In the aftermath of the overthrow of Assad, demonstrators proclaimed the victorious unity of the Syrian people, from Idlib to Suwayda, Latakia to Raqqa.

A year later, following several outbreaks of violence, divisions between communities appear even more pronounced than at the end of the 50-year dictatorship.

Now, many in the country are calling for the creation of a federal system, while some regions are demanding independence.

In March, clashes between former soldiers loyal to Assad and forces of the new transitional authorities escalated into massacres of Alawites, the minority group to which Assad belongs.

Nearly 1,700 people were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Since then, violence and harassment have continued. 

“Tensions persist and the Alawite population feels unsafe,” said Rateb Shabo, himself a native of the Syrian west coast, where the majority of Alawites live.

“To give you an idea of what daily life is like, I was talking recently with a friend from the Syrian coast. He told me that the olive harvest had been poor this year and that it would not be enough to feed his family for the whole year. Then he said to me, but who’s to say that one of the cars that drives past my house every day won’t stop at my door to steal all my bags of olives and take me with them anyway? I’m powerless. We’re considered remnants of the regime.”

After the Alawites, the Druze

In July, southern Syria saw clashes between Druze and Bedouins who live together in the same region. Regime forces came to the aid of the Sunni Bedouins, who themselves called in reinforcements from across the country.  

The Druze had had high hopes for the new government.

“They helped bring down Bashar al-Assad,” explains one Druze source who chose to speak under the pseudonym Rafaël.

“Only a minority of people were calling for the independence of the Druze region. Since the massacre, the majority message has changed radically from ‘we want a united Syria with everyone’ to ‘the Druze must be independent’,” he said.

“The problem is that the government took part in these clashes by siding with the Bedouins. They armed them while asking the Druze to surrender their weapons. The Druze refused. When the massacre happened, there were also racist celebrations against the Druze throughout Syria. So people even lost confidence in their fellow citizens.”

An investigation by Amnesty International revealed that government and affiliated forces have extrajudicially executed dozens of Druze.

France condemns reported atrocities against civilians in Syria’s Sweida

Justice or show trials?

Faced with these crises, the authorities have announced commissions of inquiry.

In connection with the violence last March, the Attorney General said he had brought charges against approximately 300 people linked to the transitional authorities and 265 people belonging to paramilitary groups loyal to Assad, accused of leading the armed rebellion that sparked the violence.

At the opening of the trial, only 14 detainees were present – half were former soldiers of the regime, the other half affiliated with the transitional authority forces. The majority pleaded not guilty, and the hearing was suspended and postponed.

What was seen by many human rights defenders as a first step towards ending impunity for crimes in the country was ultimately viewed as a farce by many Syrians. 

“It was a political show,” said Shabo. “The Sunni soldiers were released, while the Alawites are still in prison, even though in both cases the trial is not over.”

Many observers question the independence of the Syrian judiciary.

“The Ministry of Justice belongs to the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [from which the new president Ahmed al-Charaa hails]. It is a sectarian organisation that is deeply hostile to Alawites.” said Shabo.

“This trial is also based on the ordinary Syrian penal code. It does not recognise the political nature of the crime. Yet it was a deliberate massacre committed by militias affiliated with the new regime, as Amnesty International says. We cannot leave the investigation and judgement to local institutions. There is obvious bias.”

Independent investigators appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that the waves of violence committed by government forces against the Alawite minority were “widespread and systematic” and could constitute war crimes.

Syria’s interim president vows justice for Druze after deadly clashes

Transitional justice

Shabo says he finds it difficult to imagine Syria’s future, and fears that any attempt to establish transitional justice will fail.

“‘Even if the authorities really wanted to implement it, it would be impossible because the armed forces that support them would also have to be tried for their crimes.”

Yet activists insist the fight is not over, and continue to work alongside the authorities.

“The problem is that they are very slow,” said lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, director of the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research.

“We have been pushing for a long time for the establishment of a special court that would adopt the rules of the International Criminal Court. All criminals must be arrested, whether they are Sunni, Alawite, Kurdish… All these people must be given a fair trial. It seems that the authorities are now moving in that direction.”

He says the violence committed against the Alawites and Druze has backed them into a corner.

“The problem is how long it will take the authorities to set the process in motion. I am sure that in the future we will succeed in creating a country that respects human rights.”

For now, many Syrians must live with the fact that their tormentors walk free, while hundreds of Alawite families wait for imprisoned relatives to receive their basic legal rights, including visits and a fair trial.

Macron urges Syrian leader to protect minorities after deadly clashes

Civil society steps in

The slow march towards transitional justice, however, is not the sole preserve of the authorities.

On the ground, al-Bunni’s organisation, like many other Syrian NGOs, provides training in citizenship and justice. It also trains lawyers in evidence gathering and case building.

Dima Moussa, a lawyer and transitional justice specialist, is involved in this process.

“The training provided by the authorities of the Transitional Justice Commission and the Commission for Missing Persons six months ago was a first step worth highlighting. It gives us people to talk to. In particular, it has helped to formalise our work within Syria. We are carrying out consultations with different communities to gather recommendations.”

She acknowledges that the massacres against the Druze and Alawites have created new divisions. “But that pushes us to work harder. We have also seen initiatives emerge in different communities to take action against violence. We are also calling for crimes committed after the fall of Bashar al-Assad to be taken into account in this process. This will send a strong message.”

Seventy Syrian civil society organisations have recently presented recommendations to the Syrian government and the Transitional Justice Commission. Al-Bunni and Moussa both hope the authorities will make good use of them.

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

Local broadcaster Channels Television reported the release of 100 children, without giving details on whether their release secured was through negotiation or military force.

A United Nations source told the AFP news agency that the children arrived in the capital, Abuja, on Sunday and are to be handed over to local government officials in Niger state on Monday.

The fate of the remaining 165 students and staff remains unclear.

In late November gunmen attacked St Mary’s boarding school in Papiri, kidnapping 315 students and staff. Some 50 students escaped shortly afterward, and until Sunday there had been no information on the whereabouts of the others, including staff and students as young as six years old.

It is unclear who was the kidnapping, though it came as part of what the UN has called a “surge in mass abductions” in the last few weeks.

Kidnappings for ransom by armed groups have plagued Nigeria since the 2014 abduction of 276 school girls in the town of Chibok by Boko Haram jihadists.

Nigerian president Bola Tinubu has declared a national state of emergency in the country plagued by insecurity, divided between a majority Muslim north and a majority Christian south.

He said he ordered the army and police to recruit 20,000 additional personnel.

The kidnappings come as US President Donald Trump has called the killing of Christians in Nigeria a “genocide” and threatened military intervention.

On Sunday France offered increased support for Nigeria, that French President Emmanuel Macron said was facing “various security challenges, particularly the terrorist threat in the North”.

At Tinubu’s request, France will “strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations,” Macron wrote on X.

“We call on all our partners to step up their engagement. No one can remain a spectator”.

(with AFP)

Around a dozen soldiers have been arrested in Benin following an attempted coup, including the ringleaders of the foiled operation, military and security sources told French news agency AFP.

One source said 13 arrests had been made, with another adding that all the detainees were soldiers in active service except one who was ex-military.

Earlier, Benin’s Interior Minister Alassane Seidou released a statement confirming that “a small group of soldiers launched a mutiny with the aim of destabilising the country and its institutions.”

“Faced with this situation, the Beninese Armed Forces and their leadership maintained control of the situation and foiled the attempt,” he added.

Condemnation from AU, Ecowas

The African Union (AU), the African continent’s main political and diplomatic body, on Sunday “strongly and unequivocally” condemned the attempted coup in Benin, a statement from AU Commission Chairman Mahmoud Ali Yousouf said.

The West African bloc Ecowas also “strongly condemned the coup” and said it would support efforts by the government to restore order.

Witnesses reported hearing the sound of gunfire in Benin’s economic capital Cotonou on Sunday morning, after a military group announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon.

Soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.The signal was cut later in the morning.

 They justified the attempted power grab by citing the “continuous deterioration of the security situation in northern Benin”.

They said the “neglect of soldiers killed in action and their families left to fend for themselves” as well as “unjust promotions at the expense of the most deserving” were also motivations.

Clean-up in progress

Shortly after their announcement, Talon‘s entourage told AFP the president was safe, while the regular army said it had regained control, according to a military source. 

“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city (Cotonou) and the country are completely secure,” the presidential team said.

“It’s just a matter of time before everything returns to normal. The clean-up is progressing well.”

Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king of Cotonou”, is due to hand over power in April next year after 10 years in office marked by solid economic growth but also a surge in jihadist violence. 

The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, and instead the ruling party will vie for power against a so-called “moderate” opposition.

Talon has been praised for bringing economic development to Benin but is regularly accused by his critics of authoritarianism.

Europe failed to bolster democracy in Sahel, EU’s top diplomat says

History marked by coups

A military source confirmed that the situation was “under control” and the coup plotters had not taken either Talon’s residence or the presidential offices.

The French Embassy had said on social media platform X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital.

It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.

An AFP journalist in Cotonou said soldiers were blocking access to the presidency and state television.

Guinea-Bissau electoral commission says poll results ‘destroyed’ in coup

Access to several other areas, including the five-star Sofitel in Cotonou and districts housing international institutions, were also blocked.

But there was no military presence reported at the airport and the rest of the city, and residents were going about their business.

Benin’s political history has been marked by several coups and attempted coups since its independence from France in 1960.

Other countries in West Africa have experienced coups in recent years, including in Benin’s northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Mali, Guinea and, most recently, Guinea-Bissau.

(with AFP)

Macron made the announcement on Saturday, on social media platform X, as Ukrainian and US officials were holding a third straight day of talks in Miami to discuss a plan to end the war.

“I will travel to London on Monday to meet with the Ukrainian President, the British Prime Minister, and the German Chancellor, in order to take stock of the situation and the ongoing negotiations within the framework of the US mediation,” Macron wrote, slamming what he called Russia’s “escalatory path”.

“We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible,” he added.

Exert pressure

Macron also condemned a wave of Russian strikes after Moscow launched over 700 drones and missiles overnight into Saturday at Ukraine, targeting its energy and railway facilities and triggering heating and water cuts affecting thousands of households and businesses.

“We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace,” Macron said.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday to discuss the latest peace proposal, though Moscow rejected parts of it.

Zelensky joined his negotiators by telephone on Saturday for what he described as a “very substantive and constructive” call, as part of the third day of meetings in Florida.

Europe demands more work on US peace plan to end Russia-Ukraine war

“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed “on the next steps and the format of the talks with America.”

A readout of the Miami talks posted Friday by Witkoff on X said that “Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward de-escalation and cessation of killings.”

Security guarantees 

Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the conflict involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get have so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.

The US plan has been through several drafts since it first emerged last month, amid criticism it was too soft on Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia accuses France of ‘fuelling war’ following Ukraine fighter jet deal

Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially embracing Putin and chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.

But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.

Putin, who was in India this week meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the talks were “complex” but that he wanted to engage with Trump’s plan “rather than obstruct it.”

OSCE to monitor ceasefire?

In a separate developement, Switzerland’s foreign minister said that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) could play a major role in monitoring a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Switzerland will chair the OSCE in 2026 and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said Bern wants to focus on confidence-building measures, and preparing for a possible truce between Moscow and Kyiv.

“There are already concrete considerations on this: the organisation is capable of deploying several dozen people at short notice. The OSCE could observe the ceasefire, monitor the ceasefire line, monitor elections, and so on,” Cassis told SonntagsBlick newspaper on Sunday.

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

“But the front line currently stretches for 1,300 kilometres – the OSCE alone is too small to monitor its entire length. This would require a significant commitment from the participating states.”

He said that as a first step, a fact-finding mission would need to deploy to Ukraine and return with a diagnosis of the situation, from which the OSCE could quickly initiate the next steps.

Founded in 1975 to ease tensions between the East and the West during the Cold War, the OSCE counts 57 members from Europe, central Asia and North America, including the United States, Ukraine and Russia.

(with AFP)

“I would like to thank the Tunisians who have supported the migrant population in Tunisia and all those who have had the courage to speak out on issues of freedom,” Sehiri said upon receiving her Golden Star (Étoile d’or) award on Saturday.

The 22nd Marrakech International Film Festival was presided over by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho.

Alongside him were Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz, Moroccan director Hakim Belabbes, French director Julia Ducournau, Iranian actor and director Payman Maadi, US actor Jenna Ortega, Canadian-Korean director Celine Song and British-Argentinian actor Anya Taylor-Joy.

“I would like to dedicate this award to Saadia Mosbah, a prominent human rights and anti-racism activist, who has been in prison for a year and a half,” Sehiri added.

Postcard from Cannes #2: A tender tale of women surviving migration in Tunis

Regression of rights

Jailed since May 2024, Mosbah is suspected of facilitating the illegal entry of migrants.

Tunisia is a key transit point for thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe by sea, but conditions for them have become increasingly more difficult.

Tunisian and foreign NGOs say they have witnessed a regression of rights and freedoms in Tunisia since President Kais Saied granted himself full powers after a coup at the end of July 2021.

In February 2023, Saied declared that “hordes of sub-Saharan migrants” threatened to “change the demographic composition” of the country.

In the following weeks, thousands of migrants, deprived of work and housing, were either urgently repatriated or clandestinely took to the sea to flee Tunisia.

Driven from camp to camp, Tunisia’s migrants still dream of Europe

It is precisely in this context that Sehiri situates her story in Promised Sky, which opened the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, has lived in Tunisia for 10 years.

She takes in Naney, a young mother who has left her daughter behind in Côte d’Ivoire, saving up to pay her passage on a boat to Europe.

Then there’s Jolie, a strong-willed student who carries the hopes of her family.

But the arrival of a little girl Kenza, whose parents died when their migrant boat capsized, challenges the women’s sense of solidarity, pushing them to make difficult decisions.

The jury awarded Best Actress to Debora Lobe Naney for her role as Naney, a non-professional actor, who was recruited during a public audition. 

Exploring humanity

The Grand jury prize was shared between Jihan K’s My Father and Qaddafi and Vladlena Sandu’s Memory.

The Best Directing Prize was awarded to Oscar Hudson for Straight Circle. The jury also awarded a special mention to the film’s actors Elliot Tittensor and Luke Tittensor.

Best Performance by an Actor went to Sope Dirisu for his work in Akinola Davies Jr.’s My Father’s Shadow, a film set in Nigeria.

‘Telling stories differently’: Tunisian cinema shines at Franco-Arab Film Festival

American actress Jodie Foster received an Étoile d’or for her lifetime achievement and gave a moving speech about her relationship with cinema.

“I am still guided by the same love: telling stories, bringing characters to life, asking questions about our connections and our vulnerabilities, and exploring our humanity,” she told the audience.

Foster also paid tribute to Morocco: “All this enthusiasm and warmth! This is what Morocco is about: a country that charms all the senses. How lucky I am to discover it while being with you.”

RFI: What led you to making your first documentary? 

Sammy Baloji: In my practice I do make short films, experimental films, and I also did a few collaborative documentaries. For this project, I was doing a lot of research around the town of Yangambi [northern DRC], starting from an article in The Guardian [about trees and climate change] given to me by one of the curators of the Lubumbashi Biennial, a contemporary art platform that I co-created with a few artists in [DRC].

I was quite interested in looking at the forest and producing a [piece] of work compiling the research. And I thought that a film could be a good way, as I had already discovered all the archives related to Congolese agriculturalist Paul Panda Farnana and beyond.

So it was really interesting to think of a format that could help [us] to understand the complexity of human activity in the area. And I thought that film was kind of a great format for that.

Congolese filmmaker Baloji mixes magic with biting social commentary

You’ve centred the story around real people – Congolese agriculturalist Paul Panda Farnana and the Belgian colonial official Abiron Beirnaert. And you also wrote powerful voices for the narration, including one for a tree, through a mix of sounds and images. How did you go about this?

By doing research, I had a lot of different examples for Farnana. There were letters written by him to his mother, colonial administrative reports on him, articles published by Belgian magazines and so on.

As for Abiron Beirnaert, he didn’t write himself, and he died while he was on a mission in [what was then the Belgian Congo]. But the story of his accident and his visit to the Congo were reported by his colleagues, who wrote about his final activities.

For the voice of the tree, the text that comes with the sound of the tree, comes from all the research done by Thomas Hendricks, who’s an anthropologist who was interested in understanding international activities within the Congolese forest.

I work a lot with installations, and I have this approach to combine different sources and different elements such as sound archives, photographs or excerpts from films. And then there’s the soundscape, which I did with two sound artists. The idea was to create this kind of immersive soundscape… an immersive experience bringing together images, sounds and voices.

Why the Congo plays a critical role in saving the world’s biodiversity

Would you say the film is a work of activism?

I’m from a country – but also a province – that has been under extractivism since the end of the 19th century, for its mineral resources. This is the first time I’ve been able to provide information about how the climate has been a subject of colonial control, even the forest.

The place that I’m from is the place that served as an extraction site for uranium that was used for the atomic bomb. And there’s lithium there, which is really important for green energy. 

But there’s a continuous injustice in the ignoring of the people impacted by the extraction of these different raw materials, that serve the international economy.

I don’t just address this with the film, it’s also why we created the Lubumbashi Biennial, to bring attention to what is happening within the country from Congolese perspectives and local voices.

I wanted to look at it from a very long perspective, starting from the colonial presence in DRC, and looking at the way that all these processes are connected. It’s not coming from a place of anger – I tried to go beyond this binary way of thinking, between north and south, looking at the environment, at nature and at the relationship we have with the Earth.

This is why the tree appears. For me, it’s really about local knowledge: the tree has been in that forest for more than three centuries.

The question I’m raising is how do we rethink our connection with the environment?

The film was shown at Film Africa in London and can be viewed on the Franco-German channel Arte. Do you have plans to show it in Africa? 

It’s already been shown in South Africa at a festival, and we are thinking of having it shown in Kinshasa. And of course, the next edition of the Lubumbashi Biennial will show it next year. I can’t wait to have this moment on the continent where I can present it.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Famous for his kitschy colour-saturated images, Parr had a sharp eye for mundane oddities, typified in his humorous snapshots of bronzed beachgoers and selfie-snapping holidaymakers.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that Martin Parr (1952-2025) died yesterday at home in Bristol,” a statement on The Martin Parr Foundation‘s website said.

“Martin will be greatly missed,” it added, noting he is survived by his wife Susie, his daughter Ellen, his sister Vivien and his grandson George.

“The family asks for privacy at this time,” the statement said.

It added the foundation and Magnum Photos, the prestigious agency he had been a member of since 1994, “will work together to preserve and share Martin’s legacy”.

No further details around the circumstances of his death were provided.

The Guardian newspaper said, however, that Parr had been diagnosed with cancer in May 2021.

Although Parr travelled the globe during his decades-spanning career – snapping images everywhere from North Korea and Albania to Japan and Russia – he spoke of relishing more everyday settings like supermarkets.

He kept working into his 70s, recently releasing his latest book, an autobiographical collection of photographs together with wry commentary called Utterly Lazy and Inattentive.

The title stemmed from a French teacher’s damning school report on him when he was 14.

Keep calm and say cheese! French photo festival goes ‘so British’ this summer

The autobiography charts his journey from son of a birdwatching father to internationally acclaimed professional photographer.

In an interview with French news agency AFP published last month, he argued the world has never been more in need of the kind of satire captured in his images because many people are too wealthy and their lifestyles are unsustainable.

“The state we’re all in is appalling,” he said in Paris. “We’re all too rich. We’re consuming all these things in the world. And we can’t. It’s unsustainable.”

(with AFP)

South Africa used its G20 presidency this year to push youth involvement more than any previous summit. The Y20 process – created in 2010 to bring young people into G20 debates – took on new urgency, given that Africa has the world’s largest population under the age of 30.

Y20 South Africa 2025 ran under the theme Youth for Global Progress. Its aim was to open space for young leaders to help shape the global agenda.

Levi Singh, its 31-year-old chief negotiations coordinator, said encouraging youth participation in global events and politics should be an absolute priority. This G20, he added, was the most successful so far in getting that message across.

“As this was the last time that the global south was leading the G20 for the foreseeable future, we thought it was a unique opportunity to mobilise around youth participation,” Singh told RFI.

Madagascar’s Gen Z uprising, as told by three young protesters

Generation gap

The idea of making youth leadership a formal part of political systems drew far more support in the Global South than in the seven richest nations in North America and Europe, Singh said.

“In Africa in particular, you see the median age today is 19 years old, yet the median age of an African leader, a parliamentarian, a minister or a president, is between 67 and 69,” he explained.

“So there’s a profound intergenerational divide between the majority of the population and those who are in power and in leadership positions.

“At the Y20, we weren’t calling for people over 65 to be chucked out of office, but for a greater sense of intergenerational collaboration, learning, sharing and power sharing, ultimately.”

The Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which runs an annual survey on youth attitudes across Africa, included these themes in its latest research. The African Youth Survey gathers views from tens of thousands of young people in 25 countries. This year, it focused on the G20.

Its report found fast-eroding trust in democratic institutions and government accountability.

While young Africans once expected leaders to create jobs, solve the climate crisis and drive innovation, many now feel “the system is failing them”, the foundation’s chairman Ivor Ichikowitz told RFI.

The survey, he added, shows a polarised view of current leadership.

“On the extremely negative side, there are many respondents who are saying that they are frustrated with their governments and this plays out in what we’ve seen in Madagascar, what we’ve seen in Kenya, what we’ve seen in other countries in Africa,” Ichikowitz said. “This is not unexpected.”

Can Kenyan youth protests spark real police reform one year on?

Young people push back

Events across the African continent over the past year form part of that picture – from the coup in Gabon to Gen Z protests in Madagascar and Morocco.

The unrest shows rising frustration among young people who now believe they must take control of their own futures, Ichikowitz said, adding: “They can’t rely only on governments.”

Climate change has also become a key issue, with deeper awareness of environmental concerns among respondents. There is strong frustration around this too.

“There’s a realisation among the population that we surveyed that this is a reality that’s been created by the world’s most industrialised nations – and Africa is bearing the brunt of the consequences,” Ichikowitz said.

Young people believe Africa has the means to solve the problem, but they also know that protecting the environment will mean major sacrifices that could limit development and economic opportunities.

“Africa is not being compensated for this reality,” Ichikowitz added.

One message, Singh said, came through repeatedly in the Y20 working groups.

“Young people, in particular those from the Global South, are fatigued by the constant framing by policymakers and world leaders of them as a problem and something that needs to be fixed – as opposed to an asset that requires investment and planning.”

At the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice in June, Unesco and the Plastic Odyssey expedition signed a partnership aimed at restoring the world’s most endangered marine World Heritage sites.

Drawing inspiration from a successful 2024 clean-up on Henderson Island in the South Pacific – during which 9.3 tonnes of plastic waste were removed – the organisations plan to replicate the operation in other areas across the globe.

Plastic Odyssey and Unesco sign deal to restore marine World Heritage sites

Among them is the Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean which is one of the largest raised coral reefs in the world.

It is known for the hundreds of endemic species – including the Aldabra giant tortoise.

“Aldabra is one of 51 marine sites listed as Unesco World Heritage Sites. These sites represent less than 1 percent of the Earth’s surface, but 15 percent of marine biodiversity,” Simon Bernard, CEO of Plastic Odyssey, told RFI.

“They are true biodiversity hotspots, but they are also areas that accumulate enormous amounts of plastic waste.”

‘Impossible clean up’

The field mission occurred from 8 to 20 October with the Plastic Odyssey team, who surveyed the island to better estimate the amount of waste.

According to scientific studies 500 tonnes of plastic waste has washed up on this tiny, remote island.

“Where is the waste, how much is there and, above all, how are we going to remove it? We will need to plan a mission lasting several months – four to six months – to collect and remove everything,” said Bernard.

This mission was called “The impossible clean up” – because Aldabra is very difficult to access.

“Very often on these islands, waste accumulates on the exposed coasts, which are virtually inaccessible. There is almost no access to the sea. The island is surrounded by a belt of very sharp rocks, known as karst,” Bernard explained.

“There is no water, no food and obviously no doctor. So you really have to plan all the logistics to keep the teams alive and able to survive on site for several months.”

Recycling partners

The plan is to collect various waste items – like fishing buoys, flip-flops, and cans – using a slide-like system on the rocks that directs the debris into the sea for extraction.

After collection, each type of waste must be sent to an appropriate recycling partner.

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

Flip-flops are difficult to repurpose, Bernard says, but they are “working with a company in Kenya that makes works of art out of flip-flops. They recycle several dozen tonnes a year.

“For all the hard plastic, we will be working with entrepreneurs in the Seychelles, on Mahé island, who transform this”.

Plastic Odyssey has also just completed a mission to Saint-Brandon, a Mauritian archipelago which is not yet on Unesco’s official list. It is rich in exceptional endemic bird species but heavily polluted with plastic. 

They collected over five tonnes and reached the ship’s maximum capacity without being able to gather everything.

The unexpected volume of plastic means they will need to return, and Saint-Brandon will be included in future Plastic Odyssey expeditions.

On the night of 13 November 2015, then president Francois Hollande declared a nationwide state of emergency, granting French police and intelligence services extraordinary authority to carry out searches and detain people suspected of being involved in terrorism.

These measures, extended a week later, let police bypass the ordinary judicial process and decide whom to target, with judges reviewing the legality only afterwards if officers’ choices were challenged in court.

The public largely accepted these restrictions on civil liberties because the terrorist threat remained high.

“After a traumatic event, after a crisis, it is easier to justify a reduction in rights and heightened security measures. People are expecting the government to do something, whatever it is,” explains Sophie Duroy, a professor at the University of Essex School of Law’s Human Rights Centre.

“In a way, the population may be willing to sacrifice some of their liberties because they fear the next terrorist attack.”

Listen to an interview with Sophie Duroy in the Spotlight on France podcast:

When a deadly truck attack in Nice followed in July 2016, France’s parliament incorporated these emergency powers into ordinary law, through bills passed in 2017 and in 2021.

According to Jean-Christophe Couville, national secretary of the Unité police union, France previously lacked the tools to address terrorist threats.

In the days following the November 2015 attacks, emergency powers enabled police to search over 400 people and seize dozens of arms as well as drugs, he told RFI, in what he calls “collateral effects” that he argues “maybe saved lives”.

Abuse of power

Rights defenders say it is an abuse of power to use extraordinary measures intended to fight terrorism in order to deal with ordinary crime.

Duroy points to the disproportionate impact of these powers on France’s Muslim community in the aftermath of the 2015 attacks.

“Individuals and associations were subjected to house arrest, or their places of worship were closed, for instance. Their freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of assembly – their basic liberty – was affected,” she says.

And there was “mission creep”, as police used their expanded powers more broadly.

How French Muslims have wrestled with Charlie Hebdo’s impact, 10 years on

Policing dissent

During the Cop21 summit in Paris in December 2015, police detained and placed climate activists under house arrest on the grounds that they might disturb public order.

“Because there is very little judicial oversight, it is very hard to control who you target with these measures,” says Duroy.

“And we have seen this kind of mission creep more and more in the past few years to police dissent, rather than to police terrorism.”

Other terrorist attacks – realised and foiled – continued to keep France on high alert.  

Later, during the Covid pandemic, France declared a health state of emergency, restricting peoples’ movements. Meanwhile laws introduced for the 2024 Paris Olympics temporarily authorised algorithmic video surveillance, which the government is considering renewing through 2027 in preparation for the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.

“France is the main advocate for digital surveillance technologies and for authorising them and using them on a large-scale basis,” says Duroy.

Expanded surveillance

For police unionist Couville, digital surveillance is just another means to anticipate crimes, or find culprits after the fact.

“We need these new tools,” he said. “They help us to work proactively, to identify someone who is wanted, for example. It helps us to reconstruct a crime scene and helps with arrests.”

Duroy warns, however, that more tools and repressive measures could backfire, putting the public on the defensive.

She argues that respecting human rights and international law is the best way to protect national security, because it avoids escalation and maintains public trust.

“If the population believes you are respecting their rights they would be willing to cooperate with security services and the police,” she says.

“If people think that their rights are not going to be respected or their family’s rights are not going to be respected, they will not give a tip to the police about the fact that maybe their brother is becoming radicalised or their son is becoming radicalised.”

France accused of restricting protests and eroding democracy

Siding with caution

Because counterterrorism is global, France both shares and relies on information from other countries’ intelligence services, which may be more likely to cooperate if they trust that international standards are being respected.

Yet arguing against tougher security powers is an uphill battle. 

Those trying to slow the expansion of surveillance regularly challenge these measures in court – something Duroy says is not always effective, as judges often side with governments.

“Courts have been very happy to defer to national governments in matters of national security because they trust their risk assessments and because of the very high stakes of terrorism,” she says. “No one wants to be blamed if a terrorist attack happens.”

Listen to an interview with Sophie Duroy on the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 135.

The global fight against HIV/Aids has found itself at a troubling crossroads. On one hand, scientific progress is picking up pace; on the other, the latest UNAIDS report paints a stark picture of a world struggling to keep its momentum.

International response is weakening, held back by falling funding and disrupted health services.

Worldwide, an estimated 41 million people are now living with HIV. Last year saw 1.3 million new infections, and 9.2 million people still lack access to life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment.

According to UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima: “the global response to HIV has suffered its biggest setback in decades.” 

But she insists that “HIV is not over,” and has called for renewed global mobilisation.

Her plea follows especially disappointing news: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria raised just over €9 billion for the next three years – far short of the €15 billion it says is needed.

This is even lower than the last replenishment round in 2022, threatening the future of crucial programmes around the world.

Trump’s aid cuts prompt African leaders to embrace self-reliance

Positive developments in the lab

But it’s not all bleak. In research centres worldwide, scientists are making remarkable advances.

Yazdan Yazdanpanah, director of the French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Emerging Diseases (ANRS-MIE), describes the situation as a paradox: impressive scientific advances on one side, declining capacity to roll them out on the other – a sort of “double dynamic”.

One encouraging development is the arrival of long-acting antiretroviral treatments. Instead of taking a pill every day, people can now receive treatment once every two months.

This, Yazdanpanah explains, boosts adherence and generally feels more manageable for many. Some 43 percent of people living with HIV say these long-acting treatments are their first choice – even before considering side effects or tablet size.

Prevention tools are also evolving. A major breakthrough is injectable PrEP, which offers long-term protection against HIV.

Stamping out misinformation in France’s fight against HIV-Aids

Lenacapavir – recently recommended by the World Health Organization – provides six months of protection with a single shot.

“It’s one injection every six months to prevent HIV,” says Yazdanpanah. Thanks to an international pricing agreement, the cost could be around €35 per year in 120 low-resource countries, compared with roughly €25,300 per year previously charged in the United States.

South Africa, Eswatini and Zambia on Monday began administering the groundbreaking injection in the drug’s first public rollouts in Africa.

Eastern and southern Africa account for about 52 percent of the 40.8 million people living with HIV worldwide, according to 2024 UNAIDS data.

Under the programme, manufacturer Gilead Sciences has agreed to provide lenacapavir at no profit to two million people in countries with a high HIV burden over three years.

Critics say this is far below the actual requirement and that the market price is out of reach for most people.

Progress needs power, power needs funding

These advances, impressive as they are, risk remaining theoretical unless health systems can keep up.

In 2025, global development aid for health fell by 22 percent, driven largely by reductions or withdrawals from major US programmes.

The consequences are already being felt, says Françoise Vanni, external relations director at the Global Fund.

“There has been a crisis in international financing for the fight against HIV/Aids and for global health more broadly, with drastic cuts from a number of donor countries that have really caused major interruptions in the delivery of essential services,” she explained to RFI.

With infections rising again in several countries, she is blunt about the reality for frontline programmes: “Very concretely, it means it is much more difficult to fight these diseases effectively.”

AIDS pandemic risks ‘resurging globally’ amid US funding halt: UN

Nowhere is this fragility clearer than in sub-Saharan Africa, which bears a disproportionate share of the epidemic. The region accounts for a large share of new HIV infections and is home to 60 percent of all people living with the virus.

In 13 countries, fewer people started treatment last year. Supply shortages have been felt, too, with disruptions in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo affecting both HIV testing and access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy.

The funding crisis, compounded by the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, is undermining the progress made since the early 2000s.

In Nigeria, condom distribution has dropped by 55 percent.

Community organisations – traditionally the backbone of HIV work – are also under heavy strain, with more than 60 percent of those led by women forced to suspend essential programmes.

UNAIDS makes its position clear: science alone cannot end the epidemic. The agency is urging the global community to rethink the funding model so that heavily affected countries invest more of their own resources. Without this shift, the world will almost certainly fall short of its goal to end the HIV/Aids epidemic by 2030.

At best, current trends would allow the international community merely to hold the epidemic steady. At worst, if the decline in funding continues, UNAIDS warns of a resurgence of HIV/Aids by 2030.

This has been adapted from the original article in French and lightly edited for clarity.

“The countdown has officially begun, everything is going perfectly.”

Adenot was all smiles as she greeted journalists in Toulouse on Monday to discuss the Epsilon mission to the International Space Station (ISS), scheduled for next February, in one of her last public appearances before her departure.

An engineer by training and a helicopter test pilot for the French Air and Space Force, Adenot is France’s first female astronaut since Claudie Haigneré 25 years ago.

The 43-year-old was selected to represent the next generation of European Space Agency (ESA) astronauts in April 2022.

Aiming for the stars lands French astronaut Sophie Adenot a ticket to ISS

To prepare herself, she says can rely on the experience of former astronauts, whom she consults whenever necessary.

“We have everything we need to stay calm because our training is designed by engineers who have been familiar with the ISS operations for over 20 years,” she explained.

“But I’m human,” she went on. “At some point, this serenity will be challenged, but I don’t know when or how. That’s a source of curiosity, in a way.”

Medical research

If all goes to plan, on 15 February she will take her place aboard a SpaceX rocket on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the United States, which will take her to the ISS.

Hundreds of scientific experiments are planned for the 240-day mission, around 10 of which were developed by France through the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).

Her mission will serve three purposes: to improve scientific and medical knowledge, to prepare for the future of space missions and to involve young people.

EU reveals ambitious project to build and print objects in space

Adenot admits that the experiments in the field of health are the ones that most pique her curiosity. “I am intrigued and interested in this type of experiment, because they could have a direct and concrete impact on our everyday lives.”

Adenot will be analysing the effects of weightlessness on astronauts’ organs using medical imaging. Since CT scanner or MRI machines are too bulky to be taken aboard the ISS, she’ll be using ultrasound.

For 40 years, CNES has used its expertise in ultrasound analysis in space, with astronaut Thomas Pesquet employing it during his two previous missions aboard the ISS.

The ultrasound device that Adenot will be testing, called EchoFinder, is revolutionary. It will allow for autonomous ultrasound scans, without prior medical training or ground assistance.

Aristée Thevenon, an engineer at the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology (MEDES), a CNES partner, explains that astronauts will be aided by augmented reality and artificial intelligence displayed on a screen.

“The idea is to place virtual spheres representing the probe’s position into virtual cubes representing the ideal probe position. When we manage to place our spheres into our cubes, it turns green, which means we have found the ideal probe position,” he told RFI.

The experiment will help prepare for future space missions to the Moon and Mars, “where communication delays, sometimes of just a few minutes, will make any real-time guidance from Earth impossible,” Thevenon says.

Back on the ground, the technology could also help improve access for patients in remote areas, where ultrasounds are not necessarily available due to a lack of technical expertise.

“We can also imagine a version for submarines, which are confined environments quite similar to those of the International Space Station,” he added.

Human ‘guinea pigs’

Rémi Canton, head of human spaceflight at CNES says that with EchoFinder, Adenot will play a dual role, both testing the equipment on herself and on fellow crew members.

For eight months, Adenot will become a kind of guinea pig to make it possible to observe physiological phenomena that are unobservable on Earth due to gravity.

This will be the case with PhysioTool, a scientific experiment designed to measure several physiological parameters, including cardiovascular ones, using sensors. 

Marc-Antoine Custaud, a researcher at the University of Angers and sponsor of this study explains that in the absence of gravity, blood circulation slows down.

“This is what we call cardiovascular deconditioning,” he explains. “Our goal is to understand how the cardiovascular system becomes unadapted to gravity, what needs to be done to make it adapt to microgravity, and how to readjust it upon returning to Earth.”

Bacteria under the super-microscope

When it comes to health and wellbeing, cleanliness is a crucial issue for astronauts: 10 percent of their mission time is spent on cleaning.

Sébastien Rouquette is an engineer and head of the Matisse-4 experiment for CNES, which will collect bacteria and bring back samples to Earth in order to analyse them in detail using a super-microscope.

His team wants to understand how micro-organisms associate with each other and settle on the surfaces of the ISS. 

“The goal is to develop innovative surfaces with coatings that limit or prevent bacterial growth,” he tells RFI.

These new antibacterial coatings would offer several advantages: they would limit the use of toxic bactericides on board and allow astronauts to save time, a precious resource on board the ISS.

The research could be useful on Earth too. “I’m thinking of door handles, handrails in the subway or on buses and hospitals. We’re starting to have some pretty serious leads on concrete applications within a few years,” Rouquette says.

How fungi and bacteria could help build habitats on Mars

The next generation

During her mission, Adenot will also conduct an educational experiment called ChlorISS, in partnership with 4,500 French schools.

The idea is to simultaneously germinate Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica rapa japonica (“Minuza”) seeds in microgravity, both on the ISS and on Earth, in order to observe the effects of gravity and light on the growth of these two plants.

Marie Fesuick, who is in charge of the ChlorISS experiment, says it will last 10 days.

“Every day, Adenot will photograph the progress of germination, then she will send the photos to schools. Students will be able to compare these photos with the observations they make in their classrooms and observe any differences,” she explains.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet sets his sights on the Moon after ISS success

Involving young people with experiments on the ISS has become an integral part of space missions.

In 2021, during his second mission, Pesquet conducted a similar experiment with the “blob”, a yellow single-celled creature, neither animal nor plant. 

“We hope to inspire some young people, to spark vocations, not necessarily in space, but in science in general,” explains Fesuick.

Adenot agrees: “It’s important that young people identify with [these] career paths. I will be as generous as possible in sharing my experience with them, as much as time allows.”

A new spacesuit

She will also have the opportunity to test a new space suit, known as the “EuroSuit“.

In development since 2023, it is designed to be worn by the astronaut inside the spacecraft during take-off and docking phases, and in case of emergency.

It was developed as part of a partnership between CNES, the French start-up Spartan Space, the Institute of Space Medicine and Physiology and the innovation branch of the Decathlon sporting goods company.

According to Decathlon, the suit can be “donned or doffed in less than two minutes and completely autonomously”.

Adenot will test the prototype during her mission to validate its ergonomics in microgravity conditions, in conjunction with further tests on the ground.

She has a packed schedule between now and the launch date. She still has to undergo several tests to collect baseline medical data. “We’ll take them aboard the ISS and then compare them with the data I collect when I return to Earth,” she explains.

And she still needs to familiarise herself with handling the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which will take her to the ISS.

“We rehearse the standard procedures and emergency procedures extensively, to be prepared for any eventuality.”

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Baptiste Coulon.

Nam, owner of Hanoi Corner in the bustling Marais neighbourhood, remembers the puzzled looks of his French customers as they discovered not just Vietnamese coffee, but the art of drinking it.

“It’s truly Vietnamese-style coffee, where we take our time,” he tells RFI. “And not everyone has 20 minutes to spare. The Vietnamese filter is the opposite of espresso.”

In Vietnam, coffee is traditionally made using a phin filter – a small metal device that slow-brews coffee drop by drop. 

At Hoa Cà Phê coffee shop in eastern Paris, Diane explains: “What we always tell customers who don’t know Vietnamese coffee at all is that they should try it in its most classic form: phin coffee, black or with condensed milk, hot or cold.”

But French customers are often most intrigued by cà phê trứng – coffee mixed with whisked egg yolks, a Hanoi delicacy.

“We have a high demand for egg coffee,” she says.

A taste of history

French colonisers first brought coffee plants to Vietnam in the 19th century, but it was only after independence that the country truly transformed coffee into an art of its own. 

A century later, it’s the Vietnamese taste that is coming to France.

“For us, coffee is linked to the history between Vietnam and France,” Nam explains. “As I am French of Vietnamese origin, I try to convey a culture that is somewhere between the two countries.

“We are happy because it allows us to showcase another side of Vietnamese culture that is a little less well known.”

The movement is growing fast. “Eight years ago, we were the only Vietnamese café in Paris. Today, I think there are about 15,” Nam says.

And new cafes are opening in the capital and beyond.

Waiters race for glory as Paris revives century-old tradition

‘Vietnamese spirit’

Vietnam’s well-known Cộng Cà Phê chain opened its first French branch in Paris in August this year.

The brand’s distinctive retro decor, evoking Vietnam of the 1970s and 80s, sets it apart from other cafes, according to customer Duyên.

“And its coconut cream coffee is truly original,” she adds.

“When coming to Paris, Cộng didn’t just want to open several coffee shops, but also to convey a Vietnamese spirit, a history of Vietnamese coffee,” says Uyên Trần, the chain’s partnership manager.

The target was firstly the Vietnamese diaspora, she says, then the international public.

‘Invisible’ origins

Vietnam is the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, right behind Brazil. It sent more than 380,000 tonnes to the European Union in 2024, making Europe its largest market.

France is the third-largest importer of Vietnamese coffee in Europe, after Germany and Italy.

Most Vietnamese coffee that reaches Europe is raw robusta, however, which is most often processed or blended into instant coffee or capsules – leaving drinkers unaware of its Vietnamese origin or signature aroma.

“For all Westerners, not just French people, Asia does not exist in terms of coffee,” says Frédéric Fortunel, a food researcher at the University of Le Mans.

“Our perception has been shaped by brands. They have constructed our image of it. And that is the paradox.

“The consequence is that Asian coffee, in general, cannot be promoted as a coffee of origin.”

How Brazil’s booming coffee industry is driving deforestation

Coffee street-style

Vietnamese coffee is distinguished as much by the way it is enjoyed as by its flavour.

For Mai Phuong, co-owner of Vỉahè Càphê near the Place de la Bastille, nothing reflects the essence of Vietnam’s coffee culture quite like small sidewalk cafes.

“For me, the best Vietnamese coffee is the kind you find in small cafes on the pavement, like in the old days,” she says.

Her co-owner and partner, Van Phu, agrees: “That was the idea, to really recreate the experience of how coffee is drunk on the streets of Vietnam.”

It wasn’t an easy concept to sell to Parisians. “It was quite daring,” Mai recalls. “No one understood why they had to sit on these low plastic chairs, like children.

“But little by little, curiosity got the better of them.”

In a bid to improve literacy levels in the country, Mutharika has announced that tuition fees, examination fees, school development fees and fees for identity cards used during examinations have all been abolished.

“I also want to direct that no public school should be requesting learners to make contributions towards the School Development Fund and any other fees, except boarding fees,” Mutharika added.

Secondary school pupils in boarding schools will still need to pay boarding fees, which remain substantial.

The move is expected to increase enrolment and lower the drop-out rate.

Although the latter has improved significantly for primary education – from 11.7 percent in 2009 to 3.2 percent in 2018, according to the national education sector investment plan – retention remains a challenge. The country has a primary school completion rate of 52 percent and a repetition rate of 24.5 percent.

In 2024, 24,371 learners dropped out of primary schools and 24,371 of secondary school. Overall, only 33 percent of children complete primary school and 4 percent upper secondary school, according to figures quoted by Malawi’s Nation newspaper.

Malawians face food insecurity and soaring unemployment as they head to polls

‘The only way out of poverty’

The country is in economic crisis, and has seen the price of goods and services soar. According to the World Bank, it is the fourth poorest in the world, with the majority of people living on less than $2.15 a day, according to 2019 estimates.

“The [previous] government has not been able to mobilise enough revenue to implement its programmes. Overall growth projection remains weak, with GDP projected to grow at 2.8 percent in 2025 from 1.7 percent in 2024, mainly attributed to low agricultural productivity, supply chain constraints and limited industrial capacity,” said Mutharika.

He added that his administration has already started taking steps to address the gaps.

Meet the Kenyan man shaping a francophone future in East Africa

Dr Foster Lungu, an education expert at Mzuzu University, said that the school fees announcement “gives hope”, but questioned how it will be implemented financially.

“Come January [when the policy is set to take effect], you may find that the schools are not well resourced, and this line of income to the schools was helping to resource those schools. Then it will be a pinch – more or less back to square one.”

Commenting on the development, Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono said that abolishing school fees is an “excellent start” and “a progressive move, because national education remains the only real way out of poverty for the African child”.

Chin’ono also noted, however, that around 30 percent of Malawi’s national budget is lost through corruption, quoting organisations including Transparency International.

“If [Mutharika] successfully stops this 30 percent looting, he could fund free primary and secondary education using the recovered resources… Africa has enough money to fund public services such as education.”

The cathedral was reopened on 7 December, 2024, after more than five years of renovation work, in the presence of heads of state, including French President Emmanuel Macron and US president-elect Donald Trump.

Notre-Dame has welcomed “approximately 11 million visitors “since reopening, about 30 percent more than before the fire, said Sybille Bellamy-Brown, head of visitor management at the cathedral.

In comparison, the Louvre museum in Paris welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year and seven million tourists pay to see the Eiffel Tower each year.

Notre-Dame reborn: the epic quest that saved France’s sacred heart

Colombian tourist Maria Vega could not imagine visiting Paris without seeing the iconic cathedral.

“It’s particularly important for me since I’ve recently reconnected with the church,” the 22-year-old said, marvelling at the restoration.

“The beauty and simplicity are striking.”

Records broken

The cathedral has surpassed its annual attendance levels of an estimated eight to nine million people before the fire on April 15, 2019, which tore through the roof and framework of the masterpiece of 12th-century Gothic art.

Since reopening after a colossal renovation project funded by €843 million in donations, the site draws lines of people stretching across the cathedral forecourt.

Preserving the sound of history: how scientists safeguarded Notre-Dame’s acoustics

Individuals can still enter for free without reservations, but faced with the influx, Notre-Dame has sought to “regulate” entries, particularly during services.

More than 1,600 services are to be held this year and the cathedral has seen a boom in pilgrimages, with over 650, a third of them from abroad.

While €140 million remain from donations, more is needed to complete the restoration of the building – already in poor condition before the fire, according to the Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris public body.

(with AFP)

The measures were spelt out in the US- and UN-backed peace plan that has largely halted the fighting in the Palestinian territory, though the warring parties have yet to agree on how to move forward from the deal’s first phase.

Its initial steps saw Israeli troops pull back behind a so-called “yellow line” within Gaza’s borders, while Palestinian militant group Hamas released the living hostages it still held and handed over the remains of all but one of the deceased.

“Now we are at the critical moment… A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces, (and) there is stability back in Gaza,” Qatari premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Doha Forum, an annual diplomatic conference on Saturday.

Qatar, alongside Egypt and the United States, helped secure the long-elusive truce in Gaza, which came into effect on 10 October and has mostly halted two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Ceasefire violations

Under a second phase of the deal, which has yet to begin, Israel is to withdraw from its positions in the territory, an interim authority is to take over governance, and an international stabilisation force is to be deployed.

Key sticking points have emerged over the implementation of the second phase, notably the question of Hamas’s disarmament.

Hamas is supposed to disarm under the 20-point plan first outlined by US President Donald Trump, with members who decommission their weapons allowed to leave Gaza. The militant group has repeatedly rejected the proposition.

Under the plan endorsed by the UN in November, Gaza is to be administered by a transitional governing body known as the “Board of Peace”.

It would be chaired by Trump, while the identities of the other members have yet to be announced.

Arab and Muslim nations, however, have been hesitant to participate in the new force, which could end up fighting Palestinian militants.

Europeans, Arabs flesh out Gaza transition ideas following ceasefire

Turkey‘s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the forum that talks on the force were ongoing, with critical questions remaining as to its command structure and which countries would contribute.

But its first goal, Fidan said, “should be to separate Palestinians from the Israelis”.

“This should be our main objective. Then we can address the other remaining issues,” he added.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, also speaking at the Doha Forum, said the international force needed to be deployed “as soon as possible on the ground because one party, which is Israel, is every day violating the ceasefire.”

He called for the force to be deployed along “the yellow line in order to verify and to monitor” the truce.

There have been multiple deadly incidents of Israeli forces firing on Palestinians in the vicinity of the yellow line since the ceasefire went into effect.

Justice for both sides

Turkey, which is also a guarantor of the truce, has indicated it wants to take part in the stabilisation force, but its efforts are viewed unfavourably in Israel, which considers Ankara too close to Hamas.

Fidan later said at the Doha Forum that the disarmament of Hamas should not be the main priority in Gaza.

“That cannot be the first thing to do in the process, the disarming. We need to put things in (their) proper order, we have to be realistic,” he said.

He also urged the US to intervene with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu to ensure the plan succeeds.

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

“If they don’t intervene, I’m afraid there is a risk the plan can fail,” Fidan said.

“The amount of daily violations of the ceasefire by the Israelis is indescribable at the moment and all indicators are showing that there is a huge risk of stopping the process,” he added.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar and the other truce guarantors were “getting together in order to force the way forward for the next phase” of the deal.

“And this next phase is just also temporary from our perspective,” he said, calling for a “lasting solution that provides justice for both people”.

Aid deliveries

The ceasefire plan calls for Gaza’s vital Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt to be reopened to allow in aid – a goal shared by humanitarian actors.

Israel this week said it would open the checkpoint, but “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt”.

‘Post-apocalyptic wasteland’: aid worker describes enduring horror in Gaza

Egypt swiftly denied that it had agreed to such a move, insisting the crossing be opened in both directions.

Israel’s announcement drew expressions of concern from several Muslim-majority nations, who said they opposed “any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land”.

Abdelatty insisted on Saturday that Rafah “is not going to be a gateway for displacement. It’s only for flooding Gaza with humanitarian and medical care”.

(with AFP)

The French charity Sidaction, which works on HIV prevention and support, said the rise in what it calls harmful messages of male domination, sexism and sexual violence carries dangerous consequences for prevention and sexual health.

In a statement this week, Sidaction said the issue is not only the content itself but also the way platforms amplify it through algorithms that favour sensationalist formats and boost posts built on provocation and shock.

To push back, the NGO has taken a creative tack. It has seeded TikTok with a series of viral-style videos that imitate the swaggering codes of so-called “alpha” influencers, aiming to reintroduce messages of prevention, respect and reliable information directly into young men’s feeds.

The campaign – entitled “Alpha Safe: when toxic masculinity goes viral, setting the record straight becomes vital” – was launched alongside a new OpinionWay poll that underscores just how widely masculinist ideas are circulating.

Stamping out misinformation in France’s fight against HIV-Aids

Dangers of ‘stealthing’

According to the survey, more than one in three young men aged 16 to 34 – 37 percent – consume masculinist content on social media.

Among those aged 25 to 34 who are familiar with the influencers pushing these ideas, one in two believe their content “finally tells the truth”.

More than half of respondents feel that men are too often accused of exaggerated or false sexual violence, while just over 50 percent say it remains important to be “manly”.

Florence Thune, Sidaction’s director, has warned that such beliefs “increase risk taking” and “deeply destabilise the culture of consent, which is central to the fight against HIV”.

One of the clearest signs of that shift comes from attitudes towards “stealthing” – the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex.

France changes criminal code to define rape as sex without consent

Nearly one in five men aged 25 to 34 say they “understand” the practice – a figure which rises to one in three among those who subscribe to masculinist theories.

Stealthing became a political flashpoint in France during a vote at the end of October on a law incorporating non-consent into the criminal definition of rape. A proposed amendment seeking to create a specific offence for stealthing was rejected by the National Assembly.

Sidaction argues that tackling toxic online content is part of a broader, urgent need to strengthen education on emotional, relational and sexual life – known in France as EVARS – particularly in light of a 10-year surge in HIV diagnoses among 15 to 24-year-olds.

Together with Planning Familial and SOS Homophobie, the organisation has taken the Paris Administrative Court to task for failing to enforce the 2001 law requiring three annual sex education sessions from primary through secondary school. A ruling is expected on Tuesday.

Growing ‘masculinist’ culture in France slows down fight against sexism

Funding in decline

This comes as France’s National Council on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis (CNS) calls for an “urgent remobilisation of public authorities”, warning that declining public funding at home and abroad is putting four decades of progress at risk.

With major donors – including the United States and France – scaling back contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the CNS says HIV programmes worldwide are under threat.

The lack of a French pledge at the recent Global Fund summit in November, as well as President Emmanuel Macron’s absence from the Johannesburg event, has drawn criticism from organisations including Sidaction and Aides.

The CNS notes that this comes at a time when medical innovations such as long-acting injectable PrEP could help accelerate prevention and support the goal of ending the pandemic by 2030.

(with newswires)

They are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles. All have lost a loved one in the armed conflict in Colombia. All are still searching for the truth about their disappearances.

So when Spanish-Argentinian photographer Zahara Gomez Lucini asked them to take part in a project in memory of the disappeared, they all agreed. 

The artist and activist’s book Recetario para la Memoria (“Recipe Book for Remembrance”) is an act of resistance.

Families contribute the recipe for the favourite dish of the person they have lost. In this way, Lucini makes those who are absent visible again, and conveys the pain of the families while inviting dialogue.

“I wanted to bring the subject of disappearances back to the table by approaching it in a different way. Not in an academic or technical way,” she explains.

“The aim was to extend the debate beyond the circle of experts and journalists. Colombia has a lot to teach us on this subject, whether through its transitional justice for peace or its theatrical and musical works.”

The book is the third she has made of its kind, with the first two created with the families of disappeared people in Mexico.

Turkish artist draws attention to the disappeared

Forty-four Colombian families joined the project, which is now on display at La Casa de la Memoria museum in Medellin.

The museum has installed a typical Colombian kitchen in the centre of its exhibition space. There’s a refrigerator, kitchen utensils and a wood-burning stove, and a table of ingredients, plates and bowls.

On the walls, panels display recipes accompanied by two photos: one of the dish and the other of the person who cooked it, a relative of a victim of enforced disappearance.   

Patricia Zapata took part in the project for her nephew Jorge, who disappeared in 2017.

“He was a rap singer. He had gone out to shoot the video for his latest song. And since then, there has been no news. I prepared red beans from Antioquia. They are served with plantains, rice, an egg and chicharrons – fried pork rinds.”

Patricia is part of a collective which organises regular demonstrations in memory of those who have disappeared. “It’s hard. Very hard. And there are moments, like this exhibition, that break our hearts, but it’s necessary.”

Families desperate for news of Ukraine’s disappeared

‘Restoring humanity’

After the exhibition’s opening, the public were invited to share a meal with the victims’ families.

A cooking workshop was also organised for students at the Universidad National of Medellin.

Valery Giraldo, a history student who took part, said: “It was a very good initiative. It’s another way of telling these stories of disappearance that we tend to forget. Above all, I listened to their stories. I am really very moved.”

Among the cooks that day was Maria Eugenia Naranjo. She lost her son in 2019.

“We made three dishes: soup, pasta and beans. At first, the project seemed strange to me. But I quickly realised that it was important. It reminds society of our need to discover the truth about the disappearance of our loved ones. It’s hard to live with uncertainty about their fate.”

Alongside the Colombian families is Viviana Mendoza, a Mexican buscadora (a “searcher”) who was part of Gomez Lucini’s first recipe book. She is participating in the Colombian project to show that the fight for the truth crosses borders.   

“My brother Manuel disappeared in 2018. Armed men came to his home and took him away. I continue to search for him myself in the mass graves. Here, I have prepared a caldo de espinazo [a pork soup] to restore my brother’s humanity. Because we quickly forget that they are human beings, not just names or numbers. We have normalised violence and horror too much.”  

In Colombia, according to the latest report from the Search Unit for Missing Persons in 2025, 132,877 people have been reported missing due to the armed conflict.   

After the signing of the peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group in 2016, the International Committee of the Red Cross documented more than 2,000 additional cases.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Najet Benrabaa, RFI’s correspondent in Bogota.

Japan has seen the starkest rise in attacks. Seven people were killed in October and authorities counted 88 incidents that month. With 13 deaths so far this year, the country has reported its highest number of bear-related fatalities on record.

In the country’s northern Akita province, officials have called in the army in an attempt to manage the situation.

“It is surprising. Attacks happen from time to time in Japan, but it is getting worse lately. What also surprises us is that we do not know all the factors behind this rise in attacks,” David Garshelis, vice president of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bear Specialist Group, told RFI.

Melting Arctic ice sees 56 hungry polar bears gather near a Russian village

Spike in Central Europe

Across Europe, scientists who track large predators say bears are appearing more often in places where they were once rarely seen.

“It’s happening in Slovakia, in Romania, in Slovenia too… and in Greece as well, where there are practically no attacks on humans but bears still come into villages,” said Djuro Huber, an emeritus professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

After several attacks in 2024, the Slovakian government declared a state of emergency across two thirds of the country. The environment minister said encounters between people and bears jumped from 650 in 2020 to 1,900 in 2024.

This rise has reshaped long-held assumptions about how often people and bears meet. Bear attacks remain rare but have increased from “less than two a year from 1999-2003” to “nearly 11 a year since 2021”, explained Robin Rigg, president of the Slovak Wildlife Society.

Human behaviour

The pattern reflects a simple link: the more encounters, the higher the risk. And encounters increase when outdoor activities expand into places where bears live.

“We see, for example, more human presence in bear zones. And with activities that carry high risks, like going jogging in a bear zone or taking selfies with bears,” said Guillaume Chapron, a French carnivore expert at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Unfortunately, this kind of situation can end badly.”

Stronger bear populations are not the main reason behind the trend – and are actually a conservation success, Chapron added. “We can say it is a success for nature conservation. We see the same with wolves and lynx in Europe.”

Experts stress that most bears try to avoid people and usually react only when startled or threatened.

“When a bear attacks a person, the most common reason is fear. But it does not attack to kill you, even less to eat you,” Huber said. “A common example is when a mother wants to protect her cubs.”

Sea Shepherd offers €30,000 ‘bounty’ to identify killer of bear in French Pyrenees

Bears near homes

What worries many experts is how close bears are now getting to people’s homes.

In Japan, they have been spotted in village streets and even inside a supermarket. Some link the change to rural areas losing residents, leaving space that wildlife quickly fills.

“Humans leave what is considered suitable habitat by bears, so bears settle there and the small remaining rural population finds itself facing a high number of bears,” said Garshelis.

Waste left in the open is also drawing bears into towns.

“It is because of people who do not dispose of their waste properly. All the countries that have bears in the Americas understood this a long time ago, but we are still discovering it,” Huber said.

Even small changes to farming can alter bear behaviour. In northern India, in the Himalayas, farmers switching from growing potatoes to lettuce “was enough to attract bears”, Garshelis added.

Bear trouble spreads in the French Pyrénées: Pt.1

Climate change impact

Scientists say warming temperatures are likely to be playing a role too.

“We can expect shorter hibernation periods, which could also lead to more human-bear interactions… even loss of natural habitat for bears that could have a negative impact on their behaviour,” said Rigg.

Researchers have yet to determine exactly how warming temperatures are reshaping bear habits, but early signs point to real shifts.

“We still do not understand very well how this affects bears,” Garshelis said, noting that changes are already visible in some regions. In the Himalayas, for example, Asian black bears are now appearing in areas that previously offered unsuitable altitude and climate.

In Uttarakhand in northern India, five people have been killed this year by Asian black bears, The Indian Express reported. State officials linked the rise in attacks to changes in bear behaviour tied to warmer temperatures, food shortages, poor waste management and damage to habitat.

An unnamed wildlife official in the town of Badrinath told the newspaper that the animals are also delaying hibernation. “Usually, the bears leave in early November, but this year they have raided crops, attacked humans and eaten their livestock,” he said.

Japan shows similar signs of change. Successive storms have damaged vegetation and reduced food supplies, with beech nuts hit especially hard. Japanese experts had warned in 2023 that food shortages were pushing bears towards towns ahead of hibernation.

Rising bear numbers in French Pyrenees mask long-term fears for species’ survival

However, despite the global rise in attacks, experts emphasise that the overall danger to people remains low. “In general, you are more likely to be struck by lightning,” Chapron said.

The IUCN Red List classifies six of the eight bear species as vulnerable, with only the brown bear and the American black bear considered of lesser concern.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Léo Roussel.

More than 50 people died in the floods, thousands more were displaced – and an agricultural landscape a generation in the making was washed away in a single night.

Eighteen months later, the pain and uncertainty have not receded.

Forty minutes away in Naivasha, Grace, a small-scale farmer, mother of three and lifelong resident, stands on what remains of her farmland.

Where vegetables once grew, stagnant brown pools shimmer as the returning rains pour down. The foundations of her house lie broken, like a shattered clay pot. She wraps a torn shawl around her shoulders and looks to the sky as if for an answer.

“The flood took our goats, our seeds, even our soil,” she said, exhausted. “We are starting from nothing again.”

She is not alone in this. Across the Naivasha basin, families returned to plots that are no longer viable. Their wells are contaminated. Their cattle have died. Their savings were spent trying to survive. And now, as the rains return, the nightmare threatens to repeat itself.

‘Seasons are breaking down’

It is here that Dr Kamau, a climate scientist based in Naivasha, spends his days tracking shifting weather patterns.

His office is cluttered with satellite printouts and rainfall charts, and his boots still caked in mud. When he explains the changes he’s seeing, he barely looks at the papers – he knows the numbers by heart.

“We are witnessing climate whiplash,” he says. “Drought one year, floods the next. The seasons that once defined East African life are breaking down. Communities can’t adapt fast enough.”

For farmers like Grace, adaptation requires more than patience – it takes money, government support and time, and none are in ready supply.

Africa Climate Summit puts financing and resilience under the spotlight

Climate refugees

Whilst Kenya is drowning, across the border Somalia is cracking under the pressure of drought.

In Dadaab, dusty winds whip across a refugee settlement that has grown into a city in its own right. Thousands of Somali families have arrived here, fleeing not conflict but the effects of the drought.

Among them is 53-year-old Fadumo, a mother of eight from central Somalia who once owned 20 goats and a small sorghum plot.

Rich nations pledge $250bn for climate aid, but Africa demands more

But year after year, the rains didn’t come. Crops failed. Wells dried up. When her children were surviving on a single cup of tea a day, Grace did the only thing she could – she left.

“I walked for days to find water,” she says, sitting outside the temporary shelter that is now her home. “We hoped the rain would come back. But it never did.”

Her story is echoed across the Horn of Africa. Somalia has experienced its longest and most intense drought in 40 years. Humanitarian agencies also report that millions go hungry, and hundreds of thousands are displaced.

‘Paying the price’

In Kenya, Dr Kamau shakes his head when asked whether these crises can be considered natural disasters.

“Floods and droughts have always existed,” he says. “But the scale, frequency and erratic swings we’re seeing now are climate-driven. And the people paying the price are the ones who did almost nothing to cause this problem.”

East Africa accounts for less than 3 percent of global emissions, but its communities are losing livelihoods, homes and sometimes their lives.

As world leaders prepare to gather in Nairobi from 8-12 December for the seventh United Nations Environment Assembly, many in the region are asking the same question: what does climate justice look like when those who so the least to cause it suffer the most?

France’s national football team coach Didier Deschamps was enthusiastic as he responded to the press after the draw announcement in Washington, where France and Norway came out alongside Senegal in a tough-looking Group I.

“It will be a great duel,” Deschamps told reporters, keenly anticipating a showdown between star players Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland.

France will be looking to win a third World Cup to make up for losing the 2022 final on penalties to Argentina in Qatar.

“Both teams have lots of other big names, but of course Kylian and Haaland are two players recognised around the world and they will be two of the contenders to be the top scorer,” Deschamps said.

Mbappé has scored 30 goals in 24 games for Real Madrid and France since the beginning of this season, while Haaland has netted 33 in 24 appearances for Manchester City and Norway.

Haaland’s goals helped Norway top their qualifying group ahead of Italy as they secured a first appearance at the World Cup finals since 1998.

Group I will be completed by the winner of one of the intercontinental play-offs to take place in March, from either Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname.

First steps most difficult

A meeting with Senegal brings back memories of 2002, when France went to the tournament in Japan and South Korea as holders but lost to the west African nation in their opening match and ended up being eliminated in the group stage.

“Every World Cup has its own story and we need to make sure this one is as beautiful as possible,” added Deschamps, who will step down after the tournament to bring an end to a 14-year reign at the helm of Les Bleus.

If France top their section, they will play one of the best third-placed teams from the group stage in the round of 32. But then it is likely that Germany would stand in their way in the last 16.

“Of course, as France we have a status and there is a lot of expectation around us, but we need to show respect and humility from the beginning,” added Deschamps.

France reach World Cup on day of tributes to victims of Paris terrorist attacks

“Before thinking about what is at the top of the mountain, we will need to work our way up gradually and the first steps are difficult.”

The World Cup tournament will be held across the USA, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in 2022.

While the US will host most matches, including the final at the MetLife Stadium outside New York, three of the 16 venues will be in Mexico and two in Canada.

The opening game sees Mexico play South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in Group A, which also features South Korea and a qualifier.

Highest-ranked nations kept apart

For the first time, the draw was done in such a way as to ensure the four highest-ranked nations were kept apart – Spain, Argentina, France and England cannot meet before the semi-finals, if all top their groups.

Reigning European champions Spain will kick off their campaign against first-time qualifiers Cape Verde before also taking on Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group H.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina begin their defense of the trophy they won in Qatar in 2022 by facing Algeria, and will also play Austria and debutants Jordan in Group J.

Thomas Tuchel’s England, seeking to win a first World Cup since 1966, will be expected to top Group L ahead of 2018 finalists Croatia, Ghana and Panama.

2026 World Cup: Africa’s also-rans clash in play-offs for last chance gala

Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil and surprise 2022 semi-finalists Morocco will meet in Group C, which also features Scotland and Haiti – Scotland and Brazil will meet for the fifth time at a World Cup.

Germany’s opponents in Group E will be Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador and Caribbean minnows Curacao, while Portugal face Uzbekistan, Colombia and a play-off winner in Group K.

The United States got a manageable draw, with Paraguay, Australia and a European play-off winner in Group D.

Group B: Canada, Qatar, Switzerland and a qualifier.

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, a qualifier, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

(with AFP)

Gehry’s representative Meaghan Lloyd told French news agency AFP that he died early Friday at his home in Santa Monica following a brief respiratory illness.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed Gehry’s “unmistakable vision.”

Gehry was perhaps the biggest of the so-called “starchitects” – an elite group that includes Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and others – and enjoyed his fame, but absolutely hated the label.

“There are people who design buildings that are not technically and financially good, and there are those who do,” he told The Independent in 2009. “Two categories, simple.”

His artistic genius and boldness shone through in his complex designs – such as the glass “sails” of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

He popularised contemporary architecture, and became such a sensation that he was featured on The Simpsons – all while insisting he was a simple maker of buildings.

“I work with clients who respect the art of architecture,” he said in 2014, according to his biographer Paul Goldberger.

Many of his buildings – irregularly-shaped metal facades that can look like crumpled paper – could only be realised with the help of computer design tools, which he fully embraced.

British Pompidou Centre architect Richard Rogers dies aged 88

Pushing the limits

For a period, architects avoided the use of rounded or curved shapes as they caused headaches for engineers and led to spiralling construction costs.

Gehry pushed back, using 3D modelling software similar to that used by aerospace firms to create unique building shapes while keeping costs in line with what developers would pay for a more conventional building of similar dimensions.

The Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas – its walls and windows appearing to have melted under the hot desert sun – is a classic example of Gehry’s groundbreaking vision.

“I love working. I love working things out,” he told The Guardian in 2019.

Arguably one of his most iconic designs is the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, which earned him international acclaim and notice.

The limestone and glass building with curvy walls clad in titanium scales is instantly recognisable as a Gehry design, and was once described by his American colleague Philip Johnson as “the greatest building of our time.”

The building helped revitalise the ancient industrial heart of the Spanish city, attracting visitors from around the world and leading to the coining of the term “Bilbao effect” to explain how beautiful architecture can transform an area.

Pritzker Prize goes to French duo who refuse ‘the madness of demolition’

“We will be forever grateful, and his spirit and legacy will always remain connected to Bilbao,” the museum said on social media.

Emboldened, Gehry would take even greater risks in his next projects, which included the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003), the Beekman Tower in New York (2011), and the Fondation Louis Vuitton (2014).

LVMH chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault said he was “profoundly saddened” by Gehry’s death, calling him a “genius of lightness, transparency and grace.”

Audacious, avant-garde

Born Frank Owen Goldberg in Toronto on February 28, 1929, to a Jewish family that would move to the United States in the late 1940s, he later changed his name to Gehry to avoid becoming the target of antisemitism.

He studied architecture at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, graduating in 1954 before enlisting in the US Army and later continuing his studies in city planning at Harvard University, though he did not finish the program.

Classy & glassy, luxury Louis Vuitton unveils cultural centre entirely in glass

Gehry eventually returned to Los Angeles to start his career working for Victor Gruen, a pioneer in the design of shopping malls.

He went on to work in Paris with Andrew Remondet in 1961 before returning to Los Angeles, establishing his own architectural practice the following year.

The ’70s and ’80s would mark the rollout of a long series of his most audacious and innovative architectural achievements, many of them in southern California.

Close to the avant-garde “funk” art scene in California, Gehry’s deconstructionist and experimental style – sometimes derided as crude – is hard to categorise.

His fondness for pushing the limits is maybe best reflected in his seminal reworking in 1978 of his own home in Santa Monica, where he long resided – it features corrugated metal wrapped around the original 1920s building.

Gehry received the highest architectural honor, the Pritzker Prize, in 1989.

(with AFP)

Lebanon has been a refuge for diverse peoples and religious groups since ancient times. Christians have been rooted there for more than 2,000 years, and remained even as the region became the centre of Islamic empires.

Their influence grew over the centuries and reached a high point with the creation of Greater Lebanon in 1920, with help from France – the country in charge under an international mandate.

During this period, France drew Lebanon’s modern borders and introduced state institutions that shaped the early administration, courts and security forces. Christian influence was thus anchored in the founding texts of the Lebanese Republic in 1943.

Today, after years of outside control by Syria and Israel, civil wars, economic collapses and the Beirut port explosion, Christians still hold leading roles in a country struggling to hold itself together.

From protector to onlooker: how France lost its influence in Lebanon

Sharing power

While the Christian clans did not win the 1975-1990 civil war, which killed 150,000 people, nor did the Taif peace agreement push them out of power.

It reorganised state institutions to reflect demographic change, including faster growth among Muslim communities and a shrinking Christian population caused by emigration and lower birth rates. The Taif Agreement also shifted a large share of the president’s powers to the cabinet.

Even with these changes, the revised constitution of 1990 – which amended 31 articles – kept strict parity between Muslims and Christians across state institutions. The cabinet and parliament, senior civil service roles, the judiciary and the top ranks of the army and security forces all follow this rule.

The government, as the core of the executive, still has equal numbers of Muslim and Christian ministers.

Taif also reaffirmed the unwritten 1943 National Pact, which says the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.

That rule has held ever since, except for a short period in the late 1980s when outgoing president Amine Gemayel appointed army chief Michel Aoun, a Maronite, as prime minister. Muslim leaders rejected the move and continued to recognise the Sunni prime minister Salim el Hoss, leaving Lebanon with two rival governments.

France’s Macron hails UN decision to extend peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

Christians in key posts

Maronites continue to hold many of the state’s top positions in Lebanon. The army commander is always a Maronite, as are the governor of the Bank of Lebanon, the president of the Supreme Judicial Council, the director general of customs and the head of the central inspection body. Many other senior roles also go to members of the Christian community.

Parity is strictly applied in parliament, which elects the president. The chamber has 128 members, split equally between Christians and Muslims. Maronites hold 34 of the 64 Christian seats, making them the largest Christian bloc. Sunnis and Shias each have 27 seats, while Druze deputies have eight and Alawites – who follow Alawism, an offshoot of Shia Islam – have two.

The deputy speaker is always a Greek Orthodox member.

Five years after Beirut port explosion justice and recovery remain elusive

Courts and the army

The judiciary mirrors this balance. The Supreme Judicial Council is led by a Maronite. The prosecutor general is always a Sunni and the head of the financial prosecution office is a Shia. Christians hold half of all regional prosecutor posts. The country’s top court, the Court of Justice, is also chaired by a Maronite.

The military applies parity at officer level, though the most senior posts remain in Maronite hands. These include the heads of military intelligence, operations and other top functions. Among lower ranks, Sunnis and Shias are believed to outnumber Christians by about two to one, although no official figures exist.

The modern army traces part of its structure back to the mandate-era Troupes Spéciales, an early force set up under French command.

Macron hosts Lebanon’s president, reiterating French support for ‘sovereignty’

Economic weight

Meanwhile, Christians also lead several major economic bodies. The Association of Industrialists, the Union of Insurance Companies, the Association of Business Leaders and the powerful Association of Banks are all headed by Christians – even though their statutes do not require it.

Some professional organisations, such as the Bar Association, are also traditionally led by Christians.

If power were shared according to population size, Christians would hold far fewer posts. The last census was carried out in 1932 – none have been held since because counting religious groups is seen as too politically sensitive an exercise.

Discussion of what Lebanese people call “the count” remains taboo, but it is widely acknowledged that Christians now make up no more than a quarter of the population. The Maronite Church remains one of the country’s largest landowners despite the fall in its number of followers.

‘A new social contract’

Many Lebanese people, both Christian and Muslim, say the existing system cannot continue indefinitely.

In October 2019, thousands of Lebanese from all religious communities took to the streets demanding a change to the current power-sharing system. For five months, demonstrations were held in many cities under the slogan “kellon yaʿni kellon”, meaning “all of the political class, regardless of sect, must go”.

“That’s a fundamental break from the past. The Lebanese aspire to a new social contract not based on clientelism and sectarianism,” French-Lebanese Middle East analyst Karim Bitar told The Times of Israel at the time. 

The most recent United States government Report on International Religious Freedom for Lebanon, from 2023, identified “exacerbated sectarian tensions” and warned that the country’s long-standing commitment to pluralism is facing unprecedented strain.

This story was adapted from the original version in French by Paul Khalifeh in Beirut.

The reform, approved at a Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday, reverses the country’s 2018 abolition of the death penalty and forms part of a wider legal overhaul undertaken by the junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

The bill must still pass parliament before entering into force.

Burkina Faso’s Justice Minister, Edasso Rodrigue Bayala, said the revisions were designed to create a justice system that responded to “the deep aspirations of our people”.

He also argued that the absence of capital punishment had created fertile ground for insecurity, claiming that armed groups used the abolition to reassure young recruits and invoked international conventions to shield themselves in the event of arrest.

Without tougher penalties, he said, “there are no sanctions”.

Burkina Faso aims to reinstate death penalty, government source says

Tougher penalties

Burkina Faso remains at the epicentre of jihadist violence in the Sahel, where armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have carried out attacks for more than a decade, and the junta has framed political and social restrictions as necessary tools in the fight against extremism.

Since seizing power in 2022, the military authorities have postponed elections, dissolved the independent electoral commission and pushed through a raft of institutional changes they say are necessary to restore security.

The revised penal code toughens penalties for several offences, increasing fines and making economic crimes such as embezzlement or corruption involving sums of over 5 billion CFA francs – around €7.6 million – punishable by life imprisonment.

It also criminalises the “promotion of homosexual practices and similar acts”. The junta passed another reform in September making homosexuality illegal, the first time it has been outlawed in Burkina Faso.

Traoré has pursued a fiercely sovereigntist line, rejecting what he calls “Western values”.

Military regimes have turned the Sahel into a ‘black hole’ of information

Shrinking civil space

Rights watchdogs say the government is shrinking the space for public scrutiny even as it tightens control over political life.

A Netherlands-based NGO confirmed on Friday that eight staff members detained on spying accusations had been released at the end of October. The International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), which provides security analysis for humanitarian groups, rejected the allegations.

Burkinabé authorities had claimed INSO had collected and passed on sensitive security information about the country to foreign powers, and that its members continued to work covertly despite being banned.

The eight members included a Frenchman, a French-Senegalese woman, a Czech man, a Malian and four Burkinabé nationals.

Meanwhile, media outlets and civil society groups have also come under mounting pressure. The junta has suspended the BBC and Voice of America over their reporting on a mass killing last year attributed to the armed forces, and several journalists have been arrested.

In December 2022, Burkina Faso’s authorities ordered the “immediate suspension until further notice” of RFI broadcasts across the national territory.

(with newswires)

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.

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. You must get your resolutions to me by 15 December to be included in the show. 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 counselled 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 1 November, I asked you to listen to RFI English journalist Melissa Chemam’s podcast Spotlight on Africa: “Inside Côte d’Ivoire’s pivotal election: voices of hope and uncertainty”. Melissa had traveled to Côte d’Ivoire to cover their presidential election and talked to a wide variety of people about their hopes, their fears, and their desires for their country. Near the beginning of the show, Melissa talks about women who, she says, were very involved in the campaigns – as event organizers, supporters, and mothers. Melissa enumerates the main concerns of the Ivorian women – and that was your question. What are the four main concerns the women of Côte d’Ivoire voiced during the presidential campaign?

The answers are, as Melissa noted in her podcast, work, school for kids, childcare, and healthcare.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: How do you make friends as an adult?

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Father Stephen Wara. Father Stephen is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Father Steve!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India; Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State in India; Helmut Matt from Herzbolheim, Germany, and last but not least, Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Tapez fort” produced by DJ Tevecinq; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams;  “Little Toot” by Allie Wrubel, sung by the Andrews Sisters, and “Little Rootie Tootie” by Thelonious Monk, performed by Monk and the Thelonius Monk Trio. 

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 Jan van der Made’s article “On NATO’s eastern flank, Romania finds itself at the crux of European security”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 19 January to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 24 January 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. 

The recent murder in Marseille of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, the younger brother of a well-known anti-drugs campaigner, has highlighted the growing problem of drug-related organised crime in France. The government has promised tougher repressive measures, but what if civil society also had a role to play? Inspired by the example of Italy, the Crim’HALT association campaigns for the official recognition of victims of organised crime. Its co-founder, Fabrice Rizzoli, talks about taking ordinary citizens to see firsthand how Italian anti-mafia initiatives work. Jean-Toussaint Plasenzotti, who founded the anti-mafia collective Massimu Susini following the murder of his nephew in 2019 in Corsica, and Hassna Arabi, whose relative Socayna was killed by a stray bullet in 2023, explain how travelling to Italy with Crim-HALT has helped their work back home. (Listen @0′)

As Europe looks to increase its defence capacity in the face of war in Ukraine and threats from Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a special military service aimed at recruiting a new generation of soldiers. Unlike the mandatory military service that was suspended in 1997, the new format would be voluntary – and paid. Historian and army reservist Guillaume Lasconjarias says that in providing a way for young people to be of service, the scheme responds to something they want. (Listen @17’30”)

Forty years after Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped Paris’s Pont Neuf in September 1985, opening the door to monumental public art displays, the city has approved a new project on the bridge by artist JR. (Listen @11’45”)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

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.

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. You must get your resolutions to me by 15 December to be included in the show. 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 counselled 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 1 November, I asked you to listen to RFI English journalist Melissa Chemam’s podcast Spotlight on Africa: “Inside Côte d’Ivoire’s pivotal election: voices of hope and uncertainty”. Melissa had traveled to Côte d’Ivoire to cover their presidential election and talked to a wide variety of people about their hopes, their fears, and their desires for their country. Near the beginning of the show, Melissa talks about women who, she says, were very involved in the campaigns – as event organizers, supporters, and mothers. Melissa enumerates the main concerns of the Ivorian women – and that was your question. What are the four main concerns the women of Côte d’Ivoire voiced during the presidential campaign?

The answers are, as Melissa noted in her podcast, work, school for kids, childcare, and healthcare.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: How do you make friends as an adult?

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Father Stephen Wara. Father Stephen is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Father Steve!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India; Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State in India; Helmut Matt from Herzbolheim, Germany, and last but not least, Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Tapez fort” produced by DJ Tevecinq; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams;  “Little Toot” by Allie Wrubel, sung by the Andrews Sisters, and “Little Rootie Tootie” by Thelonious Monk, performed by Monk and the Thelonius Monk Trio. 

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 Jan van der Made’s article “On NATO’s eastern flank, Romania finds itself at the crux of European security”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 19 January to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 24 January 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. 

The recent murder in Marseille of 20-year-old Mehdi Kessaci, the younger brother of a well-known anti-drugs campaigner, has highlighted the growing problem of drug-related organised crime in France. The government has promised tougher repressive measures, but what if civil society also had a role to play? Inspired by the example of Italy, the Crim’HALT association campaigns for the official recognition of victims of organised crime. Its co-founder, Fabrice Rizzoli, talks about taking ordinary citizens to see firsthand how Italian anti-mafia initiatives work. Jean-Toussaint Plasenzotti, who founded the anti-mafia collective Massimu Susini following the murder of his nephew in 2019 in Corsica, and Hassna Arabi, whose relative Socayna was killed by a stray bullet in 2023, explain how travelling to Italy with Crim-HALT has helped their work back home. (Listen @0′)

As Europe looks to increase its defence capacity in the face of war in Ukraine and threats from Russia, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a special military service aimed at recruiting a new generation of soldiers. Unlike the mandatory military service that was suspended in 1997, the new format would be voluntary – and paid. Historian and army reservist Guillaume Lasconjarias says that in providing a way for young people to be of service, the scheme responds to something they want. (Listen @17’30”)

Forty years after Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped Paris’s Pont Neuf in September 1985, opening the door to monumental public art displays, the city has approved a new project on the bridge by artist JR. (Listen @11’45”)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

France is once again mired in political turmoil after the National Assembly last week overwhelmingly rejected the revenue side of the 2026 budget.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is trying a new method: rather than attempting to push a full budget through a fractured parliament, he aims to break spending into “absolute priorities” – security, energy, agriculture and state reform – and put each item to MPs separately.

The move is intended to avoid another budget showdown, after two years of governmental instability that have steadily chipped away at President Emmanuel Macron’s authority.

Critics, however, argue that the plan is merely a repackaged version of political improvisation – a delay tactic that risks further weakening France’s credibility at home and on the world stage.

Jean-François Husson, the Senate’s general rapporteur for the budget, delivered one of the sharpest criticisms of Lecornu’s move, describing it as a chaotic and ill-timed intervention.

“If you want to give the French a dizzying ride, you could hardly do it better than this,” he remarked, arguing that the government’s approach was generating more confusion than clarity.

For author and political strategist Gerald Olivier, there is a deeper problem.

“France is sick, and France has been sick for a while,” he says. “We’re basically looking at a country with no government, no parliamentary majority and a total impossibility for any prime minister to put forward a credible programme.”

French lawmakers roundly reject income part of budget bill, send it to Senate

France technically needs to pass its budget by 31 December, but Olivier is quick to point out that this deadline has been missed before. “Last year, the budget wasn’t passed until February,” he notes.

If the same thing happens this time, the government can fall back on a temporary financial law that keeps spending aligned with the previous year’s budget for up to 70 days. A more drastic option – to rule by decree – exists as a constitutional backstop.

“This crisis exists because there is no majority in parliament,” Olivier says. “And it’s also because no party has had the courage to face the kind of medicine that France needs. That’s the larger issue.”

International credibility

As a major European power, France’s domestic politics do not stay domestic for long. International investors and European Union partners are watching closely, especially after recent warnings from credit-rating agencies about France’s deficit trajectory.

According to Olivier, the damage is already evident. “France is already in a recession, and there are investments simply passing the country by,” he argues. “No one knows what its tax status will be in the coming years.”

That uncertainty could have a ripple effect across the continent. France, he warns, risks becoming “economically weak and therefore politically weak within Europe”, potentially deepening divisions between EU member states.

France’s economy minister warns latest credit downgrade a ‘wake-up call’

“The one reassuring piece of news is that France is not the only one in this situation. Germany is in dire shape, Italy is shaky, Sweden is having problems. It seems today that everyone in Europe is the sick man of Europe,” he added.

Periods of political instability often attract external opportunists – whether governments, speculators or hostile influence campaigns. But Olivier remains cautious when asked whether foreign actors are already exploiting France’s woes.

“I don’t necessarily see it,” he says, “but if you want to consider fictional scenarios, you could find many.”

France’s EU membership, he argues, offers a buffer. “Having the EU behind you is reassuring. The idea of ‘Frexit’ would be disastrous. The euro provides protection.”

Still, the consequences of weakened governance can extend beyond the economy. A fragile budget could force France to scale back overseas military deployments – a shift that could alter power dynamics in parts of Africa and the Middle East. “This kind of instability is not healthy for anyone,” Olivier says.

A president without momentum

Macron’s political capital has been in decline since the 2022 legislative elections, when he lost his absolute majority. The surprise dissolution of the Assembly after the 2024 European elections only worsened matters, splitting the parliament into three mutually hostile blocs.

“It’s done tremendous damage to Macron,” Olivier says. “He was re-elected in 2022 because people didn’t want Marine Le Pen. He didn’t have the support he had in 2017, and disappointment set in.”

He argues that Macron himself triggered the crisis. “He dissolved the Assembly for no reason. The European elections had no influence on French politics, but he reacted as if they did – and he made things worse.”

Could the president break the deadlock? In theory, yes. “Macron could solve it instantly by resigning,” Olivier notes. “That would trigger a new presidential election, followed by fresh parliamentary elections. That’s how institutions are supposed to function.” But he sees no sign that Macron intends to take that step.

For now, he predicts “another 18 months of instability” with the possibility of yet another government reshuffle. “We’ve had four governments in 12 months. We could have a fifth one next year. There is no telling.”

France’s Le Pen asks Bardella to prepare for 2027 presidential bid

Eyes on 2027

With Macron unable to stand again, attention is already turning to the 2027 presidential race.

The National Rally – headed by Marine Le Pen and her rising protégé Jordan Bardella – enters the campaign in a strong position. Republican Bruno Retailleau could emerge from the right, France Unbowed’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon or Socialist Olivier Faure from the left. Names from the centre such as MEP Raphaël Glucksmann and the former prime minister from Macron’s Renaissance party, Manuel Valls, have been floated too.

Olivier’s concern is not who the candidates are but how honest they will be about the situation.

“No one is willing to say the country needs to make sacrifices,” he warns. “France is in debt up to 115 percent of GDP. Public spending is too high. But nobody wants to tell voters that the social state cannot remain as generous as it is.”

He singles out one controversial, far-right figure: “The only person honest about the economic reality is Éric Zemmour – and there is zero chance he will be the next president.”

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.

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. You must get your resolutions to me by 15 December to be included in the show. 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 counselled 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 25 October, just days after the famous theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre, I asked you a question about another famous theft from the Louvre. You were to re-read our article “Paris police hunt Louvre thieves after priceless jewels vanish in daring heist”, and send in the answers to these three questions: Which artwork was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, and by whom? How did he do it?

The answers are, to quote our article: “In 1911, the Mona Lisa famously vanished from its frame, spirited away by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former museum employee who hid overnight in a broom cupboard and simply walked out with the painting under his coat.”

Interesting fun fact, also in our article: The Mona Lisa at that time was not a famous painting at all. Because the theft made global headlines, when it was recovered two years later in Florence, it had become the most famous painting in the world.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What “Instant Karma” incident have you been involved in?  

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

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

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Naved Rayan, the president of the RFI Fan Club in Murshidibad, India. There are RFI Listeners Club members Sahadot Hossain from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh and Karobi Hazarika from Assam, India, and last but not least, RFI English listener Khizar Hayat Shah, the president of the Sadat Listeners Club in Punjab, Pakistan.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The “Hunting Song” from Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words Op.19 No.3, performed by Daniel Barenboim; the theme from To Catch a Thief by Armando Trovajoli; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “The Harder They Come” by Jimmy Cliff, performed by Jimmy Cliff and his ensemble.  

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “France says goodbye to star pandas going back to China”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 12 January to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 17 January podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

In Sudan, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said last week that atrocities in Darfur – where the rebellious RSF are fiercely battling the regular army and targeting civilians – have been met with indifference and “complete impunity”.

He made the remarks following a visit to the devastated Sudanese region.

Chad has consequently become a refuge for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the conflict in Sudan – and as violence against civilians intensifies in Darfur, even more are crossing the border. The influx is placing severe pressure on already scarce resources in one of Africa’s poorest countries.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council, travelled to eastern Chad recently and spoke to us while on the ground visiting refugee camps. She said that the escalating humanitarian crisis urgently requires the world’s attention and that she expects more people to flee Sudan in search of safety and basic survival.

As thousands flee, Sudan’s war spills over into humanitarian crisis in Chad

Last weekend in South Africa, the final event of the country’s G20 South African presidency – the heads of state summit  – took place in Johannesburg, aiming to secure commitments on debt relief for developing countries and to address global inequalities.

World leaders signed a declaration reflecting a “renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation”, according to South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.

We have two guests reflecting on this significant year for Africa:

• Désiré Assogbavi, Adviser for Africa at the Open Society Foundations, a lawyer and international development expert in African institutions, policy, and politics, who took part in many of this year’s meetings in South Africa, including the Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg this weekend;

• Ivor Ichikowitz, founder and director of the Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which has produced the comprehensive African Youth Survey G20 Briefing to better understand what young Africans expect from this moment of leadership.

South Africa closes G20 year framed as ‘presidency for all of Africa’

Finally, we’ll hear from my colleague Ollia Horton, who recently met in Paris with the Ghanaian artist Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku, a civil engineer by profession and an artist at heart.

A stitch in time: the Ghanaian artist sewing trash into treasure

He has found an innovative way to raise awareness of the problem of textile waste in his native Ghana.

His  installations are stitched together from hundreds of pieces of used clothing, collected from cities around the world as part of a project that has spanned decades.

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.

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

Erdogan told reporters alongside Zelensky that Turkey was ready to resume the “Istanbul Process”, the term Ankara uses for earlier talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Erdogan has strengthened ties with Vladimir Putin and has said those relations help efforts to end the fighting.

But Sinan Ciddi, of the US think tank the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said Washington’s latest actions suggest Ankara’s influence is fading.

Ankara’s mediation, he said, had not produced results for either the Trump administration or its Western allies and has done little to move the conflict closer to a ceasefire or peace deal. “Washington is going its own way,” said Ciddi.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading Washington’s peace efforts, did not attend the meeting in Ankara despite earlier reports he would.

Some analysts say Ankara overplayed its hand by suggesting it could use its ties with Putin to deliver a summit that never happened.

Israel talks defence with Greece and Cyprus, as Turkey issues Netanyahu warrant

Changing diplomatic landscape

Russia-Turkey expert Zaur Gasimov, of the German Academic Exchange Service, said Ankara’s role has been weakened, with other countries such as Hungary now seen as possible venues for talks.

Donald Trump’s decision to deal directly with Moscow, he added, reduces the need for Turkey as a go-between.

“Russia at the moment is not interested in any kind of peace negotiations with Kiev. But Putin and Moscow are interested in direct negotiations with the United States on this issue and possibly other issues,” Gasimov said, adding that Russia still values its ties with Ankara.

“For Russia, contacts with Turkey are of paramount importance, being isolated by anti-Russian sanctions.”

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

Energy pressure on Ankara

Erdogan has refused to enforce most Western sanctions on Russia, saying his relationship with Moscow is needed to build peace.

But during Erdogan’s September visit to Washington, Trump told him to end imports of Russian energy, which make up around half of Turkey’s needs.

Erdogan appears to be responding, as Russian oil imports have fallen in recent weeks.

Ankara is also trying to strengthen its security ties with the European Union. Direct summits between Putin and Erdogan were once common but are now rare, with their meetings limited to the sidelines of international events.

“There is clearly a move, more effort to restore and bolster relationships with the Western world,” former Turkish ambassador Timur Soylemez told RFI.

Trump tests Turkey’s energy dependence on Russia with lure of US power

Balancing relations with Russia

Soylemez said Ankara will still try to avoid harming its relations with Moscow.

“The view from Ankara is that it’s never a zero-sum game. Actually, the trick is to prevent it from being a zero-sum game. I think that would be an ongoing effort right now,” Soylemez said.

Turkey’s ability to balance both sides, he added, remains important for a long-term peace.

“Turkish diplomacy and Turkey in general have shown there is a role for us to play,” Soylemez said.

“For example, the Black Sea, when it comes to prison exchange, when it comes to de-escalation on different topics. Basically, because we have a channel to both sides and we’re trusted by both sides.”

Turkey is working with its Black Sea NATO partners on mine clearance. Analysts say this could later help secure safe passage for Ukrainian ships under a peace deal.

But the targeting on Monday of a Turkish-flagged ship carrying a gas cargo at the port of Izmail in Ukraine by suspected Russian drones shows the risks Turkey faces as it tries to strengthen relations with Western allies without provoking Moscow.

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.