Author: France 24

Cycling prodigy ⁠Paul Seixas said Monday he will ride the Tour de France for the first time this July, fuelling hopes that France’s decades-long wait for a home winner could finally be nearing an end. 

The energy crisis caused by the Iran war has been a wake-up call and prompted governments to try and speed up a shift to electric cars.  Could solar cars be next?  Although they have been around for decades, solar-powered vehicles have largely remained experimental due to technical challenges.  Yuka Royer speaks with Steve Fambro, CO-CEO of Aptera Motors, a US startup that is preparing to start delivering their solar cars to customers as early as this year. 

Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao and Stellan Skarsgard are among the jurors who will decide the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, organisers announced Monday. 

Back in March, Lebanon was pulled back into conflict amid escalating regional tensions linked to Iran, as Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel. Israel responded with waves of air strikes and later ground operations in the south, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. While early exchanges relied on rockets and mortars, Hezbollah has since shifted tactics, with analysts pointing to an increased use of fibre optic drones that can evade Israeli jamming systems.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalised and is in “critical but stable condition”, his spokesperson Ted Goodman said Sunday, without providing further details. Giuliani, 81, rose to prominence after the September 11 attacks and later served as an attorney for Donald Trump during efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.

PSG did not prepare in the best possible way for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. With a reshuffled squad, PSG were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Lorient. The result had no impact on the title race, as Lens also failed to win at Nice (1-1) and remain six points behind PSG.

OPEC faces a double crisis as it manages both the energy shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the departure of the UAE. Also in this edition: Airbus reports some disappointing quarterly results. Plus, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is sentenced to $5.5 billion in fines for its role in the deadly opioid crisis in the US.

Over the last 18 years, the FEMUA has established itself as a major date in the African cultural calendar, with concerts in Anoumabo and Dimbokro in Ivory Coast. Showcasing a continent of musical styles – including Afrobeat, rumba and rap – the event was founded by A’Salfo, frontman for the band Magic System. FRANCE 24’s reporters tell us more about this year’s line-up, special guest country Gabon and the wealth of cultural events taking place at FEMUA 2026. 

Israel has carried out fresh air strikes in southern Lebanon. Officials there said at least one person was killed and four others were wounded. The strikes came after the Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation warnings on Sunday for residents in more than ten villages and towns, including the city of Nabatieh. Residents were ordered to leave their homes and move at least 1,000 metres away to open areas. The hostilities are continuing despite a ceasefire signed last month between Israel and Lebanon, which was intended to halt the fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israel has accused Hezbollah of repeated violations…

Every year, the United Nations marks 3 May as World Press Freedom Day. This year comes at a particularly dark moment for journalists. According to a new report published today by Reporters Without Borders, global press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years. Last year, UNESCO said the decline was comparable to that seen during the most unstable periods of the twentieth century — the two world wars and the Cold War. Over the past three years, journalists have increasingly become direct targets in conflict zones rather than simply witnesses to events, and nowhere has that been…