The defendants are members of Ultime Liberté (Ultimate Freedom), an association that fights to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia in France.

They are accused of helping dozens of people purchase pentobarbital, a drug used for physician-assisted suicide in countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, between August 2018 and November 2020.

Many of the defendants, whose ages range from 74 to 89, are retired teachers with no criminal records.

They are charged with trafficking illegal substances and face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, although any sentences are expected to be much more lenient, given mitigating factors including their age.

In France, pentobarbital is only authorised to euthanise animals, while in the United States, the drug is used to carry out executions.

French parliament adopts long-debated bill to legalise assisted dying

Few countries regulate assisted dying, and in many it remains a crime to help someone end their life, even in cases of severe and incurable suffering.

The debate on assisted dying has raged in France for years.

In May, the lower house of parliament approved a right-to-die bill on first reading, the initial step in a lengthy process that could grant patients medical assistance to end their lives in clearly defined circumstances.

Die with dignity

Bernard Senet, a doctor on trial, said he had helped people who were suffering to die in better conditions.

“I am at peace because I do not feel guilty,” he said.

Outside the Paris court on Monday, about 70 members of the association rallied in support of the defendants.

“We are satisfied that there is a trial so that we can bring (the issue) to public attention,” Monique Denis, the wife of one of the defendants, told French news agency AFP.

“And perhaps public opinion will come out in favour of changing the law,” the 69-year-old added.

Ultime Liberté’s campaign goes beyond the demands of traditional pro-euthanasia associations, advocating for the right for people to control the manner and timing of their death, whether terminally ill or not.

How 184 random citizens helped shape France’s debate on assisted dying

“Suicide has been decriminalised since the Revolution but there are many laws that prevent the freedom to commit suicide, non-violent suicide,” Claude Hury, head of Ultime Liberté, told AFP ahead of the trial.

She said her group wanted to help people age peacefully and die with dignity.

“Our goal is not to kill people,” Hury said.

“It is to help them continue to age while being very serene about the end, provided they have this magic pill at home so they can stop when they decide to, rather than waiting for the medical diktat.”

Shipped from the US

The investigation began in 2019 following a US report on a network that shipped pentobarbital worldwide in liquid form, disguised in bottles labelled “natural cosmetics”.

Armed with a list of buyers provided by US investigators, French authorities carried out around one hundred searches across the country in October 2019.

The buyers were mostly elderly or seriously ill people, though some suicides appeared unrelated to age or illness.

The investigation found that some members of the association accompanied those wishing to die by giving them information on how to order the drug or even helping them obtain it.

‘My life, my death’: French woman battles for right to die with dignity

By sharing the information only with those who requested it, the activists did not intend to “encourage or facilitate a decision to commit suicide” but rather to “accompany” that decision, said the investigating judge.

One member said he joined the association after a relative used the group to end their life.

“I am here to see if I can help in some way, so that when I’m 80 and ill, I won’t have to do it behind closed doors,” said the 61-year-old, releasing only his first name, Franck.

France’s draft law would allow assisted dying only in an “advanced” stage of illness, which it defines as “entering an irreversible process characterised by a worsening health condition of the sick person that affects the quality of their lives”.

If approved, France would join a small group of European countries that give the right to aid in dying, including Austria, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

 (with AFP)

In Manje township, Blantyre, the presence of political parties is visible everywhere—flags flutter from electrical poles and trees along the roads. As one of Malawi‘s most densely populated townships, Manje has become a hotspot for rallies and campaign visits over the past two months, with voters now heading to polling stations as the country decides its future leadership.

Economy in crisis

Seventeen candidates are contesting the presidency, but the race has centered on Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who recent IPOR Malawi polling shows leading with 41 percent support, and Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party at 31 percent. Other significant candidates include former Reserve Bank Governor Dalitso Kabambe (UTM party), Atupele Muluzi (UDF), and sitting Vice-President Michael Usi.

The election comes as Malawi grapples with severe economic challenges that have dominated campaign messaging.

According to the World Bank, food price inflation has exceeded 20 percent while the kwacha – Malawi’s currency –  has lost 44 percent of its value since 2023, leaving a quarter of the country’s 23 million citizens facing acute food insecurity.

Most Malawians live below the poverty line in one of the world’s poorest countries, heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture that has been battered by droughts, cyclones, and floods.

High youth unemployment persists, with thousands queuing at immigration offices hoping to work in stronger economies like South Africa.

Prices of essential commodities, including maize, have skyrocketed, and the scarcity of loans on the official market has made sustaining major businesses increasingly difficult.

Malawi’s economic crisis pushes prices beyond the reach of struggling population

A tight race

On Saturday, Mutharika held one of his final campaign rallies just hours before the official campaign period ended, addressing jubilant supporters clad in the party’s blue colors.

“In 2018, you received me here in large numbers,” he told the crowd. “But these numbers are more than in 2018. Your votes should exceed 2019. [This election is] very important because we will choose whether this country should continue going down or improve.”

Meanwhile, Chakwera addressed his supporters in the capital, Lilongwe, during his final rally, promising continuity and solutions to pressing economic issues that have dominated voter concerns.

“I have heard your concerns about rising prices, shortages of fuel, and delays in business,” he said. “I promise you that the solutions will start from the very day I take the oath again.”

This marks only the second election conducted under the 50+1 constitutional threshold established by Malawi’s Constitutional Court in 2020, meaning a runoff would be required if no candidate wins an outright majority.

Presidential candidates have historically struggled to cross the 50 percent threshold in Malawi—since 1990, only Bakili Muluzi in 1999 and Bingu wa Mutharika in 2009 achieved outright majorities, according to electoral records.

Voters’ verdict

Political scientist Wonderful Mkutche noted that the elections are taking place amid serious economic challenges, including a shortage of foreign exchange.

“Malawians are feeling the pinch of the economy. And that has also made most of the voters or Malawians focus on what the leaders are saying in terms of the economy,” he said.

The Malawi Electoral Commission, which has confirmed all 17 presidential candidates for the ballot, must announce results within eight days of polling unless directed otherwise by a court. Six international observer missions are monitoring the vote to ensure transparency.

Malawi: Protestors take to streets over racist video ridiculing children

As polling day unfolds across the country, from bustling townships like Manje to rural villages, the economic struggles of Malawi remain central to voters’ minds, shaping what could be one of the country’s most consequential elections in recent memory.

Should a runoff be required, it would place extraordinary demands on the nation’s democratic institutions at a time when citizens are most focused on immediate economic relief.

Cameroonians are set to go to the polls for the presidential election on 12 October, but the opposition remains fragmented, despite efforts to unite behind a single candidate to challenge President Paul Biya, who, at 92, is seeking an eighth term.

In the first week of September, the United Nations raised concerns over whether rising tensions in the country could jeopardise the possibility of free and fair elections.

According to Enrica Picco, Central Africa director for the International Crisis Group (ICG), this lack of unity, combined with the perception of an absent or weak opposition, could lead to low voter turnout. The ICG also warns that ongoing instability in the country may further depress participation.

On Saturday, Issa Tchiroma Bakary was named the opposition’s “consensus candidate” for the October vote. But will this be enough to galvanise voters?

The 10 other opposition candidates, who remain officially in the race, have yet to comment on Tchiroma Bakary’s appointment.

We have Enrica Picco on the line to discuss the potential flashpoints and the ICG’s recommendations ahead of the election.

Fears over divided opposition and instability, as Cameroon heads to the polls

 Oil pollution in Nigeria

In Nigeria, major oil companies are facing allegations that they have abandoned decades of pollution in the Niger Delta without addressing the environmental damage.

A UN-appointed panel of experts has written to Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, warning that the firms cannot simply sell off their assets to evade their responsibilities to local communities.

We’ll hear the reaction of community member Celestine AkpoBari, an Ogoni-born activist who coordinates the Ogoni Solidarity Forum and leads the Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI).

Oil giants accused of dodging Niger Delta clean-up as UN panel intervenes

South Africa and the US

Finally, in South Africa, since Donald Trump assumed office in the United States, companies, business leaders and diplomats have been working behind the scenes to strengthen relations, particularly for the hundreds of South African seasonal farmers who spend a few months each year in the US to supplement their income.

One prominent advocate for these farmers is Neil Diamond, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, based in Atlanta.

We discuss the importance of these work opportunities in the US for South Africans, as well as the final three months of South Africa’s G20 presidency — a historic first for an African nation.

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and Erwan Rome.

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

Gone are the days when cartels operated as rigid pyramids under a single boss like Pablo Escobar. Today the cocaine economy relies on flexible alliances that connect producers, transporters and distributors across continents – a structure designed to withstand seizures and police crackdowns.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that more than 3,708 tonnes of cocaine were produced in 2023, up 34 percent in a single year.

The United States and Europe remain the main markets, but demand is now rising in Asia and emerging in Africa.

“There is not a single actor who has a hand on everything, but key groups that coordinate and orchestrate the contact between different actors,” Laurent Laniel, analyst at the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), told RFI.

“It is then these actors who carry out the concrete tasks: producing cocaine, transporting it and selling it.”

Balkan cartels use West Africa to push cocaine into Europe, report warns

Colombia’s coca heartlands

Before cocaine reaches Europe’s ports, it begins as coca leaves grown high in the Andes. Thousands of small farmers cultivate the crop across more than 355,000 hectares, mostly in Colombia, with smaller areas in Bolivia and Peru.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) notes in its latest report that “Colombian criminal organisations continue to dominate the large-scale production of cocaine”.

Colombia alone accounts for two-thirds of global output.

A drug market specialist told RFI that production is concentrated in “five enclaves of production, territories where the state can very hardly intervene, controlled by armed groups – dissidents of the Farc, guerrillas of the ELN, former paramilitaries like the Clan del Golfo”.

These groups tax farmers, demand part of the harvest, control clandestine labs and organise exports directly or through subcontractors.

The picture looks very different in Bolivia, where coca cultivation is legal.

“There are no cartels or armed groups,” Laniel said. “Production is supervised by unions, and it works fairly well – there is no violence at any rate.”

From these valleys, the drug enters international trafficking networks – and that is where Brazilian criminal groups have taken on an increasingly central role.

Brazilian gang at centre

Once processed, cocaine must leave South America, with the maritime route remaining preferred.

Shipments are hidden in containers, carried in semi-submersibles or smuggled by human couriers, or mules. Local groups sometimes handle exports themselves, but often rely on transnational networks that specialise in logistics.

One of the most powerful players is Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital (First Command of the Capital, PCC).

“At the beginning, it was a group of prisoners in Sao Paulo who, after the Carandiru massacre in 1992, created the organisation to demand better detention conditions,” Victor Simoni, researcher for the Interministerial Programme of Applied Research into the Fight Against Drugs (Pirelad), the French government’s anti-drug research initiative, told RFI.

“It was built as both a corporatist movement and a secret society, with a baptism system to become brothers and an internal justice system inside prisons.”

How the Caribbean became a front line in France’s fight against the cocaine trade

From the 2000s, the PCC spread beyond prisons, controlling street-level cocaine sales in the favelas and branching into money laundering, stolen cars, counterfeit medicines and human trafficking.

By the 2010s, it had moved into ports and airports – especially Santos, Latin America’s largest port – to secure exports to Europe and beyond.

“The PCC acts as a platform of intermediation. Colombian producers, for example, produce a huge amount but may not have the capacity to send several tonnes to Le Havre or Rotterdam,” Simoni said.

“So the PCC connects them, in exchange for money or services, with logisticians who can get the cocaine into European ports, or with mafias like Italy’s ’Ndrangheta or Balkan networks that want to buy from the Colombians. It also regulates prices, secures shipments and redistributes profits.”

Unlike Escobar’s Medellin cartel, the PCC operates horizontally. “Each link knows only the one before and the one after, which makes the chain hard to trace,” Simoni explained.

This model has proved highly efficient, diversifying routes and delivering purer cocaine at lower prices. As the North American drug war intensified in the mid-2010s, traffickers shifted towards Europe.

“Today, the majority of the waves of coke arriving in Europe are orchestrated by the PCC,” said Simoni, who has studied seizures at the port of Le Havre.

A 2023 report by Global Initiative also linked the PCC to growing flows through West Africa as a staging point for Europe. Experts now view the PCC as one of the main transnational exporters, though Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa and Jalisco remain dominant in North America.

“It seems there is a global understanding between the big criminal groups,” Simoni said. “Everyone has realised that violence harms trafficking and profitability, and that it is better to cooperate.”

The French customs intelligence service, the National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations (DNRED), reached a similar conclusion in a 2024 Senate report. It noted that “as long as seizures do not reach between 70 and 90 percent of production, we are not biting into the economic model”.

‘Smoking to survive’: How Sierra Leone’s youth got hooked on kush

Fragmented distribution

If the PCC dominates large-scale exports, distribution inside Europe is far more fragmented.

Writing in the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development in 2025, researchers Nicolas Lien and Gabriel Feltran said global criminal logistics now link “a wider variety of producers and retailers”.

They noted that while only a handful of big groups control the centre of the chain, the overall market has no monopoly.

Laurent Laniel adds that alongside the big players, “you still find European traffickers who order directly from Peru, and small groups who buy 10 or 15 kilos to bring into the mainland”.

Ports such as Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Le Havre, Valencia and Barcelona are now the main gateways. In 2023, 419 tonnes of cocaine were seized in Europe, according to the EUDA.

Europol warns that for every tonne intercepted, several slip through. Once the drug reaches street level, the market fragments further, making it quick to recover after police crackdowns.

Local intermediaries are often paid in cocaine itself, fuelling the rise of new markets.

In West Africa, consumption is growing fast. In Europe, some of the seized drugs never leave the port: after one shipment was intercepted in Valencia, part of the cargo was resold locally by corrupt dockers.

This article has been adpated from the original version in French by RFI’s Aurore Lartigue.

“It’s estimated that between June and August 2025, extreme weather events in these regions will cost the economy nearly €43 billion and €126 billion by 2029,” Sehrish Usman from the University of Mannheim, the study‘s lead author, told RFI.

In total, experts calculated that around 100 heat waves, almost 200 droughts and more than 50 floods hit various regions of Europe.

The researchers did not only account for direct losses such as the destruction of roads or crops, they also looked at the long-term impact.

“A heatwave, for example, reduces both working hours and productivity, affects people’s health, and influences investment in the region, employment, demographics – even sectors like tourism,” Usman said.

France, Spain, and Italy were some of the worst affected countries, and each already faces over €10 billion of losses this year, which could exceed €30 billion in the medium term.

France’s summer of heatwaves exposes hidden mental health cost

The study’s authors warn that their figures are likely an underestimate, as they do not fully reflect the compounding effects of simultaneous events – like heatwaves and droughts, which often occur together – nor do they include other impacts of climate change, such as wildfires.

The researchers stress the urgent need for adaptation wherever possible, and they call for a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to try to curb the effects of global warming.

Severe drought across Europe

More than half of Europe and the Mediterranean basin was affected by drought in the first ten days of August, according to an analysis of European Drought Observatory (EDO) data, compiled by French news agency AFP. 

The 51.3 percent figure is the highest level registered for the period of 1 – 10 August since data collection began in 2012.

Around half of the area has been affected by drought since mid-April 2025, a situation worse than the severe drought of the summer of 2022.

The Drought Observatory Indicator determined by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service uses satellite imagery to measure precipitation or rainfall, soil moisture and the state of vegetation.

Europe’s heatwave dries fields and leaves farmers counting crop losses

Last week, Copernicus reported the world’s third-hottest August on record.

The average temperature globally for August was 1.29 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, marginally cooler than the monthly record set in 2023 and tied with 2024.

Such incremental rises may appear small, but scientists warn that is already destabilising the climate and making storms, floods and other disasters fiercer and and more frequent.

In its monthly bulletin, Copernicus said that western Europe experienced the continent’s most pronounced above-average temperatures, with southwest France and the Iberian Peninsula particularly affected.

Spain suffered a 16-day heatwave that caused more than 1,100 deaths, according to the Carlos III Health Institute. 

(with newswires)

The 84 NGOs, which include Oxfam, Amnesty International, the Human Rights League, and the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, on Monday launched a campaign calling on states – particularly members of the European Union and the United Kingdom – to ban all commercial or investment activities related to Israel’s settlements.

The European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner, accounting for approximately 32 percent of total merchandise trade, or approximately €42 billion annually.

The campaign also calls for a ban on financial institutions providing loans to companies involved in projects within the settlements.

All of Israel‘s settlements in the West Bank, occupied since 1967, are considered illegal under international law, regardless of whether they have Israeli planning permission.

Widespread poverty, suffering

According to Oxfam, Israel’s settlement project “has fragmented the West Bank and destroyed the Palestinian economy, resulting in widespread poverty and suffering”.

In a report published Monday, the NGOs singled out a handful of specific companies, including Carrefour France, which is accused of being “directly involved in the illegal settlements by allowing the sale of its products there”.

The supermarket chain signed a franchise agreement in 2022 with Electra Consumer Products and its subsidiary Yenot Bitan, which has “at least nine” stores in the settlements.

Carrefour told French public radio France Inter that the franchise agreement “excludes any stores located in the occupied territories.”

British equipment manufacturer JCB is accused of delivering machinery which is used both to destroy Palestinian homes and crops and to build illegal settlements, according to the NGOs.

The Spanish travel company eDreams-Opodo, the German group TUI, Siemens, Danish shipping company Maersk, and Barclays Bank were also called out over their partnerships, transport services, or financial activities linked to Israeli settlements.

France urges EU to reassess Israel trade partnership over Gaza rights abuses

The NGOs note that since being informed of the report, a few companies have changed their practices, including Opodo-eDreams and Maersk.

Currently products originating from the settlements may be imported into Europe, but do not benefit from the preferential tariffs of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and since an EU court ruling in 2019, they must be labelled as originating from Israeli settlements.

The NGOs cite a landmark advisory opinion issued by the European Court of Justice in July 2024 in which it considers member states obligated “to abstain from entering into economic or trade dealings with Israel concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and required “to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

The NGOs’ report follows a previous submission to the UN Human Rights Council in July by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

More settlement plans

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s plans to expand its settlements.

Speaking at a signing ceremony for a major settlement project in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, he vowed that there would be “no Palestinian state.”

Israel has long had ambitions to build on the roughly 12 square kilometre tract of land known as E1, but the plan had been stalled for years in the face of international opposition.

France condemns Israel’s west bank settlement plan as serious breach of international law

The site sits between Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, near routes connecting the north and south of the Palestinian territory.

Last month, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed plans to build around 3,400 homes on the ultra-sensitive parcel of land.

His announcement drew condemnation, with UN chief Antonio Guterres saying the settlement would effectively cleave the West Bank in two and pose an “existential threat” to a contiguous Palestinian state.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to around three million Palestinians, as well as about 500,000 Israeli settlers.

Two people were arrested and around 20 injured in scuffles with authorities as demonstrators occupied the route at several points in the Spanish capital in protest at the presence of the Israel Premier Tech team in the three-week event.

Jonas Vingegaard claimed his first La Vuelta crown as a Visma–Lease a Bike rider after event organisers abandoned the 103.6km 21st stage between Alalpardo and Madrid with 50km remaining.

Vingegaard, a two-time winner of the Tour de France, completed the 3,000km course in 74 hours 20 minutes and 28 seconds.

Joao Almeida from Portugal, a cyclist for the UAE Team Emirates XRG, was 76 seconds behind and Britain’s Tom Pidcock was third. The Q36.5 rider finished three minutes and 11 seconds off the pace.

The trio celebrated their feats at the 80th edition of the race in a hotel car park away from the crowds in the central plazas.

“It’s a pity that such a moment of eternity was taken from us,” Vingegaard said. “I’m really disappointed about that.

“I was looking forward to celebrating this overall win with my team and the fans. Everyone has the right to protest, but not in a way that influences or endangers our race.”

As the riders lamented the disrupted conclusion, politicians from Spain and Israel became embroiled in a row over the behaviour of protesters.

Speaking during a Socialist Workers’ party rally in the southern city of Malaga, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Our respect and recognition for the athletes and our admiration for the Spanish people who are mobilising for just causes like Palestine.”

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the opposition Popular Party, lashed out at Sanchez.

UN declares famine in Gaza, first ever in the Middle East

Ways to protest

“The head of the government is proud of the behaviour of a few who, to show their support for Gaza, threw barriers at the national police (…) Not me. I defend freedom of expression as long as it does not involve violence or unrest.”

Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida also criticised Sanchez and described Sunday’s events as a “sad day” for the Spanish capital.

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar posted on social media that Sanchez and his government were a disgrace to Spain.

“He encouraged demonstrators to take to the streets,” Saar said. “The pro-Palestinian mob heard the incitement messages – and wrecked the La Vuelta cycling race.”

Yolanda Diaz, Spain’s labour minister, also waded into the spat. “Spanish society does not tolerate the normalisation of the genocide in Gaza in sporting or cultural events,’” she said. “Our society is an example of dignity.”

Oscar Lopez, the minister of public service, added: “The fact that the people of Madrid are protesting against genocide does not damage Spain’s image. On the contrary (…) I regret it for La Vuelta, but I regret it even more for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are being massacred.”

The 2025 La Vuelta has been hit by protests since it started in Turin in Italy on 23 August. Protesters carrying Palestinian flags slowed down Israel-Premier Tech riders during the fifth stage in Figueres on 27 August.

Flotilla bound for Gaza finally sets sail amid escalating Israeli strikes

Stage chalked off

On 3 September, the 11th stage in Bilbao was chalked off due to protests leading the UCI – world cycling’s governing body – to issue a statement calling for calm.

“The UCI reiterates the fundamental importance of the political neutrality of sports organisations within the Olympic Movement, as well as the unifying and pacifying role of sport,” it said.

“Major international sporting events embody a spirit of unity and dialogue, transcending differences and divisions.

“In this sense, the UCI reaffirms its commitment to the political neutrality, independence, and autonomy of sport, in accordance with the founding principles of the Olympic Movement.

“The UCI expresses its solidarity and support for the teams and their staff as well as the riders, who should be able to practise their profession and pursue their passion in optimal conditions of safety and serenity.”

Despite the plea, incidents continued. On 7 September during the 15th stage between A Veiga/Vegadeo and Monforte de Lemos, a man carrying a Palestine flag caused a crash when he ran towards the road as riders approached. Javi Romo pulled out the next day due to injuries he sustained after his fall.

(With newswires)

From a small-scale security-building mechanism to a heavyweight bloc showcasing China’s geopolitical ambitions, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has evolved dramatically since its inception in 1996.

Originally known as the Shanghai Five, the group was initially formed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and aimed to resolve border disputes and bolster security cooperation.

“It was really concerned with China’s internal borders with countries like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and looking at things like drug misuse, gun running and political opposition,” explains Michael Dillon of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London.

Uzbekistan joined in 2001, prompting the rebranding to SCO, and India and Pakistan later became full members, with Iran the most recent addition, two years ago.

Over time, the SCO’s agenda expanded well beyond border security to include economic cooperation, cultural exchange and coordinating their political message.

The organisation now has 10 member states (with observer states such as Afghanistan and dialogue partners including Turkey), highlighting its growing global footprint.

Last month’s much-publicised SCO summit, held in the Chinese port city of Tianjin alongside China’s grand military parade marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, provided a vivid demonstration of the organisation’s expanded role.

President Xi met with almost 30 world leaders – including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, India’s Narendra Modi and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un – projecting the image of a China-led alliance of mainly authoritarian regimes challenging Western influence.

Putin and Modi in China for Shanghai Cooperation summit hosted by Xi

“Xi Jinping is using this to shape perceptions of China and of himself,” Dillon told RFI. The optics of Xi flanked by Putin and Kim symbolised an assertive bloc willing to counterbalance NATO and the US-led liberal international order.

But how far does the SCO truly stand as a counterweight to NATO?

On this, Dillon is cautious. “It’s beginning to look like it,” he said, but added: “There isn’t any [military coordination], apart from the policing functions across the border with Central Asia … it doesn’t seem to have any military functions outside of China.”

Internal rivalries complicate the picture and prevent the SCO from acting as a fully cohesive bloc, such as the strained relationship between India and Pakistan – both members.

Meanwhile, relations between Europe and the SCO also reveal divisions within the former. While few European Union leaders engage with the organisation, countries such as Turkey and Hungary have shown willingness.

“The EU really does need to respond to China’s increasing influence,” says Dillon.

Russia ties strain EU-China relations as Beijing summit concludes early

But Europe faces challenges due to China’s growing economic leverage and the United States’ diminished credibility in some quarters. “Trump thinks of himself as the great strong man, but it’s clear to seasoned diplomats in China and elsewhere that Washington is incredibly weak,” said Dillon.

According to him, Trump’s actions have inadvertently contributed to China’s rise within Eurasia’s power vacuum. This environment has allowed Beijing to position the SCO as an alternative framework – even attracting traditionally Western-facing countries such as India and Turkey into the fold.

But the summit also exposed underlying tensions within the bloc. Russia’s invitation to Kim Jong-un to Moscow shortly after the Tianjin meeting showcased Putin’s rivalry with Xi for influence over North Korea. Meanwhile, Modi’s absence from the military parade suggested caution among SCO members in fully endorsing China’s military bravado.

Tanks and missiles roll through Beijing as China commemorates 1945 victory

Western observers remain divided on how seriously to take the SCO – both as symbolic political theatre and as a potentially strategic challenge.

Looking ahead, Dillon is sceptical about the SCO transforming into a formal military alliance akin to NATO anytime soon.

“I haven’t seen anything from China recently to suggest they’re trying to turn the SCO into something more permanent and as a counterweight to NATO,” he says. But he acknowledges that institutionalisation of the SCO is likely to be the next “obvious move” if China continues to consolidate its Eurasian coalition.

Lecornu has been a constant, if discreet, presence in the French government since Macron came to power in 2017. 

He joined the president’s first cabinet as a secretary of state in the ministry of ecology, before being promoted to minister – initially in charge of local authorities (2018-2020), then of overseas territories (2020-2022), and for the past three years, of France’s defence.

Few other figures have survived as long, a testament to Lecornu’s knack for building tactical alliances. RFI’s defence correspondent Franck Alexandre calls him “a political animal” through and through.

Political prodigy

Lecornu, 39, has two decades of political experience behind him.

The grandson of a French Resistance fighter, he grew up in a modest working family in Normandy and studied law at university.

After flirting with a career in the army – or even, according to Le Monde, life as a Benedictine monk – Lecornu was soon drawn to rightwing politics.

An activist for the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) in his teens, by 20 he was a parliamentary assistant to one of the party’s MPs.

Within two years he was advising a junior minister for European affairs, before taking office himself as mayor of his hometown Vernon and then president of the surrounding department of Eure – at 29, younger than anyone else before him.

‘Practical approach’

Lecornu’s first national post came two years later, when he joined other conservatives in switching allegiance from traditional rightwing parties to Macron’s new centrist movement and was handed the ecology portfolio.

He cemented his position in 2019 when, with the “Yellow Vest” protests at their height, he helped Macron organise a series of town hall debates around France aimed at defusing demonstrators’ anger at out-of-touch politicians.

The president promptly praised Lecornu for his “practical approach”.  

Where did France’s culture of political compromise go, and is it coming back?

Lecornu reached across the divide again as defence minister, when he succeeded in convincing parliament to massively boost the military budget.

Appointed a few months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he also oversaw France’s support for Kyiv – something that has remained relatively constant despite more than a year of political upheaval. 

Man in the background

Throughout his rise, Lecornu has kept a low public profile. He rarely speaks about his personal life and maintains a sober presence on social media.

For Macron, that might be part of the appeal.

Unlike other recent PMs Gabriel Attal and François Bayrou, who have both been tipped as potential candidates to replace Macron as president, Lecornu is seen as unlikely to seek the top job.

As one unnamed ministerial adviser told news agency AFP, Lecornu is “a loyal soldier who doesn’t have too much charisma or presidential potential”.

‘Macron’s shield’

Now Macron is relying on Lecornu’s reputation as a dealmaker to establish a working government despite deep divisions in parliament. 

The president has instructed him to hold talks with different factions with a view to agreeing on a 2026 budget, the task that proved impossible for Lecornu’s predecessors.

France’s debt: how did we get here, and how dangerous is it?

But as a member of the president’s inner circle – Lecornu is rumoured to have frequent lunches with First Lady Brigitte Macron – he may struggle to convince his opponents to work with him.

Figures from the far right and left have denounced his appointment, calling him a stooge and accusing Macron of seeking to cling on to power. 

Meanwhile after the “Block Everything” protests on Wednesday,  and a strike planned for next week it is likely voters, too, want a more radical break with the status quo. 

According to RFI’s chief political correspondent Valérie Gas, Lecornu now finds himself acting as “Macron’s shield” – a loyalist tasked with preventing a dissolution and shoring up the president against pressure from both parliament and the public.

“Anthropologically speaking, I don’t believe there are any cultures where people don’t dance,” says art sociologist Laura Cappelle, editor of “A New History of Dance in the West: From Prehistory to the Present Day”.

The first figurative representations of humanRFI dance appeared around 40,000 years ago. But, in the absence of archaeological evidence prior to that, anthropologists have sketched out the contours and timeline of a practice that is undoubtedly much older. 

Archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel says this history can be mapped out in five stages.

The first is dance for seduction, which he says could date back a million years and a function of dance we share with many animals.

The second, which he dates to around 100,000 years ago, is linked to funeral rites. This corresponds to the emergence of group dancing.

For the three stages after that, we are able to rely on visual representations. Forty thousand years ago, trance dances appeared, “along with shamanism, magic and religion”.

A little over 10,000 years ago, ceremonies accompanying the seasons were established, in connection with the birth of agriculture.

Finally, 5,000 years ago, with the emergence of the first cities, dance became a particular skill, even a profession – in front of an audience, the body became a spectacle.

‘Thinking through movement’

But where did the impulse to dance come from? While we commonly dance in pairs or in groups, we also dance alone, without an audience, for our own pleasure.

When asked why we dance, Cappelle says: “It’s a way of thinking through movement, which brings joy and a whole range of emotions that make us feel alive. We often dance to be together, without having to talk.”

Unifying African identities through modern dance

Although she says this shared experience is being diminished today, leaving dance in danger of becoming the preserve of specialists.

“People feel that they dance less, especially in rural areas, with the decline of popular dances and nightclubs,” she laments.

She added that dance is no longer part of the curriculum in primary or secondary education in France today, and many other countries. “Today, it is entirely possible to leave the school system without ever having taken a dance class.”

Gender roles

Dance as an integral part of one’s education was seen in Ancient Greece, where it served a specific purpose, as Cappelle explains.

“The presence of dance in the education of citizens in Ancient Greece is linked to the fact that they learned war dances. They learned to wage war by learning to dance. Attacking and defending oneself was a matter of mastering the body.”

She adds that this connection between dance and combat can also be seen in capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art that incorporates dance, acrobatics and spirituality.

‘Beauty exists everywhere’: Ballet builds hope for future in Nairobi slum

This may seem at odds with the more modern idea that dance is a feminine occupation, but according to Cappelle: “The idea that dance is feminine is not universal.”

Dance was similarly primarily a masculine activity during the Ancien Régime, the political and social system in France before the Revolution of 1789. It was the rise of the bourgeoisie in the 19th century feminised it, with the stage one of the few places where women took the lead.

According to Garfinkel, the first manifestation of music for dancing was the use of bells and shells as adornment on the dancer’s body. Unlike music, however, which was codified very early on in the West, dance was not transcribed until the 18th century, using a wide variety of notation systems.

For Cappelle, dance remains perhaps the art form most resistant to any form of verbalisation.

“There are things that happen during a dance that are difficult to put into words. That’s kind of our problem as critics and researchers. It’s difficult to assign a single meaning to movement. Often, movement lends itself to multiple interpretations and generates emotional states.”

But, she adds: “For me, this ambiguity of movement is part of what makes it particularly powerful. Unlike theatre, for example, where we are limited by what our language can offer us today, with all its possible experiences, the body in motion says things that are difficult to express in any other way.”

This article was adapted from the original version in French.

This week, Ethiopia inaugurated the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the River Nile – Africa’s largest hydroelectric project, with an eventual capacity of 5,000 megawatts.

The GERD project promises to transform access to electricity in Ethiopia, and generate export revenues by selling power to neighbouring countries.

But downstream, Sudan and Egypt view the dam as an “existential threat”.

Both rely heavily on the Nile’s waters, and fear the project could jeopardise their supply.

As climate change takes hold, disputes over shared rivers and lakes are expected to multiply. To unpack the issues, RFI spoke with Benjamin Pohl, director of Climate Diplomacy and Security at Adelphi, an international research centre based in Berlin.

Ethiopia inaugurates Africa’s biggest dam, despite concerns in Egypt and Sudan

RFI: Who owns the water? It’s a question we hear more and more often, especially when rivers cross borders.

Benjamin Pohl (BP): That’s usually the most controversial point because of competing interests. When a river flows across borders, every country wants to use as much of the water as possible. While cooperation would often mean greater benefits for all, states tend to plan primarily for their own water use – and that often clashes with their neighbours’ plans.

RFI: Is there such a thing as a “right to water”?

BP: International law does cover the use of shared rivers and lakes – notably through the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention and the Helsinki Convention. Neither Ethiopia nor Egypt, though, has signed them.

In essence, international law recognises the right of sovereign states to use shared waters, but only within certain limits.

Usage must be equitable and reasonable, it must not cause significant harm to neighbouring countries, and it should be guided by a general obligation to cooperate.

The problem, however, lies in enforcement. Unlike national legal systems, there is no global authority to police compliance. Instead, everything rests on mutual trust between states or, in extreme cases, intervention by the UN Security Council – a route that is both politically fraught and costly.

Egypt brands Ethiopia’s move to fill Nile mega-dam as ‘illegal’

‘Historic rights’

RFI: Negotiations between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have dragged on for decades. What exactly is at stake?

BP: Talks revolve around two things: big-picture rights and very specific risks.

Egypt insists on its “historic rights”, rooted in the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement with Sudan – but that treaty excluded upstream states like Ethiopia. Cairo argues that its entire civilisation has depended on the Nile for millennia, so it has customary rights.

Ethiopia counters that it has sovereign rights to develop and use the water too, pointing out that Egypt has monopolised the Nile for centuries. Addis Ababa stresses that the GERD is for electricity, not irrigation, so water will continue flowing downstream.

Egypt, however, worries about drought scenarios… What if Ethiopia withholds water to maximise power generation? What if the dam were to fail? Or worse, what if water became a political weapon?

Two negotiation tracks are ongoing. One covers the Nile Basin as a whole, though Egypt temporarily walked away before recently returning. The other is a trilateral process between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the Blue Nile – where the GERD is located.

In 2015, they signed a declaration of principles, pledging to cooperate. Since then, technical talks have continued, but a final deal remains elusive.

RFI: What role does climate change play?

BP: Climate change disrupts rainfall patterns and the water cycle. Meanwhile, demand for water is rising fast due to population growth and economic development. In many regions, every drop is already allocated.

Now add climate change: drier conditions mean more irrigation, and hotter temperatures mean more energy use for cooling – which itself requires more water. In short, the pressure is intensifying.

Water crisis driven by climate change threatens global food production

Water diplomacy

RFI: Are there global hotspots where water-sharing tensions are particularly acute?

BP: Absolutely. Over half the world’s rivers cross borders. Conflicts are most likely where political tensions are already high – think North Africa, the Middle East or Central and South Asia.

But here’s the silver lining: most disputes don’t escalate. Political leaders usually find ways to manage them, provided there’s at least some trust and a willingness to cooperate.

RFI: Can shared water management actually improve diplomatic relations?

BP: That’s the dream of every water diplomat! And sometimes, it works.

Take the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan – it’s survived three wars. Or the cooperation between Brazil and Paraguay over hydropower, and the Senegal River basin initiative in West Africa.

These examples show that shared water can act as a bridge, even between rivals. Still, global water pressure is rising, which makes cooperation ever more essential.

RFI: Looking ahead, what worries you most?

BP: I fear tensions will get worse. But awareness is growing too – there’s nothing inevitable about water scarcity leading to conflict.

What does complicate things is that it’s now easier for countries to build big dams without consulting neighbours. The World Bank used to act as a gatekeeper, ensuring regional consensus. But today, with new sources of finance, even relatively poor countries can push ahead with mega-projects.

That means we’ll see more unilateral infrastructure – and with it, greater potential for clashes. The challenge is to strengthen cooperation so that shared rivers become a source of partnership, not rivalry.

(This interview has been adapted from the original French version and edited for clarity)

Located in the volatile eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Virunga is not only Africa’s first national park but also one of its most biodiverse and economically promising.

“Virunga is Africa’s first national park, and it can be Africa’s best national park,” photographer Brent Stirton told RFI.

“For me, given the resources it has, the potential for ecotourism, the hydroelectric schemes, the wider development taking place around the park, as well as the security it provides, this is a billion-dollar park.”

Despite ongoing conflict and political instability — including the current M23 occupation of parts of the park — a dedicated team continues to pursue an ambitious vision for conservation and sustainable development.

“Eight hundred rangers look after this vast area. Over the past 20 years, more than 240 of them have been killed and many more wounded,” Stirton explained.

“But what I always find extraordinary is that no one abandons their post. No one leaves.”

► Visa pour l’Image runs from 30 August to 14 September, 2025.

France has not run a budget surplus in over fifty years. The last time was before the 1973 oil crisis.

“Since then, our deficit has not stopped increasing, and so our debt has not stopped increasing,” François Ecalle, a former member of France’s high council on public finance and an honorary senior adviser to the Cour des Comptes public auditors, told RFI.

France’s debt at the end of the first semester of 2025 was €3,345 billion, according to the Insee statistics institute, and it has grown over the last two decades to reach 113.9 percent of GDP this year.

“Each year the public debt goes up because we have a deficit: overall, the state and local authorities and the social security system have revenue that is less than what they spend,” Ecalle says.

Crises feed the debt

That deficit – the difference between revenue and spending – comes from yearly spending, but has also gone up with various crises, most recently the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid pandemic, when the government spent money to bail out businesses and support the healthcare system and other public services.

Like many states, France borrows money to cover the deficit, which costs more money, as there is interest to pay – the cost of servicing the debt.

Retirement benefits – which continue to rise, with an ageing population – are the largest item in the 2026 budget, but they are followed by the cost of servicing the debt, which Bayrou said is expected to cost €75 billion – more than the cost of healthcare or education.

Servicing the debt

Because interest rates have been on the rise, Bayrou said the cost of servicing the debt could become the single largest line item in the budget by 2029, which he says represents a serious and immediate danger.

“An immediate danger weighs on us, which we need to face, not tomorrow or after tomorrow, but today, without any sort of delay, without which our future will be denied us and the present will be made severely worse,” the Prime Minister said during the press conference on 25 August in which he announced the confidence vote he would put to parliament on 8 September.

Movement calls for September shutdown across France to protest budget cuts

The Cour des comptes public auditor agrees that reducing the debt is necessary. In July last year, the head of the institution, Pierre Moscovici, called it a “burning obligation”.

Keeping France’s yearly deficit within the European Union’s limit of 3 percent of GDP is “imperative to the sustainability of the debt”, the auditor wrote this July – if the deficit goes up, lenders will no longer trust France to pay back its loans.

Debate over how to reduce the debt

The debate – and subsequent vote in parliament – will focus on “the overall plan, its necessity and usefulness,” Bayrou said, even as the political disagreements are more on the substance of Bayrou’s particular proposals, rather than the concept of the deficit itself.

France has ‘one of the worst deficits’ in its history, minister says

“There is a growing consensus among experts, politicians, and the French people, particularly around the idea that something must be done to reduce deficits and regain control of the debt,” said Ecalle.

“But there is no consensus on how to get there. And when one government starts saying how to do it, the response is to look elsewhere.”

What to tax, what to cut?

Bayrou’s draft budget has €21 billion in spending cuts, plus a pension freeze and a cap to all social benefits to 2025 levels.

Taxation is a red herring – French President Emmanuel Macron’s governments have promised no new taxes on households.

Ecalle says at some point the government needs to find new sources of revenue, through taxes – on inherited property or high pensions – but he recognises the difficulty in getting people to support such measures: taxes, like budget cuts, are never popular.

Why does France want to scrap two of its public holidays?

“The debates we are having today over how to balance the books – whether they involve spending cuts or tax increases – are debates that we have been having for decades. When I was at finance ministry 30 years ago, these were the same debates,” he says, adding that his not optimistic that the current period will be any different.

“We put off these the conflicts over taxes and public spending that we are unable to resolve today, to some point in the future.”

Tanzania’s electoral commission said Monday it had disqualified Mpina, the candidate for the Alliance for change and transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), the country’s second opposition party.

“The Commission has accepted the objection submitted by Mr. Hamza Saidi Johari, Attorney General, against the nomination of Mr. Luhaga Joelson Mpina as a candidate for the presidency,” the commission wrote Monday in a statement in which it said it had dismissed two other objections to Mpina’s candidacy.

The decision comes four days after Mpina successfully challenged a first decision in court to disqualify him by the Office of registrar of political parties, which cited complaints that his party had failed to comply with nomination procedures.

ACT Wazalendo dismissed the disqualification as “baseless” and politically-motivated.

The party said it would formally challenge incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s own nomination, which the electoral commission on Monday also rejected.

Tanzania’s opposition rallies against ‘cosmetic’ electoral reforms

At her election campaign launch at the end of August, Hassan told supporters her party had “accomplished major milestones” and has “the energy to continue leading our country”.

She promised expanded healthcare and to tackle controversy over hospitals withholding bodies of deceased persons over unpaid bills.

She also promised to establish a reconciliation commission and start the process of drafting a new constitution, though she gave no details of what these processes would involve.

Uphill battle

Hassan came to power without being directly elected after taking over from John Magufuli when he died in March 2021, and she has taken no chances in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary votes.

Opposition parties face an uphill battle trying to dislodge Hassan and her ruling Party of Revolution (Chama cha Mapinduzi) (CCM) party, amid a government crackdown on rivals.

Mpina’s disqualification means Hassan would potentially face opposition only from smaller parties in the 29 October election.

The leading opposition party, Chadema, was disqualified in April after it refused to sign the electoral code of conduct.

Freed Tanzanian opposition leaders ‘beaten’ during mass arrests

Chadema presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, has been in jail for over five months, charged with treason, which he has denied.

Rights groups like Amnesty International say Lissu’s detention and the unexplained abductions of government critics in recent months point to a government crackdown ahead of Tanzania‘s election.

Hassan’s candidature has faced some criticism from within her own party – such as former ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, who resigned in July.

“I have observed with deep regret a leadership orientation that fails to adequately defend human rights, peace, and human dignity,” he said in a letter to Hassan.

(with newswires)

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA)’s Global State of Democracy 2025 report says 94 countries – more than half of those assessed – have declined in at least one key aspect of democratic performance over the past five years.

It warns of setbacks in judicial independence, press freedom and electoral integrity. Those concerns were echoed at the United Nations.

Marking the International Day of Democracy, UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised “the courage of people everywhere who are shaping their societies through dialogue, participation, and trust”, saying such efforts are vital “at a time when democracy and the rule of law are under assault from disinformation, division, and shrinking civic space”.

Since 2014, more countries have slipped backwards than advanced on civil liberties.

IDEA calls this “modern democratic backsliding” – elected leaders using legal means to weaken checks and balances from within. Freedom of expression has declined in 37 countries over the past five years, while media integrity fell in 33.

By contrast, just 17 and 10 countries respectively improved.

Global decline in freedom of expression over last decade, watchdog warns

Backsliding in central, Eastern Europe

IDEA points to sustained pressure on three pillars of democracy since 2007: representative government, checks on power, and civil liberties. Media integrity is under particular strain.

Across Europe, diversity of voices and critical coverage have dropped, undermining the press’s ability to hold governments to account.

The report identifies Poland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and Turkey among the countries with marked democratic decline.

In Poland, government influence over the courts and public broadcasting has drawn criticism at home and abroad. Meanwhile Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has tightened restrictions on NGOs and the press, with pro-government interests dominating much of the media sector.

Romania saw mass protests in 2017 against legislation that threatened anti-corruption safeguards, while Ukraine continues to face challenges around judicial independence and corruption, despite some reforms in recent years.

Turkey remains an entrenched case of democratic erosion, with civil liberties and checks on power now among the weakest in the region.

Turkey’s embattled civil society fears worst as foreign funding dries up

Western Europe not immune

IDEA warned that even Western European democracies face “downward pressure”.

France, still ranking in the top 30 of IDEA’s scores, shows emerging warning signs. These include policing of protests, pandemic-era restrictions on privacy and movement, and concerns over judicial independence and lobbying rules.

Italy is named among five EU states described as “dismantlers” of democracy, alongside Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia. IDEA uses the term for governments that systematically undermine checks and the rule of law.

From Washington to Warsaw: how MAGA influence is reshaping Europe’s far right

Guardrails and renewal

Representation scores “collapsed to their worst level in over 20 years, with seven times more countries declining than advancing”, IDEA researchers wrote. 

“Meanwhile, rule of law – the weakest overall performer – fell most strikingly in Europe.”

European states accounted for 38 percent of global downturns in the rule of law between 2019 and 2024, underlining the strain on the continent’s institutions.

The report warns that reversing these trends will require stronger safeguards, including independent courts, plural media, and a vibrant civil society.

The UN Democracy Fund, celebrating its 20th year, says grassroots civil society and independent media remain the front line in defending democratic values – the very institutions now under pressure.

“Democracy faces a perfect storm of autocratic resurgence and acute uncertainty, due to massive social and economic changes,” IDEA Secretary-General Kevin Casas-Zamora said.

Among the defendants is Jennyfer Clain, 34, the niece of Jean-Michel and Fabien Clain, two prominent figures of the Islamic State (IS) who were known for having recorded the claim of responsibility for the 13 November terrorist attacks in Paris.

Both were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, and were killed in an airstrike in 2019.

Appearing with her are her sister-in-law, Mayalen Duhart, and Christine Allain, the mother of their two husbands and the grandmother of their nine children.

The three are appearing before a specially-composed court without a jury – a standard practice in terrorist cases in France.

The trial is expected to run until 26 September, and the defendants face up to 30 years in prison.

The indictment, quoted by the French news agency AFP, claims the women’s departure to Syria was part of “a trajectory that had been ideologically committed for over ten years to Salafi-jihadism”.

Clain ‘clan’

The defendants are part of what investigators refer to as the “Clain clan“: over 20 members of the family, based near Toulouse, left France with their spouses and children to go to Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2015.

Among them were Marie-Rosane Clain, three of her children – including Fabien and Jean-Michel – and several grandchildren, including Jennyfer.

Jennyfer Clain, who began a religious education at the age after her stepfather, Mohamed Mongi Amri, had converted the family to Islam, entered into a religious marriage at 15 in order to join her uncles in Egypt.

Former wife of IS commander to stand trial in France on Yazidi genocide charges

She married Kevin Gonot, a friend of Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain, who later became an IS member, and is currently in prison in Iraq, where he was initially sentenced to death for membership in IS before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

In 2014 Jennyfer Clain followed Gonot to Raqqa, Syria, where his mother, Christine Allain, was also living.

She had converted to Islam a few years earlier, after being introduced to the Koran by her eldest son, Thomas Collange, who had also converted his partner, Mayalen Duhart.

Starting in 2004, the couple travelled to Syria multiple times and settled there permanently in 2014, three years after the war began.

Back to France

Christine Allain, Jennyfer Clain, and Mayalen Duhart arrived in France in 2019 along with nine children aged between 3 and 13 years old, and they were formally charged.

They had been arrested two months earlier in Turkey, on the Syrian border. For two years after the fall of Raqqa they had been wandering – their husbands had already been arrested.

Top French jihadist and wife handed jail terms

Investigating judges decided to refer the three women to a criminal court because they had “remained for an extended period” within jihadist groups.

Prosecutors argue that Jennyfer Clain “integrated and contributed to the functioning of the Islamic State”, embraced its ideology, benefitted from housing and financial support provided by the group, and maintained regular contact with active members of IS throughout her stay.

What responsibility?

Interviewed in 2021, she claimed she had only “carried out normal daily activities” and played “no role” within IS, stating her main concern was her four children.

Her lawyer, Guillaume Halbique, hopes her ideological transformation during her time in custody will be taken into account.

From the moment she was placed in isolation at the start of her detention in France, “she realised she could ask questions and think for herself,” he said, adding that all she wants today is to care for her children as best she can.

Jennyfer Clain and Mayalen Duhart are facing charges of neglecting their parental responsibilities – a charge that has been imposed since 2017 on any parent who took their minor children to the Iraq-Syria conflict zone.

The women are accused of deliberately taking their children, who had been born and living in France, to a war zone to join a terrorist group, thereby exposing them to serious physical and psychological risks, including long-term trauma.

Jennifer Clain’s four children, with whom she has maintained contact during her detention, will be civil parties in the trial, represented by their own lawyer.

(with AFP)

Now in its third edition, Photoclimat brings together 47 artists from around the world. Their installations trace the work of non-profit groups tackling climate change, protecting biodiversity and defending communities on the frontlines.

The Biennale was created in 2021 by French photographer Nicolas Henry, a member of Le tour d’un monde (A Journey Around a World), a cultural association that develops artistic projects with a social focus.

He says the idea is to use art as a bridge to the work of NGOs.

“The idea of this project is to combine the strength of artistic talent together with the stories of the work done by NGOs. We want to really wake people up – raise awareness,” he told RFI.

He hopes visitors will go further – learning more about the organisations, volunteering or donating.

“But it’s also all about giving meaning to what we do, bringing joy and a good mood that can transform people’s lives. It gives us a sense of direction and a sense of community,” he says.

A powerful tool

Henry believes photography can open the door to difficult issues, especially for younger audiences. And photographry is a powerful tool to begin a discussion.

“It’s a way to introduce these NGOs to the younger generation who may not have heard of them – encouraging them to become ‘actors of society’ when it comes to ecology and social progress,” he says.

One of the headline works sits at Place de la Concorde. It is “Les Voix des Fôrets” (Voices of the Forest), a series by young Filipino photographer Gab Mejia. His black-and-white portraits are displayed on a circular wooden pavilion that doubles as a meeting space for artists.

France’s photojournalism festival opens with focus on war and climate crisis

Mejia worked with Laure d’Astorg from the French NGO Alliance pour la Préservation des Fôrets (Alliance for Forest Preservation) to find a way to celebrate the people behind the mammoth task of saving the world’s endangered forests.

“I wanted the work to share their messages and to transmit a call to action of what we can do to preserve the forests all across the world,” Mejia told RFI.

He says the Philippines, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, has vast primary forests under threat. “It’s part of our identity; we have indigenous communities and local communities who really rely on the forest in the Philippines and the islands.”

Among his subjects was Hernando Chindoy, a Colombian leader working with the Alliance to fight deforestation. Mejia combined photography with digitally rendered sketches to portray the activists.

For d’Astorg, there’s the public message battle, and then there’s the legal one behind the scenes.

Her organisation strives to make sure raw materials derived from the forests, like wood, coffee, cacao are sustainably sourced.

“Forests are in danger, forests in Europe, but also in Amazonia and Basin of Congo and Southeast Asia,” she says.

“The planet is burning and we really need to bring this message and this fight can only be won together with the businesses and the NGOs. We really need to work together to stop deforestation.”

Beauty and the blight: a photographer’s quest to expose an ecological disaster

Elsewhere at Photoclimat, visitors can see British photographer Tim Flach’s portraits of animals, the bold colours of Ghanaian artist Prince Gyasi and the abstract work of Dutch photographer Sanja Marusic.

On the banks of the Seine, other installations focus on oceans and rivers, underscoring the efforts of people and organisations working to protect them.

For Nicolas Henry, Photoclimat is just the beginning of a conversation: a wake-up call he hopes will transform awareness into meaningful action.

Photoclimat runs until 12 October – spanning 6 locations in central Paris and several locations in the Paris suburbs.

France’s most powerful farming union, the FNSEA, has called for a nationwide day of action on Friday 25 September, turning up the pressure on the country’s new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu.

The union’s president, Arnaud Rousseau, told Le Journal du Dimanche that farmers would take to the streets across all departments to protest against what they see as unfair global competition.

The main targets are the EU’s trade pact with South America’s Mercosur bloc, tariffs slapped on French exports by former US president Donald Trump, and what Rousseau described as “a flood of international imports that do not respect our standards”.

The timing couldn’t be trickier for Lecornu, as the French government is already bracing for a day of strikes and demonstrations organised by French trade unions on 18 September.

Just a week later, farmers will be out in force, adding a fresh layer of pressure on the fledgling prime minister.

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

Mercosur under the spotlight

At the heart of the FNSEA’s anger is the EU–Mercosur agreement, which the European Commission signed off earlier this month.

While the text offers potential limits on certain agricultural imports in an effort to soothe French concerns, Rousseau insists it still undermines local producers. “We want guarantees that our sovereignty, especially food sovereignty, will be protected,” he said.

Unlike other unions, the FNSEA skipped the nationwide mobilisation on 10 September. “We didn’t take part simply because farmers are working!” Rousseau argued, pointing out that grape harvests are still underway, herds are on their summer pastures, maize and beet crops are being gathered, and cereal sowing has begun.

“We didn’t want to be drawn into the political manoeuvring around that protest,” he added.

French farmer convoys head to Paris as protests continue over pay, conditions

Expectations from PM Lecornu

Asked what he expects from Lecornu, Rousseau’s message was clear – vision and direction.

“I want from Mr Lecornu what I already expected from his predecessors: a roadmap to lift French agriculture out of doubt and give us the means to invest and innovate, so that we can guarantee the country’s sovereignty – above all its food sovereignty.”

The FNSEA’s show of force on 25 September will be a critical test for both France’s new prime minister and for Europe’s contentious trade agenda.

Since taking office on Wednesday, Sébastien Lecornu is wasting no time in trying to stamp his mark on his leadership of the French government.

His first big move has been the scrapping of the hugely unpopular idea of cutting two public holidays – a measure that had been pencilled into the 2026 budget by his ill-fated predecessor, François Bayrou.

Bayrou’s plan had earmarked Easter Monday and Victory in Europe Day (8 May) for the chop, a suggestion that quickly stirred public anger.

“I have decided to withdraw the suppression of two public holidays,” Lecornu told regional newspapers in an interview organised by Ouest-France over the weekend.

It was an early signal that the new premier is keen to change tone, after Bayrou’s attempt to impose €44 billion in savings helped topple him from office after only nine months.

The U-turn is popular, but it leaves a hole in the budget. Lecornu was candid about the challenge: “Dropping the holiday cuts means we need to find other sources of financing.”

He has opened talks with opposition parties and unions, promising “modern, frank parliamentary debate” rather than top-down decrees.

France hit with credit downgrade as new government faces budget squeeze

Ratings downgrade

The government still faces a stern financial test after credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded France’s long-term rating from AA- to A+ on Friday, warning that the country’s growing debt pile reduces its ability to absorb future shocks.

Lecornu admitted: “We are paying for instability,” but insisted he wants a “healthy trajectory” for public finances – something he sees as tied to France’s sovereignty.

The 38-year-old former defence minister is also trying to strike a pragmatic balance on taxation. He has not ruled out a wealth levy, dubbed the “Zucman tax” after the French economist who inspired it, but stressed the need to protect “professional assets” that fuel jobs and growth. “We must work without ideology,” he said.

Eric Lombard – who quit as economy minister alongside Bayrou – broadly backed Lecornu’s approach in a TV interview, calling the earlier €44 billion adjustment plan a “framing proposal” that now “must evolve”.

He too endorsed scrapping the holiday cuts and argued that any new sacrifices should fall more on the wealthiest, though targeted on savings and non-productive assets.

Who is ‘political animal’ Sébastien Lecornu, France’s latest prime minister?

Public opinion ‘unfavourable’

Yet Lecornu’s political honeymoon looks extremely short lived, after an Ipsos/BVA poll for La Tribune Dimanche shows he enters office with just 16 percent favourable opinions – even lower than Bayrou’s 20 percent when he took the reins.

By comparison, former prime ministers like Gabriel Attal, Michel Barnier and Elisabeth Borne all enjoyed far stronger ratings when they took office in the past.

Six in ten French people doubt Lecornu will manage to broker a budget compromise with opposition parties.

This comes as President Emmanuel Macron is at his weakest point since entering the Elysée in 2017, with the same poll giving him just a 17 percent approval rating, down a staggering 18 points even among his own supporters.

On the right, National Rally leader Jordan Bardella tops the rankings of politicians the French would welcome as president with 35 percent, while incumbent interior minister Bruno Retailleau follows at 27 percent. 

Despite the bruising numbers, Lecornu is betting that his mix of dialogue, pragmatism and symbolic gestures – like saving those cherished holidays – can begin to rebuild trust.

He is already promising a “grand act of decentralisation” to give local authorities more freedom, with consultations opening next week.

France has been dealt a fresh economic blow after Fitch downgraded the country’s credit rating, just as Emmanuel Macron’s government wrestles with political turmoil and the daunting task of getting the public finances back in order.

The US ratings agency lowered France’s sovereign rating from AA- to A+ on Friday, warning that without swift action, the nation’s debt pile will continue to swell until at least 2027.

For Paris, it’s an unwelcome development at a moment of deep political uncertainty.

The downgrade landed only days after François Bayrou dramatically resigned as prime minister, toppled by a parliamentary no-confidence vote over his austerity-leaning budget plans.

Bayrou had sought sharp spending cuts to tame the deficit, but his proposals failed to win over a fractured parliament.

On social media, Bayrou didn’t mince his words, blasting France as “a country whose elites lead it to reject the truth [and] is condemned to pay the price”.

France risks credit downgrade as new PM tackles budget

‘Fragmentation and polarisation’

Now the burden falls on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who is expected to lead a minority government.

Lecornu must now craft a 2026 budget palatable to MPs from across the political spectrum, while convincing international investors that France can get its house in order.

Fitch was blunt in its assessment, saying the defeat of Macron’s government in the confidence vote was a “sign of increased fragmentation and polarisation” in French politics, warning this instability was undermining the state’s ability to deliver meaningful fiscal reform.

The agency also poured cold water on the idea that France could hit its previous target of cutting the deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2029.

Still, outgoing economy minister Éric Lombard tried to steady nerves, insisting the French economy remained fundamentally “solid” despite the downgrade.

What’s behind France’s current political crisis?

Rising costs, rising risks

A lower credit rating often means investors demand higher returns to lend money – and France’s borrowing costs were already climbing. This week, yields on 10-year government bonds rose to 3.47 percent, brushing levels usually associated with Italy, the eurozone’s problem borrower.

Bayrou had already sounded the alarm on debt servicing costs, calling them “unbearable”. France’s debt stood at 113 percent of GDP last year – nearly double the EU’s 60 percent ceiling – while the deficit was 5.8 percent, well above the bloc’s three percent limit.

Fitch now expects debt to climb further, reaching 121 percent of GDP by 2027, with no clear point at which it will level off. That could leave France dangerously exposed to any future shocks, whether economic, geopolitical, or climate-related.

France’s debt: how did we get here, and how dangerous is it?

A little light in the gloom

There are, however, glimmers of hope. The INSEE national statistics bureau nudged up its growth forecast for 2025 this week, from 0.7 to 0.8 percent.

It’s hardly a boom, but it does suggest the French economy isn’t stalling entirely – and growth, however modest, could help ease some of the fiscal pressure.

Markets, too, may not panic. Analysts note that bond traders had long anticipated a downgrade, meaning much of the bad news may already be “priced in”. In other words, the sky isn’t about to fall just yet.

And France isn’t alone in facing the wrath of the rating agencies. Rivals such as S&P Global are set to update their own assessments in November, and many eurozone governments are under scrutiny as they juggle recovery spending with Brussels’ budget rules.

Keach Hagey, Wall Street Journal reporter and author of The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future, spoke to RFI’s Thomas Bourdeau. 

RFI: How did you meet Sam Altman? 

Keach Hagey: I knew of Sam Altman through his role as president of Y Combinator [a start-up incubator], but I really met him when I went to interview him for a profile in the Wall Street Journal shortly after the launch of ChatGPT.

He gave us a tour of OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco. Then we talked for about three hours; it was a very intense interview. The idea for the book came shortly after that.

Your book is like a Who’s Who of Silicon Valley. How did you go about bringing all these connections to life?

What interested me was the intellectual history behind the story of AI. It’s a bit like a family tree of ideas… In Silicon Valley, money and ideas often go hand in hand.

What makes the history of AI a little complicated to tell is that the idea of general artificial intelligence and its existential threat were really considered from the very beginning of OpenAI. That’s fascinating.

ChatGPT team calls for global watchdog to oversee superintelligent AI

So Sam Altman and OpenAI were afraid of AI even as they were working on it?

Yes, and it’s really two sides of the same coin. In the beginning, when AI was considered a crazy idea, saying you were afraid of it was also a way of showing how seriously you took it.

You have to believe that something can be real in order to be afraid of it, right? If it’s just fiction, why be afraid of it? 

This ‘family tree of ideas’ also tells us a lot about how Silicon Valley works. 

Silicon Valley is actually very small considering its global influence. It’s really just a small handful of people who come from this little club that was, for many, shaped by Y Combinator.

Sam Altman’s power comes from all the people he knows and all the favours they do for each other. They can all text each other very casually, even at this very high level.

Is Sam Altman a unique character in the tech world?

[PayPal co-founder] Peter Thiel says that Sam Altman embodies the zeitgeist of Silicon Valley, and I think that’s true. He and [Facebook co-founder] Mark Zuckerberg are only a year apart in age, and their stories are, in a way, similar. They are both millennials, both left prestigious universities to found their start-ups.

Of course, Mark Zuckerberg was successful much earlier, but I think they are part of the same culture – Silicon Valley culture, which values youth above all else. Youth and speed are the most important qualities in the tech world.

Meet Jean-Zay, the supercomputer powering France’s AI ambitions

Altman was abruptly fired by his company’s board of directors in November 2023. What a twist…

At the time, I had signed a contract to write a book about him, and it was surreal, honestly. I felt like I was dreaming.

For the next five days, among those involved, as well as the journalists covering the story, I don’t think anyone slept. It was like a fog. Every hour, the story changed. 

Altman subsequently returned as CEO. The OpenAI tree was shaken, but its roots are strong…

The tree played a big role in his return. Minutes after his dismissal, Sam contacted another branch: Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, a friend of his, who became a kind of advisor throughout this process.

Emmett Shear was briefly appointed CEO in the midst of intense negotiations, and he had also been in the first Y Combinator class with Sam Altman, back in 2005. Shear and Chesky knew each other, and Chesky was able to negotiate Sam’s return.

Without this close-knit group of people, I’m not sure Sam Altman would have been able to return so quickly, or at all.

People used to talk about the “PayPal mafia”. Should we now be talking about the “OpenAI mafia”?

Since that dismissal, some OpenAI founders have launched their own AI companies… So it’s true that, in a way, OpenAI is like a breeding ground for the future of AI. In that sense, it’s like the “PayPal mafia”.

But on the other hand, I don’t know if they collaborate in the same way.

In the book, you mention that the Department of Defence has made considerable investments in AI. Is that a trend?

Yes, one of the most surprising developments has been the speed with which these young AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have embraced the idea of collaborating with the defence industry. They both have contracts with the Pentagon.

Until very recently, it was kind of taboo in Silicon Valley to work for the defence sector. I think the previous generation believed that technology was an ideal and would not be part of warfare in this way. I was surprised at how quickly everyone agreed to say “OK, let’s use AI for defence”, without asking too many questions.

Is AI sexist? How artificial images are perpetuating gender bias in reality

It’s also striking how quickly AI is becoming part of everyday life.

That’s true, and it’s one of Sam Altman’s fundamental qualities. He loves speed in his personal life. He loves racing cars. He liked to judge other start-up founders on how quickly they responded to their emails.

Speed is one of the great virtues of his worldview, and his company is built in his image.

What did you learn from writing about Altman’s life?

Sam’s life is a lesson in how to gain power. And in a way, power begins with a certain humility. Sam will say: “What can I do for you? How can I help you?” And that’s how he starts his relationships with people.

Sam’s algorithm is to understand what you need and how to get it. He calls it being helpful. [Tech investor and essayist] Paul Graham says it’s a way to become powerful. It’s actually the same thing because, over time, the entire Silicon Valley network feels indebted to him.

This article was adapted from the original version in French and has been edited for clarity.

The International Court of Justice ruled on Friday that France does not have to hand back the luxurious residence on Avenue Foch – one of the French capital’s most exclusive addresses – which it seized during a corruption probe into Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue. He is Equatorial Guinea’s vice president and the son of long-time ruler Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

The case was launched in 2022, with Equatorial Guinea accusing France of breaching international law by holding onto the property.

The government argued that the confiscation violated the UN Convention against Corruption and asked the court for urgent “provisional measures” to stop France selling the mansion and to return it immediately.

Equatorial Guinea accuses France of ‘neo-colonialism’ in Paris mansion row

But presiding judge Yuji Iwasawa said the country had “not demonstrated” a plausible legal right to reclaim the building.

French lawyers had told the court there was no question of a fire sale, describing the request as “yet another abusive manoeuvre” by Malabo.

“This dispute should be settled through negotiation, not courtroom theatrics,” France’s agent Diégo Colas said during a July hearing.

Equatorial Guinea’s representative, Carmelo Nvono-Ncá, bristled at that stance, accusing France of being “paternalistic and even neo-colonial” and dismissing the treatment of his country as “disdain for our sovereignty.”

Not a diplomatic mission, just a lavish ‘pied à terre’

This is not the first time the ICJ has been asked to weigh in on the dispute. In 2020, judges ruled that the mansion was a private residence rather than a diplomatic building, rejecting an earlier claim that its seizure violated diplomatic protections.

The sprawling property – fitted out with a private cinema, a nightclub and even a Turkish-style hammam – was confiscated in 2021 after French courts found Obiang guilty of embezzling millions in state funds.

He was given a three-year suspended sentence in 2017, and prosecutors seized not only the Paris property but also luxury cars and other assets.

57-year-old Obiang has long been dogged by corruption allegations well beyond France. The UK sanctioned him in 2021, citing his lavish use of public money – including splashing out $275,000 on Michael Jackson’s iconic bejewelled glove from the “Bad” tour. Switzerland and Brazil have also probed his finances.

Luxury cars seized from Equatorial Guinea leader’s son auctioned in Switzerland

The legal wrangling is a stark contrast to the situation at home. Despite Equatorial Guinea’s oil and gas wealth, much of the population struggles in poverty, while the ruling elite live in opulence.

The country has been led since 1979 by Obiang’s father, Africa’s longest-serving president.

While the ICJ has batted away this latest request, the broader case over the confiscated assets isn’t finished.

Equatorial Guinea maintains that France is obliged to return the property under international anti-corruption rules.

A new study shows the snakes – which are Africa’s most venomous – absorb heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury into their bodies.

By clipping small fragments of scales from live animals – a process which does not harm them – scientists can measure pollution levels across different landscapes. Tissue samples from snakes killed in accidents or human conflict were also analysed.

The research, by the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, was the first of its kind on an African snake species.

Fossils of colossal prehistoric snake named Vasuki unearthed in India

The study focused on black mambas collected in Durban, in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.

Snakes from industrial and commercial areas carried far higher concentrations of heavy metals than those found in reserves or green spaces.

“Snakes constitute a very good indicator of pollution patterns, because they are excellent predators, at the top of the food chain,” Graham Alexander, professor of herpetology and co-author of the study, told RFI.

“They do not move around a lot. And they also have a long lifespan, about 30 or 40 years, which allows them to accumulate good indicators of pollution over time in different areas,” he said.

Mirror effect

Black mambas absorb heavy metals when they feed on contaminated birds and rodents. That makes them a mirror of the risks also faced by people.

“Humans who live in these industrial areas may not be as exposed to heavy metals, because they don’t eat rats,” Alexander said with a laugh. “But they are still exposed. This therefore provides important information for human wellbeing as well as for the environment and other natural species present.”

Man who let snakes bite him 200 times spurs new antivenom hope

“We found a clear association between land use and exposure to heavy metals. What is exciting is that these data can be obtained without danger to the snakes,” Marc Humphries, an environmental chemist and director of the study, told RFI.

The study, published last month in the journal Environmental Pollution, offers a model that could be applied across the African continent. Researchers say the method could help cities build detailed maps of pollution and identify the worst-affected areas.

“In the future, this technique will become more generalised and will become an even more efficient and precise measuring instrument,” Alexander said.

This story was partially adapted from the original version in French

The presence of spirits is deeply woven into daily life in Madagascar, where people regularly honour their ancestors through ritual practices.

“In our everyday lives, we constantly think about our ancestors, because Malagasy philosophy believes that doing good for them, honouring them, helps maintain a form of balance within society,” says Rijasolo, whose series “Madagascar, land of spirits” is currently showing at the Visa pour l’image photo festival in southern France.

“This spirituality sustains people with a kind of resilience in the face of the economic situation and the prevailing uncertainty.”

At the core of this belief system is the practice of hasina, “a kind of universal energy that Christians might call the Holy Spirit, or others might call Gaia”, he told RFI.

This energy is found in nature – in mountains, trees and rivers.

“There are certain people we call ‘mpanazary’ – they are shamans who have this ability to use this ‘hasina’ to heal people or predict the future and to be in contact with ancestors,” explains Rijasolo.

Filipino photographer honours activists saving the forests

To document these intimate and often secretive practices, as he began doing in 2009, the photographer had to gain the trust of local communities.

He himself took part in some rituals in order to be accepted, while using his camera to maintain distance: “It was a way to keep my rational mind intact to be able to document what was happening.

“My camera was a kind of psychological shield.”

While this spirituality remains vibrant, it now faces threats, particularly as global warming and biodiversity loss erode the island’s unique environment.

“We know that 80 percent of Madagascar’s flora and fauna are endemic to the island,” says Rijasolo. “And this is precisely what gives strength to the ‘hasina’.”

► “Madagascar, land of spirits” is on show as part of the Visa pour l’Image photo festival in Perpignan until 14 September 2025.

“I think we had this complex in France – I certainly did and many other athletes with disabilities did too,” said Jean-Christophe Rambeau, one of the leading lights in France’s sitting volleyball team that made its debut at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Moments after addressing early-morning visitors to the French Paralympic Committee’s third annual Paralympic Day last weekend, he explained: “Before the Games, we were seen more as people with disabilities.

“And thanks to the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, French society realised that we were actually athletes. And that’s really what struck me the most about these Games, the way people looked at us by the time we got to the closing ceremony.”

France raked in 75 medals, 19 of them gold, during the 11-day extravaganza – its best haul at the Paralympics since the 86 prizes harvested at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney.

Though Rambeau’s team finished without a victory in its four matches, he said he was still hailed in the streets for his efforts.

“People stop me and say: ‘I saw you on the TV,'” he beamed as he surveyed the burgeoning throng of para athletes and public moving around the Communale venue in Saint-Ouen, one of the suburbs north of Paris that helped host the 2024 Games.

“I realise that with this experience of the Paralympic Games, we have become a bit like ambassadors,” added Rambeau.

“We’ve become role models. And that’s something that I would really like to push… to effectively democratise disability.”

The 43-year-old added: “We need to normalise it so that people with disabilities come to a place like La Communale and try lots of sports and for them to be seen as fully fledged athletes and no longer different because they have a disability.”

Budget cuts

That shift, however, could be set back as France cuts back on its sports spending in a bid to rein in public debt. 

In January, then Prime Minister François Bayrou announced that the sport budget would be slashed from €1.7 billion to €1.4 billion as part of broader cutbacks in public spending.

A petition signed by 400 leading athletes hit out at the plans. In a statement to sports newspaper L’Equipe, President Emmanuel Macron said that he agreed with the athletes.

“Since 2017, I have ensured that the sports budget has increased every year,” he said. “We must keep our commitments and provide the necessary resources for our athletes so that the legacy of the Games benefits everyone.”

As France’s sports budget faces cuts, are Olympic promises being broken?

In June, the government came under further attack when it announced changes to the Pass Sport scheme, established in 2021 under Macron’s aegis to help children from low-income families join sports clubs. 

Nearly 1.7 million youngsters between six and 17 were benefitting from the €50 payment when Sports Minister Marie Barsacq outlined the amendments.

Under the new system, which is set to come into effect this month, the payout will be upped to €70 – but limited to young people who already qualify for certain other types of income support.

‘No going back’

“Obviously, without money, you can’t do much,” commented Rambeau. “That’s for sure. But I think that thanks to the Games, there will be no going back.

“In fact, French society, France itself, has taken a new look at disability and we are on the right track, even if there are still obstacles, such as budget restrictions.”

In another corner of La Communale dedicated to para archery, Vincent Hybois, who trains the archers in the national team, agreed.

He recounted how he was sized up and down as a teenager when his disabled parents introduced him as their son. 

“The person stared at me for what seemed like ages trying to look for my disabilities,” he recalled.

“Things have changed from that point of view and so has the amount of money coming into the sport.”

How exoskeleton suits are breaking barriers for athletes with disabilities

Visible and accessible

Hybois, whose mother, Marie-Francoise, won bronze in para archery at the 1980 and 1996 Paralympic Games, added: “When she went to her first Paralympics in 1980, she had to pay for her own tracksuit top if she wanted it as a souvenir.

“By the time she finished at the Sydney Games, the tracksuits were being given out for free.

“Of course we always want and need more money… but there have been some advances.”

After testing her skills at para badminton and boccia alongside Barsacq, French Paralympic Committee president Marie-Amélie Le Fur hailed the 15 federations who had sent coaches and advisors.

“Paralympic Day illustrates our commitment to making sport accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or disability,” Le Fur said.

“With the mobilisation of those involved in sport, we reaffirm that parasport must be visible, inclusive and open.”

Paralympics legacy spurs push for inclusive sports in Paris

No ‘ghettoising’

At the end of the month, Le Fur’s executives will unveil a study on the impact of the French Paralympic Committee’s push for sports clubs to be more accessible to people with disabilities.

“I’m all in favour of open clubs or clubs where we mix Paralympics and Olympics,” said Cécile Hernandez, who won gold in the snowboard cross at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

“Sport is something that should break down all barriers,” added the 51-year-old, who said she aims to compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina.

“I’m in favour of diversity and I’m not in favour of ghettoising Paralympics.

“In a way, the more we welcome Paralympic sport into a mixed structure, the better it will be for everyone.”

Among the thousands searching for missing loved ones is Amar, who fled South Sudan nearly a decade ago. He still carries a worn photograph of his younger sister – his only remaining link to her.

“I tried everything,” he said. “Phone calls, messages, asking other refugees. Nothing. Not knowing is worse than death. If a person dies, you can mourn. But when they are missing, you live in hope and fear every single day.”

Moses (a pseudonym to protect his identity) lives with the same questions. Born in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, he was separated from his parents and three younger siblings during an armed attack on his village.

“I was supposed to protect them,” he says, lowering his eyes. “But I lost them in the chaos. I do not know if they survived. I do not even know if they remember me.”

Protests erupt at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya following aid cuts

A Red Cross lifeline

Amar and Moses have turned to the Kenya Red Cross (KRC) tracing office in Kakuma, clinging to the hope of a call that could end years of uncertainty.

For families like theirs, the Red Cross provides an invaluable service through the Restoring Family Links (RFL) programme.

It enables displaced people to register missing relatives, send Red Cross messages and – in some cases – speak to family members by facilitating phone and video calls.

Rajab Mohammed, a tracing officer for the Kenya Red Cross in the Turkana region, where Kakuma is located, describes the work as painstaking but deeply rewarding.

“Each inquiry is a story of suffering,” he explains. “People have been separated from their loved ones for years. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes the trail runs cold. But for those waiting, even a single word of information can bring relief.”

Refugee numbers reach record high as global aid funding drops

‘Dignity and hope’

The Red Cross works in more than 100 countries worldwide to trace those missing and reunite families.

In Kenya alone – where Kakuma and Dadaab camps host hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced by violence in South Sudan, Somalia and the Great Lakes region – the challenge is immense.

Mohammed recalls the story of a boy in Kakuma who finally managed to speak with his mother in Burundi after six long years.

“When he heard her voice, he cried uncontrollably,” he said. “Everyone around him cried too. That is why this work matters. Reuniting families is not just about information – it is about dignity, healing and hope.”

As the sun sets over Kakuma, Amar tucks his sister’s photograph back into his wallet, as he has done countless times before.

“Hope is all I have,” he says. “If I let go of it, then I have lost her forever.”

More than 2,200 people were killed after the magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan just before midnight on 31 August, making it the deadliest quake to hit the country in decades.

Thousands of people remain displaced or homeless across Nangarhar and Kunar provinces and many isolated villages in mountainous areas are difficult to access, according to Laura Chambrier, of the French NGO Première Urgence Internationale (PUI). 

“The main needs are temporary shelter, primary healthcare, mental health and psychological support, and water and sanitation services,” she said.

She added that thanks to supplies already in place, their teams were able to respond with some autonomy, but that reaching remote areas is becoming “more and more complicated” as winter approaches.

The United Nations’ call for $139.6 million in aid remains unmet, and the consequences are plain to see.

“Afghanistan is facing a lot of funding gaps because donors are reducing humanitarian and development aid,” said Chambrier.

She added that the cut in US foreign aid earlier this year had resulted in PUI stopping activity in 60 healthcare facilities and almost 400 people losing their jobs – before the earthquake.

“Now with the earthquake, we have even more people in need,” she said.

Rescue efforts underway as Afghan earthquake leaves hundreds dead

Foreign aid cuts

“The funding coming in these days for [disaster] response is limited compared to a year ago,” Hans Johansen, the Kabul-based Afghanistan co-director of the French NGO Acted, told RFI.

He too cited the US government’s slashing of funding for USAID and other Western countries taking similar steps. “The earthquake response has attracted around $10 million, whereas in the early years, you would have seen a much higher number,” he said.

Western governments’ hesitancy to step in is also being shaped by their refusal to recognise the Taliban.

Aid typically bypasses national authorities by funding NGOs directly, but, as Johansen points out, the “hesitancy towards the de facto authorities means there is less attention on this crisis” in general.

According to a 10 September policy note from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs – traditionally a large donor – the EU “announced it would free [up] €1 million for aid by humanitarian organisations on the ground”, but this note does not include any mention of cooperation with the Taliban government directly. 

Women left behind

Humanitarian workers also cite Taliban decrees as creating unique risks for women in the aftermath of the disaster.

“Taliban edicts bar women from moving freely without a male guardian, ban them from many forms of work and strictly limit access to healthcare,” according to a report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. 

To reach female survivors, NGOs must navigate Taliban policy. “We have the authorisation to work with female medical staff [but] they have to be accompanied [by] a male relative,” says Chambrier.

For agencies without female staff, or where access is further restricted, there are fears women will be left behind or go untreated for days, as male aid workers are not allowed to touch them. 

‘All they dream of is leaving’: the reality of life for women under the Taliban

“Women and girls will again bear the brunt of this disaster, so we must ensure their needs are at the heart of the response and recovery,” warned UN Women Afghanistan Special Representative Susan Ferguson in a statement.

She pointed out that during the country’s last major earthquake in Herat in 2023, “nearly six out of 10 of those who lost their lives were women, and nearly two-thirds of those injured were women”.

“As a medical organisation, we are able to have female staff because of the medical activities. And we are adapting our activity to be sure so we can reach the women,” Chambrier says.

“But it is not easy for the ones that are not [able to move freely],” she said, referring to women without male relatives at hand to act as guardians. 

Cameroonians are set to go to the polls for the presidential election on 12 October, but the opposition remains fragmented, despite efforts to unite behind a single candidate to challenge President Paul Biya, who, at 92, is seeking an eighth term.

In the first week of September, the United Nations raised concerns over whether rising tensions in the country could jeopardise the possibility of free and fair elections.

According to Enrica Picco, Central Africa director for the International Crisis Group (ICG), this lack of unity, combined with the perception of an absent or weak opposition, could lead to low voter turnout. The ICG also warns that ongoing instability in the country may further depress participation.

On Saturday, Issa Tchiroma Bakary was named the opposition’s “consensus candidate” for the October vote. But will this be enough to galvanise voters?

The 10 other opposition candidates, who remain officially in the race, have yet to comment on Tchiroma Bakary’s appointment.

We have Enrica Picco on the line to discuss the potential flashpoints and the ICG’s recommendations ahead of the election.

Fears over divided opposition and instability, as Cameroon heads to the polls

 Oil pollution in Nigeria

In Nigeria, major oil companies are facing allegations that they have abandoned decades of pollution in the Niger Delta without addressing the environmental damage.

A UN-appointed panel of experts has written to Shell, Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, warning that the firms cannot simply sell off their assets to evade their responsibilities to local communities.

We’ll hear the reaction of community member Celestine AkpoBari, an Ogoni-born activist who coordinates the Ogoni Solidarity Forum and leads the Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI).

Oil giants accused of dodging Niger Delta clean-up as UN panel intervenes

South Africa and the US

Finally, in South Africa, since Donald Trump assumed office in the United States, companies, business leaders and diplomats have been working behind the scenes to strengthen relations, particularly for the hundreds of South African seasonal farmers who spend a few months each year in the US to supplement their income.

One prominent advocate for these farmers is Neil Diamond, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, based in Atlanta.

We discuss the importance of these work opportunities in the US for South Africans, as well as the final three months of South Africa’s G20 presidency — a historic first for an African nation.

Episode mixed by Melissa Chemam and 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. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Ali Shahzad, Jocelyne D’Errico, and a composition by B. Trappy.  

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Love is Stronger”, written and performed by B. Trappy; “Coups et Blessures” written by Adrien Gallo and performed by BB Brunes, and “Misty”, by Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke, performed by Sarah Vaughan with Quincy Jones and His Orchestra.

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people.

The ePOP contest is your space to ensure these voices are heard.

How do you do it?

With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens: the spoken word reigns supreme. No tricks, no music, no text on the screen. Just the raw authenticity of an encounter, in horizontal format (16:9). An ePOP film is a razor-sharp look at humanity that challenges, moves, and enlightens.

From June 12 to September 12, 2025, ePOP invites you to reach out, open your eyes, and create a unique bridge between a person and the world.

Join the ePOP community and make reality vibrate!

Click here for all the information you need.

We expect to be overwhelmed with entries from the English speakers!

French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for the creation of a military force to secure any peace deal made between Russia and Ukraine.

Turkey, which boasts NATO’s second-largest army, is seen as a key player in any such move – especially given that Washington has ruled out sending US troops.

For its part, Ankara has said it is open to joining a peacekeeping mission.

“Macron finally came to terms [with the fact] that Turkey is an important player, with or without the peace deal. Turkey will have an important role to play in the Black Sea and in the Caucasus,” said Serhat Guvenc, professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.

Macron last month held a lengthy phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, focused on the Ukraine conflict, and thanked him for his diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Turkey eyes Ukraine peacekeeping role but mistrust clouds Western ties

Turning point

For Professor Federico Donelli of Trieste University, this marks a dramatic turnaround. Previously, the two leaders have frequently exchanged sharp words, especially over Turkey’s rising influence in West Africa and the Sahel.

“In Paris, public opinion and the press criticised this move by Turkey a lot,” said Donelli. “At the same time, the rhetoric of some Turkish officers, including President Erdogan, was strongly anti-French. They were talking a lot about the neocolonialism of France and so on.”

Donelli added that cooperation over Ukraine has pushed France to reconsider its Africa stance.

“As a consequence of Ukraine, the position of France has changed, and they are now more open to cooperating with Turkey. And they [understand] that in some areas, like the Western Sahel, Turkey is better than Russia, better than China,” he said.

Analysts also see new openings in the Caucasus. A peace agreement signed in August between Azerbaijan, which was backed by Turkey, and Armenia, which was supported by France, could provide further common ground.

Macron last month reportedly pressed Erdogan to reopen Turkey’s border with Armenia, which has been closed since 1993. Turkish and Armenian officials met on the countries’ border on Thursday to discuss the normalisation of relations.

Turkey walks a tightrope as Trump threatens sanctions over Russian trade

‘Pragmatic cooperation’

But clear differences remain, especially when it comes to Syria. The rise to power of Turkish-backed President Ahmed al-Sharaa is seen as undermining any French role there.

“For Erdogan, the victory of al-Sharaa in Damascus on 24 December is the revenge of the Ottoman Empire, and Ankara doesn’t want to see the French come back to Syria,” said Fabrice Balanche, a professor of international relations at Lyon University.

Balanche argued that France is losing ground to Turkey across the region.

“It’s not just in Syria, but also in Lebanon – the Turks are very involved, and in Iraq, too. We [the French] are in competition with the Turks. They want to expel France from the Near East,” he said.

Despite this rivalry, Guvenc predicted cooperation will continue where interests align.

“In functional terms, Turkey’s contributions are discussed, and they will do business, but it’s going to be transactional and pragmatic cooperation, nothing beyond that,” he said.

One such area could be the Palestinian territories. Both Macron and Erdogan support recognition of a Palestinian state and are expected to raise the issue at this month’s United Nations General Assembly.

For now, shared interests are likely to outweigh differences – even if only temporarily.

For many critics of French President Emmanuel Macron, his nomination of close ally Sebastien Lecornu to replace François Bayrou as prime minister is a slap in the face, and further proof that the government is ignoring people’s wishes.  Participants in a movement to shut down the country on Wednesday talk about feeling unheard, and draw comparisons with the anti-government Yellow Vest movement from 2018-2019. (Listen @0′)

Tourists have long been drawn to the “village” of Montmartre, with its famed Sacre Cœur basilica, artists’ square, winding cobbled streets, vineyards and pastel-shaded houses. But the rise of influencers and instagrammers who post picture-postcard decors, as featured in hit films and Netflix series, have turned it into a must-see destination. With tourists now outnumbering residents by around 430 to one, the cohabitation is under strain. Béatrice Dunner, of the Association for the Defence of Montmartre, is calling on local authorities to follow the example of Amsterdam and tackle overtourism before it’s too late. (Listen @13′)

On 15 September 1635, a group of French colonists claimed the Caribbean island of Martinique, establishing a plantation economy reliant on slavery. Its economic and cultural legacy continues to shape the island today as an overseas department. (Listen @6’35”)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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

The bombing was attributed by Russian and Hungarian officials to Ukrainian drone forces, with Ukraine justifying the strike as part of its broader campaign against Russia following the latter’s invasion in 2022.

The strike resulted in oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia being cut off, and also exposed political divides at the heart of Central Europe’s energy security, sparking a diplomatic fallout between Kyiv, Budapest and Bratislava.

“The bombing drives home the point that Russian energy supplies remain a point of contest, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, which remains dependent on [oil] coming from the east,” said Andreas Goldthau, director of the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt in Germany.

Pipeline dispute shows Central Europe’s struggle to cut ties with Russian oil

‘Not a matter of supply’

Despite EU-wide efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy – which Goldthau acknowledges is “no longer a big issue for Europe as a whole” – Hungary and Slovakia stand as outliers, locked into long-term contracts and dependent on the Druzhba line.

When the pipeline was struck multiple times in August and September, forcing a halt to crude deliveries, both governments were forced to draw on strategic reserves.

But how Hungary and Slovakia are coping, is “more a political choice than anything else,” Goldthau told RFI.

“It is not a matter of supply, but a matter of price and transport logistics, because it could eat into the margins of refineries if you have to source it from other parts and other geographies.”

Central Europe, he added, “could source through ports in Croatia, and they could have done this already by now, but they chose not to”.

‘A political decision’

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government responded to the strike angrily, calling it “an attack on Hungary’s sovereignty”.

The country’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, said: “Ukraine knows very well that the Druzhba pipeline is vital for Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy supply, and that such strikes harm us far more than Russia.”

Both Budapest and Bratislava have demanded EU intervention and accused Kyiv of jeopardising their security, just as reserves were being tapped to keep refineries running.

From Washington to Warsaw: how MAGA influence is reshaping Europe’s far right

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the attacks might hinge on Hungary lifting its EU accession veto, warning: “The existence of the friendship depends on what Hungary’s position is.”

Ukrainian officials also say that Hungary and Slovakia have failed to diversify away from Russian oil, despite ample opportunity and EU support.

According to Goldthau, Russian leverage over the EU “is gone, by and large”. He explained: “The EU’s main suppliers are now the United States and Norway. Kazakhstan comes into play, but Russia no longer plays a role.”

Ukraine, he noted, “no longer gets any Russian oil or any Russian gas, it merely functions as a transit country”.

The attack and subsequent diplomatic spat might have provided Hungary and Slovakia “a perfect occasion to pivot and seek alternative supplies, but it’s a purely political decision to do that or not,” Goldthau said. “Whatever changes that [decision] lies at home, and not abroad.”

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Eric Mbotji, Hossen Abed Ali, and Jayanta Chakrabarty. 

Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Seven Seconds” by Youssou N’Dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey, and Jonathan Sharp, performed by Youssou N’Dour and Neneh Cherry; “Babe” by Gary Barlow, played by Take That, and “Never Let You Go” written and performed by Klaus Waldeck and Patrizia Ferrara.

The ePOP video competition is open!

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With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens: the spoken word reigns supreme. No tricks, no music, no text on the screen. Just the raw authenticity of an encounter, in horizontal format (16:9). An ePOP film is a razor-sharp look at humanity that challenges, moves, and enlightens.

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Join the ePOP community and make reality vibrate!

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We expect to be overwhelmed with entries from the English speakers!

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.