Donald Trump’s election has shocked the world and the aftershocks have crossed the Atlantic, landing smack in the middle of the French presidential campaign. Could a populist candidate such as far-right leader Marine Le Pen also carry the day next May, or will what happened in the US stay in the US? This question will…
Episode 21 of the podcast from Paris. Since our last episode only three weeks ago, French politics has been shaken up. Old men like Sarkozy, Juppé and Hollande are leaving the scene, but will not be replaced by new faces. In other news: Parisians were suffering this week from a extreme pollution. There’s no solution in…
In this week’s So French: We talk about a new scandal that is threatening the very existence of iTélé, one of France’s 24 hour news channels. We also you about another scandal that took place 55 years ago this week, the massacre of 40 to 300 Algerian protester by the French police. It hardly ever gets into the media…
A gentle spring breeze is coming in from the dunes just behind me. On the beach below, a little boy is playing football at low tide. An older couple is sitting on a bench overlooking the peaceful sea. Maybe they are just old enough to remember what happened here, today exactly 72 years ago. On June 6, 1944, these now…
Another week of social unrest in France: A series of strikes have been launched to protest the government’s proposed labour reform as the country is gearing up for the European football championship. For now, the face-off continues and tempers are flaring with the head of the union representing employers going as far as to accuse…
In Episode 11: It’s a hot spring in France with blockades, strikes and riots. Will the current government survive? Would you put your money on Britain’s membership of the EU? Our new series on a possible ‘Brexit’, the possibility of the UK leaving the European Union, tries to give you an answer. We also discuss the everlasting…
The French presidential election is now exactly one year away. The sitting president, François Hollande, will not announce until the end of the year whether he intends to run for re-election or not. But if he does, he will need nothing short of a miracle to stay on in the Elysée Palace. According to the…
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/podcast.sofrench.news/2016/SoFrench-E09.mp3
This week on Face-off: French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron is not only the most popular politician on the left, but he is also respected by many on the right. Buoyed by popular results in the opinion polls and widespread approval amongst the French for his free-market and reformist policies, Emmanuel Macron may have his sights…
Molenbeek has become a synonym for terrorism in Europe. This neighbourhood of the Belgian capital is widely described as a jihadist hotbed and often branded as an example of failed government policies. In France, a heated controversy has emerged after Patrick Kanner, the minister in charge of urban affairs and sports, suggested that the country…
