More than 20 years ago, a community of men and women in the French region of Burgundy set themselves a massive challenge: to build a castle using the techniques of the Middle Ages. The site in the town of Guédelon is open to visitors, offering them an immersion into the 13th century. Today, nearly 40 people work every day on this medieval construction site. Stone quarrying is the first step in building a castle. And to transport the stones to the site, modern machines are banned: everything is done like in the 13th century, with horsepower.

After choosing between the familiar faces on offer in April's presidential vote, the French legislative election campaign that followed seemed to many like a seven-week snoozefest. That was until Sunday night. Now, with the first round's ballots counted, Emmanuel Macron has just one week to convince voters to return a centrist majority to parliament for his second term as president. We break down the odds for next week's run-offs.

We take a look at the pressure facing Emmanuel Macron’s party as he tries to hold on to a parliamentary majority. US papers are discussing the second day of congressional hearings on the January 6, 2021 siege of the US Capitol. We also see how the British papers are tackling their top two stories: Rwanda immigration flights and changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Finally, we discuss the sexy side of cultural relics in Pompeii.

We take a look at how the press is covering the French, German and Italian leaders' visit to Kyiv. Meanwhile, French papers are largely divided over the country's upcoming legislative elections on Sunday. Also, Thailand gets closer to same-sex marriage legislation, while Saudi Arabia confiscates rainbow-coloured toys. Finally, the Washington Post debates whether QR code menus in restaurants should stay or go.

Executives at France's state-backed utility EDF say they're confident the troubled nuclear reactor at their Flamanville plant will be able to go online by the end of 2023. Under construction since 2007, the new EPR project has been plagued by cost overruns and repeated delays. We take a closer look. Plus, on the sidelines of the VivaTech trade fair in Paris, India's IT minister tells FRANCE 24 how the country is looking to bring its technology to Europe and beyond.

Forest fires have broken out both in Spain and France as a record early heat wave moves northward through Europe. And humans are not the only ones to suffer in the extreme temperatures.

The German chancellor arrived in the Ukrainian capital by rail on Thursday morning, alongside the French president and Italian premier. Such a trip is a security headache but there are few alternatives.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was under pressure in Kyiv for his reluctance to deliver heavy weapons. In the end, Ukraine's EU membership candidacy took center stage and made his train trip a success.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, decried Russia's attacks during their joint trip to Ukraine.

We take a look at how the papers are reacting to Thursday's visit by Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi to Kyiv. We also discuss the second round of the French legislative elections this coming Sunday, which could see Macron's bloc lose its absolute majority in parliament.

The war in Ukraine upended all aspects of daily life for Ukrainians, journalists included. In a matter of days, The Kyiv Independent newsroom went from being a three-month-old startup with only around 30,000 visits per week, to one of the world's most important on-the-ground sources for the conflict with millions of followers. Alexander Query, a French reporter working for The Kyiv Independent, joined us on Perspective to talk about how the war has transformed the media outlet.

An Italian energy firm says the Russian company is slashing its deliveries by 50%. France's gas operator says it has not received any natural gas from Russia via its pipeline from Germany for more than a month.