European politicians are attempting to gain a foothold in the looming peace negotiations after Trump sidelined them as well as the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky by making direct contact with Putin on 12 February.

“You can discuss whatever you want with Putin,” said Kallas at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “But if it comes to Europe or Ukraine, then Ukraine and Europe also have to agree to this deal.”

Trump has fuelled fears that Ukraine might be humiliated. Questioning Zelenksy’s political legitimacy, Trump said: “We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law.”

In a post on social media, Trump added: “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.” 

Kallas said: “To look at the messages that come from the United States, then it’s clear that the Russian narrative is there, very strongly represented.”

Kallas’s visit to the American capital comes as part of intense diplomatic activity in the city. The French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the US on Monday – the third anniversary of the Russian invasion – and joined Trump in the Oval Office to take part in a call with the heads of the G7 leading economies and Zelensky.

A video posted by Zelensky on social media showed Trump behind his desk during the G7 call with Macron on his right hand side and US Vice President JD Vance to his left.

At their meeting later, Macron was expected to present several proposals warning Trump over the dangers of accepting a bad agreement over Ukraine.

“I’m going to tell him: being weak in the face of Putin, it’s not in your interest,” Macron said on his social networks last week. “Otherwise how else will you be able to be strong in the face of China and Iran?”

Kudos

Macron is the first European leader to visit Trump since his inauguration on 20 January. He will be followed by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday. During Starmer’s visit, Kallas is due to conclude two days of meetings with Rubio and other senior officials.

Trump’s acolytes have also caused concern in Europe over their approach towards Ukraine and the commitment to honouring American obligations to the defence bloc Nato.

“It’s clear that the statements coming from the United States make us all worried,” Kallas added. “I want to stress that Nato is a defence alliance that is there for the defence of all the members, and it has worked well, also for America.”

In response to Washington’s equivocation, EU leaders will meet in Brussels next week for an emergency summit on Ukraine and bolstering their own defences with increased spending.

They are expected to agree a new package of arms for Ukrainian air defences as well as artillery shells and missiles.

“The details, especially the numbers, will be decided and discussed at the extraordinary European summit on 6 March,” said Kallas.

(With newswires)

After a two hour meeting with four farmers’ unions Monday morning Bayrou set out with Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard to tour the stands of the fair, tasting products from different regions and speaking with producers and farmers.

Bayrou praised the “positive” interactions with the FNSEA, Jeunes agriculteurs, Coordination rurale and Confédération paysanne unions, which he said “recognise the very big efforts” made by the government to meet their demands.

Yet, there are still “problems to resolve on prices, revenue, which is the most important problem”, he said.

The Senate is currently debating a lifting of a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, which some farmers say is important to allow them to continue to be competitive.

Bayrou said there is a “balance to be found”.

Agriculture Show opens in Paris with Morocco as guest of honour

While the main unions welcomed the meeting, and the government’s willingness to simplify regulations, the Confederation Paysanne was “extremely shocked by government’s remarks on food sovereignty”, said spokesperson Laurence Marandola.

On Sunday, visiting the agriculture fair, Genevard called for France to “produce more to eat better… produce more to import less”.

At the opening of the fair the day before, President Emmanuel Macron promised to do everything he could to “protect this French and European food sovereignty.”

Macron promises France will stand firm against EU-Mercosur trade deal

The FNSA has called on the lifting of environmental regulations in order to produce more, but the Confederation Paysanne considers it “irresponsible to call to produce more to export more while flouting the production capacity, the issue of limits and the sharing of resources”, Maradola said.

Food sovereignty is a key concept for the far right, and the National Rally’s president Jordan Bardella came to the fair Monday for the second time, as he called on European far right groups to suspend the European Green deal.

(with newswires)

The result of the appeal comes as no surprise, but the decision was made quickly on Monday.

The verdict “remains unchanged”, said judge Tatiana Sokolova, after Vinatier appeared in court to appeal the October 2024 conviction, and once again apologised for failing to register as a foreign agent.

During his trial in October, Vinatier – an expert on the former USSR – claimed that he was unaware of the requirement to register as a foreign agent under Russian law.

The law has been used to crack down on Kremlin critics, but not usually foreign citizens.

Vinatier, who was working in Russia for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Swiss NGO that mediates in conflicts outside official diplomatic channels, is one of several Westerners to have been arrested in Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Increased tension

He has been incarcerated since June 2024.

The French Foreign Affairs Ministry criticised the verdict, saying that Vinatier “was arbitrarily convicted”, and called for his “immediate release” and the repeal of Russia’s law on foreign agents which “goes against the commitments that Russia has made in terms of human rights”.

Vinatier’s arrest and conviction come as relations between Russia and France are increasingly tense, notably over the war in Ukraine.

Western countries have accused Russia in the past of arresting foreign in order to negotiate prisoner exchanges.

Vinatier was not among the prisoners involved in the biggest post Cold War prisoner exchange in August 2024.

(with AFP)

Following the setback at the Abbé-Deschamps stadium, Longoria ranted at the performance of referee Jérémy Stinat who dismissed the Marseille defender Derek Cornelius for two bookable offences. Marseille were also denied a penalty when Quentin Merlun was shoved off the ball in the Auxerre penalty area.

In his rage, Longoria fumed at what he described as scandalous and shameful decision-making.

“Let Pablo Longoria tell it like it is: this is real corruption!” added the 39-year-old Spaniard.

However, the comments brought immediate condemnation from Antony Gautier, the referees’ boss at the French Football Federation (FFF) as well as the outfit’s top executive Philippe Diallo.

“I would like to offer my full support to Jérémy Stinat, who was the victim of unacceptable comments made by OM’s directors,” said Gautier in a statement sent to the French news agency AFP.

Diallo also backed Stinat adding: “Calling into question the integrity of our referees is defamatory, unacceptable and reprehensible. 

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the comments made by the president of Olympique de Marseille against French refereeing in general and the referee of their match against Auxerre in particular.”

The French referee’s union, Safe, said it wanted Longoria’s scandalous remarks referred to the disciplinary watchdogs.

“No, Mr Longoria, French referees are not corrupt!” added the union in a statement. “Losing a match cannot justify calling into question the probity of French referees.

“To suggest that there is an organised system of corruption is not only defamatory of referees in professional leagues: it shows a lack of understanding of their work and their commitment to football, and it is a slur on all referees, both professional and amateur, with all the consequences that this can entail.”

On Monday, Longoria reined in his fury.

“I would like to say that there is no corruption in French football,” he told AFP.

Form

“The form wasn’t appropriate and I regret using that word.”

Longoria, who took over as president at Marseille in 2021, added: “I’m very self-critical, and I can’t accept this type of image. A club president can’t behave like that. Nothing justifies the form and I’m not happy with myself.

“Everyone has explained to me the meaning of the word corruption in French, because in Spanish it has a broader meaning. Mind you, that doesn’t justify anything. But I’ve never in my life thought about something like exchanging money or financial transactions, and I’d never allow myself to do that.

“I would like to say that there is no corruption in French football. That there are things that are not clear and that need to be improved, yes. And that’s what annoys me enormously. We need to improve a lot of things to avoid confusion for everyone.”

The loss – Marseille’s fifth of the season – left them 10 points adrift of pacesetters Paris Saint-Germain who capitalised on the defeat with a 3-2 victory at Lyon on Sunday night to surge 13 points clear with 11 games remaining.

“‘Even if there’s no reason for it, you have to understand how you get so angry,” added Longoria. “My first responsibility is to defend my club. There have been a lot of refereeing decisions this season in which I feel Marseille have been disadvantaged.”

The win allowed Auxerre to climb to 11th in Ligue 1 with 28 points afer 23 games.

Marseille remained second despite the defeat. However, Nice moved to within three points following a 2-0 success over Montpellier. 

During a meeting of the ruling Sacred Union coalition on Saturday,  Felix Tshisekedi told his ally to avoid internal quarrels: “We must unite,” he said. “Let’s stand together to face the enemy.”

Presidency spokesperson Tina Salama added that Tshisekedi would form a government of national unity as soon as possible and make changes in the leadership of the coalition, without giving further details.

Since the start of the year, Congo has faced back-to-back losses in North and South Kivu provinces, fueling criticism of the authorities’ military strategy.

The M23 movement has captured swathes of eastern Congo, including the key cities of Goma and Bukavu, and valuable minerals, exacerbating fears of a wider war.

Rwandan-backed M23 gains in eastern DRC spark UN warnings and regional fears

Political frictions

Meanwhile, in Kinshasa, some members of the fractious opposition are openly predicting Tshisekedi’s presidency will not last.

“His management is one of the causes of the current crisis,” said opposition figure Herve Diakiese, criticising the move to form a unity government.

“Tshisekedi is more concerned with saving his power, whereas we are more concerned with saving the Congo, and this can be done with or without him,” he added. 

Former president Joseph Kabila also criticised the bad governance of his successor on Sunday, saying he had a leading role in intensifying the conflict in the east of the country.

The unrest could not solely be blamed on the advances of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed movement or tensions between Kinshasa and Kigali, Kabila wrote in an opinion piece in South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper.

Since Tshisekedi took over in 2019 after winning the previous year’s election, the situation in the DRC had deteriorated to the point at which it was “close to imploding,” he added.

Listen to our podcast: The crisis in the DRC and the African Union response

Long-lasting regional tensions

Some 7,000 people have died since January in fighting in eastern DRC, the prime minister, Judith Suminwa Tuluka, told a high-level meeting of the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

At least 450,0000 people are without shelter after 90 displacement camps were destroyed, she added.

According to Ocha, around 700,000 people have fled their homes since 2023.

42,000 of them have crossed over into Burundi in the past two weeks, according to the United Nations.

The M23 says it is fighting in the Kivus to protect the rights of the DRC’s Tutsi minority. Its advance is the gravest escalation in more than a decade of the long-running conflict.

The group resumed fighting in 2021, two years after Tshisekedi came to power. Tshisekedi was then reelected in December 2023 for a second term.

 (with newswires)

The Sudanese Armed Forces said Sunday it had retaken control of the town of el-Gitaina, south of the capital, Khartoum, and ended the siege on el-Obeid to the west, hours after the RSF signed a political charter in Kenya for a “government of peace and unity” to establish a parallel government with allied political and armed groups.

The signatories agreed that Sudan should be a “secular, democratic, non-centralised state” with a single national army, though it preserved the right of armed groups to continue to exist.

The RSF and the army have been fighting for control of the county since April 2023, and until last week, a third faction, Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North had been fighting both the army and the RSF in the north of the country.

But in an unexpected turn of events, Hilu’s group was one of the key signatories to the RSF charter, providing a boost to the weakened paramilitary force led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemeti.

Sudan at ‘cataclysmic breaking point’ amid multiple crises, UN warns

The RSF has conquered nearly all of Darfur, but is unable to cement its hold on the region and appears on the verge of losing all of Khartoum to the army.

Hilu controls much of South Kordofan state from his foothold in the Nuba Mountains, as well as pockets of Blue Nile state bordering Ethiopia.

The new rebel alliance could grant border access to neighbouring countries, all of whom, except Egypt, support the RSF.

Egypt rejects RSF charter

“We reject any calls for the formation of parallel frameworks to the current framework in Sudan and affirm our full support for Sudan,” Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said at a press conference with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Youssef, adding that Sudan’s territorial integrity was a key concern for Egypt.

The alliance has drawn concern from the United Nations, and is a further sign of the splintering of the country during the war which has left tens of thousands of people dead and displaced at least 12 million, with gross human rights violations by all sides.

Sudan government rejects UN-backed famine declaration

Hemeti has been accused of widespread abuses, including genocide, and was the subject of sanctions by the United States in January.

Famine was officially declared in December in five parts of Sudan, and the African Union has called the conflict the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The medical charity MSF said on Monday that it has been forced to suspend its activities in the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, due to escalating attacks and fighting in and around it.

The camp is faced with famine, and MSF’s field hospital was treating patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

(with Reuters)

“Foreign contributions are a positive for a people, so long as they remain proportionate,” Bayrou said in a television interview in late January. “But as soon as you get the feeling of being flooded, of no longer recognising your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, there is a rejection.” He added that France was “approaching” this threshold.

With his use of the word “flood” Bayrou employed terms more commonly used by the anti-immigration far-right National Rally (RN) – now the largest single party in parliament.

French PM in hot water over migrant ‘flooding’ gaffe

The RN, formerly known as the National Front, has long maintained that such a migrant “flood” (soumission migratoire) is a reality in France. This echoes the notion of the “great replacement” – a term coined by author Renaud Camus, which claims that immigrants, and those from Africa in particular, will gradually replace Europe’s white, Christian populations.

Official data from France’s national statistics agency (Insee) does not support such a claim. In 2023, immigrants accounted for 7.3 million of France’s population of 68 million – or 10.7 percent. In 1975, they made up 7.4 percent.

The proportion of foreigners rose from 6.5 percent to 8.2 percent in the same 50-year period. Around 3.5 percent are from the European Union and the rest from non-EU countries. An estimated 0.25 percent entered the country illegally.

“If you look at the numbers, it’s hard to say that there is an overwhelming crowd of foreigners,” says Tania Racho, a researcher on European law, who also works for an NGO fighting disinformation on migration issues.

There has been a steady progression in the proportion of foreigners, she says, with an increase of “about 2 percent in the past 10 to 15 years,” while the annual number of new arrivals to France – 300,000 – has remained fairly stable. 

This increase reflects a global trend, and several other countries have higher proportions of foreign residents than France, says Racho – 16 percent of Sweden’s population are foreigners, and in Germany the figure is 15 percent. The United States, United Kingdom and Turkey also have a higher percentage of foreign residents than France.

Meanwhile, demographer François Heran’s research has found the increase in France was largely thanks to economic and student migration, and that family reunification had declined.

Listen to our conversation with Tania Racho on the Spotlight on France podcast, episode 124.

A post-truth society

However, Racho points out, the debate is not necessarily rooted in figures. “It’s not about the numbers really, it’s about the feeling of considering there are a lot of foreigners in France. And it’s more complicated on a scientific level to measure a feeling.”

Research shows the French tend to overestimate the number of foreigners in the country – putting the number at 23 percent rather than the real figure of 8.2 percent. 

“We’re in a changing world, where scientific reality is no longer the foundation of political decisions,” the researcher says. “It’s true in the US and unfortunately, it’s also coming in France.”

She cites an example from France’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau. When recently questioned about the claim by CEPII, a public institute for research in global economics, that “studies were unanimous in concluding immigration had no impact on delinquency” the minister replied: “Reality belies this study.”

Economic research on migration issues is clearly struggling to be heard, said Racho.

French Senate backs bill to stop undocumented immigrants from getting married

An online poll for French TV channel BFMTV in the wake of Bayrou’s remarks, which surveyed 1,005 people, found that nearly two out of three French people (64 percent) thought he was right to refer to a “feeling of a migrant flood”. But broader, more in-depth surveys paint a more nuanced picture.

The recently published long-term European Social Survey 2023-2024 – which spoke to 40,000 people in 31 countries – on attitudes towards immigration found that 69 percent of French people do not have a sense of migratory flooding and agreed that “many or some immigrants from a different ethnic group [than the majority] should be allowed to come and live in the country”. 

Another study by Destin Commun, the French branch of the UK’s More in Common think tank, found that around 60 percent of French people said they had no opinion on migration whereas 20 percent thought it was linked to national identity.

“The truth is those 20 percent speak out more,” Racho notes. “They are more [active] on social networks, there’s more media coverage of the people that have a strong opinion on the question, [rather than] the 60 percent that don’t.”

Debating identity

Bayrou has called for a national debate not just on migration, but on what it means to be French. “What’s been fermenting for years is [the question], what does it mean to be French?” he told broadcaster RMC. “What rights does it give you? What duties does it demand of you? What advantages do you get? What do you commit to when you become a member of a national community?”

“It could be useful on some level to be sure that the reality of migration is better known,” Racho said. “It could be interesting to have a real, deep debate if it’s possible. It really depends on the way it’s treated.”

PM Bayrou calls for national debate on immigration after controversial ‘flooding’ comments

A previous debate on national identity, launched in 2009 under former right-wing president Nicolas Sarkozy, saw some 350 public debates held over three months, from which no concrete measures emerged.

Bayrou opposed the initiative at the time, saying: “Nothing is worse than turning identity into a subject of political confrontation and partisan use… The nation belongs to everyone.”

The Parisian exhibition, titled Dennis Morris – Music + Life, offers a glimpse into Morris’s black-and-white photographs, capturing the Jamaican and Sikh communities in London’s Hackney during the 1970s, as well as the white working-class, “The Happy Breed”.

Morris’s passion for photography began at an early age – his first photograph was published on the front page of the Daily Mirror when he was just 11. He met Bob Marley in the early 1970s at the age of 16 and went on to capture some of the most iconic images of the reggae legend, both on and off stage.

The photographer who describes himself as always “sharp, stylish and cool” didn’t just capture images, he worked as a stylist for various Jamaican musicians and played a role in transforming Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols into John Lydon for his next venture, Public Image Limited (PiL).

More recently, Morris worked with the band Oasis, drawing comparisons to the Sex Pistols, describing it as “absolute chaos”.

RFI: You had an exhibition at La Fab in Paris last year, and now at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. What is your connection to Paris?

Dennis Morris: I’ve been and worked in Paris many times. I used to do a lot of work for Rock&folk magazine and I have many connections here. I’ve worked with quite a few French bands such as The Rita Mitsouko, Telephone, FFF.

Paris is a very creative place. It’s a place where I think artists can come to find themselves. You know, sometimes artists reach a point in their career where they are looking for something, a new direction or they feel stagnated.  

Artists will come to Paris to find themselves and then to recreate themselves in that sense.  

And Paris is a beautiful city, architecturally, spiritually in that way.

RFI: At the MEP, there is a dedicated space showcasing your photographs of Bob Marley, both on and off stage. When did you first meet him?

Dennis Morris: The first time I met Bob Marley, it was my last year at school and I was very much into photography and music.

I had read in one of the music papers that he was coming over to do his first tour of England. I decided I wanted to meet him and take some photos of him.

So I went to the first venue he was to play on the tour in London, a place called the Speakeasy Club.

I didn’t go to school that day and went to the club, maybe at 10am in the morning. I didn’t know anything really about the music, how bands operated. I was there at 10am and they didn’t turn up till around 3 or 4pm to do their sound check.

I just waited and waited and eventually he arrived, and I walked up to him and said: “Can I take your picture? He said: “Yeah man, come in.” I went into the club with him, and while they were doing their sound check when they had a break, he was asking me what it was like to be a young black kid in England. And I was asking him about Jamaica.

He really liked me and said: “Would I like to come on the tour?” And I said, yes. So the next day I packed my bag as if I was doing sports and went to the hotel.

In those days, there wasn’t a tour bus. It was a van. And the very famous picture, one of my most iconic images of Bob. I was sitting in the row of seats behind, and he turned round and said: “You ready, Dennis?” And I said, yeah. And took the shot.

It’s become one of my most iconic images.

RFI: Are you a musician yourself? 

Dennis Morris: Yes, I had a stage in my career as a photographer where I decided I wanted to make my own music. A band was formed with Basement Five. 

I was the lead vocalist and very funny story was basically we were like a black punk band. But it was basically my influences from photography was punk and reggae, and I sort of fused the two together. 

It was very difficult for us because no one really understood us… Because we were black, people expected us to play reggae or to play funk or soul, and we weren’t like that at all. 

And so what was really strange about it was at the time our support was U2, we went on to bigger things. But we had a very big following, but we had very bad management. U2 had a brilliant manager. 

RFI: You’ve mentioned overcoming significant challenges in your life to become a photographer.How important is this achievement for you?

Dennis Morris: My ambition as a photographer was to be seen or recognised as one of the great photographers. If I have achieved that, I’m not sure. That’s not for me to say. That’s for the public to say. 

I’m also very grateful for what photography has given me in terms of it’s opened many doors for me. I’ve travelled the world through my photography and my work is recognised worldwide.  

For instance, in Japan, they call me “living legend”. Dennis Morris is a living legend, you know… So I am very proud of what I’ve been able to achieve.  

RFI: What does ‘punk’ mean for you? Are you a punk? 

Dennis Morris: I am a punk. Punk is a state of mind, a way of thinking. It’s not really about the way you dress. 

What punk really means is the ability, the desire to achieve what you want against all the odds, to go against the grain in that sense.

Working with Bob Marley…I learned how to be positive within myself, to recognise myself as a as a black man, as being equal to anyone. I learned my history. And more importantly, it gave me a sense to ground myself. 

With punk, I learned how to kick down the door to take what I want. And through Bob Marley, I learned how to ground myself through spirituality in that sense and positivity. 

► The exhibition Dennis Morris – Music + Life runs until 18 May, 2025 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris.

The conflict in the eastern DRC has experienced a dramatic escalation recently.

Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf elected as AU commission chairman

The city of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province, fell to M23 fighters at the end of January.

The rebels are being supported by Rwandan soldiers, a claim that the government in Kigali continues to deny, despite evidence and reports of casualties among Rwandan troops.

Fighting resumes in DRC’s South Kivu ahead of crisis talks

The city has come to symbolise the conflict that has torn apart eastern DRC for more than three decades.

The M23 has launched additional attacks in South Kivu, and despite talks in Tanzania earlier in February and a brief ceasefire, the fighting persists. As a result, millions of Congolese have been displaced, with nearly 3,000 lives lost.

To explore the role of diplomacy in the country, as well as in other violent crises across the continent, my first guest is Liesl Louw-Vaudran from the International Crisis Group.

She joins us from Addis Ababa, where the African Union’s headquarters are located, following the release of the group’s annual report outlining the eight priorities the AU should focus on.

We will also hear from civilians fleeing Goma and from Paulin Nkwosseu, the Chief of Field Offices at UNICEF for the DRC.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

The applications, which the United Nations cultural arm will examine in July 2026, were developed in collaboration with the municipal and regional councils that administer the two sites, according to a Ministry of Culture communiqué.

The D-Day landings on beaches along the Normandy coast in 1944 turned the tide of the Second World War in Europe. The Ministry said the beaches represent a “place of gathering around a universal message” and carry “the memory of a fight for freedom and peace”.

The area proposed for Unesco World Heritage status is made up of the five sectors of the Landings as defined by the Allies in 1944: Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach and Sword Beach, spanning more than 80 kilometres of coastline.

The coastline is littered with the legacy of the war, from the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall to the wrecks of French, English and German warships.

The application was initiated in 2014 and initially submitted in 2018 but its examination by the Unesco World Heritage Committee scheduled for 2019 was postponed, with the organisation saying it was considering “the evaluation of sites associated with recent conflicts”.

Cultural treasures in Africa and French Polynesia join Unesco heritage list

‘The logical next step’

The committee lifted this moratorium in January 2023, allowing memorial applications submitted before 2022 to be examined outside the quota of one application per year and per state, the Ministry said.

“We all hope that this application will succeed, it is the logical next step in the process of remembrance and commemoration,” Michael Dodds, director of the Normandy Regional Tourism Committee, told French news agency AFP.

Remembering D-Day’s heavy toll on French civilians

Unesco has adopted several guiding principles concerning the participation of all stakeholders potentially affected by a conflict.

Since then, five memorial sites have become World Heritage Sites, including 139 burial sites from the First World War located in France and Belgium, and four memorials commemorating the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.

France’s second application concerns “the system of fortresses of the Seneschal of Carcassonne, built in the 13th to 14th centuries”.

This system is made up of eight monuments situated between the departments of Aude and Ariège: the ramparts of Carcassonne and the nearby castles of Lastours, Termes, Aguilar, Peyrepertuse, Quéribus, Puilaurens and Montségur, the Ministry said.

“Built on rocky peaks in grandiose landscapes,” these monuments “illustrate a pivotal period in history and offer a unique example of military architecture giving them exceptional universal value”.

(with AFP)

Countries are looking for sovereignty in artificial intelligence and at a major AI summit in Paris this week, France and the EU backed a “third path” approach to AI – midway between the US’ private tech firm-dominated model and China’s state-controlled technology. With a focus on regulation to ensure trust, France is creating public/private partnerships, and encouraging companies to develop home-grown products. Linagora, an open-source software developper, recently released a large language model (LLM) trained on French and European content, in contrast to American LLMs like ChatGPT that are trained on mainly US content. While chatbot Lucie got off to a rocky start, Linagora’s General Manager Michel Maudet says there’s a clear need for technology focused on Europe, able to address the nuance of the continent’s languages and culture. (Listen @0′)

French MPs recently voted a controversial draft bill to end birthright citizenship on the overseas department of Mayotte to discourage illegal immigration from neighbouring Comoros. Prime Minister François Bayrou supports the proposed measure and has called for a wider debate on immigration and what it means to be French. His earlier remarks that there was a feeling immigrants were “flooding” France have caused outrage on the left in particular.  We talk to Tania Racho, a researcher on European law and who also works for an association fighting disinformation on migration issues, about the reality of immigration in France. While the data does not support claims France is overwhelmed with foreigners, people’s perceptions – nourished by a fixation on migration by both politicians and media – tell a different story. (Listen @18’40”)

Twenty years after the 11 February 2005 law on disability and inclusion, daily life for France’s 12 million people living with disabilities has improved. But since the law underestimated the timelines and costs of accessibility, there’s still a lot of work to be done. (Listen @14’30”)

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora. 

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).

Naâman released his final song Mon Amour in December as a testament to life and love. “Life only dies in books”, he sang.

Born in Normandy, he fell in love with the music of Bob Marley aged 12 and went on to become a leading figure on the French reggae scene combining hip-hop and raggamuffin with more traditional beats.

His catchy hit Outta Road garnered some 29 million views online.

RFI’s World Music Matters met Naâman in 2015 for the release of his second album Rays of Resistance where, among other things, he talked about transcending the ego in music.

“We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe. In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on social media.

She arrived with the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, in a show of solidarity in the face of an attempt by US President Donald Trump to broker an end to the war with a rapprochement with Russia.

Rival UN resolutions

The US has submitted a draft United Nations resolution on the anniversary to rival a text drafted by Ukraine and its European allies, which makes no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and simply calls for a “swift end” to the conflict.

The text reiterates that the UN’s main purpose is to maintain international peace and security and peacefully settle disputes.

The 193-member UN General Assembly has repeatedly backed Ukraine’s sovereignty within its internationally-recognised borders since the war began.

The 15-member Security Council is set to vote on the same US text later on Monday, and it needs at least nine votes in favour to pass, and no vetoes by the US, Russia, China, Britain or France to be adopted.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. No country holds a veto in the assembly.

(with newswires)

Hundreds of people have gathered in the Glass House of the Berlin Arena, an old bus factory located at the bank of the river Spree that now hosts techno parties and other events.

The atmosphere is one of exaltation and speeches are received with thunderous applause, happy shouting and whistles.

They are celebrating the fact that the Die Linke party (“The Left”) garnered 8.5 percent of the votes in Germany’s national elections held on Sunday.

During the previous elections in 2021, it did not make the 5 percent threshold needed to enter the Bundestag (parliament).

Scholz’s SPD suffers historic election loss, as Germany’s far-right AfD doubles in size

This time the heated campaign energised voters, with a turnout of 84 percent, the highest level since Germany‘s reunification in 1990.

“I’m absolutely enthusiastic about it. It is absolutely amazing. And nobody expected it,” Tess, one of the Die Linke supporters tells RFI. 

Die Linke is an offspring of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) that ruled communist East Germany for seven decades.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the SED morphed into the Democratic Socialist Party (PDS) and, in 2005 changed its name to Die Linke, which reached its biggest success in 2009 with 11.9 percent of the votes.

Its popularity faded, and in 2021, the party disappeared from the Bundestag due to lack of support. 

Some of the older members trace their current membership back to the days of the SED, the party that became notorious for its iron rule, complete subordination to the USSR’s Communist Party and its regime of Stasi secret police that monitored and persecuted the population of East Germany.

But today, the party wants to radiate youthfulness and enthusiasm.

Commentators on German radio, say that Die Linke is now a “youthful party” that cares, among other things, about ecology – something that used to be the monopoly of the Green party.

Germany’s pivotal election: rising AfD, struggling left, and Europe’s uncertain future

Die Linke is also gaining ground in response to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which came second in the polls with a record 20 percent, driven by fears over immigration and with strongest gains in its heartland in the ex-communist east.

“Of course it is very frightening to see that the far-right party is the second most successful party.” says Nico, another Linke supporter who is at the election night event at Berlin Arena. “But still we are very happy that we are back as a party,” he tells RFI.

Friedrich Merz, whose CDU/CSU alliance claimed victory with 28 percent of the vote, now has to form a coalition.

He is most likely to side with the vanquished Social Democrats (SPD) of the outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz but has pledged not to include the AfD in the future composition.

But both Tess and Nico think that Die Linke should not form a part of the government either.

“Die Linke is an opposition party,” says Tess, laughing away the idea of Die Linke governing. 

Nico agrees: “The promises that were made by the other parties are not going to be upheld. And that’s why there has to be a social opposition in the parliament. And that’s going to be the Left Party,” he says confidently.

Exit polls from Germany’s election were released right on time at 6:00 PM on Sunday, showing the CDU/CSU in the lead with 29 percent of the vote. The AfD followed with 19.5 percent, while the Socialist SPD secured third place at 16 percent. The Green Party came in at 13.5 percent, and Die Linke surprised many by earning 8.5 percent.

While most results were in line with expectations, the liberal FDP faced a major setback. After playing a key role in bringing down the previous government – leading to this very election – the party is projected to receive just 4.9 percent of the vote.

This puts them just below the crucial 5 percent threshold needed to enter parliament.

Another unexpected twist came from Die Linke. Pre-election polls had estimated the party at around 5 percent, but exit polls suggest a much stronger showing at 8.5 percent.

If confirmed, this would mark a major victory for a party with deep roots in East Germany’s former Communist regime.

Die Linke’s biggest rival – the party led by dissident member Sahra Wagenknecht – performed poorly in the polls and is unlikely to meet the 5 percent threshold needed to sit in the Bundestag.

In the wake of the exit polls, all of Germany’s parties have organised “election night” events, but the atmosphere will differ vastly from one to the other.

The AfD is celebrating, but their premises was cordoned off by police over plans by left-wing groups to “interfere” with their festivities.

Celebrations notwithstanding for the victorious CDU, party leader Friedrich Merz is now facing the unenviable task of forming a coalition.

“The mathematics have begun” according to one commentator with the national ARD TV channel.

As there will likely be only five parties in parliament, the combinations are limited.

The coalition possibilities – as they stand – are a troika of either CDU-SPD-Greens or CDU-SPD-Die Linke.

As the CDU – and other parties – have rejected forming a coalition government with the AfD, an alliance with the far right is highly unlikely.

Nevertheless, AfD leader Alice Weidel has claimed, just minutes after the results were announced, that the AfD is “now a mainstream party” and that their hand “remains outstreched” to the CDU.

But even if Merz breaks his election promises – as he showed that he is not against cooperating with the AfD, given a recent joint proposal on immigration – he would still need a third party to form a government. 

Merz is due to give a press conference on Monday, where he may shed light on what he has in mind for the days and weeks of political horse-trading ahead. 

The United States’ military presence in Syria has been called into question, as President Donald Trump faces conflicting pressure from Turkey and Israel over the 2000-strong US force supporting a Syrian Kurdish-led coalition.

The US force is supporting an Arab-Kurdish coalition of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its war against the Islamic State (IS) group.

Thousands of IS militants are currently being held in SDF prisons, but the US military presence now hangs in the balance. 

Turkey analyst Sinan Ciddi, of the Washington-based research institute, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says Trump is in a dilemma because he ran on this promise of putting America first. “Getting out of foreign entanglements, not committing US troops and US money to parts of the world in which the US doesn’t have any interest,” he tells RFI.

However, Ciddi warns a quick withdrawal would not be without risk: “The dilemma for Trump is that in a theatre such as Syria, if he were to pull back 2,000 troops, then you’ve got this major security threat.”

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

Turkey labels SDF ‘insurgents’

However, a US pullout would be welcomed by its NATO ally Turkey. Ankara strongly opposes Washington’s military support for the SDF, which it accuses of being linked to Kurdish insurgents fighting Turkey.

International relations expert Bilgehan Alagoz, of Istanbul’s Marmara University, maintains the US deployment has poisoned relations between the two allies, but says a withdrawal by Trump would offer a reset in ties.

“I believe that there is going to be a new ground between Turkey and the United States,” Alagoz said. “And Turkey will guarantee the safety of US soldiers and a successful withdrawal from Syria. So it is all going to be a kind of new negotiation between Turkey and the United States.”

Until now, US soldiers in Syria have prevented the Turkish military – massed on the Syrian border – from overwhelming the SDF, but time may be running out for the Kurdish-led forces.

“Assuming that the US withdraws at one point from Syria … this will mean the end of the diplomatic umbrella for the SDF that the US was able to put over them,” according to Aydin Selcen, a former Turkish diplomat and now foreign policy analyst for Turkey’s Medyascope independent news outlet.

Selcen warns that the SDF has only a small window to secure its future: “Time is of the essence for the SDF to get their act together and join forces with Damascus… to fold their forces into the Syrian armed forces, which would also satisfy Ankara’s security concerns.”

Turkey steps up military action against Kurds in Syria as power shifts

Israel sees SDF as key against IS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has close ties with Syria’s new leaders, and is demanding that the SDF disband or face a Turkish assault.

However, the Israeli government is voicing support for American backing for the SDF, given the risk posed by the Islamic State.

“We know that the SDF controls prisons in which there are around 10,000 Islamic State fighters and families,” explains Gallia Lindenstrauss, a foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“Nobody wants to see the resurgence of the Islamic State. And I think in this respect, the US understands this is a small number of troops [and] they are effective. So why pull them out?”

Paris hosts global conference on shaping Syria’s future

Lindenstrauss told RFI: “Israel has voiced that it does want to see the West continue supporting the Kurdish presence in northeast Syria, so there will be Israeli diplomatic efforts to keep the [US] troops there.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, recently underlined the importance of the Syrian Kurds as an ally to Israel – a message that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to have delivered to Trump during his visit to Washington this month, Ciddi believes.

“We’ve seen an increase in moves by the Israeli government to provide more formal and government support for non-state actors, such as the Syrian Kurds,” he said. “Because they understand that hitherto they’ve been entirely reliable in thwarting some of the major security concerns that the Israelis hold close to their heart.”

In January, United States President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause in all foreign development aid, pending assessment of its consistency with his “America First” foreign policy, and dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

This foreign aid freeze has affected development programmes around the world, leaving shipments of medical supplies, including HIV drugs, stranded and disaster response teams unable to deploy. Waivers for “life-saving humanitarian assistance” too have been hampered.

South Africa is particularly severely affected, as Trump has issued an executive order to cut all funding to the country, citing disapproval of its land reform policy and its genocide case against US ally Israel.

South Africa unites against Trump as US freezes aid over land reform

South Africa has the world’s largest population of people living with HIV – more than 8 million – and has become a hub for research on a potential vaccine. But key clinical trials and research have already been halted.

Results on ice

South African lab technician Nozipho Mlotshwa was waiting for test results for the vaccine, when the order came from USAID to stop work.

The first round of vaccines she and her colleagues made in Johannesburg had produced an immune response in rabbits, which was promising but not conclusive. The team tweaked the formula and sent off four new versions for pre-clinical tests.

“This was very exciting, we were getting quite good results,” Mlotshwa, 32, told news agency Reuters from her lab in the Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit at the city’s University of the Witwatersrand.

Now the animal blood samples containing the results are sitting untouched in a freezer.

A trial of an earlier, separate vaccine candidate, which was about to be tested on humans in South Africa as well as Kenya and Uganda, is also on ice.

Trump’s aid freeze could cause millions more AIDS deaths: UN agency

These labs are part of a wider South African-led HIV vaccine development scheme known as BRILLIANT and funded entirely by a $45 million grant from USAID. It is now unclear if or when the project will be resumed.

‘We were gaining momentum’

The project is one of many worldwide to be hit by Trump’s actions since he took office last month. Others affected include efforts to protect food crops from pests and diseases, and the publication of a paper on the mpox outbreak – which has now been blocked.

“It feels like you’re building something and you could really make a huge difference,” Nigel Garrett, chief scientific officer at the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, said. “And then it’s wiped away.”

HIV’s ability to mutate quickly has confounded efforts to create a vaccine ever since it was first identified in 1983. The researchers in Johannesburg are using the mRNA technology behind some of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Several other mRNA-based HIV vaccine candidates worldwide have reached clinical trials, but BRILLIANT is unique in being African-led, aiming to develop capacity for producing vaccines in Africa.

For the past year the Johannesburg team had been working with genetic sequences from two South African patients who have HIV but whose bodies produce a rare type of antibody that neutralises the virus. They are trying to simulate that immune response.

“We were gaining momentum,” said Patrick Arbuthnot, director of the research unit, adding: “An HIV vaccine is the holy grail of the field.”

World Aids Day Q&A: Discrimination still prevents access to life-saving care

‘Good for the world’

Ntobeko Ntusi, CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, is spearheading the HIV vaccine search.

“Most of the landmark and groundbreaking studies have been conducted in this country. But these have been good for the whole world,” he said.

Ntusi says he does not expect funding for projects like BRILLIANT to resume, given the executive order on aid to South Africa.

The council gets around a third of its funding from US federal sources, for research that is mostly on HIV and tuberculosis but covers other areas including maternal and infant mortality and antimicrobial resistance, he said.

Garrett, from the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation, says the vaccine that was ready for testing on humans was a mix of two substances developed in the US and the Netherlands, which have shown promise but never been tested together. They are now sitting in storage.

“We had a huge opportunity, good funding. It’s difficult for other funders to fill that gap,” he concluded.

 (Reuters)

The trial of Joel Le Scouarnec, who stands accused of an unprecedented scale of child sexual abuse, has sent shockwaves through France, raising questions about the public healthcare system’s ability to protect its most vulnerable patients.

In 2017, police uncovered a cache of sex dolls, wigs, and child pornography at Le Scouarnec’s home following his arrest for raping a six-year-old neighbour.

Investigators also found electronic diaries meticulously detailing nearly three decades of alleged rapes and sexual assaults on hundreds of young patients across various hospitals.

This discovery led to Le Scouarnec’s conviction in 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of four minors, including his nieces and a patient.

Amélie Leveque – one of the surgeon’s alleged victims – told FranceInfo:

“No one can imagine the horror. He made vulgar gestures, using foul language. That’s why I describe him as ‘wicked’… because this is a little, nine-year-old girl recalling it. I cried a lot… I never thought anything like this could ever happen to me during an operation”.

Echoes of Pellicot rape trial

But Le Scouarnec’s alleged crimes go beyond those convictions.

Prosecutors have now charged him with the aggravated rape and sexual assault of 299 people – many of them children – some of whom were allegedly abused while under anaesthesia.

The former surgeon, now 74, has reportedly admitted to many of these accusations, though his lawyers have declined to comment ahead of the trial.

The opening of the trial in the Breton town of Vannes coincides with a period of intense scrutiny of sexual crimes in France, following the conviction of Dominique Pellicot in December.

Pellicot was found guilty of drugging his wife and facilitating her rape by dozens of men, a case that horrified the world and highlighted systemic failures in preventing such crimes.

Systemic failures

Le Scouarnec’s case will cast a light on the country’s healthcare oversight mechanisms.

In 2005, Le Scouarnec received a suspended four-month sentence for child pornography and secured a job at Quimperlé public hospital the following year.

Despite a psychiatrist’s concerns about his behaviour in 2006, he continued practicing in public hospitals and working with children until his arrest in 2017.

This has left victims and advocacy groups questioning how the healthcare system failed to protect minors.

Prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger has initiated a separate investigation to determine if any agencies or individuals bear criminal liability for failing to prevent the alleged abuse.

Victims traumatised

The investigation into Le Scouarnec’s alleged crimes has been painstaking, involving the tracking down of potential victims by matching diary descriptions with hospital records.

Many victims, anesthetised during the alleged abuse, had no recollection but exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic stress, as documented by psychiatrists.

One particularly harrowing account involves Mathis Vinet, who was 10 when he was allegedly assaulted by Le Scouarnec in 2007.

Mathis’s life spiralled into substance abuse following the hospital visit, and he died of an overdose in 2021, shortly after learning of the alleged abuse.

His family – plaintiffs in the case – blame Le Scouarnec for Mathis’s death.

A man who went on a stabbing rampage in Mulhouse, Alsace on Saturday – killing one and wounding several others – was on a terrorism watchlist and subject to deportation orders.

The knife-wielding suspect is a 37-year-old Algerian-born man identified as Brahim Abdessemed.

President Macron has condemned the incident, unequivocally labelling it an “Islamist terrorist act” and reaffirming the nation’s commitment to eradicating terrorism.

Posting on X, Macron expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and the solidarity of the French people.  

The assault occurred around 4:00 PM local time near the Covered Market in Mulhouse, coinciding with a demonstration supporting the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Witnesses reported that the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” – “God is great” – multiple times during the rampage.

He first targeted municipal police officers, inflicting serious injuries on two – one officer sustained a wound to the carotid artery, while another was stabbed in the chest.

Three additional officers suffered minor injuries. A 69-year-old Portuguese national, who intervened to assist the officers, was fatally wounded.

The assailant was apprehended at the scene. 

Paris trial begins over 2013 Islamic State kidnappings of Westerners in Syria

Assailant’s background

Brahim Abdessemed reportedly arrived in France illegally in 2014 and had been under scrutiny by French intelligence services for his radical Islamist views.

In December 2023, he was convicted for “glorifying terrorism” after posting a 15-minute video in which he recited verses from the Koran and called on Muslims to “take up arms and fight the infidels”.

He was sentenced to six months in prison and issued an order to leave French territory.

Despite being placed under house arrest, efforts to deport him were unsuccessful due to Algeria’s refusal to accept his repatriation.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau revealed that France had attempted to expel Abdessemed ten times, but each attempt was thwarted by Algeria’s non-cooperation.

Man jailed for knife attack aimed at French magazine Charlie Hebdo

Combatting terrorism

In the aftermath of Saturday’s attack, President Macron expressed his condolences to the victim’s family and emphasised the government’s determination to combat terrorism on French soil.

He stated, “Once again, Islamist terrorism has struck, and we are in mourning.”

Prime Minister François Bayrou echoed these sentiments, denouncing the act as fanaticism and extending sympathies to the affected families.

The attack has affected the residents of Mulhouse, a city of approximately 110,000 people near the German border.

Mayor Michèle Lutz expressed her shock at the incident, stating: “Horror has just seized our city”.

The local community has rallied together, holding vigils and offering support to the victims’ families and the injured officers.

Heightened security at Strasbourg Christmas market after attack in Germany

Investigation underway

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Retailleau visited Mulhouse to assess the situation and support local authorities.

France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) has taken charge of the investigation, focusing on charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise.

Authorities are probing Abdessemed’s history, including his radicalisation process and potential connections to extremist networks.

The incident has reignited debates over France’s immigration policies and the challenges associated with deporting individuals deemed security threats, especially when their countries of origin refuse repatriation.

It has also sparked discussion on the balance between civil liberties and security measures, as well as the effectiveness of France’s counter-terrorism strategies.

Speaking to French broadcaster BFMTV on Friday, education minister Elisabeth Borne said: “I want us to be able to organise, together with the prefect, the prosecutor and the representative of the education system, regular bag searches at the entrance of schools.”

The spot searches will begin in the spring, and will be carried out by police as teachers and school staff are not authorised to search pupils.

The new policy was prompted by stabbings becoming “much more common,” Borne said.

Macron condemns ‘Islamist terror’ after deadly Mulhouse knife attack

Schools under surveillance

She added she would also seek a rule change by which any pupil found with a bladed weapon at school would automatically have to appear before a disciplinary council. Any such case would also trigger a notification of prosecutors “without exception”. Currently such a procedure is at the discretion of heads of schools.

Minute of silence in memory of French teachers killed by jihadists

At the start of the month, a 17-year-old high school student was seriously wounded in a stabbing at his school in Bagneux, a southwestern suburb of Paris.

Seine-Saint-Denis, a region north of the capital with above-average crime rates, this month placed around 20 middle and high schools under police surveillance, with some 100 officers deployed.

The move was to help “prevent a repeat of violent acts” after a series of incidents, the authorities said.

French teen dies of heart failure after knife attack near school

(with AFP)

Seeking redemption after an error-strewn defeat to England on 8 February, Fabien Galthié’s men ran in four tries before the half hour mark.

“We were able to keep the intensity for 80 minutes which is not easy against this Italy team, so we can be proud,” said France captain Antoine Dupont.

“When we had the chance to score the tries against England we made mistakes. Today, it was better.”

Italy suggested a contest with the first try of the afternoon from Tommaso Menoncello. France replied when lock Mickael Guillard smashed his way through.

Tommaso Allan kicked Italy ahead 10-7 but France touched down twice in three minutes. Hooker Peato Mauvaka was driven over the line then Dupont set up up wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey.

Italy closed to within four points when Juan Ignacio Brex finished an Ange Capuozzo counterattack in the end-to-end action but France led 35-17 by half-time after flanker Paul Boudehent and Léo Barré barged through for tries.

Ascendance

The second-half was one-way traffic as Galthié reshuffled his forwards to grind the hosts down.

“They managed to exploit every little mistake we made, they really took everything,” said Italy skipper Michele Lamaro.

On Saturday, Ireland claimed the Triple Crown – victories over England, Scotland and Wales – with a 27-18 success in Cardiff to inflict a 15th consecutive defeat on Wales.

The hosts led 18-13 at half-time but Ireland recovered for the victory. “We didn’t panic and we had to eke it out one minute at a time,” said Ireland captain Dan Sheehan said. “That’s what all those lads have practised for years.”

Despite the continuation of their worst slump in their 144-year history, Wales skipper Jac Morgan hailed the improved performance of his side after losing 43-0 to France and 24-15 to Italy.

“Credit to Ireland, they’re one of the best teams in the world but we were in the game for most of it,” said Morgan. “I thought we were amazing.”

For the second match running, England won by a point. Against France, Elliot Daly scored a try in the 78th minute and Fin Smith converted to make it 26-25.

On Saturday, Scotland’s Finn Russell missed a conversion which enabled England to sneak home 16-15 and end a run of four consecutive defeats against the Scots.

On 8 March, Ireland host France in Dublin and Scotland entertain Wales at Murrayfield. On 9 March, England play Italy at Twickenham.

The upper-house Senate voted 210 to 81 this week to ban “the wearing of any sign or outfit ostensibly showing a political or religious affiliation” in competitions at regional and national level organised by all the country’s sports federations.

The bill still needs a majority of votes from the lower-house National Assembly to become law, but the right-leaning government has thrown its weight behind the measure.

Under France’s brand of secularism, civil servants, teachers and pupils cannot wear any obvious religious symbols such as a Christian cross, Jewish kippa, Sikh turban or Muslim headscarf, also known as a hijab.

While such a sweeping ban does not yet exist across all sports in France, several federations have already prohibited religious clothing including in football and basketball.

The draft law also bans outfits that might “contravene” principles of French secularism in France’s swimming pools.

French collective seeks to overturn ban on wearing Islamic veils during football matches

Government’s support

Critics see the headscarf worn by some Muslim women as a symbol of creeping Islamisation after deadly jihadist attacks in France, while others say they are just practising their religion and should wear what they want.

Michel Savin, the senator from the right-wing Republicans (LR) party who put forward the draft law, said “communitarian temptations” had overrun sports arenas.

Junior interior minister Francois-Noel Buffet, also from LR, said during the vote that the “government forcefully supports” the bill, describing it as a welcome move “against separatism”.

They were opposed by several senators on the left, who called the bill a violation of the 1905 law to protect freedom of conscience.

“By using this founding principle to serve your anti-Muslim rhetoric, you are only fomenting confusion… and stereotypes,” Socialist senator Patrick Kanner said.

‘Discriminatory’

Mathilde Ollivier, a Greens party senator, accused the right of “directly and gutlessly targeting Muslim women” in order to “exclude” them from sport.

Amnesty International, ahead of the vote, said such a law would only “exacerbate the blatant religious, racial and gender discrimination already experienced by Muslim women in France”.

“All women have the right to choose what to wear,” said Amnesty researcher Anna Blus.

“The sports hijab bans in France are yet another measure underpinned by Islamophobia and a patriarchal attempt to control what Muslim women wear.”

Activists slam France hijab ban saying ‘sports should be inclusive’

UN experts in October said that the football and basketball federations’ rules as well as the French government’s decision to prevent French athletes from wearing the headscarf while representing their country at the Paris Olympics, were “disproportionate and discriminatory”.

 (with AFP)

His first comments as the go-to face of the impending winter extravaganza were as assured as yesteryear’s surge to glory. 

“The challenge ahead of me is like a long field of bumps,” quipped Grospiron, who embarked on a career as a motivational speaker after hanging up his skis. “So you’re going to need strong knees … don’t worry, I’m used to it.

“We’re going to encounter bumps, but our mission is going to be to overcome them, to face them. The bigger the obstacle, the greater the opportunity behind it, and that’s what we’re going to be working on together with the organising committee.”

Top of the list will be the selection of a chief executive to help share the load. Around €600 million worth of sponsorship will also need to be secured to pad out the two billion euros allocated for the 26th Winter Olympic Games.

The egos of local, regional and national political leaders will have to be flattered and pampered while adhering to the icy demands of national and international Olympic administrators.

Global warming – leading to the amount and quality of the snow – will be a likely concern.

In the flurry of interviews after his anointment, Grospiron maintained his composure. 

Former skiing champion Grospiron takes on role as face of 2030 Winter Olympics

Task

“I don’t see it as a nightmare at all,” Grospiron told RFI. “On the contrary, I see it as a big challenge. And big challenges lead to big victories, and small challenges to small victories.

“What’s interesting about this project is that in France, we have extraordinary resources and we’re going to be able to mobilise them.

“They are already well mobilised to serve this project. It is a magnificent project that should also help to provide answers to the climate challenges we face”. 

Sports administrators in France are basking in the glow of a successful Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

The three-time Olympic canoeing champion, Tony Estanguet, headed that organising committee with drive and panache and French athletes then harvested record hauls of medals to justify the financial investments in their bids for personal and national kudos.

In the wake of those coups, regional government officials gleefully parade their savoir-faire during tours with delegations from future Olympic cities such as Los Angeles and Brisbane.

“It’s all about teamwork and synergy,” said Grospiron. “Managing to unite all the energies that will enable us to get there. Obviously, Paris 2024 leaves a legacy in terms of human resources, that are, shall we say, plug and play. And that’s a real opportunity”.

Grospiron emerged as a candidate after former biathlete Martin Fourcade quit at the beginning of February. Fourcade, France’s most successful Winter Olympian with six golds and a silver from Vancouver, Sochi and Pyeonchang between 2010 and 2018, fell out with local politicians and clashed over the siting of the organising committee’s headquarters. The 36-year-old preferred a base in Grenoble, Chamonix, Albertville or Aix-les-Bains rather than Lyon.

French Alps the only bidder to host 2030 Winter Olympics

Chance

His withdrawal was a huge blow to the prestige of the project a few months after President Emmanuel Macron described him as the Estanguet of the Alps.

Though unable to boast a dazzling array of Winter Olympic hardware – Grospiron took bronze in the moguls in 1994 – a sense of pragmatism emerges from the 55-year-old’s experiences as chef de mission for the France team at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and as head of Annecy’s bid to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics.

“The only politics I’m going to have is knowing what’s good for the project and how the elected representatives are going to be able to help me deliver these Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Grospiron insisted. “Because that’s really what’s at stake.

“Tony [Estanguet] was faced with the same thing and he succeeded. He managed to get people on board the project”.

After an opening ceremony along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, the ice sports, except for the speed skating, will be staged in the city.

Some 600km away to the north, La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand in the Haute-Savoie section will provide the venues for the cross country skiing and biathlon. La Plagne, Courcheval and Méribel in the Savoie cluster will host inter alia the bobsleigh, luge and the alpine skiing. Serre Chevalier and Montgenèvre in the Briançon cluster will stage the freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

“On the basis of the budgetary realities and the environmental realities we face, we have to find solutions that will enable us, that must enable us to deliver games,” said Grospiron.

“The concept of these Olympic Games is a fragmented one that would have made purists howl 30 years ago,” he added.

“And I understand that. But this concept is an opportunity to spread the load, particularly of spectators. And that’s an opportunity”.

Nigeria is on a quest to repatriate thousands of intricate bronze sculptures and castings that were looted by British soldiers during a raid on the then-separate Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now southwestern Nigeria, in 1897.

The Dutch embassy said in a statement the Netherlands would return 119 artefacts, after an agreement signed between its education minister and the head of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments.

The artefacts are expected to arrive in Nigeria later this year.

The collection includes 113 bronzes that are part of the Dutch State Collection. Six others will be returned by the Municipality of Rotterdam.

“The Netherlands is returning the Benin Bronzes unconditionally, recognising that the objects were looted during the British attack on Benin City in 1897, and should have never ended up in the Netherlands,” the embassy statement said.

The statement quoted National Commission for Museums and Monuments director general Olugbile Holloway saying that, when completed, this will be the single largest return of the ancient antiquities to date

‘Historical injustice’

The artefacts are commonly called the Benin Bronzes because the objects originated from the Kingdom of Benin, in today’s Nigeria.

They are made of brass and bronze and include elaborately decorated cast relief plaques, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, items of royal regalia, and personal ornaments.

According to the British Museum, they were created from the 1500s onwards in the West African Kingdom of Benin by a specialist guild working for the royal court of the Oba, the King in Benin City.

In addition to the 113 bronzes displayed at the Wereldmuseum (World Museum) in Leiden, the municipality of Rotterdam will also return six other objects looted in the British raid.

“With this return, we are contributing to the redress of a historical injustice that is still felt today,” Dutch culture minister Eppo Bruins, said

“We hope that this will be a good example…for other countries worldwide,” Holloway, director of the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said in his statement.

Nigeria’s ancient Benin Bronze treasures go digital

Legacy of colonialism

Since being looted in 1897 from the royal palace of the Oba by British colonial troops, the bronzes had been largely acquired by several European museums.

These remarkable artworks have come to symbolise the broader restitution debate.

Two British universities – Cambridge University and the University of Aberdeen – returned two of the artefacts in the early 2020s.

In mid-October 2021, Germany and Nigeria signed a memorandum of understanding setting out a timetable for the return of around 1,100 sculptures from German museums.

The UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) welcomed the return of Benin bronzes to Nigeria.

“Unesco welcomes this historic agreement as an example of successful international cooperation, allowing the African continent to reclaim its heritage,” Ernesto Ottone, Unesco Assistant Director-General for Culture, said.

European reluctance

Benin, Ghana, Ethiopia and Egypt are also demanding that France, Belgium, Germany, the US and the UK return of objects, artefacts, and royal items looted during the colonial period. 

In Ghana and Benin, progress has been made, with return of artefacts and royal items.

After Britain, the US sends looted royal artefacts to Ghana’s Ashanti King

However, dozens, possibly hundreds, of Bronzes from Nigeria remain in European museums, notably in France, Switzerland and the UK, where curators have only agreed to discuss loans of African artefacts to African museums. 

Museums in France alone store some 90,000 objects from sub Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report.

The British Museum in London has refused to return any of its famed collection. A law passed in 1963 technically prevents the museum from giving back the treasures.

Late in January, during a Unesco conference in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, discussing the return of statues, paintings and other works to the continent, looted in colonial times, Ottone also reckoned that a new generation of young Africans is adding to the pressure on Western museums to return stolen artefacts,

“Over the past five or six years, we have seen pressure in the street,” Ottone said.

The decisions from Germany and the Netherlands might now open further conversation in Europe on these types of returns. 

 (with newswires)

Speaking at the Paris Agricultural Show on Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron said that France is ramping up its efforts to form a “blocking minority” within the European Union to prevent the implementation of a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.

The agreement, announced in December by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, aims to establish a vast free trade zone encompassing more than 700 million people across the EU and Mercosur nations – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

However, it has faced strong resistance from France, particularly among farmers and political groups.

Taking to social media, Macron posted on X: “I will always defend the French agricultural model, so that our farmers continue to produce and feed us, as they know so well how to do, with heart”.

More than 600 French parliamentarians have signed a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, arguing that the conditions for approving the Mercosur deal have not been met.

They have cited concerns over massive deforestation in the Amazon, the widespread use of pesticides in Brazil, and significant disparities in animal welfare regulations.

Lawmakers warn that this agreement could result in unfair competition for European producers, endanger food security, and contradict the EU’s climate goals.

Mercosur deal in sight as EU chief von der Leyen pushes past French objections

Oppostion to Mercosur

During his visit to Argentina in November, Macron reiterated his opposition to the deal in its current form, stating that it would be “very bad for our agriculture”.

He also emphasised that several Mercosur countries, along with other EU member states, share similar reservations about the treaty.

Opposition to the agreement extends beyond political circles.

The FNSEA – France’s largest agricultural union – has launched a series of protests since November, arguing that the agreement would put European farmers at a disadvantage.

French farmers protest EU-Mercosur deal, block motorways in southern France

Demonstrations have included gatherings outside government offices and road blockades, reflecting the growing dissatisfaction among French farmers regarding what they see as unfair competition.

Despite French opposition, the European Commission – backed by Germany and Spain – is pushing for the deal’s finalisation by the end of the year.

Should the agreement be ratified despite France’s resistance, however; it would be a blow to the country’s influence within the bloc and could fuel Eurosceptic sentiment on a domestic level.

Greece is reacting furiously against France over the potential sale of the Meteor air-to-air missile to Turkey. The missile sale and the Turkish bid to procure Europe’s Eurofighter threatened to erase Greece’s military edge over its rival Turkey.

Despite France and Greece recently signing a defence pact, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly rejected Greek calls to block the missile sale, which is made by a European consortium headquartered in France.

“I think that France’s decision is related to what is going on in Ukraine,” claims international relations Professor Federico Donelli of Trieste University in Italy

“Turkey and European countries have the same geo-strategic interest,” adds Donelli. “If you ask Turkey and Turkish policymakers, for them, the main threat to the security and stability of the country and integrity of the country remain Russia. So I think that on this point that France, Turkey, even other European countries converge”.

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

Force

With more than 800,000 personnel in its armed forces, including reservists, Turkey is Nato’s second-largest army.

The importance of the Turkish military to European security could be ascending with the looming threat of Russia and Washington demanding Europe take more responsibility for its defence.

“We think it’s an important part of being in a shared alliance together that the Europeans step up while America focuses on areas of the world that are in great danger,” warned United States Vice President JD Vance at this month’s Munich Security Conference.

Turkey’s poor human rights record has strained relations with the European Union, along with the authoritarian reputation of the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But such concerns are being trumped by security fears.

“After the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkey is starting to be perceived by Nato members as an important ally,” explains Donelli.

“Maybe it’s not the best ally ever because we know that Turkey’s not an easy partner, but at the same time it is the most useful one”. 

Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump

Threat

European leaders met this month to discuss Ukraine and the security threat facing the continent. With the Turkish army dwarfing its European counterparts, Ankara says it can play a key role in Europe’s defence.

“European allies understood that without Turkey, we cannot continue the defence of the European continent and Euro-Atlantic security,” claims Turkish presidential advisor Mesut Casin. “And is Turkey ready to support this European security and defence capability? The answer is: ‘Yes.'”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, too, is eyeing Turkey’s military. During his visit to Turkey on Tuesday, Zelenskyy underlined the importance of Ukraine’s allies deploying soldiers to guarantee any peace agreement reached with Russia.

“Two issues that are very, very important: a strong Ukrainian army, and the deployment in Ukraine from other armies like from Europe, and the United States, our partners,” declared Zelensky at a joint press conference with Erdogan.

Zelensky said he had discussed the issue with Erdogan but that it was too early to reveal the outcome of the talks. While Erdogan has close ties with his Ukrainian counterpart, the Turkish leader has also maintained good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Casin insists if all agree, Ankara is well placed to assist. “Turkey, maybe we send our troops to peacekeeping operations. Why do I say it like this? Turkey joined many UN peacekeeping operations, and the Turkish army is very powerful,” said Casin.

The Turkish military has participated in some of the world’s most difficult UN peacekeeping operations, from Kosovo to Somalia.

However, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out any Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the importance of Turkey’s large and capable army could still play a key role in Europe as European concerns grow over the reliability of their American ally.

The United States’ military presence in Syria has been called into question, as President Donald Trump faces conflicting pressure from Turkey and Israel over the 2000-strong US force supporting a Syrian Kurdish-led coalition.

The US force is supporting an Arab-Kurdish coalition of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in its war against the Islamic State (IS) group.

Thousands of IS militants are currently being held in SDF prisons, but the US military presence now hangs in the balance. 

Turkey analyst Sinan Ciddi, of the Washington-based research institute, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies says Trump is in a dilemma because he ran on this promise of putting America first. “Getting out of foreign entanglements, not committing US troops and US money to parts of the world in which the US doesn’t have any interest,” he tells RFI.

However, Ciddi warns a quick withdrawal would not be without risk: “The dilemma for Trump is that in a theatre such as Syria, if he were to pull back 2,000 troops, then you’ve got this major security threat.”

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

Turkey labels SDF ‘insurgents’

However, a US pullout would be welcomed by its NATO ally Turkey. Ankara strongly opposes Washington’s military support for the SDF, which it accuses of being linked to Kurdish insurgents fighting Turkey.

International relations expert Bilgehan Alagoz, of Istanbul’s Marmara University, maintains the US deployment has poisoned relations between the two allies, but says a withdrawal by Trump would offer a reset in ties.

“I believe that there is going to be a new ground between Turkey and the United States,” Alagoz said. “And Turkey will guarantee the safety of US soldiers and a successful withdrawal from Syria. So it is all going to be a kind of new negotiation between Turkey and the United States.”

Until now, US soldiers in Syria have prevented the Turkish military – massed on the Syrian border – from overwhelming the SDF, but time may be running out for the Kurdish-led forces.

“Assuming that the US withdraws at one point from Syria … this will mean the end of the diplomatic umbrella for the SDF that the US was able to put over them,” according to Aydin Selcen, a former Turkish diplomat and now foreign policy analyst for Turkey’s Medyascope independent news outlet.

Selcen warns that the SDF has only a small window to secure its future: “Time is of the essence for the SDF to get their act together and join forces with Damascus… to fold their forces into the Syrian armed forces, which would also satisfy Ankara’s security concerns.”

Turkey steps up military action against Kurds in Syria as power shifts

Israel sees SDF as key against IS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has close ties with Syria’s new leaders, and is demanding that the SDF disband or face a Turkish assault.

However, the Israeli government is voicing support for American backing for the SDF, given the risk posed by the Islamic State.

“We know that the SDF controls prisons in which there are around 10,000 Islamic State fighters and families,” explains Gallia Lindenstrauss, a foreign policy specialist at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

“Nobody wants to see the resurgence of the Islamic State. And I think in this respect, the US understands this is a small number of troops [and] they are effective. So why pull them out?”

Paris hosts global conference on shaping Syria’s future

Lindenstrauss told RFI: “Israel has voiced that it does want to see the West continue supporting the Kurdish presence in northeast Syria, so there will be Israeli diplomatic efforts to keep the [US] troops there.”

Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, recently underlined the importance of the Syrian Kurds as an ally to Israel – a message that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to have delivered to Trump during his visit to Washington this month, Ciddi believes.

“We’ve seen an increase in moves by the Israeli government to provide more formal and government support for non-state actors, such as the Syrian Kurds,” he said. “Because they understand that hitherto they’ve been entirely reliable in thwarting some of the major security concerns that the Israelis hold close to their heart.”

Greece is reacting furiously against France over the potential sale of the Meteor air-to-air missile to Turkey. The missile sale and the Turkish bid to procure Europe’s Eurofighter threatened to erase Greece’s military edge over its rival Turkey.

Despite France and Greece recently signing a defence pact, French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly rejected Greek calls to block the missile sale, which is made by a European consortium headquartered in France.

“I think that France’s decision is related to what is going on in Ukraine,” claims international relations Professor Federico Donelli of Trieste University in Italy

“Turkey and European countries have the same geo-strategic interest,” adds Donelli. “If you ask Turkey and Turkish policymakers, for them, the main threat to the security and stability of the country and integrity of the country remain Russia. So I think that on this point that France, Turkey, even other European countries converge”.

Turkey’s Erdogan sees new Trump presidency as opportunity

Force

With more than 800,000 personnel in its armed forces, including reservists, Turkey is Nato’s second-largest army.

The importance of the Turkish military to European security could be ascending with the looming threat of Russia and Washington demanding Europe take more responsibility for its defence.

“We think it’s an important part of being in a shared alliance together that the Europeans step up while America focuses on areas of the world that are in great danger,” warned United States Vice President JD Vance at this month’s Munich Security Conference.

Turkey’s poor human rights record has strained relations with the European Union, along with the authoritarian reputation of the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But such concerns are being trumped by security fears.

“After the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Turkey is starting to be perceived by Nato members as an important ally,” explains Donelli.

“Maybe it’s not the best ally ever because we know that Turkey’s not an easy partner, but at the same time it is the most useful one”. 

Turkish President Erdogan ready to rekindle friendship with Trump

Threat

European leaders met this month to discuss Ukraine and the security threat facing the continent. With the Turkish army dwarfing its European counterparts, Ankara says it can play a key role in Europe’s defence.

“European allies understood that without Turkey, we cannot continue the defence of the European continent and Euro-Atlantic security,” claims Turkish presidential advisor Mesut Casin. “And is Turkey ready to support this European security and defence capability? The answer is: ‘Yes.'”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, too, is eyeing Turkey’s military. During his visit to Turkey on Tuesday, Zelenskyy underlined the importance of Ukraine’s allies deploying soldiers to guarantee any peace agreement reached with Russia.

“Two issues that are very, very important: a strong Ukrainian army, and the deployment in Ukraine from other armies like from Europe, and the United States, our partners,” declared Zelensky at a joint press conference with Erdogan.

Zelensky said he had discussed the issue with Erdogan but that it was too early to reveal the outcome of the talks. While Erdogan has close ties with his Ukrainian counterpart, the Turkish leader has also maintained good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Casin insists if all agree, Ankara is well placed to assist. “Turkey, maybe we send our troops to peacekeeping operations. Why do I say it like this? Turkey joined many UN peacekeeping operations, and the Turkish army is very powerful,” said Casin.

The Turkish military has participated in some of the world’s most difficult UN peacekeeping operations, from Kosovo to Somalia.

However, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov ruled out any Nato peacekeepers in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the importance of Turkey’s large and capable army could still play a key role in Europe as European concerns grow over the reliability of their American ally.

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.

The RFI English team is pleased to announce that Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listening Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, won the RFI / Planète Radio ePOP video contest, in the RFI Clubs category. Bravo Saleem! Mubarak ho!

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 25 January, I asked you a question about our article “French NGOs to quit social media platform X following Trump inauguration”. Earlier that week, more than 80 French NGOs and organizations said they would stop using the social media platform X – formerly Twitter – owned by Elon Musk. Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is considered by these NGOs as: “a “danger” to freedom of expression and democratic values.”

You were to send in the names of four NGOs who will no longer use X as of the 20th of January, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The answer is, to quote our article: “The signatories include La Ligue des droits de L’Homme, (The Human Rights League), France Terre d’asile – a non-profit organisation that supports asylum seekers – the charity Emmaüs France, and Greenpeace.”

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim, Germany. Helmut’s question was: “Are you religious and do you believe in God – and how do you see and define God or the divine in the world?”

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

The winners are: RFI English listener Maryam Nawaz, a member of the Sungat Radio Listeners Club in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Maryam is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations Maryam, on your double win !

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Naved Raiyan, the president of the RFI Fan Club in West Bengal, India, and RFI English listeners Mehedi Hasan from Chittagong, India; Noor Alam from Jessore, Bangladesh, and Sultana Begum from Sirajganj, also in Bangladesh.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Liebesleid” by  Fritz Kreisler, performed by Itzhak Perlman and Samuel Sanders;  “Manhã de Carnaval” by Luiz Bonfá and Antônio Maria, performed by Luiz Bonfá; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Helter Skelter” by Paul McCartney, performed by The Beatles.

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: “Claudel bronze sculpture found by chance fetches €3 million at France auction”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 17 March to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 22 March 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.   

The conflict in the eastern DRC has experienced a dramatic escalation recently.

Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf elected as AU commission chairman

The city of Goma, capital of the North Kivu province, fell to M23 fighters at the end of January.

The rebels are being supported by Rwandan soldiers, a claim that the government in Kigali continues to deny, despite evidence and reports of casualties among Rwandan troops.

Fighting resumes in DRC’s South Kivu ahead of crisis talks

The city has come to symbolise the conflict that has torn apart eastern DRC for more than three decades.

The M23 has launched additional attacks in South Kivu, and despite talks in Tanzania earlier in February and a brief ceasefire, the fighting persists. As a result, millions of Congolese have been displaced, with nearly 3,000 lives lost.

To explore the role of diplomacy in the country, as well as in other violent crises across the continent, my first guest is Liesl Louw-Vaudran from the International Crisis Group.

She joins us from Addis Ababa, where the African Union’s headquarters are located, following the release of the group’s annual report outlining the eight priorities the AU should focus on.

We will also hear from civilians fleeing Goma and from Paulin Nkwosseu, the Chief of Field Offices at UNICEF for the DRC.

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on Africa is produced by Radio France Internationale’s English language service.

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.

The RFI English team is pleased to announce that Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Listening Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan, won the RFI / Planète Radio ePOP video contest, in the RFI Clubs category. Bravo Saleem! Mubarak ho!

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 18 January, I asked you a question about our article “’Exhausted’ Frenchman held in Iran since 2022 reveals identity in plea for help”. It was about Olivier Grondeau, a 34-year-old French national, who was arrested and sentenced to five years behind bars for “conspiracy against the Islamic Republic”.

In the article, you learned that there are two other French nationals currently in Iran’s prisons. You were to send in their names, as well as the crime with which they’ve been charged.

The answer is, to quote our article: “The other two French nationals – teachers Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris – were detained in May 2022 on charges of seeking to stir up labour protests. Their families strongly deny the accusations.” 

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Sabah binte Sumaiya from Bogura, Bangladesh: “Which profession do you find is the best, and why?”

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

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member John Yemi Sanday Turay from Freetown, Sierra Leone. John Yemi is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations John Yemi, on your double win !

Also on the list of lucky winners this week are M. N. Sentu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Habib Ur Rehman, the president of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan; Sharifa Akter Panna from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, and Rahematun Nesan from Odisha, India.

Congratulations, winners!

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Slap Bass” by Paul Mottram; “Rose of Tehran” by E. Dozor; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and the traditional Kanak chant “Lue ixoe wael qa kiki”, sung by the Wetr Dance Troupe.  

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

This week’s question … you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Paul Myer’s article: “Namibian independence leader Sam Nujoma dies aged 95”, which will help you with the answer. 

You have until 10 March to enter this week’s quiz; the winners will be announced on the 15 March 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.   

Countries are looking for sovereignty in artificial intelligence and at a major AI summit in Paris this week, France and the EU backed a “third path” approach to AI – midway between the US’ private tech firm-dominated model and China’s state-controlled technology. With a focus on regulation to ensure trust, France is creating public/private partnerships, and encouraging companies to develop home-grown products. Linagora, an open-source software developper, recently released a large language model (LLM) trained on French and European content, in contrast to American LLMs like ChatGPT that are trained on mainly US content. While chatbot Lucie got off to a rocky start, Linagora’s General Manager Michel Maudet says there’s a clear need for technology focused on Europe, able to address the nuance of the continent’s languages and culture. (Listen @0′)

French MPs recently voted a controversial draft bill to end birthright citizenship on the overseas department of Mayotte to discourage illegal immigration from neighbouring Comoros. Prime Minister François Bayrou supports the proposed measure and has called for a wider debate on immigration and what it means to be French. His earlier remarks that there was a feeling immigrants were “flooding” France have caused outrage on the left in particular.  We talk to Tania Racho, a researcher on European law and who also works for an association fighting disinformation on migration issues, about the reality of immigration in France. While the data does not support claims France is overwhelmed with foreigners, people’s perceptions – nourished by a fixation on migration by both politicians and media – tell a different story. (Listen @18’40”)

Twenty years after the 11 February 2005 law on disability and inclusion, daily life for France’s 12 million people living with disabilities has improved. But since the law underestimated the timelines and costs of accessibility, there’s still a lot of work to be done. (Listen @14’30”)

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora. 

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).

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.