But novelist Emile Zola then penned his famous “J’accuse…!” (“I accuse”) pamphlet in support of the captain.

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

But Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, head of the intelligence services, reinvestigated the case in secret and discovered the handwriting on the incriminating message was that of another officer, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy.

When Picquart presented the evidence to the general staff of the French army, he himself was driven out of the military and jailed for a year, while Esterhazy was acquitted.

In June 1899, Dreyfus was brought back to France for a second trial. He was initially found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before being officially pardoned – though not cleared of the charges.

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Legion of Honour

Only in 1906, after many twists, did the high court of appeal overturn the original verdict, exonerating Dreyfus.

He was reinstated with the rank of major and decorated with a Legion of Honour, France’s highest award.

He served during World War I and died in 1935, aged 76.

Those who pushed for the law believe that if Dreyfus had been able to pursue his career under normal circumstances, he would have risen to the top of the French army.

France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as one of the largest Muslim communities in the European Union.

There has been a rise in reported attacks against members of France’s Jewish community since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

(with AFP)

Unlike most outdoor markets in France, which are held once or twice a week, the Marché d’Aligre in the west of Paris takes place every day.

Inside the central market hall – one of 15 in the city – and in the streets surrounding it, shoppers can stock up on fruits and vegetables as well as meat, fish, flowers and clothing.

“The quality varies. This seller here is making noise to attract clients,” says Olivier Razemon, passing a stall where a man shouts out: “Three mangoes for a euro!”

“His main argument is price. Others do not shout as much, because their main argument is not the price but the quality of their products. Some clients come for local food, others come for the deals.”

Take a visit to the Marché d’Aligre with Olivier Razemon in the Spotlight on France podcast:

There is something for everyone at the French capital’s 200 weekly markets – and the almost 8,000 across the country, one for every town of 1,000 inhabitants or more.

“In every big village, in every mid-sized city, there is a market and people gather there. It really defines the city, because people come together and talk and things happen,” says Razemon, who recently published a book extolling these virtues.

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Big supermarkets

In his research, he found that France has the largest number – and the largest – markets in Europe, which he attributes in part to the country’s love for gastronomy.

“People do like good food, and they spend more time at the table than their neighbours,” he said.

But he found another, less romantic reason for the ubiquity of outdoor markets: the rise of big supermarkets on the outskirts of towns.

Some of the first large-scale supermarkets were French, with chains including Leclerc and Carrefour appearing in the 1960s, drawing people away from local businesses in town centres such as fishmongers and butchers.

“In many small cities, local shops disappeared,” Razemon says. “The only place you can find fresh food now is the market.”

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The national imagination

The percentage of food purchases in France made at outdoor markets is low, yet they have an outsized place in the national imagination.

For Razemon they are a symbol of conviviality and part of the French psyche, and yet he says they are largely overlooked by policy makers and city planners trying to revitalise downtowns.

One problem for city planners is that markets are ephemeral; they are set up once or twice a week on a city square or a few sidewalks, and then they disappear.

Some cities are looking to phase out their outdoor markets and instead put in place more permanent food courts or food halls, which would be open every day.

While this could be seen as a more efficient use of public space, Razemon warns it would be loss for French life.

“Markets answer a lot of [the concerns that preoccupy us] today,” he says. “They offer food direct from producers. You can get recipes from the merchants, people talk to each other.”

Charity warns one in three French people struggle to afford three meals a day

At the Marché d’Aligre, Razemon passes a stand selling pierogies, Polish dumplings.

“You talk with people in line and ask what things are, and they explain that these are pierogi, Polish raviolis. They give you recipes, and the sellers who are listening give you some extra. It happens every time,” he says.

He also believes the very fact that markets are only held once or twice a week is part of their charm, and their power.

“The probability of meeting someone at the market is very high because it is only once a week,” he explains. “If something is open every day, the probability – it is just mathematics – is quite low to run into someone.”

“Markets remind us that we need human interaction,” concludes Razemon. “We need more humanity.”

Listen to more from Olivier Razemon and the Marché d’Aligre in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 134.

The Amhayrich camel market, in the desert just outside the town of Guelmim in southern Morocco, is the largest and most popular in the country.

“This market is known all over Morocco, people come from everywhere in the country to buy camels all year round,” said 33-year-old Mohammed. He is a camel breeder, a job passed down from generation to generation.

He told RFI’s correspondent that camels are essential to life in the desert. “Your camels are like your children. It is a cultural heritage. In our part of the Sahara, the best gift you can offer someone is a camel.”

Saudi camel-whisperers use ‘special language’ to train herd

Climate change

In the past 10 years, severe and more frequent droughts brought on by global warming have considerably reduced the vegetation available for grazing.

Mouloud, a 39-year-old breeder, said that the current conditions have contributed to reducing the camel livestock.

“It’s worrying. Costs have exploded because of the droughts. We now need to buy fodder to feed the camels. The prices of camels shot up too, especially the stallions.

“The salary of herders takes a big chunk of costs. We pay them between €300 and €400 per month. We can’t even find herders in Morocco, we have to recruit them from Mauritania. They will work for a year or two, but the Moroccans will not stay more than two months,” he told RFI.

In Tunisia’s arid south, camel milk offers hope for economic gain

The vast, open grazing land camels have traditionally roamed is also shrinking, as it is used more and more for agriculture, with farming made possible thanks to the groundwater beneath the land’s surface.

Morocco’s camel husbandry is mainly for meat production. In 2023, it averaged four thousand tonnes while cattle meat production amounted to 257 thousand tonnes in 2022.

Agriculture Show opens in Paris with Morocco as guest of honour

Replacing Kenya’s cattle

While Mohammed and Mouloud find camel breeding increasingly tough in Morocco, in northern Kenya recurrent drought is actually driving farmers to replacing their cattle with camels.

There, camels are viewed as a viable option when it comes to withstanding the effects of climate change. They can graze on dry grasses, go more than a week without water and produce up to six times more milk than cattle.

Samburu county officials launched a camel programme in 2015 following several droughts, which killed off at least 70 percent of the cattle in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions.

As camels can be milked even during the dry season, they have helped to reduce malnutrition in northern Kenya. Kenya is now considered the leading camel milk producer in the world, producing around 1.165 million litres annually.

Kenya’s northern and southern pastoral counties are home to approximately 80 percent of the country’s camel population – roughly 4,722 million camels.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Matthias Raynal.

Armed with thermal-imaging binoculars, beekeepers in Alsace have taken to tracking insects with forensic zeal.

Their target is the Asian hornet, an invasive predator whose numbers have surged across the region over the past two years, wreaking havoc on local bee populations.

“For me, nest-hunting has become part of the job. If I want to keep beekeeping, I don’t have a choice,” says Mathieu Diffort, who runs around 100 hives in the rural Sundgau, near the Swiss border.

Diffort and his business partner, Philippe Sieffert of the Api&Co bee and enviromantal protection company, spend much of their season in the painstaking business of locating and destroying hornet nests.

France’s beekeepers count cost of devastating year as honey production plummets

Public reports

The yellow-legged hornet first arrived in France in 2004, but only reached the Haut-Rhin in 2023. It is now firmly entrenched, warns Sean Durkin, the local representative of the Bee Health Defence Group (GDSA), which is scrambling to contain the spread.

Between 15 and 20 nests were reported in the department in 2023, then around 100 the following year, and “this year we will exceed 400,” he said. The number of hives attacked or decimated has soared.

GDSA volunteers are stepping up their communication efforts, urging the public to report any nests they spot in the wild via the website lefrelon.com.

When a nest is reported, a specialist is dispatched to destroy it using a drone, a basket or a pole.

On a November morning, Diffort’s target is perched at the top of an oak tree, 25 metres above the ground. Dressed in thick protective clothing, he uses a telescopic pole to inject organic insecticide powder into the enormous oval concretion.

‘Bees starving’ in disastrous year for French honey

Public health issue

Local authorities “must set aside a budget” for this kind of intervention, because “the phenomenon is set to grow,” says Olivier Pflieger, deputy mayor of Hirtzbach.

“It’s a problem for beekeeping, but also for public health,” he added. His sister died last year from allergic shock after being stung by a hornet.

In Hirtzbach, a nest was spotted by a former forest ranger. “I had walked past it 20 times and hadn’t seen it,” says Marion Federspiel. One of her six hives, located around 200 metres away, was completely destroyed.

Some colonies can settle in abandoned barns, where she worries no one will notice them.

Diffort first tries to time the insects’ movements, then after being captured with bait, a hornet is marked with a coloured pen and released. The time it takes to return allows him to estimate the distance to its nest. Repeated at least three times, the method can yield a fairly precise location.

Another tactic is to scan the treetops with thermal-imaging binoculars, which help him spot nests from afar thanks to the heat – of around 30 degrees – they emit.

France warns against influx of Japanese beetles that can decimate ecosystems

‘We have to live with it’

He is also testing a high-tech approach: attaching a tiny transmitter to the back of a hornet, anaesthetised with CO², so he can track its movements using a rake antenna connected to a smartphone.

The challenge is to find the nest in under three hours, before the transmitter’s battery runs out.

For now, the method is still unreliable and, crucially, expensive – especially as the transmitter can’t always be retrieved.

In this costly and time-consuming endeavour, Diffort admits he feels “a little lonely” and would welcome more funding for research. He stresses that the future of beekeeping and biodiversity is at stake, as well as food security, since bees are vital for pollination.

“We’re working with bits of string, with derisory resources,” Durkin says. The Asian hornet “can’t be eradicated now, so we have to live with it – and try to limit its proliferation as much as possible”.

(with newswires)

Brussels boasts world-leading legislation on data privacy and artificial intelligence, but those efforts have drawn growing criticism – not only from Washington under President Donald Trump, but also from EU member states’ governments and European businesses worried the bloc has overcorrected and risks inhibiting innovation as a result.

On Wednesday, the European Commission – the EU’s executive branch – unveiled a “digital simplification package” of proposals that would relax certain rules on AI and data privacy.

However, the Commission insists it is not bowing to outside pressure. Instead, officials say the aim is to make life simpler for companies across the 27-nation bloc while maintaining Europe’s reputation for strong rights protections.

Macron, Merz push for Europe’s digital sovereignty as AI race accelerates

Three key points

Brussels is proposing a trio of changes aimed at easing pressure on the tech sector. Companies would gain more freedom to use datasets – including certain types of personal data – to train AI models when it is “for legitimate interests”.

They would also be given extra time – up to 16 months – to comply with rules governing “high-risk” AI systems.

The commission also wants to cut down the flood of cookie banner pop-ups, insisting this can be done without putting privacy at risk.

“We have talent, infrastructure, a large internal single market. But our companies, especially our start-ups and small businesses, are often held back by layers of rigid rules,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.

Rights groups and some lawmakers now fear the bloc is retreating from its role as a leading watchdog. In Brussels on Wednesday campaigners from groups including People vs Big Tech drove through the city with giant billboards urging EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to stand up to Trump and the tech industry – and defend the bloc’s digital rulebook.

Striking a balance

The Commission argues this new approach could help European firms catch up with their competitors in the United States and China, while also reducing reliance on foreign tech giants.

The EU’s wide-ranging AI law came into force last year – a first of its kind globally – but prompted swift backlash from major European companies, including Airbus, Lufthansa and Mercedes-Benz.

They warned that strict new requirements risk stifling innovation. Brussels eventually agreed to delay the rollout of rules governing “high-risk” AI systems, including those that could threaten safety, health or fundamental rights.

Bowing to pressure, EU set to relax AI, privacy rules

On cookies, one EU official said the revamp is designed to tackle public “fatigue” with consent pop-ups and reduce the number of times they appear.

Under the proposal, users would be able to express their preferences with a single click and store them via browser or operating-system settings.

The Commission has stressed that data privacy will remain firmly protected.

“It is essential that the European Union acts to deliver on simplification and competitiveness while also maintaining a high level of protection for the fundamental rights of individuals – and this is precisely the balance this package strikes,” EU justice commissioner Michael McGrath said.

(with newswires)

Under the slogan “Assassins, mafiosi, get out”, between 1,700 (according to police) and 3,000 people (according to the organisers) took to the streets of Ajaccio and Bastia, the island’s two largest cities.

A second banner, written in Corsican, proclaimed “A maffia tomba, U silenziu dino” – “The mafia kills, silence kills too”.

Other banners paid tribute to Pierre Alessandri, secretary-general of the Via Campagnola agricultural union who was murdered in March, nine days after he took part in the island’s first anti-mafia demonstration, and to Massimu Susini, an environmental activist who was shot dead in front of his beach hut in September 2019.

‘We are defenceless’

The marches were in response to a call for action from an unprecedented coalition of a local organisations. The coordinating committee, set up in September, brings together collectives including Maffia no, a Vita ié (“No to the mafia, yes to life”), Via Campagnola and the environmental protection groups U Levante and Le Garde.

Police in Corsica launch gun amnesty programme in bid to curb homicide rate

“We are defenceless,” said Jean-Toussaint Plasenzotti, Susini’s uncle and the founder of the Massimu Susini collective, another participant, from the podium.

He said the protesters represent “the Corsica of civilisation, culture and legality, the Corsica that wants the problem solved” versus “a mafia that is predatory, exploitative, threatening, intimidating, violent and deadly”.

He emphasised that the mobilisation of ordinary Corsicans is vital, given that “the mafia’s grip is still as strong as ever”.

“We would like it to be all Corsicans, but for the moment, it is only some of them,” he told RFI. “The struggle will be long, extremely difficult and dangerous, but we have no choice.”

‘Threats are part of daily reality’

The Unione Corse was a historical term for Corsican organised crime from the 1930s to the 1970s, which formed a key part of the infamous French Connection heroin trade and involved groups which carried out most of their activities abroad.

The end of the French Connection caused the disbandment of Corsican clans involved. However the Corsican mafia regrouped and evolved in the 1980s, when investment plans were being drawn up for the island, with the groups from that point concentrating their activities on the island, according to Josette Dall’Ava-Santucci, a doctor and member of Maffia no, a Vita ié

A summer 2025 report by SIRASCO, the police department charged with gathering intelligence on organised crime, identified 20 such groups currently active, dominated by the Petit Bar gang and the Mattei clan, as reported by Le Monde.

These groups are involved in activities such as racketeering, drug trafficking and illegal slot machines, as well as in legal businesses including construction, tourism, real estate and night clubs and bars.

According to SIRASCO: “Most of them have infiltrated every political, social and economic sector of the island and seek to dominate the legal activities they deem most profitable.”

In April 2024, German news agency DPA reported that: “For the locals, threats, hush money payments and fudged construction work are part of daily reality.” 

Hollywood and the mafia myth: how Italian organised crime went global

Prosecutors’ response

Bastia prosecutor Jean-Philippe Navarre told French news agency AFP: “Everyone must support this movement… which demonstrates the strong desire of Corsican society to stand up against criminal practices that are stifling its economy.”

He said he would implement “a strategy of harassing criminal groups” by “increasing the number of investigations in sensitive sectors such as sea excursions, public works and catering” – all of which are common victims of racketeering.

It is an approach shared by his colleague Nicolas Septe, public prosecutor in Ajaccio, who told AFP that he would “support this awakening of consciousness and whatever will enable every Corsican to regain their freedom to do business”.

A minute’s silence was observed at the marches in tribute to the victims of organised crime, before Jean-Dominique Musso, regional president of Via Campagnola made an emotional demand for “justice” for Alessandri, as his widow looked on.

This article was adapted from the original version in French.

The court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre said it had seen no proof of a health danger or a clear breach of the law. “The existence of a health risk to consumers linked to Perrier waters labelled ‘natural mineral waters’ has not been established,” it said.

UFC-Que Choisir said it was unhappy with the decision. Marie-Amandine Stevenin, head of the consumer rights group, said: “We believe that this decision does not live up to the issues we were denouncing, namely misleading commercial practices.”

The court ordered UFC-Que Choisir to pay €5,000 to Nestlé Waters, which welcomed the decision – saying it confirmed that “the food safety of Source Perrier natural mineral waters has always been guaranteed”.

French media reported in early 2024 that the company had used banned treatments such as ultraviolet light and activated carbon filters on its waters. French and European rules say natural mineral water cannot undergo processes that change its original state.

Perrier could lose ‘natural mineral water’ label after contamination found

Banned filters

UFC-Que Choisir argued that Perrier’s use of microfiltration meant it could not claim the natural mineral water designation and said the treatment suggested possible health risks. Perrier is sourced from a spring in Vergèze in southern France.

Contamination by bacteria from faecal matter has been found at times in wells supplying the brand, particularly after heavy rainfall. Nestlé Waters said such cases were rare and that the affected wells were no longer used.

The group has faced pressure since admitting in 2024 that it had used banned filters and ultraviolet treatment on mineral waters. It paid a €2 million fine to avoid legal action over illegal water sources and filtering.

In June, Nestlé Waters was fined more than $610,000 in Switzerland for having used activated carbon filters on its Henniez bottled mineral water.

The Nanterre court found UFC-Que Choisir had failed to prove any illicit processes by Nestlé Waters, adding that Perrier could continue to be sold.

Nestlé admits to treating bottled mineral water in breach of French regulations

Factory changes

In July, Nestlé withdrew its 0.2-micron microfiltration system at its Vergèze factory after a request from local authorities and replaced it with a 0.45-micron device, a system it already uses for its Vittel brand.

The company has said microfiltration does not alter the mineral makeup of its waters.

The new system is part of a wider application awaiting approval from local authorities for continued production of mineral water at Vergèze. An inquiry commissioned by France’s Senate found in May that the French government had covered up the use of treatments for years.

Nestlé repeated its support for the ruling in a statement.

“We welcome the court’s decision to reject all of UFC-Que Choisir’s demands in this case,” it said. “Today’s decision confirms that the food safety of Perrier natural mineral waters has always been guaranteed.”

(with newswires)

The French Medicines Agency (ANSM) has taken further action against websites offering products marketed as anti-obesity treatments, following on from an initial swathe of measures taken to stop fraudulent, on-line practices.

In September, the drug regulator announced that it had identified 10 commercial websites illegally advertising and selling products presented as belonging to the “GLP-1 analogues” (aGLP-1) family of drugs used in the treatment of diabetes and/or obesity.

However, the drugs – marketed under the names Ozempic or Wegovy, Saxenda or Victoza, Trulicity or Mounjaro – mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite, can only be obtained from pharmacies upon the presentation of a prescription.

Could recognising obesity as a disease help tackle fatphobia in France?

Major platforms targetted

To put a stop to such illegal activities, ANSM has demanded that the products be removed from the platforms concerned and indicated that it had referred the matter to the public prosecutor and brought it to the attention of the French Interior Ministry’s Pharos portal, where illegal content on the internet is reported.

Since then, some sites have removed the sales advertisements, the ANSM said in a statement on Wednesday, citing eBay, Cdiscount and Amazon.

However, for other websites, owned by Hamjouy Limited and Zongest Limited – two Hong Kong-based companies – the agency is taking “health policy measures to suspend the marketing, distribution, possession for sale, import, export, exploitation and advertising of fraudulent products”.

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

Rogue sellers and sham products

The ANSM has also warned that the actions “may be repeated for each new report of a website offering products for sale that are presented as medicines or with therapeutic claims”, believing that the measures “will enable customs authorities to seize these illegal products”.

The agency also revealed that it has carried out checks on certain patches sold on the internet that are presented as containing aGLP-1, but which in fact contain no slimming substances.

“These products are therefore fraudulent and could contain other substances that are harmful to health,” warns the ANSM, which denounces the “misleading nature” reinforced by the presence of its logo and that of the European Medicines Agency on some of them.

(with newswires)

Kyiv set out its plan on Tuesday at the UN climate summit, Cop30, in Brazil. Ukraine plans to file the claim through a new compensation process being set up within the Council of Europe.

The main source of the extra emissions is the fighting itself. Fuel burned by tanks and aircraft and the steel and cement produced for the front line are major contributors.

There are also fires that firefighters cannot go and extinguish in combat zones and civilian planes forced to reroute around Ukrainian territory. The war has destroyed trees through these fires, which further adds to the climate impact.

Nearly one million hectares burn as war ravages nature across Ukraine

Climate damage

In total, experts from the Initiative for GHG Accounting of War (IGGAW), an association funded by Ukraine and European governments, say the war has produced the equivalent of 236.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

According to Lennard de Klerk, a Dutch carbon-accounting expert who works with the group, that figure is nearly equal to the annual emissions of Ireland, Belgium and Austria combined.

Pavlo Kartashov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for economy, environment and agriculture, told a side event at Cop30 that Ukrainians are facing many pressures at once.

“Every day people are dying, we have energy problems… but one day Russia will have to be held responsible for all the damage it has caused… including damage to the environment, water, animals and soil,” Kartashov said.

“The vast amounts of fuel burned, forests scorched, buildings destroyed, concrete and steel used, all these things are essentially ‘conflict carbon’ and have a considerable climate cost.

“We in Ukraine face brutality directly, but the climate shockwaves of this aggression will be felt well beyond our borders and into the future.”

A member of the Russian delegation at Cop30 declined to comment on Ukraine’s announcement.

Europe’s climate progress overshadowed by worsening loss of nature

Wartime emissions

IGGAW produced the emissions estimate now used by Kyiv.

De Klerk told Reuters that he helped Ukraine calculate the damage figure using a 2022 study in the journal Nature that puts the social cost of carbon at about $185 a tonne.

The social cost of carbon is an estimate of damages to society from CO2 emissions. He said this calculation fed into Ukraine’s overall claim.

Ukraine is preparing to submit its climate-related demand through the new Council of Europe process, which has already received some 70,000 claims from Ukrainian individuals for wartime damages.

All of the claims, including any filed by other legal entities such as companies, will be decided by a claims commission.

It remains unclear where the compensation will come from. De Klerk suggested that the billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets could be used to cover successful claims.

President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu signed the promotion into law on Monday, and it was published in the so-called Journal officiel (Official Journal) of new legislation on Tuesday.

“The French nation posthumously promotes Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general,” the law reads.

Parliament’s lower house unanimously approved the legislation in June, and the Senate backed it earlier this month.

The law is seen as a symbolic step in the fight against antisemitism in France, at a time of growing alarm over hate crimes targeting Jews in the context of the Gaza war.

Macron declares 12 July annual Dreyfus commemoration day

‘Dreyfus affair’

Dreyfus, a 36-year-old army captain from the Alsace region of eastern France, was accused in October 1894 of passing secret information on new artillery equipment to a German military attache.

The accusation, based on a comparison of handwriting on a document found in the German’s wastepaper basket in Paris, kicked off what would become known as the “Dreyfus affair“.

Dreyfus was put on trial amid a virulent antisemitic press campaign. But novelist Emile Zola then penned his famous “J’accuse…!” (“I accuse”) pamphlet in support of the captain.

Despite a lack of evidence, Dreyfus was convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment in the infamous Devil’s Island penal colony in French Guiana and publicly stripped of his rank.

But Lieutenant Colonel Georges Picquart, head of the intelligence services, reinvestigated the case in secret and discovered the handwriting on the incriminating message was that of another officer, Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy.

When Picquart presented the evidence to the general staff of the French army, he himself was driven out of the military and jailed for a year, while Esterhazy was acquitted.

In June 1899, Dreyfus was brought back to France for a second trial. He was initially found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison, before being officially pardoned – though not cleared of the charges.

French MPs back promoting Jewish army captain 130 years after treason scandal

Legion of Honour

Only in 1906, after many twists, did the high court of appeal overturn the original verdict, exonerating Dreyfus.

He was reinstated with the rank of major and decorated with a Legion of Honour, France’s highest award.

He served during World War I and died in 1935, aged 76.

Those who pushed for the law believe that if Dreyfus had been able to pursue his career under normal circumstances, he would have risen to the top of the French army.

France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as one of the largest Muslim communities in the European Union.

There has been a rise in reported attacks against members of France’s Jewish community since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023 and the Israeli military responded with a devastating military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

(with AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a letter of intent on Monday in Paris. It sets out future weapons supplies as part of Zelensky’s visit.

The deal will allow Ukraine to acquire 100 Rafale fighter jets “with their associated weapons”, the French presidency said.

The accord, signed at France’s Villacoublay air base, is not a purchase and sales contract and is projected to be realised “over a timeframe of about 10 years”, the presidency added.

It also covers new generation SAMP-T air defence systems still in development, plus radar systems and drones.

Russia accused France of fuelling war. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Paris is in no way contributing to peace, but rather fuelling militaristic and pro-war sentiment.”

Spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, Pascal Confavreux, told public broadcaster Franceinfo on Monday that the accord represented a message to Russia.

France’s Macron and Ukraine’s Zelensky pave way for jets and air defence deal

“There is no European fatigue in the support we are providing to Ukraine,” he said. “The idea is to show that we support the Ukrainian army and that, in the long term, we are creating a deterrent for the Russians so that they are discouraged from attacking Ukraine again.”

France has previously delivered Mirage fighter jets to Kyiv, but until now there had been no talk of Ukraine acquiring the Rafale – the crown jewel of French combat aviation.

Russia has criticised NATO countries for supplying arms to Ukraine since its invasion of the latter in February 2022, and says they make no difference on the battlefield.

“No matter what aircraft are sold to the Kyiv regime, this will not change the situation on the front lines and cannot change the dynamics,” Peskov said on Tuesday.

Tough winter ahead

Zelensky’s visit to France was his ninth since the start of the war in 2022. It came ahead of what analysts predict will be a tough winter for Ukraine. Moscow has been intensifying its daily drone and missile barrages in recent months, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and hitting a number of civilian sites.

Zelensky pushes EU to unlock €140bn in frozen Russian assets

The defence ministry in Moscow said on Monday that the Russian army had seized three more villages across eastern Ukraine.

A Russian missile attack killed a teenage girl and wounded at least nine people in the eastern Kharkiv region, its governor said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Zelensky will head to Turkey on Wednesday seeking to revive the United States’ involvement in diplomatic efforts to end the war, a Ukrainian official told French news agency AFP. 

Peace efforts have faltered, after several rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul this year failed to yield a breakthrough. Moscow has not agreed to a ceasefire and instead has continued to advance on the front and bombard Ukrainian cities.

Zelensky will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday, where his “main goal is for the Americans to re-engage” in peace efforts, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.

Kyiv is hoping Washington will be able to push Russia to the negotiating table, including by imposing sanctions. American lawmakers are working on a bill to strengthen sanctions against Russia by potentially imposing tariffs on all countries buying its oil and gas.

EU to boost security independence and Ukraine ties with €1.5bn defence plan

Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy for Peace Missions, is also expected in Turkey, another Ukrainian official told AFP.

The Kremlin said that no Russian official will be present at the talks, adding that it remains open to talks to resolve the war in Ukraine.

Prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of fallen soldiers’ bodies were the only tangible results of the talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul between May and July, but they slowed down.

Lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said he sought to resume prisoners exchanges, aiming to release around 1,200 Ukrainians.

(with AFP)

The emergency meeting held at the Élysée Palace on Tuesday brought together senior ministers, judicial police officials and specialised magistrates as the government seeks to project firmness on an issue rapidly rising up the political agenda ahead of next March’s municipal elections.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said after the discussions that he would travel to Marseille on Thursday with Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, following a request from the President.

Macron himself plans to reconvene anti-trafficking stakeholders in mid-December – again at the Élysée Palace – before making his own trip to Marseille.

“We have noticed that traffickers, particularly those who run the Marseille mafias, are becoming increasingly nervous because we are taking extremely effective action,” Nuñez said, striking a confident tone as he outlined the government’s next steps.

Earlier in the day, politicians from across the spectrum had urged the government to move from rhetoric to results in tackling a problem that is expected to loom large in the coming municipal campaign.

Among those present at the Élysée were the Ministers of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot. They were joined by key judicial figures, including Marseille’s public prosecutor Nicolas Bessonne and Christian Sainte, the national director of the judicial police. Darmanin took part via videoconference from the United Arab Emirates.

The gravity of recent events was never far from the discussions. Last week, the brother of environmental activist Amine Kessaci – himself a vocal campaigner against drug trafficking – was shot dead in the southern port city.

Prosecutor Bessonne has not ruled out that the killing may have been a warning assassination. According to a source close to the case, Macron personally phoned Kessaci, whose other brother, Brahim, was killed in 2020.

Meanwhile in Grenoble, a teenager was shot three times on Saturday night near what police believe was a drug dealing point. His attackers are still on the run, adding to public unease over drug-related violence.

France to boost police and courts in fight against rising drug scourge

Specialised public prosecutor’s office

Tuesday’s meeting was also held to accelerate the rollout of a new anti-trafficking law, promulgated in June and now “gaining momentum”, according to the Élysée. Central to the reforms is the creation of the National Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime (Pnaco), due to be formally launched on 1 January.

Modelled on the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) and the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), the Pnaco will take charge of the most serious and intricate organised crime cases.

Darmanin has already proposed magistrate Vanessa Perrée to head the new body.

The Justice Minister has repeatedly defended the new legal framework in Parliament, noting that it includes tougher penalties, enhanced tools for investigators and fresh provisions to establish high-security prison wings for the most dangerous traffickers – who could be placed in solitary confinement.

Marseille’s drug war victims, perpetrators younger than ever: prosecutor

A theme for municipal elections

With barely four months until the municipal vote, the fight against drug trafficking is quickly becoming a defining theme.

Franck Allisio, the far-right National Rally’s candidate for mayor of Marseille, has called for a “state of emergency” in the city – a measure that would grant prefects expanded powers to restrict gatherings or authorise administrative searches.

The topic is also expected to feature prominently at this week’s Association of French Mayors (AMF) congress in Paris. AMF president David Lisnard told BFMTV/RMC that while the new drug trafficking law is “a good law”, the government needs to go further.

“Beyond public displays and emergency meetings, what is needed now is action,” he said.

Lisnard, the centre-right Les Républicains mayor of Cannes, recalled that the AMF held a round table on drug trafficking last year because “this is a reality we are experiencing in large cities, medium-sized towns and even villages”.

As France braces for a heated electoral season, Macron’s renewed push suggests the government is intent on showing it can deliver tangible results – and perhaps restore a sense of security in communities grappling with the daily consequences of drug crime.

(With newswires)

Sansal, 81, travelled to France from Germany where he had been receiving medical treatment, following his release last week after talks between Algiers and Berlin.

His detention was seen by supporters as a consequence of the political row between Algeria and France over sovereignty of the Western Sahara, in which Paris backs the claim of Algeria’s North African rival Morocco.

In October 2024, Sansal told a far-right French media outlet that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830-1962 colonial period.

Algeria handed Sansal a five-year jail term in March on charges of undermining its territorial integrity after arresting him in November last year on arrival from France.

Algeria frees French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal for transfer to Germany

Upon arriving in France, Sansal was welcomed by President Macron in a meeting at the Elysée Palace, the French presidency said.

Macron, it said, is “delighted at the release of Boualem Sansal, a great writer whose dignity, moral strength and courage have been exemplary”.

A committee of supporters who campaigned for Sansal’s release said in a statement they welcomed “with deep emotion the return to France of our friend and compatriot”. It added: “It will now be up to the writer to choose the time and fashion in which he wishes to express himself.”

Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune pardoned Sansal last week after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged a “humanitarian gesture” due to his fragile health.

Imprisoned sports journalist

Prominent French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes remains in an Algerian prison, sentenced to seven years for “glorifying terrorism” for having sought to interview an outlawed group.

Algeria sentences French sports journalist to seven years behind bars

France is “fervently hoping” for the release of Gleizes and “working towards it”, the French presidency said. Sansal’s support committee too urged the “immediate release” of Gleizes.

French-Algerian relations have been strained by numerous political disputes over recent years. Analysts say both sides are yet to overcome the mutual recriminations that are a legacy of the 1954-1962 war that brought Algeria its independence, following more than a century of French colonisation.

(with AFP)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will join forces on Tuesday to make a fresh push for greater European digital sovereignty – and reduce the continent’s reliance on US tech giants – as the global artificial intelligence race accelerates.

The pair will set out their ambitions at a Berlin summit bringing together political leaders and key industry players, including executives from French AI firm Mistral and German software powerhouse SAP. Their meeting is set to underline that Europe can and should be shaping its own digital destiny.

With artificial intelligence set to become critical across a growing number of sectors, EU governments are coming under increasing pressure to assert more control over the technologies that will underpin everything from industry to public services.

Those concerns have only sharpened with the return of US President Donald Trump, whose scepticism towards longstanding transatlantic ties has caused unease in European capitals.

German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger said on Monday that the summit’s “core message” would be that “Europe is ready to shape its own digital future, to reduce dependence”.

“We can make better progress by working together,” he added at a ground-breaking ceremony for an 11-billion-euro data centre outside Berlin – a project emblematic of the infrastructure Europe hopes will help it catch up.

The EU has come under fire for being too slow in the global race against the United States and China to dominate AI technologies. Brussels will this week propose rolling back some rules on AI and data protection, with the topic expected to feature prominently in Berlin. European companies struggling to keep pace have complained about regulatory hurdles, while American firms have also voiced frustration. Critics now fear the EU may be putting competitiveness ahead of citizens’ privacy.

France and Germany weigh future of joint EU weapons projects

Cloud computing, competition concerns

Another major theme of the summit will be efforts to build “sovereign” European cloud computing capacity. Supporters argue that homegrown cloud solutions would better safeguard Europeans’ data in a market currently dominated by US heavyweights such as Google, AWS and Microsoft.

Fostering more competition, improving collaboration between governments and industry, and designing “fair and efficient” digital markets are also expected to be high on the agenda.

Merz and Macron will deliver keynote speeches in the afternoon, and the event will also host digital ministers from across Europe. Later in the day, the two leaders will have dinner with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though a German government spokesman declined to share what the trio plan to discuss.

Several announcements on new digital initiatives are anticipated – part of a wider push to address Europe’s long-standing concerns over dependence on hardware suppliers from China and other Asian countries. From semiconductors to laptop components, the continent remains heavily reliant on imports.

A Bitkom survey found that around 90 percent of German companies importing digital goods or services consider themselves dependent on them – a statistic underlining the scale of the challenge.

Macron and Merz forge united front on trade, security and energy in Berlin

‘Europe must invest’ to stay competitive

Ralf Wintergerst, president of Germany’s digital association Bitkom, said Europe must step up its investment in the digital economy without delay.

“Europe must not fall behind – today’s investments secure tomorrow’s competitiveness and jobs,” he told reporters. “If Europe does not want to become a museum of technology, we must ramp up investment significantly.”

But the road ahead looks steep. After years of sluggish economic performance, Europe’s tech sector remains dwarfed by its US counterparts. As of last year, European data centres had just 16 gigawatts of computing capacity, compared with 48 gigawatts in the United States and 38 in China, according to Bitkom.

Meanwhile, hefty new US investments in Germany – including billions of dollars from Google and a partnership between Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom for an industrial AI hub – have only underscored how dependent Europe still is on American innovation.

Despite this, a senior official from the French presidency stressed that the summit is not about picking a fight with Washington or Beijing.

Rather, it is focused on exploring “how we protect our core sovereignty and what rules need to be established, especially at the European level”.

(with newswires)

Brussels had been under pressure to include the services under the scope of a major law because of the dominance of US cloud providers, which hold around two thirds of market share in the 27-nation bloc.

The European Commission – the EU’s digital regulator – said on Tuesday that it will investigate whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s Azure should come under the scope of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Despite being the third largest, Google Cloud was not included.

The DMA is part of the European Union’s bolstered legal arsenal that seeks to make the digital market fairer with a list of do’s and don’ts for Big Tech companies, which it refers to as “gatekeepers” such as Apple.

The twin probes aim to assess whether AWS and Microsoft “should be designated as the gatekeepers on cloud computing,” EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said at a Berlin summit focused on pushing greater European digital sovereignty.

Macron, Merz push for Europe’s digital sovereignty as AI race accelerates

In a statement the commission said it would analyse whether the two “act as important gateways between businesses and consumers, despite not meeting the DMA gatekeeper thresholds for size, user number and market position”.

EU regulators will seek to conclude the investigations within a year.

Dynamic sector

Microsoft and AWS insisted the cloud sector was competitive.

“We’re confident that when the European Commission considers the facts, it will recognise what we all see – the cloud computing sector is extremely dynamic, with companies enjoying lots of choice, unprecedented innovation opportunity, and low costs,” an AWS spokesperson said.

“Designating cloud providers as gatekeepers isn’t worth the risks of stifling invention or raising costs for European companies,” the spokesperson added.

EU begins rollout of new AI rules with tech giants split on compliance

“The cloud sector in Europe is innovative, highly competitive and an accelerator for growth across the economy. We stand ready to contribute” to the probe, a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Brussels announced it would also open a third probe to find out whether it needs to update the DMA to make sure it can combat practices that “may limit competitiveness and fairness in the cloud computing sector in the EU”.

AWS leads the cloud computing market, followed closely by Microsoft Azure, with Google Cloud in third place.

Concern over outages

Brussels defended the decision not to probe Google.

“Our preliminary evidence shows that Google is playing a less important role for now on our market than the two ones that we’re investigating,” EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters.

There has also been growing concern after a raft of outages in recent months.

In October, Microsoft cloud clients experienced widespread service disruptions. Among them was Alaska Airlines, whose customers were unable to check in.

Tech giants grilled on their compliance with EU’s new Digital Markets Act

That came after Amazon cloud troubles last month forced popular services ranging from streaming platforms to messaging apps offline for hours.

Amazon and Microsoft already face stricter rules for their other services including Amazon Marketplace and Microsoft’s LinkedIn platform.

The DMA gives the EU the power to impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s total global turnover in the event of any violations.

(with AFP)

The complaint by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) was filed on Monday with France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor, according to the proof of filing seen by French news agency AFP.

It focuses on alleged abuses between July and September 2021 by soldiers belonging to a joint task force (JTF) deployed to protect the gas site that the company operates and plans to restart following a jihadist attack.

The alleged abuses, including the torture and killing of dozens of civilians, took place at TotalEnergies’ liquefied natural gas project in the restive northeastern Cabo Delgado province, the ECCHR said in a statement.

French prosecutors probe TotalEnergies over deadly Mozambique attack

“Internal documents show that TotalEnergies was aware of accusations of violence against civilians being committed by Mozambican armed forces from May 2020, yet continued its support to the JTF,” the ECCHR said.

The task force comprised Mozambican armed forces responsible for protecting the infrastructure of the gas site whose operations were suspended following the 2021 jihadist attack.

Online media Politico reported that soldiers working for the site locked up to 250 civilians in containers for three months accusing them of supporting the jihadists.

The civilians were beaten, tortured or killed. Only 26 survived, Politico said.

‘Not neutral actors’

“TotalEnergies knew that the Mozambican armed forces had been accused of systematic human rights violations, yet continued to support them with the only objective to secure its own facility,” said Clara Gonzales, ECCHR’s co-programme director for business and human rights.

“Companies and their executives are not neutral actors when they operate in conflict zones: if they enable or fuel crimes, they might be complicit and should be held accountable,” she was quoted as saying in the statement.

French gas ambitions pose a ‘climate time bomb’ for Mozambique

The gas company, Mozambique LNG, said it had “no knowledge of the alleged events described” nor “any information indicating that such events took place”, according to ECCHR.

Last month, Mozambican and international NGOs accused TotalEnergies of holding Mozambique “hostage” over the French giant’s demand of “ultra-favourable” conditions to restart the gas project in which TotalEnergies owns a 26.5-percent-stake.

TotalEnergies has said it hopes to resume production at the gas site in 2029, but first needs approval by the authorities for its new budget plan which includes $4.5 billion (€3.8 billion) of cost overruns linked to the delay, to be covered by the Mozambique government.

(with AFP)

The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics, will be closed while investigations are conducted into “certain beams supporting the floors of the second floor” above it, a statement said.

The announcement has no link to the recent robbery at the world’s most visited art gallery, but is more unwelcome news for an institution that has faced severe criticism in France over its security shortcomings.

A four-strong gang raided the Louvre last month with an extendable ladder and power tools in broad daylight, making off with jewellery worth an estimated €90 million in front of startled visitors.

Before the break-in, the museum’s top administrator had warned publicly about conditions inside the former royal palace, which saw 8.7 million people visit its vast galleries last year.

Temperature variations

Louvre director Laurence des Cars warned in a memo in January about a “proliferation of damage in museum spaces, some of which are in very poor condition”.

Some areas were “no longer watertight, while others experience significant temperature variations, endangering the preservation of artworks,” she added.

The Campana Gallery is located on the first floor in the Sully wing at the far eastern end of the complex, with the second floor above it identified by the museum as having structural issues.

Louvre chief Des Cars admits ‘terrible failure’ at museum during jewel heist

The area is currently used as office space and the security scare was caused by “recent and unpredictable developments,” the museum said.

The 65 people who usually work there are being relocated while further investigations take place.

“During these investigations, the Campana Gallery … will be closed to the public as a precautionary measure,” the statement said.

A spokeswoman told AFP the gallery had been closed on Monday but that its priceless exhibits – thousands of vases, cups and various containers – would not be moved for the time being.

For François Chatillon, chief architect of historical monuments in charge of the Louvre Palace, the Louvre is a victim of its own success. “This creates needs, and there’s nothing more normal than maintaining it and carrying out work all the time,” he told public broadcaster Franceinfo on Tuesday.

Chatillon says that other parts of the museum are also at risk of closing due to renovations. “All the parts that did not undergo significant renovations in the 1980s are nearing the end of their lifespan – it is absolutely essential to address them in the coming decade,” he added.

Royal jewels still at large

The whole museum was closed for three days following the robbery on 19 October.

The window broken by the thieves, which is visible from the pavement outside and the river Seine, has since become a tourist attraction.

Could Mona Lisa move into a private suite at Le Louvre?

Four people have been charged over the embarrassing heist, including the two men believed to have broken in, according to prosecutors.

They are believed to be small-time criminals who left a long trail of DNA evidence and dropped some of their bounty, notably a diamond- and emerald-studded crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie.

Authorities have so far not recovered the stolen jewels.

(with AFP)

Greenpeace published video that it said its activists shot on Saturday of around 10 containers with radioactive labels going onto a cargo ship in Dunkirk.

The Panamanian-registered ship, the Mikhail Dudin, is regularly used to carry enriched or natural uranium from France to St Petersburg, according to Greenpeace.

Saturday’s consignment was the first of reprocessed uranium to be observed for three years, it added.

“The resumption of this trade once again shows France’s dependence on Russia,” Pauline Boyer, the head of Greenpeace France’s nuclear campaign, told RFI.

The images released by Greenpeace came two days ahead of a meeting in Paris between the French president, Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, to discuss Ukraine’s air defence systems.

“Despite the French government’s commitments to support Ukraine — which is, fortunately, the case — on the other hand, there is ongoing collaboration with Rosatom, the Russian nuclear company, which is indirectly contributing to the financing of the war.”

Rosatom has occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for more than three and a half years.

“It has made itself complicit in crimes committed with the Russian army against the nuclear plant’s employees,” Boyer added.

“It is outrageous that French nuclear companies — EDF, Orano, Framatome — continue to collaborate with Rosatom.” 

Greenpeace cries scandal as France continues to import Russian uranium

French state-controlled energy giant Electricité de France (EDF) signed a 600-million-euro deal in 2018 with a Rosatom subsidiary, Tenex, for the recycling of reprocessed uranium.

These operations have not been affected by international sanctions over the Ukraine war.

Rosatom has the only facility in the world – at Seversk in Siberia – capable of carrying out key parts of the conversion of reprocessed uranium to enriched reprocessed uranium.

Uranium can be reprocessed so it can be reenriched and reused. With uranium prices rising again on international markets, it is increasingly worthwhile for power companies to seek reprocessing of spent fuel.

Only about 10 percent of the reenriched uranium sent back to France by Russia is used at its Cruas nuclear power plant, in southern France, the only one in the country that can use enriched reprocessed uranium, according to Greenpeace.   

Macron hopes trip to former Soviet states will secure uranium, counter Russia

France’s energy ministry and EDF have yet to respond publicly to questions on the consignment or trade.

Top politicians in France ordered EDF chiefs to halt uranium trade with Rosatom in 2022 when Greenpeace France revealed the contracts in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

France said in March 2024 that it was considering the possibility of building its own conversion facility to produce enriched reprocessed uranium.

As bilateral relations deteriorate, Israel is stepping up defence cooperation with Turkey’s rivals, Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. Turkey has ongoing territorial disputes with both – over maritime and airspace rights in the Aegean Sea, and the division of Cyprus following Turkey’s 1974 invasion of the island. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north of the island is recognised only by Turkey.

Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli claims Israel’s deepening partnerships with Athens and Nicosia is aimed at countering the growing threat posed by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“The doctrine of Erdogan is extremely dangerous. It’s extremely dangerous for Israel, and we see Erdogan’s Turkey as the new Iran, nothing less. It’s very dangerous for Cyprus and it’s very dangerous for Greece,” said Chikli.

This month, Israeli and Greek warships held joint military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean. The drill followed similar exercises by the country’s air forces.

While Ankara played a key role in bringing about a ceasefire in the Gaza war, tensions have continued.

“We saw Turkey issuing arrest warrants against 37 high-level Israelis, but I think it also relates to the fact that the ceasefire is fragile. We are not entirely sure we are moving in a positive direction,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss, an Israeli foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

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

Defence talks

However, Lindenstrauss claims the Gaza ceasefire has opened the door to an acceleration in deepening cooperation with Greece.

“We see the ceasefire is definitely seen as the green light to proceed in cooperation. We see defence deals… serious defence deals are being discussed,” she added.

Israeli ministers visited Athens this month for defence talks. Israel has already sold Greece and Cyprus some of its most sophisticated weapons systems, causing alarm in Ankara.

“We see an alignment of the Greek, Greek Cypriot [sic] and Israeli navies. One cannot deny the risk that this will embolden them [Greece and Cyprus]… with Israeli support,” said international relations professor Serhat Guvenc, of Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.

Cyprus could become an increasingly focal point for Turkish-Israeli rivalries, given its strategic location. The United Kingdom has two military bases on the island, with the United States having a presence on these. Turkey, meanwhile, has an air base in the soi-disant Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

“The island is like a static aircraft carrier; it can dominate the whole of the Middle East and Turkey as well,” warns former Erdogan advisor Ilnur Cevik, who is now a journalist.

“A fighter plane that lifts off from Cyprus can get to Ankara in 15 minutes maximum. Turkey wants the island to be a security zone for itself. Plus, the Turks have even thought about setting up a new naval and airbase.”

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

Turkey’s recent purchases of Eurofighter jets, along with a missile development programme encompassing hypersonic and ballistic capabilities, are also fuelling Israeli concerns.

“It’s not clear why a status quo actor should have such a missile programme,” said Israeli analyst Lindenstrauss.

“For example, Israel doesn’t have a missile programme despite the many threats it faces. I think middle and long-range missiles do suggest this is something more related to offensive intentions… I think all actors that have tense relations with Turkey are watching these developments,” she added. 

Turkish Cypriot vote could force shift in Erdogan’s approach to divided island

US influence

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack sought to downplay tensions, dismissing any threat of conflict between Turkey and Israel.

“Turkey and Israel will not be at war with each other. In my opinion, it’s not going to happen. And you are going to get alignment from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean,” he said, speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue, a Middle East security forum, on 1 November. 

US President Donald Trump, who retains powerful influence over both governments, regional analysts suggest, could play a key role in managing, if not resolving tensions, given his goal of bringing peace and stability to the region.

“[Washington] are very concerned. This is a topic that gets a lot of people’s attention. The United States has certainly been trying to mediate and sort of bring tensions down,” said Asli Aydintasbas of the Washington-based Brookings Institution think tank.

Guvenc doesn’t rule out a reset in regional relations, but warns that for now the region remains in the grip of an escalating arms race, fuelilng further mistrust and the risky strategy of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”.

“We have partnerships – alliances of convenience, pragmatic, tactically motivated alliances – but you never know. I mean, Turkey and Israel may mend fences, and this may create a totally different strategic, regional geopolitics than the one we are talking about today. So everything is in flux, and the balances and the alliances may shift in a very short time.”

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.

Historian Lisa Waller Rogers, whom you’ll hear from today, has just published a book about the long fight to end slavery in the United States. Called When People Were Things: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln and The Emancipation Proclamation, it is published by Barrel Cactus Press. I hope you can find it where you live. You might also look for Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the novel that put the spotlight on what slavery really was. 

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!

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. 

Tanzanians were called to the polls on 29 October, but instead of a free and fair election, they were met with severe repression. Demonstrations have been banned, protesters arrested, and members of the opposition detained.

Tanzania’s authorities have also charged more than 200 people with treason — an offence that carries the death penalty.

The incumbent president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, was eventually declared the winner of the election with 98 percent of the vote. However, the opposition – which had been barred from participating – condemned the results as fraudulent.

To explore the deep-rooted causes of this repression, and to consider how the situation could shape the political future not only of Tanzania but of the entire East African region, we are joined by a special guest: Prince Charles Dickson, a Nigerian peace and policy analyst with a PhD from Georgetown University and decades of experience in public policy and development practice.

Films from Africa

The cinema festival Film Africa 2025 (14–23 November 2025) opens in London, UK. To mark the event we have Stella Okuzu, interim director of the festival, with us to explain what’s happening.

Meanwhile in France, the Festival du Cinéma Franco-Arabe de Noisy-le-Sec is coming to an end just outside Paris (7–13 November). The festival has placed a special focus on Tunisian cinema. Mathilde Rouxel, its cultural director and programmer, tells us more.

Sudan’s blind football team success

Also this week we take a look at South Sudan’s blind football team which recently played its first major match in Kampala, Uganda, thanks to the help and support of the charity Light For The World. And they won! 

We have their coach and players on the line to tell us how football changed their life and why it is so important for people with visual impairment.

Angélique Kidjo and La Chica de Favela

Finally, “La Chica de Favela” is an initiative from ‘Beyond Music’, a song featuring a Congolese man, a Latin American, a Swiss citizen, and a Beninese woman, Angélique Kidjo.

“The African continent is predominant on this song”, Angélique told Spotlight on Africa, “and it tells a story through this song.”

It tells the story of a young girl in a favela “who doesn’t want to be defined by her gender”. She is free and independent. “In a patriarchal world that doesn’t necessarily give women much space,” Angélique told us. “And that’s what made the subject interesting to me.”

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.

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

“Turks out!” shouted protesters as they marched through Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital. Several Turkish-owned businesses, among the country’s largest investors, were ransacked during last month’s violence.

The clashes were sparked by a knife attack on a Montenegrin citizen by Turkish nationals.

After the unrest, Montenegro imposed visa requirements on Turkish visitors. Some opposition parties accused Serbia of stoking the protests, pointing to rising friction between Belgrade and Ankara over the arms sale to Kosovo.

“There are those accusing the Serbian region of being behind it,” Vuk Vuksanovic, of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, told RFI. “Although I have seen no material evidence.”

Widening rift

While Serbia has not commented on the accusations, it has the capacity to incite such unrest given its strong influence in Montenegro, Vuksanovic said. “The drama involving Montenegro has built up to this difficult atmosphere in Serbian-Turkish relations,” he said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic last month accused Turkey of trying to resurrect the Ottoman Empire through the sale of sophisticated drones to Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia in 1999.

Analysts say the weapons deal could shift the balance of power in the region.

“There are the kamikaze drones, which are posing a threat, and there are also strategic drones likely to be used to secure the border itself and more as a show of force,” said Zoran Ivanov, a security expert from the Institute of National History in Skopje, North Macedonia.

“So it poses a direct security threat to Serbia and Serbia has to react to this.”

Criminalising identity: Turkey’s LGBTQI+ community under threat

Changing alliances

The tension marks a sharp turnaround. In recent years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had built a close relationship with his Serbian counterpart, and Turkish companies became major investors in Serbia.

However the arms sale to Kosovo reveals a shift in Turkey’s relations with Belgrade, explained international relations professor Huseyin Bagci, of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

“Turkey has more leverage than Serbia,” Bagci said. “The relations between Turkey and Serbia, we understand each other, but it is not as happy as before.”

Analysts say the shift reflects Ankara’s wider ambitions in the Balkans.

“Ankara is trying to increase its influence and will do it,” said Bagci, adding that Turkey’s historical and cultural ties to the region run deep – with millions of families tracing their roots back to the former Ottoman territories.

“The Ottoman Empire was a Balkan empire. The Turkish influence is getting bigger, and of course, they don’t like it. But Turkey is the big brother in the Balkans.”

Turkish Cypriot vote could force shift in Erdogan’s approach to divided island

Turkish expansion

Last month, Turkish forces took command of NATO’s KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. At the same time, Turkish businesses continued expanding across the region.

“They’re expanding their markets; they’re expanding their capabilities; they’re expanding their influence,” Ivanov said.

Turkey’s renewed focus on the Balkans was unsurprising given historical ties, he added. “That’s natural for the Turks to come to invest in the region and now looking for their old roots.”

However its expanding presence might feel like history repeating itself, Ivanov warned.

As “a man who is coming from the Balkans,” he said, he sees “the Turks coming as they were in history” – a reminder of a past many in the region have not forgotten.

The European Union has praised Ankara for supporting peacekeeping operations and economic aid in Kosovo. But analysts caution that Turkey must avoid alienating its Balkan neighbours.

“Ankara also has to be mindful of its own limitations of its own Balkan ambitions,” Vuksanovic. said. “Because otherwise it can push majority Christian Orthodox nations like the Serbs, Greeks and Bulgarians to work against the Turks if the Turks are perceived to be too provocative or aggressive.”

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 11 October, I asked you to send in the answer to these two questions: Who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, and why was she chosen?

The answers are: The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize went to the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, because she is, as Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said, “One of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Jocelyne D’Errico, who lives in New Zealand. Her question was: “What is the hardest problem you had to resolve in your work or school life?” 

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Shahanoaz Parvin Ripa, the chairwoman of the Sonali Badhan Female Listeners Club in Bogura, Bangladesh. Shahanoaz is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Shahanoaz.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ras Franz Manko Ngogo, the president of the Kemogemba RFI Club in Tarime, Mara, Tanzania. There’s Rubi Saikia, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India; RFI Listeners Club member Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim, Germany, and last but not least, RFI English listener H. M. Tarek from Narayanganj, Bangladesh. 

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Le matin d´un jour de féte” from Claude Debussy’s Iberia, performed by the Czech Philhamonic conducted by Jean Fournet; “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon, performed by John Lennon & Friends; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Nine Over Reggae” by Jack DeJohnette, performed by DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, and Herbie Hancock.

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 Michael Sarpong Mfum’s article  “Invasive water hyacinths choke wildlife and livelihoods in southern Ghana”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 1 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 6 December 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. 

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.