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Politics

France: Scientists conduct microgravity experiments on parabolic flights

This week in Bordeaux, the CNES, the French space agency, launched a microgravity research campaign with scientists from all over the world. It gave them the opportunity to conduct experiments in weightlessness during parabolic flights aboard a specially equipped Airbus, without having to send their equipment into space. Our reporters James André and Sylvain Rousseau joined them on board.

World

‘So safe you could drink it’: Scientists and pesticide victims fear an EU rollback

For decades, French farmers sprayed pesticides they were told were harmless. Many have since fallen ill, grappling with cancers and other diseases caused by exposure. As the EU prepares to vote on a package that would end regular safety reviews of most pesticides, victims, doctors and scientists warn it could keep harmful products on the market for longer.

Travel

Spa bliss in the Alps: hot springs and hiking in the shadow of Mont Blanc

An autumn break in the French mountain town of Saint-Gervais-Les-Bains offers thermal treatments and glorious walking trails before the winter ski crowds descend Mont Blanc is hiding behind the clouds, but the Aiguille du Midi spears the sky above a mountainside ablaze with russet, gold and tawny tones. The maples flare red; rowan trees are dusted with crimson berries. Our little group has trundled up to Mont Lachat station (altitude: 2,115 metres) on the Tramway du Mont Blanc, the century-old cog railway that climbs improbably steep slopes from the French alpine town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bain

World

French students vow to keep up protests as UN voices 'concern' over violence

French student unions ​vowed on Friday to keep up the fight even as the government registered a "marked slowdown" in a protest movement that has rattled the country for over a week. The UN human rights agency called for de-escalation, voicing concern over violent clashes with police that have caused severe injuries among teenage protesters.

World

Four astronauts return to Earth after eight months in space

An astronaut crew that carried out an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station splashed down as planned Thursday off the coast of California. During the mission, Sophie Adenot became the first French female astronaut to venture outside the space station for a spacewalk. In all, she undertook three spacewalks on August 18 and 25, and September 1.

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World

Renoir paintings stolen from French Riviera museum recovered, six suspects arrested

Two ⁠Renoir paintings worth millions ​of dollars that were stolen from a ​museum on the French Riviera a month ago have been recovered and six suspects have been arrested, the ​local ‌mayor said on Friday. The thieves sliced through a fence, climbed through a window and initally stole four paintings by the French master, but abandoned two of the artworks as they fled.

World

No, the French army did not deploy tanks against protesting students

France's student protests have sparked a wave of misleading content online. A viral TikTok falsely claimed the French army had deployed an armoured vehicle against protesters, when it was actually returning to a nearby military base. Other posts recycle 2023 footage of retirement protests as current events, while an AI-generated image was falsely presented as showing a police officer being attacked. Vedika Bahl examines how old, out-of-context and AI-generated content is fuelling misinformation.

Politics

French student protesters vow to keep up their fight after scoring first win

French student unions vowed ​on Friday to keep up protests after scoring their first win in a campaign that is increasingly supported by Paris's elite universities, with 141 schools still shut around the country, according to the education ministry. Student and ‌teacher unions have called for another round of nationwide school strikes next Tuesday. FRANCE 24's Shirli Sitbon reports.

World

French student protests: Police impunity ‘below' the standards of a 'well-functioning democracy’

Erin Ogunkeye welcomes Dr. Antoine Marie, postdoctoral researcher, fellow and lecturer at Sciences Po / CEVIPOF, to explore the political psychology behind France’s student protests. Why do people witness the same events yet reach radically different conclusions about violence? Dr Marie examines how media echo chambers, partisan thinking and the politicization of empathy deepen polarization, making it easier to overlook the suffering of those perceived as political opponents. He also examines France’s increasingly offensive police doctrine, questions surrounding accountability, and the institu

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World

‘Nothing will stop us’: French student protests show few signs of ending

Students on Thursday barricaded a Parisian high school with garbage bins before police shot tear gas at them as France’s nationwide protests showed little sign of ending. At least a dozen demonstrations supporting the high school students’ movement were planned across the country while 375 schools were fully or partially closed.

Topic: French | RocksNews