“You know, this isn’t just one rape trial at stake.” 

So said Gisèle Halimi, the activist lawyer responsible for turning a 1974 case into a public interrogation of France’s attitudes to rape. 

Together with the two victims, she decided to put the French legal system itself on trial – and it would be found wanting. 

Now, as another case exposes shortcomings in the law, a new generation of campaigners say it’s time for another turning point. 

Listen to this story on the Spotlight on France podcast:

Three against two 

The first came thanks to two women: Anne Tonglet and Araceli Castellano. 

Both from Belgium and a couple at the time, they were backpacking on France’s south coast in summer 1974, aged 24 and 19.  

On the night of 20 August, they set camp in the Morgiou calanque near Marseille. A local man approached them, found himself rebuffed, and tried again the next day with the same result. 

That night, he returned with two others. The three men – Serge Petrilli, Guy Roger and Albert Mouglalis – forced their way into the women’s tent and beat and assaulted them for more than four hours.  

The attack left both women injured and Castellano pregnant. They reported it to police the following morning and the men were arrested – and then Tonglet and Castellano found themselves up against a rape law that dated back to the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

A matter of ‘decency’ 

Written when rape was primarily considered a dishonour to a husband and his heirs, France’s penal code at the time defined the offence as “illicit coitus with a woman who is known not to consent”. 

That narrow interpretation excluded any other type of sex act, and any other type of victim – notably men. It also made the crime of rape difficult to prove. 

Castellano and Tonglet were confronted with all the aspersions the law invited investigators to cast: had they really not consented? Not even after they stopped physically fighting back? And how were the men to know? 

The judge initially tasked with assessing their case concluded it didn’t meet the bar for rape. She downgraded the charges to indecent assault and battery “not resulting in total incapacity to work for more than eight days”. 

That was typical at the time. More often than not, rapes were tried as assault or “public indecency” – misdemeanours that went before the correctional tribunal, a court for lesser offences, where they would be heard by magistrates rather than juries and result in lighter sentences. 

They were also tried, by default, behind closed doors. Judges said it was for the protection of the victim, but inevitably the accused benefitted too. 

Law on trial 

“What we want is publicity,” lawyer Halimi told a TV interviewer in 1977.  

At the time she was one of the loudest voices calling for reforms of French laws that failed women, fresh from defending a landmark case that helped expose the injustice of prosecuting those who sought abortions and shift the needle in favour of legalisation. 

Halimi believed a similar tack might be taken with rape, to press the need for criminal prosecutions and take the matter out from behind closed doors. 

“Because we believe that it’s one thing for a man to rape, and another to know it’ll get around his village, his work, the papers,” she said. “Publicity can serve as a form of deterrent.” 

That would take victims who were up for a fight. Among several women who approached Halimi to take on their cases were Castellano and Tonglet. 

In her infamous abortion case, the lawyer had spoken of “putting the law on trial”, Tonglet recalled. “When I heard that, I said to myself, ‘that’s exactly what we have to do with rape too’,” she told France Culture radio decades later.  

“It’s about indicting laws that are not fit for purpose.” 

‘The trial of all women’ 

At the head of an all-female legal team, Halimi managed to drive their case up through the courts until finally a trial was set at the assize court of Aix-en-Provence. 

It opened nearly four years after the events, on 2 May 1978, and lasted two tumultuous days. 

Outside, women’s rights groups – and Halimi herself – clashed with people who had turned out to support the three men accused.  

“I remember getting hit. People were spitting in our faces, we had a hard time reaching the courtroom,” Halimi later recalled.

Inside, Castellano and Tonglet faced other humiliations. Foreigners, lesbians and occasional naturists, they were subjected to questioning that implied they had provoked the accused by travelling together and sleeping naked. 

Nonetheless they testified in open court, the proceedings reported by journalists from across France and beyond.  

Defying the defence’s complaints that the trial had become “no longer the trial of two young women but of all women”, Halimi urged the jury: “You must convict these three men, because otherwise you will condemn women to never more be believed.” 

On the evening of 3 May, all three men were found guilty. Petrilli, the instigator, was sentenced to six years in prison while Roger and Mouglalis each got four years. 

Redefining rape 

By the following month, France’s Senate – citing the effects of “recent cases that have been widely reported in the press” on public opinion – had voted in favour of rewriting the criminal code. 

That process would end up taking another two and a half years, but in December 1980 a new law was passed that redefined rape as “any act of sexual penetration committed on another person by violence, constraint or surprise”. 

And when rape was prosecuted, it would be treated as a serious offence, heard at a criminal trial and – unless the victim chose otherwise – in open court. 

France has broadened its definition of rape in the decades since, but it remains roughly similar. And now, another high-profile trial is bolstering the argument that it needs its most radical update since the 1980 reform. 

Mass rape trial revives question of consent within French law

Some of the men accused of raping Gisèle Pélicot while she lay drugged and unconscious have argued that they didn’t know she had not given her consent beforehand, nor did they have the obligation to seek it directly. 

That defence demonstrates the urgency of changing French law so that any sex act performed without someone’s affirmative consent by definition counts as rape – something both President Emmanuel Macron and new Justice Minister Didier Migaud have said they support. 

If indeed a reform is made, it will be the second time France has individual victims to thank for forcing the question into the public eye. 

“It takes true courage for a woman to fight back,” Halimi said in 1977, “because she knows she’s not fighting for herself. I don’t know that she herself can ever recover, but she’s doing it precisely so that other women don’t have to go through the same ordeal as she has.” 

Since the beginning of May, the onset of tiger mosquito activity, 80 people have contracted the tropical disease without travelling to endemic regions, according to a study released by public health institute Santé Publique France this week.

This marks a new record, surpassing the 65 locally transmitted cases reported in 2022 and 45 in 2023. 

It follows a recent report from the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses) that suggests the risk of an epidemic of dengue, chikungunya or Zika – all diseases transmitted by tiger mosquitoes – is high.

On a scale of 0 to 9, the agency rated the likelihood of such an outbreak occurring in mainland France within the next five years at 6 to 7.

Localised outbreaks

Currently, dengue cases are localised mainly in the south-eastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, which has reported 58 infections this year alone. 

The main factors contributing to potential outbreaks are warm temperatures – between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius – and the importation of viruses from areas experiencing epidemics.

Since the beginning of the year, Santé Publique France has recorded 3,938 imported dengue cases, alongside 22 cases of chikungunya and five of Zika – 1.5 times the number reported in 2023. 

A significant majority of these cases – 68 percent – involved travellers returning from the French Caribbean territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique, in the grip of extensive outbreaks for over a year.

Fears of dengue fever epidemic in Guadeloupe as cases accelerate

Global concern

The tiger mosquito first arrived in mainland France in 2004, establishing a foothold in the southern town of Menton before spreading across the entire country. 

Once an area is colonised by mosquitoes, eradication becomes a daunting challenge. 

Residents are urged to eliminate standing water and other mosquito breeding sites in their surroundings.

Paris wards off tiger mosquito scourge ahead of Olympics

The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that the spread of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases in recent years is “an alarming trend that demands a coordinated response across sectors and across borders”.

The UN health agency said the number of dengue cases reported globally has approximately doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases, including more than 7,900 deaths, reported in the first eight months of 2024 alone.

An estimated four billion people worldwide are currently at risk of contracting dengue, chikungunya or Zika, according to the WHO, with that number estimated to swell to five billion by 2050.

Dengue symptoms include high fever, often accompanied by headaches, nausea and vomiting, lasting two to three weeks.

(with newswires)

The 52-year-old driver of the SUV, identified as Ariel M., is accused of having deliberately targeted the cyclist, who was named as Paul Varry, 27.

Tuesday’s incident in Paris’s well-to-do 8th district came as tensions rise in the battle for street space in the congested capital.

Tense exchanges between cyclists and drivers are commonplace in the city centre.

The driver, whose teenage daughter was also in the car, was arrested on the spot.

On Tuesday, the motorist and the cyclist were seen having an angry dispute by the side of the road.

Altercation

According to seven witness statements, Ariel M., trying to make progress on the congested road, steered his car onto the adjacent cycling path for about 200 metres, where he drove over the cyclist’s foot, prosecutors said.

Varry, the cyclist, banged his fist on the bonnet of the car to alert the driver, who backed up at first.

Varry then stood in front of the car expressing his anger at the driver, who started driving towards him, according to witness statements.

An autopsy confirmed that Varry’s lethal injuries had been caused by the car. The driver’s test for alcohol and drugs came back negative.

CCTV footage showed the vehicle rising once when the left front tyre rolled over the body, and then again when the back tyre went over.

France begins low speed limit rollout on Paris ring road

The man’s lawyer, Franck Cohen, told French news agency AFP that his client “has no explanation for what happened”.

He said the driver “tried to extract himself” from a situation of “stress and fear” and may have lost control of his vehicle in the process.

Ariel M., a sales manager in the tech sector and father of four, had since been “thinking much more about the young man, who is the same age as his son, than about himself”, Cohen said.

A judge ruled Friday that the driver, who lives in the mostly wealthy Hauts-de-Seine department west of the capital, will be held in custody until his trial.

The accused himself said at the hearing, during which he broke into tears several times: “I’m sorry for what happened. I never meant to run over him. I have never been a thug, I have never consorted with thugs.”

‘Unacceptable tragedy’

French associations promoting cycling have condemned the incident, with “Paris en Selle” (Paris in the Saddle) calling it “an unacceptable tragedy”.

Varry was an “active member” of the group, according to its president Anne Monarché, who described the young man as someone who “fought for a peaceful city, so that we could cycle safely”.

Some 200 people gathered by the Madeleine church on Wednesday to pay tribute to Varry, with several demonstrations by cyclists planned for Saturday.

Paris en Selle have called for a homage at Place de la République in Paris on Saturday at 5.45pm as well as a minute of silence across the country.

France to invest €2 billion by 2027 to get people on their bikes

The city council of Saint-Ouen, the northern French suburb where he lived, said he had made the cause of urban cyclists “the commitment of his life” and had helped the authorities promote cycling in the city.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said that “it is unacceptable to die in this day and age while cycling in Paris, at 27 years old”.

The next session of the Paris City Council on 19 November will open with a minute of silence for Varry.

Hidalgo, who has been running city hall for over a decade, is behind an ambitious initiative to turn Paris into a cycling-friendly city with the aim of making it “100-percent bikeable” by 2026.

Resentment

Paris is already ranked as one of the world’s dozen or so most bike-friendly cities since getting hundreds of kilometres of designated cycling paths.

Cyclists also get to run some red lights so long as there are no pedestrians, and can take one-way streets in the opposite direction from cars.

Much of the rue de Rivoli, one of the main thoroughfares in the heart of Paris, is now reserved for bicycles. City hall has promised to turn over the iconic Place de la Concorde to bikes and pedestrians soon.

But the new space accorded to bicycles has often come out of roads previously used entirely by motorists, many of whom resent the change.

Last year, 226 cyclists died on French roads.

(with AFP)

Over 405,000 people – both Lebanese and Syrian – have crossed into Syria from Lebanon since the start of Israel’s offensive, according to figures from UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Approximately 60 percent are under 18, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday, and most are struggling to meet basic needs.

The returnees are mainly people who had sought sanctuary in Lebanon from the civil war in Syria, now in its 13th year. “In Lebanon, there have been nearly one million Syrian refugees just since 2011,” says Metin Corabatir of the Research Centre on Asylum and Migration, an Ankara-based NGO.

He warns this could be just the beginning of the exodus if the fighting in Lebanon continues, threatening to overwhelm Syria.

“We are not talking only about Syrian refugees going back to Syria, but the Lebanese population is moving, crossing the border to Syria. And Syria would either try to close the borders or force them to go north to the Turkish borders,” Corabatir told RFI.

“This really would lead to a catastrophic situation for people, for countries and may pull Turkey into more tensions with Israel.”

Anti-refugee backlash

People fleeing Lebanon have been arriving at refugee camps in north-east Syria, close to the Turkish border. But Turkey, already hosting an estimated five million refugees, including over three million Syrians, is facing growing public backlash over their presence.

“Turkey basically cannot handle more refugees,” warns Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, head of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an international think tank.

Earlier this year, tensions spilled over into violence against refugees in the provincial city of Kayseri. The issue has become a significant political liability for the government, with opinion polls routinely finding large majorities wanting refugees to leave.

Even if the country has the practical capacity to take more people in, “I don’t see Turkey accepting a massive new wave of refugees”, predicts Unluhisarcikli. 

Turkey’s Syrian refugees face local hostility as economic problems mount

Border barricades

In the last couple of years, Ankara has constructed a wall along its border with Syria in a bid to prevent more refugees from entering Turkey. 

Murat Aslan, of the pro-government Seta Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, believes such efforts will only continue as the war in the Middle East threatens to trigger a new exodus.

“Turkey does not want any further waves coming from another region because Turkey is just experiencing and mending an economic crisis,” he says. “Inflation is currently under control, and we expect a decrease in it.

“What does another wave of refugees mean? A lot of spending, a lot of inflation, and other than this, societal insecurity. That’s why Turkey will not tolerate another wave.”  

But such a stance will likely be tested if Israel continues its offensive, creating more refugees and with them, the risk of Turkey facing a humanitarian crisis on its border.

Turkey continues to host more refugees than anyone else, but for how long?

“I’m very happy and grateful for the recognition from the Real Madrid supporters,” wrote Mbappé. “It’s a pleasure to be voted player of the month,” the 25-year-old added.

This recognition offers a quantum of solace for the all-action hero, whose reputation passes through the Scandinavian shredders following his 48-hour trip to Stockholm.

Described as a trip to recharge his batteries, the Swedish sojourn between 9 and 11 October has been anything but.

Instead it seems to be discharging thousands of euros from his bank accounts into the coffers of his legal and PR teams who are attempting to reestablish a semblance of normality in his life.

On Thursday, Mbappé’s lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard, told the French news agency AFP that her client would be keeping his own counsel.

“He retains primacy of his explanations, if necessary, to the Swedish justice system.”

Mbappé to take legal action for libel over Swedish rape investigation

Image

If the allegations of rape are eventually dropped, what will emerge is the story of a filthy rich young man waving his cash around the beau monde in plush hotels and swanky night clubs.

It’s a pivot from the squeaky clean boy-next-door schtick.

Yet it’s been a long time since Mbappé was just another ordinary kid. At 13, he won a place at France’s elite football training centre in Clairefontaine, and at 15 entered Monaco’s academy.

He progressed rapidly through the youth teams to become, at 16 years and 11 months, the youngest player to play for Monaco in a professional match. A couple of months, after his 17th birthday, he entered club legend as the outfit’s youngest goalscorer. 

Selected by PSG in 2017 to be part of their lust for silverware project, the 18-year-old arrived in the French capital to play alongside Neymar, the world’s most expensive player. Lionel Messi would join the duo in 2021 to form a mouthwatering troika.

Otherworldly phases of play operated between the sheen within the team for two seasons.

Departure

Mbappé was the last of the trio to leave, and his has been the most fractious of the departures.

In August 2023, Mbappé said he would not take up his contract’s option of a further year and leave as a free agent in June 2024.

Outraged, the PSG hierarchy told new boss Luis Enrique to go on a tour of Japan and South Korea without their star striker.

But Mbappé was eventually reintegrated into the first team squad and PSG swept the board domestically winning the French Super Cup, Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France.

Former PSG hero Mbappé joins ‘dream’ club Real Madrid on a five-year deal

PSG executives claim that under an agreement to return to the first team, Mbappé said he would waive €55 million in various bonuses and then leave for Madrid.

Duly ensconced in Madrid, Mbappé says he is owed the cash.

The sum Mbappé is claiming is comprised of the last third of a signing-on fee, of €36 million gross pay – which he was supposed to receive in February – three months of salary and an ethics bonus covering the same period.

As Mbappé fights for his renown and money, Paul Pogba, his teammate in France’s 2018 World Cup winning squad, told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport that he would be willing to take a wage cut to play for Juventus.

Nightmare

“I am a Juve player and I am preparing to play for Juve,” Pogba told the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I’m prepared to give up money to be able to play for Juve again,” he added.  “I want to come back to this club.”

The 31-year-old was banned in February for four years for failing a drugs test in August 2023. The suspension was reduced to 18 months following an appeal which will allow Pogba to return to action in March 2025.

Though the Juventus boss Thiago Motta remains dubious abut the sideshow around the gifted midfielder, a Pogba motivated by a return to the France international team could provide a boost in the Serie A title run-in.

“Football is the strawberry cake that was taken out of my mouth,” Pogba said in an interview with the French sports channel L’Equipe TV.

“But the nightmare is over. I am really looking forward to coming back.”

Mbappé is expected to return from the thigh injury that kept him out of France’s Nations League wins over Israel and Belgium and feature in the Madrid squad for Saturday night’s La Liga game at Celta Vigo.

“He’s doing very well, he’s happy and looking forward to coming back and being important for the team,” said Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti ahead of clash in Vigo.

Asked for his thoughts on the events circling the striker, Ancelotti, himself a former professional player, added: “The days off were scheduled for him and then each one chooses what he wants to do.

“I went to London for two days,” Ancelotti added. “And I didn’t ask anyone for permission. I don’t have a travel agency to organise the players’ trips either.”

Mbappé’s legal battle, however, may prove tougher than scoring a few goals against Celta Vigo.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began two years ago, thousands of Russian soldiers have either deserted or refused to follow orders, according to human rights activists and groups aiding those who flee.

At least six of them have received temporary entry permits while they apply for political asylum in France, British newspaper The Guardian revealed this week.

Ivan Chuviliaev, a spokesman for anti-war group Get Lost – also known by the direct translation of its Russian name, “Go By The Forest” – told RFI that his organisation helped three of the six soldiers get to Paris, via Kazakhstan.

“We helped them to leave the front line. Our colleagues in Kazakhstan – human rights organisations – helped them to stay safe out there,” Chuviliaev explains.

Many Russian deserters have sought refuge in neighbouring post-Soviet countries like Armenia and Kazakhstan, where they can enter without a full passport.

But reaching EU countries is a tougher challenge. “The most important part of our job was communicating with French and European officials,” Chuviliaev says.

“That was conducted by In Transit – a German organisation – and with Russian activists from Russie-Libertés based in Paris … It was a very long and complicated process, conducted from different sides by different organisations and from our side,” he adds.

Ukrainian soldiers get crash course in combat at French military base

Screening process

A group in Kazakhstan screened each case before the soldiers were cleared to come to France, Chuviliaev says.

“There were at least two evaluations with any deserter, any Russian soldier,” he tells RFI, explaining that his group systematically verifies their stories.

“It is double-checked that they didn’t participate in any military operation against civilians. Of course, they may have participated in military operations on the front line – in the woods or in the fields – but it is double-checked so we can guarantee that none of these guys are military criminals,” he says.

Concerned about admitting possible war criminals or potential security risks, Ukraine’s allies have so far been slow to admit Russian deserters.

France’s National Asylum Court ruled in July 2023 that Russians who refuse to serve in Ukraine are eligible for refugee status, provided they can prove they were called up.

But no official figures have been shared on how many former soldiers may have applied for asylum in France, nor has the EU agreed on a common policy.

France says Navalny paid with his life for resisting ‘oppression’

Uncertain life in exile

Meanwhile, Moscow has intensified its crackdown on deserters, both at home and abroad.

Since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin has enacted stricter laws that increase prison sentences for soldiers on the run to up to 15 years and authorise the confiscation of their property.

And for Russian deserters or dissidents abroad, the Kremlin has a notoriously far reach.

“Once they’re out of the country, they still face massive challenges,” says Chuviliaev, who now lives in Spain and runs Get Lost with other Russians in exile.

The organisation estimates it has helped more than 500 soldiers to desert, most of whom fled abroad, and hopes France’s decision to let in these six will encourage other EU countries to follow suit – even if Chuviliaev stresses that reaching Europe isn’t the end of the ordeal.

“As a person who was born in Russia, I will never stop fearing people in military uniform. I will never stop fearing policemen, even here in Spain,” he says.

“There is no country in the world where Russian human rights activists, journalists, deserters or anybody can feel safe.”

A week ago Fitch upheld France’s AA- credit rating, but downgraded its outlook from “stable” to “negative”. Moody’s will deliver its judgment next Friday, with Standard & Poor’s following in November.

The Canadian agency DBRS Morningstar reaffirmed its stable outlook for France last month, but warned of political challenges. 

Divisions following snap legislative elections in July risked delaying much-needed fiscal reforms, the agency said, adding that France would likely miss its deficit targets set for 2027.

“Political uncertainty combined with high debt is not a very pleasant situation,” economist André Sapir, of the Brussels-based Bruegel Institute, told RFI.

Circle of deficit and debt

Under EU rules, member states must keep budget deficits below 3 percent of GDP, and government debt below 60 percent of GDP.

In the early 2000s, France was within these limits with debt levels comparable to Germany. But a series of poor policy decisions gradually pushed France’s debt higher.

France’s growing deficit – now €167 billion, or 5.5 percent of GDP – could surpass 6 percent by the end of the year. With national debt projected to reach €3.5 trillion, or 114.7 percent of GDP, France is well beyond EU limits.

“It’s a complicated situation,” Sapir said. Political and economic uncertainty is “something that investors do not like and for which they are asking a reward”, he explains.

He added: “They want to be paid more in order to hold that debt. So you get into a vicious circle.”

By 2027, interest payments on France’s debt are expected to reach €70 billion, which could make it the country’s largest budget expense – surpassing even education.

“When the debt servicing costs rise, ultimately it presents governments with three choices,” Erik Norland, chief economist with the Chicago-based CME Group, told RFI.

“They can either let deficits continue to grow and allow the debt to continue to spiral higher, they can raise taxes or they can cut spending.

“But these options are not very palatable because spending cuts can be very painful, especially if they impact essential services.”

Prime Minister Michel Barnier recently warned that if tough measures aren’t taken, France’s debt mountain will leave the country vulnerable to market speculation.

• What’s in France’s belt-tightening budget and can it win support?
• The priorities for France’s new government revealed in PM’s first speech

Stopping the deficit gap

According to business daily Les Echos, France will borrow €300 billion in medium- and long-term bonds next year, breaking its previous borrowing record of €285 billion set this year.

France could potentially become the biggest borrower in the Eurozone.

Much of the new debt will be used to repay maturing loans, a practice known as “rolling over the debt”, financial magazine Capital reported.

The French treasury remains optimistic, projecting that debt issuance as a percentage of GDP will stay around 10 percent next year – only slightly higher than 2024’s 9.8 percent.

However, more than half of France’s debt is held by foreign investors – either banks or financial entities like pension or hedge funds – raising concerns about its financial stability.

The largest group of foreign investors are the Japanese. According to Bloomberg, they sold French sovereign bonds “en masse” in July – a “sign that one of Europe’s safest assets has been tarnished in the eyes of some of its biggest holders”.

Political uncertainty

Japanese investors sold off €8.4 billion in French government bonds in July, the biggest monthly decline in more than four years.

Analysts say this was triggered by the political uncertainty following President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call unexpected elections.

Sapir explains that Japanese investors are beginning to wonder if France is as credit-worthy as they previously believed.

“The French state needs money to close the gap of this very large deficit. And where to get the money? By cutting expenditure, by raising revenue,” he said.

“But is there still political space to raise revenue?”

The 2025 budget, drafted in Barnier’s first weeks as prime minister, includes €60 billion in spending cuts and tax increases aimed at reducing the deficit to 5 percent.

But with both the far left and far right in opposition, it remains unclear whether the budget will pass through France’s divided parliament.

Biden met Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Ukraine’s second-biggest military supplier after the United States, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for discussions that also addressed the conflict in the Middle East.

“As Ukraine faces a tough winter, we must – we must – sustain our resolve, our effort and our support,” Biden said. 

“And I know the cost is heavy. Make no mistake, it pales in comparison to the cost of living in the world where aggression prevails, where large states attack and bully smaller ones simply because they can.”

Support

Scholz said Ukraine would benefit from 40 billion euro international loan package funded by interest on profits from frozen Russian assets.

“Our position is clear,” he added. “We are supporting Ukraine as strongly as possible. At the same time, we are taking care that NATO does not become a party to the war so that this war doesn’t culminate in an even bigger catastrophe.”

However, policies towards Ukraine could soon change. Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the US presidential elections on 5 November, has hinted that he might withdraw American support for the country.

Kamala Harris, anointed to succeed Biden for the Democrats, has reiterated her backing for Ukraine.

Adding a purely personal note to the talks, Biden said he did not want his only term as president to end without visiting Berlin, after having travelled to other key allies such as Japan, South Korea, France, India, Britain, Poland and Ukraine.

Chance

After conferring Germany’s Order of Merit on Biden, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: “The friendship with the United States is and will always be existentially important for Germany but there have always been times of proximity and greater distance.

“Even recently, just a handful of years ago, the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other,” Steinmeier said, in an reference to tense relations during Trump’s presidency between 2017 and 2021.

Steinmeier said Biden had restored Europe’s hope in the trans-Atlantic alliance.

“In the months to come, I hope that Europeans remember: America is indispensable for us,” he added.

“And I hope that Americans remember: Your allies are indispensable for you. We are more than just ‘other countries’ in the world – we are partners, we are friends.”

Biden, 81, who in July withdrew from his bid for a second term, reiterated his call for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neytanyahu to pursue peace after the killing of the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – which he described as a moment of justice.

Before meeting Biden, Starmer and Scholz, Macron said he hoped that Sinwar’s death would open a credible political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) said Sinwar – a key figure behind last year’s 7 October attack on Israel – was killed during a battle in Gaza.

Macron praised the “military success” and reiterated French demands for the release of all hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Sinwar, described as the mastermind of the assault that ignited the war, was reportedly killed when IDF troops stumbled upon him during a fight, later realising that a body found in the rubble was that of Israel’s most-wanted man.

Israeli officials hailed his death as a major victory. “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the start of the day after Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Sinwar’s killing comes after Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in July. Sinwar was subsequently named as Hamas’s overall leader.

In response to his death, Iran’s Mission to the UN said the “spirit of [Palestinian] resistance will be strengthened” and that Sinwar would “become a model for the youth and children who will carry forward his path toward the liberation of Palestine”.

• Hamas attack, one year on – a view from Israel
• Hamas attack, one year on – a view from Gaza

Tensions

Macron, speaking during a press conference after the EU Council summit in Brussel, added that he hoped that a “credible political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians” would now be opened.

Macron’s remarks follow a series of statements that had provoked the anger of Israeli Prime Miniser Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to French daily Le Figaro, Macron had told the Israeli Prime Minister that he “should not forget” that his country was created by a decision of the UN which, according to the newspaper, suggested that he “questioned the very foundation of the state of Israel, established after the Holocaust”.

Further controversy arose 10 days ago when Macron called for a halt to arms deliveries to Israel. However, on Thursday evening, he clarified that France had “never failed” Israel, insisting that there was “no ambiguity”.

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

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

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 21 September, I asked you a question about a gender equality plan at France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  We reported on that plan in our article “France’s foreign ministry unveils two-year gender equality strategy”.

You were to re-read the article and send in the answer to this question: What is the Foreign Ministry’s goal for promoting women to important posts? What is the percentage they are aiming for?

The answer is, to quote our article: “According to the ministry, this year more than 45 percent of ambassadors appointed for the first time will be women, while among newly-appointed consuls-general, over 40 percent will also be women.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How would you define a truly happy person?”, which was suggested by Sabah Binte Sumaiya from Bogura, Bangladesh:

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark. Hans is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Hans, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Samir Mukhopadhyay from Kolkata, India; Mizanur Rahman from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Faiza Zainab – who’s also a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Tafriha Tahura from Munshiganj, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Mazurka no. 4″ by Frédéric Chopin, arranged by Serge Forté and performed by the Serge Forté Trio; “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” by Krzysztof Penderecki, performed by Antoni Wit and the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra; “La Grande Galerie de la Zoologie” by Philippe Hersant, performed by the Ensemble Bestiaire Fabuleux; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin, performed by McFerrin.

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 Paul Myers’ article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 11 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 16 November 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,  

Ghana is being swamped by millions of unwanted clothes from the West, creating an environmental disaster as textile waste piles up across the country.

The scale of damage to public health and the environment has been laid bare in a new Greenpeace report that exposes the devastating impact of discarded clothing on communities and ecosystems in Ghana. 

About 15 million items of second-hand clothing arrive in Ghana each week. Nearly half cannot be resold.

The unsellable clothes end up in informal dumps or are burned in public washhouses, contaminating the air, soil and water.

“The situation is catastrophic. These clothes are literally poisoning our communities,” said Sam Quashie-Idun from Greenpeace Africa, speaking to RFI.

The report shows how Ghana has become a dumping ground for the world’s unwanted textiles, with devastating consequences for local ecosystems.

“What we’re seeing is environmental racism. The Global North is using Ghana as its trash can,” said Hellen Dena of Greenpeace Africa.

The flood of cheap, disposable fashion reflects broader problems with global waste management and environmental justice.

To explore this issue further, RFI spoke to Sam Quashie-Idun and Hellen Dena from Greenpeace Africa.  

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

But in a further twist in the fast-moving political drama, almost immediately after the vote, a high court issued an injunction suspending the replacement process.

Ruto’s nominee, Kithure Kindiki, a 52-year-old academic turned political heavyweight, had been among the front-runners floated by political analysts after the Senate voted to remove Gachagua late Thursday.

The impeachment of Ruto’s 2022 election running mate has transfixed the East African country, generally regarded as a stable democracy in a turbulent region.

The high-stakes political drama continued apace on Friday as National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula announced Ruto’s choice of Kindiki in the morning.

A few hours later, parliamentarians voted 236 in favour, with no abstention or votes opposed.

“The vote is overwhelmingly ‘yes’ and so the nomination is hereby declared passed by the house,” Wetangula said.

Kindiki – who has served as interior minister in Ruto’s government for more than two years – now becomes deputy president elect but must still be formally appointed by the president and sworn in.

Kenya’s deputy president ousted in historic impeachment

Suspension

However, responding to a petition from Gachagua’s legal team a high court issued an injunction effectively suspending the process until 24 October.

“Due to the issues raised in the petition and application, and the urgency demonstrated, a conservatory order is hereby issued staying implementation of the resolution by the Senate,” the order read.

It follows the decision by the Senate upper house of parliament to push ahead with Gachagua’s impeachment on Thursday – finding him guilty of five out of the 11 charges against him – despite the absence of the embattled 59-year-old due to ill health.

He is the first deputy president to be impeached since the process was introduced in Kenya‘s revised 2010 constitution.

Gachagua failed to testify in his defence after being rushed to hospital in a Nairobi suburb, plunging the session into disarray.

The Senate rejected an appeal by Gachagua’s legal team to delay the hearings, prompting the lawyers to walk out in protest.

Kenya’s The Standard newspaper on Friday ran an image of Gachagua with the headline “Fired”.

“The night of long knives that sealed Gachagua’s fate,” The Nation wrote on its website.

His downfall is the culmination of a bitter falling out with Ruto, whom he helped win a closely fought election in 2022 by rallying support from the crucial Mount Kenya region.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, had overwhelmingly also voted for impeachment in an 8 October vote.

Gachagua was admitted to Karen Hospital with chest pains and will remain for tests and observation for 48 to 72 hours, chief cardiologist Dan Gikonyo told reporters Thursday, describing his condition as stable.

Meet the Kenyan man shaping a francophone future in East Africa

‘Gross violation’

Gachagua was found guilty on charges of “gross violation” of the constitution, including threatening judges and practising ethnically divisive politics, but cleared of others including corruption and money-laundering.

He has denied all the charges and no criminal proceedings have been launched against him.

A powerful businessman from Kenya’s biggest tribe, the Kikuyu, Gachagua – also known as “Riggy G” – weathered previous corruption scandals to become deputy leader as Ruto’s running mate in the 2022 poll.

But in recent weeks, he has complained of being sidelined by the president, while also being accused of supporting youth-led anti-government protests that broke out in June.

Ruto has not given any public comment on the impeachment, but Gachagua has said the process could not have gone ahead without his boss’s blessing.

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both 21, were accused of aggravated rape on 7 July, following France’s opening match of their South American tour in Mendoza, western Argentina.

The men admit to having sexual relations with a 39-year-old woman whom they met at a nightclub. The incident took place at the Diplomatic Hotel in Mendoza.

The woman claims the acts were non-consensual and violent, while the players insist otherwise. If convicted, they face sentences of between eight and 20 years in prison.

Lawyers for the woman and the players will argue on 18 and 25 October in private hearings whether the case should be dropped.

The judges are expected to rule either immediately after the second session or within a few days.

While Auradou and Jegou were taken to Mendoza following their arrest in Buenos Aires, France played against Uruguay and another match against Argentina.

Discipline crackdown

In the wake of the incident, French rugby chiefs have vowed to crack down on discipline during official tours, especially after games.

“The model that we’ve had for years, based on empowerment and taking responsibility, is not working,” said Florian Grill, president of the French rugby federation.

“There was a kind of acceptance of these excesses. We’re going to come up with a plan that includes controls and financial or sporting sanctions.

“People have to take responsibility, especially those lucky enough to wear the natiional shirt.”

Before Auradou and Jegou were arrested, France full-back Melvyn Jaminet was dispatched from the tour squad for publishing an offensive video in which he can be heard saying: “The first Arab I meet on the street, I’m going to head butt him.”

The video was shared on social media by La France Insoumise politician Sébastien Delogu.

In a statement posted on X, the French rugby federation (FFR) condemned Jaminet’s comments as unacceptable and contrary to the fundamental values of the sport.

Jaminet apologised for the remarks, but was banned from playing for eight and a half months. RC Toulon, his French Top 14 club, also banned him but stopped short of sacking him.

“New ways to prevent and counter irregular migration should be considered, in line with EU and international law,” the leaders said in the conclusions of their one-day meeting.

The European Council called for “determined action at all levels to facilitate, increase and speed up returns from the European Union,” adding that the European Commission should begin drafting new laws to enforce these recommendations.

Danish Prime Minsiter Mette Frederiksen told the summit: “Things are changing in the EU. Now the majority of leaders are saying the same: that we cannot continue. The numbers are too high. We have to return those who should not be protected in Europe.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, who heads a government dominated by the party of far-right leader Geert Wilders, added: “We see that there is a different mood in Europe.”

Perceived threat

Nearly 10 years ago, Germany’s then-Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed around a million migrants and refugees from the Middle East and Afghanistan into Europe.

Now, most EU governments view the influx of irregular migrants as a political and security threat, driving the rise of far-right and populist parties across the continent.

While irregular arrivals last year were less than a third of the 1 million seen during the 2015 migration crisis, the number fell even further in the first nine months of 2023 to 166,000, according to data from Frontex, the EU’s border agency.

However, Frontex reported a 192 percent surge in people arriving at the EU’s border with Belarus in January-September, bringing the total to 13,195.

Arrivals in the Spanish Canary Islands also doubled, reaching 30,616.

Ahead of the summit, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Schoof and Frederiksen met with other countries in favour of outsourcing migrant returns. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen also joined the talks.

She admitted that creating “return hubs” outside Europe for migrants trying to enter the continent would not be straightforward. Von der Leyen acknowledged there were still questions about how these centres would operate.

Wider picture

Spainish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that such schemes could create more problems than they solve. He emphasised the need for regular migration routes, noting Europe’s ageing population and labour shortages.

“Orderly and responsible migration is a response to the demographic challenge facing Europe,” Sanchez said.

In a letter this week, von der Leyen pledged that the EU would learn from Italy’s deal with Albania to send some migrants there for processing.

The rise of anti-immigrant sentiment has been reflected in European elections, where hard-right parties performed well in June’s European Parliament elections and have topped recent national and regional votes in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.

France also saw a shift to the right after parliamentary elections in July.

A ministry spokesperson said Barrot on Thursday met with the families of French nationals who were “being held hostage in Iran under unacceptable conditions”.

Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, a couple, were arrested in May 2022 and are accused of being spies. Another French citizen, known only as Olivier, is also being held.

The Foreign Ministry ccuses Iran of arbitrarily arresting Westerners and using them as bargaining chips in state-to-state negotiations.

“The minister assured the families of our full attention and availability,” the spokesperson said, adding that the release of the hostages was a top priority.

Windowless cells

The families say that they have received little news of their detained loved ones. Phone calls are rare and last only a few minutes. The’re also monitored by Iranian authorities.

In June, Kohler sister Noémie alerted the press about her sister’s physical and psychological health.

Kohler was in a windowless cell in “Section 209” – one of the most notorious parts of Tehran’s Evin Prison, she said. The lights reportedly stay on day and night.

According to the French press agency AFP, senators have asked for the immediate transfer of Kohler and Paris from Section 209 to the political prisoners ward, which has less severe conditions.

• French citizen Louis Arnaud arrives in Paris after being held in Iran

Billions of dollars

Earlier this year, several foreigners were released from Iran’s prisons, including five Americans freed in a complex exchange for billions of dollars in Iranian funds that had been frozen in a South Korean account. No more Americans are believed to be held in Iran.

Swedish EU diplomat Johan Floderus, whom prosecutors want sentenced to death on spying charges his family strongly rejects, was freed in June as part of a prisoner swap.

But the French citizens are among at least a dozen European passport holders, including dual nationals, held by Tehran.

Two of them, German Jamshid Sharmahd and Swede Ahmadreza Djalali, risk execution after being sentenced to death on charges their families say are utterly false.

(with AFP)

In a report this week, the NGO Générations Futures found that 56 pesticide byproducts known as metabolites – substances formed when chemicals break down – are not being monitored in groundwater or drinking water, despite likely exceeding legal safety limits.

Their analysis, based on research from French health and safety agency, found these metabolites probably contaminate groundwater above the legal limit of 0.1 microgrammes per litre.

The substances can seep into soil, surface water and groundwater before making their way into drinking water supplies.

Twelve of the unmonitored metabolites pose particular risks – including trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), which was found at alarming levels in Paris.

“With our colleagues from the Pesticides Action Network Europe, we have taken samples of river water and tap water, and analysed for TFA … and we found it in many places, in very large quantities,” François Veillerette, of Générations Futures, told RFI.

“We found TFA at over two micrograms per litre [in the Seine] … and in tap water, about the same quantity. So two micrograms per litre is 20 times the [legal limit of] 0.1 micrograms per litre,” he said.

The findings raise questions about whether some French regions face higher contamination risks than others.

“The work isn’t finished on our side … because we’ve pointed out a global risk [that has been highlighted] by a lack of research,” said Veillerette.

“We’re writing to all the regional health agencies … to monitor [the presence] of such metabolites. We’re in the process of doing region-by-region analysis.”

The threat spans nationwide – water quality in at least one third of France is at risk from TFA contamination alone.

• Quality of world’s freshwater worsens as data gaps mask extent of crisis

Unknown health risks

TFA comes from the breakdown of “forever chemicals” called PFAS, found in pesticides, non-stick coatings and cosmetics.

The NGO warned French authorities cannot ignore TFA’s dangers, noting that German health officials suggest classifying it as toxic for reproduction.

More worrying still is the uncertainty around long-term exposure to these substances in drinking water.

“What is really astonishing is that it is an ‘unknown’ … nobody knows [the potential effects] because there are no requisite studies on metabolites,” said Veillerette, warning that if research comes too late and “they’re everywhere, then there’s nothing we can do”.

While data on safe levels remains insufficient, the group cautions these chemicals accumulate over time and could create a dangerous “cocktail effect“.

“We should at least monitor the possible appearance of metabolites immediately, so that we don’t face a nasty surprise 10 years down the line,” said Veillerette.

• Tap water undrinkable in a quarter of French towns and cities

Government backtrack

Générations Futures wants immediate action to improve monitoring and reduce pesticide use, as outlined in France’s 2008 Ecophyto plan.

As one of the people who negotiated and drafted the plan, Veillerette said that while it aimed to cut pesticide use by 50 percent in 10 years, it failed to deliver.

“At the beginning of the year, former prime minister Gabriel Attal gave into pressure from agricultural lobby groups during farm demonstrations and decided to scrap the old health indicators and replace them with European [Core Health] indicators … which are misleading, showing decreases even when there has been no decrease in pesticide use at all … which is completely absurd,” he said.

“But to make peace with the farming unions, [Attal] gave in very quickly.”

With France’s water safety at stake, experts are warning this invisible but growing crisis demands urgent attention.

Climate change, destructive land use and mismanagement of supplies has put the global water cycle under “unprecedented stress”, the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) warned in a report published Thursday.

“Nearly three billion people and more than half of the world’s food production are now in areas where total water storage is projected to decline,” said the GCEW, a two-year research initiative set up by the Netherlands in 2022.

Densely populated regions are especially vulnerable to freshwater shortages, it said, including northwestern India, northeastern China and southern and eastern Europe.

Agriculture is impacted, with global cereal production falling by as much 23 percent if current trends continue.

• Curbs on water as French Alps and Riviera endure painful drought
• Europe unprepared for ‘catastrophic’ climate risks: EU agency

Vicious cycle

Rising temperatures have created a vicious cycle, leading to the loss of “green water”, the moisture contained in soils and plant life, whose evaporation provides around half of global rainfall.

High temperatures leads to drier soil, which worsens droughts and wildfires, causing more degradation and biodiversity loss, which further reduces the amount of available “green water” in the soil.

Disruptions of the water cycle “have major global economic impacts,” said the report.

The water crisis could lead to an 8 percent drop in GDP on average for high-income countries by 2050 and as much as 15 percent for lower-income countries.

The economic declines would be a consequence of “the combined effects of changing precipitation patterns and rising temperatures due to climate change, together with declining total water storage and lack of access to clean water and sanitation”.

Global cooperation

The report called for the water cycle to be viewed as a “global common good”, which governments must work together to protect.

“We are going to have to set common goals for water sustainability,” said Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, co-chair of the GCEW, at a briefing ahead of the report’s launch.

“Ultimately, it will require a global water pact. It is going to take several years to get there, but we are going to start that process.”

The report called for the elimination of “harmful subsidies in water-intensive sectors or redirecting them towards water-saving solutions”, noting that poor and vulnerable communities must receive particular care.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organisation and another GCEW co-chair, said some $600 billion in annual agriculture subsidies that encourage the over consumption of water must be redirected, and that there must be a shift away from planting of water-intensive crops in unsuitable regions.

(with AFP, Reuters)

French prosecutors confirmed on Thursday that Seba was released the day before, although preliminary investigations into his activities are continuing.

The France-born activist, whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, was detained on Monday on suspicion of “foreign interference” in French affairs.

He has previously been sentenced in France several times for incitement to racial hatred, is often accused of antisemitism and was stripped of his French nationality in July.

Seba’s lawyer, Juan Branco, told a press conference the arrest came as part of an investigation into colluding with a foreign power to incite aggression or hostility against France and undermining its national interests.

Such charges carry a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison, Branco said.

An aide of Seba and organiser in his social justice movement Urgences Panafricanistes (“Pan-Africanist Emergencies”), Hery Djehuty, was apprehended with him and freed at the same time. 

Celebrating their release, Seba posted on X: “We are free. Those who want to extinguish us will have to wait… We are not fighting against a country, but against a system of oppression that is suffocating Africa and the West Indies.”

• Controversial pan-African activist Kemi Seba detained in Paris
• Senegal celebrates pioneer of African history Cheikh Anta Diop

Anti-France, pro-Russia

According to his lawyer, Seba – travelling on a diplomatic passport issued by Niger – came to France to visit his sick father.

Branco described his arrest as “violent” and suggested it was politically motivated. 

Born in France to parents from Benin, Seba was last year accused by French lawmaker Thomas Gassilloud – then chairman of parliament’s defence committee – of being a mouthpiece “for Russian propaganda” and serving “a foreign power that fuels anti-French sentiment”.

Seba has publicly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and aligned himself with pro-Russian networks, while two groups that he founded were dissolved by France’s Justice Ministry for disseminating “racist and antisemitic” ideology.

Urgences Panafricanistes claims to fight against Western colonialism and is notably involved in protesting the CFA franc – a currency system used by 14 countries in Africa and part-managed by France.

Prefect Jean-Christophe Bouvier on Wednesday announced an agreement between local authorities and supermarket distributors to lower the cost of some food items by an average of 20 percent.

Residents have long complained of the high cost of living on the island, where food prices are 40 percent higher than in mainland France, due mainly to import costs.

The Assembly for the Protection of Afro-Caribbean Peoples and Resources (RPPRAC), which has organised protests since the start of September, refused to sign the agreement, saying it does not cover enough food prices.

The accord was signed between local authorities, national lawmakers, supermarkets, wholesale distributors, the port and transport operators, after a seventh round of negotiations.

RPPRAC leader Rodrigue Petitot said the agreement does not go far enough. It covers “a list of 54 families of products, that correspond to the food products that are most consumed in Martinique”, according to the prefect.

Petitot says it covers 6,000 out of 40,000 products, which is not enough.

The group has called for the Minister for Overseas affairs François-Noël Buffet to travel to Martinique.

“As long as the minister does not come, no one can move around the Island,” Petitot said, referring to roadblocks and port blockages that would continue.

Local authorities have banned some demonstrations, and earlier this week extended a nighttime curfew until at least Monday.

(with AFP)

“What’s striking on first contact is that they arrive in a country at peace, and there’s a stress that immediately disappears,” says Colonel Guillaume Vancina, one of the officers in charge of training the Ukrainian troops. 

“That’s a very important aspect, and one that I think allows them to work with a certain calm.” 

Some 2,300 soldiers began arriving in France from Ukraine in September and will spend around three months in training at an unnamed base in the east of the country. 

While allies throughout Europe and beyond have offered assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, this is one of the largest Ukrainian contingents yet trained by another country on its own soil.  

Together with another 2,200 troops completing training in Ukraine, they will ultimately form Ukrainian Brigade Number 155 – also known as the “Anna Kyivska” or “Anne de Kiev” brigade, after a medieval Kyiv-born princess who married King Henri I and became queen of France. 

Fresh recruits 

It’s a steep learning curve for many of the recruits, Vancina told reporters last week.

“Their profiles are very varied, lots of them are conscripts but there are also volunteers.”  

While the brigade is led by an experienced Ukrainian officer and includes a “small percentage” of veterans, as a unit created from scratch and still in training, “there are a lot of new recruits in the ranks”.  

France has allocated some 1,500 personnel to prepare them for frontline combat. 

“First off there’s a whole set of basics to get to grips with, and that’s going to take a bit of time,” said Vancina. “So no, we don’t throw them straight into a combat environment, but that will come very quickly.” 

Training techniques include using simulation devices to subject the soldiers to the noise of battle. The Ukrainian military wants them to be ready for the conditions they’re heading into, Vancina said.  

“They’re very exacting. They’re at war, and they’re asking for everything they can get.” 

Battle simulation 

France’s army has also sought to replicate the terrain that Ukrainian recruits will encounter, according to General Damien Wallaert, deputy chief of air-land operations. 

“We dug over 600 metres of trenches and buried combat posts,” he said. “We took into account what they told us about the size, dimension and depth of the trenches they were digging in Ukraine, so that they could train in conditions as close as possible to the real thing.” 

For the same reason, drones are a daily part of the soldiers’ training – either as backup or to simulate threats. 

“Again, the aim is to expose them to conditions as close to reality as possible in terms of noise, stress and fatigue,” Wallaert said, “so that it’s as realistic as it can be and when the day comes, they have the right reflexes, survive the battle and win.” 

Show of support

The French officers spoke to the press on the day President Emmanuel Macron inspected the new Ukrainian brigade, accompanied by the defence ministers of France and Ukraine. 

The visit, the first time Macron has met some of the 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers that France has trained over the past two years of war, was intended to highlight the country’s continued support ahead of talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Zelensky has been meeting with several European leaders over the past week in a bid to get their backing for what he has called an “action plan” to pave the way for finally ending the fighting. 

He has not yet shared the details publicly, instead promising that he will discuss them at a peace conference expected in November.

The Ukrainian president has also been pushing Western countries to sign off on long-range missile strikes against Russia, using weapons supplied by Ukraine’s allies.

While the United States and others are wary of escalating the conflict, Macron has previously said that Kyiv should be free to “neutralise” Russian bases firing missiles on Ukraine.

France’s Macron reaffirms possibility of sending troops to Ukraine

This story was adapted from a report in French by RFI’s Franck Alexandre.

Lamya Essemlali, head of Sea Shepherd France, revealed at a press conference in Paris that Watson sent a letter to Macron several days ago requesting asylum.

Watson arrest

The 73-year-old US-Canadian activist was arrested in July in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

Outcry in France as Greenland keeps anti-whaling crusader Paul Watson in jail

From prison, Watson “wrote a letter to Emmanuel Macron,” Essemlali confirmed, stating that he is seeking asylum in France.

Watson was detained while his ship, the John Paul DeJoria, was refueling en route to confront a Japanese whaling vessel in the North Pacific, according to the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF).

His arrest is linked to a 2012 Japanese warrant accusing him of damaging a whaling ship in 2010 and injuring a crew member with a stink bomb during an anti-whaling protest.

Greenland extends detention of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson

France, where Watson resided prior to his arrest, has asked Denmark to prevent his extradition. Watson’s French lawyer, François Zimeray, argued at the press conference that Watson merely exposed Japan’s illegal whaling activities and warned that Watson “will never get a fair trial” if extradited.

Zimeray added that “if imprisoned in Japan, he will never get out alive.”

In September, Watson’s legal team reached out to the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, expressing concerns that he could face “inhumane treatment” in Japanese prisons.

Over 405,000 people – both Lebanese and Syrian – have crossed into Syria from Lebanon since the start of Israel’s offensive, according to figures from UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Approximately 60 percent are under 18, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Thursday, and most are struggling to meet basic needs.

The returnees are mainly people who had sought sanctuary in Lebanon from the civil war in Syria, now in its 13th year. “In Lebanon, there have been nearly one million Syrian refugees just since 2011,” says Metin Corabatir of the Research Centre on Asylum and Migration, an Ankara-based NGO.

He warns this could be just the beginning of the exodus if the fighting in Lebanon continues, threatening to overwhelm Syria.

“We are not talking only about Syrian refugees going back to Syria, but the Lebanese population is moving, crossing the border to Syria. And Syria would either try to close the borders or force them to go north to the Turkish borders,” Corabatir told RFI.

“This really would lead to a catastrophic situation for people, for countries and may pull Turkey into more tensions with Israel.”

Anti-refugee backlash

People fleeing Lebanon have been arriving at refugee camps in north-east Syria, close to the Turkish border. But Turkey, already hosting an estimated five million refugees, including over three million Syrians, is facing growing public backlash over their presence.

“Turkey basically cannot handle more refugees,” warns Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, head of the Ankara office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an international think tank.

Earlier this year, tensions spilled over into violence against refugees in the provincial city of Kayseri. The issue has become a significant political liability for the government, with opinion polls routinely finding large majorities wanting refugees to leave.

Even if the country has the practical capacity to take more people in, “I don’t see Turkey accepting a massive new wave of refugees”, predicts Unluhisarcikli. 

Turkey’s Syrian refugees face local hostility as economic problems mount

Border barricades

In the last couple of years, Ankara has constructed a wall along its border with Syria in a bid to prevent more refugees from entering Turkey. 

Murat Aslan, of the pro-government Seta Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, believes such efforts will only continue as the war in the Middle East threatens to trigger a new exodus.

“Turkey does not want any further waves coming from another region because Turkey is just experiencing and mending an economic crisis,” he says. “Inflation is currently under control, and we expect a decrease in it.

“What does another wave of refugees mean? A lot of spending, a lot of inflation, and other than this, societal insecurity. That’s why Turkey will not tolerate another wave.”  

But such a stance will likely be tested if Israel continues its offensive, creating more refugees and with them, the risk of Turkey facing a humanitarian crisis on its border.

Turkey continues to host more refugees than anyone else, but for how long?

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

It’s time for you to start thinking about your New Year’s resolutions for our annual New Year’s Day show. If you’ve already made up your mind about what you’ll aim for in 2025, go ahead and send it to us … if not, be sure you send us your resolution – or resolutions if you are really ambitious! – by 15 December.

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 21 September, I asked you a question about a gender equality plan at France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  We reported on that plan in our article “France’s foreign ministry unveils two-year gender equality strategy”.

You were to re-read the article and send in the answer to this question: What is the Foreign Ministry’s goal for promoting women to important posts? What is the percentage they are aiming for?

The answer is, to quote our article: “According to the ministry, this year more than 45 percent of ambassadors appointed for the first time will be women, while among newly-appointed consuls-general, over 40 percent will also be women.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How would you define a truly happy person?”, which was suggested by Sabah Binte Sumaiya from Bogura, Bangladesh:

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark. Hans is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations, Hans, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Samir Mukhopadhyay from Kolkata, India; Mizanur Rahman from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Faiza Zainab – who’s also a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Tafriha Tahura from Munshiganj, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Mazurka no. 4″ by Frédéric Chopin, arranged by Serge Forté and performed by the Serge Forté Trio; “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” by Krzysztof Penderecki, performed by Antoni Wit and the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra; “La Grande Galerie de la Zoologie” by Philippe Hersant, performed by the Ensemble Bestiaire Fabuleux; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin, performed by McFerrin.

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 Paul Myers’ article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 11 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 16 November 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,  

Ghana is being swamped by millions of unwanted clothes from the West, creating an environmental disaster as textile waste piles up across the country.

The scale of damage to public health and the environment has been laid bare in a new Greenpeace report that exposes the devastating impact of discarded clothing on communities and ecosystems in Ghana. 

About 15 million items of second-hand clothing arrive in Ghana each week. Nearly half cannot be resold.

The unsellable clothes end up in informal dumps or are burned in public washhouses, contaminating the air, soil and water.

“The situation is catastrophic. These clothes are literally poisoning our communities,” said Sam Quashie-Idun from Greenpeace Africa, speaking to RFI.

The report shows how Ghana has become a dumping ground for the world’s unwanted textiles, with devastating consequences for local ecosystems.

“What we’re seeing is environmental racism. The Global North is using Ghana as its trash can,” said Hellen Dena of Greenpeace Africa.

The flood of cheap, disposable fashion reflects broader problems with global waste management and environmental justice.

To explore this issue further, RFI spoke to Sam Quashie-Idun and Hellen Dena from Greenpeace Africa.  

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

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 14 September, I asked you a question about Algeria’s presidential elections. Held on 8 September, the incumbent, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, was reelected.

RFI English reporter Melissa Chemam followed the race closely; the day after the election she wrote an article for us, “High expectations as Algeria’s President Tebboune begins new mandate”. Her article is about what’s on Tebboune’s presidential plate economically and socially for his next mandate.

There are several worries in civil society, as Melissa noted: “The first mandate of President Tebboune saw a clampdown on civil liberties and seen the army take on a more important role.”

Your question was about the army, and its, as Melissa noted, “more important role”. In August, a few days before Tebboune declared his candidacy, a decree was issued involving the army. You were to tell me what was in that decree.

The answer is, to quote Melissa’s article: “A few days before Tebboune’s declaration of candidacy, in August, a decree was published to legalise the transfer of the senior civil administration under the direct authority of the army.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word “red”? The question was suggested by Ashik Eqbal Tokon from Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

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

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

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Father Stephen Wara from Bamenda, Cameroon; Shadman Hosen Ayon from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, and Atikul Islam – who is also the president of the Narshunda Radio Listeners Family in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Jahangir Alam from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Autumn” from The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, performed by Carla Moore and Voice of Music; Traditional Chaabi music from Algeria; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Mr. Bobby” by Manu Chao, performed by Chao and the Playing for Change musicians.

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 “Algeria’s Tebboune refuses France visit in snub to former colonial ruler”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 4 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 9 November 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 Paris Olympic Games and Paralympics gave French-language songs huge exposure, adding new fans to the global audience already growing on streaming platforms. But what kind of music are non-French-speakers listening to and why? A new exhibition at the recently opened International Centre of the French Language asks the question. Its curator, the music journalist Bertrand Dicale, based the exhibit on the idea that songs reveal who were are, and he talks about what popular songs reveal about France. He also highlights some surprising differences between French and foreign audiences, which have allowed stars like Aya Nakamura and Juliette Gréco to enjoy huge success abroad despite being scorned at home. (Listen @0’00)

France lags behind many countries in the use of technology in classrooms and there is no clear policy from an ever-changing education ministry. But the disorganisation may be buying educators time to consider the consequences. A report commissioned in the spring by President Emmanuel Macron advised placing limits on young people’s use of smartphones and social media, and some schools are testing a smartphone ban this year. Founded by concerned educators, the collective Pour une éducation numérique raisonnée (“For a sensible digital education”) has raised its own concerns about the push to digitise textbooks and get students learning on screens. We visit a class taught by one of its members, and see how technology is – and is not – used. (Listen @22’00)

In the midst of Nobel season, a look at some of France’s 71 prizes, from the first ever Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 to the five won by members of the Curie family for physics and chemistry. (Listen @15’00)

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).

With a great deal of fanfare, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the leaving ceremony of Turkey’s energy research vessel Oruc Reis, which set sail this month to Somalia accompanied by two Turkish naval vessels.

Somali energy deal

The deployment of the Oruc Reis is part of an energy deal struck with Somalia and the latest step in Ankara’s long-term investment in the Horn of Africa nation.

“Turkey has its largest embassy in the world in Mogadishu. It has a military base there. The port of Mogadishu is controlled by a Turkish company, “explained Norman Rickelfs, a geopolitical consultant.

“[Turkey] signed a defense deal (with Somalia) in February, a two-part defense deal, and then an energy exploration deal in March. So, Turkey needs Somalia and Ethiopia to play well together.”

The threat of a new conflict in the Horn of Africa has been looming since January when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a breakaway state from Somalia.

The agreement gives Ethiopia secure sea access in exchange for recognizing the breakaway state, a deal condemned by Somalia for infringing on its territorial integrity.

Turkey enters fray mediating Ethiopia and Somalia’s high-stakes dispute

Somalia, Ethiopia and Turkey

Ankara which has good relations with Ethiopia, as well as Somalia has been mediating. But September’s round of talks, during which Ankara had indicated an agreement could be reached, has been indefinitely postponed.

The postponement follows Egypt signing a defense pact with Somalia in August. Last month, Egypt sent its first shipment of arms to Somalia in four decades.

Elem Eyrice-Tepeciklioglu, an African studies professor at the Social Sciences University of Ankara, warns that Egypt’s military involvement complicates Ethiopian Somali reconciliation efforts.

“There are also some hurdles on the way with some recent tensions, especially with the involvement of Egypt and its increasing relations with Somalia,” claims Eyrice-Tepeciklioglu.

Tepeciklioglu warns that the longer the Ethiopian-Somalia dispute continues, the greater the risk of contagion in an unstable region.

“The shifting alliances in the region are also a source of problem, because most of the regional countries have strained relations with each other. And then they often have conflicting interests. So this might complicate the situation,” explained Tepeciklioglu. 

 Egypt’s support of Somalia is the latest chapter in Egyptian-Ethiopian tensions. Those tensions center on Ethiopia’s damming of the Nile River, which Egypt depends on.

Cairo’s position

Cairo has strongly criticized the project, warning it poses an existential threat. “Egypt’s military deployment to Somalia is a natural progression for an actor seeking to strengthen their hand in a regional competition,” said Kaan Devecioglu of the Ankara-based think tank Orsam.

However, Devecioglu says the priority must be to prevent current rivalries from overspilling into confrontation. “Egypt already has this strained relationship with Ethiopia due to tensions over the Nile River, which makes its presence in Somalia geopolitically sensitive. The issue is not that states are rivals but ensuring they are not enemies,’ explained Devecioglu.

Egyptian President Al Fateh Sisi discussed Ethiopian Somali tensions during last month’s Ankara visit. The visit is part of rapprochement efforts between the countries. That rapprochement Ankara is likely to use to contain current tensions in the Horn of Africa.

However, some experts warn Ankara‘s mediation efforts could be running out of time.

“We see tensions escalating in the region, and we see both sides sort of trying to extract leverage and put pressure on each other,” said Omar Mahmood, a Senior Analyst of the International Crisis Group.

Mahmood says that given the Horn Of Africa is already plagued with conflict Ankara’s mediation efforts needs international support,

 “There needs to be a way to de-escalate, I think the mediation is very important. But I think there probably needs to be additional, you know, parties involved or additional pressure put on both sides in order to get to a breakthrough,” added Mahmood.

Currently, there is no new date for a new round of Turkish-brokered Ethiopian Somali talks, with Ankara saying it is negotiating with each country separately. But time is not on Ankara’s side as tensions continue to grow in the region, which is located on one of the world’s most important trade routes.

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.