Author: France 24

The hit musical comedy “Company” is coming to France. The show by Stephen Sondheim premiered on Broadway in 1970 and is a series of vignettes centered around Bobby, a 35-year-old single New Yorker who’s trying to find his place among his group of married friends. We spoke to “Company” director James Bonas about the show and its Parisian premiere.

After the US and China, India has the third-highest percentage of obese citizens in the world, with over 135 million Indians classed as overweight or obese. In light of this alarming trend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a nationwide anti-obesity campaign. Rising obesity rates are meanwhile adding to diabetes cases, with India counting 212 million diagnosed adults in 2022. Some Indians dealing with obesity are turning to bariatric surgeries that help reduce food consumption by removing a part of the stomach, while others prefer traditional methods such as acupuncture. FRANCE 24’s Khansa Juned and Lisa Gamonet report.

France beat defending champions Ireland 42-27 in Dublin on Saturday in a momentous win, becoming the favourites to take home the Six Nations title. The win in Aviva Stadium was even more impressive after the absence of talismanic captain Antoine Dupont, who left the field with a knee injury for the last 50 minutes of the match.

At the opening of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Qiang presented the country’s parliament with his government’s work report for 2025. Li stressed the importance of revitalising domestic consumption as a driver for economic growth, especially in a context of increased global trade tensions. For the first time in decades, deficit spending will reach 4 percent of GDP. Also in this edition: Europeans consider using Russian frozen assets to finance increased defense spending.

Syrian security forces and their allies have killed 340 civilians belonging to the country’s Alawite minority since Thursday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday. The violence was triggered by attacks carried out by loyalists of the deposed Assad regime.

This week, the US tightened the screws on Ukraine, pausing military aid until Kyiv shows more willingness to negotiate—starting with handing over half its rare earth resources to America. Moscow welcomed the shift, calling it “aligned with the Kremlin’s vision,” while Ukraine scrambled to smooth things over with a letter to Trump.  Trump also kicked off the biggest protectionist move since 1930, slapping heavy tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Markets tanked, and The Wall Street Journal called it “the dumbest tariff war in history.” By week’s end, signs of a rollback emerged, and Justin Trudeau hit back with his…

Wax print fabrics or Ankara fabrics are known for their graphic patterns, bold colours and catchy slogans. The iconic cloth is now being celebrated in an exhibition at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, where curators have been exploring its anthropological, social and political role on the African continent and beyond. Kenyan artist Thandiwe Muriu joins us to talk about the fabric’s function in her striking portraits, and how she uses textiles to explore identity, aesthetics and her own place in society. Thandiwe tells us how clothes and the messages they send can empower and emancipate women, and we discuss…

The Trump administration has taken a number of actions aimed at restricting access to abortion, including pardoning anti-abortion protesters convicted of violating a law that protects abortion clinics and their patients. Jessica Le Masurier reports on the case of one doctor in New York who could face criminal prosecution for sending abortion pills out of state. FRANCE 24 speaks to Julie F Kay, co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Tele-medicine.

Irish rugby great Hugo MacNeill said that the fight for who finally comes away with the Six Nations title will likely be decided at Saturday’s match between France and Ireland. 

According to reporting from Bloomberg, Germany’s envoy to Brussels urged the EU on Wednesday to ease its fiscal rules in order to allow for more defence expenditure to counter Russia. This would mark an important policy shift for a country known for financial restraint, and follows plans to change Germany’s own strict fiscal rules. Also in this edition, the EU unveils a new plan to boost its struggling auto industry.