The French porn industry is facing its moment of reckoning. A two-year police investigation has blown the lid off widespread abuse of vulnerable women. A Senate report is now aiming to improve conditions by bringing about stricter controls. In this show, we meet three women who are trying to change the way the adult film industry in France operates.

With energy prices in Europe and around the world rising, there are concerns that this winter in France will be tough. Consumption will need to be reduced, and in a worst-case scenario, cuts will be unavoidable. This is just one of the consequences of the ongoing war in Ukraine. But electricity in France is predominantly generated from nuclear energy, accounting for almost 70 percent of the country’s needs. So as we head into winter, why are there concerns?

Those who work for platforms like Uber Eats and Deliveroo were hailed as heroes during the Covid-19 pandemic, risking their own health to make deliveries to those of us under lockdown. Today, delivery people still work for little pay and under harsh conditions. It's estimated that at least half the riders in France are undocumented. For that reason, many of them are having their profiles deactivated and losing their jobs. Critics accuse the delivery platforms of taking advantage of these riders.

Six years ago, Calais's infamous Jungle migrant camp was demolished by French police. Today, the camp itself has gone, but the migrants and the smugglers who profit from them remain. In fact, they are more numerous than ever before, with a record number of people attempting to cross the Channel in August 2022. The situation is putting a strain on relations between France and the United Kingdom.

When it comes to childcare, French parents like to enrol their little ones in crèches or daycare centres for children under the age of three. But these nurseries have been ringing alarm bells. Decades of cost-cutting measures have created a situation where many centres say they are no longer able to provide adequate care. Around half of France's 5,000 crèches say they can't find enough workers. To find out more about the challenges facing French nurseries, we speak to Fréderic Groux, a pediatric psychologist and a former educator for nursery school children.

Two hundred years ago, a young French linguist had a major eureka moment. In 1822, everything suddenly made sense for Jean-François Champollion as he deciphered the hieroglyphics – the ancient Egyptian code that had bamboozled scholars for years – on the famous Rosetta Stone. Thanks to his hard work, the mysterious symbols chipped into stone finally had meaning. In this special edition of France in Focus, we travel to the town of Vif in France's eastern Isère region to follow in the footsteps of the child prodigy who would become the first head of the Louvre museum's department of Egyptian antiquities.

It's summer and French vacationers are back on the road, on the rails, and in the air. After two years of suffering through the Covid-19 pandemic, it is time to recharge, rest and take in the sun.

When the US Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion, it sent shockwaves across the world. In France, when Simone Veil stood before parliament in 1974 and pushed for the decriminalisation of abortion, the debate was heated. Since the passing of the 1975 ‘Veil Law’ in her name, access to abortion has become for a majority of the French akin to a fundamental right. But it remains vulnerable to shifting political tides — hence the push to add it to the country’s constitution.

A testament to its history, France is sprinkled with beautiful villages and towns. To stand out, attract tourists or even new residents, many have turned to a variety of certificates, labels and competitions to boost their visibility. We've followed an inspector for the non-profit ‘Most Beautiful Villages of France’ who looked at the town of Bergheim to see if it’s worthy of obtaining this certification. We also met Christophe Alaux, a marketing professor, to understand the role of these labels.

They were the deadliest attacks on French soil since World War II. On the night of November 13, 2015, jihadists targeted Paris's Bataclan concert hall, several outdoor bars and restaurants, as well as the Stade de France stadium. To bring closure, catharsis and above all justice for the victims, a trial of those involved has been under way since September 2021, with a verdict expected on June 29. In this edition of France in Focus, we hear from a victim's partner, a lawyer and a court reporter.