Author: France 24

The French-made, Spanish-language musical “Emilia Perez” leads the Oscars race with 13 nominations, making history as the most nominated non-English-language film ever. FRANCE 24’s Culture Editor Eve Jackson tells us more about French director Jacques Audiard’s film and the other frontrunners.

Seven weeks after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria still faces uncertainty over its future as the transitional government attempts to bring order to a country wracked by more than 13 years of civil war. But Syrians are also looking to the past and for answers about the fate of loved ones who disappeared under the Assad regime or during the war. FRANCE 24’s Oliver Farry speaks to Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism investigating serious crimes in Syria. The Mechanism was established by the United Nations in December 2016 to investigate crimes committed in the…

Paris Saint Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 on Wednesday, in a thrilling second-half fightback. The defeat leaves Man City in danger of elimination with only one match left and increases PSG’s chances of qualifying.

As Donald Trump accused the European Union of “treating the US very very badly” by running a large trade surplus and threatened to slap new tariffs, the leaders of France and Germany showed a united front, as they held talks to discuss the rising threat.  Plus, Netflix is raising subscription fees again in several countries, as it saw record numbers of new subscribers over the holiday period. 

Film critic Emma Jones tells us why the CGI chimp who stands in for Robbie Williams does a good job at conveying the British pop star’s fundamental loneliness in the quirky biopic “Better Man”. We also discuss Mel Gibson’s latest stint behind the camera in “Flight Risk”, as Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Dockery provide some old-fashioned comic relief in this cockpit-set caper. Meanwhile, French film “The Quiet Son” sees Vincent Lindon put in an award-winning performance as the single father of two young men, as filmmakers Delphine and Muriel Coulin explore the socio-economic reality in the east of France. Plus…

During his inaugural speech, US President Donald Trump threatened to “take back” the Panama Canal.  Built in the early 20th century, the waterway is a key maritime trade route.  The US relinquished control in 1999 in a deal that obliged the operator to charge ships fairly. We’ll take a closer look at the economy behind the canal. Plus, Donald Trump is promising to significantly change the US’s trade policy with tariffs.  But do these taxes protect domestic jobs and people? 

FRANCE 24’s Culture Editor Eve Jackson co-hosted the the Lumières awards, France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes, on Monday night in Paris. She tells us about French gangster transgender musical “Emilia Perez” picking up five awards, including best director for France’s Jacques Audiard.

In this edition of our arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim talks to Nigerian singer-songwriter Keziah Jones as he releases his first record in over a decade: “Alive & Kicking”. The album is an autobiographical journey from Lagos to London to Paris; a musical résumé of his career spanning more than 30 years. The “blufunk” singer’s record features some of his biggest hits like “Beautiful Emilie”, as well as two original songs. It was recorded in Lagos at Femi Kuti’s studio, a symbolic decision for an artist who cites singer Kuti as one of his biggest inspirations. Keziah shares with us…

“They [the hostages] appear to be in good enough health for women who were held for 15 months in unknown conditions of captivity,” said Noga Tarnopolsky, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Tel Aviv. “Not every day of hostage-for-prisoner exchange is going to go like this. What we have been told to expect is that of the 33 hostages on the list of those to be in this first 42-day-phase of a ceasefire agreement, that at least a third will return home dead.” 

Promises made by Donald Trump to unleash the fracking industry played a vital role in his fight to win Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the 2024 US election. Despite the consequences the industry has had for the health of rural communities like Dimock in the north of the state, many residents continue to support the incoming president.