TUE 27 OCTEvening4:05 AM

Back to the brief

WORLDFrance 24

French education reform proposals 'vague': Govt created 'most of the problems' it now seeks to solve

Photo: France 24

François Picard welcomes Jean-Rémi Girard, President of the SNALC teachers’ union, who places responsibility for France’s educational difficulties not simply on demographic change or fiscal constraints, but on years of political decisions that, he argues, have weakened the public education system. Against a backdrop of student protests, budgetary uncertainty and mounting concerns over educational inequality, Girard contends that the French government faces the formidable task of addressing a crisis largely of its own making.

Read the original report

Opens France 24 in a new tab

WORLDFrance 24

'They should be afraid': Serbia's student-led victory over Vučić sends warning to 'corrupt' leaders

François Picard welcomes Helena Ivanov, Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based foreign policy and national security think tank advocating liberal democracy, strong transatlantic alliances, robust Western defence capabilities and the international promotion of democratic institutions. Ivanov describes the election as a historic turning point in Serbian politics. After 14 years of Aleksandar Vučić's political dominance, the reported electoral victory of a student-led movement represents, more than a challenge to an…

WORLDBBC News

Major Chinese brands drop Mbappé as backlash grows over Mao joke

Several Chinese brands have dropped French footballer Kylian Mbappé as backlash grew online over alleged comments by him referring to the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Mbappé reportedly told French talk show The Bridge a meme "that makes me laugh the most...the one where there's a video of a guy, I think it's a Chinese dictator". As he speaks, a meme appears with his face superimposed on an image resembling Mao. "I use it with my friends all the time," the Real Madrid forward adds, in unverified clips that have been circulating online.