Author: France 24

He created Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Le Mâle at just 24 and gave the world Baccarat Rouge 540, the fragrance that conquered the internet. Now, master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian – head of his own perfume house and Perfume Creation Director at Christian Dior – unveils a new Paris exhibition, “Perfume: Sculpture of the Invisible”, at the Palais de Tokyo, celebrating 30 years of his groundbreaking creations. He sat down with FRANCE 24’s Culture Editor Eve Jackson to talk about the art of capturing emotion in scent, the viral success of Baccarat Rouge 540 and how he’s redefining fragrance as a true form…

Iraqis began voting for a new parliament on Tuesday (November 11) at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region, in an election that both Iran and the United States will be closely watching.

France face Ukraine and Azerbaijan to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

After months of delays to “purge out the propaganda”, Elon Musk on Monday announced the launch of Grokipedia to rival online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which he has accused of ideological bias. The content of Grokipedia is generated by artificial intelligence (AI) and the generative AI assistant Grok.

In this edition of our arts24 music show, Jennifer Ben Brahim chats with French multi-instrumentalist and producer Max Baby. A career in music was always on the cards for him, having made a drumkit at age six out of old biscuit tins. He dropped his debut record in 2024, and a year on is back with his EP “Break”. It’s a blend of post-modern indie, alt-rock and electro, and deals with the aftermath of losing control and the quiet that follows. He is also embarking on a European tour, with his first Parisian headline show.

Ahmed al-Sharaa becomes the first Syrian president to visit the White House on Monday, capping an extraordinary turnaround for the former al Qaeda operative who is now leading efforts to end his country’s international isolation. Sharaa will push for the permanent lifting of sanctions on Syria when he meets with US President Donald Trump, who hopes in return to bring Damascus into the Abraham Accords normalising ties between Israel and several Arab states.

Paris Saint-Germain won (3-2) away at Olympique Lyonnais. PSG are back at the top of the table, while OL are 7th.

As France marks 10 years since the November 13 attacks, a new study is examining how trauma is still rippling through affected families and reshaping the lives of the next generation who were children when the violent attacks tore through Paris. 

The French finance ministry says it will ban Chinese e-commerce giant Shein if child-like sex dolls reappear for sale on the site. Shein pulled the dolls after France’s consumer watchdog said it discovered them last week. Under French law, distributing child sexual abuse material online is punishable by up to seven years in prison and a hefty fine. We bring you that story and more in this Monday’s business news.

New York elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani its new mayor, Chinese e-commerce giant Shein faced suspension in France as it opened its first-ever physical store in Paris and a baby hippo made her debut appearance at Berlin zoo. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at the week’s most striking images.