Spotlight On France

As France heats up, an experiment simulating life in 50C aims to get people to take climate change more seriously. Faced with a growing demand for eggs, France looks for ways to boost homegrown production and halt the need for imports. And a look back at the first line of the Paris metro, which opened in 1900. France just experienced its hottest June since 2003, with several days of extreme heat at the end of the month that left two people dead and slowed the country down – halting work outdoors and closing schools. The heatwave is a taste of what the future might hold, as global warming leads to more extreme weather conditions. The Human Adaptation Institute has created an immersive experience of what life at 50C would be like. Jeanne Richard reports from the mobile lab as it tours France to raise awareness over the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change, one hot individual at a time. (Listen @0') France is Europe's largest egg producer, yet it's struggling to meet growing demand from people looking fo

As French lawmakers consider legalising assisted dying, a look at the citizen's assembly that carefully considered the issue. Also, a film about the writer – and filmmaker – Marcel Pagnol at the Cannes film festival, which is finally tackling sexual harassment in the industry. And the man who created the fête des voisins 25 years ago so neighbours get to know one other. French MPs are shortly to vote on whether or not to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia. The draft legislation draws heavily on the work of the Citizens’ Convention on end-of-life care – a group of 184 people, randomly selected in late 2022 to reflect France's diverse population. Though strangers to each other and to the subject, they spent four months in thoughtful debate, building a spirit of mutual respect despite deep differences of opinion. Economist Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn, one of the participants, talks about why this exercise in deliberative democracy was so enriching and valuable to society. Along with others, he's helped launc

France is opening its arms to foreign scientists, particularly from the US, as the Trump administration pulls back from climate research. French GPs and trainee doctors are up in arms over proposals to address 'medical deserts', which they say would make the problem worse. And as Europe marks the 80th anniversary of Europe Day, Algeria commemorates the 8 May, 1945 massacre of civilians by French colonial forces.  Ever since US President Donald Trump started defunding and dismantling US scientific institutions, France has made a push to get scientists to move. In March the French minister in charge of research asked universities to fund programmes to attract American scientists. In 2017, after Trump first pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accords, Macron launched a recruitment drive aimed at climate scientists working in the US. Two of those grantees, Ben Sanderson and Philip Shulz, talk about the experience of leaving the US for France, and what the current environment is like for climate scientists toda

A French-German weapons manufacturer ramps up production to meet the needs of France's war economy. An encounter with France's largest supercomputer dedicated to artificial intelligence. And how the Marseillaise national anthem has contributed to reinforcing French values and ideals. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Emmanuel Macron said France was moving into a "war economy" – calling on weapons manufacturers in particular to produce more and more quickly. We hear from staff at KNDS, a Franco-German defence group half-owned by the French state, about how they've managed to triple production of Caesar artillery and ammunitions to deliver to Ukraine. We also talk about the challenges of funding a war economy, given France's huge deficit, with economist Virginie Monvoisin from the Grenoble School of Management. (Listen @2'20'')As France aims to become a leader in developing artificial intelligence, it is upping its investment into building the computing power needed to ru

The Nigerian woman helping Bordeaux wine find new markets in Africa. Confronting France's fatphobia by classifying obesity as a disease. And the story of the French video game company behind the hit game Assassin's Creed. As French people consume less wine, and exports to China are slowing down, the wine industry – in Bordeaux in particular – is turning to new markets. Jan Van der Made meets Chinedu Rita Rosa who is helping Bordeaux winemakers shift their approach, to sell in Nigeria and other African countries. (Listen @1'30)Obesity is on the rise in France with an estimated 10 million people living with the condition – twice the number since 1997. While France has put in place a range of measures, people suffering from obesity still face a lot of social stigma and discrimination in a country that values thinness. Anne-Sophie Joly, author of Je n'ai pas choisi d'etre gros.se (I didn't choose to be fat), and founder of an association  that's advising the health ministry, shares her experience and talks about

Despite a raft of laws and programmes in France to address the gender pay gap, women still earn less than men. Organic farmers try to adapt to a drop in demand for organic food. And the story of Ravel's Boléro – the world's most performed piece of classical music. There are some explanations for France's 22 percent gender pay gap – women work fewer hours on average and in lower-paid jobs. But even doing the same job and putting in the same hours, women still earn 4 percent less than men, and a barrage of legal measures hasn't managed to change that. We look at what's going on with economist Anne Eydoux and lawyer Insaff El Hassani – founder of a company helping women negotiate salaries. El Hassani highlights negative images around wealthy women and how France's "female wage", dropped in 1946, still impacts the way some employers view women's salaries. (Listen @0')France has downsized its ambitions to increase the amount of organic agriculture after a drop in consumer demand for organic food . After years of g

A French large language model adds European context and nuance to the dominant artificial intelligence being developped by US tech giants and China. Is France really being "flooded" with immigrants? The numbers say no, but the feeling remains. And the mixed legacy of a landmark law on disability and inclusion, 20 years later. Countries are looking for sovereignty in artificial intelligence and at a major AI summit in Paris this week, France and the EU backed a "third path" approach to AI – midway between the US' private tech firm-dominated model and China's state-controlled technology. With a focus on regulation to ensure trust, France is creating public/private partnerships, and encouraging companies to develop home-grown products. Linagora, an open-source software developper, recently released a large language model (LLM) trained on French and European content, in contrast to American LLMs like ChatGPT that are trained on mainly US content. While chatbot Lucie got off to a rocky start, Linagora's General Ma

How France's budget cuts will impact development work abroad and civil society at home. An inconclusive medical marijuana experiment leaves patients in limbo. And how Jewish comedian Pierre Dac used humour in the Resistance. The government’s budget for 2025, if passed, will see public spending slashed by €32 billion. While most ministries are impacted, funding for public development assistance (PDA) is facing cuts of more than €2 billion – 35 percent of its budget. Coordination Sud, an umbrella group for 180 French non-profit organisations working internationally, say they’re being disproportionately hit at a time when international solidarity efforts are needed more than ever. Elodie Barralon, the group’s advocacy officer, talks about the impact of such cuts and concerns that civil society is being rolled back in France. (Listen @0')As a three-year experiment with medical marijuana comes to an end, instead of generalising its use, as intended, authorisation has been stalled. Nadine Attal, head of the pain ce

A big freeze in Franco-Algerian relations as domestic politics drive international diplomacy. France is full of dinosaur bones, but short on paleongolotists to dig them up. And France's law decriminalising abortion turns 50. The often fraught relations between France and its former colony Algeria have hit an all-time low after a series of disagreements over Western Sahara, the detention of a French-Algerian writer and an Algerian blogger accused of inciting violence. Both countries have spoken of "humiliation" and "dishonour". Arab world specialist  Adlene Mohammedi talks about bilateral relations being polluted by internal affairs – notably Algiers' lack of democratic legitimacy and the increasing influence of the far right in France. And while the sorely needed level-headed diplomacy  is more needed than ever, it's been run down in both countries.   (Listen @2'05'')France's remarkable geological diversity means the country is prime dinosaur territory – home to fossils from all three periods of the dinosaur

Tibetans question why a French museum has renamed its collection of Tibetan art. A group of neighbours south of Paris produce the region's first olive oil. And the independence of the Comoros, without Mayotte. Tibetans and Tibetan scholars are alarmed at how Paris' Guimet museum of Asian art has categorised its art and artefacts from Tibet. Tenam and other Tibetans in exile, who have been demonstrating regularly outside the museum, talk about the importance of using the name Tibet, and scholar Katia Buffetrille questions the role of China in putting pressure on a French public institution. (Listen @2'48'') Like many residents in the town of Malakoff, just south of Paris, Vincent Chévrier had an olive tree in his garden but wasn't doing much with it. So he federated a group of fellow local olive tree owners and together they've made Born to be Olive – the first olive oil "made in Ile de France". Their collective project isn't just about making a locally grown, organic product, it's brought people together in a

Unearthing the story of the woman who documented Charles de Gaulle's liberation of Paris in 1944. The impact of climate change on alcohol content in wine, and how French consumers are reacting. And the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral, five years after the fire.  A few days before General Charles de Gaulle was due to make his triumphant entry into Paris, the three French war correspondents lined up to cover the event were captured. A young French-British journalist was chosen, in extremis, to replace them. Her name was Marcelle Poirier but despite being de Gaulle's official reporter and AFP's first female war correspondent, she and her work somehow fell into oblivion. When AFP journalist and photo editor Laurent Kalfala stumbled on a photo of her in military uniform, he embarked on a long paper-trail to dig up her fascinating story. His documentary reveals a feminist with a flair for strong human stories, and who mysteriously waited 40 years to tell her own. (Listen @1'50'')Warmer summers in France's wine-gr

Controversy around the latest edition of the Académie Française dictionary. How France is processing the re-election of US President-elect Donald Trump. The first disaster to prompt waves of international solidarity.  The Academie Française, guardian of the French language since 1635, has issued the 9th edition of its official dictionary, with 21,000 new words compared to the 8th edition of 1935. President Macron has praised the academy's steady pace, which "prevents it from giving in to the temptations of ticks and trends". Writer Frederic Vicot, one of the "immortels" on the dictionary commission, talks about how writers, historians and scientists have pooled their talents over the decades to get the best definitions possible. But the dictionary has its detractors – a group of  linguists have slammed the opus as useless and outdated given the time it takes to publish. Florent Moncomble from the "Community of Appalled Linguists" outlines why both the choice of terms, and the academy's methodology, are proble

After a ban on single-use plastic food containers, France tackles shipping packaging in its fight to reduce waste. A stand-off between mussel farmers and spider crab fishers in Brittany. And the 1924 sardine strike that set the example for women demanding labour rights. France produces 2.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year, most of which does not get recycled. In the ongoing battle to reduce waste, a 2021 law is intended to phase out single-use packaging by 2040. We go to a packaging expo to see how this might happen and meet people being pushed to the front lines of waste reduction. (Listen @3'45'')Bouchot mussel farmers in northern France are sounding the alarm about spider crabs devastating their crops. Warming waters have led to a four-fold increase in crab numbers, a prized marine resource, but which threatens the future of the industry. A mussel farmer talks about the impact, and a marine scientist presents possible solutions. (Listen @19'47'')A hundred years ago this month, women and girls wor

Why songs in French are attracting new audiences in non-francophone countries. How are French schools using screens in classrooms? And the history of France's Nobel prizes. The Paris Olympic Games and Paralympics gave French-language songs huge exposure, adding new fans to the global audience already growing on streaming platforms. But what kind of music are non-French-speakers listening to and why? A new exhibition at the recently opened International Centre of the French Language asks the question. Its curator, the music journalist Bertrand Dicale, based the exhibit on the idea that songs reveal who were are, and he talks about what popular songs reveal about France. He also highlights some surprising differences between French and foreign audiences, which have allowed stars like Aya Nakamura and Juliette Gréco to enjoy huge success abroad despite being scorned at home. (Listen @0'00)France lags behind many countries in the use of technology in classrooms and there is no clear policy from an ever-changing e

A shamanic ceremony in Paris prepares human remains to return to French Guiana. French villages finally get street names. And the 1970s court case that changed France's approach to prosecuting rape. Native Americans from French Guiana and Suriname were recently in Paris to demand the restitution of the remains of six of their ancestors who died after being exhibited in so-called human zoos. Corinnne Toka Devilliers, whose great-grandmother Moliko was exhibited at the capital's Jardin d’Acclimatation in 1892 but survived, describes holding a shamanic ceremony at the Museum of Mankind to prepare her fellow Kali'na for the voyage home. But there are still legal obstacles to overcome before the remains can leave the Parisian archives where they've spent the past 132 years. (Listen @3'30'')Until recently, French villages with fewer than 2,000 residents did not need to name their streets – but legislation that came into effect this summer now requires them to identify roads to make it easier for emergency services

How the Paris Paralympics have boosted interest in inclusive sports in France. A look back at the origins of the first international games for deaf athletes, 100 years ago. And why it’s difficult, but necessary, for France’s deeply divided National Assembly to embrace the art of compromise. The Paralympics in Paris shone a light on disability and the challenges disabled people in France face in getting access to sport. Novosports, one of only 40 sports clubs in the capital open to players with disabilities, is entirely focused on inclusive sports, where people with and without disabilities can train together. Club founder Jerome Rousseau talks about developing inclusive volleyball, and club members talk about the importance of opening sport up to everyone. (Listen @1'55'')Decades before the Paralympic Games were born, the world's first multi-discipline competition for athletes with a disability took place in Paris in the summer of 1924. Reserved for deaf competitors, the International Silent Games were a land

France is reviving its industrial farming of hemp – 'green gold' – in the search for more sustainable, energy-saving building materials. French publishers are flocking to romance, as a new generation of authors are writing for a new and growing audience of young women readers. And when Paris hosted the 1924 Olympics 100 years ago. Hemp farming nearly died out in France in the 1970s but is making a comeback in textiles and the construction industry. Fast-growing, pesticide-free, and a good absorber of CO2, the plant is proving to be an ally in the fight against climate change. Franck Barbier, head of Interchanvre, talks about cannabis sativus's bright future on a tour of the Planète Chanvre mill in Aulnoy. And Jean-Michel Morer, mayor of Trilport, shows us how his town is using hemp in buildings as part of its commitment to sustainability and the circular economy. (Listen @3'10'')Romance literature has long been looked down on for its undemanding language, basic story tropes and steamy sex scenes. But French p

As France heads into snap parliamentary elections with the prospect of the far-right National Rally winning a majority, what powers would its prime minister have, and what would change in France? Also, a look at previous presidents who dissolved parliament and risked getting a result they didn't like. And the story of Jenny Sacerdote – France's Roaring Twenties haute couture designer, whose mould-breaking designs are finally being revived. France’s far-right National Rally (RN) could well win a majority in the upcoming snap legislative elections, which would mean the party’s leader, Jordan Bardella, would become prime minister. How would a far-right government rule France? Economic journalist Romaric Godin lays out the RN’s economic policy based on national preference, while political scientist Nicolas Tenzer worries about shifts in France’s foreign policy and its relationship with the outside world. And Arnaud Schwartz of the France Nature environment NGO questions the party’s commitment to withdraw from sol

The United States played a key role in the Allied effort to liberate Western Europe from the Nazis, but not everyone sees it in the same light. As France marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, an American veteran reflects on the differing ways the US and France remember the war. Meanwhile, historians recall the large number of civilians killed during the Allied invasion and explain why US soldiers were not always welcomed as heroes. As French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes world leaders, the real stars of the commemorations are the surviving veterans themselves – the men who landed on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 and started liberating France from Nazi occupation. The youngest of the remaining D-Day veterans are now in their late 90s. Alan Shapiro, 99, was too young to take part in the landings, but joined the European Allied forces in the autumn of 1944 and flew transport carriers in the US air corps. He's struck by the love and recognition he's received in France, where war was a lived experience r

How student protests in support of Palestinians at Paris's political science institute are different from those in the US, a look at France's growing disaffection with Europe, and the long birth of the Channel Tunnel linking France to Britain – 30 years old this week.  Student protests against Israel's war in Gaza came to a head in the past week, when the president of the prestigious Sciences Po university called the police to forcibly clear out an occupation of the Paris campus' main building. Some have called the protests an imitation of what is happening in the United States, but the scale, scope and politics are a bit different. Students talk about why they have joined the protest movement, their shock over reactions by government and police, and compare today's mobilisation with student protests of the past. (Listen @0'00)On Europe Day, and with only a month to go before EU elections, surveys are showing France is an increasingly eurosceptic nation – only a quarter of the population place their trust in