In a firm but measured statement released on Sunday, the EU Commission stressed that commitments made between the two sides must be respected. “A deal is a deal,” it said, underlining that the European Union expects the United States to honour the joint understanding reached in 2025 – just as Brussels says it continues to do.

The appeal comes at a delicate momen, following President Trump’s announcement of a temporary increase in global import duties to 15 percent on Saturday – a move that has injected new uncertainty into global trade flows. It came hot on the heels of a US Supreme Court ruling that deemed much of Trump’s tariff strategy is unlawful, leaving policymakers and businesses alike trying to piece together what comes next.

Under the existing EU-US agreement, tariffs on most European goods were capped at 15 percent. Brussels made clear it expects that ceiling to remain intact, insisting that European products should continue to benefit from the “most competitive treatment” agreed previously.

At the same time, the Commission struck a constructive tone, emphasising the importance of dialogue. It said it remained in “close and continuous contact” with US officials, including recent discussions between EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and his American counterparts.

‘A moment of truth for the EU’, says former head of European Council

Seeking clarity amid uncertainty

While both sides appear keen to keep communication lines open, the legal backdrop has complicated matters. The Commission has formally requested clarification from Washington on how it intends to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act – the legal basis for many of Trump’s tariffs.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer sought to reassure partners, saying existing trade agreements with the EU and others remain in force. “We expect to stand by them. We expect our partners to stand by them,” he said in a television interview, signalling a willingness to maintain continuity despite the court ruling.

Yet questions linger. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde acknowledged the uncertainty, noting that the implications of the ruling are still not fully understood. “I hope it’s going to be clarified,” she said, echoing a broader sentiment across European institutions.

The timing is particularly sensitive, as the European Parliament’s trade committee had been preparing to approve the EU-US deal this week, but the legal ambiguity now casts doubt over whether that process will move ahead as planned.

How Trump’s trade threats have reshaped Europe’s global strategy

Rising tensions – but room for dialogue

Within the European Parliament, calls are growing for caution. Trade committee chairperson Bernd Lange said he would push to pause legislative work until there is greater legal certainty and clearer commitments from Washington.

His assessment was blunt, describing the situation as “tariff chaos” and warning that businesses and policymakers are struggling to make sense of rapidly shifting signals. Even so, his call for clarity rather than confrontation suggests Brussels is keen to keep negotiations on track.

Analysts, meanwhile, see a more strategic dimension to the latest US moves. Economists at Dutch banking group ING have suggested the tariff hikes could be a temporary manoeuvre – “smoke and mirrors” – giving the administration time to explore alternative legal routes, such as measures tied to unfair trade practices.

That possibility hints at a familiar dynamic in transatlantic trade relations: periods of tension followed by renewed negotiation. Even if the European Parliament were to seek changes to the current deal, Washington could still deploy other tariff tools to encourage fresh talks.

The Supreme Court ruling itself marks a rare judicial setback for Trump on a cornerstone of his economic agenda, one that has reshaped global trade patterns and prompted responses from partners worldwide.

For now, countries are watching closely and weighing their options.

(with newswires)

Poland on Friday formally withdrew from the Ottawa Treaty, an international convention that bans anti-personnel landmines, paving the way for their deployment along its eastern borders.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the country aimed to be able to mine its borders within 48 hours in the event of a threat.

Poland plans to deploy the devices to fortify the roughly 800 kilometres of border it shares with Russia and Belarus. The move is aimed at protecting Europe and NATO from a potential invasion on the alliance’s eastern flank.

Germany to send soldiers to fortify Poland border

Sixth country to withdraw

The Polish government has indicated it wants to produce its own landmines.

“The situation forces us to act,” said Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, arguing that Poland and its neighbours should not be constrained by international conventions that undermine their defence policies.

“Today, the role of politicians is to break the shackles that have been imposed on the military, and that is what we are doing.”

Polish authorities have not ruled out exporting landmines to its allies. Latvia – which withdrew from the Ottawa Treaty last year – has already expressed interest.

Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine have also pulled out of the convention within the past 12 months.

Poland calls NATO talks after downing Russian drones in airspace breach

Humanitarian concerns

Poland’s decision has drawn criticism from rights groups. Julia Glebocka, an analyst at Amnesty International in Warsaw, says landmines are disproportionately harmful to civilians, with 85 percent of victims typically non-combatants.

Glebocka also questions the military value of such weapons in a potential conflict between Poland and Russia.

“According to experts, if war were to break out between Poland and Russia, it would take the form of hybrid warfare involving drones,” she noted.

“That means these mines would be useless on the battlefield. And they will continue to pose a threat to residents of border regions for years and decades to come.”

This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI correspondent Adrien Sarlat.

The Milan-Cortina Olympics drew to a close on Sunday with a two-hour ceremony at the ancient Verona Arena, roughly midway between the co-host cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo

Organisers passed the Olympic flag to representatives of the French Alps, which will follow the same spread-out model as Milan-Cortina.

Events will be held in the Alps as well as in Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea. Long-track speed skating events will be held outside of France, likely in either in Italy or the Netherlands.

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said the Milan-Cortina Games had “delivered a new kind of Winter Games” which had set “a new, very high standard for the future”.

Over 17 days of competition, 116 medal events were held across eight sports in 16 disciplines, including the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering.

Norway topped the final medal count with 18 golds and 41 medals overall.

Biathlete Fillon Maillet wins ninth medal to enter French Olympic legend

France won 23 medals – its most successful Winter Olympics yet –thanks to a clean sweep in the biathlon, and despite some disappointments in alpine skiing and  in freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

“We achieved our goal,” Sports Minister Marina Ferrari said on Saturday on French public television.

The objective had been to win 50 percent more medals than in Beijing, where the French delegation won 14. While that goal was achieved, France fell short of breaking into the top five of the medal table, edged out of fifth place by Germany, which won the same number of gold medals, but more silver and bronze.

Slow beginnings in Chamonix

France became the first country to host the Winter Olympics – then billed as an “international week of winter sport” – in January and February 1924.

A few months before Paris put on its groundbreaking Summer Games, the Alpine resort of Chamonix saw some 300 athletes from 16 countries compete in skiing, skating, bobsleigh, ice hockey and curling.

The hosts won three bronze medals and not a single silver or gold.

Among the athletes in third were figure skaters Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet, whose ambitious pairs programme left the judges cold.

They went on to win France’s first and only winter golds at the 1928 and 1932 Games (and, in 1929, to marry). Today, the pair are credited with pioneering skills that have since become standard in the sport.

France’s winnings would remain modest at the next several Winter Games. At the 1956 Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the country failed to take a single medal – a low France has never hit before or since in any summer or winter edition.

Paris 1924, the Olympics that took the Games ‘faster, higher, stronger’

A new era in Grenoble

When the Winter Olympics returned to France in 1968, it marked a new era for the Games. 

As host city, Grenoble opted to scatter events throughout the local region and devote the lion’s share of its budget to building infrastructure instead of venues – a strategy Paris would later vaunt at the 2024 Olympics.

As sports authorities began to crack down on doping, the Grenoble Games were the first to introduce testing for banned substances, as well as gender controls designed to bar intersex athletes from women’s events.

They were also the first Olympics to be broadcast in colour, and the first to feature a mascot, albeit unofficial. The character – a bobble-headed skier named Schuss in the colours of the French flag – beat competitors including Dof the skiing dolphin to represent the Games on merchandise.

France tripled the size of its team compared to the previous Winter Games and earned its biggest medal tally yet: nine medals, eight of them in skiing.

The star of the show was Jean-Claude Killy, who picked up three of France’s four golds – including, controversially, in the slalom, which had to be adjudicated after his Austrian rival Karl Schranz claimed someone wandered onto the course and interrupted his run.

Granted a do-over, Schranz beat Killy’s time – but was later disqualified for missing gates amid heavy fog. Judges denied his appeal, allowing Killy to make history.

Meet the Winter Olympics mascots: cute, cuddly and under threat from climate change

Protests in Albertville 

France hosted again in 1992, another transitional year for the Olympics. The Winter Games in and around Albertville were the last to take place in the same year as the Summer Olympics; ever since, they’ve been separated by a two-year gap.

By then, the winter edition was beginning to come under scrutiny for its environmental and financial cost. As the Savoie department undertook major construction to build venues and the highways to link them, ecologists complained that the event was reshaping the mountains it was supposed to celebrate. 

On the day of the opening ceremony, protesters paraded a green flame through Albertville to denounce what they called an “Olympics against nature”. 

In the end, Savoie residents would end up paying extra tax until 2012 to pay off the cost of new roads built for the 1992 Games.

Future of Olympics in doubt as climate change drives up temperatures

A defiant backflip

Making her Olympic debut in Albertville, French figure skater Surya Bonaly finished without a medal – but left her mark by becoming the first woman to attempt a quadruple jump at the Winter Games. She didn’t quite complete her rotation and judges marked it down.

Six years later, at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Bonaly made another bold move. By then on her third Olympics, the former gymnast felt her athletic routines had for years been unfairly penalised by conservative judges in a sport in which she was one of very few black competitors.

She headed into her free skate injured and in sixth place. In too much pain to attempt the jumps she planned and realising a medal was probably out of reach, Bonaly spontaneously decided to perform a trick she knew was banned: a backflip, landed on a single skate.

The exploit delighted the audience but hurt her score. Bonaly finished 10th and never competed at the Olympics again – but her defiant backflip has become legend as a triumph of spectacle over competition.

More than 30 years on, fellow French skater Adam Siao Him Fa also dared to add the banned move to his routines. Officials finally lifted their veto in 2024, and Siao Him Fa was one of the skaters to perform it at this year’s Olympics.

Skategate

In Salt Lake City in 2002, French figure skating officials found themselves in the spotlight. 

When Canadian pair Jamie Salé and David Pelletier lost out to Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia, many questioned the scores. Suspicion centred on a French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, who admitted – then denied – being pressured to give the Russians the gold in exchange for points for the French team competing in ice dancing. 

Le Gougne and the head of the French ice sports federation were suspended, Salé and Pelletier were awarded joint golds alongside their rivals, and skating authorities overhauled the judging system to make scores less subjective. 

There were echoes of “Skategate” this year when another French judge was accused of scoring French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron too highly, helping them to a gold medal. The governing body stood by the judge’s marks, but is considering introducing artificial intelligence to further standardise scores. 

From silver to gold

The past two decades have seen France gather notable strength in winter sports.

When French biathlete Martin Fourcade lost out on first place in the men’s mass start at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, he said it helped spur him to go for gold in Sotchi four years later. 

Except, as it turned out, he didn’t lose out. The original winner, Russia’s Evgeny Ustyugov, was later disqualified for doping and his medals redistributed. At a special ceremony at the 2026 Games, Fourcade saw his silver medal transformed to gold.

Added to two golds he won in Sochi in 2014 and three in Pyeongchang in 2018, the victory made Fourcade France’s highest achieving Winter Olympian yet. 

Sochi saw France secure its first Winter Olympics “podium sweep”, as Jean-Frédéric Chapuis took gold in the men’s ski cross, Arnaud Bovolenta won silver and Jonathan Midol landed bronze. 

In Pyeongchang, French athletes racked up 15 medals, including five gold – a record that has already been broken at the 2026 Games.

At the last edition in Beijing in 2022, biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet took on Fourcade’s legacy and claimed two golds, three silvers – becoming the first French athlete to win five medals at a single Winter Games. 

He has since taken three more golds and a bronze at Milano Cortina, making him France’s most medalled Olympian of any games – winter or summer.

Living on a shoestring has long been a feature of undergraduate life, but student poverty is rising in France.

A recent survey of more than 5,000 university students, carried out by the Union Etudiante, found that one in three students in France are left with less than €50 a month after covering rent and bills, while one in 10 have nothing left at all at the end of the month.

Eight out of 10 students surveyed said they had already gone without essentials such as heating, food, healthcare or leisure activities.

Marian Blocquet, a 21-year-old master’s student in Paris and president of the student union Renouveau Syndical, says food insecurity is now widespread.

“One in two students in France is skipping a meal every day. That means students are not eating enough,” he says. “And that leads to health problems and makes it difficult to continue and succeed in [your] studies.”

Reliance on food banks

Almost a quarter of France’s university students receive means-tested bursaries to pay tuition fees and help with living costs – meaning 76 percent do not.

Blocquet notes that the criteria for receiving bursaries are being tightened, and that the payments have not kept up with inflation and energy bills.

His family’s income is not low enough for him to receive assistance, but nor are his parents in a position to help him. While he now has a decently paid part-time job, he previously had a tough three years as an undergraduate.

“Every week I would go to food distribution points to collect a food parcel with vegetables and pasta. Sometimes, if we were lucky, there would be eggs as well.”

Recent surveys show 18 to 20 percent of students in France rely on food aid – whether food banks or distribution points – run by student non-profits including Cop1 or Linkee.

“They’re vital,” says Bloquet. “Without these distributions I would have been eating only pasta every day, no protein.”

Grocery handouts and €1 meals: hard times for students in France

€1 meals

Under pressure from the Socialist Party, the government has agreed to extend a €1 student meal scheme that was first introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic for students on very low incomes.

As of May, university canteens will provide hot lunches to all students regardless of income for €1, rather than the current price of €3.30.

The government has allocated €30 million in its 2026 budget to compensate the Crous – the public student services body in charge of grants, housing, canteens and social aid – for the lost revenue. It has also announced an additional €20 million to help canteens recruit extra staff.

“It will provide money to students who do not receive grants and who are also in a precarious situation, particularly those who are just below the threshold for receiving grants,” Philippe Baptiste, minister for higher education, told Le Monde.

Paris inclusive restaurant rallies to help students through Covid pandemic

Students supporting students

Grassroots initiatives have emerged to fill the gaps left by public provision.

In southern Paris, a student-run community kitchen known as Cop1ne provides good quality hot meals for €3 to students, regardless of income.

The project, run largely by volunteers, is 60 percent self-financed with the rest provided through donations, partnerships with food cooperatives and subsidies from Paris City Hall and regional authorities.

More than just food, Cop1ne also offers a social space designed to counter isolation, which surveys show affects nearly a third of students – much higher than the national average of 19 percent.

Justine, a 22-year-old student, says friends recommended it to her when she arrived in Paris. “I was feeling a bit lonely. It was a great way for me to settle into a city like Paris, but also to meet people, eat properly and  eat well.”

For 18-year-old volunteer Lila, Cop1ne is important “to show that we can support one another”.

Students share good food but also cultural events – providing a crucial point of connection, not least for foreign students.

“If I’m here volunteering for three or four hours straight in a kitchen with some other French students, it’s a lot easier for me to just talk,” says Ellie, an American exchange student with limited French. 

Listen to a report on the Cop1ne community kitchen and student poverty in the Spotlight on France podcast

Housing insecurity 

“Student vulnerability extends beyond simply having enough to eat. It includes the issue of housing,” says Blocquet.

Accommodation shortages are particularly acute in Paris. “There are fewer than 8,000 university residences in Paris, whereas there are 80,000 scholarship students.”

There’s also a dire shortage of affordable student rentals. Blocquet pays €700 for a small attic studio, and receives €200 in housing benefit.

His studio is poorly insulated: “When I come home in winter it’s 14°C, and then in the summer it rises to 40°C.”

Before finding his part-time job, he spent months living in a room that resembled “a cellar” and then a period sleeping on friends’ sofas after being evicted.

He says experiences like these are common. “In a survey we conducted on student housing at the beginning of the year, one in 10 students in France reported having been homeless at some point.”

Paris population drops as housing costs drive residents to the suburbs

Budget cuts

Cuts to higher education and public services more generally are aggravating student hardship.

“Since 2017, successive governments have cut the higher education budget. Last year, they cut €800 million, and €700 million the year before,” Blocquet notes. 

The Crous is in financial difficulty. The Paris branch in particular, which Bloquet says has a budget deficit of €2 million for 2026.

Some unions have questioned whether the €1 meal scheme is sustainable.

The CFDT union, France’s largest, pushed the government to put the additional €20 million for staffing on the table saying “without extra jobs, the measure won’t work”.

It warned: “The student meal for €1 mustn’t become a factor of professional exhaustion, an accelerator of precarity, a risk for the quality of public services”.

With the real cost of a university canteen lunch at between €8 and €9, using mainly French products, 15 percent of which are organic, there are concerns too that the quality of the €1 lunches will drop.

“We have eight different dishes a day and a daily homemade dessert,” the head chef at Paris-VII university canteen told Le Monde. “The students are attached to it, and so are we.”

Foreign affairs minister Jean-Noel Barrot was reacting to a statement by the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, which posted on X that “reports, corroborated by the French Minister of the Interior, that Quentin Deranque was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all”.

Deranque, a far-right activist, died of brain injuries last week from a beating in the French city of Lyon. He was attacked during a brawl on the margins of a student meeting where Rima Hassan, an MP with the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI), was a keynote speaker.

His killing highlighted a climate of deep political tensions ahead of municipal elections in March, and next year’s presidential vote.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm on Saturday as some 3,000 people joined a march in Lyon organised by far-right groups to pay tribute to Deranque. 

“We reject any instrumentalisation of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends,” Barrot said on Sunday. “We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement.”

The State Department said in its 19 February post that “violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranque’s death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety. We will continue to monitor the situation and expect to see the perpetrators of violence brought to justice”.

How did Lyon become France’s capital of political violence?

US visa bans also on the agenda

Seven people have been handed preliminary charges. Six have been charged with intentional homicide, aggravated violence and criminal conspiracy. 

A seventh man, an assistant to the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker Raphaël Arnault, was charged with complicity in intentional homicide, aggravated violence and criminal conspiracy.

Barrot said he has other topics to discuss with Kushner, including US decisions to impose sanctions on Thierry Breton, a former EU commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, and Nicolas Guillou, a French judge at the International Criminal Court. 

Barrot said both are targeted by “unjustified and unjustifiable” sanctions.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry did not say when the meeting will take place.

Kushner had already been summoned in August last year over his letter to Macron alleging the country did not do enough to combat antisemitism. France’s foreign officials met with a representative of the US ambassador since the diplomat did not show up.

Trump administration denounces ‘terrorism’ in France after activist’s killing

(with newswires)

In January, Ethiopian police said they had seized thousands of rounds of ammunition sent by Eritrea to rebels in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.

Eritrea denied the allegation, and said Ethiopia was using it to justify starting a war..

The regime “is floating false flags to justify the war that it has been itching to unleash for two long years,” Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told news agencies.

Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki said in an interview earlier in February with state-run media that Ethiopia had declared war on his country.

He added that Eritrea did not want war, but knows “how to defend [its] nation”.

Ethiopia demands Eritrea ‘immediately withdraw’ troops from its territory

Historical feud

Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1993, after a series of insurgencies and wars starting from 1961. The two countries went to war against each other from 1998 to 2000, which was followed by a border conflict that lasted for nearly two decades.

They finally agreed to normalise relations in 2018 – an agreement that won Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.

However, the fragile peace deal has since given way to renewed threats and acrimony. 

In Tigray, a region in Ethiopia on the border with Eritrea, a war that erupted in 1975 has been reactivated multiple times – most recently from November 2020 to the end of 2022.

The conflict was reignited in January, as the issues underlying the conflict resurfaced.

“I think one has to start with the Tigray war, with the consequences of the war and the rift that the post-war period and the Pretoria agreement has created between the federal government of Ethiopia and their Eritrean leadership,” an Addis Ababa-based security analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told RFI.

Eritrea has been trying to get closer to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) recently, leading to a feud with Addis Ababa. 

“There is information circulating that Eritrean troops have gotten deeper into Tigray, even nearing the capital, Mekelle,” the security analyst said. “They station [themselves] at some of the checkpoints around that area.” 

An insurgency movement in the neighbouring Amhara region could be impacted as well by “the security vacuum that has unfolded following the partial withdrawal of security forces and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces from the region,” the analyst said. 

World leaders urge restraint as clashes in western Tigray resume

Red Sea access

The tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia have many other unresolved roots. Ethiopia’s anger at Eritrea’s independence stems in part from the fact that this resulted in it losing its access to the Red Sea, as Eritrea sits along the coastline.

“Ethiopia is a much larger country than Eritrea… and Ethiopia has every right to say, listen, we’re going on 120 million people, we need sea access,” Clionadh Raleigh, director of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data organisation and a professor of African politics and conflict at the UK’s University of Sussex, told RFI.

Eritrea, she said, is less densely populated, and led by an old dictator. “The Isaias Afwerki regime is something that people cannot wait to see end. And Addis is still hoping to reintegrate it into a larger Ethiopia, potentially within the next generation.”

Eritrea regularly accuses the Ethiopian government of threats of military action to regain access to the Red Sea. Abiy has also tried to gain access via a deal with Somaliland, another breakaway region that is destabilising the equilibrium of power within of the Horn of Africa.

But Abiy insists that Ethiopia is not seeking conflict with Eritrea and wants to address the issue of access through dialogue.

The Ethiopian analyst said this is particularly strategically important to the current leadership, which aspires to play a greater regional role and address its geopolitical and strategic vulnerabilities – stemming from lack of access to the Sea. 

Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s biggest dam, despite concerns in Egypt and Sudan

Wider regional instability

The war in Sudan is also contributing to worsening relations, as Eritrea supports the Sudanese army, along with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, against the paramilitary RSF, which many accuse Ethiopia of supporting.

According to Raleigh, there will be no stability in the Horn of Africa for some time to come.

“Ethiopia is desperate to change, and they do not expect this process to be victimless or peaceful. It has allied itself to both the United Arab Emirates and Israel, against a Saudi-Egyptian-Sudanese coalition, with Somalia somehow,” she said.

As Ethiopia and Eritrea appear to be moving towards conflict, the peace-building agency International Crisis Group has recommended de-escalation steps to avoid direct hostilities – whether these are accidental or, as many fear, the result of Ethiopian aggression.

“Either scenario would be a disaster for the Horn of Africa and its vicinity, potentially drawing in neighbours and non-African powers, particularly from the Arab Gulf,” the group wrote in its latest report.

The bill would ban under-15s from using social media and restrict mobile phone use in schools, in light of research showing the negative impact of social media on young people.

It is being championed by President Emmanuel Macron, and the National Assembly adopted it by a comfortable margin of 130 votes to 21.

France’s public health watchdog Anses has reported on social media’s harmful effects on the mental health of teenagers, which include lower self-esteem and sleep disruption, often linked to cyberbullying or exposure to violent or inappropriate content.

“I compare myself to the girls I see on TikTok. They’re really pretty, so I feel bad about myself, and I think that happens to a lot of other girls my age,” says Theodora, a 16-year-old in Paris. “I’m not as confident as I used to be.”

Several families of children who took their own lives have taken legal action against the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok in France, alleging that its algorithm pushed suicide-related content that contributed to their children’s deaths.

For lawmakers, banning children from these platforms appears to be the most straightforward way to protect them.

French MPs vote to curb children’s screen time with under-15 social media ban

More on children and social media in the Spotlight on France podcast: 

Age verification

Australia introduced a ban on social media for under-16s in December, and France’s proposal similarly puts the onus on platforms such as TikTok or Instagram to verify that users are the right age.

Since 2023, France has required parental consent for children to access social media, but enforcing a full ban introduces technical challenges and concerns about privacy.

“Sending an identity document is terrible in terms of privacy,“ warns Olivier Blazy, a professor in cybersecurity at the École Polytechnique university outside Paris.

Platforms already use facial age estimation tools – TikTok checks if someone is over 18 to access its live-streaming feature – but the technology is not able to make precise judgements.

“If you are 30, they won’t think you are minor, and if you are eight, you won’t seem like an adult,” Blazy explains. “But if you are close to the threshold, or if you are not a white male, then you do not fit the model the system was trained on and the estimation is not reliable.”

Is AI sexist? How artificial images are perpetuating gender bias in reality

Even if the software improves, he says it will never be accurate enough to enforce a specific age cut-off.

“There’s no physical difference between someone who is 14 years and 300 days old, and 15 years and one day old,” he says, adding that no system is foolproof.

“Whatever solution you pick is going to be circumvented, so you should pick a solution that does not intrude on privacy.”

He worries that lawmakers are not taking this into account. “I’m concerned that the goal is to keep kids from accessing these platforms, and that privacy will be sacrificed for this.”

False sense of security

Anses reports that half of French teenagers spend between two and five hours a day on a smartphone

A study by Generation Numerique found that 62 percent of boys in France and 68 percent of girls aged 11 to 18 use social media, including 58 percent of 11 and 12-year-olds.

Blazy also questions whether a ban alone addresses the problem, if platforms themselves are not held accountable for the harmful content seen by children.

“There’s a failure – by adults, the community, the government, and the platforms themselves – to moderate bad content on social media,” Blazy says, adding that simply banning children could give a false sense of security.

Psychiatrist Serge Tisseron worries that a ban is France’s way of addressing a gap in European regulation.

The European Union, he says, has drafted legislation to regulate platforms, but hesitates to enforce it for fear of retaliation from the United States, where many of the platforms are based.

“So the temptation is to address the other side of the chain – the users – and ban social media before the age of 15,” he told RFI.

Why Europe’s road to digital autonomy is long and winding

Real-world alternatives

Tisseron warns there needs to be an alternative to social media, one which addresses the needs of young people who lack opportunities to meet each other in person.

“Where will they meet if they can’t meet on social media?” he asks. “We need to think about the need for meeting each other and the sociability of teenagers. They need to meet somewhere.”

He would like to see physical alternatives provided, such as school playgrounds and sports facilities that are open after school and at the weekend. So far, he notes, the sports and health ministries have remained silent on this issue.

He also stressed the importance of education when it comes to using social media safely, saying that delaying access until the age of 15 does not guarantee healthy use later.

“If we do not educate children about digital risks, then the day after they turn 15 and get access to these platforms, nothing will stop them from running into problems,” he says. “Just because you only discover social media at 15, doesn’t mean you will use it wisely.”

Listen to an interview with Olivier Blazy on the social media ban for children in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 140.

British photographer Hugh Kinsella Cunningham has lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2019 and has spent years documenting the region, first covering conflict before turning his lens to landscapes and communities across the Congo Basin.

A series of his photographs, now on display in Paris, brings together images of the world’s second-largest rainforest and the people who depend on it – from melting glaciers on the Ugandan border to families drifting on timber rafts down the Congo River.

Cunningham tells RFI why the central African basin matters for the future of the planet, and why the Congo River remains a lifeline for millions.

RFI: Your exhibition “The Heart of the Congo Basin” retraces several years of your work as a photographer. How did the idea for the project come about?

Hugh Kinsella Cunningham: Looking through my archives, I realised I had actually visited far more parts of the DRC than I thought. It is such a vast area that I believed I had only seen a small part of it. But when I reviewed my magazine assignments over the years, along with projects and national parks I had visited, I saw I had enough material to show people the richness and beauty of different regions and ecosystems.

The Congo Basin will soon become one of the most important places for the planet’s health. It is the green lung of Africa. It still absorbs more carbon than it emits.

RFI: Much of your work until now has focused on conflict in the DRC. Is this exhibition also a way of showing the country from another angle, focusing on its beauty rather than war?

HKC: There are extremely surprising things to discover in the DRC. On the border with Uganda, you have glaciers that are melting, and on the other side of the country you can find the last zebras in the DRC in a national park. But it is also important to say that many people still live in conflict zones and that conflict is never far away. There are many places of extraordinary natural beauty right next to areas of violence.

The challenges of protecting wildlife from war in eastern DRC

RFI: The Congo River appears throughout your body of work. Can you explain why the waterway is so important and why the exhibition seems to follow its course?

HKC: The Congo River and its tributaries cross nine countries, most of which are economically underdeveloped, with poor infrastructure and incredibly difficult terrain. There are many swamps and forests, and the landscape is often impenetrable.

The river connects communities in these isolated areas to different parts of the country. It allows people to earn money in ways that would otherwise be impossible. For example, a family from a village upstream in Équateur province that I photographed on the river can, after one or two weeks of travel, reach the city centre of Kinshasa.

But the journey is very dangerous. The currents are extremely strong. There are often tragic accidents and people can get lost at night because the river is so dangerous. Still, it is the main form of transport. It connects people.

RFI: So the river plays an important economic role for remote communities?

HKC: Yes, it is one of the only viable ways for many communities to earn a proper living using the natural resources in their region. People cut trees, tie the logs together and drift downstream to sell them, hoping to make a profit of $300. For them, that represents a fortune.

RFI: Does this create problems of deforestation?

HKC: I followed many people cutting trees to make charcoal. That could give the impression that local populations are the main cause of large-scale deforestation in DRC, which lost 1 million hectares of forest per year in 2023 and 2024, assuming that trend continues.

In reality, large industrial logging concessions are responsible for much of the deforestation in the Congo Basin, and they are much harder for a photographer to access. I had to use drone images taken discreetly to understand the scale of deforestation in the region.

I also photographed a barge on the river with about three sections carrying hundreds of logs, some of them enormous.

RFI: The Congo Basin is now the most important carbon sink in the world, absorbing more carbon dioxide than the Amazon. Can you explain why this ecosystem matters for the climate?

HKC: In one photograph in the exhibition, you can see the village of Lokolama and the peatlands surrounding it. These peatlands store carbon. Scientists discovered relatively recently that they hold 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to three years of global emissions in that single region.

It is clearly a very important site to protect. What is interesting is that local communities now understand the value of what they have. The village chief is in contact with environmental NGOs that have visited, and he is trying to see how this can also benefit his community.

They have decided to set aside certain areas of land that they will not cut for charcoal production because they understand the importance of doing so, especially since climate change is particularly visible between the Congo and the Nile. In some places, the tipping point has already been reached.

The melting glaciers in the mountains that divide the Congo and Nile Basins are very symbolic to photograph because even with conservation efforts, it is too late. The Rwenzori glacier will disappear within the next decade.

RFI: Do you think the environmental risks facing the Amazon rainforest are the same for the Congo Basin?

HKC: What protects many parts of DRC is their remoteness and the difficulty of access. The region can still be protected. There was an outcry recently when the Congolese government planned to auction off areas, including protected zones, for oil and gas drilling rights.

That auction was cancelled in 2024, which showed how high the stakes are, and the fact it never happened is a very positive sign. Many of these places are also too complex logistically for large-scale exploitation. People still rely on the river to extract timber and other resources. It would be very complicated for anyone to start other kinds of operations.

RFI: Before this exhibition, most of your work focused on conflict in the country. Is this project also something like a declaration of love for the Congo Basin?

HKC: Maybe, yes. I have lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2019, and even when I was covering conflicts, I found myself in beautiful places surrounded by wonderful people. It feels like many different worlds brought together in one country.

The Congo River is completely different from the Kivu region, which is itself completely different from the mountains or the savannah. There is so much to explore. It would be fantastic if, in the future, the DRC, which I think is the most interesting country in Africa, became a bit more open to visitors so everyone could appreciate its beauty and diversity.

► “The Heart of the Congo Basin” runs until 28 February at the Angalia gallery, 10 rue des Coutures Saint-Gervais, Paris. Entry is free.

This article is an adaptation of an interview by Pierre Fesnien.

Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old French nationalist, died from blows to the head during a clash between ultra-right and ultra-left activists in Lyon on 12 February.

Deranque was involved with several nationalist and far-right groups, and was reportedly providing security for Nemesis, a femonationalist identitarian movement which was protesting against a conference hosted by MEP Rima Hassan of the far-left France Unbowed party at Sciences Po Lyon university.

Seven men have been charged over his death, most from the anti-fascist Jeune Garde movement, founded in Lyon in 2018.

A bourgeois city that sits at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, and France’s third-largest by population, Lyon is famed for gastronomy and steeped in Roman history. It also has a reputation for far-right violence.

‘Ultra-left’ blamed for youth’s killing that shocked France

Catholic conservatism

“Lyon has historically been an epicentre of the radical right for about a century,” said Isabelle Sommier, a sociologist at the Sorbonne university and co-author of a book on political violence. “It’s the city with the highest concentration of radical right activists.”

As early as 1913, the monarchist, nationalist movement Action Française – now considered foundational to France’s far right – organised a student demonstration in Lyon, giving it a foothold in the city, as well as leading to clashes.

Action Française strengthened its presence in Lyon during the Second World War, and since the 2010s has undergone a revival. According to local media outlet Rue89Lyon, it reopened premises in 2015 and now has around 30 active militants who hold weekly training sessions in the city.

Lyon’s strong tradition of Catholic conservatism has favoured the development of religious identitarian groups. And, Sommier notes, its universities have provided fertile recruitment ground for such movements. 

The Federation of Nationalist Students (FEN) and the neo-fascist Ordre Nouveau (“New Order”) were active in Lyon from the late 1960s, contributing to the founding of the far-right National Front (now National Rally) in 1972.

Lyon III University (founded in 1973) in particular became a centre for far-right ideology and helped foster a generation of militants. From the 1970s to 1990s, there were a number of far-right academics – and one notable Holocaust denier – on its staff, including history professor and former National Front heavyweight Bruno Gollnisch.

A 2004 official report by the government-appointed Commission on Racism and Holocaust Denial noted that the university “tolerated extreme right-wing views and Holocaust denial”. And that while it was “not a fascist campus”, it contained “an extreme right-wing kernel”.

According to Marie Allenou, an investigative journalist with Rue89Lyon, the university “played a role in structuring far-right groups in Lyon in the 1980s and 1990s”.

French ultra-right-wing activists on trial for terror conspiracy

‘Cradle’ of the far right 

The ultranationalist student organisation, the Groupe Union Défense (GUD), dissolved in 2024, was founded in 1968 in Paris and took hold in Lyon in the 2000s. In 2017 it gave rise to Bastion Social – a national-revolutionary group inspired by Italy’s extreme-right youth movement CasaPound.

“In Lyon, we had pretty much all the far-right movements gathering here,” said Allenou, adding on Generation Identitaire, Lyon Populaire and the Parti de l’Oeuvre Française, along with its nationalist youth wing Fraction Jeunesse.

“We also had hooligans; the Blood and Honour group, which was a mixture of fighting and concerts; the anti-Communist rock movement and neo-Nazi metal concerts organised in the Lyon region.”

Several groups set up their headquarters in the historic Vieux Lyon (“Old Lyon”) district. The bar La Traboule and a boxing gym served as premises for Generation Identitaire until it was dissolved in 2019.

The same year, France’s territorial intelligence services described the Lyon region as the “cradle” of the radical far right.

Court allows controversial ultra-nationalist rally in Paris

Far-left riposte

In June 2013, the death of leftist activist Clement Méric during clashes between far-right and anti-fascist militants in Paris galvanised the radical left movement in Lyon.

Gale (Groupe Antifasciste Lyon et Environs), a militant antifascist group, was created, uniting several local anti-fa groups.

Then in 2018, the anti-fascist Jeune Garde was founded by activists linked to the New Anti-Capitalist Party. They included Raphael Arnault – now an MP with the hard-left France Unbowed – whose parliamentary assistant is among those who have been charged over Deranque’s death.

For historian Sylvain Boulouque, the Jeune Garde’s approach differs from the nationalist groups it seeks to combat. “They set themselves the objective of protecting demonstrations and left-wing organisations from the actions of the far right… [acting] like a security service.”

The anti-fascist groups set up shop in the hilltop district of the city known as Croix-Rousse, home to silk weavers in the 19th century and close to the Vieux Lyon area where the far right has based itself.

As a result. Boulouque says there is now “a kind of turf war with each camp trying to control the street”.

The geographical proximity of the right and left factions means that “confrontations are extremely frequent,” he says.

“The signifiant presence of the ultra-right and ultra-left in Lyon has resulted in the two movements nourishing one another through violence,” echoed a parliamentary report in 2023.

However, it’s not an even battle, with fewer than 100 ultra-left militants compared to nearly 400 on the ultra-right.

France to ban far-right Catholic group for ‘legitimising violence’

A report by Rue89Lyon, published in October 2025, listed 102 violent attacks carried out by far-right militants in Lyon between 2010 and 2025 “particularly on progressive activists and marginalised people (racial minorities or LGBTI)”.

The report also found that 70 percent of these violent incidents received no response, whether police intervention or prosecution.

Sommier says both the far right and far left have their own “specialities” when it comes to violence.

“For the radical left, the main mode of action is vandalism and confrontations with the police during demonstrations. For the radical right, it’s assaults.” 

Data she gathered from 1986 to 2016 found that seven out of 10 assaults across all groups were carried out by far-right activists. Of those, 70 percent targeted people of colour and three in 10 targeted political opponents.

While violence is mounting, it remains asymmetrical. “Ninety percent is due to the far right, about 10 per cent is on the far left,” says sociologist Erwan Lecoeur. “It’s the far right that kills.”

Ultra-right group disbanded after violent clashes in south of France

Sommier believes the situation in Lyon reflects that in the country as a whole. She notes a surge in assaults since the 2022 presidential campaign, amidst an extremely tense global political climate. “Far-right groups are becoming more and more virulent in a favourable international context.”

Lecoeur argues that political polarisation and the way the media amplifies radical positions is intensifying confrontation across France. “The extremes are taking their place at the centre of political debate,” he said. “Opponents are seen increasingly as adversaries to be defeated rather than persuaded.”

Since fighting erupted in 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the UAE has faced growing scrutiny over its alleged ties to the RSF.

Sudan’s government and armed forces have accused the UAE of providing support to the RSF in the civil war, while European officials say they have raised concerns with Abu Dhabi over reported backing for the militia – allegations the Emirates deny.

This week, a UN fact-finding mission said atrocities committed by the RSF in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and one of the last major cities in the region outside RSF control, bore the “hallmarks of genocide”.

Against that backdrop, attention has increasingly turned to the RSF’s sources of funding.

In a statement to RFI, the UAE foreign ministry said recent UN reports “make no reference to the UAE” and found no evidence implicating it in violations of international law in Sudan – dismissing such claims as “baseless”.

It condemned atrocities committed by the RSF as well as by Sudanese authorities in Port Sudan, the army’s de facto seat of government, and said Sudan’s future should be secured through an independent civilian-led transition, free of both warring parties and extremist groups.

Following the money

At the heart of the controversy lies gold – a resource that has become central to both Sudan’s war economy and Dubai’s status as a global trading hub.

For Abu Dhabi, engagement in Africa blends business interests with geopolitical ambition. For Sudan, it has become entangled in a wider regional contest for power, resources and influence.

Marc Lavergne, emeritus research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, spoke to RFI about the economic and political links binding the Emirates to Sudan and the broader sub region.

RFI: How central is Sudan to the UAE’s broader strategy in Africa?

Marc Lavergne: At the outset, everything comes down to gold – and to Dubai [one of the seven emirates that constitute the UAE]. Dubai is the world’s largest gold market, and Sudan has immense reserves. It has become Africa’s leading gold producer, ahead of South Africa. Gold is found across the vast territory of Sudan – you could almost say that you just have to bend down to pick it up.

There are tens of thousands of artisanal miners, most of them not professionals, who come from all over Africa and the Sahel to scrape the soil. These miners are controlled by the RSF, who collect the gold and bypass the central bank and official channels. The gold is then flown directly to Dubai to be refined.

This ensures the prosperity of the RSF and, at the same time, that of Dubai. That is precisely why the regular Sudanese army sought to regain control of these resources. It ordered the RSF to fall into line – to wear uniforms, adopt ranks and submit to the authority of the generals who have ruled in Khartoum since independence in 1956, almost without interruption.

Those generals, backed by Egypt and other militarised regimes, also need resources – not so much to develop the country, but to serve the interests of the army, the military institutions and its officers.

Seizure of Sudan’s El Fasher a ‘political and moral defeat’ for RSF militia: expert

RFI: In this context, how does the UAE position itself in relation to its partners and other powers in the sub-region?

ML: The United Arab Emirates is a federation, with Abu Dhabi as its political centre. Business is largely concentrated in Dubai, while administration is more firmly anchored in Abu Dhabi. There is also a form of rivalry with Saudi Arabia.

The UAE is a small country, with around 10 million inhabitants, of whom only about 20 percent are Emirati citizens – the rest are migrant workers. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, has a population of around 40 million, most of them Saudis.

These two countries are pursuing competing visions for 2030, embodied by Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and Mohammed bin Zayed in the Emirates. Both are seeking a form of regional leadership, alongside other Gulf actors that may be rivals or allies depending on the moment – Qatar, Kuwait and the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

RFI: This competition seems to be playing out in Africa too. The Emirates appear to be expanding their influence across multiple fronts – security and defence, as we’ve discussed, but also ports, logistics and diplomacy. When did this strategy really take shape?

ML: We should remember that the Emirates were once known as the “pirate coast” during the British period. These societies have very old ties with Africa. For centuries, there were networks stretching from East Africa deep into the continent, involving the trade in ivory, slaves and other commodities – long before European colonisation.

Ethiopia has traditionally remained outside this sphere of influence, but neighbouring countries such as Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan have long been connected to the Gulf world. In that sense, the Emirates’ current engagement in Africa is less a novelty than a continuation, albeit in a modernised and far more assertive form.

Race to save Sudan’s plundered heritage as museums fall victim to war

RFI: The accusations against the Emirates are extremely serious – notably claims that they are providing armed support to the RSF, whose atrocities are now reported almost daily. There are also allegations of mercenaries being transported to Sudan, including some from South America. How do you explain the apparent impunity enjoyed by the UAE, particularly with regard to its major partners in Europe and the United States?

ML: The UAE does not submit to diktats from Washington or elsewhere. When it intervenes to support marginalised groups like the RSF in Sudan – or similar players in other parts of Africa – it is operating in failed states that are overflowing with exploitable resources.

International legality is not a decisive factor. No one is really in a position to oppose the Emirates, because they now play what many see as an irreplaceable role on the global stage. The United States is no longer acting as the guarantor of world order – quite the opposite. It is opening the door to a form of global disorder.

In that environment, small but powerful countries like the UAE do not hesitate to act outside international law, whether by supporting rebel movements or, in some cases, groups that others would label as terrorists.

This article is an adaptation of an interview in French by Sidy Yansané. It has been updated since publication to include a response from the United Arab Emirates foreign ministry.

Secours Catholique-Caritas France and its international partners gathered testimonies from 119 people around the world who have been directly affected by climate disasters and have received support from the charitable network in their wake.

“Beyond alerts and scientific findings we have been receiving for a long time, it seemed important to focus on the words of people, to show that the impacts of climate change are not only real, but are long-term,” said Daphné Chamard-Teirlinck, co-author of the report.

The stories were gathered between March and June 2025, from France – including its overseas territories Mayotte, Réunion Island and French Guiana – and Brazil, Tunisia, and Madagascar.

Scorched vines and shrinking incomes drive French winegrowers to the streets

Farmers on the brink

In southern France, Eric, 44, was forced to close his family farm after 20 years of work after exceptional rainfall destroyed his land and he didn’t have the €300,000 needed to rebuild.

Across the Mediterranean in rural Tunisia, Hnia, a widowed mother of four, struggles to maintain her small herd of dairy cows in the face of recurring drought.

Unable to grow enough fodder for her cows, she now has to buy feed. Extreme heat has also lowered milk production in her herd and increased veterinary care costs, forcing her to sell off some of her cows to pay off debts.

Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat

In northwestern Madagascar – where 75 percent of the population lives in poverty – coffee, vanilla, and cocoa farmer Soalehy laments a lack of solidarity from buyers following the havoc wreaked by torrential rains.

“There have been big changes because of the flooding. Harvests have become irregular and buyers no longer agree to negotiate prices,” he said. “They impose their rates and the farmers, lacking means, are forced to accept.”

Urban impact

In urban areas, Secours Catholique describes a “spiral of vulnerability” which sees those who are already living precarious lives – people in poverty, homeless people and those living in the most polluted parts of cities – unable to recover from climate disasters.

In December 2024, Cyclone Chido tore through the French Indian ocean department of Mayotte and destroyed thousands of corrugated iron shacks, in which a third of the population were living.

Ravaged forest threatens Mayotte’s biodiversity, economy and food security

Marie-France, a resident of Saint-Martin-Vésubie in south-eastern France which was devastated by floods after Storm Alex in 2020, said the elderly and infirm cannot easily get back on track following such disasters.

“Single women, single people and retirees are much more vulnerable than young people, who bounce back faster,” she said. “For some people, it takes a long time. You don’t recover as quickly at 70 as you do at 20.”

The report also warns that climate change is pushing previously stable households into poverty. One family in northern France was left homeless after two floods in late 2023 and early 2024 made their house uninhabitable.

After living in various temporary shelters – including a gymnasium and a hotel room – they returned to a damp, unheated house and became trapped in a cycle of debt trying to rectify this.

Psychological effects

Some of the testimonies collected point to the psychological impact of climate change.

Bernard, a community leader on France’s Réunion Island, describes a chain reaction to extreme heat.

“When it’s hot, you sleep badly. That means the next day you’re tired, and you have to go to work tired. That’s going to be difficult, and you’ll be less productive,” he said, adding that someone who is sleep deprived could become irritable at work and as a result could lose their job, which then causes tensions at home.

“This might also create domestic violence. All because of the climate.”

France’s summer of heatwaves exposes hidden mental health cost

The climate crisis “establishes a vicious cycle that exhausts bodies and minds” said Secours Catholique, which also reports seeing more requests for help from people who previously would not have approached charities like theirs. 

Recommendations

While many countries have adaptation plans to tackle the effects of climate change, they “struggle to meet the scale of the challenges,” Secours Catholique says.

While it says this is due in part to a lack of resources, it also believes there is “a lack of will and political commitment to fully integrate climate and social issues into regional planning and management”.

In its report, the NGO puts forward a dozen recommendations, including a call to cap profit margins for food. This would involve the obligation to sell around 100 targeted products at cost price.

It highlights that agroecology – a sustainable approach to farming that applies ecological principles to agricultural systems – is “an essential practice to guarantee the right to food”.

It also advocates for cross-referencing social needs against a map of areas vulnerable to climate disasters. “When a storm or flood arrives, it’s about knowing which people will not be able to leave their homes alone,” explains Chamard-Teirlinck. “It’s basic, but necessary.”

Similarly, the report recommends providing more localised information to inform residents of their rights following a climate disaster, including on compensation claims, access to emergency aid and the right to repairs.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Géraud Bosman-Delzons.

Pelicot became a global icon in the fight against sexual violence in 2024 during the trial of her ex-husband Dominique and dozens of strangers who raped her while she was unconscious. 

Entitled A Hymn to Life (Et la Joie de Vivre), it was written with French author Judith Perrignon and translated into 22 languages, a testament to the impact her story had on audiences around the world.

It spans Pelicot’s 50-year relationship – which she stresses was not a nightmarish ordeal, but life with someone she considered a “great guy”.

“Like every couple, we had difficult moments, but we loved each other, I’m sure of that, and we had three children,” Pelicot told French magazine Telerama in the first of a series of promotional interviews about the book last week.

She reveals her shock when first called by police in 2020 to talk about her ex-husband and recounts her horror as she examines photographs of herself being raped under the influence of sedatives he administered to her.

“I didn’t recognise the men. Or this woman. Her cheek was so flabby. Her mouth so limp. She was like a rag doll,” writes the 73-year-old, according to the French-language version.

A woman of her generation

A Hymn to Life allows Gisèle to speak about herself and her upbringing. Born in Germany into a modest family in 1952, Gisèle Guillou spent her childhood in the Indre region, marked by the death of her mother from cancer when she was only 9 years old.

Her father, a soldier devastated by the death of his wife, remarried but Gisèle grew up in the presence of a nasty and controlling step-mother.

Her way of breaking free was to get married – and she found a soulmate in Dominique, who had also had a difficult childhood.

But she admits she was clearly a “woman of her generation,” a woman born after the war, whose lifestyle seems very far removed from today’s society.

“I was that woman who puts a man’s satisfaction before her own,” she writes in the book.

‘A very difficult ordeal’: Gisèle Pelicot’s statement after mass rape trial

She also describes the choice she made to have an open trial, rather than one behind closed doors – a courageous step, but one she felt was necessary.

“When I think back to the moment I made my decision, I realise that if I had been 20 years younger, I might not have dared to refuse a closed session,” she wrote, according to an extract.

“I would have been afraid of the stares, those damned stares that a woman of my generation has always had to deal with,” she added.

She puts her personal strength down to female role models like her grandmother and mother and writing the book was her way of bearing witness and “addressing all those who supported me.”

“It seems to me that we do not suspect the strength we have inside us until we are forced to draw on it, and that is also what I would like to say to victims,” she says.

Believe in a brighter future

Gisèle says she hopes to inspire other rape victims to believe in a brighter future – and to change attitudes along the way.

Her ordeal has even lead to a change in French rape laws and a public reckoning with the problem of drugging women. 

As for Dominique Pelicot – Gisèle says in the book that she would like to organise to visit her ex-husband in prison where he will stay for the next 20 years. 

“That visit would be a stage in my reconstruction, an opportunity to confront him face to face,” she told French news agency AFP.

Gisele Pelicot’s daughter files sex abuse case against father

“How could he have put our entire family through hell? He may not answer my questions, but I need to ask them.”

A Hymn to Life is the indeed the new chapter in Gisèle’s life in which she describes herself as a “happy woman”, having found love again in a new relationship and settling on the French Atlantic island of Ile de Re.

“Despite all these ordeals, even in the darkest periods, I have always sought flashes of joy; I am looking towards the future, towards joy. I know this may surprise some who expect to see me in tatters, but I am determined to remain standing and dignified,” she told AFP.

(with newswires)

“We are willing to give exclusive [access to our minerals] to the United States. Also, we are open to offer military bases to the United States,” Khadar Hussein Abdi, minister of the presidency, told AFP in an interview on Saturday.

“We believe that we will agree on something with the United States.”

Somaliland’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals say the country’s soil is rich in lithium, coltan and other sought-after resources, though independent studies are lacking. In 2024 the Saudi Mining Company Kilomass secured an exploration deal there for lithium and other critical minerals.

Washington already has a naval base in Djibouti, a neighbouring country of Somaliland. 

Strategic rapprochement with Israel

In December, Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland as an independent state – which the northern territory has been seeking since declaring its autonomy from Somalia in 1991.

The government in Mogadishu still considers Somaliland an integral part of Somalia even though the territory has run its own affairs since 1991, with its own passports, currency, army and police force.

Earlier this month, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said no bilateral economic deal with Israel had yet been reached, but that Somaliland expected to sign “a partnership agreement” offering rights to valuable mineral deposits as part of the deal.

Abdi said he “could not rule out” the possibility of also allowing Israel to set up a military presence in the context of this strategic partnership. 

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland ‘is not an isolated initiative’: expert

Regional instability

Somaliland lies across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, where Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have often attacked Israeli assets to show solidarity with Palestinians. 

Israeli recognition of Somaliland has prompted threats from the Houthis and al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group al-Shabaab, which has been waging war against the fragile Somali state for 20 years.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Israeli recognition as “the greatest violation of Somalia’s sovereignty” and a “threat to the security and stability of the world and the region”. 

The African Union and most Arab countries threw their support behind Somalia and condemned the move.

The US has yet to signal a major shift on the question of Somaliland.

But in August, US President Donald Trump, who had previously lobbed insults at Somalia and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, suggested he was preparing to move on the issue when asked about Somaliland during a White House news conference.

DR Congo weighs price of security in minerals deal with US

(with AFP)

“I wish to personally draw your attention to the sanctions imposed by the United States against several European citizens, including two French nationals, Nicolas Guillou, a judge at the International Criminal Court, and Thierry Breton, a former European commissioner,” the French president wrote in a letter to Donald Trump, according to La Tribune Dimanche newspaper. 

“I ask you to reconsider these decisions by your administration and to lift the sanctions unjustly imposed on Nicolas Guillou and Thierry Breton,” he added.

The sanctions also apply three other French individuals working for non-governmental organisations that flag online disinformation and hate speech.

Announcing the sanctions in December the State Department said: “These radical activists and weaponised NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states – in each case targeting American speakers and American companies.”  

The EU said “strongly condemned” the sanctions. 

EU crackdown on Big Tech comes into effect with changes for users

‘Erroneous assesments’

Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton is an architect of the EU’s Digital Services Act and has been at the forefront of efforts to regulate technology platforms, which Washington views as an infringement of freedom of expression.

The State Department accuses him of detrimental “censorship” to American interests. He’s been barred from entering the United States since December 2025.

“The sanctions adopted against Thierry Breton undermine European regulatory autonomy and are moreover based on erroneous assessments,” Macron said in the letter. “European digital regulation has no extraterritorial scope and applies, without discrimination, within European territory to all companies concerned.”

Thierry Breton: France’s bulldozer at the EU crashes out

Judicial independence ‘undermined’

Judge Nicolas Guillou was sanctioned by Washington in August 2025, along with other ICC magistrates, over his involvement in proceedings relating to an arrest warrant targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Also barred from entering the United States, his Visa card – an American service – was withdrawn by his bank in France. He is also unable to use a range of American digital services, from Airbnb to Amazon.

Israel urges ICC to drop arrest warrants against PM

“The sanctions adopted against Nicolas Guillou undermine the principle of judicial independence and the mandate of the ICC,” Macron wrote.

“I am Breton and I can hold out for a very long time” without a Visa card or American digital services, Guillou said on Tuesday in Brussels, where he had travelled to call for the EU to wake up to banking and digital sovereignty issues.

“But I will not hold out if nothing happens,” he warned. 

Another one of the five subject to the US visa ban is British tech campaigner Imran Ahmed, the head of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) – a nonprofit watchdog that researches the harmful effects of online disinformation..

In January he described the ban as “punishment” and said Washington’s actions amounted to “tyrannical behaviour”.

Ahmed, a critic of billionaire Elon Musk, holds US permanent residency. He has filed a lawsuit against Trump’s administration, calling the ban an “unconstitutional” attempt to expel a permanent American resident,

(with newswires)

During a visit to Haute-Marne in eastern France earlier this week, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard and Ecological Transition Minister Mathieu Lefèvre confirmed that farmers will be allowed to shoot wolves in defence of their animals, even if their herds are not protected by fences or other deterrents.

The change marks a significant shift in policy and is aimed at responding more swiftly to attacks, which have surged in recent years.

“Whether protected or not, farmers will have the right to shoot in defence [of their animals],” Genevard said, adding that this was a necessary adaptation to the new reality on the ground.

Wolves are expanding their territory across France. Once limited to fewer than 10 departments, they are now present in more than 60. This has caused issues in newly affected areas, where livestock protection measures are still being developed.

Mixed reactions as France prepares to simplify wolf culling rules

Rising attacks

In Haute-Marne, around 800 farm animals were killed in 2025, with a further 124 losses recorded since the start of this year.

Nationally, preliminary data suggests that 12,000 animals fell victim to wolf attacks in 2025 – a rise that has fuelled frustration and anxiety among farmers.

Until now, regulations required farmers to install protective measures before being granted permission to shoot wolves. The government argues that this approach no longer fits the evolving situation.

“The status quo in the face of such [predatory behaviour] is not possible,” Mr Lefèvre said, adding that wolves are increasingly appearing in territories “which by definition are poorly protected”.

Under the planned decree – expected in the coming weeks – farmers, specialised intervention brigades and licensed wolf hunters will be allowed to carry out targeted culling operations to defend unprotected livestock.

Compensation rules will also be relaxed slightly: payments will continue even after repeated attacks, provided farmers are actively working towards better protection, even if those measures are not yet fully in place.

However, ministers stressed that the changes are not a free pass. Farmers who benefit from wolf control measures will be expected to commit to putting protection systems in place within the following year.

French documentary about wolves raises ire of angry sheep farmers

Conservation concerns

The policy shift has drawn a mixed response. For many farmers, it represents a welcome step towards greater flexibility and security.

“This is a step forward – we will have more flexibility to protect our animals,” said Lucette Nivert, a sheep farmer in Lanques-sur-Rognon. Still, she emphasised the ongoing strain felt in rural communities. “As long as the wolf is there, attacking us and making our lives hell, it will be unbearable.”

But the Association for the Protection of Wild Animals described the measures as “catastrophic” and has pledged to challenge the decree in court once it is published.

The group has long argued that the return of wolves to France has been an ecological success, helping to restore natural balance.

Alongside the regulatory changes, the government confirmed that it will raise the wolf culling quota for 2026 to 21 percent of the estimated population of 1,082 animals, with the option to increase this by a further 2 percent if needed – allowing for up to 248 wolves to be killed. This follows a 2025 quota of 19 percent, equivalent to 190 wolves.

The decision stops short of demands from several Alpine and sub-Alpine departments, which had called for a more substantial increase to 30 percent. However, ministers have signalled that further changes could be on the horizon, with an emergency agricultural bill expected to address the sensitive and increasingly urgent issue of livestock predation.

(with newswires)

A study published this month shows climate conditions suitable for transmission of the virus now extend from southern Europe into parts of central and northern countries on the continent, raising the risk of outbreaks during warmer months.

Scientists found infections could occur for more than six months each year in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece. In countries including France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, transmission may be possible for two to five months annually.

In south-east England, the virus could be spread for around two months each year.

The research, led by Sandeep Tegar at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, analysed data from 49 earlier studies to understand how temperature affects how the chikungunya virus develops inside the Asian tiger mosquito – an invasive species that has spread across Europe in recent decades.

The study found the minimum temperature needed for transmission is about 13-14C, lower than earlier estimates of 16-18C. That means the disease could spread across more regions and for longer periods than previously thought.

Chikungunya was first identified in Tanzania in 1952 and causes severe and prolonged joint pain. The disease can be fatal in young children and older adults.

France sees record spike in chikungunya cases as tiger mosquito spreads

Longer mosquito season

Outbreaks in Europe are often triggered when travellers return from tropical regions having been infected there and are then bitten by local tiger mosquitoes, transmitting the disease to them, which they in turn spread. Hundreds of cases were reported in France and Italy in 2025.

Cold winters have historically limited mosquito activity and acted as a natural barrier preventing the disease from spreading from one year to the next. Scientists say warming temperatures are now weakening that protection.

“We’re likely to see much bigger outbreaks because you don’t have this natural firebreak anymore,” said Steven White from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

The study shows transmission across Europe is most likely between May and October, with peak risk in July and August, when roughly half the continent becomes suitable for the virus to spread.

Measuring the cost of mosquito bites

Health risks

Transmission in Europe is likely to become more visible over time, said Diana Rojas Alvarez, who leads the World Health Organization team on viruses transmitted by insect and tick bites.

Up to 40 percent of patients may experience arthritis or severe pain for years after infection, she said.

Rojas Alvarez urged preventative measures including removing standing water where mosquitoes breed, wearing protective clothing, using insect repellent and strengthening mosquito surveillance.

There have been no locally transmitted chikungunya infections reported in the United Kingdom, but 73 cases were recorded among travellers in the first half of 2025, almost triple the number reported during the same period in 2024.

The Asian tiger mosquito can transmit several viruses that cause serious illness, including chikungunya, dengue and Zika.

In what could mark a major turning point in the history of arms control, New Start expired on 5 February. Neither US President Donald Trump nor his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has shown interest in renewing it. 

The treaty was signed between the United States and Russia on 8 April 2010 and came into force on 5 February 2011. Initially planned to last 10 years, it was extended for another five in 2021.

Its goal was to limit each side to 800 missile launchers and 1,550 nuclear warheads, with the two countries authorised to inspect each other’s stockpiles.

It was never a global treaty. Other countries signed up to the broader Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which came into force in 1970 and now has 191 parties, including the US and Russia.

But Washington and Moscow also had bilateral arms control agreements in place continuously since 1972 – until now, notes Benoît Pelopidas, an expert on nuclear threats at Sciences Po university in Paris.

“But it would be false to deduce from that that the arms race has not started yet and might start now,” he tells RFI. 

“There are reasons to think that the arms race started as early as the spring of 2010.”

Europe confronts ‘new nuclear reality’ as Macron signals broader deterrence role

‘Possible acceleration’

Even before New Start expired, implementation of the treaty deteriorated over time, culminating in Russia suspending its participation in 2023.

“And now we’re at a full level where it’s no longer implemented at all,” says Pelopidas. “It’s new diplomatically, and it enables the possible acceleration of an ongoing arms race.”

NATO called for “restraint and responsibility” after the treaty expired.

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and coercive signals on nuclear matters reveal a posture of strategic intimidation,” an official told French news agency AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“NATO will continue to take the measures necessary to ensure its credibility and the effectiveness of its overall deterrence and defence position.”

The Kremlin had proposed continuing to comply with New Start’s limits until February 2027, but the White House did not respond.

Moscow considers the treaty’s expiration “a negative development”, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We express our regret in this regard.”

China shuns calls to enter nuclear talks after US-Russia treaty lapses

Disarmament still possible

According to Pelopidas, disarmament is possible and has been partially achieved before, especially in the early 1990s after the end of the Cold War. 

“In 1991, we had 58,000 nuclear weapons on the planet. And we’re now at a level of roughly 12,000 in 2025, which is a massive decrease,” he says. 

“We have, between 1986 and today, dismantled or retired over 80 percent of the existing arsenal in the world. So it is not materially impossible to dismantle or disarm.”

The world’s remaining nuclear stockpile still has the potential to wreak huge destruction, he stresses, a fact that he believes should drive all nuclear powers to work towards de-escalation.

“If the theory of nuclear winter is correct, a so-called limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan that led to the explosion of 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs – that is, roughly 1 percent of the existing arsenal – would lead to the death of 2 billion people by starvation due to its indirect consequences over two years,” Pelopidas says.

“That’s how destructive the capacity of the existing arsenal is.”

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

The crowd marched through the city of Lyon carrying flowers and placards bearing pictures of Quentin Deranque and the words, “justice for Quentin” and “the extreme left kills”.

Some wore surgical masks and sunglasses to cover their faces and chanted “we are at home” and “antifa assassin”.

Videos circulating on social media showed Nazi salutes and racist insults. The local authority said it had reported them to the prosecutor.

Deranque, a 23-year-old nationalist activist and student, died from his injuries last weekend – two days after being severely beaten during a street brawl between ultranationalist and anti-fascist militants.

Seven people are under formal investigation for their alleged role in his death, including a former aide to a lawmaker for the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, which has condemned the killing.

Heavy police presence

Saturday’s rally was heavily policed amid fears that clashes would break out between demonstrators and counter-protesters.

“We will not tolerate any incidents within the procession” or “on the fringes of this march,” Rhône Prefect Fabienne Buccio said ahead of the rally.

The march had largely dissipated by 8:00pm without incident, but increased law enforcement would remain deployed in the city throughout the night, Buccio said.

There were also small groups shouting “we are all antifascist” at the side of the march, and a banner saying “Lyon is antifa” flew from a window, images broadcast on BFMTV showed.

Court allows controversial ultra-nationalist rally in Paris

‘Charlie-Kirk moment’

French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm on Saturday morning ahead of the rallies and said he would hold a meeting with ministers on all violent groups next week.

Former centre-right prime minister Dominique de Villepin called the killing of 23-year-old Deranque “France’s Charlie Kirk moment”, referring to last year’s shooting of the US conservative activist.

Deranque’s death was the first allegedly carried out by hard-left individuals since 2022, newspaper Le Monde has reported. Reuters has reported at least five killings allegedly carried out by far-right individuals in the same period.

How did Lyon become France’s capital of political violence?

Far-right groups

The march was organised by Aliette Espieux, an anti-abortion activist who ran as a National Rally candidate in the 2020 municipal elections. She is married to Eliot Bertin, a well‑known figure of the radical neo‑Nazi milieu in Lyon.

The far-right National Rally had urged supporters not to attend the rally for fear of unrest.

Lyon mayor Gregory Doucet had tried to stop the march from going ahead, telling reporters he was worried about calls for French and European neo-Nazi groups to travel to Lyon for the event.

“We have fought against far-right violence during our term. We have managed to close down many premises, to shut down organisations because we know that certain individuals are violent and so we were worried,” he said on Saturday.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the march had been authorised in the name of freedom of speech. 

(with newswires)

Harrop and Anselmet clocked a winning time of 26min 57.44sec in the relay.

The Swiss duo of Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler claimed silver, 11.86sec behind, with Spain’s Ana Alonso Rodriguez and Oriol Cardona Coll in third place.

“It’s a crazy feeling. The Olympics are the top of any athlete’s dream,” said Harrop.

“To be in the top place today with such a strong field out there, it’s just crazy.”

Harrop said she and Anselmet had a strategy “to start off hard and to put everyone in difficulties”.

“But that includes ourselves!” the 28-year-old said. “I knew that it was going to be a hard race until the end.”

Gu’s exchange with AFP at Winter Olympics goes viral

A lung-busting race

Harrop, a four-time World Cup overall champion who was born in the French Alps to English parents, was in dominant form in her opening leg.

A silver medallist in the individual sprint, she built up a healthy lead over Switzerland’s Fatton and Spain’s Alonso Rodriguez, the sprint gold and bronze medallists respectively.

Anselmet maintained that lead over Kistler and men’s sprint champion Carona Coll.

Ski mountaineering is making its Olympic debut at the Milan-Cortina Games and while the ‘skimo’ sprints offered a condensed version of the sport, the mixed relay proved to be a true lung-busting race.

The 12 teams of two had to negotiate two ascents plus a steep section of steps on foot with skis attached to the backpack.

The athletes are required to employ all their technical nous to transition efficiently, stripping off reusable ‘skins’ that give their skis grip for climbing so they can freely ski down two descents.

African athletes have blazed a trail at Winter Olympics for over 60 years

(with newswires)

“Should it become necessary, the EU has the appropriate instruments at its disposal,” Forissier said in an interview with Britain’s Financial Times, published on Saturday.

He said Paris was in talks with EU counterparts and the European Commission after Trump signed an executive order on Friday introducing a “temporary” 10 percent flat global tariff.

Trump announced the measure hours after the US Supreme Court ruled that many of the existing tariffs he had levied on trading partners were illegal.

What’s next after US Supreme Court tariff ruling?

Following the Supreme Court ruling, President Emmanuel Macron, who is spending Saturday at the Paris International Agricultural Show, said: “We will look precisely at the consequences, at what can be done, and we will adapt.”

“It’s not a bad thing to have supreme courts and therefore the rule of law,” he said. “It’s good to have powers and counter-powers in democracies.”

Retaliatory tariffs

The EU response could include options such as the “trade bazooka” – an anti-coercion instrument (ACI) that could affect US technology companies, the newspaper said, citing French officials.

What is the EU’s ‘anti-coercion instrument’ and will it be used against Trump?

The ACI has a broad range of powers from export controls to tariffs on services, as well as excluding US companies from EU procurement contracts, it said.

There is also a suspended package of retaliatory tariffs on more than 90 billion euros of US goods that could be deployed, the report added.

(with newswires)

France on Friday handed over a “talking drum” looted by colonial troops from Côte d’Ivoire in 1916 in the latest repatriation of stolen artefacts.

The Djidji Ayokwe drum, more than three metres long and weighing 430 kilos was used by the Ebrie tribe to transmit messages.

It is one of hundreds of objects looted by France during the reign of its colonial empire, from the 16th century to the first half of the 20th century that France is preparing to send back to Africa.

Last July French MPs unanimously adopted legislation to authorise mass repatriations. The new law was approved in the Senate last month.

French Senate adopts bill to return colonial-era art

Return of a symbol

“All of Côte d’Ivoire is ready to welcome it,” Ivorian Culture Minister Françoise Remarck said at a ceremony in Paris with her French counterpart Rachida Dati.

Remarck added that she was “extremely moved” by the “return of this symbol” that is “finally coming back to its homeland”.

The drum is to be exhibited permanently in a new museum being built in the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan.

France has been flooded with restitution demands from former colonies such as Algeria, Mali, and Benin.

The restitution of looted artworks to Africa is one of the highlights of the “new relationship” Macron wanted to establish with the continent.

In 2023, France adopted two so-called framework laws to return objects in two categories: one for goods looted from Jewish families during World War II, and another for the repatriation of human remains from public collections.

France passes law to help return art looted by Nazis to Jewish owners

(with newswires)

The Paris agricultural show is the largest in Europe. But for the first time since its creation in 1964 cows have been banned after an outbreak of lumpy skin disease in France sparked fears of contamination, according to organisers.

Another difference this year is that two French unions – Coordination Rurale and Confédération Paysanne – are boycotting the traditional meeting with the president to draw attention to the difficulties faced by farmers due to economic pressures and concerns over the EU’s trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc. 

The unions will still hold stands at the fair.

French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard announced Friday that France had now lifted most of the curbs that were imposed on moving cattle to stop the spread of lumpy ​skin disease.

“Since we ⁠have had no cases of lumpy skin disease since January 2 (…) we are lifting all restrictions except for a very small ​area in the Pyrenees-Orientales, which is linked to a case ‌in Spain,” Genevard told France Inter radio.

“This means that we can return to normal life, that we can trade again, that we can ‌move these animals again,” she said.

France’s agriculture show, an outlet for angry farmers

‘Cautious’ farmers

Highly ‌contagious, lumpy skin disease is spread mainly by biting ⁠insects. It causes fever and painful skin lumps, weakens animals and reduces milk output.

France has recorded 117 outbreaks, ‌primarily in areas near the Alps and the southwest.

Organisers of the Paris International Agricultural Show announced their decision to ban cattle from this year’s fair last month, citing concerns about the disease.

“The farmers have chosen ​to be cautious. I understand them, I respect them,” Genevard said, referring ​to the decision.

The 500 to 600 cattle usually ​present at the Paris Agriculture Fair are a major attraction at the annual event, which draws about 600,000 ​people, and are popular with children eager to see farm animals up close.

The government’s handling of the outbreak, which included culling entire herds in contaminated areas, has been criticised by some French farmers. Anger over the issue ⁠was among the drivers of protests in Paris last month.

French farmers protest over compulsory cattle culls amid disease outbreak

France has been the European country ⁠most affected by ​lumpy skin disease, though outbreaks have also been reported in Italy and Spain.

(with newswires)

Macron also said his government would hold a meeting next week to discuss “violent action groups” in the wake of the fatal beating of Quentin Deranque, which has ignited tensions between the left and right ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.

The 23-year-old died from head injuries following clashes between radical left and far-right supporters on the sidelines of a demonstration against a politician from the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party in the southeastern city of Lyon last week.

A rally, widely publicised online by ultra-nationalist and far-right groups, is expected to be attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, with the authorities fearing further clashes with left-wing protesters.

Speaking at a farming trade fair in Paris, Macron urged “everyone to remain” calm ahead of the rally for Deranque in Lyon, which is set to go ahead under high security later on Saturday despite Lyon’s left-wing green mayor asking the state to ban it.

“In the Republic, no violence is legitimate,” said Macron, who will be unable to contest next year’s election after hitting the two-term limit. “There is no place for militias, no matter where they come from.”

Ultra-right group disbanded after violent clashes in south of France

‘Over 1,000 neo-Nazis’

Ahead of the Lyon rally, some residents living near the march’s planned route had barricaded the ground floor windows of their apartments, fearing unrest.

“At my age, I’m not going to play the tough guy. If I have to go out somewhere, I’ll avoid the places where they’re marching,” said Lyon local Jean Echeverria, 87.

“They’ll just keep fighting each other, it’ll never end. Between the extreme of this and the extreme of that, it’s non-stop,” he added.

Two friends of Deranque’s were behind the official call to march in his honour.

But according to the Deranque family’s lawyer, Fabien Rajon, his parents will not take part in the rally, which they have urged to go ahead “without violence” and “without political statements”.

Several ultra-right-wing groups, including Deranque’s nationalist Allobroges Bourgoin faction, have nonetheless heavily publicised the march on social media.

The authorities fear that far-right and hard-left activists from elsewhere in Europe might travel to France for the event, stoking concerns of further unrest.

Jordan Bardella, the head of the anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party – which senses its best chance ever of scoring the presidency in next year’s vote – has urged supporters not to go.

“We ask you, except in very specific and strictly supervised local situations not to attend these gatherings nor to associate the National Rally with them,” he wrote in a message sent to party officials and seen by AFP.

LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard backed the Lyon mayor’s call for a ban, warning on X that the march would be a “fascist demonstration” which “over 1,000 neo-Nazis from all over Europe” were expected to attend.

But Interior Minister Laurent Nunez declined to ban the rally, arguing that he had to “strike a balance between maintaining public order and freedom of expression” and pledging an “extremely large police deployment”.

How did Lyon become France’s capital of political violence?

‘Wound for all Europe’

Deranque’s death has provoked a reaction from US President Donald Trump‘s administration, with state department official Sarah Rogers on Friday branding the killing “terrorism” and claiming that “violent radical leftism is on the rise”.

Likewise, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday called Deranque’s death “a wound for all Europe”, prompting Macron to urge the far-right leader to stay out of French matters.

Six men suspected of involvement in the fatal assault have been charged over the killing, while a parliamentary assistant to a radical left-wing MP has also been charged with complicity.

Trump administration denounces ‘terrorism’ in France after activist’s killing

A far-right collective called Nemesis, which claims to “defend Western women” from the violence allegedly wrought by immigrants, said Deranque had been at the protest in Lyon to protect its members when he was assaulted by “anti-fascist” activists.

Having urged both the far right and hard left to clean up their acts, Macron said his administration would hold a meeting next week “take stock of violent action groups which are active and have links with political parties of any description”.

Niger President Abdourahamane Tiani travelled to Algiers on Sunday for a two-day visit at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune – a trip widely seen as an attempt to stabilise ties after months of tension.

Last spring, Algerian authorities carried out the unprecedented expulsion of more than a thousand African nationals to the Nigerien desert in a single day. This was the result of a diplomatic and military incident between Algeria and Mali, Niger’s main partner within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The rupture began in April 2025, when Algeria downed a Malian drone and ambassadors were withdrawn on both sides, freezing high-level dialogue for months.

For Bakary Sambe, a lecturer at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis and president of the Timbuktu Institute, the significance of the visit lies in what it signals about Algeria’s regional ambitions.

“Algeria wants to be seen as a country normalising its relations. The visit is perceived as a gain for all of Africa, with a continental reach that will strengthen Algeria’s strategic position in the Sahel. This visit, in fact, attempts to seal the end of a falling out and simultaneously relaunch direct dialogue at the highest level.”

Algeria shuts down airspace and recalls envoys amid Mali drone row

Regional stability

The talks, Sambe added, are likely to focus on strengthening coordination in defence and security matters, which he describes as vital for regional stability.

Following the drone incident, the AES had recalled their ambassadors from Algeria, which responded in kind. But last week Tebboune restored Algeria’s ambassador to Niger to help “relaunch” bilateral dialogue, shortly after Niamey’s envoy in Algiers resumed his duties.

“It is a concrete sign of normalisation, of a diplomatic thaw. This visit, in fact, attempts to seal the end of a falling out and simultaneously relaunch direct dialogue at the highest level,” said Sambe.

He added that Algeria is emphasising its role as a messenger of peace, while Niger is seeking to consolidate historical, geographical and cultural ties.

French minister in Algeria to ease relations, while journalist remains jailed

Beyond symbolism, the rapprochement carries significant strategic weight. Both countries face mounting security and economic pressures, and cooperation could prove decisive in the months ahead.

The stakes are high for this rapprochement, said Sambe.

“There’s security cooperation – the fight against terrorism and so on… The discussions… will likely include strengthening coordination in defence and security matters, which is a vital issue for stability in the region.”

Promises in the pipeline

Following the meeting, Tiani also announced plans to begin construction on a new gas pipeline, crossing Niger’s territory – with the first steps to take place in March, after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The 4,000-kilometre Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline will transport gas extracted in Nigeria to Algeria, and has been on the drawing board for more than 15 years.

Tebboune promised support for Niger against its severe economic difficulties, listing plans for projects in the health and education sectors.

On Friday the previous week, an Algerian delegation had also travelled to Burkina Faso to discuss cooperation in the mining and hydrocarbon sectors.

Sahel countries navigate uncertainty following split from Ecowas bloc

Energy cooperation could become a cornerstone of the renewed partnership. If the long-delayed pipeline project moves forward, it would not only bind Niger and Algeria more closely, but also reinforce Algeria’s role as a key energy hub linking West Africa to European markets.

It remains to be seen whether the thaw in Algeria’s relations with Niger will lead to a similar rapprochement with Mali, which accuses Algiers of maintaining ties with terrorist groups along their shared border.

Regarding Tiani’s visit to Algiers, a Malian diplomat told news agencies: “Niger is free to have relations with whoever it wants, provided it does not harm the interests of the confederation.”

An adviser to the presidency in Bamako, however, said Mali should have been “made aware of the reasons” for the visit.

(with newswires)

“We deny in the strongest possible terms the involvement of the embassy and its staff in rogue recruitment schemes,” said a spokesperson for the embassy in Nairobi. “We refute any collusion with entities or individuals who would force or entrap Kenyans under false pretences.”

According to a report compiled by Kenyan intelligence officers and presented to the country’s MPs, more than 1,000 Kenyans have travelled to Russia and ended up on the battlefield in the country’s war against Ukraine.

This figure is far higher than the 200 Kenyans cited by the authorities

Russia says it is aware that foreigners are fighting in its ranks, but has always presented them as volunteers.

“We denounce a dangerous and misleading propaganda campaign,” the embassy spokespeson added.

Nairobi sounds alarm over recruiters luring Kenyans into Russian war effort

‘Vast recruitment pool’

The South African government said in November 2025 it had received “distress calls” from 17 men trapped in heavy fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region, after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.

The group All Eyes on Wagner, an investigative organisation that tracks mercenary activity, published a report this month listing 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries who joined the Russian army between 2023 and mid-2025. It said 316 had died.

It follows a Ukrainian intelligence report published in 2024. The survey said Moscow had recruited foreign nationals from Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda as well as Nepal, India and Cuba, while nationals of several more countries have spoken to the media about their ordeal. 

According to the French Institute of International Relations, African countries are fertile ground for Russian recruiters.

Sub-Saharan Africa in particular represents “a vast and easily accessible recruitment pool due to high poverty rates in most countries in the region, combined with a strong desire to emigrate”, the think tank said in a report released in December 2025.

The report said Russia’s recruitment campaigns target “poor urban youth” seeking a better life, and that many realise “that Europe is an increasingly inaccessible destination”.

South Africa seeks return of citizens tricked into fighting in Ukraine

RFI spoke to one Cameroonian who thought he was going to Russia to work as a caretaker and ended up on the Ukrainian front. 

“What I want is to mobilise the Africans who are travelling to Russia, so that they understand that they are being used. I want to tell people what’s going on… so that it stops, so that Africans stop coming here to die,” he said.

“We come here to die in a war that we don’t know where it came from or why it started.”

Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, says he plans to travel to Moscow in March for talks aimed at “conclusively resolving the matter and identifying sustainable solutions”.

Mudavadi said he would also seek the release of Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine and verify the condition of those hospitalised.

Written with newswires and adapted from this article in French by Anissa El Jabri.

The draft law was adopted by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday and introduces harsher penalties for so-called “unnatural acts” while broadening existing legislation. It is not yet in force and must still be approved by parliament before becoming law.

The measure fulfils an election pledge by the ruling Pastef party, led by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, which had promised to reinforce existing restrictions.

Backed by the government, the bill proposes stricter sanctions under Article 319 of Senegal’s Penal Code. Prison sentences for those found guilty of acts deemed “unnatural” could be doubled to up to 10 years, while fines may rise to 10 million CFA francs, compared with 1.5 million at present.

Senegalese PM promises bold reforms in first major policy speech

Tougher penalties and wider scope

Beyond higher penalties, the bill also seeks to redefine what constitutes such acts and explicitly ban their promotion.

The extension is one of the most striking aspects of the proposed law, as it targets not only individuals but also organisations accused of encouraging homosexual relationships.

Amadou Ba, Senegal’s Minister of Culture, said any group promoting what he described as “LGBT philosophy” through films, television, writing or other means would fall within the scope of the legislation.

He said authorities view such ideas as outside Senegalese customs, traditions and culture.

At the same time, the text includes penalties aimed at preventing abuse. Anyone who denounces another person as homosexual without proof could face 2 to 3 years in prison and a fine ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 CFA francs (roughly between €300 and €760).

Demonstrators in Senegal call for tougher laws against homosexuals

Recent arrests

The announcement came 10 days after the arrest of several men accused of “unnatural acts” and of deliberately transmitting HIV, adding to concerns among rights groups and some members of the public.

Critics say the proposed law risks intensifying pressure on LGBTQ people in Senegal. A young man from Dakar, now living in exile in France after his sexuality was revealed, described a climate of fear.

“Some people are afraid because they tell themselves every day that they are at risk of being arrested,” he said. He added that the law could encourage individuals to report others to the police. “I’m afraid for my friends and for several people I know in the country.”

Human Rights Watch has also raised concerns about the bill’s potential impact. Alex Müller, the organisation’s director of LGBTQ issues, warned that provisions targeting the “promotion” or financing of homosexuality are broadly defined and could lead to serious infringements of fundamental freedoms.

According to Müller, such wording could restrict freedom of expression and association and hamper access to healthcare. She said organisations working to combat HIV and AIDS might be affected, particularly those providing services to men who have sex with men, who face a higher risk of infection.

She described the development as an example of “political homophobia” and called on the Senegalese authorities to repeal what she called discriminatory laws and honour international commitments.

This has been adapted from an original article by RFI’s French service 

In what could mark a major turning point in the history of arms control, New Start expired on 5 February. Neither US President Donald Trump nor his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has shown interest in renewing it. 

The treaty was signed between the United States and Russia on 8 April 2010 and came into force on 5 February 2011. Initially planned to last 10 years, it was extended for another five in 2021.

Its goal was to limit each side to 800 missile launchers and 1,550 nuclear warheads, with the two countries authorised to inspect each other’s stockpiles.

It was never a global treaty. Other countries signed up to the broader Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which came into force in 1970 and now has 191 parties, including the US and Russia.

But Washington and Moscow also had bilateral arms control agreements in place continuously since 1972 – until now, notes Benoît Pelopidas, an expert on nuclear threats at Sciences Po university in Paris.

“But it would be false to deduce from that that the arms race has not started yet and might start now,” he tells RFI. 

“There are reasons to think that the arms race started as early as the spring of 2010.”

Europe confronts ‘new nuclear reality’ as Macron signals broader deterrence role

‘Possible acceleration’

Even before New Start expired, implementation of the treaty deteriorated over time, culminating in Russia suspending its participation in 2023.

“And now we’re at a full level where it’s no longer implemented at all,” says Pelopidas. “It’s new diplomatically, and it enables the possible acceleration of an ongoing arms race.”

NATO called for “restraint and responsibility” after the treaty expired.

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and coercive signals on nuclear matters reveal a posture of strategic intimidation,” an official told French news agency AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“NATO will continue to take the measures necessary to ensure its credibility and the effectiveness of its overall deterrence and defence position.”

The Kremlin had proposed continuing to comply with New Start’s limits until February 2027, but the White House did not respond.

Moscow considers the treaty’s expiration “a negative development”, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We express our regret in this regard.”

China shuns calls to enter nuclear talks after US-Russia treaty lapses

Disarmament still possible

According to Pelopidas, disarmament is possible and has been partially achieved before, especially in the early 1990s after the end of the Cold War. 

“In 1991, we had 58,000 nuclear weapons on the planet. And we’re now at a level of roughly 12,000 in 2025, which is a massive decrease,” he says. 

“We have, between 1986 and today, dismantled or retired over 80 percent of the existing arsenal in the world. So it is not materially impossible to dismantle or disarm.”

The world’s remaining nuclear stockpile still has the potential to wreak huge destruction, he stresses, a fact that he believes should drive all nuclear powers to work towards de-escalation.

“If the theory of nuclear winter is correct, a so-called limited nuclear war between India and Pakistan that led to the explosion of 100 Hiroshima-sized bombs – that is, roughly 1 percent of the existing arsenal – would lead to the death of 2 billion people by starvation due to its indirect consequences over two years,” Pelopidas says.

“That’s how destructive the capacity of the existing arsenal is.”

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

The African continent is rich in resources that are critical to the energy transition, as well as to the electronics and high-tech industries. Africa holds vast reserves of coltan, gallium, cobalt, tantalum, lithium, nickel, and many other strategic minerals that sit at the heart of this global competition.

The Trump administration is seeking to counter China‘s growing dominance over the continent’s metals and mining sectors.

DR Congo weighs price of security in minerals deal with US

For the moment, Trump is focused on a  US – DRC agreement, which would prioritise American interests in the central African country’s supply chain. The DRC sits on vast mineral wealth and is currently engaged in a peace process with Rwanda, brokered by the United States.

DRC takes on Apple: can conflict mineral mining be stopped?

To help us analyse the context of these deals, we are joined today by three guests.

First, Clionadh Raleigh, head of ACLED – the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. We also have Akin Adegoke, Chief Digital Officer at Lotus Bank, who brings experience in driving technology-led, inclusive banking.

And finally, Frédéric Mousseau, Policy Director at the California-based Oakland Institute, who argues that, that under the guise of peace and development, the US–DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement rewrote Congo’s laws to favour American mining interests.”

Delegates also gathered at the Cape Town International Convention Centre for the 32nd edition of the African Mining Indaba, the continent’s largest conference on the sector.

You’ll also hear reactions from people on the ground in the DRC, as well as from leaders in South Africa and Zambia, on what has already been dubbed the new scramble for Africa.

Episode edited by Melissa Chemam and mixed by Erwan Rome.

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

In a conspicuous display of military strength, Turkish F-16 fighter jets roared over the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in late January.

According to Turkish officials, the deployment was aimed at protecting Turkish interests and supporting Somali efforts to counter an insurgency by the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab. 

It follows Israel’s recognition of Somaliland in December, which Ankara condemned as a threat to Somalia’s territorial integrity.

Turkish international relations expert Soli Ozel said the jets send a message to Israel: “Don’t mess with our interests here.”

Somalia is poised to become the latest point of tension between the countries, he predicts. “I don’t think they will fight, but they are both showing their colours. Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and the Turks sending F-16s and drones are attempts to set limits to what the other party can do,” he said.

“Could it get out of hand? I don’t know. It may.”

The risky calculations behind Israel’s recognition of Somaliland

Mutual suspicion

The episode reflects broader strains in Israeli-Turkish relations, which remain fraught over Ankara’s support of Hamas and Israel’s war in Gaza.

“It’s a new chapter in the competition between the two countries, which are now the dominant military powers in the Middle East,” said Norman Ricklefs, CEO of geopolitical consultancy Namea Group.

According to Gallia Lindenstrauss, an Israeli foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel is not seeking to challenge the interests of Turkey or Somalia.

Instead, she argues Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and its commitment to deepening cooperation are motivated by the breakaway’s state strategic location facing Yemen, where Houthi rebels launched attacks against Israeli cities last year.

“The Houthis were the last ones who were still launching missiles against Israel, from the Iranian proxies. This is the most major threat for Israel,” she said. 

However, Lindenstrauss acknowledges that both sides increasingly view each other’s actions with suspicion. “What Israel sees as defence, Turkey sees as something against Ankara.”

Rival blocs

Turkey’s suspicions could grow if Israel deploys military hardware in Somaliland to counter threats from Yemen, a move an anonymous Israeli expert suggested is Israel’s aim.

Ricklefs warns Israel needs to tread carefully, given the significant investments Turkey had made in Somalia over the past 15 years. Turkey has its largest overseas military base and embassy in Somalia, while Ankara has signed agreements with Mogadishu to explore potential energy reserves, as well as a naval accord.

“Turkey is running the [Mogadishu] port, counterterrorism training, charities, NGOs, and all that kind of stuff. So it appears very important to Turkey’s regional strategic ambitions,” said Ricklefs. He noted that Somalia’s location on the Horn of Africa, with coastlines in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, makes it “key for regional influence”.

With Somalia naval deal, Turkey steers into strategic but volatile region

Lindenstrauss observed that the Turkish-Israeli rivalry over Somalia is further complicated by the emergence of two competing axes: “On the one hand, you see Greece, Cyprus, Israel, the UAE. On the other hand, you see Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and Qatar,” she explained.  

“They are loose axes, but you do see that on many issues, these two axes think differently. And that’s also a cause of the rising tensions.”

Ricklefs noted that tensions have already spilled over into confrontation elsewhere. “We’ve already seen the pretty strong competition leading to violence in Libya, between blocs aligned with the Emirates and, on the other side, blocs aligned with Turkey in Libya,” he said.

As for whether the same could happen in Somalia, Ricklefs said he doesn’t believe the situation has yet reached that point. 

“I don’t think we’re there just yet with Somaliland and Somalia,” he said. “And frankly, the only party that can play a mediating role, a conflict-reducing role, in this situation is the United States.”

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

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. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 17 January, I asked you a question about our article “France launches recruitment for 10-month voluntary national military service”. You were to send in the answer to these two questions: How many volunteers will be accepted into the 2026 program, and what will their jobs be? 

The answer is, to quote our article: “From September, around 3,000 volunteers will join the army, navy, or air and space force for missions carried out exclusively on French soil.

Tasks will range from helping out during natural disasters and providing support for counter-terrorism surveillance, to more specialized jobs such as drone operation, mechanics, electrical work, baking, or medical support.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is the most romantic thing that has ever been said to you? Or the most romantic action? Or the most romantic gift?

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Murshida Parveen Lata, who is the Co-Chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Murshida is also the winner of this week’s bonus question Congratulations on your double win, Murshida.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ashraf Ali, a member of the International RFI DX Radio Listeners Club in West Bengal, India; Sumara Sabri, a member of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan; Sameen Riaz – also from Pakistan, this time from Sheikupura city – Sameen is a member of the RFI Listeners Club in that fair city, and last but not least, RFI Listeners Club member Sami Mossad from Giza, Egypt.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Fast Bob” by Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg, played by the Rosenberg Ensemble; “La Marseillaise” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, arranged by Claude Bolling and performed by the Claude Bolling Big Band; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “You’re the Top” by Cole Porter, sung by Ella Fitzgerald.  

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 “Cambridge University Museum set to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 9 March to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 March 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

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

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Recent data shows one in two university students in France are skipping a meal each day and relying on food handouts. In response, the government is extending a 1-euro meal scheme – introduced during Covid for those on bursaries – to all university students as of May. Student union rep Marian Bloquet outlines why the problems go far beyond food. We also report from the Cop1ne community kitchen in Paris. Run by students for students, it provides cheap, home-cooked food, but also company and solidarity.  (Listen @3’20”)

As France prepares to ban children from social media, kids weigh in on their use of the platforms and how they would like to see them regulated. Cybersecurity expert Olivier Blazy considers the technical challenges and privacy issues raised by such a ban. (Listen @20’20”)

The adventurous life of the French explorer Alexandra David-Néel, who in the winter of 1924 became the first European woman to reach Lhasa, Tibet’s “forbidden city”. (Listen @14’10”)

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).

Wednesday’s meeting in Ankara between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the latest in a series aimed at improving relations.

It stems from the 2023 Athens Declaration, a formal statement of friendship that led to better economic cooperation and a cooling of military tensions over the disputed Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas.

Mitsotakis’s visit comes at a critical time for the process. “I think it’s very important, the meeting has been postponed twice in the past,” says former Greek foreign ministry advisor Panayotis Ioakimidis, who now teaches at the University of Athens.

“There are some people within the [Greek] governing party, and outside it, who have serious reservations about improving or even talking about relations with Turkey,” he notes. “So it’s very important for the meeting to happen, to keep cooperation going; otherwise, relations risk sliding into conflict.”

Claims on the Aegean

The talks come as tensions over the Aegean Sea – believed to have vast untapped energy reserves – are on the rise.

In January, the Greek foreign minister, George Gerapetritis, announced Greece’s intent to exercise its right under international law to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean from six to 12 nautical miles, to create a marine park.

Erdogan is expected to remind his Greek counterpart that any extension of territorial waters is a red line for Turkey. “Mitsotakis will get some lectures in Ankara,” predicts international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University.

In 1995, the Turkish parliament passed a motion declaring that Greece unilaterally extending its waters beyond six miles was a casus belli – cause for war. “Twelve miles [of] territorial waters for Greece means the Turkish ships cannot go one kilometre outside of Turkish territory. Turkey cannot accept this,” says Bagci.

In response, Athens is using Greece’s European Union veto to prevent Turkey from joining the EU’s SAFE defence procurement programme until Turkey withdraws its threat of war.

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

Alliance with Israel

Adding to tensions, last December Greece and Cyprus signed a series of defence agreements with one of Turkey’s fiercest rivals – Israel.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of seeking to encircle Turkey, while Turkish media dubbed it an “axis of evil”.

Mitsotakis is expected to try to allay such concerns during his visit to Ankara. “The Greek side thinks it can separate these issues and keep them quite separate from the bilateral issues between Greece and Turkey,” says Ioakimidis. “But it’s a very likely scenario to take the countries into very dangerous waters.”

Israel’s military support of Greece is to blame for Athens’ more assertive stance in the Aegean, argues Murat Aslan of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a Turkish pro-government think tank. He says that Greece acts more boldly when backed by others: “Once they enjoy the support of another, material or narrative, they are much more courageous to challenge.”

If Greece maintains this approach, Aslan suggests, Turkey will likely go back to increasing its military activity.

Prior to recent attempts at rapprochement, Turkish and Greek warplanes often challenged each another in mock dogfights in the disputed airspace over the Aegean.

Turkey flexes naval muscles as neighbours fear escalating arms race

Trump effect

However, Trump could provide an impetus to contain tensions.

With the American ambassador to Greece announcing this week that the US president will visit Athens, both Erdogan and Mitsotakis will be wary of Trump’s involvement in their bilateral affairs.

“I think both countries are concerned about this destabilisation to the international order that the Trump administration has brought,” says Ioannis Grigoriadis of Ankara’s Bilkent University, a specialist in Greek-Turkish relations.

“It may be a strong incentive for both sides to declare that things are OK, so let’s keep Trump’s intervention away from Turkish-Greek relations. I don’t think that any side would like that to happen, given the circumstances and the unpredictability of such an intervention.”

Wednesday’s meeting is set to emphasise the economic benefits of rapprochement and regional cooperation. However, amid persistent Aegean tensions and Turkey’s concerns over Israel’s role, expectations for progress remain low.

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.