Since France began its military withdrawal from Mali, many social media posts have been misleading. Reports assert that Mali is negotiating with the Russian private military company Wagner. One photo on Facebook from November 10 claims that a Wagner military instructor is training Malian soldiers. Another photo from November 20 claims that Mali received a delivery of military equipment from Russia. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

France's prominent Le Petit Robert dictionary, considered a linguistic authority in the country, recently added a new pronoun to its online edition. The word is "iel", a gender-neutral merging of the masculine "il" (he) and the feminine "elle" (she). This new pronoun, intended for those who identify as neither male nor female, is already used online and by younger generations. But the move to include it in the dictionary provoked a backlash from politicians and linguists. One vocal critic of the new pronoun is French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer. He says it's the latest expression of "wokism" which, he claims, threatens France's universalist model. We take a closer look.

French fashion businesses here in France tend to go one of two ways: either they fail, or they thrive, before being bought up by a powerful luxury group. But some companies do manage to resist that fate – weathering economic crises, the challenges of a globalised economy and now the pandemic, all on their own. So how exactly do they do it and what makes them tick? We went to meet independent shoemakers Arche in the Loire Valley and Paris-based Weston to find out.

Militants killed at least 31 people in central Mali on Friday (December 3) when they fired upon a bus ferrying people to a local market, local authorities said - the latest deadly attack in a region racked by violent insurgency. The bus was attacked by unidentified gunmen as it travelled its twice-weekly route from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara, 10 kilometres (6 miles) away, said Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass.

Anti-racism campaigners were physically attacked and far-right Eric Zemmour put in a headlock as the presidential candidate's campaign got underway.

France's 2022 presidential race "heats up a notch" after Valérie Pécresse becomes the right's first-ever female candidate and far-right Eric Zemmour holds a "sickening" first political rally. European papers hail Pope Francis for "forcing Europe to face its contradictions" in its failure to help refugees. There's anger and disgust in the US after a Republican poses with guns, just days after a school shooting. Finally, French oysters are to get vaccinated... against herpes!

France's small business minister is to outline details of compensation for the nightclub and events industries, after the announcement that clubs would be forced to close for four weeks from this Friday due to rising coronavirus cases. French nightclub owners have said they feel unfairly targeted by the measures, after already having to shut for 16 months until July of this year. Also today, we look at the latest twist in the debt troubles facing the Chinese property developer Evergrande.

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly granted an interview to FRANCE 24 and RFI in Dakar, Senegal. Parly slammed a "disinformation campaign" aimed at creating "anti-French discourse" in Africa's Sahel region, as France reorganises its military presence there. The minister said she did not believe Russian Wagner Group mercenaries were in the Malian capital Bamako, but added that "that does not mean the current Malian authorities are not planning to bring them there". The arrival of Russian mercenaries in Mali would be "simply unacceptable", she said.

A whistleblower issues a "damning account" of the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying tens of thousands of Afghans were left behind to die. Meanwhile, there's disappointment in the US after the Justice Department closes an investigation into the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till. Plus: Angela Merkel marks her last day in office, Berlin techno DJs apply for World Heritage status and the French city of Rouen votes on replacing a Napoléon statue with one of a woman.

French authorities have released a Saudi man they detained after mistaking him for someone else who is wanted over his involvement in the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

For almost a decade, international forces in Mali have been trying to help fight Islamist groups that threatened to take over the country in 2012. But today, the government still only controls the capital and a small area around it. DW's Fred Muvunyi reports.

After being on hold for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, French archaeological missions are back in Egypt, where many treasures are waiting to be discovered. Exploring the city of Luxor is a dream for many archaeologists, who each day hope their painstaking work will yield fresh treasures. A few kilometres from the Valley of the Kings, Isabelle Régen and her team are studying one of the most fascinating tombs discovered in the country. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Olivia Bizot.