Week in Review: Costa-Gavras on his new film, patrolling with police and behind the scenes of haute couture
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FRANCE 24 goes behind the scenes at a haute couture workshop, patrols with police as they respond to domestic violence calls and takes a look at the global appeal of French literature. We also spoke to Greek-French film director Costa-Gavras, whose latest film, "Adults in the Room", tackles the drama behind Greece's debt crisis.
ARTICLES
Macron inaugurates branch of the Centre Pompidou art museum in Shanghai
French President Emmanuel Macron inaugurated an outpost of Paris's famed Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Shanghai on Tuesday, the museum's first to open outside Europe following recent branch openings in Malaga and Brussels.
Thirty years after its fall, part of the Berlin Wall still stands
Far from the vibrant energy of central Berlin, in an overlooked wasteland strewn with weeds, a small part of the Berlin Wall still stands. Three decades after that notorious symbol of the Iron Curtain came crashing down, FRANCE 24 met Christian Bormann, the man who discovered this remnant of the Cold War and kept it hidden for 19 years.
‘A broken city’: Long-neglected Tripoli sets tempo for Lebanese protests
Lebanon is about to enter its fourth week of nationwide protests, with the northern city of Tripoli emerging as an unexpected centre of the movement, its daily demonstrations often bigger than in the capital Beirut. Our reporters spent the day with a protester in Lebanon's second-largest city, home to some of the country's poorest neighbourhoods.
TV SHOWS ONLINE
'Nothing justifies scenes of violence in Barcelona,' Spanish FM tells FRANCE 24
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell discusses the ongoing crisis in Catalonia, where violence erupted last month after the Spain's Supreme Court jailed several Catalan separatist leaders for their role in a failed 2017 independence bid.
Albania: A legacy of dictatorship
For almost 50 years, Albania was so hermetically sealed under the Communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha that it was dubbed Europe's “little North Korea”. Between 1945 and 1991 at least 6,000 people are believed to have been executed and nearly 100,000 Albanians were interned in Gulag-style labour camps. Nearly 30 years later Albania is gradually emerging from it isolation, but victims of the dictatorship are demanding justice.
Riding with police responding to domestic violence calls and does your brain have a gender?
As the French government continues its nationwide effort to stem domestic abuse, we join a local police force as they respond to calls for help from women facing violence. And we talk to British neuroscientist Gina Rippon, who has just written a book to explain whether your brain has a gender.
Jean-Paul Dubois wins France's top literary prize
French novelist and travel writer Jean-Paul Dubois has won the 2019 Goncourt Prize for his novel, "Tous les hommes n'habitent pas le monde de la même façon" (Not all men inhabit the world in the same way).
Costa-Gavras tackles Greek debt crisis in 'Adults in the Room'
From hard-hitting thrillers in the 1960s to sharp critiques of capitalism in the 21st century, Costa-Gavras has been making movies for more than five decades. His latest film, "Adults in the Room", tackles the Greek debt crisis and the ensuing conflict between European diplomats and envoys from Athens as they quarreled over how to pull the Greek economy back from the brink.
Behind the scenes of high fashion: Paris's haute couture workshops
Paris is the eternal capital of fashion. The city is synonymous with some of the world's best-loved fashion designers: Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton, to name but a few. We take you to see the workshops of designers Stéphane Rolland and Jean-Paul Gaultier. But there are also less high-profile artists who keep the Parisian fashion flame burning. Barbara Cohen won France's best craftsperson prize in 2015 for her skills in corsetry. We take you inside her Paris lingerie boutique.
Will deer hunting become big business in Scotland?
Every year in the Scottish Highlands, thousands of deer are culled by landowners in a bid to limit population growth. But hunting stags is increasingly becoming a business opportunity. Tourists are now paying to kill the animals, and some locals are concerned the cull could get out of hand.
Is France a civil servant’s paradise?
France is famous, and at times infamous, for its bulky bureaucracy. Some go so far as to call it a civil servant’s paradise, with many believing they get a sweet deal compared to private sector workers. Meanwhile, the Macron government claims the system is bulky and expensive and has vowed to reform it, driving people to protest in the streets. So how much do France’s "fonctionnaires" cost the state, and are they worth it?
Soothing bedtime stories for anxious liberals
For a certain type of liberal, Brexit is baffling, flirtation is a minefield in the age of #MeToo and veganism seems like a moral obligation: It's enough to keep you awake at night. We speak to Stuart Heritage, a Guardian columnist and the author of "Bedtime Stories for Worried Liberals".
French literature appeals to a growing readership abroad
The highlight of France's literary year comes in the autumn, with the publishing world's annual awards season. Among the different high-profile prizes to be won is the Prix de Flore, which is celebrating its 25th edition. These prizes offer young and promising authors the chance to win a sizeable cheque, but more importantly the type of coverage which can launch their career and also that of their publishers.
