Revisited

On April 16, 2014, the MV Sewol ferry capsized near the southwestern shores of South Korea, with 476 passengers on board, including 325 pupils on a school trip. Very few of them survived because they obeyed the order to stay in their cabins while the ferry was sinking. Beyond the human tragedy, with 304 lives lost, the disaster sparked widespread social and political upheaval in South Korea. Seven years on, FRANCE 24's team reports on how the terrible event has changed the country.

The name of Codogno may not sound familiar, but the town in the northern Italian region of Lombardy was the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak in Europe. The first coronavirus cases were detected there at the start of February 2020. A little over a year later, our correspondents returned to Codogno to take stock of how the town is faring.

In February 1960, France carried out its first nuclear test in the Algerian desert, codenamed "Blue Jerboa". Three more atmospheric tests and 13 underground tests followed, until 1966. The consequences for humans and the environment were disastrous. More than 60 years on, the after-effects are still visible and the victims of nuclear tests are struggling to be heard. FRANCE 24 reports from both sides of the Mediterranean: with former French conscripts who performed their military service in Algeria and are trying to receive compensation, and Algerians, who feel abandoned to their fate.

When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, few would have guessed that it would become one of the bloodiest conflicts of our time. Ten years on, our reporters returned to the northeastern city of Idlib. It's the only Syrian city not yet under government control, but where thousands of families are anxiously awaiting to learn the fate of loved ones who have disappeared. By crosschecking photographs with witness statements, an aid group tries to help them identify their missing family members.

On the evening of April 15, 2019, the world watched in horror as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris went up in flames and its burning spire crashed through the roof. Firefighters battled into the night to save the 850-year-old edifice. As the flames spread, Notre-Dame was at very real risk of collapse but luckily it remained standing.

Built by the US over a 30-year period, the strategically located Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On January 1, 2000, Panama regained sovereignty over it, 85 years after its inauguration. Prior to that, the area around the canal had been a US colony: some 1,400 square kilometres, nicknamed "La Zona". Since its handover to Panama, most Americans have left this narrow strip of land. Our reporters Laurence Cuvillier and Matthieu Comin met those who have stayed behind, maintaining American traditions but with bitter memories for some Panamanians.

Back in 2011, FRANCE 24 followed Sam and his men fighting Muammar Gaddafi's forces in the streets of the Libyan capital Tripoli amid the whirlwind of the Arab Spring. Ten years on, our reporters caught up with Sam, now known as Hussam Najjair, to see if he thought the fight was worth it. They also went to the eastern city of Benghazi to meet supporters of strongman Khalifa Haftar. Gaddafi may now be just a memory, but Libya remains deeply divided.

On February 11, 2011, after almost three decades in power, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned following 18 days of mass protests. But 10 years later, the ideals of the revolution have given way to another authoritarian military regime. On the emblematic Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters once gathered, even taking out a camera is now forbidden. Meanwhile, NGOs estimate that at least 60,000 political prisoners are languishing in Egyptian jails. Our Cairo correspondents Edouard Dropsy and Claire Williot report.

In Tunisia, ten years after the revolution, the transition to democracy has not been easy and many Tunisians wonder what they have gained or lost in the past decade. In the city of Sidi Bouzid, where the self-immolation of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi on December 17, 2010 sparked the Arab Spring, those who were wounded in the 2011 protests lament the lack of justice and official recognition from the state. Our correspondents report on the bittersweet legacy of Tunisia's revolution.

Amid violence, racism and poverty, the southern city of Porto Alegre has become a symbol of the divisions in Brazilian society. In November 2020, a Black man was beaten to death by white security guards at a supermarket there. Once a testing ground for the Brazilian left who wanted to change the world, the city has been run by the conservative right for the last 14 years. What has become of the children of the World Social Forum, which Porto Alegre hosted from 2001 to 2005? What remains of that alternative vision of the world? Our correspondents report.