Sting on his roots, Brexit and being inspired by Paris’s red light district

On March 15, 2011, the Syrian revolution began. Ameer al Halbi covered the ensuing conflict as a photographer for several years, before fleeing his hometown of Aleppo and finding refuge in France. Once there, he continued to work as a photographer, driven by the same commitment and passion. Halbi was seriously injured at the end of 2020 while covering a protest in Paris. In this first-person report, he tells us about his relationship to photography, war and exile.

Key suspect Salah Abdeslam has claimed that he bears no responsibility for the 130 people who were killed in the Paris terror attacks of November 2015. His testimony, during a terse exchange with magistrates, drew anger from survivors and their families, who've also been criticising the decision by defence lawyers to stage a walkout during Tuesday’s hearing. To discuss this and more, we're joined for Perspective by Arthur Dénouveaux, a survivor of the attack on the Bataclan and president of the Life for Paris association.

The suspect is alleged to have rented a car that was seen outside the Bataclan concert hall during the 2015 terror attacks that killed 130 people in total. In court, the suspect said he "didn't kill anyone."

The Kyiv City Ballet company arrived in France the day before war broke out in Ukraine. Its dancers became exiles overnight. Paris has given them refuge with a residency at the city's Châtelet Theatre. The founders, Ivan Kozlov and Ekaterina Kozlova, created the troupe 10 years ago. They join Eve Jackson in the studio to discuss their unique situation and the importance of using culture as a peaceful weapon.

Kendell Geers and Tsoku Maela are two South African artists taking part in 1-54, the leading international art fair dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and the African diaspora, which is currently on show in Paris. The artists speak to Eve Jackson about their work, which addresses mental health issues in African communities, apartheid and global economic concerns. They also discuss the monolith label of "African art" and how more needs to be done for the restitution of stolen African treasures.

A fake "Le Figaro Live" news report on social media claims to report on Chanel stores in Paris being vandalised with Hitler images. The stickers reference Coco Chanel's Nazi connections during World War II. The backlash against the brand has emerged in protest at Chanel's sale ban in Russia amid the war in Ukraine. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

French President Emmanuel Macron has set a deadline of 2024 to reopen Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral to worshippers and visitors. FRANCE 24's Revisited show is following the progress of this ambitious project and brings you a fresh update, three years after the devastating fire that badly damaged the world-famous cathedral. Our reporter Mélina Huet met those who are involved in the restoration work, both inside the mediaeval edifice and elsewhere in France. They now find themselves in a race against time.

The last surviving alleged attacker, Salah A., said he hoped his apology would help the relatives of those killed. One hundred and thirty people were killed in the atrocities claimed by the "Islamic State" armed group.

The River Seine is the beating heart of Paris. The banks of the river attract 8 million visitors each year, making it one of the busiest places in the French capital. We meet those who take care of the Seine seven days a week, from the technicians checking water quality to members of the river patrol, who respond to emergency call-outs and use radar to explore the river's depths.

An exhibition about love feels like a radical prospect in an ever-more cynical world. Yet Simon Baker, director of the Paris-based Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), tells us that curating a collection of photos that fully express the complexity, the pain and the sheer diversity of the emotion was something he'd long been wanting to do. From Nan Goldin’s unflinching views of the darker side of infatuation, to the daring images of same-sex desire that paved the way for subsequent generations, we discuss the photography on show.

Enter the twilight of the world's longest reign. The 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II missed what is arguably the highlight of any British monarch's calendar: the reading of the government's parliamentary program instead delivered by her son, the crown prince. The importance is mostly symbolic, since the Queen's Speech is written by the prime minister. However the optics of the exercise beget the question: what United Kingdom will Charles inherit?

Britain said it would "not shy away from taking action" over post-Brexit trade tensions in Northern Ireland as it rejected EU proposals to resolve the standoff.