The Talking France podcast is back with all the latest news from France. This week, we discuss upcoming strike action, the conviction of former president Nicolas Sarkozy and how the Champs-Elysées has changed.
Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local France’s Emma Pearson, Genevieve Mansfield and John Lichfield to talk about everything that has been happening in France.
The big news of the week is about former president, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Sarkozy was convicted on charges of criminal conspiracy and sentenced to five years in prison, and he stands to be France’s first postwar leader to go to prison. The Talking France team discusses the reaction to Sarkozy’s sentencing, as well as why France’s law-and-order-loving politicians seem to be so crooked.
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We also give you the latest on the EU’s new new biometric border checks, the so-called Entry/Exit system or EES, and we respond to concerns about whether British tourists will have to provide proof of medical insurance to enter France.
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Next, the team laments the demise of the Champs Élysées. Paris’s famous avenue was once the site of the liberation parade in 1944, and it is the inspiration for Joe Dassin’s hit song. Nowadays, the avenue is filled with luxury department stores and empty apartment buildings.
And we finish up with a travel recommendation: the Lasaux Caves in south-west France. Editor Emma Pearson tells us about her recent visit to the 22,000-year-old cave paintings.
Talking France is a free podcast made possible by the support of subscribers to The Local – you can find out more about becoming a member here. You can also help us to spread the word about the podcast by leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts
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