Spotlight on France
An in-depth look at what makes this country tick.
Podcast: Senegalese riflemen, cryptocurrency woes, Napoleon III
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…
Podcast: Football frenzy, foie gras alternatives, Proust forever
Unpicking France's win against Morocco in World Cup semi-final; finding "ethical" alternatives to force-fed foie gras; and why it's worth reading Marcel Proust, 100 years after his death. After France beat Morocco in the World Cup semi-final, Paul Myers looks at whether it makes sense to see it as a face-off between…
Podcast: abortion rights, living in a cemetery, Walt Disney's French connection
As France's parliament passes a bill that would enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution, a new film explores the time before it was legalised in 1975. The curator of Père Lachaise in Paris on life and biodiversity in France's most famous cemetery. And Walt Disney's 11th century French roots…
Podcast: Bullfighting, civil disobedience, Vikings lay siege to Paris
A north-south divide over bullfighting, which holds an important cultural spot in many parts of southern France, but which opponents say is animal cruelty. A French climate activist on why blocking roads and interrupting opera performances is the only way to get attention. And the 9th-century Viking attack on Paris. The corrida…
Podcast: NFTs in Paris, Simone Veil on screen, fingerprint technology
A Paris art gallery embraces NFTs as a new form of expression, that can also make collectors very rich. A biopic of Simone Veil disappoints critics but brings the life of an inspirational woman to a new generation. And the story of the "father of forensic science" whose landmark fingerprint technology caught a…
Podcast: pregnant in parliament, opera in Paris' streets, Wallace fountains
As the French National Assembly gets younger and more female, some lawmakers say it's time MPs on maternity leave were replaced. Opera singers bring love, tragedy and dialogue to French city streets with free concerts in unexpected places. And the man behind Paris' Wallace fountains, which turn 150 this year. France…
Podcast: The royal spell, cancelling Russian culture, protecting journalists
France's fascination with Queen Elizabeth II and the British monarchy; being a Russian artist in France in the wake of the Ukraine war; a Parisien house marks two decades of helping journalists in exile. Some seven million French people watched coverage of the funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, that…
Podcast: France's energy woes, cheese in the shadow of Roquefort, left vs. right
As France faces an energy crisis, opposition to wind turbines is slowing a shift to renewables. Making sheep cheese in the land of Roquefort. The Revolutionary origins of the left-right political divide. France has warned about power cuts this winter after Russia cut off gas supplies to most of Europe in response…
Podcast: Revisiting green hydrogen, gay conversion therapy
Another summer special, where we look back on what has been called the world's first green hydrogen production plant. And a first-hand account of gay conversion therapy, which has since become a crime in France. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here),…
Podcast: Revisiting dying with dignity, baking Christmas in August
A special summer episode, in which we update last October's conversation with Jacqueline Jencquel, a member of the French Association for the right to die with dignity (ADMD). She talks about planning her own death and what needs to change in French law. Also, from the archives, a look at pastry chefs preparing…
Podcast: Paris attacks verdict, quidditch in France, Haiti's 'independence debt'
Reflecting on the end of the trial of those involved in the 2015 Paris attacks; developing quidditch in France, where some are wary of a sport involving a broom between the legs. And the day that Haiti was forced to pay its former slave masters for its independence. The trial of the…
Podcast: France's healthcare crisis, 'deserting' agro-tech, fête de la musique
France's famously good public healthcare system is in crisis, as emergency services warn of shutdowns over the summer due to lack of staff. Graduates of prestigious AgroParisTech university make waves by turning their backs on an industry they say is "waging war on the living world". The annual Fête de la musique…
Podcast: Union of the left, SOS trees, celebrating Britain's 'francophile' Queen
A first-time candidate for parliament campaigns for the newly unified left. Why a Frenchman has set up camp in one of Gustav Eiffel's ancient plane trees. France marks the jubilee of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. One of the most interesting parts of the upcoming parliamentary elections in France is the way the…
Podcast: France's female PM, protecting Marseille's Calanques, Battle of Rocroi
Does France's new female Prime Minister mark a victory for feminism? Marseille's creeks (Calanques), faced with degradation, limit visitors. The battle in 1643 that shifted influence in Europe from Spain to France. Elisabeth Borne, the second female prime minister in France's modern history, bears the official title of "premiere ministre" the feminisation…
Podcast: Macron vs Le Pen, Mélenchon supporters protest, France's first elected woman
The two presidential candidates faced off in a three-hour debate Wednesday in which they tried to convince undecided voters. Did it work? Leftist Mélenchon voters on what to do in the second round. And the first woman elected to office in France in 1925. In the last leg of France's 2022…
Podcast: Yellow Vests' revenge, rising abstention, the end of France's brothels
Yellow Vest militants hope to vote Macron out of office. How younger generations are shifting their relationship to voting. And the WWI spy who lobbied successfully to shut down France's brothels in 1946. Candidates running in the first round of presidential elections this Sunday have made the rising cost of living…
Podcast: the hunting vote, France welcomes Ukrainians, non-binary Barthes
France's presidential candidates court the hunting vote; how France is welcoming Ukrainian refugees; and Roland Barthes – ahead of his time in thinking about non-binary identity and language. Hunting is France's third most popular pastime, after fishing and football, and the country's 1.1 million licence holders see themselves as a political force…
Podcast: far-right semantics, 'green' nuclear energy, French baby benefits
Dissecting the nationalist and racist language of presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, France's push to label nuclear energy as green. And the origins of family aid policies that have supported France's high birth rate for over 90 years. One of France's 12 presidential candidates is the unashamedly xenophobic, anti-Islam writer and political pundit…
Podcast: training French Imams, funding women's startups, journalist of the Revolution
Imams-in-training learn about the roots of their religion, and the specific French context of an 'Islam of France'. Breaking the glass ceiling as women entrepreneurs push for more startup funding. And the journalist who called on Parisians to rise up for democracy during the French Revolution. The French government has…
Podcast: Bullshit jobs, vegan eggs, women's lib appliances
Does French work culture tolerate bullshit jobs for the sake of work/life balance? Developing a vegan egg in a country with no strong vegan culture but an egg-heavy cuisine. How Moulinex helped free French women from their culinary shackles. When American anthropologist David Graeber coined the term 'bullshit jobs' in a…