A crackdown on France's unauthorised raves threatens an outlet for young people. How regional accents in France can hold you back. And the Front Populaire, which laid the foundations of France's welfare state.

The French government has vowed to crack down on unauthorised raves, known as "free parties", with a proposed law that would punish organisers with up to six months in prison and hefty fines. While the interior minister claims such gatherings threaten public order, free party fans defend their right to meet and share techno music outside of for-profit venues. Electronic music producer Maelström, who cut his teeth DJing at rave parties in France as a teenager in the late 1990s, looks back at the growth of that counter-culture and how it shaped his own music. Rather than repressing rave culture, he argues the state should help young people make such gatherings safe and sustainable. (Listen @2'15'')

France has dozens of regional accents, but you wouldn't know it to listen to broadcasters or politicians – most of whom have learned to speak a standardised form of French shaped in Paris. Sociologist Médéric Gasquet-Cyrus dissects his own Marseille accent and others from around the country, and explains why the impetus to flatten distinctive accents remains strong in France. (Listen @22')

The Front Populaire, a broad left-wing coalition elected in May 1936, introduced paid time off and other reforms that continue to shape French society today. Economic historian Nicolas Brisset explains why, 90 years on, it remains a powerful symbol for the French left. (Listen @14'50'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.

A controversial antisemitism bill that opponents say would criminalise criticism of Israel. A small town reubilds its long-lost Statue of Liberty, a symbol of freedom, to help it rediscover its identity. And the story of France's first female general.

French MPs will vote next week on a bill that aims to tackle "new forms" of antisemitism, which has spiralled since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. Among other measures, the legislation would create a new offence punishing incitement to "the destruction of a state". Critics claim the bill is aimed at silencing criticism of Israel and more than 600,000 people have signed a petition to push MPs to reject it. Law professor François Dubuisson argues the reform is not necessary and Cécile Marquerie, advocacy coordinator for a platform of pro-Palestine NGOs, raises concerns over freedom of speech. (Listen @2'40'')

In 1926, Rey Jeanton donated a replica of the Statue of Liberty to his hometown of Izon, a small town outside Bordeaux. It was his tribute to the United States, where he had spent over 30 years of his life. During WWII, the statue was destroyed, and with it, a piece of Izon’s history. A century later, Izon is recreating the statue to revive its city centre and forge a sense of identity for what risks becoming another commuter town. (Listen @20'10'')

The story of Valérie André, a helicopter pilot and neurosurgeon who blazed a trail for women in the armed forces when she became France’s first female general on 21 April 1976. (Listen @13')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

A look at France's local elections, and what happened to the 2020 "green wave". The small French ski resort fighting to keep its slopes open despite diminishing snowfall. And the 1946 radio programme that was accused of causing a nuclear scare.

France's far right has made further inroads into the mainstream of French politics, winning 70 cities and hundreds of municipal council seats in last week's local elections. On the left, divisions were laid bare, with Socialists who refused alliances with the hard-left France Unbowed perfoming better overall than those who joined forces. Meanwhile, the Greens party, in coalitions with the Socialists, struggled to hold onto the cities it won in 2020 during the so-called "green wave". Political scientist Sylvie Ollitrault examines how France's Greens are caught between left-wing factions, and considers how the environmental movement in France may be abandoning politics altogether. (Listen @0')

France's skiing industry employs some 120,000 people directly or indirectly in its 250 resorts. But diminishing snowfall linked to climate change means that smaller, lower altitude sites are struggling to survive. Some have also failed to sufficiently invest in infrastructure or developing year-round activities. The resort of Alpe du Grand Serre in the northern French Alps is threatened with closure due to lack of funding. But local residents and businesses, who depend on the winter ski season to keep the village economy going, are taking matters into their own hands. Listen @18'10'')

The 1946 radio drama about the potential dangers of nuclear science that may have started a panic on the streets of Paris... or not. (Listen @11'45'')

Episode mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).