Israel far-right finance minister says ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant against him


Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday the International Criminal Court prosecutor had sought an arrest warrant against him, blaming the Palestinian Authority for the move. 

Smotrich said Israel would respond by ordering the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in the occupied West Bank.


Issued on: 20/05/2026
By: FRANCE 24

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would force the evacuation of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank after hearing that he was to be targeted by an ICC arrest warrant © Ilia YEFIMOVICH, AFP

Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tuesday that the International Criminal Court prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant against him, accusing the Palestinian Authority of pushing for the move.

Smotrich said he would retaliate by ordering the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in the occupied West Bank.

"Last night I was informed that the criminal prosecutor of the antisemitic court in The Hague has filed a request for an international arrest warrant against me," Smotrich told a news conference broadcast on his X account Monday.

"As a sovereign and independent state, we do not accept hypocritical dictates from biased bodies that time and again take a stand against the State of Israel," he added, without disclosing the charges for which the warrant has been requested.


The ICC prosecutor's office said it was "unable to comment on media speculation or questions related to any alleged application for a warrant of arrest".

In November 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, to face accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity over Israel's actions during its war against Hamas in Gaza.

'Declaration of war'

"Immediately upon the conclusion of my remarks here, we will sign an order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar," Smotrich said, calling the warrant request "a declaration of war".

More than 750 people live in the community of Khan al-Ahmar, around 10 kilometres east of Jerusalem's Old City in the central West Bank and surrounded by Israeli settlements.

The Palestinian Authority's Settlement and Wall Resistance Commission urged the international community to stop the move.

"Targeting Khan al-Ahmar is part of a long-term strategic settlement project... through which Israel seeks to create complete settlement contiguity that would separate the northern West Bank from its south," the commission's minister, Muayad Shaaban, was quoted as saying.

Peace Now, an Israeli settlement watchdog, also denounced the move.

"The Minister of Expulsion and Annexation seeks to take revenge on The Hague and the international community at the expense of one of the most vulnerable communities," it said.

Khan al-Ahmar sits near land Israel plans to use for its controversial E1 development project that would facilitate settlement expansion in the area near Jerusalem.

Smotrich, who lives in a settlement himself, is a staunch proponent of Israel annexing the West Bank.

"Under this government, we see that for the first time they've approved the very sensitive and significant plan of E1, and they're going ahead with plans to annex that entire region," Lior Amihai, Peace Now's executive director, told AFP.

"In order for them to annex the entire region, they need to also expel the Palestinian communities from there and Khan al-Ahmar is one of them," he added.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Help wanted: Australian conservation group seeks new koala rescue dog

Sydney (AFP) – An Australian animal welfare group is seeking a heroic dog with an appetite for adventure for a full-time position as a koala rescuer.

Issued on: 20/05/2026 - FRANCE24

Bear the koala rescue dog has retired, and an Australian animal welfare group is looking for his successor © Handout / International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)/AFP

The successful pooch will replace the world-famous Bear, credited with saving over 100 koalas from bushfires during a decade of service.

"Bear set the gold standard for koala detection dogs," the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Oceania head of programmes Josey Sharrad said.

"He's leaving very big boots to fill, but now it's time to find his successor to follow in his pawprints and keep protecting koalas."

The ideal candidate will be a rescue pup with a lot of energy and an "obsessive" personality -- attributes that might make it hard to find a home but which make it perfect for saving koalas, IFAW said.

"By only recruiting a rescue dog, it's a win-win -- giving a dog the chance of a new life while helping our iconic koalas," Innovation for Conservation director and handler Russell Miller said.

Other key attributes are a love of play, confidence and a gentle temperament towards fellow animals is crucial.

They must also be medium sized -- "not too small that they struggle in the bush, not too big that the handlers can't carry them when needed", according to the IFAW job ad.

Interviews were being held in eastern Australia's Sunshine Coast but applications by video are also welcome.

Bear's skills saved over 100 koalas as the Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke.

The tail-wagging detective with a "joyful and goofy" personality retired with an extensive list of accolades -- including an Animal of the Year award and Puppy Tales Photos Australian Dog of the Year award.

© 2026 AFP

Around 10 'new' victims in France's Epstein probe, says prosecutor

Around 10 "new" suspected victims have come forward in a French probe into the network of late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a Paris prosecutor said Sunday.


Issued on: 17/05/2026 - RFI

Epstein's apartment near Paris's Champs-Elysees, where a former Dutch model, among others, has said women and girls were sexually abused. AFP/File

France opened a human trafficking investigation after the US Justice Department in January released the latest cache of files from the investigation into the disgraced financier, who died in prison in 2019 while facing charges of trafficking underage girls for sex.

French magistrates are seeking to investigate possible offences committed in France or involving French perpetrators who facilitated his crimes.

Top Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said around 20 suspected victims had made themselves known after she urged potential victims to speak up in February.

Some were already known to investigators, she told the RTL broadcaster.

"But we also had new victims come forward, ones we didn't know at all. There are around 10 of them," she added.

A timeline of the documented history and interactions between Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, featuring evidence drawn from the unsealed Epstein files at the Memorial Reading Room in New York City, May 8, 2026. REUTERS - David Dee Delgado

Listening to victims

"The choice we've made for the time being is to listen to these victims," she said.

"A certain number of them are abroad so the investigators are trying to set up meetings to suit when they are able to come to Paris."

Investigators were also scouring through the so-called Epstein files, and would be searching them for any names mentioned by alleged victims, she said.

"We have also got back out Mr. Epstein's computer, his telephone records, his address books," she said, adding her team would be "making requests for international assistance."

French former associate of Jeffrey Epstein found dead in Paris jail

French investigators searched Epstein's luxury Paris apartment in September 2019, more than a month after he was found hanged in his New York jail cell, after allegations that he procured young women to abuse in France.

"None of the people who could potentially be implicated have been questioned" so far, Beccuau said.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring for prostitution a girl under the age of 18, and served 13 months in prison before being released on probation.

Botswana eases anti-LGBTQ laws as repression grows elsewhere in Africa

Botswana has formally repealed sections of its penal code criminalising same-sex relations, in a rare advance for LGBTQ rights in Africa. But several governments elsewhere on the continent are introducing harsher penalties for same-sex relationships.


Issued on: 17/05/2026 - RFI

LGBTQ activists in Botswana respond to the Coalition of Botswana Christian Churches against homosexuality, July 22, 2023 that protested legislation seeking to make same-sex relation legal. AFP - MONIRUL BHUIYAN

On 17 May 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses and since then many countries mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on that day each year.

While much of the African continent remains hostile terrain for LGBTQ people, campaigners in Botswana say a years-long legal battle has begun to bear fruit.

In 2019, Botswana’s High Court ruled that laws criminalising same-sex relations were unconstitutional and the penal code was formally amended in March this year.

“We welcome with joy the decision by the government’s legal representative to formally repeal these sections of the penal code,” says Nozizwe Ntesang, head of the rights group Legabibo.

“It's encouraging for us, because this new government has clearly shown, from the beginning, that it stands on the side of human rights – rights which by definition concern everyone and therefore include LGBT people,” she told RFI's Claire Bargelès.

The legislation was passed despite opposition, backed by some religious groups.

Demonstrators from the Coalition of Botswana Christian Churches chants slogans against homosexuality and hold placards while marching toward the Parlament of Botswana on July 22, 2023 protesting against legislation seeking to make same-sex relation legal. AFP - MONIRUL BHUIYAN

Ntesang credits Botswana’s courts, as well as years of lobbying and dialogue with religious leaders, in overcoming opposition to same-sex relationships.

“I think Botswana is fortunate to have a strong judicial system, independent, and capable of examining human rights issues,” she said.

“These robust institutions, together with advocacy work and the possibility of engaging with partners such as religious representatives – all this helps explain these advances in Botswana, and I hope other countries and civil societies will manage to do the same, and begin dialogue around their local legislation.”

Gay Ugandan refugees Chris Wasswa and Kasaali Brian return after shopping for food in Nairobi, Kenya, 11 June, 2020. Uganda has some of the toughest anti-LGBT legislation on the continent while Nairobi is trying to introduce tougher penalties for same sex couples as part of the proposed 2023 Family Protection Bill but it has not yet been passed. © AP

Senegal toughens penalties

Elsewhere on the continent, several governments are going in the opposite direction.

In Senegal, a new law adopted in March doubled prison sentences for what the authorities describe as “acts against nature”. Same-sex relations, previously punishable by between one and five years in prison, now carry sentences of five to 10 years.

On Thursday, France said it was “concerned” by the tougher penalties introduced in Senegal and by new offences linked to so-called “promotion" of homosexuality which could affect organisations or activists campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights.

There have been several arrests since the new legislation was introduced. On 10 April, a court in Dakar sentenced a young Senegalese man to six years in prison after he was caught having sex with another man in the suburbs of the capital.

In a separate case, a French engineer in his thirties living in Dakar has been held since February. He faces charges including “acts against nature”, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and attempted transmission of HIV.

France says consular officials have visited him four times in detention.

A protestor chants anti-gay slogans during a demonstration against homosexuality in Dakar, Senegal, 6 March, 2026. AP - Misper Apawu

Nationalist rhetoric

Ghana’s parliament has passed a bill introducing harsher criminal penalties and encouraging people to report suspected homosexual activity, although the legislation has not yet been promulgated.

Burkina Faso and Mali have also tightened their laws.

Ghana activists denounce new bill that makes identifying as LGBTQ+ a crime

Rights groups say religious pressure and outside influence – from both American evangelical networks and Russia – have made their work increasingly difficult.

A Reuters investigation found that the US pro-family group MassResistance, known for its anti-LGBT+ stance, has helped the Senegalese collective And Samm Jikko Yi ("together, let us preserve our values"), which championed the law passed in mid-March.

Human rights groups also point to nationalist rhetoric, which claims that homosexuality is imported from the West, is increasingly being invoked to bolster homophobic discourse, in a bid to gain popular support.

“Governments and politicians use LGBT+ people as scapegoats,” says Alex Müller, director of the LGBT+ Rights Programme at Human Rights Watch. “This helps divert attention away from their potential failures," she told Le Monde.

According to France's equality watchdog (Observatoire des Inégalités), 31 African countries still criminalise homosexuality.

In some cases, the death penalty remains on the statute books, including in Mauritania, Nigeria, parts of Somalia and Uganda.

Uganda introduced some of the world’s harshest anti-LGBT legislation in 2023, with potential life imprisonment for same-sex relations and the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" such as relationships under duress, involving a minor or a parent.

Shock threat by billionaire Bolloré's Canal+ group rocks French cinema

Cannes (France) (AFP) – The head of France's biggest film producer, Canal+, said Sunday that the group would no longer work with 600 industry professionals who signed a petition against right-wing billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré.


Issued on: 17/05/2026 - RFI

Actor Juliette Binoche was one of the 600 leading figures to warn against a "fascist takeover of the collective imagination" in a petition published last week in Libération daily. Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP - Vianney Le Caer

The announcement, made at the Cannes Film Festival, is likely to send shockwaves through the European industry at the annual gathering of the world's movie elite on the French Riviera.

"I experienced that petition as an injustice toward the Canal+ teams, who are committed to defending the independence of Canal+ and the full diversity of its choices," chief executive Maxime Saada said on Sunday in Cannes.

"I will no longer work with and I no longer want Canal to work with the people who signed that petition," he added.

The petition called people to mobilise against "the growing grip of the far right" on the film industry under the influence of Bolloré and the Canal+ group.


Signatories included French superstar Juliette Binoche as well as director Arthur Harari, who co-wrote the Oscar-winning "Anatomy of a Fall" in 2023 and is premiering his film "The Unknown" in the main competition in Cannes.

Emmanuel Marre, whose film "A Man Of His Time" about France's collaboration under Nazi rule, is also in the Cannes competition and also signed the petition.

Reshaping business

The tumult mirrors similar upheaval in the media and publishing worlds where Bolloré, a conservative close to far-right politicians, is reshaping businesses he controls from television channels to publishing houses.

In a sign of Bolloré's divisive reputation, the Canal+ logo was booed in Cannes at some screenings this year, including for the opening film "The Electric Kiss".

Last month more than 100 authors at the Bolloré-owned Grasset publishing group, home to some of the biggest names in French literature, said they would leave after the ousting of its long-time CEO.

Bolloré's aggressive expansion into the French media in recent years has been cheered by conservatives as rebalancing what they see as long-standing left-wing bias.

The billionaire, a devout Catholic who made his money in logistics, has been frequently compared by commentators to Australian-born US media mogul Rupert Murdoch, with the Bolloré-owned CNews news channel bearing similarities to US network Fox News.

French cinema faces reckoning as media mogul Bolloré blacklists stars for daring to challenge him


France's film industry is reeling after its biggest film financier – Canal+, whose main shareholder is right-wing billionaire Vincent Bolloré – announced it would no longer work with some 600 professionals who signed a petition opposing Bolloré and the "grip of the far right" on cinema. The fallout is highlighting some uncomfortable truths about the industry's reliance on one company.


Issued on: 18/05/2026 - 21:45Modified: 19/05/2026 - FRANCE24
By: Mehdi BOUZOUINA

This combination of pictures shows French businessman Vincent Bolloré attending an event to celebrate the 200 years of French daily newspaper Le Figaro at the Grand Palais in Paris on January 13, 2026, and the logo of French television channel "Canal Plus" (Canal+). © Julien de Rosa, Lionel Bonaventure, AFP

The blacklist was announced at Cannes, where one of the world's most prestigious film festivals was already under way, sending an immediate chill through the industry.

Chairman Maxime Saada said on Sunday that he no longer wanted Canal+ to work with the hundreds of industry professionals who had signed a petition accusing billionaire Vincent Bolloré, the main shareholder of Canal+, of leading a far-right "civilisational project".

Published in French daily "Libération" on the eve of Cannes' opening and signed by some of France's best-known filmmakers and actors – including Juliette Binoche, Cédric Klapisch and Gilles Lellouche – the petition denounced what it called the "growing grip of the far right" on French cinema, channelled largely through Bolloré.

The billionaire mogul "makes no secret of the fact that he is leading a reactionary, far-right 'civilisational project'", the signatories wrote, adding: "While the influence of this ideological offensive on the content of films has been discreet so far, we are under no illusions: it won't last."


The response was sweeping.

"I saw that petition as an injustice towards the Canal+ teams, who are committed to defending Canal+'s independence and the full diversity of its choices," Saada said on the sidelines of the festival on Sunday.

"I will no longer work with, and I no longer want Canal to work with, the people who signed that petition."

Canal+ is France's largest film and TV production company. Its in-house subsidiary StudioCanal is Europe’s leading film and television studio, with worldwide distribution.

Bolloré's media empire also includes the CNews television station and Europe 1 radio, two outlets frequently criticised for amplifying far-right narratives.

WATCH MORE Exploring France's media landscape: A billionaire's playground?

Saada's announcement quickly prompted comparisons to one of Hollywood's darkest periods.

"This kind of blacklist recalls McCarthyism in the 1940s, when the studio system sidelined anyone suspected of holding 'un-American' views and derailed or ended careers," says FRANCE 24 culture journalist Olivia Salazar-Winspear.

"Excluding these people from Canal+ productions would have major consequences for the future of the industry."

Bolloré is often described as France's answer to Australian-American mogul Rupert Murdoch, a comparison Salazar-Winspear considers fitting. "He is firmly right-wing, and if you look at the media outlets he owns – CNews, Europe 1 – these are platforms that do not shy away from giving airtime to far-right voices," she said.

READ MORE How Bolloré, the ‘French Murdoch’, carried Le Pen’s far right to the brink of power

The industry's biggest player

The threat from Canal+ carries particular weight because of its outsized role in French cinema, underscoring the industry's dependence on its funding decisions.

According to figures from the CNC, France's national film funding body, in 2024 the Canal+ group received 43.6 percent of all investments made in French broadcasting and streaming content. The group pre-bought the rights to 74 percent of French feature films produced that year, with an average contribution of €1.3 million per film. A new three-year agreement signed in 2025 commits Canal+ to investing at least €480 million in French cinema through 2027.

Film journalist Estelle Aubin described the scale of the group's influence in stark terms. "Canal+ is the leading financier of French cinema," she said. "They invest huge sums in films before they are even made, paying producers upfront. Without that, the entire ecosystem is at risk."

WATCH MORE French media tycoon Vincent Bolloré casts shadow over Cannes opening

Aubin noted that the latest controversy follows a tense stand-off last year between Saada and producers over the rules governing when streaming platforms can show films after their theatrical release. When Disney+ secured a shorter exclusivity window, Saada threatened to reduce Canal+'s investment commitments.

"He issued an ultimatum," Aubin said. "The whole sector was frightened. Films would simply stop being made."
‘Wake-up call’

Bolloré's ambitions in cinema extend beyond Canal+. Last year, the group acquired a 34 percent stake in UGC, France's second-largest cinema chain, with a path to full ownership by 2028.

For Salomé Gadafi, deputy secretary-general of the CGT Spectacle entertainment union, the strategy is clear. "He is trying to control the entire production chain," she said. "What is happening now is a wake-up call for the sector, just as it was in the press and publishing industries."

The comparison is telling. French weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche was shaken by strikes in 2023 after a Bolloré-backed editor took over. The Éditions Grasset publishing house has also faced turmoil since entering Bolloré's orbit. Each time, the same pattern: an acquisition followed by a gradual editorial shift.

READ MORETurmoil at publisher owned by French billionaire Bolloré sparks exodus of top authors

At Canal+, direct intervention has so far remained limited – but visible. Bolloré, a practising Catholic, reportedly blocked the acquisition of "Grâce à Dieu" (By the Grace of God), a film about clerical sexual abuse directed by François Ozon, despite prior approval by Canal+ executives. He also reportedly pushed writers on the Canal+ series "Paris Police 1905" to remove references to France's 1905 law separating church and state.

CGT’s Gadafi argues that the fears of professional retaliation are palpable. "In our sector, blacklisting is something very real – we've seen lists circulating with people labelled as ... ‘difficult’ because they asked to be paid money they were owed," she says.

"But you cannot blacklist an entire profession. This is the moment for people to stand together."

READ MOREMacron takes on ‘French Murdoch’ in battle against disinformation

For culture reporter Aubin, the timing of Saada's remarks was significant. "Cannes is cinema's international shop window," she said. "It's the moment when the industry reflects on itself. That's why this debate is erupting here."

For now, no major filmmaker or producer has publicly said they will stop working with Canal+. The financial reality makes such a break difficult to imagine. But in Cannes, a subject long discussed only in private has now burst into the open – and the French film industry may find it harder to look away.

France’s 'free party' crackdown ignites debate over who controls public space

In a quarry between Nantes and Rennes, DJ Maël Péneau once played drum and bass records for three days straight to thousands of "free party" ravers. Thirty years on, a proposed law would put the organisers of events like these behind bars.


Issued on: 17/05/2026 - RFI

"Free party is not a crime," reads a banner at the Teknival rave held on a military site near Bourges, France, on 2 May 2026. © AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD
01:55

By: Alison Hird

Supporters of the bill, which would impose heavy fines and prison sentences on organisers of unauthorised raves – known as "free parties" – say the crackdown is about tackling the issues of public order, drugs, dangerous gatherings and damage to farmland.

But free party advocates say the fight is also about who gets to occupy public space in France.

They defend what they say is a counterculture – and the right to share music in a non-commercial setting without tickets, sponsors or official permission.

Péneau, an electronic music producer who goes by the name of Maëlstrom, was around 16 when he started organising free parties in western France in the late 1990s.

At his home studio in Nantes, he spreads faded photographs across the table. In one, his bright red lorry is parked beside stacks of speakers – the wall of sound. Another shows him, fresh-faced, leafing through vinyl as dogs saunter by, or DJing in the rain near a stone quarry "somewhere between Nantes and Rennes".

“I was maybe 20 at this party," he says. "We didn’t ask anyone. A couple of cops showed up but they didn't really bother us."

Maël Péneau (right) at one of France's early 'free parties' preparing his set list. © Maël Péneau

The parties could last two or three days. A few flyers left in record shops were enough to pull in thousands of people every weekend.

“At the time there was nowhere to play the kind of music we wanted to play,” he says. “There was one bar and one club in Nantes, but they were playing French touch and disco house. We were into much harder music. So the only way for us to share this music with others was to make the parties ourselves.”

Listen to a conversation with Maël Péneau on the Spotlight on France podcast:

Spotlight on France, episode 144 © RFI

'Collective energy'

The free party scene in France followed in the footsteps of British rave culture, which had flourished from the mid-1980s until the 1994 UK Criminal Justice Act effectively outlawed these unauthorised gatherings by banning music with repetitive beats.

“One of the first memories I have were English sound systems like Spiral Tribe,” Péneau says. “That’s where the inspiration came from.”

The parties were free – organisers would sell drinks, cassette tapes and records to cover the cost of diesel for generators and sound systems. People donated what they could at the entrance.

Not only did Péneau learn his craft by playing for six or seven hours non-stop, the free party spirit was "foundational" to the way he now makes music.

“DJs or performers were not at the centre of the events... It was a really collective energy,” he explains. “That's something that I'm trying to reinject in my projects and music today.”

Maël Péneau seen here DJing in his late teens. © Mael Péneau

Toughening up the law

In the late '90s and early 2000s, when the free party scene was at its height, Péneau says he would regularly perform in front of up to 20,000 people.

But in 2001, France clamped down on these events. Under a new security law, any musical gathering of more than 500 people had to be declared in advance to the prefecture, and sound equipment could be seized.

Last month, MPs at France’s National Assembly voted to go much further.

Under the proposed law, organisers of unauthorised free parties could face six months in prison and fines of up to €5,000. Participants would be fined €1,500. The attendance threshold requiring authorisation from local authorities would also fall from 500 people to 250.

The bill is still to pass through the Senate, where the right-wing majority is expected to vote in favour.

The wall of sound, not individual DJs, is what counts at free parties. 

@ AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD


Supporters say the measures are overdue.

“Freedom cannot exist without responsibility,” said Laetitia Saint-Paul, the centrist MP behind the bill, explaining that residents of her constituency had demanded action after free parties had been repeatedly held in the area in recent years.

Farmers complain of vehicles driving through fields and damaging crops, she argued, while local officials have objected to the cost of emergency services and mobilising police officers.

Saint-Paul said the issue became more personal after she was contacted by families of young men who had died at free parties – although she also acknowledged that because the gatherings are undeclared, authorities have no reliable figures for deaths or overdoses linked specifically to such events.

“There are victims – the property owner, the residents, the emergency workers,” she told France Television's Dimanche Politique.

Report points to excessive police violence, illegal use of force at rave party\

'A stand-off'

Days after MPs voted on the bill, France’s biggest annual Teknival rave took place on an abandoned military site near Bourges – close to the hometown of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez – defying warnings over unexploded munitions.

The Interior Ministry said 23,000 people attended, while organisers claimed it was closer to 40,000, from France and across Europe.

Police issued €135 fines to teufeurs – French slang for ravers – and made 18 arrests. Nuñez said six gendarmes were injured in clashes and 12 people were taken to hospital, including some "due to drug consumption".

"Thirty thousand rioters turning our countryside into lawless zones – that’s no cause for celebration, it’s a provocation against the Republic," right-wing MP Eric Michoux told fellow lawmakers in the National Assembly, slamming "violent open-air drug dealing".

The Teknival organisers chose the Bourges location as a protest against both Saint-Paul's bill and a government measure known as RIPOST, yet to be voted on, that would increase fines for organisers of illegal raves to €30,000.

France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, centre, near the Teknival rave at a military site near his hometown of Bourges, where revellers defied a ban. @ AP - Kenzo Tribouillard

“It’s a stand-off now,” said Sylvain Gillet, a former organiser who now acts as a mediator between ravers and local authorities.

Gillet insists many events are smaller than the state suggests and says police frequently seize sound systems even when gatherings fall below the legal threshold.

He also rejects the idea that free parties are uniquely linked to drug use.

“It’s something societal,” he said. “You see it in free parties, but you also see it in clubs, festivals, everywhere.”

Addiction France, a non-profit organisation campaigning against drug abuse, has described the bill as counterproductive, arguing it could drive recreational drug use further underground.

'Moral panic'

Péneau does not shy away from the issues raised by detractors, recalling parties held in farmers’ fields and protected natural areas. “You can only agree that it’s not ideal,” he admits.

But he argues for more collaboration between free party organisers and local authorities.

Following the 2001 law, he and his friends tried organising a free party and obtained all the necessary authorisation.

“We did everything properly,” he says. “Doctors, firefighters, civil protection, police.” The costs were overwhelming.

Organisers say they're trapped between going under the radar and a legal model that is too expensive for young collectives with no commercial backing. Gillet said one recent legal multi-sound event cost €18,000 in emergency medical care alone.

Péneau argues helped is needed to preserve the non-commercial side to free parties. "If that means [the state] funding it in some way, why not?"

But for the time being, he says, France's approach is one of "moral panic, probably pushed by right-wing media".

"They only approach it from a repressive angle, a policing angle, not from a cultural and a social angle."

An empty shed becomes a makeshift club for a party attended by thousands in the village of Paule in Brittany, 22 July, 2001, the year France introduced legislation forcing illegal raves with more than 500 participants to get authorisation. @ ASSOCIATED PRESS - FRANCK PREVEL

The impact of lockdown on young people in France, five years after Covid crisis

Double standards

Last December, France added electronic music to its national cultural heritage list with a view to obtaining Unesco recognition.

In view of the proposed clampdown, Péneau says there's “clearly a double standard happening there,” citing DJs such as David Guetta being invited to the Elysée Palace.

Free parties have survived partly because they have resisted becoming spectacles built around such celebrity DJs and social media clips, he argues.

“Since the advent of social media and vertical videos, [electro] became something very individual,” he says. “It’s really about the self and the ego and that’s something really far from the values of this free party culture.”

A reveller at the Teknival free party on a former military site near Bourges, which the interior ministry described as "very dangerous". @ AFP - KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

He believes sending people to jail for organising a party is both impracticable and nonsensical in the current climate.

“You can’t really be scared about kids being on their smartphones all the time,” he says, “and at the same time be scared that they’re coming together at the weekend and dancing together for two days.”

For more on France's "free party" culture, listen to the Spotlight on France podcast.

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

Iran drives global executions to highest level since 1981: Amnesty

Executions worldwide rose to their highest level since 1981 last year, with 2,707 people put to death across 17 countries, Amnesty International said on Monday. The surge, driven largely by Iran, marks a 78 percent increase from the previous year.


Issued on: 18/05/2026 - RFI

Iran executed 2,159 people in 2025, according to the human rights campaign group Amnesty International. AP - Hossein Esmaeli

The UK-based rights group said Iran carried out 2,159 executions in 2025, more than double the previous year’s total and the country’s highest figure since 1981.

Amnesty said the rise reflected a broader trend in countries where authorities had tightened control by restricting civic freedoms and silencing dissent.

“This trend was strongest in countries where the authorities have tightened their grip on power by restricting civic space, silencing dissent and displaying disregard for protections established under international human rights law and standards,” the organisation said.

The group said Iranian authorities intensified their use of the death penalty “as a tool of political repression and control” after the June 2025 war with Israel.

China excluded

Amnesty said its figures did not include the thousands of executions it believed were carried out in China because state secrecy prevented reliable data collection.

“Amnesty International continues to consider China as the world’s leading executioner,” it said.

Amnesty and other rights groups have also said Iran stepped up its use of the death penalty again in 2026 after January protests and the war against Israel and the United States.

The executions followed prosecutions linked to the protests and membership of banned groups.

Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions in 2025, surpassing its previous record high of at least 345 in 2024, Amnesty said.

‘Fear of death doesn't deter violent crime,’ experts say as executions rise

Regional rises

Executions in Kuwait rose from six in 2024 to 17 in 2025, while Egypt’s total nearly doubled from 13 to 23, Amnesty said.

In Yemen, executions increased from at least 38 to at least 51.

The United States – the only country in the Americas to carry out executions in 2025 – put 47 people to death, the highest figure since 2009, Amnesty said.

Singapore carried out 17 executions, the country’s highest number since 2003, the group added.

Amnesty said China’s use of the death penalty showed “an intentional use to send a message that the state would not tolerate threats to public security or stability”.

(with newswires)

Can sugar cane waste replace plastic? The Kenyan firm pushing sustainable packaging

In a bid to replace single-use food packaging with a more sustainable alternative, one Kenyan company is making use of the waste left behind by the country's sugar industry.


Issued on: 18/05/2026 - RFI

Green Stem uses waste from Kenya's sugar industry to produce packaging for the country's booming takeaway and delivery food sector. © Green Stem

By: Anne Macharia in Nairobi


In the sugar-growing regions of western Kenya, harvest season leaves behind more than just refined sugar.

After extracting the juice from sugar cane, large amounts of fibrous residue – known as bagasse – lie piled next to processing plants.

This residue is often treated as industrial waste – burned, discarded or used in low-value applications.

However, one manufacturer in Nairobi believes this waste could help address one of the world's fastest-growing environmental issues: single-use food packaging

Green Stem Products is turning sugar cane residue into compostable takeaway containers to replace plastic food boxes, plates and trays.

As governments, restaurants and consumers look for alternatives to oil-based packaging, the company is part of a rising movement relying on agricultural waste rather than fossil fuels.

A resource waiting for a market

Inside Green Stem’s factory, stacks of moulded fibre containers glide along production lines. Steam rises from heated presses while workers check newly formed trays before packing them for restaurants and food vendors across Kenya.

For the company’s founders, the idea came from a contradiction they kept seeing: Kenya generates vast amounts of agricultural waste while still relying heavily on imported or plastic packaging.

“When we examined sugar cane waste, we saw untapped value,” says Anita Shah, Green Stem’s founder. “The material was already there. The question was whether we could create something practical and scalable from it.”

The production process starts with raw bagasse collected from sugar mills. The fibres are cleaned, pulped and then moulded under pressure into food containers that can hold hot meals and liquids.

Unlike many standard disposable containers, Green Stem claims its products are free of PFAS – "forever chemicals" that linger in both ecosystems and the human body.

According to environmental policy researchers, the pressure on businesses to cut plastic waste has surged dramatically over the last decade as evidence of plastic pollution in oceans, rivers and food systems continues to mount.

“Single-use packaging has become one of the most visible signs of the waste crisis,” said Professor Simon Onywere, an environmental scientist focusing on sustainable materials at Kenyatta University. “Governments are responding, consumers are responding, and industries are under pressure to find alternatives.”

The limits of 'compostable'

While compostable packaging is often promoted as a direct answer to plastic pollution, waste management experts warn the environmental benefits depend heavily on disposal systems.

“A compostable container only provides its full advantage if it ends up in composting conditions,” said Nairobi waste management consultant Dr. Ezekiel Ndunda. “If it goes to landfill with regular trash, the outcome becomes a lot more complicated.”

Kenya still struggles with limited industrial composting facilities. Some experts argue that simply replacing plastic won’t solve broader waste management problems without parallel investment in collection and disposal systems.

Tobias Alando, CEO of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, said: "The challenge is bigger than material substitution alone. Without stronger collection systems, sorting capacity and recycling infrastructure, we risk shifting the problem rather than solving it.”

He also highlighted the financial implications for manufacturers transitioning to sustainable packaging.

“Many businesses support sustainable packaging goals, but the transition comes with significant operational and cost pressures, particularly for small and medium manufacturers.”

Affordability challenge

Duncan Nzioka of EcoCare Consultants emphasises the importance of circular economy planning and end-of-life waste management systems.

“Sustainable packaging only works effectively when there is a functioning system to recover, process and reintroduce materials back into the economy.”

He added that affordability too remains a challenge. “There are still economic realities around sourcing, compliance and disposal that companies must navigate as they adopt environmentally sustainable alternatives.”

Plastic is cheap to produce, thanks to decades of global petrochemical investment. Sustainable alternatives often cost more, especially during early production stages when output volumes are lower.

For restaurants and food vendors working with tight profit margins, these costs are significant.

“Businesses want environmentally friendly packaging,” said Nairobi restaurant owner Mama Oliech, who recently switched to moulded fibre takeaway boxes. “But they also need packaging that’s affordable, durable and always available.”

 

Bayeux Tapestry to be displayed 'flat along its full length' in London for first time

Copyright Lou Benoist/AP

By Nathan Joubioux & Tokunbo Salako with AFP

Published on 19/05/2026 -  EURONEWS

The loan of the work, listed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, had sparked numerous protests in France, mainly due to its fragility.

The famous Bayeux Tapestry will be shown in London for the first time "laid out flat and in its full length in a specially designed display case," according to the British Museum.

"Displaying the tapestry flat allows the public to fully appreciate the scale of this spectacular and unique piece of medieval embroidery," the museum said in a statement issued on Monday. "It also allows the museum to bring it to life in a new and imaginative way, with digital features helping to deepen understanding."

"The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important and distinctive cultural artefacts in the world. It illustrates the deep ties between Britain and France and captivates people of all backgrounds and all ages", said museum director Nicholas Cullinan.

A detail of the Bayeux Tapestry before its transfer to the British Museum, at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux, north-west France, 18 September 2025 Lou Benoist/AP

"Displaying the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum gives visitors a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in history", added Michael Lewis,the exhibition's curator. "It will be an original and exciting presentation of the tapestry’s story: the events that led up to the Norman Conquest, a decisive moment that changed England forever."

The historic work will be shown alongside other loans from British and European institutions that will set it in its medieval context, museum officials said.

These will include rare documents, illuminated manuscripts and even a hoard of silver coins.

Related

• Meet the woman making a Bayeux Tapestry replica on her own from scratch

A transfer sparking controversy

Dating from the 11th century and depicting the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the 68-metre-long tapestry has been moved from its museum in Bayeux for the first time in more than 40 years to go on show as part of a major exhibition.

The loan follows a pledge made in July 2025 by the French President Emmanuel Macron to allow the tapestry to be transferred to the British Museum for 18 months to celebrate relations between France and Britain.

The decision, however, sparked an outcry among heritage experts, worried about the already fragile condition of the ancient embroidery. Last July, a petition gathered some 45,000 signatures against the loan in barely a week.

Didier Rykner, editor-in-chief of the website La Tribune de l'Art, argued at the time that the tapestry was "far too fragile to be transported without significant risk. The tapestry specialists, the restorers who work on it and the curators say there is a risk of tears and loss of material caused by handling and vibrations during transport", he said. "It is unacceptable to run the risk of this absolutely unique work being damaged."

Since 2020, experts have painstakingly recorded 24,204 stains, 9,646 holes and 30 tears on the work, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s "Memory of the World" register in 2007.

The exhibition "The Bayeux Tapestry Experience" is due to open to the public on 10 September and will run until 11 July next year.

Cities struggle to keep pace as war and climate define urban futures, WUF13 delegates warn

 By Jane Witherspoon & Toby Gregory and Euronews Baku bureau

Published on 19/05/2026 - 

Delegates at the World Urban Forum in Baku warned on day three that war and climate change are affecting cities faster than governments can respond, urging a shift away from standardised housing models.

War and climate change are reshaping cities faster than governments can rebuild them, delegates at the World Urban Forum in Azerbaijan's capital warned on Wednesday, as a Ukrainian official said his region alone had restored nearly 30,000 damaged or destroyed structures since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

"When it comes to the Kyiv region, we have been leading the way in reconstruction," Mykola Kalashnik, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, told Euronews in Baku.

"Thanks to our president, government, parliament, and international partners, we have managed to rebuild 80% of them. The total number of restored facilities now stands at 24,000."

Kalashnik said Azerbaijan had become a direct partner in that effort. "Azerbaijan is helping us rebuild the Kyiv region. Two projects have already been completed: a school in Irpin, as well as a hospital and a shelter, because our area is dangerous and we need safe underground spaces, which our partners helped us build."

Azerbaijan, with SOCAR among the partners, is involved in delivering a further four projects, he said, including a multi-unit residential building, an arts centre, a sports school for children and youth, and a social infrastructure project.

The cooperation extended beyond construction. Irpin, one of the most heavily damaged cities in the Kyiv region, has established a partnership with Lachin in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region — itself rebuilt after years of conflict. Kalashnik said 100 children from the Kyiv region would attend a health retreat in Azerbaijan this summer.

Climate change was the other dominant theme of the day. Dr Moges Tadesse, chief resilience officer for Addis Ababa, told Euronews the consequences for African cities were already severe.

"Climate change is a global challenge, but it doesn't affect only housing. It affects the economy, it affects also the human life, and it is very disastrous," he told Euronews, calling for greater international investment to help vulnerable countries absorb costs generated largely by wealthier nations.

“I think the global community should invest a lot in order to mitigate the impact of the climate change,” he said.

The demographic pressure arriving alongside the climate crisis is considerable, experts say.

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, president of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, warned delegates that "Africa will not be rural in 25 years."

Sub-Saharan Africa's urban population is forecast to double within a quarter-century, adding roughly 1 billion people to cities that are already struggling — a shift that will require massive investment in housing and jobs.

In Latin America, meanwhile, the dynamic is moving in the opposite direction: around 20% of households now consist of a single person, a figure that is changing the needs into a demand for smaller, more affordable urban units.

Related

• 'No society is immune' to housing crisis, UN chief warns at World Urban Forum in Baku
• World Urban Forum opens in Baku with warning on global housing divide

Saudi philanthropist Princess Lamia bint Majid Al Saud pushed back against uniform global housing models. "We don't have a one size fits all, because whatever suits in Saudi Arabia, it doesn't suit in India, it doesn't suit in Europe, it doesn't suit in America," she told Euronews, stating that cities needed to design communities around their own contexts rather than importing solutions developed elsewhere.

The European Union's own housing crisis drew sharp commentary from Matthew Robert Baldwin, the European Commission's deputy director-general leading its Affordable Housing Task Force. He noted that an estimated 20% of housing units across the 27-member bloc sit vacant while short-term rentals surge. "In all these overheated housing markets? That's a scandal," he said.

Baldwin said public investment alone would not be sufficient to address the shortfall.

"All the public money in the world would never be enough. We need to find a clever way to crowd in private finance, that patient and responsible capital not looking for a fast buck, to support affordable housing for everybody," he explained.

The task force has proposed an eight-point plan for improving affordable housing across the bloc.

He struck an optimistic note on the broader global picture, however. "There are many different arrows in our quiver, and for the first time, we've got housing as a priority issue," he said. "Let's take the bull by the horns and challenge it."

The discussions were organised around the launch of UN-Habitat's latest World Cities report, which found that nearly 3 billion people worldwide are affected by inadequate housing, unaffordable costs or lack of access to basic services, while more than 1.1 billion continue to live in slums and informal settlements.

The report said housing prices were rising faster than incomes across many regions, compounded by climate-related displacement and growing inequality.

"Housing problems in cities will increase even more by 2050," said Ben Arimah, head of UN-Habitat's Global Reports and Trends Unit. "Only 25% of the world's population can use mortgages to secure housing. This shows that the financial capacity of the majority of people is insufficient."

The forum continues in Baku through 22 May.