‘Black Friday’ invades Paris

He arrived at the head of a venerated cultural institution at one of the most critical moments of its 300-year history, as the Paris Opera grappled with a pandemic, prolonged strikes and ethical questions about diversity both on and off the stage. Yet its director Alexander Neef is not one to shy away from a challenge. He joins us in the studio to tell us about the upcoming season of live performances after a turbulent year at the helm.

Models walk the runway with the Eiffel Tower in the background as Yves Saint Laurent's live show returns to the Paris Fashion Week. The live shows follow similiar returns at London, Milan and New York fashion weeks this year, after much of the designer world moved online last year thanks to Covid.

There's a thin line between political satire and stories that are simply fake news. A recent resurfacing of a story about Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, illustrates the problem. We take a closer look.

Citizen engagement, entrepreneurship and innovation, higher education, culture and sport are the main talking points at this week's Africa-France summit in the southern French city of Montpellier. No heads of state or prime ministers from the continent have been invited, but rather a whole host of young entrepreneurs, artists and civil society members. In Perspective, we spoke to Nathaniel Powell, an Honorary Researcher at the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University. His research has centred on the relationship between France and Africa in the post-colonial era, with a particular focus on French security policy.

To mark the release of the manga 'Kaiju No. 8', the Japanese publisher pulls no punches, with a gigantic illustration of the comic book hero stuck on the facade of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. It may seem extreme, but it reflects the fact that France, the world's second largest consumer of manga, remains a huge market for the Japanese comic book industry.

This week marks 60 years since some 200 Algerians were murdered in central Paris by French police. At the height of the Algerian War of Independence, thousands of people, most of them Algerians living in the suburbs of Paris, descended on the capital demanding an end to French colonial rule in Algeria. The state's response was brutal, and those responsible for the massacre enjoyed protection for many years. We look back at the terrible events of October 17, 1961 and hear from a 92-year-old eyewitness.

On October 17, 1961, tens of thousands of French and Algerian citizens took to the streets to protest a curfew imposed in Paris and its suburbs. Dozens were shot, beaten to death or drowned in the brutal police response.

A robotic dog stole the limelight at the Milipol defence and security trade fair near Paris on Tuesday. The 22nd edition of Milipol Paris takes place from Oct. 19 to 22 and plays host to dozens of countries, including Israel, United States and Switzerland. The robotic dog costs "under $1 million", according to Ghost Robotics special projects head Tom Jacobs. He adds that the technology that has advanced in the past few years has enabled the robot dog to keep its balance in difficult terrain

When she was only a teenager, Valerie Ka graced catwalks across the African continent as a model and muse. As her political consciousness grew, she became a flagbearer for contemporary African fashion around the world. Today, in a boutique hotel in Paris’s 8th arrondissement, she is overseeing the very first edition of her latest project: Share Africa.

Statues, thrones, and ceremonial hatchets are among the 26 artefacts on display at the Quai Branly museum in Paris. The week-long exhibition offers visitors the chance to see the treasures looted from the Kingdom of Dahomey before they return to Benin after 130 years in France. We learn more about the political pressure and cultural policies that brought about this historic restitution.

When you picture the French capital, you probably think of beautiful monuments, romantic cafés and pretty parks. But for many tourists in Paris, the city is just too dirty. Whether it’s the urine-soaked streets, ubiquitous dog poop or countless cigarette butts, the reality of everyday Paris is often at odds with the postcard version. Paris authorities pump a lot of money and manpower into keeping the city clean. So what's the problem? Could it be Parisians themselves? In this episode of French Connections Plus, Florence Villeminot and Genie Godula investigate the capital's filthy reputation.

This Tuesday marks the start of a new phase in the November 2015 terror attacks trial in Paris. After weeks of testimony from survivors and relatives of victims, the court will hear from the defendants. Among them is Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the terrorist commando. French terrorism researcher Kevin Jackson has co-authored a graphic novel exploring the backgrounds of the attackers and the events leading up to the atrocities. He joined us for Perspective.