“Their tablets have to stay in their bags,” says Christophe, who teaches management and economics at a private Catholic high school west of Paris, where every student receives a tablet.

The tablets are funded by the Ile-de-France region, which oversees high schools, public and private, and which in 2020 introduced digital textbooks.

Today about half of general high schools in the region use them.

At first, Christophe said, he was open to the idea: “Traditional books are not perfect. Sometimes they are heavy and sometimes students forget them, so at first I thought it could be a good solution.

“But I was very disappointed with the screens.”

Find more on this story on the Spotlight on France podcast:

First, there were technical problems – WiFi connectivity issues, students who couldn’t find their login codes, tablets that weren’t charged.

Then, once the students actually got onto the devices, they were distracted.

“We are here to develop their concentration, to develop their attention and these skills are very important. And when you give a screen to a teenager you can be sure that he doesn’t hear you and doesn’t listen to you – he’s focused on the screen,” says Christophe.

Screen break

Students themselves admit to wanting a break from screens, especially when they already take up much of their leisure time.

Charles, a first-year student who is in an elective management course with Christophe, says he spends hours on his computer at home playing video games, to the point of forgetting to do homework. He tries to avoid his tablet at school.

“It’s my screen-free time. I just don’t want to have a screen around me for school, so I can be more focused,” he says.

His classmate Carlette says he realised several years ago that his phone was taking up too much of his time, and tried to limit himself.

“I kind of put myself on a screen-time control,” he said. “And I noticed it’s better, in the way I socialise.”

He finds he manages to use his time better with less time on his phone.

Using tech mindfully

In the class, teacher Christophe leads a vocabulary exercise, where students fill in words from a scene they have watched from a television show – projected onto a shared screen at the front of the room – on a piece of paper.

“When they work in class, they do it on paper. They have to focus on the document,” he explains. “It’s easy for me to check they are doing the exercise, and to help students who have trouble.”

Christophe co-founded a collective a year ago calling for a joined-up approach to using technology in schools, amid mixed messages coming to students, parents and teachers.

Then and still today, lawmakers were grappling with the issue of screens – both in and out of education.

To ban or to back?

At the end of 2023, then Education Minister Gabriel Attal started talking about the serious health risks of screens and social media to young people.

More than once, he called young people using screens at home a potential “health catastrophe”.

Such caution resulted in a trial ban on personal smartphones in several schools at the start of the latest term.

Yet schools have equally been encouraged to embrace technology, even as uptake has proved variable.

While broad frameworks are set by the Ministry of Education, decisions about material, including screens and textbooks, are made locally – by French regions for middle and high schools, and by cities for primary schools.

This means there are vast differences across the country. Statistics show that there were 24 tablets and other mobile devices per student in high school classrooms in 2022, which suggests many regions do not have any.

In primary school, there is an average of four desktop computers per hundred students, and no mobile devices.

Defining a balance

In April, President Emmanuel Macron received an expert report he had commissioned on the use of screens by young people, which recommended limits on screens, smartphones and social media.

It highlighted the fact that decentralised policy-making undermines a unified approach to screens in schools. And it warned that consistency in and out of school is key.

“The strategies used in schools must be coherent with the messages sent from elsewhere to parents,” the report said.

Christophe, the high school teacher, agrees. “Parents say, ‘don’t use your screen’, and at school, ‘use your screen’,” he says. “It’s not logical, it’s hard to understand. We need a clear message.”

For him and his collective, the key is to strike the right balance between helping students focus on schoolwork and learning how to use computers responsibly.

Students “need digital skills and we think it’s necessary to have a class with computers so they can learn how to use Word, to use how to organise their files, how to use the internet”, he says.

“We want classes with digital tools, to learn digital abilities. But we don’t want the use of digital tools as a way to study other subjects.”

More on this story on the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 117. Listen here.

“It started off as ‘Mama’, and now as the years have gone by, it’s ‘Mamie’ (grandma),” Lips tells RFI.

Now a 68-year-old retiree, she has been helping migrants who come to Calais in the hope of crossing the English Channel for the past 24 years.

Living in a modest house opposite what was once part of “the Jungle“, the informal camps that housed thousands of people at a time, Lips remembers that the crisis showed up literally on her doorstep.

“People would ring my doorbell asking for water. I said to myself, ‘why me?’ Well, because no one else on the street opened their door to give out tap water,” she recalls.

“And then, as the months went by, other people started arriving with the little Nokia phones you used to get at the time, and I started charging these little Nokias in my house. And over the months, there came bigger telephones, batteries…”

Communication lifeline

Mobile phones are even more important for displaced people than most, those working on the ground point out.

“It is too often forgotten, and cannot be repeated often enough, that the mobile phone is the primary source of autonomous information: to translate, to call, to search, to find your way around, to call for help,” notes Techfugees, a non-profit that has assisted projects to provide migrants in Calais with chargers, power, SIM cards and WiFi.

“Everything requires a charged phone.”

Lips sees the demand for herself. So many people come to her house to top up that she has created an informal charging station in her garage, with rows of numbered power sockets and a gamut of cables.

People dropping off their phones are handed a handwritten ticket that they must bring back to exchange for their device, remembering to respect her opening hours.

“I open from 8 to 9 in the morning, from 11.30 to 12.15 in the afternoon and from 5 to 6 in the evening,” Lips explains.

“I close on Saturday and Sunday in order to keep time for my family,” she says, though she admits she has been known to relax those rules.

Painful stories

Lips also offers simple food, paid for out of her own pocket, and used clothing. 

While she’s got to recognise many of the people who stop by, over time, she says, she learned not to push the relationship.

“At first I would ask dumb questions like, ‘are you still in touch with your mother?’ And I’d get the answer: ‘my mother was killed in front of my eyes,'” Lips says.  

“Once I said, ‘have you ever seen the sea before?’ Absolute nonsense, because they’ve crossed the Mediterranean. And the guy told me: ‘yes, I’m one of the survivors from the boat that sank.’

“So after that, you stop asking. You wait, and if there’s a conversation, you listen. You wait for them to feel free. But for them to feel free, they need to be welcomed. You don’t just unburden yourself like that from the very first day. If they stay a while, they’ll start to tell a little bit of their story.

“So some of them, I know their stories. But it takes a very long time.”

Podcast: Human side of Calais Jungle shared on social media

Shadow of shipwreck

The accounts Lips hears are shocking, especially lately. At least 50 people are reported to have died attempting to cross the Channel on small boats this year so far.

In one incident earlier this month, four people died on overcrowded boats in one day, including a two-year-old child. The victims are believed to have been trampled by panicked passengers, with some drowning in water that accumulated in the bottom of their dinghy.

“That mother who lost her child of two years old – what a tragedy, what pain, honestly, to come so far and lose your child in the bottom of a boat,” Lips says. “These things are just horrible.”

Soon after that, she recalls, “one guy came to me and said: ‘Mamie, we didn’t make it over.’ And I said to him: ‘no, but you didn’t die.'”

Unstoppable

Lips understands why politicians are keen to show they’re taking action – including France’s new right-wing government, which has promised to table the country’s 33rd immigration law in 44 years by early 2025.

But after nearly a quarter century observing migration up close, she’s doubtful new measures will make a difference.

A heavy-handed approach by the authorities hasn’t stopped her own activities.

“The local police, national police, riot police, they’ve all come round to intimidate me, saying that the neighbours are complaining about the migrants flowing in and out of my property – as if these guys were coming all the way from the Horn of Africa to charge their phones at my house,” she says.

“Rubbish. I’ve never sent a message to Sudan saying, ‘come to my house, if you’re in Calais you’ll be welcomed with open arms’.”

Lips, who says her Catholic faith drives her to try to help, remains defiant about her own small contribution.

“The way I see it, I’m in my own home and I do what I like there.”

This story is adapted from an interview in French by RFI’s Charlotte Idrac.

Upon arriving at the fair, visitors are immediately confronted with a huge mass of mixed materials in the shape of a head. The eye sockets are computer screens filming people passing by. The face has a plastic toilet seat for the nose and a car bumper for a mouth.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure? Yes and no, explains Cameroonian artist Malam, one of nearly 100 artists represented at the 9th edition of AKAA – ‘Also Known as Africa’ art and design fair, which wrapped up after three days on Sunday.

“I call this piece ‘Emergency Therapy’ because the way I see it, there’s an urgent need to reconsider our habits, our daily routines with regards to consumerism,” Malam told RFI.

Two companion sculptures, slightly smaller, were placed at different locations within the fair. “We’re watching you,” the large faces seemed to be saying.

Originally from Douala, Malam has been working for many years in a workshop in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris and is represented by the 193 Gallery. His works have been displayed at numerous art fairs over the years, including the Dakar Biennale, Johannesburg art fair and Art Basel in Switzerland.

His creative approach gives the notion of “collection” a whole new meaning. His works are made of junk that was left out for the garbage trucks. Sadly, the supply is endless, he says.

Everyday objects fill the space in between the long, coloured tubes that twist around the whole piece, providing the ears, chin and back of the head. Barbie dolls and trucks peek out from the chaos. Toys, Malam says, make up a sizeable quantity of discarded objects.

“I don’t choose the objects, they choose me,” he says, adding that the works are by nature “evolutive” and that “any object can find its place in this piece. There’s no rule”.

He says incorporating screens into the work is a way of provoking a form of self-awareness, which is sorely needed in today’s world.

Instead of filming selfies, it might be time to really look at our relationship to ourselves and our earth, he suggests.

African feminism pumps the heart of Benin’s debut at Venice Biennale

“We’re being scrutinised for our behaviour, what we buy and how we see ourselves. This installation addresses the fact that we need to get back to our core values.”

For Malam, artists have the freedom to create works that express universal messages, regardless of their country of origin. “Inspiration is global, there are no borders,” he says.

His works seem to be saying that in the same way, there are no borders when it comes to climate change. The environmental impact of pollution and overproduction affects us all.

In terms of representing the African continent and its multiple diasporas, AKAA has certainly come a long way from its humble beginnings, according to its founder and director Victoria Mann.

As an arts student she was shocked to hear people say “contemporary African art doesn’t really exist” and so she set out to rectify that.

South African artist Gavin Jantjes on his major retrospective

With 41 exhibitors of art sourced from 29 countries, the 2024 event has confirmed its ambition to be “a platform of discovery”.

After a focus on African-American artists in 2023, visitors were this year treated to a special focus was on the Caribbean region and French overseas territories such as Guadeloupe and Reunion Island.

The event is also gearing up to expand, with a special AKAA for Los Angeles on the horizon.

He spoke the same day Russian forces announced they had captured another village in eastern Ukraine as they continued their steady advance.

Barrot’s two-day visit, aimed at underlining Paris’s unflinching support for Ukraine, comes at the end of a week in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled his “victory plan” to defeat Russia, again calling for beefed-up Western backing.

“A Russian victory would consecrate the law of the strongest and precipitate the international order towards chaos,” Barrot said alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga.

Asked by a Ukrainian journalist whether Paris supported Zelensky’s “victory plan”, Barrot said: “We support the victory plan because we have been alongside Ukraine for nearly 1,000 days.”

Peace plan

During the rest of his remarks, Barrot only used the more general expression “peace plan” when referring to the possibility of bringing about an end to the conflict.

Paris, like Ukraine’s other Western backers, has not outlined an official position in response to Zelensky’s proposals and is studying the details.

After meeting Barrot in Kyiv, Zelensky said he was “grateful to France for its support of the victory plan” which can “bring real diplomacy and a just peace closer.”

“The meeting was exactly what we needed,” he said in his evening address.

The central plank of Zelensky’s plan is for Ukraine to be given an immediate invitation to join the NATO military alliance.

Barrot said Paris was “open” to the idea and was discussing it with other members of the alliance.

Zelensky defends ‘victory plan’ before EU leaders and NATO defence chiefs

Zelensky’s blueprint also rejects territorial concessions and calls for allies to lift restrictions on using donated long-range weapons against military sites inside Russia.

It also proposes deploying a “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” on Ukrainian territory.

Since Russia invaded in February 2022, Kyiv has outlined several proposals, initiatives and principles that it says should underpin any end to the conflict.

In June, almost 80 countries endorsed a 10-point “peace formula” proposed by Ukraine that said its territorial integrity must be respected.

Ahead of Barrot’s visit, France’s foreign ministry said Paris welcomed the objectives that underpinned the latest initiative, which details how Kyiv believes it can win the war.

Zelensky last week undertook a whistlestop tour of Europe to brief key leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, before outlining some details of the plan publicly.

US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Germany, France and Britain on Friday voiced their “resolve to continue supporting Ukraine in its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace”.

North Korea involvement

For Ukraine, Sybiga also warned Saturday that the involvement of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia carried a “huge threat of further escalation”. There was a risk of the war “going beyond the current borders and boundaries”.

Seoul’s spy agency said Friday that North Korea had decided to send “large-scale” troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, reporting that 1,500 special forces were already in Russia’s Far East and undergoing training.

Russia on Saturday claimed its latest territorial advance, saying it had taken the village of Zoryane in eastern Ukraine.

Biden calls on European allies to maintain backing for Ukraine

Moscow’s forces have been steadily advancing across the eastern Donetsk region, even as Kyiv continues to mount its own cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk border region.

Russia has been concentrating its offensive on Kurakhove, home to about 20,000 people before Russia invaded, and the strategic prize of Pokrovsk, some 30 kilometres to the north.

Ukraine has struggled with manpower and ammunition shortages in the face of Moscow’s better-equipped military.

France’s armed forces minister Sebastien Lecornu said separately that Paris was ordering new equipment for Ukraine’s army using 300 million euros of interest recovered from frozen Russian assets.

The new delivery will include 12 Caesar cannons, Lecornu told the Sunday edition of La Tribune.

(with AFP)

While India does not permit “active” euthanasia, which involves use of substances such as lethal injections or external force to end life, court rulings have permitted clinicians to withhold life-prolonging treatment in certain cases.

Now the government has drafted guidelines to standardise such decisions and is seeking expert feedback on the proposals. 

According to the Health Ministry’s draft, published on 30 September, doctors must take considered decisions in a patient’s best interest in cases involving an incurable condition from which death is inevitable in the foreseeable future.

Life support may be forgone or discontinued at the request of terminally ill patients themselves, including through advance instructions for how they would like to be medically treated after losing decision-making abilities.

Alternatively, doctors may judge treatment more likely to cause suffering than benefit. In that case, the draft said, they must refer the case to a panel of other physicians for review.

If the board agrees, there will be another multi-disciplinary meeting with family and a shared decision will be made. In some circumstances, a second board of doctors must approve too.

Medical, religious opposition

India’s Supreme Court in 2018 ruled a terminally ill patient can seek passive euthanasia through a “living will”. Five years later, judges simplified the order and asked the government to prepare permanent rules.

The Indian Medical Association, which has 350,000 doctors on its rolls, said it would study the draft and advise the government to tweak its provisions if needed.

Association president RV Asokan warned that “the guidelines could expose doctors to legal scrutiny and increase stress in their decision-making”.

“The perception and assumption that machines are unnecessarily used to prolong lives is wrong. It exposes doctors to legal scrutiny,” he told news agency PTI.

India struggles to confront its mental health problems

Meanwhile many Christian activists are opposed to any form of euthanasia, which they argue is ripe for abuse.

“Relatives may want to get rid of an old patient who they take to be a burden on them and their freedom,” John Dayal, former president of the All India Catholic Union, told RFI.

“In a land where kidneys are stolen from beggars and rickshaw-pullers when they have been drugged into sleep, can we trust the medical profession and the law and justice system to be the watchdog guardian?”

Regulatory gap

But others involved in frontline care said the guidelines would help close a regulatory gap.

“We have been doing this for years,” said Sushma Bhatnagar, a professor of palliative care at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, whose experts helped formulate the guidelines.

“Once we know that a patient is terminal, we counsel them and their family members to withdraw care. They are usually made comfortable and sent home. However, there was no guideline or legal procedure for the same,” she told the Indian Express.

Except in cases of medical emergency, she said, many patients prefer to spend their final days with their family rather than in intensive care.

By next year, 189 million people will be over 60 years of age and fuel demands for 175 million additional hospital beds in India, where 32 million people fall below an official poverty line every year because of medical bills.

Thwarted by Covid, India re-emerges as a medical tourism hotspot

Italian judges ruled Friday against the detention of the first migrants sent for processing in Albania, dealing a major blow to a flagship policy of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government.

Rome has repeatedly said that said EU countries are interested in the scheme as a way of processing asylum requests in countries outside the bloc, and Brussels has been watching closely.

But just days after the plan went live, the first group of migrants sent to non-EU Albania were obliged to leave.

Sixteen men from Bangladesh and Egypt arrived at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Wednesday, nearly a year after an agreement to house asylum seekers in Italian-run centres in Albania until their cases are handled remotely by Italian judges.

However four of 16 were identified as “vulnerable” and were immediately sent back to Italy.

The remaining 12 on Saturday boarded an Italian coast guard vessel which will take them to Brindisi in southern Italy, Albanian port officials said.

Earlier, they were escorted by police from a temporary reception centre to Shengjin port, where they boarded the ship, a journalist from French news agency AFP saw.

Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed the controversial deal in November with her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.

So-called ‘safe countries’

The five-year agreement, estimated to cost €160 million euros annually, calls for male asylum seekers intercepted by the Italian navy or coast guard vessels in international waters – but within Italy’s search and rescue area – to be held in Albania.

From there, a determination will be made as to which individuals come from so-called “safe” countries, allowing for fast-track repatriation.

EU leaders confront tough decisions on migration and asylum policies

However, Italian judges on Friday ruled against the detention of the first migrants, saying a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice meant the men do not meet the criteria for detention in Albania and must instead be brought to Italy.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Rome would appeal the court’s decision.

Meloni responded to the ruling on X, saying “Italians have asked me to stop illegal immigration, and I will do everything possible to keep my word.”

Rome recently expanded to 22 countries its list of “safe” countries of origin – defined as states where it deems there is no persecution, torture or threat of indiscriminate violence.

Albania criticised

But on the list are nations that include areas not considered safe.

A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice stipulates that EU member states can only designate whole countries as safe, not parts.

EU weighs creating migrant ‘return hubs’ to speed up deportations

Italy’s deal with Albania has been widely criticised by human rights groups, who question whether Albania can provide adequate protection for asylum seekers.

(with AFP)

The August 2023 coup put an end to 55 years of rule by the family of former president Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The draft new constitution includes abolishing the post of prime minister and imposing a seven-year presidential term, renewable once.

Gabon‘s Council of Ministers on Thursday passed the bill, the last component of a transition initiated after the removal of Bongo, according to an official statement sent by Laurence Ndong, spokeswoman for the government led by Brice Oligui Nguema.

“The Council of Ministers has expressed its satisfaction at the completion of the proposed new constitution,” the statement said.

“The next decisive step in the transition process will be the organisation of a constitutional referendum.”

Lawmakers in early September met to form a “reasoned opinion” on a final text, drafted from a thousand proposals collected during a national dialogue organised in April.

800 amendments

Candidates for head of state would have to be the offspring of Gabonese-born parents, according to a version of the proposed document circulating online – a claim authorities in the oil-rich country have not denied.

Neither the bill nor the 800 amendments proposed by the parliament have been made public.

The proposed text is notably believed to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman and would also make military service compulsory, while confirming French as the country’s official language.

Gabon junta sets August 2025 as ‘indicative’ election date

On 30 August 2023, an hour after the official announcement of Bongo’s election to a third term since 2009, a military junta proclaimed his rule was over, denouncing what they said was a rigged poll.

The military dissolved the country’s institutions and appointed 98 deputies and 70 senators to a transitional parliament.

Oligui has promised to restore civilian rule in Africa’s third-richest country in terms of per-capita GDP but where one in three lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

He has not hidden his intention to win a presidential election slated for August 2025.

(with AFP)

G7 defence ministers convened Saturday against a backdrop of escalation in the Middle East and mounting pressure on Ukraine as it faces another winter of fighting.

Italy, holding the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven countries, organised the body’s first ministerial meeting dedicated to defence, staged in Naples, the southern city that is also home to a NATO base.

Invited to the one-day talks were NATO chief Mark Rutte and the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

The summit comes two days after Israel announced it had killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel that triggered the devastating retaliatory war in Gaza.

“Certainly after the killing of Yahya Sinwar a new perspective is open and we have to use it in order to reach a ceasefire, to release the remaining hostages and to look for a political perspective,” Borrell told journalists.

The UN humanitarian affairs agency on Friday continued “to sound the alarm about the increasingly dire and dangerous situation that civilians in northern Gaza are facing. Families there are trying to survive in atrocious conditions, under heavy bombardment.”

Gaza‘s civil defence agency said Saturday more than 400 Palestinians were killed in the north of the territory over the past two weeks during an ongoing military assault Israel says is aimed at preventing Hamas militants from regrouping.

In their closing statement, the G7 ministers sad they support “significant and sustained increase” in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

More robust mandate needed

A morning session included discussions over recent strikes on UNIFIL, the UN’s Lebanon peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, where Israel is also at war with Hamas ally Hezbollah.

Borrell suggested the peacekeepers’ mandate should be beefed up by the UN Security Council to give them more scope to act amid repeated attacks on their positions they say are being conducted by Israeli forces.

“They cannot act by themselves, it is certainly a limited role,” he said.

France backs UN peacekeepers in Lebanon amid Israel’s Hezbollah offensive

Earlier Saturday, Borrell wrote on social media that “a more robust mandate for UNIFIL” was needed.

In Lebanon Friday, Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni slammed as “unacceptable” the recent strikes on UNIFIL.

Italy has around 1,000 troops in the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, which has soldiers from more than 50 countries.

As the Naples talks began, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told the group that the “critical situation in the Middle East”, Russia’s war in Ukraine, “profound instability” in sub-Saharan Africa and “increasing tension” in the Asia-Pacific region “highlight a deteriorated security framework with forecasts for the near future that cannot be positive”.

Unwavering support

On Ukraine, the defence ministers pledged “unwavering” support for Ukraine and specified that would include military aid, according to the final statement. 

This comes as Kyiv faces a third winter at war, battlefield losses in the east – and the prospect of reduced US military support should Donald Trump be elected to the White House next month.

“We underscore our intent to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, including military assistance in the short and long term,” read the group’s final statement following the one-day summit.

Biden to discuss Ukraine, Middle East with allies on farewell trip to Berlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, under mounting pressure from Western allies to forge a winning strategy against Russia, on Thursday presented what he called a “victory plan” to the European Union and NATO.

Its main thrust is a call for immediate NATO membership, deemed unfeasible by alliance members.

It also demands the ability to strike military targets inside Russia with long-range weapons, and an undefined “non-nuclear strategic deterrence package” on Ukrainian territory.

Under discussion will also likely be reports, based on South Korean intelligence, that North Korea is deploying large numbers of troops to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

NATO was not as yet able to confirm that intelligence, Rutte said on Friday.

(with AFP)

“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?

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.

“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 returned from the thigh injury that kept him out of France’s Nations League wins over Israel and Belgium and scored the opener in Madrid’s 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday night.

Asked for his thoughts on the events circling the striker, the Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, himself a former professional player, said: “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 weaving past a couple of defenders.

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.”

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.

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,  

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.

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”.

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.

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)

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.