President Macron is scheduled to arrive in Argentina this Saturday for an meeting with President Javier Milei, known for his ultraliberal policies and admiration for US president-elect Donald Trump.

This diplomatic visit aims to reintegrate Milei into the international consensus on crucial global issues, especially with a G20 summit approaching in Brazil.

Macron is due to arrive in Buenos Aires this evening, where he will dine privately with President Milei before conducting a more formal meeting on Sunday.

This visit is particularly significant as it occurs right after Milei’s meeting with Trump in his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The two leaders share a worldview focused on drastic reductions in public spending and a reluctance to engage with major international climate agreements and targets.

G20 priorities

Given the current political climate, Macron seeks to bridge the divide between their differing views, particularly regarding environmental policies.

The French President aims to encourage Argentina’s continued participation in the international framework of cooperation that the G20 represents, with discussions focusing on connecting Milei with the G20’s critical priorities, given that the summit is set for Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.

Argentina’s recent withdrawal from Cop29 climate negotiations in Baku has intensified concerns about its commitment to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement – a situation reminiscent of Trump’s withdrawal during his presidency.

It was reportedly Milei himself who reached out to establish relations with France, positioning Macron as one of the few foreign leaders willing to engage with Milei post-election, giving Macron an opportunity to leverage his knowledge of international diplomacy to potentially sway Milei’s stance.

• Is Argentina’s Milei on brink of leaving Paris climate accord?

Political ‘gamble’

Emmanuel Macron is known for his willingness to engage with controversial leaders, which – while showcasing his diplomatic flexibility – may also be a gamble.

Should the French president fail to convince Milei to uphold the Paris Agreement, it may signal France’s decreased stature in the region, potentially prompting other South American nations to reconsider their climate commitments.

Macron has a vested interest in positioning himself as a leader in environmental diplomacy, especially following previous tensions with Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro over deforestation issues.

Macron will also articulate his stance to Mercosur countries – including Argentina and Brazil – regarding his opposition to the trade agreement between the EU and South American signatories, highlighting the environmental consequences of such an arrangement.

While the reforms implemented by Milei’s administration to stabilise Argentina’s economy are contentious, France has expressed support for their efforts, suggesting they are heading in the right direction.

• Macron seeks to stall Mercosur deal on visit to South America

Submarine negotiations

Paris is also keen to strengthen economic ties – particularly in critical metals – coinciding with the recent inauguration of a lithium mine by the French company Eramet in Argentina.

Macron may also pursue discussions on selling French Scorpène submarines to Argentina, although officials have been cautious about the negotiations’ progress.

The Argentine navy, lacking operational submarines, regards this deal as a priority, yet financing remains a hurdle.

On Sunday, Macron will commemorate French citizens who were victims of Argentina’s military dictatorship from 1976 to 1979, a topic of contention given Milei’s critics accuse him of downplaying this dark chapter in the country’s history.

Following his engagements in Argentina and the G20 summit, Macron will travel to Chile, where he is expected to deliver a significant address to Congress in Valparaiso about his administration’s strategy towards Latin America.

“Many clients are aware of their carbon footprint, and they are already working on reducing it. So some of them tell me: no plastic, I don’t want to see any plastic, only paper,” says Raphael Bodaire, director of sales for Raja, Europe’s largest packaging distributor. “They are aware not only of the laws, but they are also sensitive about the environment and their impact on it.”

This French company sells 1,200 different shapes of boxes for companies large and small to use for shipping their products, as well as the materials that go with them: tape, bubble wrap, cling film, crates…

These days both French and European rules and regulations are pushing the packaging industry to go green, which was evident at a recent trade fair at which Raja and other companies were showing their wares – at least a third were highlighting their sustainability credentials.

More in the Spotlight on France podcast:

The Lebhar Group, a small French company which produces paper-based food packaging, mostly for bakeries, was showing off an all-paper cake board – the card under a cake or pastry that makes it easier to lift and transport.

“In the bakery world, most often these boards are lined with plastic, because they protect against grease and humidity,” sales manager Frederique Monge explained. “No one wants grease spots on their pastry boxes or display cases.” 

A few years ago the company developed an all-paper version, which can work as a barrier against humidity. But this has its limitations, notably in how it looks.

Pastry chefs, especially at higher-end bakeries, like to use golden or glossy black cake boards, which for now cannot be made without a plastic film. “The plastic-free solution does not allow for this kind of decoration,” said Monge. “It is a more natural material, brown or white-coloured, and not shiny. It is less elegant.”

So the company continues to offer both products. Packaging companies in general aim to offer multiple solutions to meet the vast range of customer needs and wants, which are informed by their own environmental awareness, as well as an awareness of changing laws and looming bans.

Rules and regulations

In order to reduce waste, France intends to phase out single-use packaging by 2040, pushing companies to reduce the amount of material in their packaging, switch to reusable containers or move towards recyclable or compostable materials.

France produces 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, around half of which comes from households and half from industry.

A 2015 law has been progressively limiting single-use plastic food packaging, banning plastic straws and takeaway containers, among other things.

The 2021 Anti-waste for a circular economy (AGEC) law expanded on this ambition, and aims to phase out all single-use plastic packaging by 2040, with an initial aim of reducing it by 20 percent by 2025.

The EU position

However, the legal situation has led to some confusion in the industry. “Currently it is unclear, because things are going every which way,” said François-Xavier Franssen, sales director for FDR Emballages, which makes plastic-free packaging.

Alongside French laws and regulations are rules from the European Union, which is seeking to reduce waste across the continent.

The EU’s updated Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) directive came into force in February, and aims to harmonise packaging requirements across member states, with a target of 100 percent of packaging to be recyclable by 2030.

FDR makes compostable plastic film, initially developed 10 years ago and marketed to organic shops who used it to add clear windows to their paper bags.

Recent years have seen a growing interest – notably at the end of 2021, ahead of a ban of plastic wrapping for loose fruits and vegetables in supermarkets. “We received urgent calls then to replace the plastic wrappers,” Franssen recalls.

Cost factor

While there has been a move towards reducing and recycling packaging, it is currently difficult to imagine a world where single-use plastics will disappear completely.

FDR’s compostable cling wrap is more expensive than its petroleum-based alternative, and while some customers are willing to pay more, until taxes increase on petroleum, Franssen says the cost will remain prohibitive for some.

Plus, his product doesn’t work for everything – for now. “We do not have the equivalent for certain things, like chicory,” he explained. “It’s very problematic in terms of keeping the products fresh. They produce a lot of water, and are very sensitive to air and light.”

Greenwashing

Beyond the law, companies themselves are increasingly aware of the need to reduce waste, and consumers are asking for products that have less of an environmental impact.

“Very often consumer expectations move faster than regulations, which is what we have seen in organic farming,” said Emilie Cherhal, general manager of Ecocert Greenlife, which gives certifications for organic products.

“Regulation is one option, because it pushes industries to really rethink their models,” she said, but added that consumer expectations can be just as powerful a motivator, although they do want the assurance that comes from certification.

“Today anybody can say anything about eco-responsibility, sustainability – they can use the words,” said Cherhal, who believes certifications, such as the ones Ecocert provides, help to avoid greenwashing.

Ecocert has recently become affiliated with RecyClass, a European certification which evaluates the recyclability of packaging, with grades from A to F. Cherhal says: “It is a guarantee to the consumer that if it is certified, they can be sure the environmental impact is less.”

More on this story in the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 118 here.

In the forest of Spincourt near Verdun, a clearing stands as a stark reminder of the lasting environmental impact of war.

Nothing has grown in these 1,000 square metres for almost 100 years. Soon, authorities will install a protective dome over this toxic site – known locally as the “gas place” – where the German army destroyed more than 200,000 arsenic chemical shells after the war, poisoning the land. 

“The First World War set a new standard in combat,” geologist and historian Daniel Hubé told RFI, explaining that more than 2 billion artillery shells were fired on the Western Front.  

Many failed to explode, and in 1929 in the Meuse region alone, 127 recovery workers and bomb disposal experts died trying to secure former battlefields. 

Those buried remnants pose risks even today. “We’re still digging up shells in very good condition. In some places, we’re literally walking on shells,” Hubé added.

Eugene Bullard, pioneering African-American aviator who flew for France in WWI

‘Red zones’ 

Immediately after the war, the French authorities established “red zones” in which many activities were temporarily or permanently banned due to contamination. 

However, farmers lobbied to reclaim and cultivate these areas, particularly in fertile regions such as Pas-de-Calais. The “red zone” there initially spanned 26,000 hectares, but pressure to reduce restrictions saw it reduced to just 472 hectares within four years. 

The post-war cleanup created its own environmental crisis and, paradoxically, was “even more polluting than the war itself,” according to Hubé. 

Military leaders had maintained their firepower in preparation for a final offensive planned for summer 1919. When the November 1918 armistice came unexpectedly, France found itself with massive stockpiles of munitions to dispose of – an estimated 2 million tonnes were destroyed between the wars. “Fields and factories were cluttered with munitions,” said Hubé. 

Unesco declares WWI memorials in France and Belgium world heritage sites

Water contamination 

The cleanup effort involved risky and damaging processes. The military initially deployed prisoners of war to detonate the remaining shells, often in areas already ravaged by four years of industrial warfare. Other munitions, including chemical shells, were dumped in lakes and seas.  

In 1920, overwhelmed by the scale of the task, the French government outsourced much of the disposal work to private companies which, Hubé explained, led to profitable opportunities for industrialists.  

The environmental impact became clearer in the latter half of the 20th century, when recreational activities such as diving revealed numerous submerged munitions. 

Large-scale decontamination efforts began in the 1990s, on sites such as Lake Gérardmer in the Vosges, in eastern France, and Lake Bleu d’Avrillé in Maine-et-Loire in the west of the country. 

In 2011, controversy arose when perchlorate ions – a by-product of explosives – were found in tap water across northern France, an area synonymous with First World War battlefields. 

“This contamination is probably linked to perchlorated explosives left on battlefields and munitions destruction sites, although agricultural sources are also a possibility,” Hubé explained.

By the autumn of 2012, drinking water in more than 500 communities in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments was deemed unsafe. Ten years on, questions about the water quality remain unresolved. 

Senegalese riflemen who fought for France granted right to state pension back home

700 years of cleanup

The scale of contamination remains staggering, with French land unique in its exposure to conflict. “No other country on earth has experienced three major interstate conflicts on its territory in less than a century,” said Hubé, referring to the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), which was partly waged on French soil, as well as the First and Second World Wars.

Officials estimate that it could take 700 years to completely clear French soil of buried munitions.  

These days, the environmental consequences of warfare receive greater attention. Since 1999, the United Nations has published more than 20 reports on the subject – studying regions including Kosovo, Ukraine and Gaza with the goal of developing international laws to minimise war-related ecological damage. 

This story was adapted from the original article reported in French by RFI’s Nicolas Pagès.

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 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: In mid-October, our beloved sportsman Paul Myers wrote about yet another speedy Kenyan: Ruth Chepngetich. Chepngetich not only won the Chicago Marathon on 13 October, she set a world record, too. She finished the 42-kilometer course in two hours, nine minutes, and 56 seconds – beating the previous long-distance record set by almost two minutes. That record was set by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. 

Chepngetich also became the first woman to win the Chicago Marathon three times, since its inception in 1977.

You were to re-read Paul’s article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, and send in the answers to these questions: What are the names and nationalities of the women who took second and third place in the 2024 Chicago Marathon race?

The answer is: Ethiopian Sutume Kebede came second in two hours, 17 minutes and 32 seconds. Irine Cheptai from Kenya was third, with two hours, 17 minutes, and 52 seconds.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you describe real friendship? Give an example.” The question was suggested by Lata Akhter Murshida from Bogura, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Pradip Chandra Kundu from West Bengal, India. Pradip is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Pradip, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ali Shahzad, a member of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, and RFI Listeners Club members Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh as well as Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Tesha Akhter from Rajshahi, Bangladesh.  

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Sanoftob” by Thierry David; “Virtual Lifestyle” by Jean-Paul Merkel; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and In the Steppes of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin, performed by Evgeny Svetlanov and the USSR State Symphony Orchestra.

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 Isabell Martinetti’s article “Paris Photo fair focuses on photo books and their publishers”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 16 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 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.   

“Gabonese women and men, I call on you to participate in this referendum, because our only enemy is abstention,” said transitional president Brice Oligui Nguema.

The military sees the vote as the final step in their transition plan following Bongo’s removal. Gabon‘s Council of Ministers passed a bill in October to organise the referendum.

“The Council of Ministers has expressed its satisfaction at the completion of the proposed new constitution,” said Laurence Ndong, spokeswoman for the transitional government.

Divisions

The draft constitution has sparked widespread debate. Supporters argue it represents a break from decades of Bongo family rule, but critics warn it could concentrate too much power in the presidency.

Several political and union leaders are urging people to vote no, including Roger Abessolo, who leads the powerful workers’ union “Dynamique unitaire”.

The union has always fought for strong institutions, Abessolo told told RFI, adding that this project puts too much power in one person’s hands.

Equatorial Guinea and Gabon face off at the ICJ over oil-rich islands

Among MPs, support for the draft is growing.

“Gabonese people should vote yes massively, because the future of the country is at stake,” said Florentin Moussavou, third vice-president of the National Assembly.

“This constitution could become one of the major keys to allow Gabon to make a qualitative leap towards the future.”

Marc Ona Essangui, third vice-president of the Senate and a prominent civil society leader, also backs the proposal. However, he emphasised the need for checks on presidential power.

“The president who will be elected will have a term that can be renewed once. Now, the powers of the President must be mitigated with countervailing powers,” he told RFI.

Gabon junta eyes two-year transition period before holding elections

Break with the past

The draft includes a clause banning family members of a president from succeeding them – a clear move away from the dynastic rule that has defined Gabon since independence from France.

“Everybody can agree that there shouldn’t be another family dynasty,” said Paul Melly, a consultant with Chatham House’s Africa programme.

Melly added that if Oligui ensures a genuine multi-party system, it could offer the opposition a meaningful role.

The referendum is seen as the final step in a process initiated after the military coup in August 2023. Following Ali Bongo’s contested re-election, the military junta dissolved institutions and formed a transitional parliament.

Elections are scheduled for August 2025, and Oligui has announced plans to run.

He has promised to restore civilian rule in Africa’s fourth-richest nation after South Africa, Egypt and Algeria.

Despite Gabon’s oil wealth and vast forests, one in three people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

The court said Abdallah, first detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987 over the 1982 murders, would be released on 6 December provided he leaves France, French anti-terror prosecutors said in a statement to AFP, adding that they would appeal.

“In (a) decision dated today, the court granted Georges Ibrahim Abdallah conditional release from 6 December, subject to the condition that he leaves French territory and not appear there again,” the prosecutors said.

Abdallah, a former guerrilla in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov.

Washington has consistently opposed his release but Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said he should be freed from jail.

Abdallah, now 73, has always insisted he is a “fighter” who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a “criminal”. This was his 11th bid for release.

He had been eligible to apply for parole since 1999 but all his previous applications had been turned down, except in 2013 when he was granted release on the condition he was expelled from France.

However the then interior minister Manuel Valls refused to go through with the order and Abdallah remained in jail.

The court’s decision on Friday is not conditional on the government issuing such an order, Abdallah’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, told AFP, hailing “a legal and a political victory”.

From protector to onlooker: how France lost its influence in Lebanon

Veteran inmate

One of France’s longest serving inmates, Abdallah has never expressed regret for his actions.

Wounded in 1978 during Israel‘s invasion of Lebanon, he joined the Marxist-Leninist PFLP, which carried out a string of plane hijackings in the 1960s and 1970s and is banned as a terror group by the US and EU.

Abdallah, a Christian, then in the late 1970s founded his own militant group the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) which had contact with other extreme-left militant outfits including Italy‘s Red Brigades and the German Red Army Faction (RAF).

A pro-Syrian and anti-Israeli Marxist group, the LARF claimed four deady attacks in France in the 1980s. Abdallah was arrested in 1984 after entering a police station in Lyon and claiming Mossad assassins were on his trail.

At his trial over the killing of the diplomats, Abdallah was sentenced to life in prison, a much more severe punishment than the 10 years demanded by prosecutors.

His lawyer Jacques Verges, who defended clients including Venezuelan militant Carlos the Jackal, described the verdict as a “declaration of war”.

There remains a broad swell of support for his cause among the far left and communists in France. Last month, 2022 Nobel literature prize winner Annie Ernaux, said in a piece in communist daily L’Humanite that his detention “shamed France”.

Macron will arrive in Argentina on Saturday to meet with his ultra-liberal counterpart, Javier Milei.

The French presidency said Macron will push for alignment on G20 priorities, including environmental and climate issues, at a time when the “international consensus” on these subjects is being called into question, particularly after the US election. 

In Buenos Aires, Macron plans to deepen France’s partnership with Argentina in defence, energy transition and transport.

On Sunday, he will visit Santa Cruz Church to honour the 20 French citizens, including two nuns, who disappeared and were murdered during Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s.

Stalling Mercosur

On Monday, the French president heads to Brazil for the two-day G20 summit, focusing on the fight against poverty, sustainable development and energy transition.

He will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Presidents of Brazil, France announce green investment plan on Amazon visit

But the key issue for France is delaying the EU’s free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries – Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

French farmers’ unions on Monday will begin nationwide protests against the deal, which they insist risks putting them out of business by allowing cheaper food imports from Latin America that are not subjected to Europe’s stricter health regulations.

The French government has voiced strong opposition to the deal.

Finance Minister Antoine Armand said on Thursday that the government was “employing all means, including institutional and voting at the European level, to ensure that Mercosur is not adopted in its current form”.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Michel Barnier told EU chief Ursula von der Leyen that the deal was “unacceptable for France”.

Despite this, the majority of EU states appear keen to sign off on it by the end of the year.

France moves to block EU-Mercosur deal as farmers continue protest

Shared values and history

On Wednesday and Thursday Macron heads to Chile to deliver a speech to parliament on relations with Latin America – 60 years after General de Gaulle’s historic three-week visit to Latin America.

France’s ambition is “to build new projects with a continent that shares its values and history”, noted the Elysée Palace, and to move forward on major global issues like the environment “to build together the economy of the future”.

In the port city of Valparaiso, Macron will visit an icebreaker to discuss projects and initiatives that could be developed at the United Nations Ocean Conference in June 2025 in Nice on the French Riviera.

(with AFP)

The survey – carried out by Inserm, France’s public health research body – is the first major exploration of sexuality in France in nearly two decades. Vast in scale, researchers questioned 31,000 people over a two-year period.

One significant change noted by the survey, published this week, is that young people are having sexual intercourse for the first time a little later – at the age of 18.2 for women and 17.7 for men. In 2006 the reported ages were 17.3 for women and 17.5 for men.

People also reported having more sexual partners than the previous average – women aged 18 to 69 said they had had an average of 7.9 partners in their lifetime, while for men the figure was 16.4. In the 2006 survey, these figures were 4.5 and 11.2 respectively.

However, there were discrepancies in how men and women chose to report the number of people they had slept with. Women took into account only “the men who counted” while men also included “the one-night stands”, said sociologist Nathalie Bajos, one of the study’s two main authors.

Triumph for victims as France criminalises ‘barbaric’ gay conversion therapies

Same-sex experiences 

In 2023, for the first time, women aged 18-29 reported having had more same-sex relationships than men: 14.8 percent of young women had had at least one partner of the same sex, compared to 9.3 percent of young men.

Nearly a third of women said they’ve been attracted to the same sex compared to 13.8 percent of men. And more than a third of young women and one in six young men said they were not strictly heterosexual.

The survey suggested one reason for this shift: “In a social context marked by the growing dissemination of feminist ideas, these young women seem to be moving more and more towards other sexual trajectories in which violence and inequality are less prevalent.”

Almost 90 percent of women and 56 percent of men aged over 18 said they viewed homosexuality as a sexuality like any other.

Digital dating

Online platforms play a growing role in modern relationships. Among respondents under 30, nearly 40 percent of women and 43.5 percent of men said they had met a sexual partner on the internet.

Additionally, 36.6 percent of women and 39.6 percent of men in the same age group said they had sent intimate images.

Less frequent, more satisfying

The study also identified a drop in the frequency of sexual relations for both sexes and across all age groups. 

In 2023, 77.2 percent of women and 81.6 percent of men reported having sex in the past year, down from 82.9 percent and 89.1 percent in 2006.

“This drop should be seen in the context of an increase in the number of sexual encounters considered pleasurable,” said the survey’s co-author Armelle Andro.

Sexual wellbeing industry revels in swelling sales

“It’s a questioning of women’s sexual availability in particular, which mechanically leads to a drop in sexual intercourse.”

Despite the decline in frequency, a majority of people remain sexually active, including those aged 50 to 89. Among this group, 56.6 percent of women and 73.8 percent of men reported having had sexual relations.

Sexual satisfaction varies with age but remains relatively high. About 45 percent of women and 39 percent of men across all ages said they were “very satisfied” with their current sex life.

The study also noted a rise in more varied sexual practices. Nearly 80 percent of women aged 18 to 69 said they masturbated, compared to 42.4 percent in 1992 and 56.5 percent in 2006.

Growing ‘masculinist’ culture in France slows down fight against sexism

Rising sexual violence

The survey showed a sharp increase in reports of sexual violence.

A third of women aged 18-69 said they had experienced forced intercourse or attempted forced intercourse, compared to 15.9 percent in 2006. For men, the figure rose from 4.6 percent to 8.7 percent.

“These figures reflect both an increase in frequency linked to the lowering of a threshold of tolerance to intra-marital sexual violence, [but also] a greater capacity to identify these facts and declare them in surveys,” Bajos said.

Mass rape trial revives question of consent within French law

The findings come as debates about redefining rape under French law resurface.

The Mazan rape trial, where a man is accused of orchestrating his wife’s rape by multiple strangers while she was drugged, has drawn attention to gaps in legal definitions of consent.

The report underscored changing views on marital rape, which was only recognised in French law in 1992.

“Acts that were once considered ‘normal’ can now be qualified, rightly, as forced intercourse,” it said.

On Thursday, the European Commission announced a €300 million investment to help up to nine EU countries purchase air defence systems, armoured vehicles and artillery ammunition.

“This is the first time we use EU budget to support member states in commonly procuring defence products,” said Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s vice-president.

The funding is part of a broader EU strategy to bolster its defence industry while increasing military aid to Ukraine, which has been defending itself against Russian forces since February 2022.

“Importantly, the selected projects will also increase our support to Ukraine, with additional defence equipment,” Vestager said.

EU unveils €1.5 billion defence programme as Ukraine war persists

Ammunition goals

Despite the announcement, the EU has yet to meet its earlier pledge to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells by the end of March this year.

The bloc created a financial aid programme to encourage member states to purchase ammunition, but progress has been slower than promised.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has vowed that the target will be reached by the end of this year.

The initiative reflects the EU’s evolving approach to collective defence as it continues to respond to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

An investigation by Amnesty’s found that the Galix system, a defence technology designed by Lacroix Defense in partnership with KNDS France, was mounted on Nimr Ajban armoured vehicles.  

The rights group on Thursday shared photos of destroyed vehicles fitted with the system. 

“Our research shows that weaponry designed and manufactured in France is in active use on the battlefield in Sudan,” Amnesty secretary general Agnes Callamard said. 

The technology, used by land forces globally, can be loaded with ammunition such as smoke, decoys or projectiles. More than 5,000 vehicles worldwide are equipped with it, including some in the French army.  

Sudan’s civil war grows more brutal as UN details horrific sexual violence

UN arms embargo

Amnesty said the use of Galix in Darfur breaches the UN arms embargo, which has been in place since 2004. The European Union has also imposed an arms embargo on Sudan since 1994. 

Callamard called on France to “immediately stop the supply of this system to the UAE” and urged stronger export controls to ensure compliance. 

Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in Sudan’s civil war, which pits the country’s army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary RSF led by general Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, a former ally.

Both sides face accusations of war crimes. More than 11 million people – nearly 30 percent of the population – have fled their homes in what the UN describes as the world’s worst displacement crisis. 

Amnesty urged France to extend the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan and strengthen export monitoring.

“If France cannot guarantee through export controls, including end user certification, that arms will not be re-exported to Sudan, it should not authorise” exports to countries like the UAE, Amnesty said.

During his first term, Trump cut off funding to the UN’s health and family planning agencies, withdrew from its cultural organisation Unesco and the Human Rights Council, and raised tariffs on China and long-time allies in defiance of the World Trade Organisation’s rules.

The US is the UN’s biggest single contributor, covering 22 percent of its regular budget.

This week, Trump signalled his direction for the UN by selecting Republican Representative Elise Stefanik as his candidate for UN ambassador.

The fourth-highest ranking House member, Stefanik recently called for a “complete reassessment” of US funding for the UN, including halting support for its Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA.

President Joe Biden paused the funding after UNRWA fired several staffers in Gaza suspected of taking part in the 7 October attack led by Hamas in 2023.

The Trump 2.0 agenda

Speculation regarding Donald Trump’s future policies is rampant, with observers from Washington and beyond engaging in discussions over what his return to the presidency might mean for the United Nations and global relations.

Historically, Trump’s views have not been consistent. He famously referred to climate change as a hoax and has often supported the fossil fuel industry, yet he has formed ties with environmentally conscious figures like Elon Musk.

While his first administration made substantial investments to expedite the development of a Covid-19 vaccine, he also aligned himself with anti-vaccine activists, such as Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, said Trump would likely treat the UN less “as a place to transact serious political business” and more “as a theatre to pursue a conservative global social agenda”.

• EU leaders chart independent future as Trump takes White House

Multilateralism aversion

Trump’s first term provides insight into his potential policies. He withdrew the US from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement – a decision Biden later reversed but which Trump could undo again if elected.

Trump also led the US to exit Unesco and the Human Rights Council, arguing they were biased against Israel. Although Biden rejoined both, he opted not to pursue another term on the Human Rights Council.

During his administration, Trump also cut funding to the UN Population Fund over its stance on abortion, despite the agency’s insistence that it remains neutral.

Trump’s scepticism towards multilateralism stood in contrast to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s push for greater cooperation among nations.

Global shift

The international landscape has changed significantly since Trump’s first term in 2017.

New conflicts have erupted in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, and nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran have grown.

However, the UN Security Council has remained largely inactive, struggling with internal divisions among its five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.

Since Trump’s first term began in 2017, global conditions have shifted dramatically.

According to John Bolton, a former national security adviser at Trump’s White House: “It’s really back to Cold War days” with Russia and China providing cover for nations like Iran and North Korea, thereby complicating any diplomatic efforts involving weapons proliferation and conflict resolution.

• ‘Worry’ in Ukraine at Trump victory at critical moment in war

Bolton – also a former US ambassador to the UN – expects Stefanik will have a “tougher time” because of the range of issues facing the Security Council.

“What had been fairly sleepy during the first Trump term is not going to be sleepy at all in the second Trump term,” he said.

The Security Council’s inaction in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – coupled with its failure to produce a strong resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza due to US support for Israel – has underscored its limitations.

Despite this, the UN’s institutional framework could prevent any rapid policy shifts, even under Trump.

Known for enjoying the spotlight, Trump may still attend General Assembly sessions, where he has historically drawn global attention.

Around 4,000 police and members of the security forces patrolled inside and outside the Stade de France to prevent a repetition of the attacks on fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam last week.

A further 1,600 civilian security personnel were also on duty.

Stewards had to intervene at one point to stop fans of both nations from clashing in the stands, an AFP reporter saw.

Videos taken by spectators and posted on the X social media platform showed fans, some with Israeli flags, running along the rows of seats at the stadium while other supporters whistled and booed.

Members of the stadium security team moved between the two groups to separate them and the incident was over within minutes.

The tension surrounding the fixture caused many fans to stay away with just 16,611 in a stadium that holds up to 80,000.

Around 100 Israeli fans attended the match despite calls from Israeli authorities to avoid the fixture. Around 600 members of the Jewish community in France travelled to the stadium in buses with a police escort.

Paris ramps up security for ‘high-risk’ France-Israel football clash

Huge security operation

French authorities mounted a huge security operation after the government defied calls from some French lawmakers to postpone the match or move it to another city.

“We will not give in to anti-Semitism anywhere, and violence – including in the French Republic – will never prevail, nor will intimidation,” President Emmanuel Macron, who attended the game, told BFMTV.

Macron called Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu before the game to assure him that French authorities had taken the necessary security measures for the match to pass off smoothly, the president’s office said.

An elite police unit guarded the Israeli team from the moment they arrived on French soil. Israel coach Ran Ben Simon said the security had been “extraordinary”.

“We want to thank the security people for protecting us,” he said in a post-match press conference.

The incidents in the Netherlands took place with anti-Israeli sentiment and reported anti-Semitic acts across the world soaring as Israel wages wars against Iran-backed Islamist militants in Lebanon and Gaza.

The violence in Amsterdam flared after Maccabi fans in the city for a match against Ajax set fire to a Palestinian flag and vandalised a taxi 24 hours earlier, authorities said.

Following the match, Maccabi fans were chased by men on scooters and beaten.

Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema called it a “poisonous cocktail of anti-Semitism and hooliganism”.

Dutch far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders blamed the violence on “Muslims”.

French football league orders PSG to shut stand over homophobic abuse

Pro-Palestinian protests 

Several hundred people attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Thursday in Saint-Denis to the north of Paris where the match was played.

That came after a larger protest on Wednesday against the holding of an “Israel is Forever” gala in the French capital. Clashes broke out with police firing tear gas and some protesters damaged the window of a restaurant.

The leader of the Jewish community in France, Yonathan Arfi, expressed hope the France-Israel match would demonstrate there could be no repeat of the violence in the Netherlands.

“We need to show a sort of ‘anti-Amsterdam’ this evening,” said Arfi, the president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif).

As well as Macron, Prime Minister Michel Barnier and former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy were in the crowd.

Macron’s presence was aimed at drawing a line after “controversies and misunderstandings” in recent relations between France and Israel, said a member of his team who asked not to be named.

Last week in Jerusalem, Israeli police entered a French-owned church compound, briefly detaining two gendarmes and prompting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to abandon a scheduled visit.

The draw was enough for France to secure a place in the Nations League quarter-finals. Israel earned their first point of the competition.

“Dengue fever has entered the epidemic phase,” the mayors’ association and regional health authorities said in a statement on Thursday night.

It stated that a strain of the dengue virus that has not circulated much in the last 20 years had led the authorities to fear the possibility of “severe forms” with “a high number of cases to be expected if control and prevention actions are not implemented”.

The dengue 3 serotype (DENV-3) is one of four variants of the virus.

The health authorities said among 62 samples analysed between late September and mid-October, 97 percent were caused by DENV-3.

The average of 80 cases per week at this time of year has been far surpassed.

At the end of October the agency estimated the weekly figure hit 540 – more than double the number seen in September.

Hospitals were reporting a similar spike, with around 40 emergency room visits per week for suspected dengue cases, compared with 25 in September.

Combat breeding grounds

Dengue, also known as “tropical flu”, can cause high fever, fatigue and body aches, although most people have no symptoms. Severe cases can trigger bleeding, internally or from the mouth and nose.

The virus is spread by the Aedes “tiger” mosquito that breeds in stagnant pools.

Guadeloupe authorities stressed the need “to combat mosquito vectors and breeding grounds for larvae that can develop in water reservoirs around or inside homes, which may have accumulated after recent rainfall”.

It also advised people to wear loose-fitting clothing to cover the skin, use insect repellent and mosquito netting over beds. 

In October, the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) said the number of reported dengue cases worldwide has approximately doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases, including more than 7,900 deaths, reported in just the first eight months of 2024.

The WHO has linked the spike in the number of cases to global warming.

(with newswires)

Workers in airlines, railways, the public sector and other industries are gearing up for action as they brace for a wave of job losses and spending reductions.

“We are at the start of a violent industrial bloodletting,” Sophie Binet, general secretary of the CGT union, told the weekly La Tribune Dimanche.

The CGT estimates that at least 150,000 jobs could be cut in the coming years, potentially creating a “domino effect” that could impact subcontractors. 

The proposed strikes come as MPs continue debating the draft budget, which is aimed at reducing the deficit to 5 percent next year. France’s current deficit sits above 6 percent – more than double the 3 percent limit set by the EU.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s plan seeks to raise €60 billion, with €20 billion from new taxes and €40 billion from cuts.

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

Airline levy

The SNPL pilots union got the ball rolling with a strike on Thursday to protest a planned tripling of the aviation levy on flights to and from France.

The new levy, expected to take effect in January 2025, aims to raise €1 billion annually. SNPL warned the levy would likely lead to job cuts.

Trade unions at France’s railway operator SNCF have also called for an indefinite strike from next month that could disrupt train services during the upcoming Christmas holidays.

The unions are pushing for a halt to the planned dismantling of SNCF’s freight division, Fret SNCF, and resisting conditions tied to opening up regional passenger lines to competition. A shorter strike is planned from 20-22 November.

In the civil service, unions FO and CGT have called for strikes following an unsuccessful meeting with Public Administration Minister Guillaume Kasbarian, with mobilisation likely in early December.

The government has warned that over 3,000 public sector jobs could be cut, alongside stricter sick leave rules.

Absenteeism in the public sector has reportedly risen, with days lost increasing from 43 million in 2014 to 77 million in 2022.

French rail unions call for strike action ahead of Christmas holidays

Trade woes

Farmers are also planning fresh protests in Paris and Brussels in the coming week against the Mercosur trade deal between the EU and Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Twenty-five years in the making, the agreement would create the world’s largest free trade zone, but French farmers fear an influx of cheap agricultural products. Barnier called the deal “unacceptable for France”.

The economic situation for private companies in France worsened last week as two major employers announced layoffs.

Tyre manufacturer Michelin announced the closure of two factories in western France by 2026, impacting 1,254 employees.

Michelin, which employs nearly 19,000 people in France, blamed competition from Asian manufacturers and Europe’s “worsening competitiveness” due to rising inflation and energy costs.

Economy Minister Antoine Armand said the government would “do everything in its power to help find a buyer” for the sites.

Supermarket chain Auchan also announced it would cut 2,389 jobs due to massive losses, including closing around 10 stores.

Franck Martineau, FO union representative for Auchan Retail, called the decision “catastrophic,” saying: “This will leave many, many employees and families in difficulty”.

French farmers plan fresh protests as Mercosur trade deal looms

Budget rejected

On Tuesday, French MPs rejected the government’s draft budget, heavily amended with opposition-led tax increases.

“A majority of MPs rejects both fiscal battering and the impossibility of France living up to its European commitments,” said Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin.

Barnier’s minority government now has leeway to submit a revised text to the Senate, where a final compromise may be reached.

As global rating agencies consider downgrades to France’s credit rating, Barnier hopes to restore confidence in the country’s economic stability.

A downgrade could raise the cost of France’s debt, currently costing €50 billion annually –second only to education in government spending.

Following the election results, leaders across the continent extended their well-wishes to the returning US president.

“I look forward to building on our mutual interests,” said Kenya’s President William Ruto, while Nigeria’s Bola Tinubu voiced hopes for a “reciprocal” era of cooperation over the next four years.

However many observers believe that Africa – previously labeled by Trump as a continent of “shithole countries” – remains a low priority for the United States. 

Historically, US foreign policy has largely neglected Africa, focusing instead on countering adversaries like China and Russia.

In contrast, President Joe Biden promoted Africa as a vital partner, though little was executed during his mandate. 

• US backs two permanent seats for Africa on UN Security Council

According to the International Crisis Group‘s Murithi Mutiga in Nairobi,Trump is “a committed isolationist and clearly wants to pull back” from global commitments.

Mutiga told AFP that Africa has often been viewed by the US “as a problem to be solved”, in contrast to China’s more investment-focused engagement on the continent.

J Peter Pham, a former US special envoy to the Sahel, said the future Trump administration “may seek ‘win-win’ scenarios in Africa, possibly continuing the African Growth and Opportunity Act”, which provides eligible nations duty-free access to US markets.

However, compliance issues have come to the fore of late – particularly with South Africa – accused of supplying arms to Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Reproductive health ‘conflict’

There are concerns that Trump’s presidency could impact critical funding for healthcare and development across Africa.

This includes potential cuts to reproductive health programs, which many African communities rely on, particularly for services aimed at young women and girls.

Max Primorac, a former USAID administrator, has openly criticised some USAID programs, aligning with conservative values outlined in Trump’s “Project 2025” agenda.

Primorac took issue with initiatives he claimed promote “abortion, climate extremism, and interventions against perceived systematic racism”, suggesting these could be targets for funding cuts.

However, it is more likely that the next US administration will focus on core security and economic interests rather than controversial social policies.

• Niger’s junta revokes military deal with US

‘Problems versus opportunites’

Trump’s re-election also comes at a time of escalating instability in Africa’s Sahel region, where a growing anti-Western sentiment has driven countries like Niger and Mali to seek partnerships with Russia.

As China and Russia expand their influence through investments targeting Africa’s mineral wealth, the US’s position has weakened.

“The US and the West viewed Africa as a problem, while China saw it as an opportunity,” Mutiga said, highlighting the different approaches taken by global powers.

While the Biden administration pledged over $22 billion in investment to Africa, Trump previously sought to significantly slash foreign aid – sometimes by as much as 30 percent. 

Potential funding cuts during Trump’s second presidency could also jeopardise vital health, security, and development projects amid rising hunger and threats to democracy in African nations.

• Morocco’s king praises French support, diplomatic gains over status of Western Sahara

Africa’s interests

In Morocco, Trump’s return has stirred optimism about Washington’s stance on Western Sahara. During his first term, Trump recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed region – a move that has not been reversed by Biden.

While this shift has yet to yield concrete results, Morocco hopes Trump’s second term could bring further support.

Security remains a key interest for the US in the Horn of Africa, where ongoing conflicts, such as the civil war in Sudan, have disrupted stability.

Analysts predict the Trump administration may reduce funding to Somalia, potentially redirecting resources to Somaliland as part of its strategic interests in the region.

While the G20 has recognised the African Union as a permanent member, concerns persist about the organisation’s effectiveness in representing the continent’s interests on the global stage.

“The question is often, what will Washington do? But really, what is in Africa’s interest?” Mutiga said.

As Trump readies to take over the White House, there is a growing emphasis for Africa to articulate its priorities clearly – focusing on its own interests – rather than serving as a pawn in geopolitical rivalries that will dictate US involvement.

The SEPM claims that Google was preparing to test a scheme that would exclude articles from specific media outlets with which it is in dispute over rights to online news content.

The testing was set to begin Thursday, according to the union.

Google countered, saying the project was only a “time-limited experiment” meant to assess the effect of European publishers’ content on user search experiences.

‘Compensation for content’

Google, along with other online platforms, has faced criticism in recent years for profiting from news content without sharing revenues with the creators of that content.

In response, the European Union introduced “neighbouring rights” – a form of copyright that lets print media request compensation for using their work.

France has led the way in applying these rules, with Google and Facebook agreeing to pay certain French media outlets for articles displayed in search results, though only after initial resistance.

Google and SEPM have been negotiating over neighbouring rights payments for several years, and the Paris court’s order now requires Google to “not proceed to test” the alleged scheme or risk fines of €300,000 per entity, covering Google LLC, Google Ireland and Google France.

• France slaps Google with €250m fine over EU media rules and AI use
• Google appeals record €500 million French fine over paying for news content

Google ‘not alone’ in media disputes

The SEPM – which includes some 80 media groups – has welcomed the order, which it said would “preserve the interests of the French press”.

Google expressed surprise at the SEPM’s stance, claiming that the testing was intended to gather data requested by “independent administrative authorities and press publishers” on the impact of news content display in Google’s search engine.

In March, Google was fined €250 million by France’s competition authority for failing to meet some of the commitments it has made on the issue of neighbouring rights. 

The Alphabet Group subsidiary is not alone in its disputes with French media over using content without payment. 

Accused of bad faith negotiations, social media network X was sued this month by leading French media groups such as Le Monde, Le Figaro and Le Parisien.

Agence France-Presse is suing X over the same issue with a court hearing set for 15 May, 2025.

The move triggered an outcry from environmental groups, which had hailed the law as an unprecedented breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and combat climate change.

Parliament was called to sign off on a delay requested by the European Commission following pressure from trading partners such as Brazil and the United States, and some member states including Germany.

But lawmakers on the right used the vote to bring new amendments, passed with support from right-wing and far-right groups.

This de facto restarted the legislative process, as the new text should now be re-discussed by the commission and member states – creating further uncertainty over its implementation.

The legislation would prohibit a vast range of goods – from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber – if produced using land that was deforested after December 2020.

Cocoa-producing countries call on EU to delay anti-deforestation law

Exporting countries considered high-risk would have at least nine percent of products sent to the EU subjected to checks, with the proportion falling for lower-risk ones.

Among the amendments introduced Thursday was the creation of a “no risk” category that would see products from some countries – such as Germany – face virtually no scrutiny.

Julia Christian, a campaigner at environmental group Fern, said it was the equivalent of giving “EU forested countries a free pass”.

“The message to the rest of the world is unmistakable: you must stop destroying your forests, but the EU won’t end the widespread degradation afflicting its forests,” she said.

The bill, introduced by Samantha Cazebonne, a former MP representing French citizens in Spain and Portugal, has reopened deep divisions between animal rights activists and defenders of local culture.

It will be voted on by senators on Friday.

In regions where bullfighting remains a core tradition – like the southern cities of Bayonne, Nîmes and Béziers – where it is recognised as part of the cultural landscape, debate has been especially fierce.

The Union of French Bullfighting Cities (UVTF), has vigorously opposed the bill, calling it an “unprecedented attack” on bullfighting. 

Animal rights groups, on the other hand, see it as an opportunity to raise awareness about what they argue is the damaging impact of bullfights on children. The Protec collective (Protect Children from Bullfights) has already gathered over 40,000 signatures in support of the bill.

One hundred mayors recently published a petition in Midi Libre, a regional newspaper, warning that exposing children to bullfights “introduces them to the practice of a crime”.

Jacques-Charles Fombonne, president of the French Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA), agrees, saying: “It is our duty to educate the younger generation to reject the idea of death as entertainment.”

Cazebonne remains determined to push the bill forward.

“Many neighbouring countries, including those with strong bullfighting traditions like Spain, Portugal and several South American countries, have already passed laws on this issue,” she said.

“Why should we be the last to protect our children?”

Animal cruelty or local culture? Bullfighting ban divides France

Cultural identity

The debate over the proposed ban has highlighted a broader clash between preserving cultural heritage and protecting children from what some consider violent and disturbing experiences.

The bill has found support from both left-wing and right-wing lawmakers, including some conservative Republicans in the Senate.

Among the bill’s supporters is Arnaud Bazin, a veterinarian and senator from Val-d’Oise, who argues that allowing children to attend bullfights is inconsistent with other protections in French law.

“These are extremely violent spectacles,” Bazin said. “Allowing them in the presence of children is contradictory to our laws on child protection.”

However, the bill faces strong opposition within the Senate. A recent committee review showed that the majority of senators support preserving local freedoms and parental rights, arguing that families should decide for themselves whether children can attend bullfights.

Max Brisson, a LR (Republicans) senator from the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, expressed outrage on social media, saying the bill “violates local liberties, denies the role of parents in educating their children, and seeks to prevent them from passing down their culture and identity”.

Legal challenges

The bill also faces legal challenges. Critics point out that the proposed sanctions for violating the law – up to five years in prison and €75,000 in fines – are disproportionate, particularly when it comes to the issue of minors attending bullfights. 

Louis Vogel, a senator from the Horizons party and the bill’s rapporteur, described the proposal as inconsistent, noting that it would allow children to attend bullfighting schools but bar them from watching the actual events.

The bill comes two years after a failed attempt by Aymeric Caron, an MP with the hard-left France Unbowed party, to completely ban bullfighting in France. That bill, which aimed for a total ban, was never put to a vote in the National Assembly.

(with newswires)

Aliyev had accused France of “crimes” and “human rights violations” in overseas territories including New Caledonia in the South Pacific, where 13 people have been killed this year in protests that broke out in May over a contested voting reform.

On Wednesday, Pannier-Runacher told the French Senate: “President Aliyev’s words against France and Europe as the Cop29 opened in Baku are unacceptable.”

Azerbaijan’s leader was using “the fight against climate change for a shameful personal agenda,” she added.

Earlier, Aliyev had charged that “the regime of President Macron killed 13 people and wounded 169 … during legitimate protests by the Kanak people in New Caledonia”.

Taking to social media, Pannier-Runacher posted: “Azerbaijan is instrumentalising the fight against climate change for its own unworthy personal agenda. These attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the UNFCCC Code of Conduct. They will not go unanswered”.

‘Colonial yoke’

Violence broke out in mid-May in New Caledonia, northeast of Australia, over Paris’ plan for voting reforms that indigenous Kanak people fear would leave them in a permanent minority, crushing their chances of winning independence.

France sent thousands of troops and police to the archipelago, which is home to around 270,000 people and located nearly 17,000 kilometres from Paris. 

The reform has been abandoned by a new government since Macron called new legislative elections in June.

However, the extent of the violence and damage was such that Prime Minister Michel Barnier last month announced the postponement of the territory’s local polls until the end of 2025.

• Azerbaijan accused of stirring unrest in New Caledonia as tensions persist

Aliyev also accused France of holding Mediterranean island of Corsica and Paris’s far-flung overseas island territories “under the colonial yoke”.

Azerbaijan has played host to a group of pro-independence movements from French overseas territories in an apparent bid to needle Paris, which has long supported Baku’s arch-rival Armenia.

Aliyev’s latest attacks were “a flagrant violation of the code of conduct” that usually prevails at the landmark UN climate change conferences, Pannier-Runacher said.

“Direct attacks on our country, its institutions and its territories cannot be justified,” she added – also taking aim at “Azerbaijan’s words in favour of fossil energy”.

• Azerbaijan accuses France of stoking ‘new wars’ in Caucasus

‘Highest ambition’

This comes as Aliyev called oil and gas “a gift of the God” in his opening Cop address on Tuesday.

Pannier-Runacher deemed the Azeri president’s remarks “unworthy of the Cop presidency”.

She hoped instead to spotlight a “positive dynamic” at the conference in petrostate Azerbaijan, where Brazil and Britain announced new emissions targets.

While Macron and Barnier backed Pannier-Runacher in not personally attending, “France’s negotiating teams will spare no effort, with my support from a distance … to protect the planet and our populations,” she added.

“We will continue to argue for the highest level of ambition in implementing the Paris Accord” of 2015, Pannier-Runacher said.

The prosecution made the request in a Paris court where Le Pen and other defendants from her National Rally party are on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament. She denies the charges.

If granted by the court, the ban would exclude the 56-year-old from running in France’s 2027 presidential election.

The prosecution demanded the ban be effective immediately, even if the defence team appeals.

The National Rally, like other far-right parties around Europe, is riding high following a strong performance in European elections in June.

How France’s far-right National Rally finally hooked the women’s vote

The prosecution demanded that all of the two dozen defendants be excluded from running from public office.

It demanded a five-year jail sentence for Le Pen, calling for at least two years of that to be a “convertible” custodial sentence, meaning there would be a possibility of partial release.

The prosecutors also demanded the RN be fined €2 million. 

Le Pen promptly denounced the prosecutors’ motion as excessive, branding it an “outrage” and accusing prosecutors of trying to “ruin the (RN) party”.

Le Pen denies wrongdoing in fake EU jobs trial

“I think the prosecutors’ wish is to deprive the French people of the ability to vote for who they want,” she said.

The alleged fake jobs system, which was first flagged in 2015, covers parliamentary assistant contracts between 2004 and 2016. 

Prosecutors say the assistants worked exclusively for the party outside parliament.

Addressing the trial last month, Le Pen said she was innocent.

“I have absolutely no sense of having committed the slightest irregularity, or the slightest illegal act,” she told the court.

The strike notice – which concerns Air France as well as other carriers with pilots on French labour contracts – comes as the government tries to push through its draft budget for next year, despite lacking a majority in parliament.

“This additional tax will ultimately lead to tens of thousands of job losses in France,” the SNPL union said in a statement on Sunday.

“This social disaster will go hand in hand with the weakening of French operators or those operating regularly in France compared to their European and international competitors,” it added.

The government’s proposed increase in the aviation levy will apply to flights to or from France as from January 2025, but exclude France’s overseas territories and Corsica.

The price of an economy class ticket would go up between €2.60 to €9.50 per passenger for flights within Europe and up to €40 for long-haul flights.

Business class tickets for long-haul flighs could see increases of up to €120.

• Green groups push for ‘frequent flyer tax’ to cut France’s aviation emissions

A contested solidarity tax

The increases reflect an urgent need for more tax income with environmental aims.

Tripling the current levy, particularly for long-haul flights, is designed to generate additional revenue of €1 billion next year.

The measure has been included in the current version of the draft belt-tightening budget through an amendment.

However, it’s become the subject of political haggling between a hung National Assembly, the conservative-controlled Senate and Prime Minister Michel Barnier‘s government, so it’s unclear if the levy will be part of the final budget text.

In May, a strike by air traffic controllers at Orly airport over staffing shortages led to major flight disruption, but it remains to be seen how many pilots could walk out on Thursday or how flight schedules might be affected.

• France seeks to clamp down on ‘ecocidal’ private jets as climate crisis worsens

The proposed tax hikes have sparked anger in the aviation sector more widely.

On Thursday, Air France-KLM reported a bigger-than-expected drop in its quarterly operating result and warned that this year’s costs would be higher than previously projected.

Air France-KLM said that France’s proposed hike of the solidarity tax on flight tickets could hit its operating result by €90 to €170 million in 2025.

“Direct consequence could be higher fares which could make air travel less accessible to customers in our own market,” group CEO Benjamin Smith told reporters.

(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 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: In mid-October, our beloved sportsman Paul Myers wrote about yet another speedy Kenyan: Ruth Chepngetich. Chepngetich not only won the Chicago Marathon on 13 October, she set a world record, too. She finished the 42-kilometer course in two hours, nine minutes, and 56 seconds – beating the previous long-distance record set by almost two minutes. That record was set by Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. 

Chepngetich also became the first woman to win the Chicago Marathon three times, since its inception in 1977.

You were to re-read Paul’s article “Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich sets women’s world record at Chicago Marathon”, and send in the answers to these questions: What are the names and nationalities of the women who took second and third place in the 2024 Chicago Marathon race?

The answer is: Ethiopian Sutume Kebede came second in two hours, 17 minutes and 32 seconds. Irine Cheptai from Kenya was third, with two hours, 17 minutes, and 52 seconds.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you describe real friendship? Give an example.” The question was suggested by Lata Akhter Murshida from Bogura, Bangladesh.

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Pradip Chandra Kundu from West Bengal, India. Pradip is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Pradip, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ali Shahzad, a member of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, and RFI Listeners Club members Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh as well as Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listener Tesha Akhter from Rajshahi, Bangladesh.  

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Sanoftob” by Thierry David; “Virtual Lifestyle” by Jean-Paul Merkel; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and In the Steppes of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin, performed by Evgeny Svetlanov and the USSR State Symphony Orchestra.

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 Isabell Martinetti’s article “Paris Photo fair focuses on photo books and their publishers”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 16 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 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.   

Zitouni Ould Dada, representing the FAIRR Initiative – a network raising awareness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in the food sector – underscores the need to transform global food systems.

“Since Cop15 in Paris and Cop26 in Glasgow, good progress has been made towards building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems,” he said. “Cop29 is a key moment to accelerate the transformation of food production.”

He calls on policymakers to strengthen climate commitments, integrate agriculture into national plans, and create policies to attract sustainable investment.

Financing green energy and addressing climate disasters are key issues at this year’s summit.

Seyni Nafo, spokesperson for the African negotiators group and chair of the Green Climate Fund, coordinates the African Union Adaptation Initiative. He shared his perspective with RFI’s Christophe Boisbouvier.

Speaking from Baku, Nafo explored the question of responsibility for funding climate recovery in the most affected regions.

The negotiations come during what is expected to be the hottest year on record, underscoring the urgency of Cop29’s agenda.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is a podcast from Radio France Internationale.

Erdogan, who congratulated Trump as a “friend” on social media, sees this as a chance to reshape US-Turkey relations.

During Biden’s presidency, engagement was largely limited to foreign ministers – marking a stark contrast to the “strong leader-to-leader relationship” Erdogan and Trump had enjoyed, says analyst Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara.

Trump and President Erdogan met face to face about nine times, compared to only two “brief encounters” with Biden, he adds.

Chemistry

Erdogan often speaks warmly of his dealings with Washington during Trump’s first term in office.

“The chemistry is the same. Two charismatic leaders, two leaders who are unpredictable,” notes Turkish presidential adviser Mesut Casin, a professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Yeditepe University.

He believes their personal rapport could set the stage for greater bilateral and regional cooperation, including efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Erdogan has long sought to play a role in ending the Russia-Ukraine war, given his close ties with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and, more controversially, with Vladimir Putin – a relationship that drew criticism and suspicion from some of Turkey’s NATO partners.

“Trump will push for negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war. And I think that’s something that Turkey has always preferred,” predicts Asli Aydintasbas a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Turkey eyes US presidential race that stands to shake up mutual ties

YPG policy

Erdogan will also look to Trump for changes in US policy toward the YPG, a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara views as linked to the PKK, a group fighting the Turkish state.

The YPG’s alliance with Washington against the Islamic State has strained US-Turkey relations, with Biden resisting Erdogan’s calls to end support for the group.

Former Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen predicts Erdogan will hope Trump might be open to a deal.

“Erdogan thinks that, like himself, Trump too is a pragmatic leader. So leaving aside principles or other such in brackets, the two sides can reach an agreement by giving and taking something between the two,” says Selcen.

Unpredictability

While Trump has often spoken positively about Erdogan, he nonetheless remains unpredictable.

“Can you rely on him?” asks Murat Aslan of SETA, a Turkish pro-government thinktank.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel could also complicate relations.

Erdogan has expressed hope that Trump will succeed where Biden failed in ending Israel’s war on Hamas and Hezbollah, but with Trump’s strong support for Israel and Erdogan’s backing of Hamas, a clash could be looming.

“What happens if there is an escalation in the Middle East with the polarisation of Israel and Turkey, as it currently is, and the attitude of Trump, it’s very clear that the Trump administration will threaten Turkey,” says Aslan.

With conflicts raging across the region, Erdogan views a new Trump presidency as an opportunity for Turkey and the region.

But given the leaders’ unpredictability, that opportunity doesn’t come without risks.

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 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 12 October, I asked you a question about the troubled relationship between France and Algeria.

Algeria’s recently re-elected president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, accused France, its former colonial ruler, of “genocide”.

Tebboune has postponed trips to Paris to meet with Emmanuel Macron several times; the latest was scheduled for late September or early October, and that trip was also postponed.

You were to re-read our article “Algeria’s Tebboune refuses France visit in snub to former colonial ruler”, and send in the answer to this question: What happened last July that sent the Algeria/France relationship into a nosedive – even provoking Algeria to recall its ambassador to France?

The answer is, to quote our article: “… relations nose-dived in July after Macron sent a letter to King Mohammed VI of Morocco voicing support for the Kingdom’s autonomy plan in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “How do you remember things?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Bushra Nawaz, who’s a member of the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Bushra is also the winner of this week’s bonus question.

Congratulations, Bushra, on your double win.

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and Father Steven Wara, who lives in the Cistercian Abbey in Bamenda, Cameroon.

Last but assuredly not least, RFI English listeners Amara, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan, and Jahangir Alam, the president of the World DX International Radio Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Soul Bossa Nova” by Quincy Jones, performed by the Quincy Jones Ensemble; “Aghan” by Mohammad Rouane, performed by the Rouane Ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Asa Branca” by Luiz Gonzaga and Humberto Teixeira, performed by Rosinha De Valença.

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re- read our article “Tributes roll in for beloved musician and producer Quincy Jones, who died at 91”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 9 December to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 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.   

France produces 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, most of which does not get recycled. In the ongoing battle to reduce waste, a 2021 law is intended to phase out single-use packaging by 2040. We go to a packaging expo to see how this might happen and meet people being pushed to the front lines of waste reduction. (Listen @3’45”)

Bouchot mussel farmers in northern France are sounding the alarm about spider crabs devastating their crops. Warming waters have led to a four-fold increase in crab numbers, a prized marine resource, but which threatens the future of the industry. A mussel farmer talks about the impact, and a marine scientist presents possible solutions. (Listen @19’47”)

A hundred years ago this month, women and girls working in sardine canning factories in Brittany launched a six-week strike that has gone down in history as one of the earliest examples of women successfully organising to defend their labour rights. The granddaughter of one of the strikers describes its legacy. (Listen @12’20”) 

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

The bitter rivals embarked on a final frenzied campaign blitz Monday with both hitting must-win Pennsylvania on the last day of a tight and volatile US presidential election campaign.

Pennsylvania is the single biggest swing state prize under the US Electoral College system, which awards influence in line with population.

Republican Trump has promised a “landslide” as he seeks his return to the White House, while Democrat Harris said the “momentum” was on the side of her bid to be America’s first woman president.

Deadlock

But the polls suggest a different story on the eve of Election Day – total deadlock in surveys nationally and in the seven swing states where the result is expected to be decided.

The world is anxiously watching the election, which is set to have profound implications for conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine, and for tackling climate change.

Both sides say they are encouraged by early turnout numbers, with over 78 million people having voted already, around half of the total number of ballots cast in 2020.

No middle ground

The closeness of the 2024 White House race reflects a deeply divided United States, as it chooses between two candidates whose visions could scarcely be more different.

Media outlets and political parties have poured millions of dollars into advertising campaigns that leave little room for middle ground.

This stark divide is a reflection of the American political system, where the winner-takes-all approach often marginalises third-party candidates and reinforces the dominance of the two major parties.

US elections: Who are the running mates for the key candidates?

As election day approaches, the spotlight has fallen on undecided voters who may ultimately tip the scales in this tight race.

Campaign volunteers have been working tirelessly, engaging directly with potential voters in an effort to sway opinions and drive turnout.

To discuss what is at stake, RFI’s Jan van der Made spoke to analyst J. Wesley Leckrone, Chair Political Science Widener University, Daniel Hopkins, Political Scientist University of Pennsylvania and Daniel Laurison, Associate Professor Sociology at Swarthmore College and former campaigner for Barack Obama.

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.