Barnier submitted his proposed new cabinet to President Emmanuel Macron late Thursday evening. The final line-up, featuring new faces in most of the key offices of state, is due to be confirmed by Sunday at the latest, according to Barnier’s office.

While there appeared to be no major surprise or big name entrants into the 38-member cabinet, it seemed to mark a tilt to the right from the previous more centrist government.

Barnier told right-wing and centrist groups at a meeting on Thursday afternoon that he was pondering a line-up of 16 main ministers including both their political families, politicians who were debriefed told French news agency AFP.

Gabriel Attal, his predecessor and now leader in parliament of Macron’s Renaissance party, was at the meeting and told allies that the list included 10 names from their centrist alliance.

Boost France’s international presence

Barnier is proposing Europe Minister Jean-Noel Barrot as foreign minister, a source close to Macron’s political faction, asking not to be named, told AFP.

The move would be a major promotion for the 41-year-old, whose slick media appearances have impressed observers, but he would face the challenge of boosting France’s presence on the international stage.

Meanwhile Bruno Retailleau, who heads the faction of the right-wing The Republicans (LR) in France’s upper house Senate, is to take on the interior ministry, according to several sources who spoke to AFP.

Landing the interior ministry, which oversees the police and domestic security, would be seen as a major success for the right.

Outgoing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, in his role since 2020, is not on Barnier’s list. He reportedly had long coveted the job of foreign minister.

Meanwhile, outgoing Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné was tapped by Macron to be France’s new EU commissioner.

Prime Minister Barnier warns France faces severe budget crisis as government talks stall

One key person said to be staying on is Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu who is believed to enjoy a close relationship with Macron.

Another meteoric rise will likely see Antoine Armand, 33, the head of parliament’s economic affairs commission installed as economy minister.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stepped down after occupying his post since Macron came to power in 2017.

Weeks of consultations

France has been gripped by political deadlock, through the Olympic Games and beyond, since July snap legislative elections left it with a hung parliament.

A left-wing alliance nabbed the most seats in the lower house National Assembly, but does not have a working majority.

Macron’s centrist faction is now the second largest bloc.

Who is France’s new prime minister Michel Barnier?

The far right is third, but the anti-immigration National Rally emerged from the election as the single largest party.

Barnier, the European Union’s former top Brexit negotiator and a right-winger, was appointed earlier this month by Macron in an attempt to breach the impasse.

Before appointing Barnier, Macron had rejected the left-wing alliance’s proposed candidate for prime minister, Lucie Castets.

Ready to act

After two weeks of consultations, Barnier’s office said the list is a government ” ready to act in the service of the French people”.

Macron could seek to veto Barnier’s proposals but doing so would cause immense tensions with his premier at this stage.

According to Barnier’s team, the executive should be presented before Sunday, “with regard to the usual ethical checks”, in other words the green light from the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) to the appointment of future ministers.

 Barnier has said he will address the National Assembly on the 1 October, to outline his government’s plans.

(with AFP)

Von der Leyen’s visit comes after a summer of intense fighting with Moscow’s troops pressing an advance in the east and Kyiv holding on to swathes of Russia’s Kursk region.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that this winter will be “by far” the toughest for Ukraine, with a large part of the country’s energy infrastructure already damaged by Russia’s bombing campaigns.

“The European Union is here to help you in this challenge to keep the lights on, to keep your people warm and keep your economy going as you fight for your survival,” von der Leyen said.

“We are now confident that we can deliver this loan to Ukraine very quickly, a loan that is backed by the windfall profits from immobilised Russian assets,” she added, speaking alongside President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky is expected visit to presidential candidates in Washington in the coming days to present Kyiv proposals on how to end more than two and a half years of fighting.

Offering Europe’s support

The EU’s loan proposal – which needs to be signed off by member states – is part of a bigger plan agreed by G7 powers in June to use the proceeds of frozen Russian assets to loan Kyiv $50 billion (€44 billion).

The EU has frozen roughly $235 billion (€210 billion) of Russian central bank funds since the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the vast bulk of immobilised Russian assets worldwide.

Von der Leyen – who arrived by train from Poland on Friday morning – also said that Brussels will “help repair the damages done by the Russian strikes” to Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

“We will aim to restore 2.5 gigawatt of capacity this winter, that is approx 15 percent of your country’s needs for this winter,” she said.

The IEA chief Fatih Birol warned a day earlier that this winter will prove the “sternest test yet” for Ukraine’s war-battered energy-grid.

Ukraine receives €4.2bn from EU as part of recovery plan

The agency put forward a plan on how to safeguard Kyiv’s energy grid, with Birol saying: “We must keep the brave people of Ukraine warm.”

The previous two winters in Ukraine saw thousands regularly without power and heating in freezing temperatures as Russia systematically targeted energy infrastructure.

An IEA report said that in 2022 and 2023 about “half of Ukraine’s power generation capacity was either occupied by Russian forces, destroyed or damaged, and approximately half of the large network substations were damaged by missiles and drones.”

In Kyiv, von der Leyen laid flowers at a memorial to soldiers killed in the fighting.

“They are real heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for the security of our continent as a whole,” she said on X.

Accession to Europe

The EU chief is also due to discuss EU accession talks for Ukraine, launched in June this year.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has reinvigorated a push in the EU to take on new members, but there has been some frustration in Kyiv – which has had two pro-EU revolutions in the past 20 years – that talks are too slow.

Von der Leyen’s trip also comes as Ukraine has lobbied its allies to allow it to use donated weapons to strike “legitimate” military targets deep in Russian territory.

Russian invasion has forced 6.5 million Ukrainians to flee country, UN says

The United States and Britain have been discussing allowing it to do just that – but EU states remain divided over the issue.

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on EU countries to allow Kyiv to use Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia.

Washington currently authorises Ukraine to only hit Russian targets in occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations.

(with AFP)

With Bordeaux wines selling less in recent years, winegrowers have been forced to uproot vines to maintain sales costs and avoid overproduction. 

The habit of drinking wine with the daily meal has fallen by 70 percent in the last 60 years, according to the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT).

French people on average drink 40 litres per inhabitant, per year, compared to 120 litres of wine in the 1960s.

This trend has accelerated in the last three years, particularly for red wine. France Agrimer – a public body dedicated to agricultural development – says they have noted 15 percent fewer sales in supermarket chains in this period.

To deal with the crisis, the French government has submitted a plan to the European Commission to destroy around 30,000 of the 800,000 hectares of French vineyards, at an estimated cost of €120 million.

Volunteers winegrowers would receive €4,000 per hectare of permanently removed vines, just enough to cover the cost – and they must promise not to replant anything.

Struggling French winemakers may have to destroy their vintage cellars to survive

Drastic solution

All wine regions in France are eligible, but the crisis has particularly affected the Bordeaux wines.

The European Commission has one month to respond to France’s request.

Even if the money is French, it would be taken from the so-called “Ukraine” emergency fund because the CAP (common agricultural policy) does not provide credit for removing the vines.

A similar plan is already in place in the southwestern Gironde area, financed by the state government, regional authorities and the Bordeaux wine inter-professional association.

As temperatures climb, is the future of French wine in England?

Although it is a drastic solution, winemakers have been forced to admit that profit loss is unsustainable and that the situation is unlikely to improve in the long term.

According to a study for the Vinexpo trade show, young people are turning away from wine, with less than a third of wine enthusiasts under 40.

They now prefer apéritifs – or cocktails – to long dinners, hence the increase in beer consumption. When they turn to wine, it’s usually white, rosé or light red wine.

Exports down

Exports were down by 10 percent last year compared to 2022 and the market has not recovered since Covid, particularly with regards to China.

China is now producing its own wine and imports it generally from Spain or Italy, rather than France.

The wine-making industry has also suffered from other setbacks, linked to international trade – for example, the taxes imposed by Donald Trump in 2019 following the conflict between Airbus and Boeing.

Elsewhere, winemakers are also facing the consequences of climate change, many losing entire vineyards due to fierce storms, frost or cases of mildew in recent years.

(with AFP)

Established by the French Culture Ministry in 1984, the European Heritage Days event has since been taken up by some 50 countries and inspired others outside the EU to launch their own versions.

A number of fashion houses and luxury companies are opening their doors for the three-day event, which this year coincides with Paris Fashion Week starting 23 September.

Artisans’ paradise

For the second year running, the 19M gallery established by legendary brand Chanel is encouraging the public to visit its vast multidisciplinary space at Porte d’Aubervilliers.

Its name refers to the 19th district of Paris, the date of birth of designer Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, and the letter “M” for mode (fashion), métiers d’art (artisanal professions) and main (hand), in tribute to craftspeople and their savoir-faire.

Chanel’s signature fragrance: the sweet smell of success 100 years on

Designed by award-winning architect Rudy Ricciotti, 19M houses 12 art and manufacturing studios, where up to 700 artisans and experts work daily. The 25,000-square-metre space also features a gallery, a café and a garden.

One of the highlights for this year’s Heritage Days is the temporary exhibition dedicated to the history of Maison Lesage. Specialised in embroidery and weaving for fashion and interior design, the brand is celebrating its 100 years.

Meanwhile in the 7th district of Paris, the Kering luxury group – owner of Gucci and Saint Laurent among others – is inviting the public to see inside its headquarters at 40 rue de Sèvres.

The company prides itself on refurbishing the 1634 building, which started out as a hospice for terminally ill patients. It became the Laennec hospital in 1878, named for René Laennec, inventor of the stethoscope.

Fashion fans will be particularly interested in the collection by Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga on display in the east wing, while modern art lovers can see part of the Pinault collection in the chapel.

Jewels of the crown

Two well-known jewellery brands are also taking part.

For the third year in a row, the Cartier Jewellery Institute is opening the doors to its 18th century mansion in the 9th district of Paris. Around 150 artisans specialising in jewellery-making have been based here since 2002.

This year, visits will focus on the art of gemstones, giving the public the chance to meet the artisans and even try a workshop to learn some tricks of the trade.

Meanwhile, Boucheron will open the doors to the Hôtel de Nocé – a private mansion on Place Vendôme housing a specialised workshop founded by the French entrepreneur and trained jeweller Cédric Gangemi.

Acquired in 2023, the workshop employs around 60 craftspeople from several trades in the sector, including designers, jewellers, setters and polishers.

Denim returns to its roots in southern French town of Nimes

Beauty queens

After two years of renovation, the Maison de Beauté Carita is ready to welcome the public for the Heritage Days.

The luxury skin and haircare brand was founded in 1945 by two sisters, Maria and Rosy Carita, who invented the concept of beauty care long before it became a trend.

The flagship store at 11 Faubourg Saint-Honoré was inaugurated in December 1952 in the presence of the Duchess of Windsor.

It has seen the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani, Greta Garbo and Jane Fonda spend time in its three-storey temple of beauty.

Dazzling department stores

Where would French consumer culture be without its elegant department stores? The concept of these “cathedrals of commerce” can be attributed to Aristide Boucicaut, a novelty salesman from Normandy and founder of Le Bon Marché in 1852.

For the Heritage Days, two of Paris’s other historic department stores are joining the programme.

Le Printemps, established in 1865, is organising a behind-the-scenes tour, notably giving visitors access to its private terrace, secret underground spaces and grand Art Deco staircase renovated last year.

Meanwhile, the Galeries Lafayette, established by Alsacian cousins Théophile Bader and Alphonse Khan in 1893, is hosting an exclusive nighttime visit with film screenings and a musical performance under its famous glass dome.

The European Heritage Days run from 20 to 22 September 2024, with some 17,000 venues open to the public. Most are free of charge, though some require online reservation in advance.

The meeting took place amid increasing divisions within Europe over proposed tariffs, with Spain calling on the EU last week to “rethink” plans for duties of up to 36 percent on Chinese electric vehicles, aligning with Germany in its opposition.

“Constructive meeting with Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao. Both sides agreed to intensify efforts to find an effective, enforceable and WTO (World Trade Organization) compatible solution,” Dombrovskis said on X.

Wang also spoke to businesses in the EV sector on Wednesday in Brussels after which he said in a statement that China “[would] certainly persevere until the final moments of the consultations”.

According to the  statement by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the two sides engaged in “comprehensive, in-depth and constructive consultations on the EU’s anti-subsidy case for electric vehicles against China.

The statement added that both sides “expressed their political will to resolve their differences through consultations, agreed to continue to push forward the negotiations on the price commitment agreement.” 

Are EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles a sign of weakness?

Import duties

The European Commission in July announced plans to levy import duties on EV imported from China after an anti-subsidy investigation started last year found they were unfairly undermining European rivals.

The EU wants to protect its automobile industry, a jewel in Europe’s industrial crown providing jobs to around 14 million people.

The commission is in charge of trade policy for the 27-country bloc.

The tariffs are currently provisional and will only become definitive for five years after a vote by member states that should take place before the end of October.

According to Politico, a vote was originally planned for 25 September, but delayed after the visit to Brussels by  Wang Wentao was announced. According to the magazine, the vote is now likely to take place in the week of 30 September. 

‘Questionable allegations’

China angrily responded to the EU’s plans, warning it would unleash a trade war. Last month China also filed an appeal with the WTO over the tariffs.

Beijing has already launched its own investigations into European brandy, some dairy, and pork products imported into China.

Dombrovskis told Wang that the probes were “unwarranted, are based on questionable allegations, and lack sufficient evidence”, the EU’s trade spokesperson Olof Gill said.

“(He) thus called for these investigations to be terminated and informed the Chinese side that the EU will do its utmost to defend the interests of its industries,” Gill added in a statement.

Earlier this week, Wang said the European Union’s imposition of tariffs on EV will “seriously interfere” with trade and investment cooperation and hurt both China and Germany.

In talks on Tuesday with German Vice Chancellor and Economic Minister Robert Habeck, he said he hoped to reach a solution in line with World Trade Organisation rules as soon as possible, and avoid the escalation of China-EU economic and trade frictions, according to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Commerce early on Wednesday.

The European Commission is on the verge of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3 percent on EVs built in China, on top of the EU’s standard 10 percent car import duty.

Wang is visiting Europe for talks on the EU’s anti-subsidy case against Chinese-made EVs ahead of a vote on more tariffs.

Wang said it is hoped that Germany will proceed from its own interests and push the European Commission and China to work in the same direction.

EU struggles to come out on top in systemic rivalry with China

Habeck said that Germany supports free trade, welcomes Chinese auto and parts companies to invest in Europe, and will urge the European Commission to find an appropriate solution with China and make every effort to avoid trade conflicts, according to the ministry statement.

(With newswires)

While floods are devastating West Africa, about 68 million people in southern Africa are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought which has wiped out crops across the region. 

Nearly 68 million suffering from drought in southern Africa

Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zambia are facing severe drought conditions, leading to widespread devastation. The impact is stalling economic growth and raising serious concerns about food security in the region. 

Zimbabwe to cull elephants to tackle drought, food shortages

In Zambia, the drought that has gripped southern Africa since early this year has led to rolling power cuts in a country that relies heavily on hydropower.

Some inhabitants, however, have already turned to solar power as an alternative.

To discuss how it can help, we speak this week with John Keane, CEO of the UK-based charity SolarAid, from the Zambian capital Lusaka. 

He explains how sales of solar products have increased by more than 540 percent since the beginning of 2024, and what the social enterprises are doing to spread awareness among Zambians and avoid the use of charcoal or candles.     

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau  

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale

Nearly 50 French troops have been deployed to Japan for the Brunet-Takamori 2024 exercise, which sees the French Army’s 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment train alongside the 39th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force.

The training, which concludes on Saturday, is taking place at the Ojojihara and Iwateyama manoeuvre camps in northern Japan. Focused on infantry combat operations, the drills are being supported by drones.

The first edition of the exercise was held in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in September to October 2023.

According to the French Ministry of Defence, the exercise was the first step in “develop[ing] a convergent strategy in favour of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region”.

Shows of strength

It is the first time that France’s Foreign Legion has participated in bilateral exercises with Japanese troops.

Sections of the corps joined Japan and the US in shared military drills in May 2021, in an exercise known as Arc 21. 

At the time, Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey said that France joining the drills was intended to “ensure a regular presence” of French forces in the Indo-Pacific region, and to “strengthen regional partnerships”.

France joins Japan and the US in military exercises in the Pacific

French participation in bi- and multilateral military exercises in the Pacific region are partly to counter China’s growing assertiveness.

As such, they are in line with the French Ministry of Defence’s 2021 strategy update, which warns that China “has doubled its defence budget since 2012, making it the second largest in the world, while expanding its nuclear arsenal and showing new ambitions in terms of power projection”. 

China’s ambitious claims over the South China Sea have resulted in a build-up of Western allies’ presence in the Pacific region.

But Beijing and Moscow are also using the sabre-rattling to boost their own joint military and navy exercises, in what could result in a vicious circle of increasing military activity.

At the same time as the French-Japanese drills, Russia and China conducted their own large-scale exercises. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the joint Ocean-2024 manoeuvres involved more than 400 warships and over 90,000 personnel.

Additionally, Russia is sending naval and air forces to join China’s Northern/Interaction-2024 exercises, which are being held in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk throughout September.

France remains cautious

The drills come amid tension between China and Japan, after increasingly bold Chinese manoeuvres.

This week a Chinese aircraft carrier briefly entered Japan’s contiguous waters for the first time, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed defence sources.

NHK said Chinese vessel the Liaoning sailed between the islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote in the southern Okinawa region, temporarily entering the zone adjacent to Japan’s territorial sea.

Earlier this month, Tokyo strongly protested after another Chinese naval ship entered its southern territorial waters. And last month, Japan scrambled fighter jets after what it called the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into its airspace.

France and Japan agree to start talks on military cooperation deal

While cooperating with Japan, France has been careful not to antagonise China, in spite of the growing tensions in the region.

When NATO planned to open a liaison office in Tokyo in 2023, to help improve cooperation with Japan, French President Emmanuel Macron blocked the initiative.

“The Indo-Pacific is not the North Atlantic,” Macron insisted, “so we must not give the impression that NATO is somehow building legitimacy and a geographically established presence in other areas.”

Police say the videos leave little uncertainty over the events.

As investigators have told the Avignon criminal court, they uncovered dozens of clips showing men penetrating a woman who lies apparently unconscious, sometimes snoring.

That woman is Gisèle Pélicot and the man accused of drugging her, inviting strangers to their home and filming the images is her ex-husband, Dominique Pélicot. 

While he says his acts make him a rapist, the 50 other men on trial with him don’t necessarily see themselves the same way. 

Defence lawyers have argued that their clients were unaware that Gisèle Pélicot had not given her consent beforehand, nor did they have the obligation to seek it directly.

“This is not American law. In France, you don’t need to have obtained the victim’s consent necessarily to ensure that it’s not rape,” Guillaume de Palma, who represents several of the defendants, told reporters last week.

Earlier the same day, he had caused outcry in the courtroom when he remarked: “There’s rape and there’s rape, and without intent to commit it, it’s not rape.”

Law out of date?

However objectionable that might sound, legal experts point out that France’s current laws leave room for such arguments. 

The notion of consent is not included in the legal definition of rape, explains Nathalie Tomasini, a lawyer who specialises in representing victims of domestic violence.

Instead, the criminal code defines rape as a sex act committed “by violence, coercion, threat or surprise”.

In this case, the defendants may claim that they did not use any such measures. Some seem to believe that Dominique Pélicot’s invitation gave them permission – “as if this woman was nothing but an inflatable doll, who had no right to say whether she consented or not”, Tomasini told RFI.

She counters that Gisèle Pélicot was under chemical constraint, having been given powerful medication, and that her state of unconsciousness means she was subjected to surprise.

But beyond one verdict, Tomasini believes the trial raises “essential questions” for France’s justice system.

Notably, she told RFI, it highlights “the need to change the law, and perhaps recall that the notion of free, voluntary and informed consent must now be incorporated into the definition of rape”.

Debate, but no reform

There have been pushes to do so before: lawmakers presented proposals to that effect in the upper house of parliament last November and the lower house in February.

The most recent suggested rewriting France’s criminal code to state that any sex act performed “without voluntary consent” constitutes rape, while specifying that this consent must be sought and cannot be assumed from “absence of resistance” alone.

Neither bill, however, made it into a debate before the end of the legislative session. Meanwhile a parliamentary commission tasked with looking into the question has yet to deliver its conclusions.

EU agrees first law on violence against women, fails to find consensus on rape

France was one of a dozen countries that opposed the European Union’s recent effort to establish a shared definition of rape based on the notion of affirmative consent – namely, the idea that “only yes means yes”.

Several other EU countries have already enshrined it in national law, including Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

French officials maintained that they objected only on the grounds that most criminal law is a matter for each member state to decide, and on this year’s International Women’s Day, President Emmanuel Macron declared himself in favour of adding consent to France’s own definition of rape.

Yet in the six months since, no reforms have followed. 

Rallies across France in support of woman who was drugged, raped

Back in the headlines

The Pélicot trial has brought the issue back into the headlines, with outgoing Equality Minister Aurore Bergé declaring this week that the defence’s argument “proves our point that we need to change the law and the question of consent must be written in black and white into the criminal code”. 

The minister, like the rest of the cabinet, is soon to be replaced by a new, conservative-led government and there are no guarantees it will share the same priorities. 

But Tomasini hopes the media blitz surrounding the case, made possible by the victim’s insistence that it be tried in open court, will result in meaningful scrutiny. 

She said: “Women, and society as a whole, should thank Gisèle Pélicot for giving everyone the opportunity to understand the issues involved in this trial.”

The city of Lyon said Thursday in a statement that mayor Grégory Doucet decided “the name Abbé Pierre be removed from the public space” following the allegations of sexual assault committed by the priest.

The plaza in the city’s 9th arrondissement will be renamed “to allow for the words of the victims, women and children, to be heard and respected”.

Doucet said that the city would like to see Abbé Pierre removed from the Fresque des Lyonnais, an 800-square-metre mural depicting influential people from Lyon.

Because it is on private property, it is up to the owners to change it, but the city backs a proposal by the rights holders of the mural to add a notice to the wall.

Long revered

Abbé Pierre, who passed away in 2007, was long celebrated for his dedication to the poor and homeless. However, his reputation has been marred by serious allegations of sexual assault. revealed by the Emmaus charity, which he founded in 1949.

The charity has since distanced itself from Abbé Pierre, and the Abbé Pierre Foundation will also be changing its name.

The Abbé Pierre memorial centre in Esteville, Normandy, where he lived for many years, will close permanently. Several cities and towns with streets or public buildings named after him are considering renaming them.

As of mid-September, AFP reported approximately 150 streets or locations named after Abbé Pierre or Henri Grouès, his real name.

On Tuesday a statue of Abbé Pierre was removed from the village of Norges-la-Ville in Eastern France, where the second largest Emmaus community centre is located.

In Lyon, local residents will be consulted on a new name for the plaza, which will be decided at the next city council meeting.

(with AFP)

Yves Dupas, the public prosecutor, said police on an observation mission in Saint Louis fired two shots after being “directly threatened by a group of armed individuals”.

The men killed were 29 and 30 years old. Police had been searching for about a dozen people suspected of involvement in armed robbery and attacks on security forces.

More deaths

The death toll in the territory has now risen to 13 over the past four months, as protests by pro-independence activists have led to deadly clashes.

Demonstrations began three months ago in response to the proposed reform of voting rights.

Indigenous Kanaks believe the reform, which would require a constitutional amendment, would weaken their voting power and make independence harder to achieve in any future referendum.

French President Emmanuel Macron defended the reform, calling it necessary to improve democracy. However, he suspended it after dissolving parliament and calling new elections, which in July resulted in a hung lower house with no clear majority.

Ongoing violence

Unrest has ebbed since then, though the independence movement has vowed to continue its mobilisation until the reform is scrapped.

Clashes have persisted in Saint Louis, which remains one of the few areas still under a nighttime curfew. Only emergency vehicles are allowed through the remaining roadblocks.

France has sent thousands of troops and police to New Caledonia to restore order. Since June, 13 pro-independence activists have been arrested, with seven currently in prison – five of them in mainland France.

(with AFP, Reuters)

The curfew, running from 9pm to 5am, was introduced by the prefect of Martinique, Jean-Christophe Bouvier, and affects the port area of Fort-de-France.

It has become the centre of a protest movement that have been escalating since early September, sparked by food prices that were 50 percent higher in Martinique than on mainland France in 2022, as reported by the French Insee statistics institute.

The unrest has seen demonstrators setting up roadblocks and staging protests to vent their frustration at the high cost of living.

• France pledges to tackle monopolies inflating prices in overseas territories

Some protests have turned violent, with looters targeting supermarkets and restaurants.

So far, 11 police officers have been injured by firearms, and three protesters have been wounded, one of them shot.

The curfew will “facilitate the work of security forces faced with organised gangs that loot, damage and vandalise urban infrastructure”, Bouvier said.

He also confirmed that police reinforcements would be arriving in the coming days to help restore order.

The curfew is expected to last until at least 23 September.

(with AFP)

But they held back from suggesting the creation of a muscular worldwide governing body to oversee the rollout and evolution of a technology, the proliferation of which has raised fears around biases, misuse and dependence.

The panel of around 40 experts from the fields of technology, law and data protection was established by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in October.

Their report, published days before the start of a high-profile “Summit of the Future“, raises the alarm over the lack of global governance of AI as well as the effective exclusion of developing countries from debates about the technology’s future.

Of the UN’s 193 members, just seven are part of the seven major initiatives linked to AI, while 118 are entirely absent – mostly nations of the global south.

“There is, today, a global governance deficit with respect to AI,” which by its nature is cross-border, the experts warn in their report.

“AI must serve humanity equitably and safely,” Guterres said this week.

“Left unchecked, the dangers posed by artificial intelligence could have serious implications for democracy, peace, and stability”.

One year in, EU turning up heat in fight with big tech

‘Too late’?

To the backdrop of his clarion call, the experts called on UN members to put in place mechanisms to grease the wheels of global cooperation on the issue, as well as to prevent unintended proliferation.

“The development, deployment and use of such a technology cannot be left to the whims of markets alone,” the report says.

It called firstly for the creation of a group of scientific experts on AI modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forum of experts, whose reports are the last word on the issue of climate change.

The panel would brief the international community on emerging risks, identify research needs as well as how it could be used to alleviate hunger, poverty, and gender inequality, among other goals.

That proposal is included in the draft Global Digital Compact, still under discussion, which is due to be adopted Sunday at the “Summit of the Future.”

French government will use AI to modernise public services

The report endorses setting up a light-touch “coordination” structure within the UN secretariat.

But it stops short of a fully-fledged international governance body – like that sought by Guterres – based on the model of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.

“If the risks of AI become more serious, and more concentrated, it might become necessary for Member States to consider a more robust international institution with monitoring, reporting, verification, and enforcement powers,” the report said.

The authors acknowledge that owing to the warp speed of change in AI, it would be pointless to attempt to draw up a comprehensive list of dangers presented by the ever-evolving technology.

But they singled out the perils of disinformation for democracy, increasingly realistic deepfakes – particularly pornographic ones, as well as the evolution of autonomous weapons and AI use by criminal and terrorist groups.

“Given the speed, autonomy and opacity of AI systems, however, waiting for a threat to emerge may mean that any response will come too late,” the report said.

“Continued scientific assessments and policy dialogue would ensure that the world is not surprised.”

Migrant women face particularly high risks when reporting abuse, Amnesty found, despite legal protections for all women, including those who are undocumented. 

Many fear expulsion, with the report, published Wednesday, pointing to multiple cases where migrant women were detained after trying to file a complaint with police.

Amnesty described their treatment as a violation of both national and international law, which grants everyone the right to report sexual violence, regardless of immigration status.

“There are numerous barriers,” said Lola Schulmann, Amnesty international’s justice and gender advocacy officer. “Women without legal status can be arrested or expelled, even though they came to the police because they were victims of sexual violence.”

Other barriers include language difficulties, a lack of interpreters in some police stations and accusations that they are reporting abuse just to obtain residency papers.

Some police stations have refused to record complaints, instead directing women to file a simple report that has no legal standing, Amnesty alleged.

Afghan athlete under police protection in France after denouncing Taliban

Sex workers, trans women targeted

The report also found that sex workers were similarly blocked from filing complaints, with authorities refusing to take their cases seriously or assuming the violence was part of their work.

The issue is compounded by France’s criminalisation of sex work, which Amnesty said leaves workers vulnerable and less likely to come forward.

Meanwhile trans women face transphobia and mistreatment by police, Amnesty said – with incidents where victims were misgendered or humiliated while trying to report abuse.

These women are “overexposed” to violence and face enormous hurdles when seeking justice, Schulmann added.

Feminists sound warning for women’s rights if far right wins French elections

Calls for better police training

The charity is urging better police training, arguing that officers should be able to handle the complexities faced by these vulnerable women.

It also wants to see sex work decriminalised, arguing that this would help reduce the stigma and abuse faced by women in the industry.

“We can’t keep treating these women as if their pain is part of their story,” Violaine Husson, of the migrant support NGO La Cimade, told FranceInfo.

“Anyone who suffers violence should be able to seek protection in France, regardless of their legal status.”

Amnesty’s findings are based on interviews with women, police reports and data from more than 20 civil society organisations.

Hand-held radio devices used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah exploded across southern Lebanon Wednesday, a day after similar explosions of the group’s pagers, in an attack that the militant group blamed on Israel, but which Israel did not comment on.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Wednesday’s walkie-talkie explosions killed 20 people and injured more than 450 in Beirut’s suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from Tuesday’s explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured.

“France expresses its concern that recent security development in Lebanon will contribute to a dangerous escalation of tension in the region,” the French Foreign Ministry said Wednesday in a statement.

Adding that it had “taken note of recent declarations from Israeli officials on military operations in Lebanon and has asked them to show the greatest restraint”, it also recalled its demand for Hezbollah to “immediately cease attacks against Israeli territory”.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the pager explosions for killing and wounding civilians, and expressed concerns about an escalation of conflict in the region.

“I can only condemn these attacks that endanger the security and stability of Lebanon, and increase the risk of escalation in the region,” Borrell said in a statement after he met with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib Wednesday, and appealed on behalf of the EU for “all stakeholders to avert an all-out war”.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the pager blasts indicate “a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon and everything must be done to avoid that escalation”.

“Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation,” he told reporters.

The UN Security Council will meet Friday to discuss the explosions, at the request of Algeria on behalf of Arab states.

(with Reuters)

The death toll from the storm which has hit central and eastern Europe in recent days rose to 24 on Wednesday and some areas are still under threat from rising waters.

Strong wind and heavy rains have been hitting the region since last week, killing five people in Austria, seven in Poland, seven in Romania and five people in the Czech Republic.

The meeting of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala, Slovakia’s Robert Fico and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will take place in Wroclaw, a historic city of 670,000 people in southwest Poland.

Struck by devastating floods in 1997, residents of Wroclaw have become increasingly concerned as the waters rise.

They are expected to reach their peak on Thursday.

While this is expected to be lower than it was in 1997, dams could be at risk if the high water lasts for several days.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — who this week cancelled all his international engagements because of the storm — will not be present at the meeting even though his country has also been badly affected.

Romania’s prime minister will also be absent because of a defence meeting.

Fiala said on X on Wednesday that the leaders would “discuss the possibilities for European financial aid to the Czech Republic and other countries in central Europe”.

Future of Olympics in doubt as climate change drives up temperatures

‘Even better coordination’

Commission deputy chief spokesperson Arianna Podesta told reporters that von der Leyen “will visit the area at risk in Wroclaw to assess the situation created by the recent heavy floods and rains that have hit Poland”.

“She will discuss the actions taken by the authorities to respond to this crisis,” she added.

Austria’s Nehammer said: “We must use and expand the instruments that have been created for disasters like this. I will call in Poland for the activation of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism“.

The Czech Republic has already requested the activation of the mechanism to receive aid.

Nehammer said the summit would also discuss “an even better coordination of flood protection measures”.

In Poland, several towns and villages have been devastated by the flood waters which have demolished houses, brought down bridges and heavily damaged road and rail infrastructure.

In some areas, residents still lack drinking water and electricity.

Grassroots funding initiatives have been organised across the country as local authorities begin to assess damage which could run into the billions of zloty.

The Polish government says it has unblocked 470 million euros (two billion zloty) of direct aid to people and localities affected by the floods.

Austria has said its disaster relief fund will be increased to one billion euros to help flood victims.

Barnier, who stepped into the role earlier this month, acknowledged the gravity of France’s public sector deficit in an interview with the French press agency AFP.

The deficit is projected to hit around 5.6 percent of GDP this year and exceed 6 percent by 2025 – far surpassing the European Union‘s 3 percent limit.

Although France was this month placed on a formal procedure for violating EU budgetary rules, the Bank of France has warned that meeting the EU deficit limit by 2027 is “not realistic”.

Tax hikes?

Barnier, appointed by President Emmanuel Macron after a lengthy political struggle, has suggested possible tax rises to stabilise finances – a proposal Macron has consistently rejected during his presidency.

“I am discovering that the country’s budgetary situation is very serious,” Barnier said, underscoring the urgent need for “responsible action” beyond mere statements.

Impeachment proceedings against France’s Macron pass first hurdle

The PM, who has not yet announced his cabinet, will present the 2025 budget to parliament next month, marking a significant early test for his administration.

His scheduled meeting with former prime minister Gabriel Attal was on Wednesday cancelled due to “agenda reasons”.

The meeting was intended to clarify the participation of Macron’s allies in the new government.

Tensions

Outgoing interior minister Gérald Darmanin has firmly rejected any possibility of tax increases, labelling them as “easy” and vowing he will not join a government with unclear tax policies.

“I do not wish to participate in a government that is not clear” on this issue, Darmanin said.

Further complicating matters, François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Bank of France, warned that completely ruling out tax increases is “not wise” or “realistic” given France‘s financial difficulties.

France asks EU for extra time before submitting crucial budget deficit plan

He suggested that while tax increases should avoid impacting the worjking class and small businesses, a targeted effort from large companies or wealthy individuals may be necessary.

Barnier has also faced criticism from within his own ranks.

His failure to form a government quickly and the ongoing debate over tax policy have heightened tensions. 

(with newswires)

The exact whereabouts of the tomb of Joachim du Bellay, a French Renaissance poet, has puzzled researchers for many years.

Du Bellay, a member of a literary group known as La Pleiade, died aged 37 in 1560.

His family asked for him to be buried in Notre Dame’s Saint-Crepin chapel. But when the site was renovated in 1758, no trace of his remains could be found.

His remains’ precise location was shrouded in mystery until 2022 when archaeologists, sifting through the site in the aftermath of the 2019 fire that destroyed much of Notre Dame, found two tombs at the cathedral’s nave.

Five years after devastating fire, race to rebuild Notre-Dame gains pace

The scientists, working for the national institute for preventative archaeology (Inrap), rapidly identified one of them as that of Antoine de La Porte, a cleric who died in the early 1700s.

But they could not immediately figure out who was buried in the other one.

Horse-riding

Using modern methods of analysis, the researchers began to find clues as to his possible identity. All pointed to du Bellay.

A deformation of his iliac bone told them that he did a lot of horse-riding.

Du Bellay “was a skilled rider, he went from Paris to Rome on horseback”, said Eric Cubrezy, a doctor and archaeologist at the Paul-Sabatier University in Toulouse.

In addition, an incision made by a saw in the corpse’s skull, as well as a broken sternum, suggested the body had undergone an autopsy before being embalmed – just like du Bellay.

The final, and most telling, clue was traces of a rare illness, a bone tuberculosis leading to chronic meningitis, consistent with the poet’s medical history.

French daily Le Monde, describing the mystery around the missing corpse as “a cold case“, said the latest find was the “most spectacular result” of the Notre Dame digs launched after the 2019 fire.

The archaeologists themselves preferred to remain cautious.

“There are still some doubts,” said Christophe Besnier, one of the scientists in charge of the excavation site.

(with AFP)

The Gavi alliancee announced on Wednesday that the World Health Organization had prequalified the MVA-BN mpox vaccine for the first time last week. This development clears the way for the United Nations and other international organizations to purchase the vaccine.

In a separate announcement, the Global Fund, established in 2002 to combat AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, pledged more than $9 million to support the mpox response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, currently at the center of the epidemic.

Gavi also announced that it would provide vaccine doses by the end of the year, funded through itsFirst Response Fund,which was launched in June to facilitate quick access to cash for vaccines during health emergencies.

Gavi’s chief Sania Nishtar said in a statement: “We are committed to working with affected governments and our partners to turn these vaccines into vaccinations as quickly and effectively as possible”.

She added the aim was “to build a global vaccine stockpile”, though that would depend on Gavi securing sufficient funding for work through 2030.

• DR Congo to receive its first shipment of mpox vaccines
• France to donate 100,000 mpox vaccines as it prepares for outbreak at home

International emergency

Mpox, formerly referred to as monkeypox, is caused by a virus that can be transmitted to humans from infected animals, as well as spread between humans through close physical contact.

The disease leads to symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, and large, boil-like skin lesions, and it can be fatal in some cases.

The WHO declared an international emergency over mpox last month, concerned by the surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the DRC that spread to nearby countries.

Between January and the end of August, the DRC had recorded nearly 22,000 cases and more than 700 deaths linked to the virus.

By late August, the new strain of the disease had also been detected in neighbouring Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, plus Kenya, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

A single case has been detected in both Sweden and Thailand.

(with AFP)

Published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the research identified plastic fragments in the olfactory bulbs – a brain region responsible for detecting smells – in eight out of 15 deceased people who had lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It found 16 synthetic polymer particles and fibres within these brain regions.

Most of the microplastics were particles, with polypropylene being the most common polymer detected. Other materials included nylon and polyethylene.

The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence about the widespread presence of microplastics in the human body, with recent studies finding these pollutants in the lungs, liver, and blood.

First of its kind

This study, published on Tuesday, is the first to document the presence of microplastics in human brain tissue directly.

The potential health implications of microplastics entering the brain are still under investigation, but concerns are mounting over their possible neurotoxic effects.

The analysis used infrared spectroscopy to identify and describe the particles, which showed signs of wear, suggesting they had been in the environment for a while.

“Our findings reveal that microplastics can be present in the olfactory bulbs,” the study authors said.

Negotiating an end to plastic pollution, with global treaty

The study suggests that the olfactory pathway, through which sensory information is transmitted to the brain, might be a significant route for microplastics.

“The anatomy of the olfactory system may allow microplastics to enter the brain,” the researchers noted.

The researchers emphasise the need for further investigation into how microplastics might affect neurological health.

As microplastic pollution becomes increasingly widespread, understanding its implications for human health remains a critical area of study.

People heading to the mosque for morning prayers turned back as shots rang out in the Banankabougou neighbourhood around 5:30am local time. 

“A group of terrorists attempted to infiltrate the Faladié gendarmerie school. Mopping-up operations are currently underway,” the Mali’s army said in a statement.

They added that the situation was under control.

The army is said to have pushed back the “terrorists” responsible for the assault and urged civilians to go about their daily business.

Multiple attacks

Two places were attacked simultaneously, according to RFI’s contacts in Bamako: the gendarmerie school in the Faladié district, where the shooting lasted about three hours, and a military zone at Bamako-Sénou airport.

The military government confirmed that “some sensitive points of the capital” came under attack.

The gendarmerie school in Faladié, a district on the southeastern outskirts of Bamako, is near the main international airport.

The targeted base there is the one from which the army drones are launched.

The attack was claimed by the Katiba Macina of Jnim, which said it had caused “enormous losses in human life and material”, mentioning in particular the destruction of “several military aircraft”.

The authorities haven’t confirmed any details on possible victims.

Suspected jihadist attack in Mali kills at least 21 civilians

Islamist insurgency

Mali is one of several West African countries fighting an Islamist insurgency that took roots in  its arid north in 2012.

The violence has since spread across the Sahel and more recently to the north of coastal countries, like Côte d’Ivoire.

Thousands have been killed over the years, and millions displaced amid the advance by militants, some of whom have links to al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Both governments and fighters have been accused of violence against civilians.

Frustration against the authorities for failing to restore security contributed to two coups in Mali – in 2020 and 2021 – followed by two in Burkina Faso and one in Niger.

Russian Wagner group reports massive losses in Mali

Jihadist attacks have escalated despite the juntas’ promises to improve security.

They decided to replace its old Western alliances with Russian support, including mercenaries from the Wagner group.

At the end of July, some of these experienced Wagner fighters were killed  during a battle near the Algerian border, when the Malian army faced Tuareg rebels.

The army also suffered heavy losses, then was ambushed by jihadists as it withdrew.

It is however rare for insurgents to strike inside the capital, Bamako.

The last attack occurred in 2015, when armed men launched a raid on the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako dawn, a raid that killed 20 people.

(with Reuters)

While floods are devastating West Africa, about 68 million people in southern Africa are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought which has wiped out crops across the region. 

Nearly 68 million suffering from drought in southern Africa

Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, and Zambia are facing severe drought conditions, leading to widespread devastation. The impact is stalling economic growth and raising serious concerns about food security in the region. 

Zimbabwe to cull elephants to tackle drought, food shortages

In Zambia, the drought that has gripped southern Africa since early this year has led to rolling power cuts in a country that relies heavily on hydropower.

Some inhabitants, however, have already turned to solar power as an alternative.

To discuss how it can help, we speak this week with John Keane, CEO of the UK-based charity SolarAid, from the Zambian capital Lusaka. 

He explains how sales of solar products have increased by more than 540 percent since the beginning of 2024, and what the social enterprises are doing to spread awareness among Zambians and avoid the use of charcoal or candles.     

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau  

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale

“We must have a strong and effective navy to live in peace on our lands,” said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after commissioning the latest of six planned submarines.

Along with a new helicopter carrier, frigates and over a dozen warships under construction, this is part of Erdogan’s push to bolster the Turkish navy.

“It fits Erdogan’s political agenda of exerting influence overseas, from Qatar to Somalia to Libya,” said Serhat Guvenc, a professor of international relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.

“For the navy, it means a greater role in the defence of the country – no longer just territorial, but forward defence from overseas.”

New course

The change has transformed the navy’s mission.

“Turkish sailors used to sail off to sea, but they would come back on the same day to their home bases and spend the night in their homes. That’s no longer the case,” Guvenc says.

“The Turkish navy is evolving into a major regional power.”

Turkey’s military presence abroad includes bases in Qatar, Libya and Somalia, with naval agreements in place. Ankara claims its expansion addresses growing threats around the region.

“When you look at the conflicts in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea, they are all around Turkey,” said Mesut Casin, a Turkish presidential adviser and professor at Yeditepe University.

He also pointed to Turkey’s NATO role: “The naval modernisation benefits NATO and the security of Western allies, especially in terms of oil and navigation security.”

Ankara has been quick to flex its new naval muscles. Four years ago, Turkish warships allegedly targeted a French NATO vessel enforcing an arms embargo on Libya.

Turkey and Egypt bury the hatchet with a dozen new bilateral deals

Regional concerns

Greece, with longstanding territorial disputes with Turkey in the Aegean and Mediterranean, has voiced particular concern. Israel, too, has raised alarms over Turkey’s naval growth, including military drones deployed in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus.

“Some of Turkey’s naval moves, like the UAV base in Northern Cyprus, could be aimed at Israel,” said Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“This doesn’t mean again there will be a direct confrontation, but it does mean that it is something that the Israeli army has to calculate for.”

Greece is also modernising its navy in response to what it sees as the Turkish threat. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently reaffirmed the need for a “deterrent power” against Turkey.

Growing military buildup in Azerbaijan and Armenia a concern for peace talks

Meanwhile, Israel’s growing naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the deployment of advanced naval assets and joint military exercises with regional partners, is adding to Turkish concerns.

“The Turkish military has begun to feel concerned about the deployment of its [Israel’s] nuclear missile capable submarines in the Mediterranean,” said naval expert Guvenc.

“As long as they were in the Red Sea or Indian Ocean, it wasn’t a problem. But once they shifted to the Mediterranean, it became a potential threat.”

Guvenc is warning that escalating regional suspicions risks spiraling out of control.

“It’s a vicious circle. Turkey builds a new navy to address threats, and now its neighbours feel threatened by Turkey’s naval growth. This is how arms races start, and they don’t tend to end well.”

Turkish shipyards are working at full capacity to meet the country’s growing naval demands. Analysts say this will likely only deepen fears and tensions with its neighbours.

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

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

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

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”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

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

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 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. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in 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 15 July, Rwandans were voting for their next president, as well as the members of the country’s 80-seat lower house of parliament.

There was little doubt that the current president, Paul Kagame, would win his fourth term. And he did, with 99.18 percent of the vote. 

There actually were two opposition candidates, which you read about in our article “Rwanda heads to the polls to likely re-elect Kagame for fourth term”.

You were to send in the answer to this question: What are the names of the two opposition candidates who ran against the incumbent president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in the 15 July polls?

The answer is: Democratic Green party leader Frank Habineza and the independent Philippe Mpayimana.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Rodrigo Hunrichse from Ciudad de Concepción, Chile: “What do you think young people should do? Should they work, save, ensure their future, and put off traveling until they are more established? Or should they ‘seize the day’ and go while they’re young?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State, India. Radhakrishna is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Radhakrishna.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are two RFI Listeners Club members from Bangladesh: Sharifa Akter Panna from Kishoreganj, and Faruq Ahmed from Dhaka. There’s also Club member Zenon Teles from Goa, India – Zenon is also the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers.

Last but not least, there’s RFI English listener Zannatul Zuthi from Narayanganj, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Allegro vivo” from the Symphony in C major by Georges Bizet, performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic; “La Campanella” by Nicolo Paganini, performed by Igor Oistrakh; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Day Tripper” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, performed by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66.  

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 Melissa Chemam’s article “High expectations as Algeria’s President Tebboune begins new mandate”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 7 October to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 12 October 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

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Click here to learn how to win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

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

The Paralympics in Paris shone a light on disability and the challenges disabled people in France face in getting access to sport. Novosports, one of only 40 sports clubs in the capital open to players with disabilities, is entirely focused on inclusive sports, where people with and without disabilities can train together. Club founder Jerome Rousseau talks about developing inclusive volleyball, and club members talk about the importance of opening sport up to everyone. (Listen @1’55”)

Decades before the Paralympic Games were born, the world’s first multi-discipline competition for athletes with a disability took place in Paris in the summer of 1924. Reserved for deaf competitors, the International Silent Games were a landmark in the history of inclusive sport and laid the foundations for today’s contests. Historian Didier Séguillon, curator of an exhibition on the Games at the National Institute for Deaf Young People, discusses their origins and legacy. (Listen @10’15”)

Since recent parliamentary elections in France failed to give any political party a ruling majority, the three main blocs – the left-wing NFP alliance, the centre-right Ensemble coalition and the far-right National Rally – have been at loggerheads. The new prime minister has to form a unity government, but this involves compromise on all sides – a notion that’s often equated in France with “giving in”. Laure Gillot-Assayag, a researcher in political science and philosophy, argues that in such a politically divided landscape, France needs a culture of compromise more than ever. (Listen @17’10”)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

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).

The Egyptian president received a full diplomatic reception, with military bands and horses parading the Egyptian flag through the streets of the Turkish capital on Wednesday.

Erdogan did not hold back in welcoming a man he once dubbed a “brutal dictator”, and signalled a new era of partnership between the two countries.

“With our joint declaration, we confirmed our will to advance our cooperation in all fields, including industry, trade, defence, health, environment and energy,” the Turkish president declared.

String of bilateral agreements

The two leaders signed no fewer than 17 agreements to deepen bilateral trade, diplomatic and military cooperation.

The goal is to expand their annual commercial exchanges to over €13 billion in five years, from a little over €9 billion now.

They also discussed their concerns linked to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the shared desire to see a ceasefire there – part of a wider trend of converging regional interests.

Sisi’s visit follows Erdogan’s trip to Cairo in February, which resulted from years of efforts to mend damaged relations.

Ankara and Cairo cut ties in 2013 after Sisi, then defence minister, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi – Turkey’s ally and part of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

• Turkey and Egypt turn page on decade of friction with show of friendship

Question of Somaliland

Despite the decade of estrangement, trade between the two countries never ceased: Turkey is Egypt’s fifth-largest trading partner, while Egypt is Turkey’s largest in Africa.

With the Egyptian and Turkish economies in difficulty, the need to increase bilateral trade is seen as a powerful impetus towards rapprochement and a driving force for cooperation.

It could also ease tension in oil-rich Libya, which has been in a state of civil war for over a decade and where Cairo and Ankara back rival governments.

Libyan security analyst Aya Burweila says that Libya has become an important arena for both countries.

“Because the lines in the sand are so set – and each country has its sphere of influence – this has helped both countries realise that it’s much more lucrative if they cooperate rather than fight each other,” she told RFI.

Sisi and Erdogan also discussed tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia over the breakaway state of Somaliland, following reports that Egypt has started deploying weapons to Mogadishu.

The deployment is part of Egypt‘s bitter dispute with Ethiopia over its Grand Renaissance Dam, which Cairo claims seriously threatens vital water supplies from the Nile River.

• Newly reconciled, Turkey and Egypt could be a force for stability in Africa

Rivalry paused, not ended?

However, analysts suggest Egypt could also be seeking to challenge Turkey’s influence in Somalia – in which it has heavily invested – as well as complicating Ankara’s efforts to mediate between the Somali and Ethiopian governments.

Elem Eyrice-Tepeciklioglu, a professor of African studies at the Social Sciences University of Ankara, acknowledges the danger – but predicts Erdogan and Sisi will initially seek common ground.

“Both Egypt and Turkey can cooperate in Somalia, especially in terms of security,” she observes.

“They can implement joint anti-terrorism initiatives. They can combine their efforts in development projects. They can involve themselves in political stabilisation initiatives, and so on.

“But they can also compete with each other for a more significant role and influence in Somalia.”

For now, though, most experts seem to agree that with the spectre of a wider regional conflict and increasing economic pressures, Erdogan and Sisi are fully aware that cooperation, rather than rivalry, is in both their interests. 

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

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

Only a few days are left to submit your video to the ePOP competition. 

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution – told by the people it affects.

You do not need expensive video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine.  And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry.  You can also write to us at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr, and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes 12 September. We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

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

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”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

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

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 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. 

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in 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 13 July I asked you yet another question about France’s snap legislative elections.

As you know, the left coalition New Popular Front won the most seats, followed by Macron’s centre-right alliance, with the far-right National Rally in third place. None of the parties have an absolute majority.

There’s been something of a “cease-fire” during the Olympic Games, so not much has been done. However, the French constitution sets strict deadlines for when key positions must be filled; one of these is the appointment of chairs for each of the eight standing parliamentary committees. That was your question – what are those eight standing committees, and by which date must the chairs of each committee be decided?

The answer is: Finance, foreign affairs, defence, economy, social affairs, culture, sustainable development, and law. The date for deciding the chairs was 20 July. So that has happened: six of the eight committees are headed by the centre-right coalition, and the other two were taken by the left coalition.

The centre-right and the left coalition joined forces and no position was allocated to the far-right National Rally.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What was your biggest life-changing decision, and how did it change your life?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Malik Allah Bachaya Khokhar from the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Malik is also the winner of this week’s bonus question – congratulations, Malik!

There are two winners from India this week: Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in Hariharpara, and Mousumi Khatun, a member of the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club in Murshidabad. Moving over to Bangladesh, there’s Shrabonty Shermin, a member of the RFI Surfers’ Society Bangladesh in Rajshahi, and RFI English listener Rowshan Ara Labone from Dhaka.

Congratulations winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Pendulum” by Eberhard Weber, performed by the composer and Paul McCandless; “Contrapunctus 1” from J.S. Bach’s The Art Of Fugue, BWV 1080, performed by the Emerson Quartet; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Street Life” by Joe Sample and Will Jennings, performed by The Crusaders.

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 “Golden glory for French para-triathletes despite delays over Seine water quality”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 30 September to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 5 October 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

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Click here to learn how to win a special Sound Kitchen prize.

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

Madhya Pradesh is often referred to as the Heart of India. Located right in the middle of the country, the Indian region shows everything India has to offer through its abundant diversity. The IFTM trade show, which took place in Paris at the end of September, presented the perfect opportunity for travel enthusiasts to discover the region.

Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board, sat down to explain his approach to sustainable tourism.

“Post-covid the whole world has known a shift in their approach when it comes to tourism. And all those discerning travelers want to have different kinds of experiences: something offbeat, something new, something which has not been explored before.”

Through its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Shukla wants to showcase the deep history Madhya Pradesh has to offer.

“UNESCO is very actively supporting us and three of our sites are already World Heritage Sites. Sanchi is a very famous buddhist spiritual destination, Bhimbetka is a place where prehistoric rock shelters are still preserved, and Khajuraho is home to thousand year old temples with magnificent architecture.”

All in all, Shukla believes that there’s only one way forward for the industry: “Travelers must take sustainable tourism as a paradigm in order to take tourism to the next level.”

In partnership with Madhya Pradesh’s tourism board.

Also known as the Land of the Beautiful Islands, Malaysia’s landscape and cultural diversity is almost unmatched on the planet. Those qualities were all put on display at the Malaysian stand during the IFTM trade show.

Libra Hanif, director of Tourism Malaysia, explained the appeal of the country as well as the importance of promoting sustainable tourism today: “Sustainable travel is a major trend now, with the changes that are happening post-covid. People want to get close to nature, to get close to people. So Malaysia being a multicultural and diverse [country] with a lot of natural environments, we felt that it’s a good thing for us to promote Malaysia.”

Malaysia has also gained fame in recent years, through its numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which include Kinabalu Park and the Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley.

Green mobility has also become an integral part of tourism in Malaysia, with an increasing number of people using bikes to discover the country: “If you are a little more adventurous, we have the mountain back trails where you can cut across gazetted trails to see the natural attractions and the wildlife that we have in Malaysia,” says Hanif. “If you are not that adventurous, you’ll be looking for relaxing cycling. We also have countryside spots, where you can see all the scenery in a relaxing session.”

With more than 25,000 visitors at this IFTM trade show this year, Malaysia’s tourism board got to showcase the best the country and its people have to offer.

In partnership with Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. For more information about Malaysia, click here.