Author: France 24

French skipper Violette Dorange will make sailing history on Sunday as she sets off on the Vendée Globe round-the-world race, becoming the youngest ever sailor to take on the epic solo event dubbed the “Everest of the Seas”.

US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Haward Lutnick, a Wall Street executive and leader of Trump’s transition team, to be the next US Commerce Secretary. The billionaire has been a key economic adviser to Trump and a keen advocate of using tariffs as a tool to protect American jobs and industries. Plus, German police moved to break up a protest camp outside Tesla’s gigafactory in Germany, as environmental activists held out in tree houses. 

Aline Deschamps is a photojournalist who has documented life in Lebanon as the country was once again drawn into conflict with Israel. Having lived in Beirut for five years, Deschamps did not initially set out to be a war photographer. Her work focuses on how ordinary people—students, entrepreneurs, and teachers—come together during times of crisis to support one another. In this interview with FRANCE 24, she shares stories of those she met during her assignments in Beirut, including a Palestinian man who moved from Gaza to the city a decade ago, only to find himself caught in the current bombardment.

This week, Marjorie Hache speaks with award-winning French-Canadian pianist Alexandra Stréliski about her new album “Neo-Romance”, which she is currently touring in France. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Hampus Lindwall tells us about American avant-garde composer and filmmaker Phill Niblock, who passed away earlier this year. Lindwall, along with drone metal guitarist and composer, will pay tribute to Niblock on November 25 at L’Église de Saint-Esprit in Paris. We also take a look at U2’s new release, “How to Reconstruct an Atomic Bomb”.

Toxic smog engulfed much of northern India on Monday and pollution readings in New Delhi hit their highest of this pre-winter season, after dense fog overnight. Details with Delano D’Souza.

Adrien Rabiot took Les Bleus to the top of its Nations League group Sunday after France beat Italy 3-1.

As French farmers take to the streets to oppose a potential free trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc in South America, we take a closer look at what the agreement entails and why the French agricultural sector and government are so strongly opposed. Also in this edition, Donald Trump nominates a fossil fuel industry CEO to head the Energy Department and a Big Tech critic to lead the Federal Communications Commission.

A convoy of 109 trucks was violently looted on Nov. 16 after entering Gaza, resulting in the loss of 98 trucks in what aid workers say is one of the worst such incidents in the more than 13-month-old war, said an UNRWA aid official.

This week, FRANCE 24’s Valérie Fayolle takes us inside one of Paris’s most famous luxury hotels, the Hôtel de Crillon, and introduces us to Michelin-starred chef Paul Pairet, who heads up of one of the hotel’s restaurants, Nonos. We also meet Hélène in Paris, a fantastical singer whose voice places her among the most extravagant of divas.

In Tokyo, thousands of people marched over two km in the city wearing Santa costumes. This is a charity event, aiming to raise money for sick children. The Santa Parade first began in 2018, to deliver gifts to a thousand children at five hospitals in Japan. Story by Guillaume Gougeon.