Only a few dozen French nationals have gone down in history as Olympic champions. Pole vaulter Jean Galfione, judoka Emilie Andéol and swimmer Alain Bernard tell FRANCE 24 about the day that changed their lives. From their preparation, to their emotions during the competition, to their subsequent careers, this is the story of three gold medallists who left their mark on the history of sport and won the hearts of French people.

Between the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944 and the liberation of Paris on August 25 lies the Battle of Normandy. For three months, the Allied forces fought fiercely against the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. From heavily bombed towns, to relentless artillery fire and hand-to-hand combat in the "Falaise pocket", Normandy was ravaged and civilians were trapped. But the Allies achieved a strategic victory that changed the course of history. FRANCE 24's Florence Gaillard and Héloïse Mélan report.

The Germans were expecting the landings in northern France, near the English coast. But on June 6, 1944, the Allies landed on the vast beaches of Normandy in a deluge of fire and brimstone. For D-Day to succeed, it was crucial to minimise the number of German military reinforcements on the landing beaches. So the Allies created barricades by carpet-bombing Normandy to block roads and communications. The result was razed towns and a heavy toll on Normandy's population. The Battle of Normandy cost 20,000 civilians their lives.

Mireille Goudier was only five years old when the Allies bombed Condé-sur-Noireau, where she lived peacefully with her parents and brothers until June 6, 1944. She describes apocalyptic scenes that evening: "noise, screams, and smoke everywhere!" In their neighbourhood, entire families were wiped out. For several weeks, Mireille and her family found refuge with farmers around the ruins of the town. They later decided to take to the roads of Normandy. But, like tens of thousands of civilians, they found themselves trapped in the raging battles.

From August 16 to 21, 1944, 150,000 Allies managed to encircle 100,000 Germans in the "Falaise pocket". German troops were pounded by Allied artillery. To escape the pocket, they had to pass through a bottleneck, soon dubbed the "corridor of death". Soldiers sometimes fought hand-to-hand using bayonets or rocks off the ground. The toll of these five days of carnage was heavy: 2,000 Allied losses, with 10,000 dead and 40,000 prisoners on the German side. By the end of the summer of 1944, the region was ravaged but the Allies had won the Battle of Normandy. For Nazi Germany, it was the beginning of the end.

In this week's show we take a deep dive into the Seine, to find out how Paris's river is preparing for the 2024 Olympics. We see how authorities are racing against time to boost security, curb pollution and keep visitors entertained. With just a few weeks to go before the opening ceremony, one question remains: Will the Seine actually be swimmable?  

French lawmakers are set to debate a new text on assisted dying in France, a parliamentary marathon that could last until the summer of 2025. France currently allows deep sedation but medically-assisted suicide remains illegal. It is a topic that is deeply divisive in France; to find out why, we went to meet patients and caregivers who campaign for medical aid in dying and those who are opposed to it.

It's a colossus of glass, metal, and stone with a location that makes all the other Paris monuments envious. Located between the Seine and the Champs-Élysées, the Grand Palais was built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle world fair to showcase French art. Closed three years ago for its first complete renovation in history, it's getting a second lease of life for the Paris Olympics and Paralympics. FRANCE 24 takes you behind the scenes.

Since its opening in 1900, variety has defined Paris's Grand Palais. From automobile fairs to agricultural events and horse competitions, its nave has seen dozens of events hosted under its majestic glass roof. And while it has held numerous commercial events, art has always been centre stage.

During its 124-year history, wars have pressed pause on this vitality. During World War I, the Grand Palais was transformed into a military hospital. During World War II, it hosted two exhibitions in service to Nazi propaganda. But in the late 1940s, the nave returned to hosting exhibitions, with the first Renault 4L presented there, followed by the pressure cooker in the 1950s. After a few years of neglect, the nave was back in action for the FIAC (International Contemporary Art Fair) of 1977. A variety of events followed: carnivals, ice rinks, electronic music concerts and fashion shows. In 2017, Tour de France cyclists even crossed under its glass roof. For the Monumenta contemporary art exhibition, the nave was taken over by world-famous French and foreign artists: Christian Boltanski, Anish Kapoor and Daniel Buren, to name but a few. As part of the Art Paris contemporary art fair, Chinese photographer Li Wei flew under the glass roof, remaining weightless for 10 minutes for an iconic photo shoot.

In the summer of 2024, the nave of the Grand Palais will host Olympic fencing and taekwondo events, a first for this architectural gem. "Athletes and the public will take in a building that is one-of-a-kind in the world," Didier Fusillier, president of the Grand Palais, told us enthusiastically. "You have to imagine that, in the Grand Palais, you could fit the entire Palace of Versailles. This immensity will create the experience of an extraordinary Olympic event," he continued. But in order to organise the Olympics there and continue to use the Grand Palais, restoration work was essential. This vast project began in March 2021 and is expected to be completed in spring 2025.

Four years of work, a budget of nearly €500 million and up to 1,000 workers on site every day are needed to renovate the building in record time, as the project's director Daniel Sancho explained to us. "We face technical challenges every day depending on the discoveries we make: lead, asbestos, and this slows down the construction," Sancho explained. Another challenge is the nave, with its 13,500 square metres of glass roof. When asked about insulation, Sancho smiled: "There is no insulation. We are in a greenhouse. In order to improve the comfort of the public, we have therefore decided to make the space comfortable at ground level. We have integrated a fluid-based heating system into the flooring: we circulate either cold water or hot water to achieve a reasonable level of comfort without having to heat the 450,000 cubic metres of the nave, which would be a waste of energy."

French photographer and visual artist Marguerite Bornhauser was chosen by the Grand Palais in 2021 to capture the renovation project. The 35-year-old was given carte blanche to immortalise the work, which she calls an "endless" source of inspiration.

"Everything inspires me," she told us as she took us to the roof of the Grand Palais, which is usually inaccessible. "There are the aspects everyone knows about the Grand Palais, such as the wonderful nave and the immense size. And at the same time, I have an eye for detail, so I like the perks from the construction site – everything that falls to the ground, a glint of light – it's endless!”

Bornhauser photographs these details with her digital and film cameras on the roof of the Grand Palais, in the nave, but also in the basement of the building, which she particularly loves. "The brightness from the construction site's neon lights is quite astonishing. It's spectacular, very theatrical. And I also find that it represents the workers' labour well. The men become a bit like shadows, there's a lot of chiaroscuro. It's dramatic actually with these lights falling like that, with these neon lights; the ceilings are lower, there are fewer colours, it's very, very different."

In the coming months, Bornhauser will continue to photograph the construction site. Because while the work on the nave will be complete for the Olympics, it will continue in the rest of the Grand Palais until June 2025.

In 1924, French poet André Breton wrote a short text with fellow poet and compatriot Louis Aragon that was to send ripples through the world of art and literature, providing a blueprint for the avant-garde movements of the 20th century. One century later, we take a look at how the Surrealist Manifesto prompted an intellectual and artistic revolution in 1920s Paris; a statement of intent that was to have repercussions far beyond the French capital in the years that followed.

At Paris's Pompidou Centre, curator Didier Ottinger explains how the movement was, at its inception, both political and aesthetic, taking inspiration from Karl Marx and Arthur Rimbaud; he also discusses the charismatic force field that saw Breton steward the movement for four decades.

Laurent Doucet, of the Maison André Breton, expands on the role that Freudian psychoanalysis played in the development of the Surrealist Manifesto, and touches on the horrors of World War I, which prompted its authors to break with the past.

Since Surrealism's reach also extended into neighbouring Belgium, we travel to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels to hear from curator Francisca Vandepitte. The exhibition "Imagine! 100 years of International Surrealism" revisits the movement's origins in Symbolist painting, highlights René Magritte's unique take on the subconscious and includes important pieces from the women who were key contributors to the Surrealist aesthetic.

Back in Paris, we visit the studio of artist Marcus Schaefer, who explains how Surrealist principles infuse his photography, as he uses different techniques to create layered, kinetic images which aim to reveal a deeper truth about his subjects.

Exactly five years ago, the world watched in horror as Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral was ravaged by flames. Today, carpenters and artisans are hammering away to meet a December 8 deadline for the Gothic landmark's grand reopening. Spectators attending the Paris Olympics this summer will already be able to admire the renovated structure from the outside. Meanwhile, life has resumed on the Île de la Cité, the island that's home to Notre-Dame in the historical heart of the French capital. The square in front of the cathedral and its surroundings are even set for a makeover. FRANCE 24's team went to meet local residents.

Report by Julie Chouteau, Georges Yazbeck, Sonia Baritello, Jonathan Walsh and Aurore Cloé Dupuis

Drone footage: Skunati Laurent Doumas

Editing: Gilles and Joël

Chief editor: Stéphanie Cheval

Nearly three quarters of French people eat chocolate once a week, consuming an average of 7 kilos per year. But what seems a simple indulgence has a dark side: cacao farming has resulted in massive deforestation. Reports of child labour and farmers who are often unfairly paid have tarnished the industry. Despite all this, chocolate has been considered a delicacy in France for centuries. In this show, we're focusing on an emerging new trend: ethical chocolate.

For the past few years, certain chocolate industry professionals in France have been trying to create a product that's greener and more ethical. That's the case of Les copains de Bastien, or The Friends of Bastien.

"Les copains de Bastien" is associated with "Bean to Bar", a movement born in the US which consists in the ability to produce your own chocolate, ensuring ethical processes are respected. "We work to pay the producers fairly, to make sure we don't contribute to deforestation," says chocolatier Marc Chincholle. "So, for that we work with the sourcers and directly with the producers sometimes, to assure that the process is done well and that the producers are able to get by financially and personally."

Some French chocolatiers have become part of a group called the "Committed Chocolatiers' Club". Their objective is to ensure fair conditions for producers and transparency for consumers. The ultimate goal, they say, is to shake up the way things are done in the industry.

"We need to explain this approach; the key is to educate. Ninety-nine percent of farmers have never tasted a gram of chocolate, and at the same time, many chocolate users in France, Europe and around the world have never visited cocoa farms. So it was about bringing people together and allowing them to understand each other's issues," explains Daniel Mercier, the group's president.

Mercier launched the club to create a "short circuit" between chocolatiers in France and producers, allowing them to be better paid. "Creating a short circuit means that cocoa ultimately doesn't cost much more than what we paid before. We are very sensitive to prices, especially to inflation. The difference between craftsmanship and industry is that we have a significant impact of the cost of labour, which mitigates the rise in raw material costs," he says.

This approach is gaining ground in France and Europe, with more chocolatiers joining the team. "If we were to make a wish, it would be that indeed, fairly compensating farmers, knowing the origins, the cocoa plantations, meeting farmers, encouraging them to produce quality cocoa, becomes a global norm," Mercier hopes. "We need to focus precisely on these people. That’s what the Committed Chocolatiers are working on".

The race for accommodation in Paris could be an Olympic sport in itself. The number of rentals available is plummeting while prices are soaring, yet real estate agents are overwhelmed with demand. From short-term rentals to efficiency upgrades, prospective tenants are paying the price for the ongoing crisis. We take a closer look.

Léandre is 27. He's been looking for a flat in Paris for the past two months, having visited more than 15 different places. Every day, it's the same routine: sifting through all the listings, in vain. 

He is currently staying with a family member. Despite his permanent job as an events project manager with a monthly income of around €2,400, as well as two guarantors, Léandre's application hasn't been accepted. "There were two or three apartments where I was in the final stages, so to speak," he explains. "Unfortunately, each time they chose the applications with the highest income, which I can understand as it’s more reassuring for them. There are fewer and fewer offers, and inevitably, over time, I wonder whether I made the right decision to stay in this city, even if it's very attractive."

Léandre's case is far from unique. In Paris, demand for housing has exploded in recent months. The number of rentals in the French capital has fallen 74 percent in three years, according to real estate specialists. 

"Out of four available properties, three have disappeared, which is unbelievable. As a comparison, in France over the same period, we've seen a 25 percent decrease in rental supply. It's three times greater in Paris than in the rest of the country," says Barbara Castillo Rico, director of economic studies at SeLoger. "As a direct consequence, rents started to increase roughly two years ago, and they soared in the past year, in 2023. We've gone from an increase of less than 2 percent to over 3 percent."

The Parisian housing market is also feeling the pinch of rising interest rates. Over the past two years, tenants have had difficulty buying their own home. As a result, they remain tenants for longer and don't free up their accommodation. 

Another reason why affordable rentals are scarce is because some apartments are in poor condition. In Paris, 35 percent of homes are not energy efficient. Their owners won't be allowed to rent them out if upgrades haven't been made by 2025 or 2028, depending on the insulation grade. 

"Nowadays, there are many old properties with grades F and G. Landlords are wondering what to do. Some decide to sell their apartments because they cannot afford the insulation work," explains Eddy Gaphian, a real estate agent. "It cost €44,000 to renovate this flat. It's a lot, and on top of that, there's a loss of space because you have to insulate the walls. Here for example, they lost two square metres."

In a bid to ease tensions with homeowners, the French government has agreed to a new method to calculate the energy performance of small properties. It means that some homes – under 40m² – might not have to be renovated just yet. The new energy efficiency audits will start on July 1, for roughly 11 percent of small apartments.

In the midst of this rental housing crisis, one in five properties in Paris is actually vacant, according to the Urban Planning Agency. From second homes to vacation rentals, some 262,000 homes are reportedly empty or nearly empty all year round. Paris wins the gold medal when it comes to seasonal rentals. On Airbnb alone, there are at least 60,000 furnished rentals up for grabs. And with the upcoming Olympics, the number of short-term leases is booming. 

The local housing advice agency recently noticed a rise in eviction notices, especially for furnished apartments. "Obviously, it's going to tempt a lot of people," says Sophie Morvan, a legal expert. "They’re able to rent out their apartment for an extortionate amount of money per night whereas longer leases, with tenants who use the apartment as their main residence, are regulated. So yes, there is a risk. The only way to prove a fraud is to vacate the flat, and then return to the premises to get the neighbours' testimonies, perhaps take a photo of the mailbox to see if the name invoked in the notice matches or not. It's only then that the fraud is noticeable. The tenant can then take the matter to court to claim damages. The landlord can be fined up to €6,000."

More and more people who are desperate to find a rental now seek help from research assistants. Highly active on TikTok, they offer personalised searches for young house hunters. "The aim is for us to be available as soon as an apartment frees up," explains one of them, Cyril Bathélémy. "That way, as soon as something comes up, we call as quickly as possible and book the viewing. We're like assistants. The goal is for the person to get a viewing and everything else – booking, paperwork, sending and modifying documents – we do it."

Real estate analysts say there might be a surge in listings in September, after the Olympics. But for now, the race for a flat in Paris remains fiercely competitive.

Text, code, speech, image and even video: you can now create anything in a flash thanks to generative artificial intelligence. This world-changing innovation presents an opportunity for France, which hasn’t been a leader in tech since the dawn of the internet. The French government is currently investing 1.5 billion euros into AI, and has championed a so-called “open source” approach. FRANCE 24's Peter O’Brien explores the potential payoffs.