Author: France 24

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called on the world to stop providing Israel with weapons, saying it has devastated the Gaza Strip to the point where it is no longer fit for living. Abbas made the plea in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

It was a low-budget, erotic film that became the most successful French movie of the time. “Emmanuelle” went on to be the symbol of the sexual liberation and free love of the 1970s. Fifty years after Just Jaeckin’s softcore movie first became a global phenomenon, a remake is being released with some big changes. Directed by a woman, award-winning director Audrey Divan has moved the action from Thailand to Hong Kong and the sensual character exploring her sexual desires is played by Noémie Merlant. Film critic Perrine Quennesson and erotic literature specialist and author of “Emmanuelle Arsan”, Camille Moreau join Eve…

France’s World Cup-winning defender Raphaël Varane announced his retirement from football at the age of 31 on Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on a hugely successful career after suffering a serious knee injury.

The French Medicines Agency has decided to sanction 11 pharmaceutical companies that did not respect the minimum four-month stocks for drugs “of major therapeutic interest”, handing them a record fine amounting to €8 million. This is 16 times the amount of sanctions imposed in one year, suggesting that the agency is shifting its strategy to address shortages of medication in the country. FRANCE 24’s Julia Sieger tells us more.

As France’s newly-formed government faces pressure to finalise its spending plans for 2025, budget minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the state of public finances was worse than was expected only a few days ago, and that this year’s budget shortfall could top 6% of GDP, far above the government’s earlier estimate of 5.1%. Plus, Commerzbank has named Bettina Orlopp as its new CEO, as it tries to fend off a possible hostile takeover by Italy’s UniCredit. 

PRESS REVIEW – Wednesday, September 25: As conflict escalates in the Middle East, papers are asking “did the US president fail to read the writing on the wall?” The New York Times questions PM Binyamin Netanyahu’s good faith in negotiations, while Haaretz slams the US president’s failure to heed warnings to that effect. Meanwhile in France, newly appointed ministers are already bumping heads and clashing with the prime minister himself. Finally, we look at some of the Bird Photographer of the Year laureates.

Voting continues in India’s contested province of Jammu and Kashmir, with the second phase of the election to renew the 90 seats of the legislature. This is the first vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the region’s semi-autonomous status which guaranteed its own flag, constitution and statehood; downgrading Jammu and Kashmir from a state to a federal territory directly ruled by New Delhi. Kashmir, the most militarised zone in the world, is divided between India and Pakistan and is claimed in its entirety by both. Many Kashmiris have long supported the idea of an independent territory and have boycotted…

One of the greatest filmmakers of all time speaks to Eve Jackson on arts24 about his new movie. Francis Ford Coppola has five Oscars and two Palmes d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival. The man who gave us the “Godfather” trilogy, “Apocalypse Now”, “Dracula”, “The Rainmaker” and “The Conversation” now brings us an ambitious original sci-fi apocalypse drama, “Megalopolis”, starring Adam Driver. It’s wildly original – and has left the critics baffled.

Afghan athlete Zakia Khudadadi on Thursday became the first from the refugees team to clinch a medal at the Paralympics. “Zakia’s victory is a huge milestone … it’s very big for us, it puts us in the limelight and showcases that these athletes deserve to be here,” Refugee Paralympic Team Mission Chief Nyasha Mharakurwa told FRANCE 24. 

For several decades now, France has been struggling with doctors leaving rural areas and people there not being able to access medical care. Maternity wards are also part of this trend, with 30 percent of them shutting down over the past 20 years. The health ministry wants to pool resources into larger, better-equipped maternity wards to protect patients’ safety, but medical teams and patients are worried. What consequences do mothers-to-be face when you have to drive an hour to give birth? And what health risks does this situation pose for newborns? FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin and Pauline Godart went to…