Spotlight on France

How France's new hardline position on Russia marks a major shift away from decades of pro-Russia policies. The fight to make hair discrimination illegal. And why VAT – a tax introduced 70 years ago – is so important to French finances, despite being deeply unequal.

French President Emmanuel Macron has recently done a U-turn on Russia:  having argued against humiliating Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he has now become one of President Vladimir Putin’s biggest critics. Journalist Elsa Vidal, the head of RFI’s Russia service, author of La fascination russe (The fascination with Russia), talks about France’s long history of Russophile foreign policy and how it has been coloured by a certain anti-Americanism. It led to complacency – even blindness – over Putin’s increasingly autocratic rule. (Listen @0'30)

France's parliament has begun debating legislation against a form of discrimination that's often overlooked: prejudicial treatment on the basis of hair. The bill is inspired by laws in the United States, where anti-racism campaigners have long argued that black people face unfair pressure to change their natural hair. Artist and activist Guylaine Conquet, who first came up with the idea for the French bill, explains why France is taking a different approach from the US: her proposal would classify hair discrimination as discrimination on the basis of physical appearance, not race. That's in line with France's universalist, "colour-blind" approach to racial discrimination, but also broadens the application of the law to everyone. (Listen @21'10) 

France was the first country to introduce a Value Added Tax (VAT), on 10 April 1954. 70 years later, the tax brings in more than half of France's revenue, and far more than income tax. Economist Julien Blasco explains that while VAT is regressive, it serves to fund crucial social welfare programmes. (Listen @16'30)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

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

Four years after the start of the first Covid lockdown in France, what has been the impact? What's stopping more men getting vasectomies in France. And why not everyone wants to accept that Rosa Bonheur, the most famous female painter of the 19th century, was a lesbian.

For 55 days, starting 17 March 2020, French citizens were confined to their homes as part of the government's approach to controlling the then little-understood virus sweeping the planet, which we now know as Covid-19. Historian Nicolas Mariot, co-author of a book about the lockdown, looks into the reasons behind why a majority of people in France accepted the harsh curbs on personal freedom, and asks why there has not been a broader reckoning about the impacts. (Listen @ 2'40) 

Vasectomies are rare in France. The procedure that cuts the tubes in men's testicles that carry sperm, serving as a permanent form of birth control, was only legalised in 2001. Urologist Vincent Hupertan describes the reservations patients and doctors have about the vasectomies, which have to do with both French culture and how the health system works. And we hear from one man before and after his vasectomy, who was told by his doctor to rethink it in case he ever planned to remarry a younger woman. (Listen @ 17'00)

Rosa Bonheur, born 16 March 1822, was probably the best-known female painter of the 19th century. Writer Anna Polonyi talks about how Bonheur's paintings of animals are attracting fresh interest from people curious about her personal life, notably her decades-long relationship with a woman. Yet some of the people in charge of guarding her legacy refuse to say that she was lesbian. Polonyi's web documentary series, The Rosa Bonheur Case, explores Bonheur's life and how queer artists are represented. (Listen @ 10'15)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

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

How a wave of #MeToo allegations against French directors is shaking up the cinema industry; the Cinémobile movie theatre bringing culture to the countryside; and the satirical news rag that appears just once every four years, on 29 February.

Seven years after the #MeToo movement shook Hollywood, Judith Godrèche and other actresses in France have broken the omertà around sexual abuse within the French movie industry, accusing several prominent directors of assault. Investigations are underway. Bérénice Hamidi, a specialist in the performing arts at Lyon University, talks about the extent to which this marks a turning point in French cinema culture, which for decades has fostered the idea that artists have "a free pass" to transgress the rules, and that the artist cannot be separated from his art. (Listen @0')

With unrest still rumbling among farmers, France's new culture minister says she wants people in rural areas to have more access to culture. A third of the French population lives in rural communities and Culture Minister Rachida Dati has launched a national consultation on schemes to serve them – schemes like the Cinémobile, a lorry that transforms into a cinema and visits small towns across central France. It's been running for more than 40 years and despite entertainment being easier than ever to find online, something about the mobile movie theatre keeps audiences coming back. (Listen @18'08)

French administration has not always made it easy for people born on 29 February – a date that occurs just once every four years. But the satirical Bougie du sapeurnewspaper has embraced and indeed lives for the date. Founded in 1980, its previous edition was on 29 February 2020. Editor Jean d'Indy talks about using humour to look at the news of the past four years in this year's edition. (Listen @12')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompéani. 

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

No quick fix for French farmers who have been protesting by laying siege to Paris. And it's just the latest in a long string of farmers' demonstrations over the last 100 years. Plus, why French girls are faring worse at maths than boys, and what to do about it.

Farmers from across France have been rolling their tractors towards Paris to protest against their high costs, low revenues and cheap food imports that undercut their business. The protest movement touches on several fundamental issues such as inflation and high costs, climate change policies, food sovereignty, and how France relates to the rest of the world. A farmer in Normandy talks about his soaring costs and why paperwork linked to environmental regulations is keeping him from doing his job. And economists weigh in on the underlying problem facing French farmers – how to keep their small, mostly individual farms afloat while satisfying consumer demand for cheaper food. (Listen @0')

These are by no means the first farmer protests in France. The country has seen many memorable demonstrations over the past century – including a winegrowers' revolt that mobilised 800,000 people, and the hijacking of British lorries carrying imported meat that caused a diplomatic incident with the UK. (Listen @9'50'')

France produces some of the world's top mathematicians, but its elite is 80 percent male – hardly surprising given half of schoolgirls give up maths aged 17, compared to just one quarter of boys. As a recent study shows girls falling back in maths from the first year of primary, we look at what's going wrong and what needs to change. Sociologist Clémence Perronnet, author of a new book on girls and maths, talks about the gender bias and how to help girls overcome it. We also hear from mathematician Colette Guillopé of the femmes et mathématiques association about the nonsensical idea that "maths is only for boys".  (Listen @16'10'')

Episode mixed by Cecile 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).

A critique that highlights the gap between France and its ideals. Protests to try and block the new "racist" immigration reforms. And the story of Françoise Giroud, journalist-turned-minister in the 1970s. 

France is a country of impossible ideals, built on the myth of a Revolution fought to secure Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité, but the reality is that not everyone benefits. This is journalist Nabila Ramdani's take in her new book, Fixing France, which dissects what she sees as France’s failures, both historical and recent, and reflects on how to fix them. Ramdani is well-placed to write about the subject – having run into barriers to working in journalism or publishing in France because of her North African background, she went on to live, work and flourish in the US and the UK, and wrote the book in English. (Listen @3'30'')

The government's hardline immigration reform was passed on 19 December thanks to the backing of the conservative right Republicans and far right National Rally, both of which added on provisions that differentiate between the rights of the French and non-EU foreigners living or moving here. Ahead of a court decision on whether the reform respects the French constitution, migrants, left-wing politicians, unions and activists have taken to the streets to denounce what they deem is a "racist" law, unworthy of the French republic. (Listen @19'55'')

Françoise Giroud, who died on 19 January 2003, was a "grande dame" of French journalism, having co-founded L'Expressand edited the weekly magazine for over 20 years. As feminism gathered momentum in the 1970s, she joined the government as "secretary of state for the feminine condition" – the first cabinet position dedicated to women's affairs. (Listen @13'45'')

Episode mixed by Cecile 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).

How British people in France have been navigating visiting and living in France since Brexit effectively ended their visa-free travel to Europe. What to do with the human remains in French museums? And the story behind Louis XV's third mistress, the Comtesse du Barry, and how her name got associated with foie gras.

British people, no longer citizens of the European Union after Brexit, are stuck with the same rules as any other non-EU visitors: without a visa, they can only spend 90 out of 180 days in France. That's a sore spot for many of the roughly 86,000 Brits who owned second homes in France when the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016. As part of the contentious immigration bill being debated in parliament, the French Senate considered making it easier for non-Europeans who own a second home to spend time in France – but ultimately decided that Brits shouldn't get special treatment, nor should people who can afford to buy a second home. Emma Pearson, host of the Talking France podcast and editor of The Local France, talks about what what kind of choices British people are facing after Brexit, whether they want to visit or stay longer term. (Listen @1'05)

France has the largest collection of human skulls in its museums and public institutions – some collected in dubious ways. Returning remains to descendants is part of reckoning with colonial history, but it has been been hampered by a law designed to keep French public museum collections intact. Lawmakers, supported by historians and pushed by descendants and states that want these relics back, are finally passing legislation that will facilitate the return of human remains. Corinne Toka-Devilliers of the Moliko Alet+po association talks about tracking down the skeletons of her ancestors, who were brought to mainland France from French Guiana in 1892 to be displayed in a human zoo, and historian Klara Boyer-Rossol talks about how human remains got into French collections, and the best way to return them. Interviews conducted by Anne Corpet and Hodane Hagi Ali. (Listen @18'15)

The Comtesse du Barry died on 8 December 1793, executed by guillotine during the French Revolution. We look at the story of Louis XV's third official mistress, and how her name became associated with tinned foie gras. (Listen @13')

Episode mixed by Stephane Defossez.

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 man trying to save France's emblematic Gaulois doré rooster from oblivion. How online platforms are rivaling charity shops as thrifting and second hand products take off. And the story of Albert Londres, who left a lasting mark on French journalism.

Since the Middle Ages, the Gallic rooster has been a leading symbol of French identity – found on everything from coins to sports jerseys to church weathervanes and Made in France products. But the breed of chicken itself, la Gauloise Dorée, has been abandoned in favour of those with higher productivity. Convinced this ancient, feisty and elegant rooster is part of French heritage, Damien Vidart set up the Conservatoire du coq gaulois in 2021 to make sure the breed is not only preserved, but thrives. His hard work is already paying off. (Listen @0')

The secondhand market is booming in France, as taboos against buying and wearing used clothes fade. Online platforms like Vinted have made it easier to sell and buy, but they have impacted traditional charity shops, like Emmaus, which has a large network of thrift stores in France and uses the income for back-to-work schemes. Researcher Eva Cerio, of IAE Angers, talks about the appeal of consuming sustainably and the downside of making some extra money through the secondhand market. (Listen @17'30'')

On the eve of the the 90th Albert Londres journalism prize, a look at the man considered one of the founders of investigative journalism in France, who continues to inspire journalists today. (Listen @12'35'')

Episode mixed byDonatien Cahu.

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).

France is feeling the shockwaves of the war in Gaza with a rise in Islamophobia and a wave of anti-Semitic attacks that have got the public and politicians worried. Also, bikers rev up to fight school bullying. And the African-American fighter pilot who flew for France in WWI because the US would not take him.

The Israel-Hamas war has been imported into French society and politics, with the left unable to agree on how much to denounce Hamas, and the far right using the conflict to further bolster its support for Jews – an about-face for the party of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who famously dismissed the Nazi gas chambers as a "detail" of WWII. Nonna Mayer, a researcher at Sciences Po and the CNRS specialising in the far right,  anti-Semitism and racism, talks about the rise in anti-Semitic attacks in France, why Marine Le Pen is championing Jews, and whether the left-wing coalition can survive its differences over the war in Gaza. (Listen @0')

One in 10 kids in France will get bullied at school and after a recent series of teenage suicides, the government has rolled out a raft of measures to help prevent such tragedies. As part of national anti-bullying day, on 9 November, we look at the role  members of U.B.A.K.A (Urban Bulldogs Against Kids’ Abuse) are playing in the fight against school bullying. 76-year old Bernard Mignot, a biker and former bodyguard who set up the French chapter of U.B.A.K.A in Brittany in 2015, talks about going into schools to help kids open up and share bikers' values of respect for one another, and oneself. (Listen @20')

As France commemorates the 105th anniversary of the end of WWI, on Armistice Day, 11 November, we talk about Eugene Bullard, who made history by becoming the first black American to fly a fighter plane; but he flew for France, not for the United States, where racial segregation kept him out of the Air Force. (Listen @14'40'')

Episode mixed by Cecile 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).

Is a referendum the answer to France's deadlock on immigration reform? Childless by choice in the European country with the highest birthrate. And the story of Félicette – the first cat to fly into space.

After the reform of the pension system, the next thorny political issue is immigration, with parliament set to start debating a bill in November. But finding a compromise on such a polarising issue will be difficult. President Emmanuel Macron has floated the idea of a referendum, which could allow people to have their say on France's immigration policies. Amanda Morrow talks about the bill and why a referendum on the issue could be problematic. (Listen @2'50'')

Women in France are having fewer babies and the birthrate, while still the highest in the EU, is at its lowest since the end of WW2. A small but increasing number of women are choosing not to have children, but they're accused of being selfish and contributing to France's decline. Bettina Zourli, 31, who launched the instagram account #jeneveuxpasdenfant (I don't want kids) in 2019 to connect with other childfree women, talks about never wanting to be a mother in a country where motherhood is idolised. (Listen @18'55'')

In the early days of the space race, France became the first – and only – country to launch a cat into space. A trained feline astronaut named Félicette completed her mission on 18 October 1963, but her success was short-lived. (Listen @10'32'')

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.

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

Police officers join a sociology degree programme and are asked to reflect on their role in society. A French start-up banks on insect protein to feed livestock and pets more sustainably. And the Frenchman whose claim to have cracked the code of hieroglyphics in the 19th century allowed him to decipher the Rosetta Stone.

After the riots in June and July, following the fatal police shooting of a young man at a traffic stop, the role of the police in France came under scrutiny. Issues of racism come to the fore with observers lamenting that relations with the public –- notably with young residents of disadvantaged city suburbs, or banlieues – have not improved in the two decades since the 2005 riots. A handful of police officers have been offered the opportunity to reflect on their role in society in a new degree programme offered by the University of Amiens. Sociologist Elodie Lemaire talks about giving police new intellectual 'weapons' to confront a changing world, and the police officer students talk about their motivations for wanting to question their profession in a university setting. (Listen @3'00'')

French start-up Ÿnsect is preparing to open the world's largest vertical insect farm in the north of France, breeding mealworms to provide insect protein ingredients for pet food, animal feed and fertiliser, to help ease environmental strain on global food production. We visit the company's first farm, launched in 2016, to look at their model for reinventing the food chain, and Ynsect's co-founder Antoine Hubert talks about how developing the pet food market could make the French less reticent about eating insect-based foods. (Listen @20')

On 27 September 1822, French linguist Jean-François Champollion announced that he had cracked the code of hieroglyphics, the Ancient Egyptian writing system that had puzzled scholars for centuries. The breakthrough revolutionised our understanding of one of the world’s oldest civilisations. (Listen @14'20'')

Episode mixed by Cecile 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).

How France shifted its approach to heatwaves after nearly 15,000 people died in the summer of 2003. An urban planning concept gets picked up by conspiracy theorists. And the first TGV that started France's expansion of high-speed rail travel.

The world has just had its hottest three months on record. But France's worst heatwave in memory was 20 years ago, in 2003. In August that year nearly 15,000 people in France died from heat, more than any summer since. The disaster permanently changed how the country deals with heatwaves – and now, as climate change makes extreme heat more frequent and more intense, it's having to change tactics again. Historian of public health Richard C Keller, who wrote a book about the victims of 2003, looks back at what France has learned. (Listen @1'30)

When Carlos Moreno conceived of the 15-minute city, he did not expect to be pulled into the world of conspiracy theorists. The Paris-based sociologist came up with a new concept of urban planning to try to create neighbourhoods where all services – for work and leisure – lie within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from home. The city of Paris has embraced the concept, but elsewhere it has been picked up by people who say that it is part of a plan to limit people's movements and confine them to open-air prisons. (Listen @16'25)

France's first high-speed train line was inaugurated on 22 September 1981, with an orange-and-white "train à grande vitesse" – or TGV – making the trip from Paris to Lyon. It started an era of reducing travel times and chasing speed records. (Listen @12'10)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

As the dust settles on a week of intense urban violence triggered by the police shooting of a young man in the northern working-class suburb of Nanterre, we look at the causes and what, if anything, has changed in these poorer, multi-racial neighbourhoods since the 2005 riots. What role has police violence played in the worsening relations between the state and banlieues residents? And the life and music of singer-poet-anarchist Léo Ferré.

The fatal shooting of Nahel Merzouk by a police officer in the town of Nanterre on 27 June sparked a wave of violence, with mainly young men attacking symbols of the French state such as schools and town halls, damaging private property and looting shops and supermarkets. The unrest recalls the 2005 riots – also triggered by police violence against French youth of colour from the banlieues. Nearly 20 years later, little has changed, laments sociologist Julien Talpin. He argues that the violence during those eight nights was more political and far less random than the government and police portrayed it to be. (Listen @0')

Relations between France's police force and banlieues residents have worsened since 2005. There is mistrust on both sides –  with young people seeing themselves as ready targets of racially motivated police violence and officers feeling they are disrespected and under attack. While the French government denies there is systemic racism within the police, studies have shown the contrary. Political Scientist Jacques De Maillard, who studies the police in France and elsewhere, says racial profiling and racist attitudes are part of how the police function, but neither the authorities nor officers themselves are willing to recognise this. (Listen @13'50'')

Leo Ferré, one of France’s most important and admired singer-poets, died on 14 July 1993. Ever the rebel, he wrote and interpreted songs that shocked and broke taboos in the 1960s –  whether denouncing torture in Algeria or celebrating female genitalia. His raw passion on stage and way with words earned him a huge place in the ballad tradition known as French "chanson". (Listen @27'30'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

How Rouen, a city on the Seine, far from the open sea, became France's largest grain port; denim production returns to its place of birth in Nimes; and the story of Alice Guy, the world's first woman director, forgotten by history. 

French wheat exports got a boost with the war in Ukraine, and most are shipped out of Rouen, a port on the Seine, 100 kilometres away from the open sea. Manuel Gaborieau, head of agribuisness for Haropa, which manages the port, explains the historical and logistical reasons for an inland port. At the Simarex terminal, grain director Cédric Burg and operations manager Yannick Jossé talk about getting grain from field to boat, and how the war in Ukraine has impacted operations. (Listen @0')

Jeans were first manufactured in the US by Levi Strauss in 1873, but the denim fabric they're made from was first woven in the 17th century in the southern French town of Nimes. Guillaume Sagot has returned to his home town to take denim production back to its roots. We visit him at the Ateliers de Nîmes workshop to see how they're using traditional savoir faire to make durable jeans with a lighter carbon footprint. Lisa Laborie-Barrière, curator at the Musée du Vieux Nimes, reflects on links between Nimes and Levi Strauss. (Listen @17')

Alice Guy, born in Paris on 1 July 1873, was the first woman film director and is widely acknowledged with making the first narrative film in 1896. But her contributions to the history of cinema were largely forgotten – even ignored – during her lifetime.(Listen @11'40'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

How to get New Caledonians talking to each other; the incompatibility of being gay and a football player in France, and the naval officer who turned his world travels into fiction.

In the face of political deadlock over the status of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia, pro-independence and loyalist parties are struggling to even talk to one another. Caledonian journalist and writer Jenny Briffa has spenta good part of her life trying to get conversations going between the archipelago's different ethnic communities, and recently wrotea triptych of plays around the three independence referendums held in 2018, 2020 and 2021. She talks about the territory's colonial legacy, its shared cultures, and how she sees herself as a white Caledonian, born of French parents. (Listen @0')

Football remains a very macho sport in France, and failure to fit the straight, virile mould can lead to harassment, insults or worse. Ouissem Belgacem quit his career as a rising football star aged 20 when he realised he could never be an openly gay player. He finally came out publicly in his book Adieu ma honte(Farewell to my shame) in 2021, which inspired a recently released documentary series. While he's no longer in the football world, he hopes to become a role model – something he never had – for today's players. He talks about needing to wear a 'heterosexual mask' as a player, and how little that has changed since he left the sport 15 years ago. (Listen @19'38'')

Acclaimed writer Pierre Loti, who died on 10 June 1923, had a long career as a naval officer. He's in a long line of French public figures to have tried their hand at writing fiction, though with far less success. (Listen @15'25'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

The village of Oradour-sur-Glane continues to memorialise the massacre of 643 of its inhabitants by the Nazis in 1944. Are shortages of an abortion drug in France linked to the anti-abortion movement in the United States? And the French doctor who helped identify HIV in the early days of the Aids epidemic.

On 10 June 1944, Nazi troops entered the buccolic village of Oradour-sur-Glane in central France and massacred 643 men, women and children. They then burnt it to the ground. Later that year, General Charles de Gaulle declared Oradour a ‘martyred village’, giving instructions that its state of destruction should be conserved as a permanent reminder of Nazi barbarity.Babeth Robert, the head of the village's remembrance centre, talks about life among the ruined remains. Benoit Sadry, the head of the association of families of victims of the massacre, reflects on family history and the need to conserve the site against the ravages of time.(Listen @0')

As the US Supreme Court in April was considering a case to de-authorise the use of mifepristone – one of two drugs used in medication abortions – many abortion providers in France were experiencing a shortage of misoprostol, the other drug. Isabelle Louis of the Planning Familiale, which provides abortions in the Paris area, talks about the shortage and its impact on patients. Pauline Londeix, of theObservatory for transparency in drug policies, says the scarcity is likely part of a longer-running problem of medecine shortages in general. But the timing, given what's happening in the US, is hard to ignore. (Listen @21'38'')

On 20 May 1983, a group of French scientists published a paper in Science identifying the virus that caused Aids. Jessica Phelan speaks about the discovery and its origins in a sample taken by a doctor in Paris, Willy Rozenbaum. (Listen @13'25'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

Why French unions are so prominent despite record low membership. How Tintin defied critiques of racism, sexism and anti-Semitism to remain one of France's favourite comic strip characters. And the 1920 beauty pageant that evolved into Miss France, watched by millions each year. 

France's leading trade unions have seen a recent increase in membership after organising weeks of strikes and protests against the government's unpopular pension reform. But union membership in France – at around 8 percent – is among the lowest in western Europe. Researcher Marie Menard talks about the raison d'etre of French unions and how they still manage to punch above their weight.(Listen @2'10'')

Forty years after the death of his creator, and nearly a century after he first appeared in a comic strip, Tintin remains one of France's most beloved characters. The 24 albums featuring the young Belgian reporter's adventures with his dog Snowy sell half a million copies a year in France. Comic book sellers talk about how they're mainly bought by adults nowadays. And Renaud Nattiez, author of Faut-il bruler Tintin? (Should we burn Tintin?) reflects on why, despite critiques of Tintin, author Hergé is still so popular. (Listen @18'10'')

Miss France was born on 10 May 1920 as 'La plus belle femme de France' (France’s most beautiful woman) – a competition judged by cinema goers. It has evolved over the years, and while it has been criticised by feminist groups, the beauty pageant continues to pull in both contestants and television viewers. (Listen @11'30'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

France's pioneering 2017 law that made French-based multinational companies responsible for human rights and environmental violations wherever they do business. Also, a Franco-Vietnamese theatre director brings Vietnamese history to life on stage. And the first same-sex marriage remembered 10 years after it became legal.

The collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh a decade ago led to France passing a duty of care law in 2017, making French-headquartered multinationals responsible for human rights violations and environmental damages throughout the supply chain. Nayla Ajaltouni (@naylaajaltouni) of the collective Éthique sur l’étiquette says the French initiative has helped spur on a similar law at the European level, but feels the business-friendly Macron government is not as ambitious as it should be in ensuring labour and human rights come before business as usual. (Listen @2'08'') 

Franco-Vietnamese activist Tran To Nga has spent years pushing for the chemical companies that produced Agent Orange – a herbicide used by the United States during the Vietnam war that caused cancers and birth defects – to be held responsible in French courts. Director Marine Bachelot-Nguyen was inspired by Tran’s story and created a one-woman show, Nos corps empoisonnés (Our poisoned bodies), based on her life and activism. She talks about making theatre as a way of reaching audiences who might not otherwise listen. (Listen @22'07'')

France legalised gay marriage on 23 April, 2013. 10years later, Vincent Autin (@VincentAutin), half of the first ever same-sex couple to tie the knot in France, reflects on the legacy of the law. And lawyer Florent Berdeaux (@florentberdeaux) talks about how the right to marry also opened up the right to divorce, which is arguably even more important. (Listen @13'50'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

France's evolving relationship with China; allowing women time off for period pain; and why artist Pablo Picasso never became French.

France has historically had good relations with China, but as Europe has been looking to distance itself from the People's Republic, France has had to follow suit. RFI's Jan van der Made talks about French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China this week, and the shifting relationship between the two countries.(Listen @2'20'')

After Spain passed a law allowing women to take up to two days off each month for pain related to menstruation, France is being encouraged to do the same. The town of Saint Ouen, north of Paris, has put in place paid menstrual leave for city employees, to allow them to take time off, and to raise awareness of what is often a taboo subject. But not everyone agrees with the measure. (Listen @18'37'')

Pablo Picasso, who died on 8 April 1973, spent his entire adult life in France and a host of exhibitions are planned to mark the 50th anniversary of his death. France claims him as a national treasure, but it rejected his 1940 request for French nationality. (Listen @12'20'') 

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

Is the French government denying people their democratic rights by passing its controversial pension reform without a vote in parliament? No, says a constitutional expert, but it has led to a political crisis. Fighting eco-anxiety by searching out France's eco-optimists. And a Napoleonic law that limited how you could name your child.

France's last remaining hostage, journalist Olivier Dubois, is finally released (Listen @0'00)

The French government used article 49.3 of the constitution to push through its contested pension reformwithouta final vote in parliament. Opponents to the reform say the use of the article is a denial of democracy. Political scientist Christophe Boutin says while it's perfectly legal, the way it was used remains problematic. (Listen @3'15'')

Longtime journalistDorothée Moisan (@domoisan) quit her job to focus on the environment, but found herself depressed and overwhelmed by what she learned about climate change. To ease her eco-anxiety, she set out to meet people who managed to overcome theirs, and wrote about them in her book, Les Ecoptimistes. They each have their own approach. (Listen @18'05'')

Tired of revolutionaries calling their children Liberté or Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, passed a law on 1 April 1803 allowing children to be given names from religious calenders, or named after historical figures. The law was overtunred in 1993, even though some would like to see it return. (Listen @12'43'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

How French farmers are adapting since the war in Ukraine halted grain and seed exports. Why we need to buy fewer clothes if we want the fashion industry to be sustainable. And the voice of Ernest Renan – one of the big thinkers of 19th century France, famed for his biography of Jesus.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a drop in grain exports around the world, as Ukraine was a major producer before the war. Farmers in France – Europe’s largest grain producer – have shifted their production to help compensate. At the annual ‘Salon de l’Agriculture’ agriculture fair in the south of Paris, LaurentRosso, director of the French vegetable oil and protein trade association, talks about how grain farmers here have increased their sunflower crops, for animal feed and cooking oil, and the country's quest for self-sufficiency. And with the increase in the price of wheat, farmers might be discouraged from planting other grains. CédricTruphemus,a producer of petit epautre, or small spelt, in the high Alps, says not enough farmers in the region are planting, and they cannot meet demand. (Listen @1'15)

The fashion industry's green credentials are not great: not only is it responsible for at least four percent of global carbon emissions, the dyes and chemicals involved in garment-making are damaging to the environment and human health. Fashion shows, such as the recent Fashion Week in Paris, are the most visible part of the industry, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. The big problem is the growth of 'ultra fast fashion', which floods the market with cheap garments with short shelf-lives. Catherine Dauriac, a fashion journalist, author and country coordinator of the global non-profit Fashion Revolution, talks about the urgent need to make fashion more sustainable. It begins with buying less but better and repairing the clothes we already have. (Listen @17'50)

France is marking the bi-centenary of the birth of historian and philosopher Ernest Renan. Renowned for works such as the "Life of Jesus" and "What is a nation?" his voice was recorded by Gustave Eiffel in 1891 in one of the earliest audio recordings in France. (Listen @12'00)

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

How French educators are grappling with new AI-based technology, like ChatGPT, and how it will affect teaching, evaluating and learning. Voltuan, the most-recognised man on French demos, talks about life as a full-time activist. And the 17th century origins of France's pension system. 

Faced with a growing number of students in France submitting papers written by the chatbot ChatGPT, the prestigious Sciences Po university recently banned its use as part of its policy against fraud and plagiarism. But artificial intelligence is here to stay and French educators are having to get to grips with it. Computer science professor Jean-Gabriel Ganascia (@Quecalcoatle) tested out a text generator to write a column in a research magazine and was quite impressed with the results. Thierry de Vulpillières (@tdevul), founder of a startup that proposes AI-based learning tools to teachers, says French teachers and professors will now need to rethink how they test and evaluate students. (Listen @0')

At the front of most big demos in Paris you'll see a man with his arms outstretched in a V-shape holding up a huge  sign with a brightly coloured catchy slogan in big capital letters. 'Placard man', as French media have dubbed him, has attended hundreds of marches as part of the convergence of struggles –  climate justice, social justice, women’s rights, animal rights, and of course, pension reform. Jean-Baptiste Reddé, who goes by the name of Voltuan (@Voltuan), talks about committing his life to activism, what it's like to be so visible, and coming up with his slogans in Parisien cafés. (Listen @19'18'')

France's pension system, where working people pay for the pensions of current retirees, was founded in 1945 at the end of World War II. But the very first pensions go back to the 17th century, when Louis XIV signed edicts for the navy and ballet dancers – the first of which was 450 years ago, on 22 September 1673. (Listen @14'15'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

A majority of French people disapprove of the government proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64-years-old. Women could come off worse than men, and it will involve addressing senior employment, which France does not do particularly well. And how the Paris Peace Accords, marking a temporary end to the Vietnam war, were signed 50 years ago in the French capital.

The French government's proposed pension reform, which would raise the minimum retirement age has unleashed a new wave of strikes and protests, drawing a record 1.3 million people into the streets on 18 January. Some opponents say everyone will loose out in the reform, though an official report suggests women may fare worse by having to work on average seven extra months – compared to five for men – in order to even out the gender imbalance. On the street, women expressed anger at being asked to work longer in what are already difficult jobs. (Listen @58'')

Opposition parties on the hard left and hard right are opposed to the reform, but some members of the ruling coalition are also expressing concern. MP and former environment minister, Barbara Pompili, has saidthat she cannot vote on the legislation as it stands, and is pushing for amendments to make it fairer, especially for people who started working young, and for older workers. (Listen @10'27'')

France has a problem with employing seniors – people aged 55 and over – and this could become an even bigger issue if the retirement age is raised to 64. Hervé Boulhol, senior economist at the OECD, says that contrary to popular opinion previous increases in retirement have not led to more unemployment among seniors. (Listen @14'50'')

The agreement to end the Vietnam war was signed in Paris on 27 January 1973, after nearly five years of difficult negotiations between the US and communist North Vietnam. France was a logical place to hold the peace talks because of its historical links to Vietnam – a French colony until 1954. (Listen @22'40'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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

Long-awaited recognition for France's colonial infantry corps. Who are the French victims of the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange? Napoleon III's transformation of France.

The "tirailleurs Senegalais" – riflemen from former French colonies in west Africa who fought in the French army – will be allowed to claim their French state pensions while living permanently in their countries of origin. The change in rules marks a shift in recognition for their heroism and coincides with the release of "Les Tirailleurs" starring Omar Sy. Yoro Diao, one of the few surviving soldiers, talks about the fight for recognition, and his pride in defending his country’s former colonial ruler. (Listen @2'15'')

Some 50,000 to 60,000 people in France lost money in the collapse of the American cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Lawyer Ronan Journoud (@cryptoavocat) is advising some of the victims. Several of them lost their life savings. (Listen @19'23'')

We look at the complicated legacy of France's first president and last monarch, Napoleon III, 150 years after his death on 9 January 1873. He expanded France's colonial empire, renovated Paris, and died in exile in England. (Listen @)14'30")

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

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