According to presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, stepped down with immediate effect on Monday.

The 63-year-old minister reportedly cited health reasons for his departure – a move that comes in the wake of President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency last week.

“His resignation comes amid President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course,” Onanuga said in a statement.

The government has promised more detail soon on what this emergency will entail, but the message for now is that Abuja intends to move swiftly.

Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation and no stranger to security challenges – has been left scrambling after a spate of abductions that have seen hundreds of people, mostly schoolchildren, seized within just a few days last month.

The crisis has also drawn sharp international attention. In October, US President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” for religious freedom violations, citing what he described as killings of Christians by “radical Islamists”.

He even went so far as to threaten military intervention. Abuja and independent security analysts have firmly rejected Washington’s claim, but it has undoubtedly put the spotlight back on Nigeria’s long-running instability.

Nigeria declares security emergency after wave of mass kidnappings

Mass abductions

The most dramatic incident came on 21 November, when armed gangs stormed St Mary’s co-education school in north-central Nigeria, abducting more than 300 pupils, teachers and staff.

Fifty managed to escape, yet the remainder are still being held. On a high-profile visit to Kontagora in Niger state, national security adviser Nuhu Ribadu sought to reassure anxious families, saying: “The children are fine and will be back soon.”

Such kidnappings carry grim echoes of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirl abductions, when Boko Haram militants seized nearly 300 students from their dormitories – an episode that shocked the world and exposed the Nigerian government’s limited reach in remote regions.

Since then, mass abductions have become common, usually driven by criminal gangs seeking quick ransom payments.

Gunmen seize 315 pupils and teachers in latest Nigerian mass school kidnapping

Jihadist campaign

Alongside the kidnappings, Nigeria has been battling a jihadist insurgency across its northwestern regions since 2009, adding yet another layer to the country’s complex security landscape.

Recent raids have targeted schoolchildren and teachers, worshippers and priests, a bride and her bridesmaids, farmers, women and children – a grim roll call that spans multiple states and communities.

In response, Tinubu’s government has ordered a major recruitment drive for both police and military personnel, suggesting a push to bolster security forces stretched thin across vast territories.

(with newswires)

The court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre opened proceedings this week in an extensive fraud case centred on an alleged attempt to extract more than €19 billion from TotalEnergies.

Seven defendants – amongst them a former senior magistrate, two well-known Parisian lawyers and figures linked to the late businessman André “Dédé la sardine” Guelfi – are set to appear over the next three weeks as the court unravels the tangled origins of a controversial 2009 arbitration bid.

The case dates back more than a decade and a half, when in 2011, TotalEnergies filed a complaint with prosecutors in Nanterre, claiming it had been the target of an elaborate fraud attempt.

The company argued that an arbitration procedure launched two years earlier was baseless – a view supported by successive court rulings that confirmed an underlying 1992 oil exploration contract in Russia had never actually taken effect.

That agreement, struck between one of TotalEnergies’ subsidiaries – at the time part of French oil company Elf – and the Russian regions of Saratov and Volgograd, along with the company Interneft, was conditional on several preliminary requirements.

These conditions were never met, yet the Russian claimants pushed for arbitration, demanding more than €19 billion on the grounds that TotalEnergies had failed to honour the deal.

TotalEnergies posts biggest ever annual profit of almost €20bn

‘Dédé la sardine’

André Guelfi, a businessman with a colourful past and an equally colourful nickname – Dédé la sardine – sits at the centre of the affair.

In the early 1990s, he acted as a fixer for Elf in the former USSR before becoming embroiled in the huge Elf corruption scandal.

Convicted of embezzling funds from the oil group, he later re-emerged in various business dealings.

Investigators believe Guelfi played a key role in steering the disputed arbitration process.

However, with his death in 2016, he was never interviewed by magistrates and his precise influence remains unclear.

Nevertheless, prosecutors argue that his relationship networks in Russia and France were instrumental in pushing forward the arbitration bid – one TotalEnergies has consistently denounced as a blatant attempt at extortion.

TotalEnergies exits Russian gas firm’s board, takes $3.7bn hit

Legal heavyweights in court

Among those now facing trial is Jean-Pierre Mattei, former president of the Paris Commercial Court.

Selected in 2009 as a member of the arbitration panel, he stands accused of passive corruption and attempted fraud as part of an organised group.

He will be tried alongside the two other arbitrators chosen for the tribunal.

Two prominent Parisian lawyers – Olivier Pardo and Xavier Cazottes – are also in the dock. Pardo is charged with active corruption of an international arbitrator and of a person tasked with a public service mission.

Prosecutors suspect he sought to influence Mattei’s appointment and maintained close ties with Guelfi throughout the arbitration push. Cazottes faces similar allegations.

A solicitor close to Mattei, two additional members of the arbitration tribunal and the ad hoc administrator of the now-liquidated Elf subsidiary involved in the original contract round out the list of defendants.

Over the course of the hearings, the court will attempt to uncover the precise roles each defendant played in the arbitration initiative – and whether the process was driven by genuine legal misjudgment or outright fraud.

The court proceedings are expected to last at least three weeks. 

(with newswires)

The sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership in any political or social groups, lawyer Mostafa Nili told French news agency AFP on Monday, adding that they would file an appeal.

Nili said the charges against Panahi were engaging in “propaganda activities” against the state but did not elaborate. “Mr. Panahi is outside Iran right now,” he added.

Panahi, 65, won the Cannes Film Festival‘s top prize this year for It Was Just an Accident, a film partially inspired by Panahi’s own time behind bars.

His camera follows the heated debates of five ordinary Iranians, who shared the same prison interrogator, over what fate they want for their former jailer, who has been kidnapped by a garage owner.

Should they kill him to avenge the humiliations they suffered, or refuse to stoop to their torturer’s level?

A significant portion of the plot unfolds in a van, which also served as a hideout for the film crew. Outdoor scenes were filmed in deserted areas and quiet neighborhoods.

Iranian filmmakers, prominent media figures and celebrities are closely monitored in Iran and their work reviewed for content deemed critical of the Islamic republic.

Palme d’Or winner hits global cinemas, France backs it for 2026 Oscars

Twice in jail

Panahi is no stranger to the Iranian justice system, despite winning prizes in a host of international festivals.

In 2010, he was banned from making movies and from leaving the country after supporting mass anti-government protests a year earlier and making a series of films that critiqued the state of modern Iran.

Convicted of “propaganda against the system”, he was sentenced to six years in jail but served only two months behind bars before being released on bail.

A year after being handed a 20-year ban on filmmaking he dispatched a documentary with the title This is Not a Film to the Cannes Festival on a flash drive stashed in a cake.

His 2015 movie Taxi featured him acting as a taxi driver and was shot entirely in a car.

Cannes 2025 ends on a high as director Jafar Panahi claims the Palme d’Or

In 2022, he was arrested in connection with protests by a group of filmmakers but was released nearly seven months later.

Since his win in Cannes, where he was able to receive the prize in person, he set off on a tour of the United States visiting Los Angeles, New York and Telluride to promote his latest Oscar-hopeful movie.

The film has been selected by France as its official nomination for the Academy Awards, and is widely expected to make the shortlist for the Best International Feature at the gala event in March.

The fact that post-production for It Was Just an Accident was done by a French company allowed France to effectively claim Panahi’s film as its own in the Oscar race, under rules set by the Academy.

Resonate with audiences

But Panahi, 65, says he would like to see those rules changed to allow dissidents like him who are censored by Tehran to represent their homeland.

“I really wanted it to be for my own country, but when an oppressed society exists, well, some difficulties do arise,” he told AFP during an interview in Los Angeles.

Film director Mohammad Rasoulof leaves Iran for Europe ahead of Cannes premiere

The system has faced increasing criticism and public protests in recent years, particularly in the face of rising authoritarianism.

“This decreases and undermines the independence of filmmakers,” said Panahi.

The complaint is not new. While film festivals in Cannes, Venice, and Berlin make their own choices for films from around the world, the Oscars require each country’s authorities to nominate a candidate for the Best International Feature Film award.

“Iranian cinema is humanist cinema, and it has always been able to resonate with audiences around the world,” he said, recalling the Oscars awarded to Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation and The Salesman.

(with AFP)

“The 2026 edition is cancelled. A letter was sent at the end of last week to inform the festival’s public partners,” said lawyer Vincent Brenot, representing the organising company 9e Art+.

He added that the decision, first reported by regional newspaper La Charente Libre, was “the straightforward consequence” of the stance taken by public funders.

On 18 November, the French government withdrew €200,000 of public subsidies for next year’s event, putting a major hole its finances.

It marks the first time since the festival’s creation in 1974 – apart from the Covid-19 hiatus – that the event will not take place. The 53rd edition had been scheduled for 29 January to 1 February 2026.

At the heart of the scandal is the management model of the festival, which has helped turn Angoulême into a centre of European production and comics expertise.

It is run by a non-profit association presided over by Delphine Groux, the daughter of co-founder Francis Groux, but has been organised by a private company, 9eArt+, since 2007.

The 9eArt+ director, Franck Bondoux, was the subject of an investigation by left-wing magazine l’Humanité before this year’s event which accused him of mismanagement and an increasingly contested style.

It also reported that the company had dismissed an employee shortly after she reported being raped at the 2024 event.

Lack of transparency

For weeks, doubts have mounted over the festival’s future as a major portion of the French comics community turned against the organisers.

Many writers and artists denounced what they described as the growing commercialisation and lack of transparency at the event.

Among the authors who planned boycotters was Anouk Ricard, winner of the 2025 Grand Prix d’Angoulême and “Maus” creator Art Spiegelman.

“It is high time to turn the page on 9eArt+ so that the festival can regain, with new operators, the values that helped build its international reputation,” read an open letter on 10 November signed by 22 former winners of the festival’s top prize.

Superman and Spanish artists lead the charge at Angoulême Comics Festival

Several leading publishers have also withdrawn support, calling this year’s edition “compromised” and saying their trust in the organisers had been “broken”.

On 20 November, the festival’s main public funders – who normally provide around half of its €6 million budget – recommended that the 2026 edition be scrapped, saying it would be “extremely difficult” to stage the event under the current circumstances.

“The 2026 Festival cannot physically go ahead under satisfactory conditions,” lawyers for 9e Art+ said in a statement sent to AFP. “This situation is in no way a voluntary decision by 9e Art+, whose sole purpose is to run the Angoulême Festival, but rather a unilateral decision made without consultation by public funders.”

The company expressed concern over the “human and economic consequences” of the cancellation and warned of “significant uncertainty” surrounding the 2027 edition, which it remains legally entitled to organise. 

(With newswires)

The National Union of Journalists (SNJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) confirmed on Tuesday that they had lodged a complaint for “obstruction of the freedom to practise journalism” at a Paris court.

They argue that Israel’s restrictions on media access, along with reported intimidation and violence against French journalists working in the region, amount not only to a breach of press freedom but potentially to war crimes.

Because the allegations concern French citizens, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) is authorised to open an investigation.

In a 100-page submission – made public by FranceInfo – the unions say the case is the first to lean on France’s specific offence of obstructing journalistic freedom, and the first to urge prosecutors to consider its application in an international setting where, they argue, attacks on the media have become “structural”.

France’s top diplomat calls for foreign press access to Gaza

‘Violation of humanitarian law’

“This complaint denounces a concerted, sometimes violent, obstruction preventing French journalists from working in the Palestinian Territories and undermining press freedom,” said lawyer Louise El Yafi, one of the legal representatives behind the filing.

Her colleague, solicitor Inès Davau, said the complaint also draws attention to rising risks faced by French reporters in the West Bank. “These attacks, which violate international humanitarian law, also constitute war crimes,” she added.

The unions’ action is further supported by a French journalist – working across several French-language outlets and requesting anonymity – who has filed his own complaint after allegedly being assaulted by settlers while reporting in the occupied territories.

RSF says journalists ‘targeted’ in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

Multiple cases linked to Gaza

This comes as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says more than 210 media workers have been killed since Israel launched its military operation in Gaza following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.

Press groups have repeatedly criticised Israel’s longstanding refusal to allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza independently, with only a small number permitted to join Israeli troops under tight supervision.

The Paris complaint arrives amid a swathe of other France-based legal actions linked to the conflict.

These include cases concerning Franco-Israeli soldiers serving in an elite IDF unit, the French arms manufacturer Eurolinks, and several Franco-Israelis accused of complicity in the crime of colonisation.

Separately, PNAT has already asked an investigating judge to examine potential war crimes in the deaths of two French children killed during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza in October 2023.

(with newswires)

Three French unions – CGT, FSU and Solidaires – have called for the national, cross-sector strike action as part of ongoing opposition to the draft 2026 Budget, which is currently going through parliament and has to be agreed by the end of the year.

Sophie Binet, leader of the hard-left CGT union, has described the bill – which seeks to save nearly €44 billion in spending cuts, new revenue measures and taxes – as a “horror show“.

“There is money – in the pockets of the ultra-rich and big business!” is one of the slogans for the strike.

In a press release, the three unions slammed the lack of fiscal justice in the draft Budget and the “resistance from the right and far right, who have joined forces to protect large fortunes”.

The unions are demanding more, not less, funding for public services, jobs, pensions, industries and culture.

However, the absence of the centrist CFDT union – France’s largest – could limit the extent of strike action.

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

Transport

France’s train provider, the SNCF, says it does not expect disruption on mainline train services and neither the high-speed TGV nor Eurostar should be impacted.

Despite a call for walkout among public transport workers (bus, tramway, Metro) Paris operator RATP said it anticipated normal services across its network.

Two minority Air France pilots’ unions plan to strike on Tuesday over cuts to jobs, which could lead to flight alterations.

Schools

The FSU union represents over 80 percent of French teachers and class closures are expected in both primary and secondary schools.

Some 4,000 teaching posts will be cut in the 2026 Budget.

“There is no shortage of reasons to go on strike in our professions,” said the FSU-SNUipp, the largest primary-teaching union, citing “frozen pay, worsening working conditions, working time, burnout, hierarchical pressure, pension reform” and “insufficient resources”.

Snes-FSU, the main secondary-teaching union wants the job cuts cancelled. 

France in turmoil: ‘No one is willing to say the country needs to make sacrifices’

Public administration, healthcare

Both CGT and Solidaires have called on public servants to walk out on Tuesday, denouncing the “removal of 3,000 posts in the civil service – especially in education, the France Travail employment office, public finance departments and social-security bodies”.

Hospital doctors cannot walk out, but services in some hospitals could be affected following strike notices covering both the state civil service and the local civil service.

“Health-facility budgets are insufficient for carrying out their public-service missions, salary increases do not even keep up with inflation, and some professions are paid below the minimum wage,” says the Health and Social Action branch of the CGT. It demands a general pay rise of 10 percent.

In images: France stages mass protests and strikes over budget cuts

Demonstrations are expected in major French cities, with the Paris protest set to start at 4pm.

The proposed strike action comes ahead of a crucial phase in the debates on Wednesday, when lawmakers will debate plans to scrap the highly contentious changes to the legal age of retirement.

The 2023 pension reform raised the age from 62 to 64 but France’s Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has said he will back suspending the reform until presidential polls in 2027.

The Socialist Party has conditioned its support for the Budget on the reform being suspended and renegociated.

President Macron said the talks with Zelensky “could be a turning point” for the future of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.

The discussions are part of a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the conflict which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Zelensky’s visit to Paris came on the heels of a meeting between Ukrainian and US officials in Florida on Sunday, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as productive. 

The two sides have worked to make revisions to Washington’s initial 28-point proposal to halt the war, which was drafted without input from Ukraine‘s European allies.

It was criticised as being too close a reflection of Moscow’s maximalist demands on Ukrainian territory.

The American proposal would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

No ‘finalised plan’ on territories

After talks in Geneva just over a week ago, the United States updated the original blueprint following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but the current contents remain unclear.

“There is currently no finalised plan on the territorial issues, strictly speaking. It can only be finalised by President (Volodymyr) Zelensky,” Macron said at a press conference after the talks in Paris.

For his part, Zelensky said he was expecting “a conversation with the president of the United States on key issues that are quite challenging” in the coming days.

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

He singled out the issues of territory, security guarantees, and Ukraine’s reconstruction as the most important in the settlement process.

He also said that Europe must be part of the discussion on Ukraine’s reconstruction. 

“The issue of money, restoration, without the presence of European partners, it is not easy to accept. It is difficult because the money is in Europe, and I think this is not very fair,” Zelensky said.

Tougher sanctions

Macron detailed a tougher stance on sanctions, stating that in the coming weeks, “the level of pressure on the oil and gas companies and the oil and gas industry in Russia will be in the highest since the beginning of the war.”

He described this move as a potential “game changer” that aims to further weaken Russia’s economy, which remains heavily reliant on energy exports.

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

“On the issue of frozen assets, security guarantees, accession to the European Union, and European sanctions, it can only be finalised with the Europeans at the table,” Macron said.

During the talks, Macron and Zelensky also called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “leaders” from Germany, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands, as well as EU chief Antonio Costa, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte, the French presidency said.

Pressure on civilians

The diplomatic push comes as the war – which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel and displaced millions of Ukrainians – shows no sign of easing.

Zelensky said Russia had stepped up missile and drone strikes on his country to “break” the will of Ukrainians.

“This is serious pressure, not only psychological but also physical pressure on our population,” Zelensky said.

“We need to ensure that Russia itself does not perceive anything it could consider as a reward for this war.”

During November, Russia captured 701 square kilometres, the second-largest territorial advance of the war after that of November 2024 – not taking into account the initial months of the invasion, when the front line was highly mobile. This is according to the analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) by the French news agency AFP.

(With newswires)

Unlike previous observations from Earth or other space missions that view the sun from the ecliptic plane – the flat disc in which planets orbit—Solar Orbiter positioned itself at an angle of 17° below the solar equator. This unique vantage point enabled the probe to peer directly at a region of the sun that has remained largely hidden from scientific scrutiny.

The historic images were captured by three of Solar Orbiter’s 10 scientific instruments: the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI), the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), and the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument.

From The Lab: French-led team discover Mars’s longest carbon molecules to date

Scientific Significance

According to Milan Maksimovic, principal investigator of the Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument on Solar Orbiter, “these images are important in order to study the circulation of matter around the poles, which is very important for some models whose purpose is to look at the deep interior of the sun to do helioseismology.”

The RPW instrument, developed by a consortium including Paris Observatory’s Laboratory for Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics (LIRA), consists of three components: electric antennae, a magnetic antenna, and a sophisticated main electronic box containing complex receivers.

Maksimovic, who serves as director of LIRA, noted that his laboratory had full responsibility for developing and testing the main electronic box in LIRA’s vacuum chamber facility.

The RPW instrument measures electric and magnetic waves in solar plasma, as well as radio emissions produced by the sun, providing crucial data to complement the visual observations.

Solar Orbiter’s mission continues to push the boundaries of solar science, offering insights that will help researchers better understand the sun’s behaviour and its effects on the solar system.

On 29 January 2024, cousins Hind Rajab and Layan Hamada were ​​killed with their family as they tried to flee the fighting in Gaza City in their car.

Surrounded by Israeli tanks, the two girls dialled 101, the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s emergency line.

Their last moments, their last words, were recorded.

“They’re shooting at us!” 15-year-old Layan says. “The tank is right next to us. We’re hiding in our car.”

A few moments later, six-year-old Hind comes on the line. “I’m so scared. Come and get me,” she tells the dispatcher in Ramallah, miles away in the West Bank.

Hind stayed on the line for several more hours as humanitarian staff sent an ambulance to fetch her. It never arrived.

Days later, she was found dead in the remains of the car. The ambulance was a short distance away, destroyed.

Ben Hania heard of Hind’s fate on the radio, after the Red Crescent released its recording of the call. 

“As soon as I heard the voice of Hind Rajab, it had such an impact on me. I felt desperate, powerless and so angry,” the director told RFI, saying she knew straight away she had to do something.

“My job was to find the best way, the best angle to tell this story. Part of this was respecting the order of events and above all, the Palestinian Red Crescent gave me these precious recordings of Hind talking to the staff. Everything I needed for the film was in this document.”

A voice preserved

The result is The Voice of Hind Rajab, which won the Silver Lion award at the 2025 Venice Film Festival in September.

“Cinema cannot bring Hind back and erase the atrocities committed against her. But cinema can preserve her voice […] because her story is not just hers. It is the tragic story of an entire people, a people suffering from genocide inflicted by a criminal Israeli government that acts with impunity,” Ben Hania told the audience in Venice.

‘Recognition brings obligation’: How declaring genocide could reshape war in Gaza

The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. 

Gaza’s Health Ministry says nearly 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 170,000 wounded in Israel’s retaliatory offensive. The toll has gone up during since the 10 October ceasefire, both from new Israeli strikes and from the recovery and identification of bodies of people killed earlier in the war.

Accepting the prize in Venice, Ben Hania dedicated it to the Palestinian Red Crescent “and to those who risked everything to save lives in Gaza”.

“They are true heroes,” she said.

Slow-motion tragedy

RFI interviewed the operators who took the girls’ call soon after their bodies were discovered.

Omar Alqem, a young Red Crescent volunteer, said he was in a state of shock when he realised what was happening.

“I felt like I was floating above my body. I couldn’t understand what I had just witnessed. I tried to regain my composure. I told myself: I can’t give in to emotion, or else I’ll stop doing this work. But it’s not possible to stop. In this war, too many people depend on us,” he told RFI’s correspondent Sami Boukhelifa.

Alqem spoke to Hind for about ten minutes, but felt helpless in the face of her distress. “She was able to explain to me who was around her in the car. I tried to imagine the situation, where she was hiding in the vehicle. I understood that six members of her family had all died around her. And then I thought: this is too much, I can’t go on.”

From that point on, his colleague Rana Faqih took over. A member of the Red Crescent for 13 years, she began by introducing herself. “I told her, ‘My name is Rana.’ The poor little girl was in shock. She told me her name was Soujoud, then Hind…” Faqih recalled.

“Sometimes she would tell me, ‘They’re all sleeping.’ And sometimes she would say, ‘They’re all dead. There’s blood everywhere. There are tanks.’ She sees them. She hears the gunfire and the planes…”

While Rana continued to reassure Hind, her colleagues called the Israeli authorities to obtain permission to send a rescue mission to Gaza City, where Israeli troops were deployed.

“We got the green light [from the army] to send an ambulance to the area where Hind was. We were still in contact with her, and at the same time with our paramedics,” recounted Faqih.

“And suddenly, we heard gunfire. We never would have thought that the ambulance was being targeted. It was almost right next to Hind. And then, communication with the paramedics and with Hind was cut off. We had no news for 12 days.”

On 10 February 2024, the Israeli army withdrew from the area. The ambulance was found twisted and charred. The two paramedics, Hind, her cousin and the other members of their family were all dead.

‘I want a loud death’: Cannes Film Festival to honour slain Gaza journalist

Film meets reality

While actors play the roles of the humanitarian staff in Ben Hania’s film, the voice of Hind is real.

“At the end of the film, I used images of the ambulance that was bombed and the car that Hind was in which was riddled with over 300 bullets,” the filmmaker recalls.

“These images were widely shared on the internet, especially on social media, but they lose their impact because they’re wedged between two other events.”

She hopes that by focusing on the lead-up to Hind’s death, the film will give viewers a fuller sense of the tragedy.

The war in Ukraine, following the Russian invasion in 2022, instability in the Middle East and uncertainty surrounding the level of United States involvement in the event of conflict have seen discussions over strengthening military capabilities arise across Europe – in terms of manpower as well as weaponry.

“Many countries in Europe are reintroducing national service,” France’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Fabien Mandon, said last week, before President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday outlined his plans for the establishment of voluntary youth military service.

“At a time when all our European allies are making progress in the face of a threat that affects us all, France cannot remain idle,” Macron said at the launch of the programme, set to begin by the middle of next year.

Macron unveils voluntary military service as concerns grow over Russia

Historical context

History is the starting point to understanding military service models, according to Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, historian at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS).

“From the French Revolution onward, a very strong link was established between citizenship and bearing arms,” he told RFI. “In the 19th and 20th centuries, voting and military service went hand in hand: one was a citizen also because one participated in the defence of the nation.”

Most European states abandoned compulsory military service starting in the 1990s, Audoin-Rouzeau explained. The fading memory of two world wars, coupled with the rise of nuclear deterrence, meant that the idea of another war was more or less eliminated.

“The end of the Cold War made mass military service less necessary, in favour of a professional army made up of specialists. This was as much an economic choice as a strategic one: the increased technicality of operations required professionals.”

Hybrid solutions

France abandoned compulsory military service in 1997 under the presidency of Jacques Chirac, followed by the Netherlands the same year. Belgium had suspended conscription from 1993.

Spain followed suit in 2001, Slovenia in 2003, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Portugal in 2004, Italy in 2005, Romania in 2006, Bulgaria in 2007, Poland in 2009, and Germany in 2011.

Other countries have chosen to adapt military service, applying different models such as compulsory military service, systems based on random selection when volunteers are lacking, or selective conscription based on motivation and skills.

EU struggles for defence independence as Trump turns up the heat on security

East-West divide

There is a notable difference in approach between Eastern and Western Europe, directly linked to the perception of threat, according to Audoin-Rouzeau.

“In Finland or Eastern Europe – which are much more exposed to the Russian threat – the idea of ​​national defence remains extremely strong. In Western Europe, we believed that war could never concern us again, thinking we had fulfilled the old dream of 19th-century pacifists.”

He added that a lack of existing infrastructure and personnel would make it difficult to mobilise entire age groups. “Today, the idea that a country’s youth could be obligated to defend the homeland – and to die for it – seems dead or at least unacceptable.”

Europe’s defence vulnerabilities exposed as US shifts on Ukraine

This can be seen, he said, in the controversy sparked by Mandon’s remarks last week, when he said that “France [must] accept losing its children” – adding that Russia is “preparing for a confrontation by 2030 with [European] countries”.

However, the historian added: “We don’t know how people would react if peacetime were to turn into wartime. We mustn’t underestimate the mobilising effect of real war.”

He points to the Paris attacks of 13 November, 2015, which led to “a surge in military recruitment centres, similar to that seen in Ukraine on 24 February, 2022. As soon as the threat is there, everything can change.”

Conscription remains an effective military tool in protracted wars of attrition, where demographics become a strategic factor, Audoin-Rouzeau said. “On the Ukrainian front, it’s the number of men that makes the difference.”

Military service in the EU

Austria: Mandatory six-month military service for men, while women can enlist voluntarily.

Finland: Military service is compulsory for men and lasts from six to 12 months depending on the specialty or rank. It remains voluntary for women. The country, which has Europe’s longest border with Russia and abandoned its non-alignment policy to join NATO in 2023, is considering raising the reserve age (those who have completed their service) to 65.

Estonia: Military service lasts from eight to 11 months for men and is voluntary for women.

Denmark: In 2024, Denmark decided to gradually extend the conscription period from four to 11 months, and service has also been mandatory for women since last summer. However, not all young Danes are called up for military service: the system is based on a lottery.

Greece: Greece has always maintained mandatory conscription of nine to 12 months for men. A draft law proposes opening up a 12-month voluntary service to women, who until now could only serve as career soldiers.

Cyprus: With the island in territorial conflict with Turkey, 14 months of military service is mandatory for men. Parliament passed a law in April opening the service to female volunteers.

Ireland: Has only ever had a professional army in peacetime.

Malta: Has only ever had a professional army in peacetime.

Lithuania: In 2015, the country reinstated a nine-month conscription for men selected by lottery, having suspended it in 2008. Conscripts serve in the reserves for 10 years, which will be extended to 15 years in 2026.

Latvia: In 2023, Latvia reinstated an 11-month conscription.

Sweden: Military service was reinstated in 2017 for a period of nine to 15 months. This is a selective conscription for both sexes.

Croatia: At the end of October, it voted to reinstate conscription for men from 2026, which had been suspended in 2008. Basic military training will last two months, with an alternative of three to four months of civilian service.

Bulgaria: Launched forms of voluntary military service in 2020.

The Netherlands: Launched forms of voluntary military service in 2023.

Poland: Since 2024, it has implemented a one-month basic voluntary military training programme, which can be followed by up to nine to 11 months of specialised training for those wishing to join the active army.

Romania: Intends to bring in a four-month voluntary service programme in 2026, with an option to continue.

Belgium: The country is aiming for 1,000 voluntary recruits per year, although the debate on reinstating compulsory service has not been entirely settled.

Germany: The debate on reinstating compulsory service has been the subject of intense negotiations. A bill is due to be voted on in December, but the ruling coalition has reached a compromise on voluntary military service to bolster an army facing a shortage of recruits. Starting in 2026, all 18-year-olds will receive a form with questions about their motivation and aptitudes. Responses are mandatory for men and optional for women. The goal is to recruit 20,000 volunteers by 2026.

Non-EU countries

Norway: Twelve months of military service, which is mandatory for women too, as of 2013.

Switzerland: Conscripts can choose between 18 weeks of mandatory training or a longer civilian service, with periods of service spread out over time. But this may change as the Swiss people will on 30 November vote on the possible replacement of this system with a civic service. The obligation could be extended to women and could be carried out not just in the army or civil defence, but in working in environmental protection or helping vulnerable people.

United Kingdom: Former prime minister Rishi Sunak had expressed support for the re-establishment of compulsory national service, abolished in the UK since 1960. The project was championed by the Conservatives during the last election campaign, but has since been buried by the current left-wing Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

This article is based on a report in French by RFI’s Aurore Lartigue.

With negotiations ongoing between leading parties including the Democrats 66 (D66) and the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), observers are watching for signs of a more balanced approach to migration, after years of heated rhetoric and restrictive measures.

Changes in the Dutch political landscape have coincided with the launch, earlier this month, of the European Commission’s first Annual Migration Management Cycle, under the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

This EU initiative aims to enhance coordination among member states on migration management, asylum procedures and integration efforts.

The European Commission regards the Netherlands as one of the countries at risk of “experiencing migratory pressure” – but describes the situation as showing “a continued improvement”.

‘Relatively stable’

Myrthe Wijnkoop, senior policy advisor at the Amsterdam-based refugee charity Vluchtelingenwerk, agrees that despite the heated political debate, the reality is quite different. 

Asylum applications in the Netherlands have remained “relatively stable” over the past decade, she says.

UN accuses France of ‘serious violations’ of the rights of child migrants

According to the UNHCR Refugee Data Finder, there are 262,974 refugees and asylum seekers in The Netherlands – including 46,900 asylum seekers who have made their applications this year.

Notable surges in these numbers – such as the Syrian refugee peak in 2015-16 and the influx of Ukrainians in 2022 under a special temporary protection scheme – highlight that “geopolitical events, not domestic rhetoric” primarily drive refugee flows, according to Wijnkoop.

“There’s a quite stable number of persons coming every year,” she explains, adding that the political framing of a “crisis” is misplaced. “People don’t choose where they go, they leave because of persecution and violence, not because of facilities.”

UK toughens asylum system with radical overhaul

‘Left in limbo’

However, problems remain: the country’s reception centres are overcrowded and asylum procedures often take more than two years to commence.

During this period, asylum seekers face restricted rights and profound uncertainty. “Waiting times and shortages of decent housing and facilities… it’s a big problem,” says Wijnkoop. “People are left in limbo. If you imagine when you just can’t do anything the whole day but just wait… It’s devastating for people’s mental health.”

Attempts to distribute responsibility for asylum reception evenly across Dutch municipalities, embodied in recent legislation, have come up against local resistance and political hesitation. 

However, Wijnkoop remains cautiously optimistic, saying: “If the next government is upholding that legislation and is promoting the execution thereof, it can be a success.”

The PVV’s defeat is in contrast with the rising influence of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in France, where there were 751,218 asylum seekers and refugees registered in 2025, including 77,412 new asylum claims. Waiting times for these to be processed under the French system currently exceed eight months. 

The French government under Emmanuel Macron has pursued reforms aimed at tightening asylum procedures and increasing deportations, positioning asylum increasingly as a matter of national security rather than humanitarian protection.

RFI: How does Romania’s role as a NATO eastern flank hub affect its stance in the European Union budget debate?

Claudiu Nasui: It is in our interest that more funds are allocated towards defence because we’re on the border, and we are the second biggest beneficiary of this new SAFE defence loan programme, after Poland. So we’re set to receive a considerable amount of money from the EU to rearm ourselves.

The main problem we have is that we’re not necessarily buying European equipment, which is very unfortunate and something we really should be doing.

Europe, and the European Union, have a significant technology gap in military technology compared to the United States. This is partly because we don’t have the same economies of scale as the US.

For example, when they built the F-35 jet, it was produced in such large numbers that the costs of research and development and many fixed costs were spread across many units.

Whereas in Europe, we have several different jets but don’t benefit from these economies of scale as much. The same issue applies to other weapon systems.

What I would say is that Romania should buy more European products. Right now, we’re buying a Turkish Corvette, which is not even really a Corvette but actually a patrol boat. We’re also buying a Turkish copy of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV.)

There’s a lot that we should be doing in closer integration with the European defence industry, which would help immensely.

Europe’s defence dilemma: autonomy or dependence?

If we’re talking about the F-35, it’s clearly a more advanced generation of jet than the French Rafale or the Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen. So is there any discussion in Romania about buying European fighter jets?

Currently, we’re very focused on the F-16. We have many second-hand F-16s, and there is a programme to buy F-35s which may come around 2030. So that’s in about five years’ time.

As just an example, I wouldn’t have a problem buying the F-35 provided we also bought other European products like the SAM-T instead of the Patriot, or other European weapon systems. This could help Europe gain economies of scale while producing these systems and reduce our reliance on non-European partners.

What is the general attitude of the Romanian public towards the Ukraine war effort and efforts in Romania to support it, after nearly three years?

There is what we call war fatigue. Initially, people were much more willing to help Ukraine. Now, because of Russian propaganda, the length of the conflict and the toll it is taking, fewer people want to help.

Pro-Russian parties in Romania exploit our economic difficulties. We have many problems, a lot of poverty, and a government increasing taxes. They claim we’re worse off because we support Ukraine. Which is false, but because it’s repeated so often, it’s starting to seem like the truth.

Romania hasn’t helped Ukraine as much as it could have, but this is used as a political weapon. So while there is some war fatigue, the majority still support Ukraine and Romania’s support for it – even more than before.

How sustainable is the EU’s current support for Ukraine, and what changes are needed?

I think we should use the Russian assets. The discussion over these is very worrying because it should be obvious – Russia is a threat, an aggressor, and has committed war crimes against Ukraine.

We should use these frozen assets to help Ukraine now when they need it most.

Ukraine is acting like a shield for Europe. The higher the cost of aggression for Russia, the greater the chance of peace. If Russia wins or gets a shameful peace deal – like the one proposed by the Trump administration recently – it would be a huge win for Russia and a major threat to Europe.

We should be grateful Ukraine is resisting, mounting a huge war effort, and we should help so the war stays in Ukraine, not Europe. If Ukraine falls or accepts a bad peace deal, Russia would have a decade of peace to rebuild and then likely start fighting again. It’s a pattern. The 28 points in the peace proposal can be interpreted in ways to justify new aggressions.

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Last Sunday, Europeans came up with an alternative 28-point plan. What do you think of it?

Ukraine must have the final say, as they are the ones fighting. Europe should support whatever Ukrainians decide. They are the attacked party keeping the Russians at bay.

If they want to stop fighting and sign a peace deal, even if we think it’s bad, it’s their choice. We should support that. If they don’t, we should support that too – militarily, financially and politically.

I’m not sure about the European plan, so I can’t comment. But the general attitude must be to support Ukraine, as they’re protecting Europe from Russian aggression.

Regarding funding and the push for increased defence spending, is this mainly a budget issue, a political issue or a spending efficiency problem?

It’s also about spending efficiency. We should buy more European – like the SAM-T and other weapon systems – to achieve economies of scale.

For cheap, efficient weapon systems, you need economies of scale, which we won’t get if we don’t buy European. So it’s about more than just investing money – how you invest matters.

Romania’s new president Nicușor Dan pledges to counter Russian influence

Where should extra defence funds come from, and what spending would you refuse to cut?

I wouldn’t refuse to cut any spending to boost defence. The biggest EU expense is agricultural subsidies, and we could cut those to finance defence.

European countries already have high taxes; we can’t grow the economy by raising taxes further. Spending must be rerouted from other areas like cohesion funds.

As a Romanian who’s benefited from cohesion funds, I’d still support cutting back so we can invest in defence and secure Europe’s future. That’s paramount.

You’ve spent a lot of time in France [Nasui studied for his undergraduate degree in Paris]. How would you assess the situation there? With a huge budget deficit and a record debt of €3.2 trillion, where could they find the money?

France is already at capacity in this regard. They need a clear cost-cutting programme, similar to what Javier Milei is doing in Argentina. There is huge spending in many areas.

One problem with Macron’s government [which was elected on the basis of reform] is they focused mainly on raising the retirement age rather than true reforms. They kept the same system and just tweaked it slightly, which angered many people.

To maintain parliamentary support, they are suspending the major reform Macron invested political capital in, which again was not a true reform, just minor adjustments.

France should cut a lot of spending, as well as taxes and bureaucracy. The country is known for introducing new regulations and bureaucratic layers which hinder economic growth and innovation.

We are heading towards a “Sputnik moment” when we realise the development gap between Europe, the US and China.

Can you expand on that “Sputnik moment”?

One example would be self-driving cars. US and Chinese cities have many, but in Europe we don’t see them yet. As these technologies become commonplace in the US and China, the gap will become more apparent here.

We are already seeing it in sectors like semiconductors. Except for [the Dutch company] ASML and [Belgian company] IMEC, Europe is nowhere in the major chip industry. We lack large foundries, big investments and advanced process nodes.

More bureaucracy, regulation and higher taxes won’t help. Considering France’s economic impact on Europe, if they manage to reform, the whole EU would benefit greatly.

Cells are packed far beyond capacity, medical care is scarce and most detainees have not yet seen a judge, the UN warned, adding that Haiti’s deep humanitarian crisis has fed this collapse of the prison system.

Armed street violence is preventing people from moving around, institutions are falling apart and widespread poverty is pushing families to breaking point.

The report, published on 11 November, said more than 7,200 people – men, women and minors – were being held in facilities that are often three times over their original capacity. 

At least 82 percent of detainees are stuck in prolonged pre-trial detention. Many have spent years waiting for a first hearing.

One prisoner in Port-au-Prince told William O’Neill, the UN expert on the human rights situation in Haiti, that he had been waiting two years for a hearing in a case involving an alleged theft of shoes.

Gangs tighten grip on key towns in Haiti as violence and protests escalate

Years in cramped cells

O’Neill described the conditions as “subhuman”, adding there was not enough food or medical care and that prisoners were kept in cells for long hours with very little air, light, drinking water or access to toilets and showers.

He said 52 deaths were recorded in the three-month period from July to September, mostly from preventable diseases made worse by the lack of care and clean water.

UN figures said gangs now control around 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, often stopping courts and prison staff from carrying out basic duties.

In March 2024, attacks on the national penitentiary and the Croix-des-Bouquets prison led to the escape of 4,600 detainees. The episode further weakened the system.

Before 2021, the prison network had around 3,000 places. Floods, attacks and demolitions then cut its capacity. Violence in the west of the country worsened the decline.

Five prisons in the capital were abandoned due to extreme threats from armed gangs. No reconstruction plan has begun.

Crisis in Jacmel

Jacmel, a coastal city known for its beaches and carnival celebrations, is facing one of the most critical situations. Fourteen detainees died in the prison there in July.

The Mobile Institute for Democratic Education (IMED) said Jacmel was the most worrying prison it had seen this year. “It has no doctor. Are the authorities not informed? To me, this seems deliberate,” IMED director Kettly Julien said.

The organisation said that cells are cramped, foul smelling and overcrowded, without ventilation, adding that poor care and close contact mean disease spreads rapidly.

“As soon as one inmate falls ill, he easily transmits his disease to others,” the institute said.

Frantz Comonce, a lawyer and coordinator of the legal aid office in Jacmel, criticised the lack of food and drinking water. Families, he said, often have to bring water themselves, which many cannot afford to do regularly.

Jacmel’s prison holds nearly 800 detainees in 17 cells. Comonce said the facility needs medicine but that the most urgent needs are food and water. Detainees also need time outdoors, he added.

France to revisit Haiti’s post-slavery reparations two centuries on

Warnings ignored

Haiti’s National Network for the Defence of Human Rights (RNDDH) warned that the wave of deaths stems directly from these conditions.

“It’s not a surprise that people continue to die in prison. There have been many warning signals, but they were ignored,” programme head Marie-Rose Auguste said, accusing the authorities of failing to act.

“The authorities continue to trample on the rights to life, health and dignity of incarcerated people.”

The rights group also criticised the slow pace of judges and prosecutors, saying case files remain stalled, trials are delayed and prolonged detention remains the norm.

Inside El Salvador’s giant prison with photographer Juan Carlos

Calls for action

Meanwhile the Office for the Protection of Citizens, Haiti’s national human rights ombudsman, raised similar concerns in March, saying conditions were inhumane and contradicted international conventions ratified by Haiti.

After its investigation, it issued recommendations urging urgent measures.

Its head, Jean Wilner Morin, said the solution lies in building proper prison facilities that ensure dignity and meet international standards.

Unless the justice system cuts prolonged detention, unless cells stop being overcrowded and dirty, and unless access to water, food and care improves, the situation will only grow worse, RNDDH warned.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Peterson Luxama, RFI’s correspondent in Port-au-Prince.

From 1 December, France’s national health insurance will cover 100 percent of the cost of wheelchairs for people with disabilities or older adults experiences loss of autonomy.

It delivers on a pledge by President Emmanuel Macron at the National Disability Conference in 2023.

“You called on me to tell me the sometimes exorbitant cost you have to pay. It was a huge injustice,” the president said in a video posted on Instagram on Sunday.

According to the presidency the reform is a first in Europe. It covers all wheelchairs adapted to disability-related needs (from birth, acquired or accident-related) or to loss of autonomy associated with ageing.

“It’s a really revolution for people’s autonomy, you no longer have to advance a single euro,” Pascale Ribes, head of APF France handicap, told RFI.

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Disability often ‘rhymes with poverty’

Ribes has been campaigning for more than 20 years on the cost of wheelchairs.

Until now, reimbursement for the most advanced wheelchairs was extremely low. Active, lightweight models costing up to €10,000 were reimbursed at around €600, while complex electric chairs priced at €40,000 to €50,000 were capped at €5,200.

Users often had to seek top-ups from complementary insurers, departmental disability services, local authorities, associations, relatives or online fundraising campaigns.

Ribes notes that “disability too often rhymes with poverty”, forcing many people to scramble for funding or risk having to abandon essential equipment.

The new system simplifies and centralises the process: users receive a prescription from a doctor or a multidisciplinary team for complex cases, then contact a distributor who handles trials and submits a quote to national health insurance.

A 15-day “silence equals consent” rule – extended to two months for highly specific options – means the chair can then be provided without any advance payment or remaining charge.

According to the ministry responsible for people with disabilities, there are 1.1 million wheelchair users in France. Each year, 150,000 new wheelchairs are acquired.

The Elysée said the move “puts an end to an unjust and intolerable situation”, estimating annual costs could rise from €300 million to “€400 or 500 million”.

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Risk of supply shortages

A new national classification imposes price caps across 17 categories, from €360 for standard chairs to €21,000 for electric vertical-standing models.

Early negotiations were “tough” and risked excluding certain models, said Mazhoura Ait Mebarek of the National Union of the Medical Technologies Industry (Snitem), but the sector has since adapted. By late November, more than 430 approval requests had been submitted, with around 120 still pending.

Providers warn, however, that parts of the reform may strain the system. Short-term rental, used for temporary mobility needs and around 500,000 chairs annually, will be restricted to six months, with weekly rates cut from €16 to €11, less than €4 of which will be reimbursed.

“The risk is that, in time, fewer providers will offer rentals because the activity is costly,” said Julia Crépin of the distributors’ union UNPDM.

Long-term rental for people whose conditions progress rapidly, and the refurbishment of second-hand chairs, will not be operational immediately.

Lack of specialists

Technical approvals for some models may also take longer than planned. “The objective will be achieved, but not necessarily by 1 December,” said Nathalie Creveux of UPSADI –  a new trade union for small and medium-sized home healthcare providers.

But the biggest constraint could be the availability of specialists. Complex chairs must be prescribed jointly by rehabilitation doctors or assistive-device specialists and occupational or physiotherapists.

“We live in a country with ‘medical deserts’ at every level,” said Malika Boubékeur of APF France handicap, calling for a national map of qualified centres.

A monitoring committee led by disability minister Charlotte Parmentier-Lecocq will meet monthly to oversee implementation of the reform.

(with newswires)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Positive developments in the lab

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Progress needs power, power needs funding

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Nigeria, condom distribution has dropped by 55 percent.

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

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

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

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

Gaël Perdriau, who has been mayor of the eastern industrial city of Saint-Etienne since 2014, throughout the trial had denied ordering the recording of a video involving his former deputy, Gilles Artigues, a Roman Catholic who had spoken out against gay marriage.

But a court in the eastern city of Lyon found the 53-year-old guilty of blackmail, criminal conspiracy and diverting public funds, handing him four years behind bars – as well as another suspended – and a five-year ban from public office, effective immediately.

Perdriau was “entirely guilty”, the presiding judge, Brigitte Vernay, said.

During the trial, prosecutors had argued that Perdriau commissioned the sex tape filmed in a hotel room in early 2015 to ensure Artigues’ loyalty, warning he would release it if his deputy broke ranks.

“He was the one with his finger on the nuclear button,” prosecutor Audrey Quey told the court, describing the mayor as the “decision-maker”.

Threats, fear

The court also handed prison sentences to three co-defendants, including the mayor’s former chief of staff and another deputy, who admitted to setting up the trap.

After the ruling, Perdriau insisted he was innocent and vowed to appeal.

But Artigues in 2017 secretly recorded a conversation with Perdriau, in which the mayor can be heard telling him he has a “USB stick” full of compromising images and threatening to release them.

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Artigues told the court the result was him being paralysed in city hall meetings.

“I was like a puppet,” he said. “They put me there, and I smiled.”

The former deputy – who testified that he had suffered suicidal thoughts – welcomed Monday’s verdict.

“Today, I think I will be able to rebuild my life,” he said, surrounded by family members.

(with AFP)

According to a security report prepared for the United Nations and seen by AFP, armed groups known as “bandits” in northwest Nigeria kidnapped “at least 25 residents” in twin assaults on the villages of Unguwar Tsamiya and Dabawa in Kano state.

Kidnappings have been rare in Nigeria’s northern commercial hub.

Separately, in northeastern Borno state, the epicentre of a long-running jihadist insurgency, nine onion farmers were kidnapped by suspected jihadists, militia commander Tijjani Ahmed said.

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

A spate of kidnappings in recent weeks – involving hundreds of schoolchildren – has prompted the UN to warn of a “surge in mass abductions”.

Nigeria declares security emergency after wave of mass kidnappings

At the same time, Nigeria is under intense criticism from the United States, which has threatened military intervention over what it calls the mass killing of Christians.

The Nigerian government and independent analysts reject Washington’s framing of the security situation in the country, home to myriad conflicts that kill across ethnic and religious lines.

A wave of attacks in November saw some 400 people kidnapped, including more than 300 schoolchildren in two assaults, according to an AFP tally of major incidents.

Kidnap-for-ransom

Statistics on kidnapping are hard to pin down, with many going unreported.

But in the 12 months between July last year and June 2025, at least 4,722 people were kidnapped in 997 incidents, and at least 762 were killed, according to a recent report by SBM Intelligence.

During that period, “Nigeria’s kidnap-for-ransom crisis consolidated into a structured, profit-seeking industry”, said the Lagos-based security advisory firm.

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It said kidnappers obtained some 2.57 billion naira (around $1.66 million) in ransom.

Motivated by money rather than ideology, bandits conduct kidnappings, extortion and looting in areas that have long suffered from little state or security presence.

Government efforts have tried to strike peace deals with bandits.

Critics say that while such accords have occasionally brought relief, they often result in the bandits keeping their arms and using areas where they have a truce as a base to attack neighbouring localities.

(with AFP)

Ekane, 74, leader of the African Movement for New Independence  and Democracy (Manidem) party, was arrested on 24 October in Douala following post-election demonstrations in what his party described as a “kidnapping” by Cameroonian soldiers.

He was being held at a military garrison in the capital Yaoundé on charges of hostility against the state, incitement to revolt, and calls for insurrection – accusations he denied.

Ekane was among opposition figures who objected to the result of the 12 October election in which Paul Biya, the world’s oldest president at 92, was declared the winner of another term.

Rival candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary claimed to have won and has called on Cameroonians to reject the official result.

Ekane’s death in detention could heighten tensions in the central African nation where security forces killed 48 civilians as they responded to protests against Biya’s re-election.

Cameroon opposition leader flees to Gambia for ‘safety’ after contested vote

Demands for transfer refused

Ekane was barely able to speak during a visit just days before his death, his lawyer Ngouana Ulrich Juvenal said. His sister, Mariane Simon-Ekane confirmed the death on Facebook.

Alarmed by the decline in his health, his party Manidem issued a statement on Sunday calling for his urgent transfer to another hospital where he could receive “more suitable and appropriate” medical care.

In an earlier statement on 21 November, his party said that Ekane’s oxygen concentrator and other essential medical devices he needed were locked in his impounded vehicle at a military police station in the commercial capital Douala.

France concerned about Cameroon’s violent crackdown on post-election protests

The party accused the commander of the station of repeatedly blocking lawyers’ efforts to recover Ekane’s medical equipment, calling it a “flagrant human rights violation” that amounted to a “programmed killing”.

In Sunday’s statement the party warned it “would hold the Yaoundé regime responsible for the consequences of refusing the transfer”.

Cameroon’s defence ministry confirmed Ekane’s death on Monday, saying he died “following an illness”. It said an investigation has been opened into the circumstances.

Tchiroma supporter

Ekane was a major figure in Cameroon politics, active in public and political life since the early 1990s.

He first supported opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who was banned from running, before backing the main presidential contender Tchiroma.

Following the announcement of his death, several local media outlets interrupted regular programming to broadcast live reports. Messages of grief and tributes poured in on social media.

Ekane’s detention, along with that of party member Florence Aimee Titcho and other supporters of Tchiroma, had drawn condemnation from opposition groups, which demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

Tchiroma fled to Gambia and is being hosted there on humanitarian grounds, according to Gambian authorities.

(with newswires)

The sale concerns the PPL 2000 and PPL 2001 exploration areas, located in the prolific West Delta basin and covering a combined 2,000 square kilometres.

TotalEnergies obtained the exploration rights in September after winning them in the 2024 licensing round organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

Under the agreement, which remains subject to regulatory approval and customary conditions, TotalEnergies will retain a 40-percent stake and continue as operator of the two blocks.

Chevron, through its subsidiary, will hold 40 percent, while Nigerian partner South Atlantic Petroleum will maintain its existing 20 percent interest.

“This new joint venture reinforces TotalEnergies’ global offshore exploration collaboration with Chevron,” the French group said, recalling that it had taken a 25-percent stake earlier this year in a portfolio of Chevron-operated offshore exploration blocks in the United States.

Nicola Mavilla, TotalEnergies’ Senior Vice-President for Exploration, said the partnership “aims at derisking and developing new opportunities in Nigeria, in line with the objectives of the country”.

Nigerian president in Paris as France pivots towards anglophone Africa

The company described the West Delta basin as a key region for expanding exploration activities in West Africa, where both TotalEnergies and Chevron have long-standing interests.

The agreement marks another step in TotalEnergies’ strategy to optimise its exploration portfolio and strengthen cooperation with major international players in frontier basins.

TotalEnergies and South Atlantic Petroleum had signed a production sharing contract for the two licences on 2 September, formalising rights that could pave the way for future discoveries in the deepwater zone.

The planned stake sale, once completed, will consolidate a trilateral partnership between French, American, and Nigerian energy players as the sector seeks to balance investment opportunities with regulatory and environmental considerations.

(With newswires)

French Ecological Transition Minister Monique Barbut, whose country is hosting the meeting in a Paris suburb, told the scientists their “extremely precious” work is crucial as multilateralism has weakened.

“There is also something that should concern us all: The rise of climate-related disinformation on our social media, in our newspapers and even at the heart of our policy political institutions,” Barbut said.

“Too many people deny the results of your work,” she told the experts from more than 100 countries gathered in a skyscraper in Saint-Denis, just north of the capital.

Their work faces hurdles in the face of a US administration whose president called climate change the “greatest con job ever” and a “hoax” during a speech at the United Nations in September.

One of the lead authors of the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is US climate expert Katherine Calvin, who was fired from her job as chief scientist at NASA following orders from the Trump administration.

“The statements, for example, from the American administration on the origin of climate change, the fact that it’s a hoax, if you will, we still find that quite surprising,” said an official at the French ecological transition ministry who requested anonymity.

Irreversible changes to nature

The previous report by the IPCC, released in 2023, had warned that the world was on track to exceed the 1.5C warming threshold by 2030.

The UN now says that safer limit will be breached earlier than feared, greatly increasing the risk of violent storms, floods and droughts and irreversible changes to nature.

The meeting in France launches a process that will culminate with the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), due to be published in 2028 or 2029.

It brings together lead authors of the report in a single venue for the first time, in an effort to tackle interdisciplinary climate questions.

Fossil fuel rise drives planet closer to critical climate safety limit

The IPCC operates by consensus.

“If any country opposes the text, the report cannot be approved. Every country has a sort of veto,” climate scientist Robert Vautard told reporters last week.

While the US government stays out of the climate fray, dozens of American scientists are among the experts working on the IPCC report.

“IPCC reports are going to continue to underpin climate policies and climate action at every level, including international negotiations,” IPCC chairman Jim Skea told the gathering in Saint-Denis.

Timeline issues

There already appear to be disagreements over the timing of the next report’s publication.

A group called the High Ambition Coalition, which includes European Union countries and developing nations vulnerable to climate change, wants the assessment to come out in 2028.

That would coincide with the global stocktake – a review, required under the 2015 Paris Agreement, of the progress countries have made in limiting climate change and its impacts.

Amazon summit seals climate deal without fossil fuel plan

But a group of emerging economies and major fossil fuel-producing countries say more time is needed and are advocating for 2029.

The divide echoes the disagreements seen at the UN’s recent COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belem, which concluded with a deal that left out an explicit call to phase out fossil fuels.

Despite the disagreements over when to publish the next report, Skea told AFP in March: “I don’t think the IPCC is in crisis. We will resolve this issue about the timeline.”

(with AFP)

Uranium mining in Niger is at the centre of a standoff between the junta that took power in 2023 and nuclear producer Orano, which is 90-percent owned by the French government and has operated mines in Niger for decades.

The news was announced on state television Tele Sahel in a report Sunday evening citing comments by head of the junta General Abdourahamane Tiani.

Tiani, the report said, had claimed “Niger’s legitimate right to dispose of its natural riches to sell them to whoever wants to buy them, under the rules of the market, in complete independence”.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said in July that Moscow wanted to mine uranium in Niger.

Since the junta took power in a 2023 coup, Niger has turned to Russia, which commands the world’s largest arsenal of atomic weapons, for help in fighting the west African country’s jihadist insurgency.

At the same time it has turned its back on former colonial power France, which it accused of supporting separatist groups.

One of world’s largest uranium deposits

In December 2024, Orano acknowledged it had lost operational control of its three main mines in Niger: Somaïr, Cominak (closed since 2021) and Imouraren.

Imouraren has one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, with an estimated 200,000 tonnes. 

Orano officially retains a 60 percent stake in the subsidiaries, and has undertaken various arbitration procedures against Niger to try to win back operational control.

Niger embraces Russia for uranium production leaving France out in the cold

In late September, Orano announced a tribunal had ruled in its favour concerning the nationalisation of Somaïr in June.

It said the court ordered Niger not to sell uranium produced by Somaïr, which holds around 1,300 tonnes of concentrate on site with a market value of €250 million.

According to information recently published by LSI Africa and Wamaps – a group of West African journalists specialising in security news in the Sahel – a convoy carrying 1,000 tonnes of uranium recently left Arlit, a town in the north where the Somaïr site is located, to reach the port of Lomé, the Togolese capital, via Burkina Faso.

Niger in 2022 accounted for about a quarter of the natural uranium supplied to European nuclear power plants, according to data from the atomic organisation Euratom.

(with newswires)

Ravatomanga, a close ally of former president Andry Rajoelina, long dominated the trade through his company Sodiat.

At the busy port of Tamatave at the end of last month, workers began loading the first of three ships bound for Europe. Heavy storms are slowing operations because pallets cannot be moved in the rain, as exporters say the cardboard boxes must stay dry to protect the fruit.

They also say the crop is unusually good this year – with perfect ripeness, the desired 28mm fruit size and yields that are above expectations. “The 20,000-tonne lychee mark will easily be reached,” one exporter told RFI’s Sarah Tétaud.

Prices are climbing too. Payments to collectors and producers in direct sales now exceed 2,000 ariary per kilo (around 38 euro cents).

The good news, however, has been somewhat overshadowed.

The day before it was due to open, a lychee processing station was destroyed by a fire that exporters say still has no known cause. Meanwhile, investigators from the country’s Independent Anticorruption Bureau arrived in Tamatave – which handles about 80 percent of Madagascar’s international maritime cargo – to examine 10 years of financial flows.

Exporters say they have been asked to provide contracts, bank statements and accounting documents.

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

‘We had no choice’

The probe centres on LTC, a Mauritius-based shell company which handled payments between Malagasy exporters and foreign importers.

Exporters say Ravatomanga had strong links to the company. Investigators want to understand what kind of tax evasion schemes, money laundering systems or kickbacks might have been used, who was involved and where the missing money went.

Under pressure, long-standing tensions are beginning to surface. “Let those who played pay the heavy price,” one exporter said.

Another said they had little choice in the past. “Everyone had to collaborate with Mamy,” the exporter said. “We had no choice.”

Exporters have asked for more time so they can focus on the six key loading days. “There is a lot of money at stake, for farmers as for us, many jobs too. These six days are extremely important for Madagascar’s east coast,” one exporter said.

Madagascar revokes ousted president Rajoelina’s nationality

Exporters push back

In a separate report on the lychee sector, exporters described how Ravatomanga dominated the trade for years through Sodiat. Members of the Lychee Exporters Group said he imposed his rules from 2009 onwards and claimed the biggest share of quotas.

On 23 October, the day before his arrest in Mauritius, exporters said he phoned at least four of them. “Do not try to touch even a single kilogram of lychees from my quotas,” he reportedly warned them.

The next day, the Lychee Exporters Group met and voted unanimously to exclude Sodiat from the trade. Narson Rafidimanana, a member of the group, said importers no longer wanted to work with the company.

“Shipowners and importers no longer want to hear about Sodiat. We do not want to be linked to all his wrongdoing,” Rafidimanana said. He said the move had lifted a long-standing fear.

“It is a new era; it is a liberation because during meetings of the Lychee Exporters Group no one had the right to speak. Everyone was afraid of him,” Rafidimanana said. “The risk was having quotas taken away, that he would decide to push us aside, things like that.”

Members split Sodiat’s quotas among the 27 exporters, favouring smaller operators. Larger exporters received 25 tonnes and smaller ones 100 tonnes.

How Madagascar’s new leader Randrianirina rose from prison to presidency

Prosecutors suspended

The Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) in Mauritius has sought cooperation from the NGO Transparency Mauritius as part of its investigation into Ravatomanga’s activities, the Mauritian news site L’Express.mu reported.

Transparency Mauritius’s executive officer, Laura Jayumungal, said: “It is the FCC leading the investigation. If it needs support or information exchange, we touch base at that moment.”

Madagascar’s Justice Ministry has suspended two prosecutors from the country’s anticorruption courts after one publicly said that Ravatomanga faced no judicial proceedings, even though several complaints and denunciations had been recorded against him.

The ministry said the sanctions aimed to preserve the integrity of judicial institutions.

Exporters have reinstated air freight for early lychees, which had been blocked under Ravatomanga. The first fruit can now leave Madagascar around 10 days before the official maritime campaign.

But with an ongoing investigation in Tamatave, a fire at a processing station and questions surrounding LTC, exporters say this season is unlike any other. Even with good fruit quality and high prices, they warn the future of the trade will depend on what investigators uncover in the months ahead.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abuse of power

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

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

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

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

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

Policing dissent

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

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

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

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

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

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

Expanded surveillance

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

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

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

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

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

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

France accused of restricting protests and eroding democracy

Siding with caution

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

Yet arguing against tougher security powers is an uphill battle. 

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

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

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

Online media Blast, which published the image of the officers, who had their faces concealed, reported that it had been taken inside a police station.

It said that police officers standing hooded in front of something turned upside-down was a “well-known practice among hooligans” – the very people police are meant to confront.

The black banner, with the words “Antifa Feminists against transphobia and racism” written on it in red and white, was seized by police officers during a demonstration against sexual and gender-based violence on 22 November in Paris, according to Blast.

Paris police headquarters “immediately opened an investigation” after the “publication of a photo showing one of its units holding a banner upside down”, Paris police told France’s AFP news agency.

The image shows around two dozen officers in uniform posing behind the banner. Wearing hats and with their neck gaiters pulled up above their noses, only their eyes can be seen. 

‘Attempt at intimidation’

“That there are people who dishonour their uniform like these (officers) is one thing. That the hierarchy remains silent and that there isn’t a single police officer who dares express their disagreement tells us a great deal about the danger women face from such individuals,” said Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

“These police officers are adopting the codes of militiamen,’ said Pouria Amirshahi, a Greens MP, on Saturday. “This is a stance, an attempt at intimidation, a provocation,” he wrote in a statement. He called on the Minister of the Interior “to remind everyone that the republican police force is the guardian of civil liberties, not of ideologies or the aesthetics of violent thugs”.  

Rights groups and left-wing parties have repeatedly accused the French police of having right-wing bias and being racist.

The force rejects such accusations, insisting that bad conduct by a small number of officers does not reflect it as a whole.

France denies police racism is widespread, but evidence tells another story

Two police officers were recently charged with rape and sexual assault of a 26-year-old woman in a courthouse cell in northern Paris. One of the men filmed the incident with a phone.

The men have admitted sexual relations but claim they were consensual.

(with newswires)

Nitrous oxide is sold in high street catering shops, primarily for use in whipped-cream dispensers – but inhaling the gas has euphoric effects. Users, often young people, fill balloons with the gas – also used in hospitals by anaesthetists – inhale it and then throw the container away.

Measures to restrict its consumption have already been taken in France. In 2021, the sale of nitrous oxide was banned for minors. And since early 2024, the quantity that can be sold has been limited. Dijon, Cannes, Lyon and Roubaix have already banned its consumption in public and restricted sales.

But this has not prevented a market – aimed at younger people – from developing. 

The appeal for young people 

In 2022, according to a study by Santé Publique France, almost 14 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds had used it.

This is a relatively recent phenomenon, becoming particularly popular during the Covid-19 pandemic. The French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), notes that from 2017 onwards, the number of places selling the substance increased. Back then it was possible to buy nitrous oxide in bars and nightclubs, which is now prohibited.

Dr Christophe Riou, an addiction expert at the Hospices Civils de Lyon, says the appeal for young people is clear. 

“What appeals to young people is that it’s ‘clean’. I’m not injecting anything, I’m not snorting anything. The fact that it’s a gas gives it a feeling of harmlessness,” he explains.

“And then there’s the idea that the psychoactive effect is short-lived – which is true. Someone who uses nitrous oxide for two hours, if they stop 20 minutes before going home, won’t look stoned.”

He added that since young people won’t smell of cannabis or alcohol, they can still claim to their parents that they’ve been behaving themselves with their friends. The product is also inexpensive. 

Spurs suspend Bissouma over laughing gas video

Damage to the nervous system

But nitrous oxide misuse is no laughing matter. Beginning in 2019, Riou began seeing young people arriving at his hospital’s emergency room with neurological problems, such as tingling in their legs and loss of balance.

The doctor recalls initial misdiagnoses, such as multiple sclerosis, until the patients told him about their use of nitrous oxide. 

Since then, the side effects have become better known. The gas attacks the nervous system and causes cognitive loss, lethargy – and potentially paralysis.

For more than a third of severely affected patients, their symptoms began after a year of regular use. And scientific evidence suggests nitrous oxide has the potential to become addictive.

EU drugs agency concerned about rising recreational use of ‘laughing gas’

The main challenge for Riou is to get users to come to him before their condition becomes serious, as they are unaware that they are exposing themselves to a dangerous substance.

“The fact that there is no label for it, neither as a narcotic nor as a dangerous or poisonous substance, is a problem for me,” he explains.

“Because, legally, the police can’t crack down on it. But someone who has a drinking problem and has had their licence revoked or caused accidents understands that their addiction has consequences. So that pushes them to seek treatment.”

In addition, because the gas affects the cognitive system and causes memory loss, this alters users’ perception of priorities and hampers their ability to take action.

Riou has observed that most of the young people he sees who manage to overcome use of the substance are supported by their parents – so their treatment is paid for by someone else. 

Push for legislation

Beyond the health consequences, the misuse of nitrous oxide is also a cause of road accidents. On 1 November, the death of 19-year-old Mathis in the north of France, who was hit by a car whose driver had just inhaled the gas, reignited the drive to legislate.

Mathis’s parents criticised the lack of a law specifically prohibiting driving under the influence of nitrous oxide. But unlike with cannabis or alcohol, it is still impossible to detect whether a driver has been using the gas.

Several bills have been tabled by French MPs but none have yet completed the legislative process.

France Unbowed (LFI) MP Idir Boumertit is championing a bill that would ban the sale of nitrous oxide to individuals, whether in physical shops or online stores. It would be reserved solely for professionals in the medical and catering sectors. 

France considers restrictions on laughing gas sales to combat recreational use

Ahmed Laouedj, a senator from the European Democratic and Social Rally, advocates criminalising the misuse of this gas. Under his bill, which has already been adopted by senators, sellers would be required to have special authorisation and consumers will have to be able to justify their possession of canisters.

“If tomorrow you stop someone in a car with 25 canisters and they don’t have a legal document of authorisation, it’s a year in prison and a €3,750 fine,” he explains.

“With this law, you will be able to issue a fine. Police officers told me again last night that when they stop young people with gas canisters today, there is nothing they can do.”

This text also provides for awareness-raising campaigns in secondary schools.

For Riou, this would be a positive step, but he fears the consequences of criminalisation of an addictive substance. In his view, this would lead to illegal production and means of acquiring the gas, ultimately resulting in an even more dangerous product.

This article was adapted from the original version in French by Marie Casadebaig.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Impossible clean up’

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recycling partners

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Christ on the Cross” went under the hammer at the Osenat auction house in Fontainebleu just outside Paris, where it topped an estimate of €1 million to €2 million.

Excluding fees, the winning bid was €2.3 million.

Painted by Rubens around 1620, the work was found by the head of the auction house in September 2024 among belongings at a private mansion on the Left Bank. 

“It was painted by Rubens at the height of his talent,” Jean-Pierre Osenat told AFP news agency, calling the painting “a masterpiece“. 

“It’s the very beginning of Baroque painting, depicting a crucified Christ, isolated, luminous and standing out vividly against a dark and threatening sky,” he said.

The auctioneer compared the discovery to “finding the Mona Lisa”. 

Artworks stolen in Nazi-occupied Paris donated to the Louvre

Microscopic clues

Osenat came across the painting as he inventoried the contents of the mansion on behalf of owners who wanted to sell them off.

After its discovery, art experts in Germany and Belgium spent months authenticating the work using techniques including X-rays and pigment analysis.

“Microscopic examination of the paint layers revealed not only white, black and red pigments in the areas representing flesh, but also blue and green pigments… which are typically used by Rubens in his depictions of human skin,” the auction house said.

The panel on which it was painted was also prepared using a technique typical of the Dutch artist’s workshop, experts found. 

France to return iconic Bayeux Tapestry to Britain for first time in 900 years

It is one of at least four known examples of Rubens paintings of the crucifixion, but art historians said it has unique features. “This is the one and only painting showing blood and water coming out of the side wound of Christ, and this is something that Rubens only painted once,” said Rubens specialist Nils Buttner, who helped authenticate the painting.

The work is thought to have belonged to the 19th-century French academic painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau and remained in the family, eventually passing to the owners of the mansion where it was found. 

Previous assessments had attributed the painting to one of Rubens’ many assistants and valued it at around €10,000.

It went on temporary display in September at the Church of Saint Roch in central Paris.

(with newswires)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

International credibility

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A president without momentum

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eyes on 2027

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

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

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

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

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

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. You must get your resolutions to me by 15 December to be included in the show. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

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

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.  

Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 25 October, just days after the famous theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre, I asked you a question about another famous theft from the Louvre. You were to re-read our article “Paris police hunt Louvre thieves after priceless jewels vanish in daring heist”, and send in the answers to these three questions: Which artwork was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, and by whom? How did he do it?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Congratulations winners!

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

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

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

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

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Changing diplomatic landscape

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

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

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

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

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

Energy pressure on Ankara

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

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

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

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

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

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

Balancing relations with Russia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

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

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

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis.

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.  

Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 18 October, I asked you a question about Morocco, where the young people are demanding reforms on education and health care, as well as tackling corruption and a cost-of-living crisis.

You were to re-read our article “Morocco Gen Z protesters call for ‘peaceful sit-ins’ to demand reforms”, and send in the answers to these two questions: What happened in the city of Agadir that lit the flame of the protests in September? And what is the combined cost the kingdom spent on renovating or building the stadiums for the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup?

The answers are, to quote our article: “The protests erupted in late September, after the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir, in southern Morocco, sparked anger over conditions at public health facilities.” 

And for the second question: “Economist Najib Akesbi says there is a fundamental problem in how resources are allocated. ‘The needs of the majority of the population are clearly not being prioritised,’ he told RFI. ‘Instead, ostentatious, prestige-driven spending is favoured. That’s the great imbalance.’ The country’s large-scale sports infrastructure – the stadiums built or renovated for the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup, with a combined budget of nearly €2 billion – are the most striking examples, Akesbi argued.

‘The big problem in Morocco is that we invest massively, but often in projects that are not profitable, that generate neither sufficient growth nor enough jobs,’ he says.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is your favorite memory of your grandparents?  

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim in Germany. Helmut is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Helmut.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Reepa Bain, a member of the RFI Pariwer Bandhu SWL Club in Chhattisgarh, India, and Rubi Saikia, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, also in India.

Last but not least, there are RFI English listeners Zeeshan, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan, and Zhum Zhum Sultana Eva, from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: Polonaise op 2, no 2 by Dionisio Aguado, performed by Julian Bream; “Raqsa cha’abya”  by Abderrahman el Hadri, performed by el Hadri and his ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Tune for T” by Laurent de Wilde, performed by de Wilde and the New Monk Trio.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Louvre Museum in Paris shuts gallery over structural safety fears”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 15 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 20 December podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

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

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

Immediately following the Paris attacks on 13 November, 2015, the French government put in place a nationwide state of emergency, granting police exceptional powers to detain and search people suspected of links to terrorism. Some of those sweeping powers have since passed into law, at the expense of civil liberties. Law professor Sophie Duroy says that while the public may have got used to authorities having greater reach, it is not always the best way to fight terrorism. (Listen @0′)

Last December, 51 men were found guilty of raping or sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot in her home in Mazan in what was France’s biggest rape trial to date. It made headlines worldwide – not least because Pélicot chose to drop her anonymity to make “shame swap sides” from victim to rapist. Independent photojournalist Anna Margueritat was one of many to cover the trial, but in her own way: as a feminist, an activist and victim of sexual violence, posting daily photos and stories on her Instagram account. Author of a recent book on her experience, she reflects on her time in court and what it changed. (Listen @16’45”)

A judge this week suspended the auction of a nearly 400-year-old calculator, after a group of academics called for the government to stop it leaving France. The object in question is a Pascaline, one of the first calculating machines, invented by French scientist Blaise Pascal in the 1640s. (Listen @10’40”)

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.

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).

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.