A smaller replica of the International Space Station, which will orbit the Moon from the end of 2024, is currently under construction at the Thales Alenia Space plants in Turin. A guided tour.
country: France
Stay informed on France with Worldcrunch. In-depth coverage of French politics, economic trends, societal changes, and cultural events with expert translations. Highlights include Paris, Lyon, Marseille, French cinema, gastronomy, modern literature, and cultural events.
Just days after the military seized power in Niger last week, the new junta has already been the target of sanctions by Brussels and Washington. What that means for the 1,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in Niger, among other things, remains unclear.
Japanese artist Takashi Murakami has unveiled a large fresco capturing the history of economics, from the Sumerians to Elon Musk, at a gallery in the suburbs of Paris. French journalist Yann Rousseau met him in his studio near Tokyo.
Copenhagen is a great example of the positive impacts of pedestrianization: it provides €400,000 in profit for every kilometer of bike lane, and helps to decrease the deadly effects of air pollution.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the guest of honor for the July 14-Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, a choice that has benefits and risks for both France and India, two medium-sized powers cultivating their relative independence.
Ahead of the Vilnius NATO summit, Joe Biden said Ukraine joining NATO while the war is on is a non-starter. But it’s also a done deal once Kyiv has vanquished its Russia invaders.
The death of Nahel, a 17-year-old killed by a police officer in Nanterre, France, and subsequent riots shocked the world. It’s familiar territory for acclaimed film director Alice Diop, whose latest project, “Saint Omer,” was France’s nominee for the best foreign language film at the Oscars, examining what it means to be an immigrant, or the child of immigrants, in France.
The riots and looting continue after the police shooting death of a 17-year-old in the outskirts of Paris. Already embattled over labor reforms, French President Emmanuel Macron’s hopes to make peace with center-left allies are getting pushed aside by demands for law and order.
Small, mobile and organized groups of young people full of violence and hatred for the police: an emerging movement a far cry from the “banlieues” riots in 2005.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s triumph during his state visit to the U.S. is part of a well-honed strategy of realpolitik and geo-economic opportunism. How the West responds says a lot about where the world is heading.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called a unique summit that aims to reset relations between Western countries and the Global South. But the message from China and Russia will be not to trust such diplomatic maneuverings.
Connected watches don’t just tell the time, they give meaning to life.
The violence that erupted following the sentencing of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison left 16 people dead and 500 arrested. This reveals deep fractures in Senegalese democracy that has traces to France’s colonial past.
Forty years since 1982, a mythical vintage of outstanding quality, the 2022 vintage, promises to be the new model for Bordeaux wine-growers after its first taste test, says French daily Les Echos.
The inventor of ChatGPT is in Europe to try to force leaders on the Continent to face hard questions about what artificial intelligence is bringing to our world, whether they like it or not.
Forget about Cantonese fried rice and spring rolls, new-look Chinese restaurants have been multiplying in Paris. They attract French people with increasingly diverse tastes… and a growing number of Chinese tourists.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France will train Ukrainian pilots appears to pave the way for the delivery of fighter jets to Kyiv. Similar moves are coming from the UK. It’s a delicate process to never declare war on Russia, while maximizing Ukraine’s ability to repulse the invaders.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and her German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock have issued a strong and united call on Beijing to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine. It is a reminder of the potential of European power. But the “European Project” is as loaded as ever.
France’s much discussed citizens’ convention on assisted dying has just delivered its conclusions, including some proposals the government deems too ambitious. But the freedom to choose one’s own death is the ultimate achievement of self-control, says French philosopher Gaspard Koenig.
It’s impossible to travel incognito on a train, and it’s also difficult to walk down the street without running into surveillance cameras. Even when hiking, apps are multiplying. We can’t just wander around in anonymity anymore.
In a country where money is taboo and culture is sacred, French artist Aurélie Galois navigates the uneasy relationship between following your muse and paying your rent.
Translated in full from French, here is the exclusive interview French President Emmanuel Macron gave to three reporters on his way back from his trip to China, in which he insisted that Europe needed more autonomy from the United States.
The issue of Taiwan has come up during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China. The unresolved question of the island’s independence shows Europe will find it hard to remain neutral as tensions between the U.S. and China reach a new peak.
The French President begins a three-day visit to China. He has the difficult task of forging a “third way” for Europe between U.S. and Chinese interests in an increasingly polarized world.
On a visit to China this week, French President Emmanuel Macron will try to improve the image of French companies and to renew diplomatic ties with Beijing, which may be the most pivotal outside player in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
To prevent France’s current institutional crisis from leading to a regime crisis, it is not a question of the much criticized pension reform — or even that Emmanuel Macron must resign. A change is needed in the very way French democracy functions.
Like with the atomic bomb, artificial intelligence will divide the world into the haves and the have-nots, French columnist Édouard Tétreau writes. To win the AI arms race, France and its allies need a new transatlantic partnership.
France, Israel, United States: these three democracies all face their own distinct problems. But these problems are revealing disturbing cracks in society that pose a real danger to hard-earned progress that won’t be easily regained.
The continuous increase of public debt and a tone-deaf president in France, the rise of authoritarian regimes elsewhere in the world, the blindness to global warming: realities that we do not want to see and that will end up destroying us if we do not act.
Fueled by the Kremlin, anti-French sentiment in Africa has been spreading for years. Meanwhile, China is also increasing its influence on the continent as Africa’s focus shifts from west to east.
The pushing through of a bill to raise the retirement age in France has caused widespread, sometimes violent, protests. The government is worried the movement will spread, as unions warn the protests are just beginning.
The European Union has a new plan that challenges the long-established dogmas of globalization, with its just-in-time supply chains and outsourcing the “dirty” work to the developing world.
The ongoing strike of garbage collectors in France shows us why we try so hard to hide how much garbage we throw out. As trash piles up in the streets, philosopher Gaspard Koenig reminds us that it wouldn’t be so hard to recycle and compost more of it.
Returning from this weekend’s Munich Security Conference, French President told France Inter public radio: “I do not think that Russia should be defeated completely, or attacked on its soil. These observers want above all to crush Russia. This has never been the position of France and it never will be.”
French President Emmanuel Macron turned heads by saying that his objective was to defeat Russia, without “crushing” it. This diverges with the objectives of Ukraine and other allies. It’s a question that will ultimately be answered on the battlefield.
As debates and protests continue in France over increasing the pension age, many seniors are already voluntarily returning to work. Some do so to keep busy, but many are forced to by the cost-of-living crisis.
Whether it’s in Tunis, Algiers or Rabat, France is faced with the near-impossible task of finding its diplomatic footing in countries that were under its colonial rule last century.
Volodymyr Zelensky’s visits this week to London, Paris and Brussels reinforce the intertwined fates of Europe and Ukraine. And for Kyiv that will ultimately mean more weapons support.
After forming a governing coalition with right-wing extremists, will Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu face a chill in relations with the West? The reshuffled geopolitical cards offer a fair share of paradoxes.
A widely mocked tweet by the Associated Press tells its reporters to avoid dehumanizing labels such as “the poor” or “the French”. But one French writer replies that the real dehumanizing threat is when open conversation becomes impossible.