A French University Is Offering ‘Scientific Asylum’ for US Talent. The Brain Drain Has Started

THE GUARDIAN: The Trump administration is cutting funding, while specifically targeting institutions like Columbia. No wonder academics want out

In six weeks, the Trump administration’s “rapid scheduled disassembly” of American science has been as sharp and deep as its trashing of the US’s alliances and goodwill; Earth science, weather forecasting and early warning systems, medical research (including cancer research), Nasa. Academic grants more broadly have been cut, paused and subject to review for a long list of banned words (including such contentious terms as “political” and “women”).

This has caused universities across the country to reduce their intake of PhD students, medical students and other graduate students, introduce hiring freezes and even rescind some offers of admission. More than 12,500 US citizens currently in other countries on Fulbright research grants recently had their funding paused, along with 7,400 foreign scholars currently hosted in the US, leaving them financially stranded. And, when it came to one foreign academic visiting the US, detaining them and refusing them entry. » | Alexander Hurst | Monday, March 23, 2025

Can Germany and France Unite to Strengthen Western Democracies? | Berlin Briefing Podcast

Mar 21, 2025 | Donald Trump is rapidly reshaping the relationship with America’s allies. Will Trump’s policies push EU states to finally speak with one voice? Why should anyone who cares about democracy be paying close attention to the relationship between Germany and France? Why is Germany tightening its travel advice for the US? And what does the Statue of Liberty have to do with it all? In this episode of Berlin Briefing, DW’s Nina Haase discusses the future of Franco-German relations with her guests Max Hofmann, head of News and Current Affairs at DW, and Jacob Ross, a research fellow at DGAP.

Europeans should dump Trump and turn their backs on the US. Trump thinks he’s making America great again, but in fact he’s destroying it. – © Mark Alexander

France Issues ‘Survival Manual’ to Prepare Citizens for Invasion

THE TELEGRAPH: New 20-page booklet outlines range of safety measures in event of both military and natural dangers

France will issue survival manuals to prepare citizens for invasion and any other “imminent threat” to the country.

A new 20-page booklet reportedly includes 63 measures to help the French in case of armed conflict, as well as natural disasters, industrial accidents or a nuclear leak.

It will contain advice on how to protect “yourself and those around you”, what to do if a threat is imminent and details of how to get involved in defending your community, including signing up for reserve units or firefighting groups.

The French government denies that the three-part booklet is being produced as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite President Emmanuel Macron urging France and Europe to prepare to confront the “Russian threat” and the possibility of America disengaging from the continent.

If approved by François Bayrou, the prime minister, it will be sent to households before the summer, French media reported. » | Henry Samuel | Wednesday, March 20, 2025

French Politician Wants Statue of Liberty Back because Trump Doesn't Deserve It

Mar 18, 2025 | A left-leaning politician in France told an audience over the weekend that the United States should return the Statue of Liberty because obviously we don't believe in it anymore. This is the latest in a growing string of anger towards the US coming from our closest allies in Europe, and it shows how badly Donald Trump has harmed those relationships in less than two months in office. Farron Cousins explains what happened.

France Can Deter Putin with Nukes as Trump Makes US Unreliable Ally | François Hollande

Mar 17, 2025 | "De Gaulle wanted France to have, through the power of deterrence... a capacity for independence and influence that could be different from that of the United States and certainly of the Soviet Union."

François Hollande, former President of France, says France's nuclear umbrella will be key to helping Europe to deter Putin if America abandons NATO.

Plus de 800 kg de cocaïne saisis par les douanes dans un poids lourd sur l'autoroute A7

LE FIGARO : La drogue a été découverte lors d’un contrôle sur une aire de repos, dans la Drôme [Drôme].

Plus de 800 kg de cocaïne dissimulés dans un poids lourd ont été saisis samedi dans la Drôme sur l'autoroute A7 par les douanes, a-t-on appris dimanche de source proche du dossier, confirmant une information du Dauphiné libéré [LDl]. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | dimanche 16 mars 2025

'The Danger We Face from Trump and Putin Might Finally Force Europe to Unite' • FRANCE 24 English

Mar 7, 2025 | European leaders have backed plans to spend more on defence and continue to stand by Ukraine in a world upended by Donald Trump's reversal of US foreign policy amid his abrupt pivot towards Russia. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on the widening rift between the US and their closest Western allies, FRANCE 24's Mark Owen welcomes Quentin Peel, an independent journalist and an Associate Fellow with the Europe Programme at Chatham House in London.

France Could Extend Nuclear Umbrella to Prepare for Wider War with Putin

Mar 6, 2025 | “France has an independent nuclear deterrent arm, has fewer than 300 warheads. But they don't depend on us.”

Macron said he would open a debate for extending the French nuclear umbrella to other European countries, says The Times’s Adam Sage.

France Questions Trump's Logic as He Blames Zelenskyy for Starting War | 'Putin Love' Rattles NATO

Feb 19, 2025 | The French government is surprised by U.S. President Donald Trump's recent remarks that his Ukrainian counterpart started the Russia war. French govt. spokesperson said that the NATO nation doesn't understand Trump's logic in blaming Ukraine for war unleashed by Russia. The comments came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Trump was living in a Russian-made disinformation bubble. Watch for more details.

Drogues : plus d'un million d'usagers de cocaïne en France en 2023, un record

LE FIGARO : Les chiffres restent relativement stables sur le cannabis, drogue la plus consommée du pays, avec 5 millions d’usagers dans l’année. L’usage de MDMA/ecstasy a quant à lui bondi.

La demande en cocaïne n'a jamais été aussi forte : 1,1 million de personnes en ont consommé au moins une fois dans l'année en 2023 en France, montre la dernière étude de l'Observatoire français des drogues et des tendances addictives (OFDT) publiée ce mercredi 15 janvier. Ce chiffre a presque doublé depuis le précédent rapport de l'OFDT dressant, avec les données les plus récentes, le panorama de la demande, de l'offre et de la réponse publique en matière de drogues et d'addictions. Selon ce rapport paru en 2022, la France comptait 600.000 usagers dans l'année. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mercredi 15 janvier 2025

Être apostat, en 2024, en France : le témoignage de Majid Oukacha

an 14, 2025 | Majid Oukacha, auteur de «Ex-musulman - Le guide de survie», est l'invité de Vincent Roux dans Points de Vue.

France Warns Donald Trump against Threatening EU ‘Sovereign Borders’

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign minister hits out after US president-elect refuses to rule out military action to take control of Greenland

France has warned Donald Trump against threatening the “sovereign borders” of the European Union after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told France Inter radio: “There is no question of the EU letting other nations in the world, whoever they may be, attack its sovereign borders.”

He added that while he did not believe the US “would invade” Greenland “we have entered an era that is seeing the return of the law of the strongest”. » | Kim Willsher in Paris, Miranda Bryant and agencies | Wednesday, January 8, 2025

‘We Must Speak without Fear’ | Charlie Hebdo’s Gérard Biard on Islamism, Free Speech and Courage

Jan 7, 2025 | On 7 January 2015, two Islamist terrorists, armed with Kalashnikovs, burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo. 12 people were murdered, eight of them writers and cartoonists at the left-wing, satirical newspaper. Charlie’s supposed crime? It had published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The massacre sparked outpourings of solidarity, but also a cowardly, censorious backlash. Many decried the killings, but decried Charlie’s supposed ‘provocations’, too. 10 years on from the massacre, spiked went to Paris to meet with Gérard Biard, Charlie’s editor-in-chief. We discussed the attack, the fight for free speech and the crucial importance of courage.

'Towering Figure of the Far Right': Jean-Marie Le Pen Dies at 96 • FRANCE 24 English

Jan 7, 2025 | Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the far-right National Front party who tapped into working class concerns over immigration and globalisation, shaking up the French political establishment, died Tuesday aged 96. France 24's Marc Perelman and Angela Diffley take a look at his legacy.

Secrets Of The World's Richest Woman EP 1 | Luxury Industry

Secrets Of The World’s Richest Woman - This is the story of a small business that rose to epitomize beauty and glamour, shaped by a family whose wealth, secrets, and public controversies mirror the profound shifts and shadows of the 20th century.

Secrets Of The World’s Richest Woman EP 1 (2017)
Director: Gérard Miller & Jacques Dubuisson
Writer: Gérard Miller & Anais Feuillette
Genre: Documentary
Country: France
Language: English
Release Date: September 22, 2017 (France)

Synopsis:
The incredible journey of a small business that became the archetype of beauty and glamour is embodied through the extraordinary personalities who propelled its success, starting with its founder, Eugène Schueller—the father of Liliane Bettencourt. It’s the story of a remarkable family, so wealthy and mysterious, woven with achievements and unspoken secrets, a reverence for discretion alongside public scandals. A sweeping saga, worthy of a Balzacian novel, that takes us through the 20th century, with its sociological and aesthetic upheavals, as well as its darkest periods.


WIKIPEDIA: Liliane Bettencourt »

More articles on Liliane Bettencourt here and here.

French, German FMs Meet Syria's New de facto Leaders | DW News

Jan 3, 2025 | Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and her counterpart, France's Jean-Noel Barrot, are the first ministers from the EU to visit Syria and meet with de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa since rebels seized control of Damascus on December 8, 2024. Their visit to Syria is the highest-level western visit since the fall of the Assad regime.

They expresseed support for the rebuilding of Syria. But they also made it clear that the EU will not finance Islamism - or tolerate discrimination against women or ethnic and religious groups.

DW talks to Christoph Schult in Damascus who is currently traveling with FM Baerbock. He is a journalist at Germany's Spiegel magazine.

There's some controversy over the Syrian leader's greeting for his EU visitors. Ahmad al-Sharaa shook hands with the French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot, a man, but not with Gemany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a woman.

The Vichy Espionage Revelations: Four Years of Surveillance and Repression

Dec 17, 2024 | During World War II, Marshal Philippe Pétain spied on the French for four years (1940-1944). He opened 24 million letters and listened to 300,000 telephone conversations. This information was used to repress political opponents and Jews. Some postal employees took part in the Resistance, setting up networks to protect Jews and participate in clandestine actions.

Long ignored, the dark history of the Technical Control Service (SCT), which spied on the French for Vichy, has been brought to light. The research of historian Antoine Lefébure, which inspired this revealing film, reveals its full extent.

Film directed by Emilie Lançon
Written by Emilie Lançon and Antoine Lefébure

BBC Newsnight: Gisèle Pelicot’s Lawyer Speaks to Victoria Derbyshire

In his first UK broadcast interview, Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer Stéphane Babonneau tells Newsnight of the extraordinary courage of Madame Pelicot.

The mass rape trial which the 72-year-old is at the centre of is coming to an end. Mrs Pelicot was drugged by her former husband and was allegedly raped over the course of nine years by at least 50 men - strangers he’d recruited online.

Victoria Derbyshire speaks to lawyer Stéphane Babonneau with his client’s blessing.

Gisèle Pelicot’s Ex-husband Dominique Jailed in Mass Rape Trial | BBC News

Dec 19, 2024 | Dominique Pelicot has been sentenced for 20 years after drugging his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot and recruiting strangers to rape her for years.

Fifty other have also been sentenced alongside him in Avignon, France.

Dominique admitted to raping her and inviting the men he recruited online to have sex with her in her bed at home while she was unconscious and unaware.

Gisèle has waived her right to anonymity, saying she wanted to make "shame swap sides" from the victim to the rapist.


EN DIRECT : Procès des viols de Mazan : «Merci Gisèle !», scande la foule en l’applaudissant à la sortie du tribunal »

Procès des viols de Mazan : «C’est pour mes petits-enfants que j’ai mené ce combat», affirme Gisèle Pelicot après le verdict »

Bashar El-Assad: Power or Death

Dec 8, 2024 | This is the story of a man with two faces. The timid Doctor Bashar, who has long seduced the West and promised to move his country towards more democracy. And the terrible Mister Assad, dictator, who fights his own people in a civil war with hundreds of thousands of victims.

The terrible Mister Assad, dictator who fights his own people
Thanks to the testimonies of his relatives and former executives of the regime, the film tells the rise of a man who was not supposed to be president and deciphers a system that resembles that of the Mafia. With its godfathers, its settling of scores, and its billions in dirty money.

Bashar El-Assad received Syria as an inheritance from his father, Hafez El-Assad. He is the one who built this iron dictatorship that has held the country for nearly 50 years.

The film also explores the passionate ties that unite France and Syria. Leading French political figures, former ministers and diplomats, take us behind the scenes of this tumultuous relationship. A relationship that the story of Bashar El-Assad perfectly symbolises.

French presidents Jacques Chirac and then Nicolas Sarkozy initially considered him a valuable ally and rolled out the red carpet for him. Before bitterly regretting it.

Directed by Christophe Widemann