Podcast: abortion rights, living in a cemetery, Walt Disney's French connection

Loading player...
As France's parliament passes a bill that would enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution, a new film explores the time before it was legalised in 1975. The curator of Père Lachaise in Paris on life and biodiversity in France's most famous cemetery. And Walt Disney's 11th century French roots.

France might be on the way to becoming the first country to have abortion rights protected in the constitution, after a recent vote in the National Assembly passed with a large majority. Not everyone thinks it is necessary – legal scholar Gwenaele Calves says abortion rights are already well protected in France. Meanwhile a new film, Annie Colère (Angry Annie), tells the story of the MLAC (Movement for the freedom of abortion and contraception) whose work carrying out illegal abortions in the early 70s helped pave the way for the law legalising abortion in 1975. (Listen @0')

Three million people flock to Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery every year, drawn to the tombs of Frederic Chopin, Jim Morrison and other famous people buried there. But it's also home to an increasing amount of wildlife, including foxes. Laura Angela Bagnetto spoke with cemetery curator Benoît Gallot (@benoit_gallot), author of La vie secrète d’un cimetière (The secret life of a cemetery) about living in the famed graveyard and its rich biodiversity. (Listen @16')

Walt Disney was born on 5 December 1901 in the US, but his distant ancestors hailed from Normandy and gave him his name. (Listen @11'50'')

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).
1 Dec 2022 English South Africa News

Other recent episodes

Podcast: Eco-anger, France in space, world's first photograph

A climate expert experiences eco-anxiety firsthand after living through France's hottest summer on record. France tries to find its place in the new space race. And the story of the earliest known photograph still visible today. Eco-anxiety is on the rise in France after a summer of unprecedented heatwaves led to…
10 Sep 33 min

Podcast: Adapting to heat, France's fitness boom, Paris Mosque at 100

As France's record-breaking heatwave last week raises questions about how the country will have to adapt to a warming climate, we look at what that could mean for French culture. We also explore the country's growing interest in fitness – driven in part by its most popular YouTuber – and…
2 Jul 27 min

Podcast: Grappling with legacies of slavery, French film industry crisis

How two people in the French port city of Nantes – one descended from slave owners, the other from enslaved people – are working together to "repair" the country's troubled history. The slave money that built the Élysée Palace, the French president's official residence. And turmoil in the French film industry…
21 May 32 min