The French healthcare system is often held up as an example for its quality of treatment and universality of coverage. But disparities exist across the country, with a severe shortage of doctors in certain areas seriously limiting access to care, a phenomenon the French call "medical deserts". Although the government has decided to increase the number of students accepted to medical school, this measure will take almost a decade to bear fruit. FRANCE 24's reporters Pauline Godart and Claire Paccalin went to find out what it's like to live and work in a "medical desert".

In Irpin, just outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a multi-faceted resistance movement is preparing to face the approaching Russian troops. Our team met Bohdan, a Ukrainian artist; Maxime, a Russian artist; and Sergiy, a Ukrainian member of the French Foreign Legion. All of them will play a role in defending their city. FRANCE 24's Cyril Payen and Georges Yazbeck report.

Clentélex is a 23-year-old man from Ivory Coast who has overcome the odds. He grew up in a poor neighbourhood of Abidjan. Unlike many of his contemporaries who were lured into violence and crime, Clentélex used comedy as his weapon of choice. He won the biggest comedy prize in his homeland, an award which gave him the chance to perform at the prestigious Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland. Noémie Mayaudon and Jean-Charles Guichard bring us his incredible story in this documentary.

On March 18, 1962, after almost eight years of brutal war, France and Algeria signed a ceasefire agreement in the French spa town of Évian, paving the way for Algeria's independence. But the initial relief was followed by a particularly violent transition period. The OAS, a dissident far-right French paramilitary group that refused Algerian independence, stepped up its bombings and assassinations, leading to the departure of hundreds of thousands of French settlers from Algeria. Sixty years after Évian, our reporters have tracked down witnesses and key players from this crucial chapter in both countries' history.

On March 15, 2011, the Syrian revolution began. Ameer al Halbi covered the ensuing conflict as a photographer for several years, before fleeing his hometown of Aleppo and finding refuge in France. Once there, he continued to work as a photographer, driven by the same commitment and passion. Halbi was seriously injured at the end of 2020 while covering a protest in Paris. In this first-person report, he tells us about his relationship to photography, war and exile.

Germany has one of the highest rates of femicide in Europe. According to statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office in December 2021, the pandemic has only made the situation worse. Despite the tireless work of support groups for victims of domestic violence, the number of femicides continues to rise. Activists condemn a failure by police to take women's cases seriously enough, as well as legal shortcomings in German law. Our Berlin correspondents report.

Discovered in Serbia's Jadar region, jadarite might be considered miraculous – at least by the Serbian government and the Rio Tinto mining group. They view this lithium derivative as an ideal raw material source for electric car batteries. But activists say it destroys ecosystems and causes severe illnesses. After months of protests, the government cancelled the project, but as elections loom, many suspect it is purely a political manoeuvre. FRANCE 24’s Laurent Rouy reports.

Andorra, a microstate nestled between France and Spain in the heart of the Pyrenees, attracts millions of tourists every year for winter sports or shopping trips for cheap alcohol and cigarettes. Its flourishing financial sector contributes to an image of a tax haven. But today, the principality is facing criticism. Its institutions date back to the Middle Ages and have evolved little since, especially when it comes to women's rights and abortion, which is illegal in Andorra. Our regional correspondents Laura Cambaud, Léa Caboche and Sarah Morris report.

On June 24, 2021, Palestinian political activist Nizar Banat died after being violently beaten by Palestinian security forces. Banat was a fierce critic of corruption in the Palestinian Authority. His killing had an immediate effect: Thousands took to the streets in the Palestinian Territories to protest against the ruling Fatah party and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The 86-year-old Abbas is clinging on to his position, having cancelled the first elections in 16 years. Our reporters Gwendoline Debono and Laurent Van der Stockt went to meet Palestinians who are openly denouncing their leadership and who feel abandoned.

Colonel Assimi Goïta, who took power in Mali in an August 2020 coup, has been slow to put in place a promised transition to civilian rule. Now under international sanctions, the country has been gripped by nationalist and pan-African fever for several weeks. Relations with former colonial power France, which has deployed thousands of soldiers as part of an anti-jihadist force for nearly a decade, are strained to the point that Mali recently expelled the French ambassador. Meanwhile, the ruling junta in Bamako is welcoming new allies: members of the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group. Their presence has already been reported in certain areas of the country.