Author: France 24

France is Europe’s second-largest consumer of benzodiazepines – a class of sedatives that includes drugs like Valium and Xanax. Every year, nearly 10 million patients are prescribed these pills to treat anxiety and insomnia. While they are intended only for short-term use, treatments are often extended indefinitely, without proper supervision. Dependency sets in, affecting everyone from teenagers to elderly patients. FRANCE 24’s Olivia Bizot reports. 

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has asked the EU for a fact-finding mission over disruptions to a pipeline which delivers Russian crude oil. Hungary has accused Ukraine of ‘deliberately threatening’ its energy security ahead of key parliamentary elections. The Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline is still used by Hungary and Slovakia, which remain dependent on Russian oil imports despite European efforts. Also in the show – German lawmakers consider ending the 8-hour workday. 

Award-winning ⁠Korean director Park ​Chan-wook will preside over the ​jury of the 79th Cannes Film Festival, the organisers said on Thursday (February 26).

The new round of negotiations in Geneva comes after the US carried out a massive military build-up in the region and President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if a deal is not reached. FRANCE 24’s Shirli Sitbon tells us more.

Paris Saint-Germain survived a tense night against Monaco on Wednesday, drawing the second leg but advancing on aggregate after playing much of the match against 10 men. Late drama and a red card shifted momentum as the holders did just enough to secure their place in the Champions League last 16.

In his State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump sought to reassure Americans that the economy is doing well ahead of key midterm elections. Also in this edition: the Pentagon tells Anthropic it has until Friday to loosen AI safeguards, or lose its $200 million contract. Plus the Louvre’s president resigns after a series of crises and what auditors consider to be a mismanagement of funds.

In this edition of our film show, critic Emma Jones talks to Eve Jackson about the latest film releases, including “The History of Sound” from director Oliver Hermanus. It stars Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor as two men who fall in love in the shadow of World War I. The film premiered in competition at Cannes to lukewarm reviews, but Emma argues its quiet, repressed portrayal of a gay relationship shaped by its era is exactly what gives it emotional force.

Thousands of women and children related to suspected members of the jihadist Islamic State group escaped from al-Hol detention camp last month, Syria’s interior ministry confirmed Wednesday, after Kurdish forces responsible for overseeing the facility pulled out.

Bodo/Glimt made history by knocking 2025 finalist Inter Milan out of Champions League.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is visiting China on a two-day trip starting Wednesday.  He’s the latest in a string of Western leaders to try and seek new partnerships with the Asian giant in recent weeks, amid Donald Trump’s trade war against the rest of the world.  It’s a delicate balancing act for the German leader as the country’s industry has been squeezed by competition from China. But first, we take stock of what four years of war have done to Ukraine’s economy.