Perspective

The author of a new book that examines the role and under-representation of Black people in traditional Western art has spoken to FRANCE 24 about how her youth as often the only Black person in the room led her to the idea for the book. Alayo Akinkugbe was born in Nigeria but studied in England from her early teens, right through until the end of her degree in art history from the University of Cambridge. She says she has combined both to write her book "Reframing Blackness: What's Black about 'History of Art'?" She spoke to us in Perspective.

Seventy percent of fish stocks in Southeast Asia have been depleted in just 40 years, and both the environmental and the human cost is getting worse. That's the conclusion of a new photojournalism report which focuses on the fishing industry in the region. Its author says her photographs show  the number of fish being taken out of the ocean is simply not sustainable. Her work also shows the appalling conditions for many of the fishermen themselves, who are treated little better than slaves – with some not even allowed onto dry land for up to two years. Nicole Tung is this year's winner of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award. She spoke to us in Perspective.

The people of Syria had almost lost hope before the sudden fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, so today "hope is a new thing for them". That's the sentiment of an Iraqi-born internationally recognised photojournalist who grew up in Syria and returned there when the Assad regime fell in December 2024 to capture the fighting and its aftermath. Salwan Georges is a photojournalist for The Washington Post, and his work inside Syria is currently on display at the Visa pour l'Image photojournalism festival in the southern French city of Perpignan. He spoke to us in Perspective. 

As the number of people who are homeless around the world has reached 300 million, the head of a UN agency charged with trying to tackle the problem has spoken to FRANCE 24 about the global housing crisis. Anacláudia Rossbach is the executive director of UN Habitat. The organisation aims to provide a better quality of life for all in an urbanising world. The group is promoting socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities – a focal point for all human settlements. She spoke to us in Perspective.

"I'm always very hungry." Those are the credentials expressed by the writer of a new book that delves into the cuisine of Paris. Chris Newens is the author of "Moveable Feasts: Paris in Twenty Meals", which aims to explore the diversity of food in the French capital by travelling around its 20 districts to taste the food of different communities. He spoke to us in Perspective.

A week ahead of the confidence vote on the French government, a political expert has described it as an "absolutely wild gamble". Andrew Smith says that while French Prime Minister François Bayrou has been saying he has not taken a summer holiday since he's been trying to find an answer to France's budgetary crisis, the PM may instead be taking forced holidays in September after his government falls. Smith, who is a historian of modern France at Queen Mary University of London, says the "parliamentary logic just is not there" to support Bayrou. He spoke to us in Perspective.

US President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism from Democrats, who accuse him of pushing the limits of presidential power. The latest flashpoint is Trump's deployment of the National Guard to tackle crime in Washington DC and now he's warning Chicago and New York could be next. California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump's tactics akin to those of a dictator, when Guard troops hit his state back in June. But Trump insists it's a necessary move to restore order in America's cities. In Perspective, we spoke to Tristan Cabello, a historian and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University.

War-torn Sudan is in the grips of one of its worst cholera outbreaks in years. More than 100,000 people have been infected by the disease and over 2,400 lives lost since the outbreak was declared last year. The war has been fuelling the crisis, forcing mass displacement and as people move, so does the disease. Cholera has now crossed into neighbouring Chad, where thousands have sought refuge. In the east of the country, at least 68 deaths have been reported in just one month. Aid agencies are warning that if urgent action isn't taken, the region could be pushed to the brink of a wider epidemic. One of those NGOs is Solidarités International. Its executive director Kevin Goldberg spoke to us in Perspective.

It's been four years since the Taliban swept back to power in Afghanistan and the worst fears about their return have indeed come true, especially for the country's women and girls. The Taliban have issued dozens of directives stripping them of their rights – even the most basic ones linked to education, employment and presence in public spaces. And although the international community has issued condemnation after condemnation, these have translated to few impactful concrete actions. In Perspective, we spoke to Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Serge Haroche won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012 along with American physicist David Wineland for their work on studying quantum phenomena when matter and light interact. The study of matter at its most fundamental level may be hard for many people to wrap their heads around, but as Haroche tells FRANCE 24, study in this field has led to the inventions of life-changing devices. "The GPS is based on atomic clocks; magnetic resonance imaging, which is used in medicine, is also based on quantum phenomena."