The 26-year-old, who saw off world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the last-16, outfought the 2018 champion to progress 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in just under three hours.

“I didn’t feel as good or as fresh as I have done in other matches,” said Humbert on court in the immediate aftermath of the win over the 28-year-old Russian.

“But when things weren’t going as well, I fought like I have done all week and I came through. I’m really very proud of myself.”

Humbert, the first local hero to reach the final since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2011, will take on the third seed Alexander Zverev in an attempt to win his first crown at one of the circuit’s nine Masters events – considered as the most prestigious titles on the ATP tour after the four Grand Slam evnts in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York.

“I played with my heart,” Humbert added nearly an hour after the victory at the Accor Arena in Bercy, south-eastern Paris.

“The crowd pushed me and gave me a second wind at the start of the third set.”

Sunday’s showdown will be the third meeting between pair. Humbert won their first encounter on the grass in Germany at Halle in 2021.

Confidence

Zverev avenged the defeat last year in the second round at the Paris Masters.

“The tennis was at a good level in that match,” Humbert recalled of the clash.

“Even though I lost, I gained a lot of confidence and I realised that I was not that far off the level of one of the big stars of the circuit.”

Zverev, who lost in the final at the French Open in June, was too solid for the 2022 champion Holger Rune in their semi-final on Saturday afternoon.

The 27-year-old German controlled the first set after breaking the Dane in the fourth game.

In the second, he took Rune’s service to lead 5-4 with his serve to follow. But Zverev fluffed his chance to wrap up the match. 

In the tiebreaker at 6-6, Zverev reasserted his authority claiming the shootout seven points to four.

“I feel like I made it a little difficult for myself,” Zverev admitted after the match.

“But Holger is a champion. The Paris Masters is probably his favourite tournament and favourite court so I am happy to be in my second final here, I am looking forward to it.”

“This guy is going to win,” screams the man. He is wearing a black baseball cap with the inscription: “Trump 2024 – Make America Great Again.” Loud rock music blasts from a loudspeaker in his backpack. He is carrying a Trump-lookalike puppet, wearing a read cap and a shirt with “45” and “47” pointing at Trump being the 45th US President, and, so he hopes, the 47th as well.

But it won’t be without a fight, says the Trump-fan, who does not give his name. He stands out in the cheerful Halloween crowd of witches, pirates, Darth Vaders and zombies that populate the streets of central Philadelphia.

“They’re gonna play with us. There’s gonna be a cyber attack. The internet may go down. It’s bad.”

But the passers-by in this predominantly Democrat-voting stronghold hardly pay attention to him.

Most of them probably don’t care. Pennsylvania was one of the US states where early voting was encouraged.

Swing states

According to CBS news, as many as 65 million Americans had voted before 31 October – five days ahead of Election Day.

An array of opinion polls show Trump and Harris running neck and neck, with the outcome hinging on who manages to win across the seven “swing states”.

“People become obsessed with these polls,” warns J. Wesley Leckrone, a political scientist with Widener University located south of Philadelphia. “It is almost like a sporting event,” he told RFI. “We treat elections like sporting events nowadays.”

But he added that leading news organisations have “polling trackers” which give a summary of sometimes dozens of surveys by different opinion polling stations. “It gives an idea what the general trend is within a state.”

In Pennsylvania, one of the seven “swing states,” where any prediction about a winner is too close to call, the combined polling surveys indicate that Trump surpassed Harris in the last couple of days and leads now with 47.9 percent against Harris with 47.7 percent.

“We’ve seen this over the last month,” says Leckrone, who calls Pennsylvania probably the most important “swing state”.

“It is pretty much a dead heat,” he says. The red and blue lines on the polling charts represent the massive divide in US society.

The increasing polarisation in US politics worries political scientists. “We have a ‘duopoly,’” says Leckrone.

Different from European countries where elections can result in coalition governments with sometimes up to four different parties, the two major US parties have set the rules of the game, leaving no place to third players, who sometimes try, but always fail, to gain a solid foothold in the political arena.

According to Daniel Hopkins, chair of the political science department of the University of Pennsylvania, the two parties have dominated the landscape since 1870.

“Those two parties are moving apart from each other to try and satisfy their core base voters especially today when Republicans and Democrats really disagree on a whole lot of issues,” he explains.

Traditionally, the most contentious issue, he says, was the racial divide and how to deal with it.

“In the 1950s and 1960s, the south went through an arduous process of desegregation. And while, on paper, equal rights were granted to everybody, significant divisions remained.

“Today issues on race are just part of a growing gap of opposing opinions about same-sex marriage, firearms and immigration.”

• Abortion debate puts women voters at the centre of US election race

Divisive media

Meanwhile, voters who already decided their camp seem to be stuck in their own universe.

Democrats watch MSNBC and CNN and read the New York Times, while Republicans stick to Fox News, read the New York Post and listen to Talk Radio and right-wing influencer Tucker Carlson.

“The media reflect such a divided society,” says Leckrone. “Politics in many ways has become a form of entertainment.

“So I pick the news channels that I watch on the basis of what my ideology is. People want to hear things that confirm their own, personal bias, they are watching the news to confirm the things that they already have beliefs about,” he adds.

On Friday, both Trump and Harris campaigned in Milwaukee, the most populous city of another “swing state”, Wisconsin.

Trump held a rally at the same venue where he celebrated the Republican Party nomination over the summer, delivering a triumphant acceptance speech just days after the 78-year-old had narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

And as the battle reaches its final days, Trump has stepped up his provocative attacks on Harris in a bid to draw more voters to the ballot boxes.

On Thursday, at an event with Tucker Carlson – fired by Fox News in ….. for his extreme opinions, Trump called Harris, a “sleaze bag” and Biden a “stupid bastard,” while claiming, that polls are already being rigged in the biggest swing state Pennsylvania.

He reserved his harshest attacks for Liz Cheney, daughter of the former Vice-President under Republican President George W. Bush, Dick Cheney. She is one of the rare Republicans who is openly critical of Trump.

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face,” Trump said.

Cheney responded. “This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death.”

“Election-related violence”

While rhetoric is reaching a boiling point, Michael Wahid Hanna, the US program director for the Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group said: “Warnings that Trump could again foment election-related violence are not idle speculation.

“It remains possible that Trump will encourage supporters to sow chaos around vote counting and certification processes, thus attempting to call the results into question and create a pretext for extraordinary procedures to resolve a disputed election in his favour.”

In anticipation of potential unrest over the upcoming elections, some businesses and offices in downtown Washington have boarded up windows.

The capital witnessed violence four years ago when then-president Trump whipped up a crowd of supporters who stormed Congress in an attempt to halt certification of Biden’s victory.

• Trump tells Capitol storming mob of supporters to go home peacefully

According to the New York Times, five people died during the 6 January 2022 Capitol Hill siege, an officer was beaten, a rioter was shot, and three others died of heart failure.

Around the streets of economically depressed North Philadelphia, such savagery has become routine fare, says Jessica Beard, a gun trauma surgeon at Temple University Hospital which takes in the largest number of shot wound cases in Pennsylvania.

“We’re not on extra alert for the next few days,” she says. “Violence and shootings are common around our hospital. It’s sad to say, but because of gun violence, American trauma centres are always prepared for mass casualty events.”

The report, released this week by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, exposes the alarming scale of sexual violence gripping Sudan’s 18-month-old conflict.

Abductions for sexual slavery have reportedly become common, with victims ranging from girls as young as eight to elderly women.

“There is no safe place in Sudan now,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the mission, highlighting the pervasive insecurity that has swept the country since the conflict erupted in April 2023.

Sudan’s army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been locked in a bitter struggle with the RSF, commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The violence has created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with more than 25 million people – over half of Sudan’s population – facing acute hunger.

War crimes and atrocities

The UN investigation accuses both the Sudanese Army and RSF of severe human rights abuses, including acts that qualify as war crimes.

While both factions are charged with torture and blocking humanitarian aid, the RSF is mainly responsible for documented cases of sexual violence.

Allegations include gang rapes, sexual slavery and child recruitment, with brutal methods involving firearms, knives and whips.

Some attacks reportedly take place in front of victims’ families, underscoring the violence’s intent to terrorise civilians and crush opposition.

Othman, a former Tanzanian chief justice, called the scale of violence “staggering”, noting the systematic use of terror, especially in Darfur.

• UN mission calls for peacekeeping force in Sudan, suspects war crimes
• Sudan rejects UN’s call for ‘impartial’ force to protect civilians

Millions displaced

UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned this week that worsening violence in eastern al-Jazira state risks further atrocities.

Turk’s office has documented at least 25 cases of sexual violence during RSF raids on villages south of Khartoum, including the death of an 11-year-old girl and the abductions of women and girls.

The UN migration agency reported that over 11 million people are now internally displaced, with another three million having fled to neighbouring countries.

Amy Pope, head of the agency, described the situation as “catastrophic” and one of the most neglected globally, adding that funding shortages are hampering relief efforts.

“What was useful for me was learning how duties are divided between local councillors and mayors,” says Marie Rosalie Rahelisoa, who is seeking a seat on the city council in Morondava, on Madagascar’s west coast, when the country votes on 11 December.

She is one of 60 women who completed a recent training course in the capital, Antananarivo, organised by the National Women’s Council of Madagascar (CNFM).

Held over two days last week, it aimed to give participants – all candidates in the approaching elections – a grounding in electoral regulations, the roles of different public officials, campaign management, political communication and leadership.

“It gave me extra skills,” Rahelisoa told RFI.

Like many of the trainees, Lala Rasanjison – standing for mayor in the central city of Antsirabe – is a relative newcomer to politics.

“It’s my first time running for mayor,” she said. “You have to know what you’re getting into.”

Sierra Leone passes gender law reserving 30 percent of jobs for women

Gender gap

Like many countries, Madagascar has a long-standing gender gap when it comes to politics.

Just 26 of the country’s 163 members of parliament are women – the equivalent of 16 percent – down from an all-time high of 64 in 2011.

No seats are reserved for female MPs, nor is there a quota obliging parties to field a minimum percentage of women candidates – measures that several other countries in Africa have introduced in a bid to boost participation.

Podcast: Is Africa leading on women’s representation in parliament?

In Madagascar’s local elections, women make up 6 percent of candidates topping municipal lists, around 320 out of a total of nearly 5,400. 

“In Malagasy society, women’s place has always been considered inferior to men’s,” according to Estelle Andriamasy, president of women’s council CNFM.

“There isn’t really this culture of equality in the community. Decisions belong to men.”

While society continues to pressure women to stay out of public life, Andriamasy says, the belief that their place is at home ends up “somehow ingrained in women’s mentalities”.

The ultimate purpose of the CNFM’s politics training is to counteract such ideas and give female candidates the confidence to seek office, she explains.

Trainee Rahelisoa has taken the lesson on board. “The country’s future depends on us,” she told RFI. 

“We women have to feel responsible and take an active part in public life if we’re to make a difference.” 

This story is adapted from the original reported in French by RFI correspondent Guilhem Fabry.

With the help of artificial intelligence, cameras could detect other traffic offences including using a phone at the wheel, not wearing a seat belt or driving too close to another vehicle. 

The new government’s draft budget, now being debated in parliament, proposes equipping “several hundred” cameras to spot such violations.

It comes as part of a broader plan to maintain and modernise France’s roughly 4,000 traffic cameras, at a proposed cost of some 46 million euros.

Most of those in operation now are only capable of catching out drivers who speed or go through red lights – though the most advanced can also distinguish between vehicles or count the number of passengers to check that drivers aren’t misusing lanes reserved for car-sharing, for instance. 

What’s in France’s belt-tightening budget and can it win support?

Fines of €135

Each of the extra offences that could be automatically detected carries a 135-euro fine, as well as the deduction of three points from the driver’s licence.

Drivers’ association 40 Million Motorists denounced the move as a cash grab. 

“These new speed cameras aren’t really about road safety, they’re just about making money,” it said in a statement, arguing that trusting machines to identify offences risked resulting in wrongful fines for law-abiding drivers. 

Traffic penalties brought just over 2 billion euros into the government’s coffers last year, an increase of 7 percent compared to the year before.

Nearly 750 million euros of that came from violations picked up by cameras, according to France’s court of auditors, up from 707 million in 2022.

Recent changes in the law have made it easier for local officials to add new traffic cameras on their roads.

France has also opted to extend the use of AI-driven video surveillance introduced for the Paris Olympics, raising concerns that more and more public space will be subject to automatic monitoring.

Privacy fears grow as France extends AI surveillance beyond Olympics

The teenager, who has not been named, was hit in the head on Thursday night during a shootout linked to control for drug trafficking networks.

Four other youths aged 15 and 16, who were also shot in mass brawls involving up to 600 people in the city’s Les Couronneries district, were recovering from their injuries in hospital on Saturday.

“It started off with a shooting at a restaurant and it ended up with a clash between rival gangs which involved several hundred people,” French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told BFM TV.

Retailleau dispatched hundreds of extra police to the city on Friday after the violence.

He has vowed tougher action as part of an effort to undermine the rise of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party.

Fears

Concerns over delinquency and insecurity have been cited as reasons behind voters choosing Le Pen’s group which says it will do more than other parties to tackle crime.

Jean-Marie Girier, the top police commander for the Vienne region where Poitiers is located prefect, described the Les Couronneries quarter as the home of several major drug-dealing spots.

“What happens there means that police have to go in on a daily basis but it it remains relatively calm,” he said. “It’s not run by drug dealers, even if there can be tensions.”

On 26 October in Rennes, a five-year-old was hit by bullets in a spat between drugs gangs and is still in hospital.

“These shootings aren’t happening in South America, they’re happening here in France,” Retailleau told the French broadcaster RMC.

“We are at a tipping point and the choice we have today is between a general mobilisation against this kind of thing or the Mexicanisation of the country.”

Sanchez emerged from a crisis committee meeting with several top cabinet ministers to announce the move after updating the death toll from 205 to 211.

He said 5,000 soldiers as well as 5,000 police officers and civil guards would head to the east of the country after more than a year’s worth of rain fell during eight hours on Tuesday.

Rescuers say hopes of finding survivors are slim.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Friday told Cadena Ser radio station that it was reasonable to believe more fatalities would emerge.

Criticism

Authorities have come under fire over the adequacy of warning systems before the floods. Some residents have also complained that they have been left stranded.

“I am aware the response is not enough,” said Sanchez in a televised address to the nation. “There are problems and severe shortages. Towns have been buried by mud and people have been searching for relatives.

Authorities in Valencia have restricted access to roads for two days to give the emergency services unimpeded carriageways to carry out search, rescue and logistics operations more effectively.

Solidarity

Susana Camarero, deputy head of the Valencia region, said town council chiefs within the province had been overwhelmed by the amount of solidarity and offers of food they had received for survivors.

On Friday morning, Spanish football authorities said games taking place this weekend would publicise a Red Cross fundraising campaign over the public address systems.

“Spain’s professional football joins the condolences and expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims and the missing,” La Liga said in a statement.

Real Madrid, which came under fire for poor sportsmanship for boycotting the Ballon d’Or award ceremony in Paris on Monday night, announced it would offer one million euros to the Red Cross.

“Real Madrid has decided to support this campaign to help the many families who are in a critical situation and need all our help and solidarity,” Madrid said in a statement.

Effort

Games scheduled for the eastern region this weekend have been rescheduled including the clash between Valencia and Real Madrid after Valencia transformed their Mestalla stadium into a drop-off point for donations of food and other essential items.

At matches that do go ahead, fans will be asked to observe a minute’s silence before kick-off as a tribute to the dead and the victims, La Liga said.

On Friday afternoon, MotoGP supremos said they would cancel the season-ending race at the Valencia circuit and find another venue.

As riders prepared on Thursday for this weekend’s penultimate race in Malaysia, organisers initially insisted that the finale between 15 and 17 November in Valencia would proceed.

But after several riders – including the championship leader Jorge Martin – questioned the ethics of holding the event, MotoGP bosses altered their stance.

“We have been in constant contact with the local authorities and the circuit to best assess how we can help and how we should proceed,” said MotoGP in a statement.

“We have a responsibility to every region where we race that goes far beyond the sport and the events.

“In lieu of racing in Valencia, MotoGP will instead race for Valencia. The championship will put our collective efforts behind backing the relief funds already in place to ensure our positive impact can connect with the area in the way it best serves the people and communities we have been part of for so long.”

An updated Red List of Threatened Species published this week at the UN’s Cop16 biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, downgraded the hedgehog’s status from “least concern” to “near threatened”.

The next level on the list kept by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is “vulnerable,” then “endangered”.

The European hedgehog, expert Sophie Rasmussen told AFP, “is very close to being ‘vulnerable’, and it will likely go into that category the next time we evaluate it”.

Numbers of the tiny mammal have plunged by more than half in countries including Britain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.

The estimated decline was between 35 and 40 percent of populations measured in Britain, Sweden and Norway in the last decade or so, said Rasmussen, a researcher with the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

In the Netherlands, it is already considered endangered.

The main killer of hedgehogs is cars – which the animals encounter more and more as they lose their natural habitat to human expansion.

“Humans are the worst enemies of hedgehogs,” said Rasmussen.

Cote d’Ivoire has lost ‘nearly 80 percent of its forest and wildlife cover’

‘Hedgehog highways’

To protect itself from predators such as badgers, foxes and owls at night, the hedgehog uses the strategy of standing completely still as it assesses the threat.

If the menace approaches, it runs as far as its little legs can carry it. But if there is no time, it rolls up into a ball – protected by as many as 8,000 spines, sharp to the touch.

“In front of a car, it is not a really good strategy,” Rasmussen, who calls herself Dr Hedgehog and speaks with great passion about the spiky mammals, told AFP in a video interview from Lejre in Denmark.

Other threats include pesticides used by farmers and gardeners, and a decline in the insects that make up a large part of the hedgehog’s diet.

Hedgehogs generally live for about two years, though some as old as nine or 12 have been documented.

They can start breeding from around 12 months of age, usually giving birth to three or five hoglets at a time.

“This means that many hedgehogs get to breed once, or twice perhaps if they’re lucky, on average before they die,” said Rasmussen – just enough “to keep the population going at some level.”

Soon, this may not be enough.

Zoologist Jane Goodall warns: ‘The world is a mess’ ahead of COP16

Rasmussen, whose research went into the Red List update, said the fight to save hedgehogs “is actually going to take place in people’s gardens” as forests and other wild areas are torn down.

She suggested people build “hedgehog highways” – basically a CD-sized hole in the outer fence to allow the animals to get in off the road, with bowls of water and nesting materials such as garden waste placed inside.

“The best thing you can do is to let your garden grow wild to attract … all the natural food items of the hedgehog” such as insects, worms, snails and slugs,” said Rasmussen.

She concedes: “It’s not like the world is going to end tomorrow if the hedgehogs are not there.”

However, “for a species so popular and so loved, can we really accept the fact that we are causing their extinction?

“And if we let it get so bad with a species we actually really care about, what about all the species we don’t care about?”

The new, updated Red List has evaluated 166,061 species of plants and animals in all, of which 46,337 – more than a quarter – are threatened with extinction.

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.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

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

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our 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 30 September, Marine Le Pen – the leader of the French far-right party the National Rally – along with her father and 25 colleagues went on trial over alleged misappropriation of European funds.

They’re accused of using European parliamentary funds to pay for assistants, who actually worked for her National Rally party, formerly called the National Front, rather than on European affairs.

If found guilty, Le Pen could face a maximum of ten years behind bars and a 1 million euro fine – and a possible five-year ban on standing for public office. 

You were to re-read our article “French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on trial for misuse of EU funds”, and send in the answer to this question: How many euros has the European Union Parliament estimated that Le Pen and her colleagues in the National Rally party allegedly embezzled?

The answer is, to quote our article: “The EU Parliament estimated in 2018 that 6.8 million euros had been embezzled. Marine Le Pen has always denied any wrongdoing.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Can you remember the first time you received new clothes from your parents?”, which was suggested by Ratna Shanta Shammi from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

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

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

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Hasina Zaman Hasi, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State, Nigeria, as well as Sakawat Hossain from Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Bidhan Chandra Sanyal from West Bengal, India. 

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Hadouk” by D. Malherbe and L. Ehrlich, played by Kosinus; “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, performed by the composer; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “We Swing (The Cypher)” by Jean Baylor, Marcus Baylor, Eric Scott Reed, Keith Loftis, and Dezron Douglas, performed by The Baylor Project.

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-listen to Melissa Chemam’s 18 October Spotlight on Africa podcast, “Ghana grapples with crisis caused by world’s throwaway fashion”, or re-read her article of the same name, both of which will help you with the answer.

You have until 25 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 December podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

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France

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.   

More than 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing extremely critical levels of hunger, according to the UN. Seventy percent of crop fields and livelihoods have been destroyed during the Israeli military offensive.

The war, which has claimed 42,000 lives in Gaza and left hundreds of thousands wounded, has also spread to the West Bank and Lebanon. Civilians as well as UN peacekeepers have been targeted by Israel’s forces.

“I used the word ‘catastrophe’ for the first time back in October 2023,” Albanese told RFI, “when Israel had killed 8,000, 6,000 people in the first weeks of the conflict and destroyed entire neighbourhoods, bakeries, churches, and targeted UN buildings and universities.

“This is not the way wars are conducted.”

Albanese was speaking as she prepared to launch her latest report on the situation in Gaza and the other Palestinian territories, which she presented to the UN General Assembly earlier this week.

In it, she takes a long view of the current conflict, arguing that Israel’s military actions form part of a systematic attempt to displace Palestinians that goes back decades – and which she calls a genocide.

“Israel occupies that land, according to the International Court of Justice, unlawfully,” Albanese said. 

“So Israel unlawfully occupies a territory, oppressing its people, who of course retaliate. Then they wage a war against them. It doesn’t work that way.”

Hamas attack, one year on – a view from Gaza

‘Emptying the land’

Albanese acknowledges the deadly violence inflicted on Israelis by the attacks of 7 October last year, and she has advocated for the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed against civilians by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

But she warns that the trauma of 7 October has deepened Israeli animosity towards Palestinians and spurred calls for vengeance, providing the government with an opportunity to escalate its actions in the occupied territories with the goal of making them unliveable.

“As we speak, Israel is running extermination raids neighbourhood per neighbourhood in the areas that were already forcibly evacuated, ethnically cleansed of nearly 1 million people in northern Gaza,” Albanese told RFI.

“Only 400,000 people remained, who have been starved, abused and bombed. What the people in Gaza have gone through is really unspeakable, and now it is emptying the land completely.”

Hamas attack, one year on – a view from Israel

Israel and UN at odds

The war has brought Israel’s already tense relations with the United Nations to a low point, with the Israeli parliament this week approving a controversial bill to ban the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA – considered a lifeline for Gaza – from operating on Israeli territory.

Israel claims many of the agency’s staff belong to Hamas or other terrorist groups, and accused some of them of involvement in the 7 October attacks.

The UN says it investigated the allegations and identified problems with neutrality, but no proof of terror links. It warns that restricting UNRWA will have a devastating effect on aid supply chains into Gaza.

More broadly, UN leaders have called for a ceasefire and denounced starvation, mass displacements, atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Albanese has proved an especially controversial figure, calling for the UN to consider suspending Israel as a member state over its actions. 

Her stance has drawn accusations of bias and antisemitism from Israel’s allies, notably the United States, which cancelled a briefing she was due to give the US Congress this week.

Washington and others argue that Israel has the right to defend itself – though Albanese questions whether its military operations are truly making it safer.

“Is it protection?” she asked. “How is what Israel is doing going to make its citizens protected? This is the question. And the blindness at the political level is mind-blowing.”

Azerbaijan’s role as host marks the second consecutive year a country heavily reliant on fossil fuels will hold the world’s most prominent climate talks.

According to a report published by Transparency International and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective, Azerbaijan’s fossil fuel interests, entrenched levels of corruption and autocratic government put the UN-led climate process at risk.

The report emphasised that this risk isn’t unique to Azerbaijan, citing past and future Cop hosts with similarly strong fossil fuel ties.

“This report finds that in its current form, Cop – as the main global forum for setting the climate policy agenda – is at risk of being undermined by undue corporate influence and fossil fuel industry capture,” the report said.

“Corruption and kleptocracy, too, threaten the integrity of climate conferences, including the upcoming Cop29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.”

Azerbaijan under scrutiny

Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic bordering Russia and Iran, has faced criticism over its Cop29 hosting rights.

Last week, the European Parliament condemned Azerbaijan’s human rights abuses, calling them “incompatible” with the summit.

In October, dozens of US lawmakers demanded the release of political prisoners ahead of the climate talks in Baku, where President Ilham Aliyev has ruled since 2003.

Azerbaijan’s plans to increase fossil fuel production also challenge the global transition away from oil and gas set out in Cop28 in Dubai.

Aliyev has publicly called the nation’s gas reserves a “gift of the gods”.

• Azerbaijan names former oil executive to head Cop29 climate talks
• Cop28 draft climate deal drops mention of fossil fuel ‘phase-out’

‘Fossil fuel diplomacy’

Cop29 president Mukhtar Babayev, a former executive of Azerbaijan’s national oil company SOCAR, has come under scrutiny, with the report alleging that SOCAR officials may be using the conference to negotiate oil and gas deals.

The watchdogs noted that COP29 risks becoming “another forum for fossil fuel diplomacy and dealmaking”.

The United Arab Emirates, which hosted COP28 in November 2023, faced similar accusations, with the summit president also director of the Emirates national oil company ADNOC.

Azerbaijan, alongside the UAE and Brazil – the next Cop host – forms a “troika” promoting climate action, yet all three countries are moving ahead with new oil and gas ventures.

The report argued that “some members of this troika can use Cop events as diplomatic showcases to support their domestic oil industries, sign new fossil fuel deals and sanitise their records of human rights abuses and environmental harms”.

It also raised concerns that certain members of the Cop29 organising team have been implicated in “high-profile corruption scandals” and that the event may be used to promote companies linked to Azerbaijan’s ruling family.

The Self-Determination Act was passed in the German parliament in April.

It allows over-18s to change official records to reflect their preferred names and genders without the need for psychiatric assessments or court hearings.

Under the legislation, anyone aged between 14 and 18 can ask for the changes to be made at a registry office with the agreement of their parents or legal representatives. In cases where there is a dispute, the applicant can seek legal help.

For children under 14, guardians would need to submit the paperwork.

No medical certificates or outside opinions will be required. The applicant can choose from several gender markers – male, female or “diverse” – or opt not to enter a gender at all.

“As populist politicians in Europe and beyond try to use trans rights as a political wedge issue, Germany’s new law sends a strong message that trans people exist and deserve recognition and protection without discrimination,” commented Cristian Gonzalez Cabrera, an LGBTQ+ rights researcher at campaign group Human Rights Watch, when the law was passed.

“Germany has joined a growing list of countries that are abolishing pathologising requirements for gender recognition which have no place in diverse and democratic societies.”

Thousands of applications

From 1 November, there will be a three-month wait between applying for the new status and making a personal declaration.

More than 1,200 people in the capital Berlin have already submitted applications, according to German press agency DPA, while thousands more are expected to do so nationwide.

Under Germany’s 1980 Transsexuals Law, medical reports and court approval were needed before someone could change their gender entry in official documents.

In 2017, a report for Germany’s Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, highlighted the cumbersome procedures.

Applicants said that to secure the necessary approvals, they had to provide details from their childhood and their sexual past. Some said they had to undergo physical examinations.

The ministry found that the legal steps could take up to 20 months to negotiate and cost an average of 1,900 euros.

Gay marriage brought equality to France while giving rise to homophobia

Polarising issue

Nearly eight years after those findings, the Self-Determination Act will radically simplify bureaucracy.

It comes into effect as activists warn of an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ violence in Germany. The interior minister said in June 2023 that police registered more than 1,400 such hate crimes during 2022.

Gay and transgender rights have become a polarising topic in Germany, where a centre-left government took over in 2021 with a vow to promote inclusion.

The alliance of Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats included the change to the gender recognition law in their coalition treaty.

The move was opposed by the largest opposition bloc, the Christian Democrats and Christian Socialist Union, as well as the far-right Alternative for Germany.

The reform was ultimately passed after a heated debate that resulted in various restrictions being added to the original bill.

The negative arguments made by opponents of the change have since contributed to the stigmatisation and harassment of trans people, activists told public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. 

HRW’s Gonzalez said: “German authorities should continue to push for full equality to eliminate acts of anti-LGBT violence in Germany and to promote anti-LGBT legislation overseas.”

Protesters in Bulgaria slam bill to ban LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’ in schools

Between midnight and 3am, French-ruled Algeria was shaken by around 70 coordinated attacks, leaving 10 settlers dead. French authorities were caught off guard and initially dismissed the assaults as a “tribal uprising”, possibly “fomented in Cairo” by Pan-Arabist movements.

The next day, the FLN issued a manifesto, the “Proclamation of 1 November”, urging local Muslim Algerians to join an armed resistance.

The events, later known in France as the Toussaint Rouge (Red All Saints Day), revealed an organised and determined movement among Algeria’s indigenous population to end colonial rule.

At first, French political leaders and media downplayed the seriousness of the FLN threat.

Roots of anger

The conflict, now recognised as the Algerian War – a term only formally adopted in 1999 – stemmed from decades of growing grievances among Algerians.

French settlers, or pieds-noirs, held the exclusive label “Algerians” for themselves, while indigenous Algerians were sidelined.

Many Muslim Algerians had fought for France in both world wars, expecting equality in return, but their calls went unanswered.

Historians have shown that the roots of Algerian anger date back to France’s conquest of the country in 1830, which met immediate resistance from leaders like Emir Abdelkader.

By the 1930s a rising Muslim population faced extreme poverty, low wages and limited political power, according to French historian Bernard Droz. One European’s vote counted for as many as 10 Muslim votes under the 1947 status.

France and Algeria revisit painful past in battle to mend colonial wounds

Initially, Algerian leaders sought assimilation.

Figures like Ferhat Abbas, a moderate nationalist, called for autonomy under French oversight. But efforts to grant citizenship to some Muslims, like the 1937 Blum-Violette bill, were blocked.

The defeat of France in 1940 and the impotence of the Vichy state in the face of Nazi Germany encouraged Algerians to demand stronger nationalism, historian Charles-Robert Ageron wrote.

In May 1945, expectations for equal treatment boiled over. During a celebration of the Allied victory, a peaceful protest in Sétif escalated into deadly riots after police intervention.

As protests spread to the countryside, European militias joined in a brutal crackdown. Some historians estimate up to 45,000 indigenous Algerians were killed.

By 1946, widespread electoral fraud convinced Muslim activists that the ballot box was a dead end.

Leaders like Messali Hadj gained popularity with the Algerian People’s Party, which promoted the slogan: “Neither assimilation nor separation, but emancipation.”

National liberation day

While 1 November 1954 became known in France as “Red All Saints Day”, for indigenous Algerians it symbolised the start of their liberation war.

The FLN demanded “the restoration of the Algerian state, sovereign, democratic and social, within the principles of Islam”.

Yet France saw Algeria as an integral part of its territory – “Algeria is France!” said then interior minister François Mitterrand, who chose to increase repression.

Among the first casualties on 1 November were two French Algerians, four soldiers, a police officer, a forest ranger, a pro-colonisation Algerian and a young teacher killed by mistake.

The war that followed was brutal, with massacres on both sides.

The French army, supported by Muslim Algerian Harkis who sided with the colonisers, employed extreme measures, including torture under the guise of government authority.

The conflict would drag on until 1962, resulting in more than a million deaths among both the colonisers and the colonised.

60th anniversary of the Evian peace accords between France and Algeria

The Evian Accords on 18 March 1962 established a ceasefire, bringing an end to 132 years of French rule over Algeria.

However, the trauma of the war has continuously strained ties between the two countries with disputes around archives, immigration policies and political disagreements. 

In July, Algeria recalled its ambassador from Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron openly supported Morocco in a dispute over the territory of Western Sahara.

Seventy years after the Toussaint Rouge, the legacy of the Algerian War endures, with debates around access to archives and historical accountability.

Historians are still working to unravel the complexities of a conflict that cast a long shadow over both nations.

Amid murmurs that the talks may drag into an extra day, summit president Susana Muhamad said Friday’s programmed closing session promised to be “heart-stopping” given the number of unresolved issues.

“It’s a very complex negotiation, with many interests, many parties… and that means everyone has to cede something,” Muhamad, who is Colombia’s environment minister, told reporters Thursday.

With some 23,000 registered delegates, the 16th Conference of Parties (Cop16) to the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which opened in Cali on October 21, is the biggest meeting of its kind ever.

The event is a follow-up to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon in Canada two years ago, where it was decided that $200 billion per year must be made available for biodiversity by 2030.

This must include $20 billion per year going from rich to poor nations to reach 23 UN targets to “halt and reverse” nature destruction by 2030, and by placing 30 percent of land and sea areas under protection.

COP16 was tasked with assessing, and ramping up, progress towards the targets.

But negotiations on funding mechanisms have failed to progress, observers and delegates say, even as new research this week showed more than a quarter of assessed plants and animals are at risk of extinction.

‘Chance to act’

Developing countries have called for more money.

They also want a brand new fund under the umbrella of the UN biodiversity convention, where all parties – rich and poor – would have representation in decision-making.

Rich countries insist they are on track to meet their funding targets, and many are opposed to yet another new fund.

European officials pointed Thursday to deadly flooding in Spain as a reminder of the harm that comes from humans’ destruction of nature, and urged delegates at the deadlocked talks to “act.”

European Commission envoy Florika Fink-Hooijer said the “catastrophe” in eastern and southern Spain this week, with at least 158 people dead and dozens still missing, highlights the link between biodiversity destruction and human-caused climate change.

Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks

Droughts and flooding worsened by global warming cause the loss of plant species, including trees which absorb planet-warming carbon, in a vicious cycle of human-wrought Earth destruction.

“If we act on biodiversity, we at least can buffer some of the climate impacts,” Fink-Hooijer, who is the European Commission director-general for environment, told reporters.

“At this Cop we really have a chance to act,” she added.

‘Clock is ticking’

Another point of contention among delegates is on how best to share the profits of digitally sequenced genetic data taken from animals and plants with the communities they come from.

Such data, much of it from species found in poor countries, is notably used in medicines and cosmetics that make their developers billions.

Cop15 had agreed on the creation of a “multilateral mechanism” for benefit-sharing of digital information, “including a global fund.”

Window to save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is closing fast, report warns

But negotiators still need to resolve such basic questions as who pays, how much, into which fund, and to whom the money should go.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, who stopped over in Cali for two days this week with five heads of state and dozens of government ministers to add impetus to the talks, reminded delegates Wednesday that humanity has already altered three-quarters of Earth’s land surface, and two-thirds of its waters.

Urging negotiators to “accelerate” progress, he warned: “The clock is ticking. The survival of our planet’s biodiversity – and our own survival – are on the line.”

Representatives of Indigenous peoples and local communities held demonstrations at COP16 to press for more rights and protections, as delegates inside wrangled over a proposal to create a permanent representative body for them under the CBD.

On this, too, no final agreement has been reached.

Cop16 parties voted Thursday to have Armenia as the host for their next summit in 2026.

While studies may warn of the dangers of screens for young people, digital engagement later in life appears to be rather beneficial.

Last week, Paris hosted a national e-bowling final for competitors aged 65 and older, highlighting the strength and drive of senior players.

Organised by French organisation Silver Geek during Paris Games Week, the event aimed to improve seniors’ health and well-being while bridging the digital divide.

The tournament, which has gained popularity among the elderly, culminated in a showdown featuring four finalists.

Mental boost

Among the competitors was 90-year-old Sarah – the doyenne of the event – and 86-year-old Armande Guérin, a semi-finalist.

“It keeps our minds occupied and we get a taste for it. It’s better than going home and just sitting on the couch,” Armande told RFI.

She and her husband were introduced to e-sports by even coordinators at the canteen where they have lunch in Nantes, western France.

The couple has been e-bowling for three years. They practice twice a week on a console, for about an hour each time, in their living room. They also play with other participants.

“It allows us to meet people and not be alone,” says Armande.

As the e-bowling community grows, events like the “Trophée des Seniors” show the benefits of staying active.

‘A time bomb for kids’: a French photographer’s exploration of screen culture

“It helps with posture, balance and brings people together,” said Lise, a coordinator at Domitys Coeur de Loire, a retirement residence in Tours.

The activity boosts self-confidence for many seniors, who are often surprised by their own abilities.

At 81, 77, and 90 years old, several participants said they never thought they’d be able to play video games but now find it both entertaining and mentally stimulating.

Lise noted that while younger generations grew up with digital technology, older players embrace it as a fresh way to stay engaged: “It stimulates them, and they really enjoy it.”

Unlike some younger players who struggle with screen time, these seniors find themselves “addicted to competition”.

In an intergenerational twist, e-bowling pairs seniors with young coaches.

“We teach them to play [on the Nintendo Switch], to position themselves, understand the game, and connect with an audience,” said Faustine, a 19-year-old coach in civic service with Unis-Cité in Toulon.

“It’s about sharing, laughing and having an amazing time.”

A 2024 survey by the French Leisure Software Publishers Association (Sell) shows that 43 percent of French seniors now play video games – around 4.7 million people, or 12 percent of all gamers.

Their average age is 69, and they spend nearly five hours a week playing.

Together with police, Paris city hall launched investigations two years ago to discover how long the 2.1 million people who live in the capital could go without vital supplies.

In a study published this week, urbanism experts at the Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme (Apur) found the city would could last a week at the most – slightly longer, in fact, than previously estimated.

“Supply disruption had been identified as a major risk, but the authorities had no reliable data on food resilience,” Pénélope Komites, deputy mayor in charge of resilience, told French news agency AFP after the publication of Apur’s analysis on Tuesday.

“We were talking about three days’ self-sufficiency without knowing where this figure came from. Knowing that it is between five and seven days is a bit more reassuring,” she said.

Emergency food stores

Apur estimates that with an average of 1.45 kg of food eaten per person per day, 3,090 tonnes of food are needed to feed the 2,146,000 residents of Paris and provide 6.5 million meals a day.

Its survey first looked at where food is stored in normal times. Researchers found three main places: household cupboards (containing between 36 hours and five days of reserves on average), shops and community catering (two days of reserves) and food logistics warehouses (also two days).

The study suggests establishing basement storage spaces around the city. Land and depots such as warehouses, car parks and exhibition centres should also be designated to store more foodstuffs, it says.

The study equally highlights another significant problem: 95 percent of foodstuffs arrive in Paris by truck. It suggests increasing the use of the river and railways to bring in supplies in an emergency.

The report adds: “The aim of these measures is to ensure the security of the food supply, particularly for resident populations in the event of a one-off crisis that disrupts or slows down the supply chain.”

How France is cooking up ways to turn the tables on food waste

Hundred-day goal

City officials are also weighing the feasibility of creating a second wholesale food market in the north of the city to complement the massive Rungis market on its south-eastern fringes. 

In 2022, Paris city chiefs published an action plan to counter a range of problems likely to be faced in the coming decade, including “social, economic, territorial and cultural divides, geopolitical tensions, climate disruption [and] dwindling natural resources”.

“Faced with the challenges of the 21st century, Paris is demonstrating its resilience,” the strategy says. “Resilience means putting in place solutions to better anticipate and overcome any crises that may arise.”

As part of that goal, they want the capital’s population to be able to hold out for 100 days in the event of an emergency.

France could meet climate goals if meat consumption is ‘halved’

“I wish to congratulate the opposition on their victory and concede the election,” the 63-year-old told reporters at a press conference.

Preliminary results from Wednesday’s poll showed three opposition parties had together amassed at least 31 of 61 seats in the national legislature.

The Independent Electoral Commission is expected laer on Friday to confirm the results which will terminate the BDF’s rule over the country since its independence from Britain in 1966.

More than one million people from a population of 2.6 million were registered to vote on Wednesday. Main concerns highlighted in the prelude to the poll ranged from unemployment to mismanagement in Masisi’s first term.

“Opposition parties have garnered more than half of the parliamentary seats,” the independent Mmegi newspaper wrote on Facebook.

“This means ruling Botswana Democratic Party has now officially lost state power.”

Change

The left-leaning opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) had already secured more than 24 seats, party official Mike Keakopa told the French news agency AFP.

He said it was aiming to reach 31 seats to become the outright winner and hand the presidency to its leader Duma Boko.

The two other opposition parties, the Botswana Congress Party and Botswana Patriotic Front, had taken around a dozen seats together.

“Botswana’s new dawn as Boko, UDC rise,” Mmegi said in a version of its front page posted on Facebook. 

The UDC swept a separate ballot at Wednesday’s polls for the local councils in what was seen as an indication of the trend for the national vote.

Boko, 54, a human rights lawyer, created the UDC in 2012 to unite parties against the BDP. It is the third time that he has run for the presidency.

“CHANGE IS HERE,” he wrote on social media as his party’s strong showing became clear.

There have also been allegations of corruption and nepotism during the reigh on Masisi’s government. The gap between the rich and poor is one of the largest in the world, according to the World Bank.

“The people in the country are clamouring for change, they are yearning for something refreshingly different,” Boko said in an interview in July with the South African channel ENCA .

“We are expecting more from this new Botswana,” said cleaner, Pelontle Ditshotlo.

The BDP had not delivered on its promises and the cost of living was too high, added the 41-year-old.

“When you are in parliament, we need to know that you listen to us, you are with us.”

October and November are set to host a series of events celebrating African art across the continent, in Europe and even farther afield.

Spotlight on Africa dives into perspectives from diverse African cultures, focusing on the voices and visions of the diaspora.

RFI journalists Ollia Horton and Melissa Chemam take us to the heart of two major art fairs: Paris’s Also Known As Africa (AKAA) and London’s 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Listeners will hear from Victoria Mann, founder and director of AKAA, and artist Christelle Clairville, whose work brings Caribbean influences to the dialogue around African identity.

French-Belgo-Congolese artist Tiffanie Delune, exhibiting in London, shares her journey through the art world.

Curators Grada Kilomba and Helio Menezes weigh in from the Sao Paulo Biennial in Brazil. Meanwhile, ahead of the Dakar Biennale, French-Algerian artist Dalila Dalleas Bouzar discusses her preparation and the importance of the event to her work.

Episode mixed by Hadrien Touraud and Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Earlier this month, the French government notified the European Commission and six neighbouring states – Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain – that it would reintroduce border checks on land, air and sea routes from 1 November until at least April 2025.

It cited “serious threats to public policy, public order, and internal security posed by high-level terrorist activities, the growing presence of criminal networks facilitating irregular migration and smuggling, and migration flows that risk infiltration by radicalised individuals, as well as the irregular crossings on the Channel and North Sea borders, along with rising violence among migrants”.

The decision came as a surprise to many who have grown accustomed to free movement within the European Union’s so-called Schengen Zone.

Concerns are also being voiced about the practical implications of bringing back police checks, raising the spectre of delays at checkpoints and a potential backlog of cross-border travellers.

Widespread controls

While France has reinstated border checks several times since the creation of the Schengen Zone in 1995, such measures have typically been limited to specific routes.

The decision to apply them to all of its borders marks the most widespread resumption of controls to date.

Announcing the move on social media, France’s conservative new Prime Minister Michel Barnier said that the public “expects us to have an effective policy to control immigration”.

But rights organisations complain that France has repeatedly violated EU law by applying certain internal border controls since 2015, despite the Schengen Borders Code that says such controls should not exceed six months without “a new serious threat to public order”.

They also believe the EU is allowing France to continue its “misuse” of border controls under the guise of security, the justification Paris has given for retightening its borders several times since the 2015 terror attacks.

EU countries tighten border checks amid security and migration fears

Following Germany’s lead

France’s decision mirrors action taken by Germany to bolster border security earlier this year.

Saying it wanted to crack down on irregular migration, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government announced on 16 September the restoration of temporary controls on all land borders.

Since then vehicles have still continued to cross borders relatively freely, with random spot checks or targeted inspections.

Travellers have also been reminded to carry valid identification, such as a national identity card or EU passport, when crossing borders.

Hard line on immigration

In France, newly appointed Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has been vocal about tightening immigration policies.

He has cited rising terrorist activities and the increase of criminal networks associated with illegal immigration as pressing concerns for public order and internal security.

Earlier this week, the minister listed a series of measures to police prefects across France that are designed to “amplify and systemise” removal measures aimed at foreign nationals likely to pose a threat to public order in France.

French government to table new immigration law in early 2025

Macron’s trip – which saw France and Morocco sign deals worth an estimated €10 billion – has made clear which country is Paris’s preferred partner in North Africa.

That risks riling Algeria, which cut its diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021.

In July this year, the Algerian government recalled its ambassador from Paris after Macron publicly backed Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara. 

This week, the French president reiterated his support directly to King Mohammed VI on Moroccan soil. 

Algerian journalist Adlene Meddi told RFI that the intervention was likely to worsen relations between Paris and Algiers.

“France is sacrificing its relations with Algeria in a fairly brutal and spectacular manner,” he said, “and we are going to enter a new phase of crisis that will last much longer than other crises.”

‘Strategic interests’

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front has campaigned for decades for the independence of Western Sahara, which was occupied by Spain until 1975.

Morocco sought to lay claim to it the same year.

The United Nations considers Western Sahara a “non-self-governing territory” and has had a peacekeeping mission there since 1991 with the aim of organising a referendum on the territory’s future.

But Morocco has repeatedly rejected any vote in which independence is an option.

By backing Moroccan sovereignty, Macron “deliberately ignores the aspirations of the Sahrawi people“, Khalil Abdelmalek, an Algerian student of political sociology,” told RFI.

“French support for Morocco reinforces the image of France as a state ready to sacrifice the principles of justice for its strategic interests,” he argued.

France, Morocco sign deals worth €10bn on energy, infrastructure

Shifting alliances

Seeking to break away from French influence and isolate Morocco in the broader Arab world, Algeria is looking to build new alliances.

Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune travelled to Egypt this week for his first foreign trip after his re-election last September.

At a joint press conference on Monday, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that Egyptian companies are ready to work on infrastructure and urban development projects in Algeria. Investments will also take place in the energy sector. 

After two days in Cairo, Tebboune travelled to Oman for a three-day state visit. 

Also in Algeria’s sights as privileged partners are Libya and Sudan, countries that are not close to Paris or Rabat.

Experts estimate that Paris has little to gain by neglecting Algeria, as it remains an essential partner in terms of human resources, migration and regional politics.

Algerians also form the largest diaspora living in France, with over 1,600,000 people, ahead of Moroccans (1,060,000) and Portuguese (640,000). 

“This is an attack on academic freedom,” Vincent Geisser, director of the French Institute of Research and Study on the Arab and Islamic Worlds at Aix-Marseille University (Iremam), told press agencies.

Dupont, 27, was arrested on 19 October at his home in a suburb of Tunis.

His detention only came to light this week, his supporters having tried to negotiate his release out of the public eye. 

His parents travelled to Tunis a few days ago to discuss the case with France’s ambassador, according to media reports.

Geisser confirmed to RFI that the family had now set up a support committee to demand his release.

Dupont was in Tunisia to conduct sociological research on the country’s 2011 protests.

One of his friends, Edouard Matalon, a librarian visiting from Paris, was also arrested but released the same day after questioning.

According to Matalon, another of their friends, who has dual French-Tunisian nationality, also remains in custody.

Neither Tunisian or French authorities were immediately available for comment. 

‘Exceptional’ measures

After being detained, Dupont was “taken to an interrogation centre, placed in custody, and the same day brought before a military judge”, Geisser said in a press release, calling the last measure “exceptional” for a French student.

Dupont, who started his PhD in 2022, hoped his interviews would provide material for a paper on the social and career paths of “people who might have been active during the 2011 revolution” that toppled longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, according to his supervisor.

“It is not a political topic linked to dissidents or opponents or a security topic, but a typical sociology topic,” Geisser added, calling for his student to be released.

Civil liberties eroded

Dupont’s arrest comes against a backdrop of worsening civil liberties in Tunisia, which recently voted in a presidential election marred by a crackdown on the opposition, independent activists and journalists.

Fear and resignation ahead of Tunisia’s ‘lopsided’ presidential polls

President Kais Saied was re-elected with more than 90 percent of votes, three years after he made a sweeping power grab.

Rights groups fear Saied will tighten his grip on Tunisia, considered the only democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab Spring protests.

Amnesty International has documented a significant rollback of human rights in the country, especially in the last couple of years.

(with newswires)

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.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners! And we are so pleased that “one of our own” has made it into the running: Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club, is one of the 10 nominees in the RFI Clubs category! 

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

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our 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 30 September, Marine Le Pen – the leader of the French far-right party the National Rally – along with her father and 25 colleagues went on trial over alleged misappropriation of European funds.

They’re accused of using European parliamentary funds to pay for assistants, who actually worked for her National Rally party, formerly called the National Front, rather than on European affairs.

If found guilty, Le Pen could face a maximum of ten years behind bars and a 1 million euro fine – and a possible five-year ban on standing for public office. 

You were to re-read our article “French far-right leader Marine Le Pen on trial for misuse of EU funds”, and send in the answer to this question: How many euros has the European Union Parliament estimated that Le Pen and her colleagues in the National Rally party allegedly embezzled?

The answer is, to quote our article: “The EU Parliament estimated in 2018 that 6.8 million euros had been embezzled. Marine Le Pen has always denied any wrongdoing.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Can you remember the first time you received new clothes from your parents?”, which was suggested by Ratna Shanta Shammi from Naogaon, Bangladesh.

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

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

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Hasina Zaman Hasi, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State, Nigeria, as well as Sakawat Hossain from Sylhet, Bangladesh.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Bidhan Chandra Sanyal from West Bengal, India. 

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Hadouk” by D. Malherbe and L. Ehrlich, played by Kosinus; “The Entertainer” by Scott Joplin, performed by the composer; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “We Swing (The Cypher)” by Jean Baylor, Marcus Baylor, Eric Scott Reed, Keith Loftis, and Dezron Douglas, performed by The Baylor Project.

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-listen to Melissa Chemam’s 18 October Spotlight on Africa podcast, “Ghana grapples with crisis caused by world’s throwaway fashion”, or re-read her article of the same name, both of which will help you with the answer.

You have until 25 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 December podcast. When you enter be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

Click here to 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.   

October and November are set to host a series of events celebrating African art across the continent, in Europe and even farther afield.

Spotlight on Africa dives into perspectives from diverse African cultures, focusing on the voices and visions of the diaspora.

RFI journalists Ollia Horton and Melissa Chemam take us to the heart of two major art fairs: Paris’s Also Known As Africa (AKAA) and London’s 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

Listeners will hear from Victoria Mann, founder and director of AKAA, and artist Christelle Clairville, whose work brings Caribbean influences to the dialogue around African identity.

French-Belgo-Congolese artist Tiffanie Delune, exhibiting in London, shares her journey through the art world.

Curators Grada Kilomba and Helio Menezes weigh in from the Sao Paulo Biennial in Brazil. Meanwhile, ahead of the Dakar Biennale, French-Algerian artist Dalila Dalleas Bouzar discusses her preparation and the importance of the event to her work.

Episode mixed by Hadrien Touraud and Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

More than 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing extremely critical levels of hunger, according to the UN. Seventy percent of crop fields and livelihoods have been destroyed during the Israeli military offensive.

The war, which has claimed 42,000 lives in Gaza and left hundreds of thousands wounded, has also spread to the West Bank and Lebanon. Civilians as well as UN peacekeepers have been targeted by Israel’s forces.

“I used the word ‘catastrophe’ for the first time back in October 2023,” Albanese told RFI, “when Israel had killed 8,000, 6,000 people in the first weeks of the conflict and destroyed entire neighbourhoods, bakeries, churches, and targeted UN buildings and universities.

“This is not the way wars are conducted.”

Albanese was speaking as she prepared to launch her latest report on the situation in Gaza and the other Palestinian territories, which she presented to the UN General Assembly earlier this week.

In it, she takes a long view of the current conflict, arguing that Israel’s military actions form part of a systematic attempt to displace Palestinians that goes back decades – and which she calls a genocide.

“Israel occupies that land, according to the International Court of Justice, unlawfully,” Albanese said. 

“So Israel unlawfully occupies a territory, oppressing its people, who of course retaliate. Then they wage a war against them. It doesn’t work that way.”

Hamas attack, one year on – a view from Gaza

‘Emptying the land’

Albanese acknowledges the deadly violence inflicted on Israelis by the attacks of 7 October last year, and she has advocated for the investigation and prosecution of crimes committed against civilians by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

But she warns that the trauma of 7 October has deepened Israeli animosity towards Palestinians and spurred calls for vengeance, providing the government with an opportunity to escalate its actions in the occupied territories with the goal of making them unliveable.

“As we speak, Israel is running extermination raids neighbourhood per neighbourhood in the areas that were already forcibly evacuated, ethnically cleansed of nearly 1 million people in northern Gaza,” Albanese told RFI.

“Only 400,000 people remained, who have been starved, abused and bombed. What the people in Gaza have gone through is really unspeakable, and now it is emptying the land completely.”

Hamas attack, one year on – a view from Israel

Israel and UN at odds

The war has brought Israel’s already tense relations with the United Nations to a low point, with the Israeli parliament this week approving a controversial bill to ban the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA – considered a lifeline for Gaza – from operating on Israeli territory.

Israel claims many of the agency’s staff belong to Hamas or other terrorist groups, and accused some of them of involvement in the 7 October attacks.

The UN says it investigated the allegations and identified problems with neutrality, but no proof of terror links. It warns that restricting UNRWA will have a devastating effect on aid supply chains into Gaza.

More broadly, UN leaders have called for a ceasefire and denounced starvation, mass displacements, atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Albanese has proved an especially controversial figure, calling for the UN to consider suspending Israel as a member state over its actions. 

Her stance has drawn accusations of bias and antisemitism from Israel’s allies, notably the United States, which cancelled a briefing she was due to give the US Congress this week.

Washington and others argue that Israel has the right to defend itself – though Albanese questions whether its military operations are truly making it safer.

“Is it protection?” she asked. “How is what Israel is doing going to make its citizens protected? This is the question. And the blindness at the political level is mind-blowing.”

Libya resumed oil exports this month after a pause caused by a dispute over control of the country’s central bank, which oversees oil exports.

“This was a serious crisis,” said Jalel Harchaoui from the Royal United Services Institute. “And while it’s partly fixed, there are still issues that need attention.”

The row between Libya’s two rival administrations which led to the temporary halt, was only resolved by intense negotiations, but Harchaoui claims the conflict’s repercussions continue.

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

“A lot of players, including armed groups in Tripoli, are trying to take advantage of whatever has happened over the last several weeks. So I’m not describing a scenario of war, but I’m describing a more volatile environment,” he said.

Turkish-Egyptian relations

However, a recent rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey could offer hope of easing Libyan tensions.

“We agreed to consult between our institutions to achieve security and political stability,” pledged Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at a press conference last month in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Libya once was a point of Turkish-Egyptian rivalry, with Cairo backing the eastern Libyan administration in Benghazi of Khalifa Haftar and Ankara supporting the western Tripoli-based Government of National Unity. Now, Egyptian-Turkish collaboration is key to resolving the latest Libyan crisis.

“Both countries can push the Tripoli-based government at least to accept something or come to the least terms that they can agree,” said Murat Aslan of the SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a pro-Turkish government think tank. “So it’s a win-win situation for both Egypt and Turkey.”

Economic crises

With both the Turkish and Egyptian economies in crisis, the economic benefits of cooperating in Libya are seen as a powerful force behind the country’s rapprochement and Libyan collaboration.

Fighting between rival militias in Libya kills dozens

“These two countries are very important to one another,” said Aya Burweila, a Libyan security analyst

“They’ve figured out a way to divide spheres and work together. Even in the east now, Turkish companies have cut lucrative deals, infrastructure deals, just as Egypt has.

“So economy and money drive a lot of these political friendships and reapportionment.”

Ankara is looking to Cairo to use its influence over Hafta to support an agreement it made with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity to explore widely believed energy reserves in Libyan waters.

Libya’s stability at greater risk with turmoil in Niger and Sudan, UN warns

At the same time, Cairo is pressing to remove Ankara-supported Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh of Libya’s Government of National Unity. Despite differences, Harchaoui says Cairo and Ankara are committed to cooperation.

“What has already been decided is that they are going to speak and they are going to speak on a daily basis,” said Harchaoui.

“And then at every crucial moment, they are going to make sure and Turkey, specifically, is going to make sure that Egypt is on board.

“But we need more tangible results from the dialogue that has already been in place,” he added.

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.

Mark your calendars now for 12 December, 6 PM Paris time – that’s when the winners of the ePOP video competition will be announced, live on the ePOP Facebook page. My good pals Max Bale and Gaël Flaugère, who run the Planète Radio department that sponsors ePOP, invited me to come on the show and talk to you for a few minutes, in English. So plan to stay up late or get up early on 12 December, beloved listeners!

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

Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our 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 Alison Hird and Sarah Elzas’ Spotlight on France podcast no 115, Alison produced a piece on France’s current governmental crisis, and the lack of an ability in the French political landscape to compromise – as Alison noted: “France does not have the tradition of coalition building more commonly found in Germany, Switzerland and the Nordic countries.”

As social scientist Loïc Blondiaux told Le Monde: “The idea of deliberation – organised, reasoned debate in the form of an exchange of arguments – has never had the force and legitimacy in France that it has in other countries … a specific trait of our political culture is, on the contrary, contempt for consensus. Compromise is often seen as synonymous with giving in and weakness.”

I asked you to re-listen to Alison’s report, and send in the answer to this question: How many political groups are there in France’s National Assembly?

The answer is: As Laure Gillot-Assayag, a researcher in political science and philosophy told Alison: “There are 11 political groups in the National Assembly, it’s a record … a culture of compromise is more necessary than ever if the government is to function in such a deeply divided political landscape.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is the most wonderful thing you’ve ever seen in a museum?”

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

The winners are: Saleem Akhtar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listening Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan. Saleem is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Saleem!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sakirun Islam Mitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh; also from Rajshahi, RFI English listener Sumaiya Akter, a member of the World Dx International Radio Fan Club.

Rounding out this week’s list of lucky winners are Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in West Skikda, Algeria, and finally, RFI English listener Abdul Rehman, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Take a Hike” by Rik Carter and Phil Brown; “Galerie” by Bruno Letort; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Identité” by Gaël Horellou, performed by Horellou and his ensemble.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Amanda Morrow’s article “Ecosystems hang in the balance as Colombia hosts crucial biodiversity talks”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 18 November to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 23 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

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.   

On October 11, Fitch’s decision to downgrade France’s economic outlook to “negative” serves as a warning to Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who is struggling to push his 2025 budget through parliament. The credit agency’s assessment signals a potential downgrade if the government fails to take swift action to improve public finances.

France’s fiscal situation appears increasingly precarious. The deficit, now at €167 billion (5.5 percent of GDP), could  surpass 6 percent  by year’s end. With national debt projected to hit €3.5 trillion, or 114.7 percent of GDP, France is far beyond EU limits.

France braces for economic judgment amid political turmoil and record debt

EU rules require member states to keep budget deficits below 3 percent of GDP and debt under 60 percent of GDP.

Fitch predicts that the deficit will hover around 5.4% in both 2025 and 2026 due to ongoing political uncertainty and the challenges in implementing fiscal reforms. The agency believes the budget could pass before the year’s end, but the government may need to make concessions to win support from opposition parties. 

All eyes are now on Moody’s which will reveal its judgement on France’s economy and credit-worthiness on 25 October. 

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Antoine Armand emphasised the government’s commitment to improving the economy following Fitch’s assessment, but will that be enough?

RFI spoke to Erik Norland, Chief Economist with the Chicago-based CMEGroup about the possible scenarios France’s economic planners are facing.

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.