Latest news with #Koh-Lanta
Local France
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
OPINION: Macron's TV 'comeback' was more like his obituary
France's most popular TV channel postponed one of its most popular programmes on Tuesday night to give three hours of air-time to an unpopular President. Viewers were supposed to watch Koh-Lanta, in which competitors seek to become the last survivor on a desert island. Instead they watched Emmanuel Macron struggle to escape the domestic, political isolation forced on him by a disastrous snap election 11 months ago. That election was a failed gamble; so was Tuesday's marathon TF1 interview . Listen to John and The Local France team discuss the Macron TV interview in the latest episode of the Talking France podcast. Download here or listen on the link below Macron's mastery of foreign policy has slightly increased his popularity in recent weeks. He wanted to exploit the improved polls to show that he could weigh once again on French domestic affairs. Advertisement He proved the opposite: that he is likely to be marooned on the desert island of the 'rest of the world' for the remaining two years of his presidency. He remains influential in European and international affairs and spoke with authority about Ukraine, Gaza and Trumponomics on Tuesday night. On domestic subjects – the calamitous deficit, resurgent unemployment, immigration and living standards – Macron spoke eloquently as ever. But he struggled to defend his record and failed to suggest that his minority government could deliver anything new. The Elysée had raised expectations that Macron would announce a multi-question referendum in the Autumn. He failed to go beyond what he had already promised in January. He said there would be 'several referenda simultaneously in the months ahead' but he declined to be 'too precise' on the subjects or the date. Could the French people be asked to decide on the assisted dying law which is struggling through the National Assembly? Maybe but that would demand a stand-alone referendum. Could they vote on restricting children's access to social media? Possibly but that issue has to be legislated at European level. What about a referendum on the budget deficit, as suggested by his Prime Minister, François Bayrou? Macron did not rule that out but said that it was constitutionally difficult. Instead of 'seizing the domestic agenda' or 'reaffirming the primacy of the Presidency', Macron opened a box with nothing inside it. His marathon attracted a large audience – 29.7 percent of the total at its peak, more even than Koh-Lanta. It was an opportunity lost. Maybe, it was just a foolish idea in the first place. Macron was downbeat throughout; the old energy and optimism was gone. And yet it was, in many ways, an extraordinary performance. How many leaders of other countries could speak for more than three hours on live TV on subjects ranging from the nuclear deterrent to prison capacity? How many would agree to be grilled in prime time by political opponents rather than answer soft questions from friendly presenters? Advertisement Macron dismantled the simplistic arguments of the leader of the CGT trades union federation, Sophie Binet, whose only solutions seemed to be nationalising industries and increasing taxes. He accepted some of the criticism on security and immigration from the eccentric, self-pleased, hard-right mayor of Béziers, Robert Menard. But he also faced down Menard's misleading figure of '500,000' immigrants a year – which includes students and business postings. He struggled to defend his deficit record against the ultra-liberal economist Agnès Verdier-Molinié. She rightly said that his governments were guilty of cutting taxes but failing to contain spending. He rightly dismissed her crude proposal to freeze all state spending when investment is desperately needed in health, education and defence. The problem is that France has had eight years of Macronsplaining of this kind. His record is not as terrible as his opponents suggest but he has delivered stuttering progress, not the 'revolution' he promised in 2017. His eight years have been disrupted by two great, global crises – Covid and the Ukraine war – and two smaller ones - the Gilets Jaunes revolt and the post-Ukraine war inflation boom. But he has failed to construct a consistent and convincing narrative for the modest progress made on unemployment, re-industrialisation, increased health spending and rearmament. Advertisement Macron complained at the start of the interview that France was 'known for its pessimism…We always concentrate on what goes wrong and ignore what goes right.' That is true enough but it is an awkward argument for a politician to make. The next two years threaten to be brutal – for France and for Macron. With no majority in the Assembly and no political consensus on how to reduce the crippling deficit, the most likely sequence of events is a cascade of fallen governments and maybe new parliamentary elections in the autumn If the past is a guide, Macron will only become popular again when he leaves office. His mastery of foreign affairs and his far-sightedness on the need for 'European autonomy' from both China and the United States will eventually be recognised. For three quarters of the French electorate, he is already yesterday's man. It is Macron's tragedy to be so young and so talented but, on domestic policy, already powerless. Two years is a long time to be a lame duck. Wednesday night's marathon was not so much a new beginning as a premature, political obituary.
Local France
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Macron to launch 'charm offensive' to try and win back the French
The French president will on Tuesday evening take part in a TV debate show, the first in a series of steps designed to be a 'reset' with the French public as he battles with low approval ratings and the loss of his parliamentary majority. In the two-and-a-half hour show on primetime TV, the president will take part in a wide-ranging debate with the following people; union leader Sophie Binet, fitness influencer Tibo InShape, far-right mayor Robert Ménard, lobbyist Agnès Verdier-Molinié, and left-wing essayist Salomé Saqué. Chaired by journalist Gilles Bouleau, the debate is set to cover subjects ranging from immigration to sport in schools, pension to reforms to changes in France's right-to-die laws. Broadcaster TF1 has moved its scheduled programme, the highly popular desert island survival show Koh-Lanta, to make room for the debate. Advertisement It is also believed that Macron will announce a referendum or series of referendums on important questions facing France - possible topics include screen time for children, work legislation and changes to France's right-to-die laws (which are already making their way through parliament). As previously announced , he also wants to set up a citizens' council to look at the organisation of the French school year and whether children get too much holiday time. After several months where the president has seemed more active on the international than the domestic stage, his calendar for the next week includes multiple trips around France to meet members of the public - a trend that his office has indicated is likely to continue over the coming weeks. In addition to attending the annual Choose France business summit in Paris, Macron will also visit Nanterre, Caen and Vendin-le-Vieil this week, with a focus on measures to tackle organise crime as he pays tribute to prison guards. Macronist MP Karl Olive told French newspaper Le Parisien : "The president had donned the captain's armband at European level, and now he's making a comeback in France. I think he's been reinvigorated." Since the loss of his parliamentary majority in disastrous snap elections in summer 2024, Macron has been facing a deadlocked parliament and approval ratings of just 26 percent . In recent weeks early campaigning has stepped up for the next presidential elections, which are now less than two years away. Although Macron himself cannot stand for a third time, he is keen to make use of the final two years of his mandate, and secure a centrist successor. READ ALSO Who's who in the 2027 presidential election race
Buzz Feed
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
21 Extremely Dark Things I Can't Believe Actually Happened While Filming Reality Shows
1. Steve Irwin, star of Animal Planet's The Crocodile Hunter, died in September 2006 after a stingray pierced his chest with its tail spine. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Irwin had been "doing some shallow water shots for his daughter Bindi's TV show, Bindi the Jungle Girl," when the stingray attacked him. He was then pronounced dead at the scene. 2. Diem Brown, a cast member of The Challenge, collapsed on set in 2014 while shooting Battle of the Exes 2. She was rushed to a New York hospital for emergency surgery related to ovarian cancer that had metastasized to her colon and stomach. Footage of her flight from Panama to NY for the surgery was included in the show and marked her last words on the show, "I'm at a point in my life where I want to just live life," before she died on November 14, 2014. 3. In Season 3 of Deadliest Catch, a search and rescue mission for a four-man crew of a sunken ship found only "one survivor, an empty survival suit, and two dead crewmen floating in the water." 4. In fact, there have been several more deaths while filming Deadliest Catch. During Season 6, fisherman and star Phil Harris died after suffering a stroke while off-loading crab in 2010. 5. And Tom Brossard, an engineer on the Deadliest Catch boat the Saga, died suddenly of a heart attack during Season 20. In Episode 16, cast member and captain of the Titan Explorer, Jake Anderson, received a call from his wife informing him of Brossard's death. Brossard had been one of his former crew members. 6. Outside of the deaths on Deadliest Catch, many cast members have sustained gruesome injuries while filming/working on their boats, too. Like the time, deck boss, Mike Vanderbilt lost the tip of his finger after slipping on ice on deck in Season 8. His hand got stuck between the launcher and a crab pot, causing the severe injury. 7. Mexican American singer Jenni Rivera — who starred in her own show, I Love Jenni — and several members of her inner circle, died in a plane crash in 2012 in the middle of filming Season 3. The final season explored the aftermath of her death. 8. Storage Wars star Darrell Sheets revealed during the series special, Unlocked, that he once found a corpse, wrapped in plastic, inside a locker that he bought back in 1988. According to Sheets, the police told him a man had murdered his wife and left her in the unit. 9. Gerald Babin, a contestant on Koh-Lanta (the French version of Survivor), died during filming. Babin suffered cardiac arrest after jumping off a boat and participating in a tug-of-war challenge. As a result, production was stopped, and the show was canceled for the 2013 season... ...Just one week later, a doctor, Thierry Costa, who had worked on Koh-Lanta and performed emergency care on Babin, died by suicide. In a suicide note, Costa said that his name had been "sullied by the media" in relation to the death of Babin. 10. During the filming of another French reality show, Dropped, in 2015, two helicopters crashed, killing 10 people. Pegged as an adventure reality show, it was to follow eight sports stars who would be blindfolded and dropped in the wild. The show was canceled after the tragic accident. 11. During the 2013 season of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, more than 100 ticks were removed from the celebrities and show's crew... ...and one crew member apparently even suffered "severe anaphylactic shock" from a tick bite. 12. Shain Gandee, star of the MTV series Buckwild, along with two others, was found dead in a truck as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. MTV suspended filming of Season 2 and ultimately canceled the show. 13. While filming the show Teen Mom, a source who worked on the show alleged that police and CPS had to be called multiple times over the years because situations got so "scary." 14. While filming an "Untitled Military Project" show for the Discovery Channel, a helicopter crashed, killing the three people on board. The victims were helicopter pilot David Gibbs, 59, along with Darren Rydstrom, 45, crew of the show, and Michael Donatelli, 45, a cast member. 15. A show called Under Wild Skies on NBC Sports Network (and funded by the NRA) was canceled after the show's host, Tony Makris "shot an elephant in the face and then compared his critics to Adolf Hitler." 16. During an unaired episode of Fear Factor from the 2011–2012 revival run, contestants were challenged with drinking donkey urine and semen. According to host Joe Rogan, the stunt was so disturbing it was the reason the show got canceled (again). Although the episode was unaired on TV, MTV has since uploaded the challenge onto YouTube. 17. Paula Goodspeed, a contestant on American Idol who was reportedly "infatuated" with judge Paula Abdul, died by suicide "a few doors down" from Abdul's Los Angeles home in 2008. Goodspeed appeared on the show during Season 5 in 2006, where she had been "ridiculed and flatly rejected" by the judges during her audition. According to ABC News, Abdul later told the hosts of The View"that Goodspeed had been stalking her for 17 years and later told co-host Barbara Walters on Walters' radio show that she pleaded with Cowell and the producers not to let Goodspeed audition." The story continued, "They did, [Abdul] said, for the 'entertainment value. It's fun for them to cause me stress. This was something that would make good television.'" 18. Robert Buchel, who appeared in Season 6 of My 600-Lb Life, died while filming the show. According to Distractify, Buchel "was seeking Dr. Now's help when he came in at 840 pounds and managed to drop 340 pounds with the help of the celebrity bariatric surgeon." The article continued, "However, Robert also had a painkiller addiction, and he suffered a fatal heart attack while filming his episode of the TLC show. His story (Season 6, Episode 8) aired four months after he passed away." 19. Joey Kovar, a cast member on MTV's The Real World: Hollywood"battled drug and alcohol addiction until he was eventually asked to leave the series." Kovar later went on to appear on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew in 2009, but died a few years later in 2012 as a result of "opiate intoxication." Raymond Boyd / Getty Images 20. During the third season of Swamp People, one of its stars, Mitchell Guist, died on May 12, 2012, reportedly from natural causes. Authorities said Guist was working on a houseboat when he apparently had a seizure and fell backward in his boat. He was with another (unnamed) person at the time, who called 911 and performed CPR. The episode "Voodoo Bayou," which aired on May 17, was dedicated to him. Discovery / CNN / Via 21. Finally, Gabriel Ben-Meir, a music coordinator for MTV's show Punk'd and other shows was shot and killed outside his home in Los Angeles in May 2011. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Two suspects, Jabaar Vincent Thomas and Destiny Young, were later charged with second-degree murder. The motive, according to authorities: robbery." MTV
