PODCAST: How France can revive village life and the historic menace lurking under French soil
Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local's Emma Pearson, Genevieve Mansfield, and John Lichfield to discuss all the latest news in France.
This week we look at France's response to international political tensions. Veteran reporter John Lichfield unpacks whether he is simply stoking fear or if Emmanuel Macron could be the perfect person to lead France and Europe through the crisis.
We also look at a new French law intended to make it easier to open new bars and cafés in France's rural villages. The Talking France team chats about whether this could breathe life into an often forgotten part of France, or if it will increase alcohol abuse, as critics warn.
Next, we talk about a French scheme - the 'Pass Culture' - that helps young people purchase books, go to the movies, and visit museums, and how it will be changing this year.
After a 500kg unexploded World War II bomb caused widespread travel chaos last week, the team looks at how many weapons from the two world wars might still be buried under the ground in France.
We also hear from Americans in France about why they are angry right now, as well as why more Americans have decided to move to France in the last few years.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Europe left on diplomatic ‘sidelines' in Israel Iran conflict
European leaders voiced alarm over the military attacks and called for a diplomatic solution to avoid an all-out war that could spiral across the Middle East and beyond, but security expert Claude Moniquet told Euronews that Europe has been left 'sitting on the sidelines'. This was already true of negotiations taking place between the Americans and the Iranians. US President Donald Trump's attempt to reach an agreement with Iran to halt uranium enrichment was scheduled to run to a sixth round of talks in Oman on Sunday. Those talks may now be in doubt, but 'the Europeans were excluded' from them anyway, Moniquet pointed out. 'Europeans have been pretty much excluded from all major diplomatic manoeuvres around the war in Gaza or the war in Lebanon,' the former French intelligence officer and author said. 'Diplomatic efforts are crucial to preventing further escalation,' European Commission President posted on X late on Friday after speaking to Israel's President Isaac Herzog concerning the escalating situation. Moniquet said that the European Union has lost influence in the region and has no say in diplomacy over the future of the Middle East, however. Europe's ambivalent support for Israel's attacks likely meant its governments were not forewarned of the details, in sharp contrast with the US. French President Emmanuel Macron's press conference on Friday neatly encapsulated the tightrope walk of strictly conditional support for Israel that Europe's leaders are offering. "We support Israel's security and if Israel were to be attacked, France would take part in operations to defend Israel if it is in a position to do so," Macron said, though he made clear that France wouldn't participate "in any offensive operation". "We have always favoured the diplomatic route [on the issue of Iranian nuclear and ballistic missiles] rather than military intervention, so France did not recommend attacks by Israel," he said, underlining that France "didn't plan this decision with Israel". Macron also addressed the situation in Gaza, saying: "These attacks must not distract us from the need to establish a ceasefire there," the President added, describing the humanitarian blockade imposed in the Palestinian enclave as "unjustifiable". Similarly UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday that 'now is the time for restraint, calm and a return to diplomacy.' But the UK's failure to be informed about Israel's attack on Iran before it happened, and failure to support the mission, highlights 'the deteriorating relationship between the two countries,' the Times of London reported today. Diplomats told the newspaper it appeared Israel no longer considered the UK to be a 'reliable partner' after Starmer placed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers. 'Military planners inside the Ministry of Defence were braced for the strikes on Thursday night. However, the UK appeared to have been cut out of the loop on the operation, despite being involved in previous strikes,' the paper reported. Von der Leyen similarly reiterated Israel's right to defend itself and protect its people, adding: 'At the same time, preserving regional stability is vital. I urge all parties to act with maximum restraint and work to de-escalate the situation.' By contrast, after months of urging Israel not to strike Iran while he worked toward a nuclear deal, President Donald Trump told Reuters in a phone interview on Friday that he and his team knew the attacks were coming, and proffered no call for restraint. "We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said, adding: "They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late." 'We've been very close to Israel. We're their number one ally by far," Trump told Reuters, adding, "We'll see what happens." The main reason behind Europe's loss of influence, Moniquet believes, is to be found in Europe's dwindling military power. If true, the situation builds on the existential questions about its security future that have faced Europe and the EU in the wake of the Oval office blow-up in February between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump. Since then, Europe has wrestled with and begun to take on board the need to take more responsibility for its own security. It has also found itself left on the side-lines of Trump's attempted ceasefire brokering between Zelenskyy and Putin. Being left on the side-lines now might carry more risk however. Moniquet told Euronews Iran could respond with attempted terrorism on the continent. "They may well ask a Hezbollah cell or an Iranian cell like the one that was dismantled in London a few weeks ago to strike somewhere in Europe,' he said, adding: 'This is an important possibility, and it means that Jewish communities, Israeli diplomatic and commercial interests, Israeli boats, Israeli planes, but probably also American interests, are now in a position of risk in Europe and could be hit."
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
French court jails two teenagers over 2024 Jewish girl rape
A French court on Friday, June 13, sentenced two teenagers to nine and seven years in prison over the gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl last year outside Paris. The presiding judge justified the harsh sentence against the two boys as being due to their "worrying" personalities, "the immense social disturbance" they caused to society, and the crime being committed on religious grounds. She undoubtedly "would not have been raped if she had not been Jewish", the judge said at a juvenile court in Nanterre, a western Paris suburb. A third boy, an ex-boyfriend of the girl who was also aged 12 at the time, was found guilty of being complicit in the crime but not sentenced to jail due to his young age. The court ordered that he be placed in the foster system and followed by professionals for five years. The girl told police she was approached by the three boys on June 15, 2024, while in a park near her home in the northwestern Paris suburb of Courbevoie, close to the La Défense financial district. She told investigators she was dragged into an abandoned daycare center where the suspects beat her and "forced" her to have sex "while uttering death threats and antisemitic remarks." She said the boys had called her a "dirty Jew" and asked her questions about "her Jewish religion" and Israel. The rape was filmed by one boy, and another threatened to kill the girl if she reported the ordeal to authorities, police sources said. The attack shocked the Jewish community in France and was unanimously condemned by politicians. At the time, President Emmanuel Macron denounced the "scourge" of antisemitism. Several demonstrations in support of the victim were held in Paris and in Courbevoie. Reported antisemitic acts in France surged from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping slightly to 1,570 last year, according to the interior ministry. Jewish groups have said that the number of such attacks rose sharply following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which was followed by Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip and aid blockade.
Euronews
4 hours ago
- Euronews
What message has the Nice ocean summit sent to COP30 this year?
The ocean is essential to limiting global temperature rise. It captures about 30 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions, and 90 per cent of the excess heat generated by these, but has been overlooked in the conversation about how to curb climate change. This is increasingly concerning as oceans suffer from the results of excess carbon dioxide, including acidification and rising sea temperatures. These have significant impacts on ecosystems, the communities that rely on them, and the ocean's role as a climate regulator. 'The globe is burning. Our oceans are boiling. Scientists speak of effects that we're having, heatwaves even in our oceans, and as we have the rising sea levels, submersion threatens us,' said French President Emmanuel Macron at the opening plenary of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice this week. The conference saw what Macron called 'unprecedented mobilisation' for oceans, with over 120 countries, 50 world leaders and 10,000 people in attendance. It also included a strong push to start including oceans in climate and biodiversity talks, including the COP30 climate conference to be held in Brazil in November. That would mark a big change from previous discussions. Even the Paris Agreement - the landmark treaty that aimed to keep global warming below 1.5C - has just one mention of the ocean, noting the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems. 'We're very, very late. We're at UNOC3 - the climate COPs are at COP30. Unfortunately, the climate COPs, much like other conferences of the like, have not really properly integrated the ocean. So on the science, we're picking up, but on the political side of things, it's still very, very much catching up,' says Louis Lambrechts from the Oceano Azul Foundation. Speaking at the beginning of the summit, Marcon pointed to the ocean's carbon capture potential and its role as a climate regulator, highlighting the need to act to protect this, particularly ahead of COP30. Lambrechts tells Euronews Green that it is crucial to create coherence between climate, biodiversity, and ocean silos. 'What should come out of this conference [...] should be very clear messages towards the next climate COP happening in Brazil later this year, about why it's so critical that the ocean should be properly addressed and considered in the debates,' he says. 'Any objective or action we're trying to have on climate would be completely unrealistic if the ocean wasn't there to play the game with us,' he adds. Isabella Lövin, former Swedish climate and environment minister and now Green member of the European Parliament described how, during her time in government, she fought to get oceans into the climate conversation, but said this shift has taken a long time. 'People have so much to think about - what's happening on land and with the forests and the atmosphere and the cryosphere and so on, but the oceans are really one of the two major climate regulators, so we need to have much more conversations on how we can preserve the ocean in order to stay below 1.5C,' she explains. Similarly, Ana Vasconcelos, a member of the European Parliament with centrist group Renew Europe, warned that, politically, ignoring the ocean in climate and economic negotiations is a failure. 'Europe must go to COP30 with a clear message: the ocean is not a backdrop - it's a frontline climate actor. I want the UNOC to produce real and concrete commitments that reflect the scale of the crisis and the ocean's role in solving it,' she says. That includes establishing clear and actionable guidelines for global ocean governance, recognising that the ocean is a common resource that needs to be safeguarded through global cooperation, she adds. Ahead of COP30, France and Brazil also launched the Blue NDC Challenge, calling on countries to place the ocean at the centre of their plans to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries need to submit updated versions of these plans by September ahead of COP30. The ocean's role as a climate regulator is increasingly being chipped away. At the start of the conference, on 8 June, scientists released the first Starfish Barometer - an assessment of ocean health aimed at providing reliable evidence to inform policymakers and track the restoration of ocean health. It warned of rising sea levels, record temperatures, and rapid acidification. This is worrying given the climate disaster the ocean has, so far, held back. 'If the ocean wasn't there, it could be 50C warmer on land, but you don't get anything for free in this world, and the ocean is changing as a result of all of that excess heat going into it, and its capacity to continue absorbing heat is not something we can count on into the future,' says Robert Blasiak, Associate Professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Lambrechts likens the ocean warming to a kettle boiling: taking a long time to warm up - much longer than the air - but staying hot for a long time. The world is heading towards that boiling point, he says, creating dead zones where marine life cannot survive, hindering ecosystems' ability to store carbon, as well as affecting fish populations and impacting those communities who rely on them. While some damage to the ocean may take centuries to recover from, there are measures we could take today to help prevent further harm. Banning bottom trawling and deep sea mining would be decisions with immediate results, says Lévy. These damage ocean ecosystems and, in the case of deep sea mining, a lot of the potential impacts are still unknown. The EU's 2023 Marine Action Plan called on member states to phase out bottom trawling in all marine protected areas by 2030, due to the importance of the seabed for healthy marine ecosystems and climate change mitigation. While 37 countries, including 15 EU nations and the UK, have signed a pause on deep sea mining as part of a political effort to prevent the practice until the implications of it are understood. According to Lövin, the most important thing to consider when protecting the ocean is the precautionary principle - the idea of avoiding activities that might cause harm that is not yet known. 'We need to really take the precautionary approach seriously because we are the decision makers. We are the ones that are going to be held accountable. We have the responsibility for future generations,' she tells Euronews Green. Vasconcelos also called on the EU to take a 'central and credible role' in International Seabed Authority (ISA) negotiations in July to ensure that ocean governance aligns with its climate and geopolitical priorities. Ahead of UNOC, the European Union released its Ocean Pact, pledging €1 billion to support ocean conservation, science and sustainable fishing. It also announced that it will propose an Ocean Act in 2027 aimed at strengthening and modernising maritime spatial planning to help achieve the pact's priorities, like restoring ocean health, building a blue economy, and advancing research and knowledge. While it was not as ambitious as some would have liked, with Vasconcelos saying it is unclear where the €1 billion will come from and leading ocean NGOs saying it lacks concrete protection measures, it has been widely welcomed as a way of bringing oceans back into the conversation and linking different ocean policies. However, not everyone is on board. One of the notable absences from the conference was the US government, which under President Trump has pulled out of the Paris Agreement and is unilaterally trying to push ahead with deep sea mining. Lövin called the lack of US presence a scandal, contrasting it with the efforts of the EU and other world leaders to work against planetary collapse and pointing to the need to work together to protect the world for future generations.
