Among the words on everyone’s lips this week in France is - petrol, well and diesel. Yes fuel prices have reached record high levels in France. We’ll get the latest on what the government is doing, where the shortages are and whether the crisis could lead to social unrest and even the return of les Gillets Jaunes - remember them? They could be back.

We’ll also run you through the key numbers of the Pope’s historic visit to Paris this weekend, but should he be allowed to say mass on the Champs-Elysees in secular France?

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We’ve got a great interview with a civil liberties expert to hear about the potential dangers posed by Marine Le Pen and her party and we’ll look at whether competition on the rails in France will bring down the prices of train tickets - including on the eurostar.

And we’ll explain how to use capital letters in French - it’s not as obvious as you think.

I’m Ben McPartland and I’ll be joined for this episode of Talking France by the team at The Local Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and politics expert John Lichfield, plus journalist Katy Wright in Brittany and special guest, the civil liberties expert Rim Sarah Alouane

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This week we dig into one of Marine Le Pen's contentious proposals and find out whether the far right leader would actually be able to favour French citizens over foreign national residents if she became president.

We'll also find out why French schools are struggling to give students a good education and look at the strange story of a train derailment in rural Normandy that left dozens injured. Was it really sabotage and who could have caused it?

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We'll also hear about the best films France has to offer and why foreign movie lovers are drawn to them, and we'll bring you some French language tips that will come in handy in bars and restaurants.

Host Ben McPartland is joined this week by the team at The Local France - Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and politics expert John Lichfield as well as by Katy Wright in Brittany and special guest and French film expert Manon Kerjean.

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On the show this week we'll delve into the almighty squabble that ended with the Eiffel Tower closing this week after angry staff walked out.

We’ll also look at the growing split in the French far right.

Just everything was looking plain sailing for Marine Le Pen on her quest to take the Elysée Palace, could infighting and power struggles undermine her chances?

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We'll also find out why French people are up in arms about a new tipping trend and what local authorities are doing to enable people to enjoy a mosquito-free apero each day. Can a mayor's bid to ban mossies really work?

And we'll bring you the low down on the French word flipping trick known as verlan - and importantly can non-native speakers like us, actually use it?

Host Ben McPartland is joined by the team at The Local France, Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and politics expert John Lichfield.

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This week we look ahead to the 2027 presidential election which is edging closer. A new poll this week suggested there's only one winner, but could Marine Le Pen trip herself up before she gets over the line?

We'll hear about her latest effort to win voters which has been described as "vile" by some and "populist grandstanding by others".

We'll also find out whether the locals in Brittany, Normandy and other regions of France really do hate Parisians - and why might that be?

Plus we'll bring you a warning over why your French cheese could taste a little different this autumn.

Listeners of Talking France can get access to all the articles on The Local France news site for just €29.99 a year. Join now.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local's Emma Pearson, journalist Katy Wright in Brittany and our French politics expert John Lichfield in Normandy. 

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Summer is thankfully almost over and September is upon us, which means it's time for a new series of Talking France.

Thanks to you all for tuning in to this podcast, which is produced by the team at The Local France and is a must-listen - so they say - for anyone wanting to follow French news, keep up to date with the major changes to life in France and boost their knowledge of French language and culture.

On this week's episode we'll look at the impact of France's summer from hell, which saw thousands of lives lost amid the frequent and punishing heatwaves, parts of the country left devastated by unforgiving wildfires and then there’s the ongoing drought the impact of which will soon become clear.

We'll also look at the other challenges facing France this September and explain why so many French taxpayers have been targeted by hackers and try to understand why the locals here love to correct our French mistakes - and why we shouldn't be annoyed - even if it can be really bloody annoying.

I'm Ben McPartland your host, and I'm joined for this new series by the old team from The Local France, Emma Pearson and Emma Albright.

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You are listening to a special summer episode of Talking France podcast and it's a pretty solemn episode too given France is in the midst of unprecedented heatwaves, drought and devastating wildfires.

We are recording this at the end of July to bring all you listeners up to date with what's happening in the country right now and look at what might be in store in August. Yep we are still weeks away from the end of summer.

We'll get the latest news on the fires and the heatwaves, explain the impact on travel and holiday plans and we'll find out why the country's politicians are failing miserably right now.

And for anyone in France we'll run you through some vocab that will come in handy if you are in a part of the country affected by the fires.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local France's Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and our French politics expert John Lichfield.

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In this week’s episode of Talking France we’ll look ahead to the holiday season in July and August and spell out exactly what you can expect in France this summer from the weather outlook and wildfire alerts to what will happen in French politics and what to expect if you’re travelling to or within France?

Remember even though Talking France takes a break over the summer our team will still be covering all the essential news in France so make sure to visit thelocal.fr where you can sign up for our daily newsletters.

The Talking France team would like to offer listeners the last chance to join The Local using our half-price introductory offer. Just click on this link to take advantage of it. Members, feel free to pass the offer on to friends and family.

I’m Ben McPartland and I’ll be joined by The Local France’s Emma Pearson and politics expert John Lichfield.

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Welcome to a new episode of Talking France. It’s our penultimate episode before we take a summer break and it’s a jam-packed one full of the latest news, talking points and flare ups from France.

We’ll start with the fall out from the unprecedented and deadly heatwave that hit France in the second half of June.

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Thankfully the weather is slightly cooler as we record this episode, but politicians in the country are still overheating when it comes to what to do - and the focus of everyone’s attention and ire has fallen on… air conditioning.

We’ll explain the row and who is on which side.

We’ll also look at why France is the best place in Europe, perhaps even the world to be a naturist after one member of the Talking France team spent time on a naturist beach in the south of France.

We’ll also get the answers to some key questions about drinking French wine in summer and learn the lingo you need if you are in France in July and August.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by the team at The Local France, Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and our politics expert John Lichfield, plus our wine specialist Caroline Fazeli will be joining us fr

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On this week's show we discuss the heat, yes France and the rest of Europe is in the grip of another brutal heatwave - and it's still only June.

We'll look at the huge impact it's having on daily life in France and why the country isn't better prepared to deal with spells of extreme heat - given we know they are only going to become frequent and even hotter. And we’ll explain some important rules about getting naked when it’s hot in France.

Away from the weather we'll look at why France has 99 players at the World Cup including 54 from the Paris region alone.  Yes it's all about dual nationals - but do some people in France still not accept them playing for the national team?

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And we'll hear from readers about their biggest worries about moving to France from concerns about language and taxes to outright panic over where to find a decent bag of crisps.

And we'll enable you to have a conversation in French about heatwaves and the climate crisis. The words and expressions will, I can assure you, come in handy.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by the team from The Local France Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and politics expert John Lichfield.

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This week we’ll look at whether Emmanuel Macron can land any knock out blows for Europe as he welcomes global leaders including Donald Trump to France for what’s been dubbed as his swansong in the international arena.

And we’ll have answers to two of the big questions visitors to Paris have about the French capital’s transport system, we’ll find out whether it’s true that France has more roundabouts than every other country in the world put together - or something like that. 

And we’ll look at whether Lyon really is the best place in France for a beautiful gastro experience - I’m talking fine dining of course not diarrhoea. 

And we’ll explain how you can get cheap access to hundreds of fantastic cultural sites across France.

Im host Ben McPartland and I’ll be joined by The Local France’s editor Emma Pearson, politics expert John Lichfield and special guest Carolione Fazeli who joins u from Lyon.

The Talking France team would like to offer listeners the chance to join The Local using our half-price introductory offer. Just click on this link to take advantage of it. Members feel free to pass the offer on to friends and family.

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