Robot dog steals the show at defence tech fair outside Paris

From infrastructure to security, transport to ticketing, Paris still has a series of challenges ahead before it hosts the world's biggest sporting event from July 26, 2024. One year before the Games begin, FRANCE 24 sat down with Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Organising Committee, who also discussed the importance of the highly awaited opening ceremony on the River Seine.

A hundred years ago, painters, sculptors, writers and musicians battled for gold, silver and bronze at the Olympics. To mark a year until the Paris Games, we're looking at the artistic side of the world's biggest sporting event with an exclusive interview with highly acclaimed theatre director Thomas Jolly, who's in charge of the opening and closing ceremonies.

Tech companies shed more than 386,000 jobs last year and in the first half of this year, according to Layoffs.fyi. That number is climbing. But while layoffs have taxed workers, a booming artificial intelligence market is giving the industry a renewed sense of optimism.

The decision to cancel the Open Water Swimming World Cup on the Seine River was taken after analysis of water samples. The French capital was hit by heavy rains that caused a sewage overflow.

Musk said the fight would be streamed on X while Zuckerberg said the potential throwdown needed "a more reliable platform." Whether fists will ever actually fly remains unclear.

Americans will be restricted from investing in China's semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries. The White House cited national security, but it comes amid a push to revive domestic high-tech manufacturing.

Tokyo has signed agreements with a number of African countries as competition with China for key raw materials and minerals heats up.

Water quality tests showed higher than acceptable levels of bacteria in the Seine River. It's the third time this month organizers have been forced to cancel a swimming event in the waterway.

Russian investigators have confirmed Yevgeny Prigozhin, a prominent military figure in the Ukraine war and a close ally of Vladimir Putin, is dead. It comes two months after he staged a mutiny against the miltary.

Marie-Amélie Le Fur, President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee, talks to FRANCE 24 and RFI a year ahead of the opening ceremony of the first Paralympic Games to be held in France. The former para-athlete and nine-time Games medalist takes stock of the organisation and the immense challenges still to be met, especially the accessibility to transport and accommodation.

Several Chinese companies have now made AI chatbots publicly available, with Baidu first off the blocks with its ERNIE. But the bots will be subject to extreme censorship on certain topics.

July 2023 saw the third edition of a fashion competition in Paris called Africa Fashion Up. It aims to give a platform to young, up-and-coming African talent. Five designers from across the continent presented their collections at the Musée du Quai Branly, as they celebrated local craftsmanship with a global appeal. The winner, Aristide Loua, is an Ivorian who lived in France before returning to his home country, where he spent two years reacclimatising before embracing fashion. FRANCE 24 went to meet him and the other designers.