Talking France3 Sep 2025

With another PM doomed and strikes ahead, is France now ungovernable?

Be warned, France’s strike calendar for September is quickly filling up as various unions announce industrial action that could impact, well, pretty much all aspects of life in France. We’ll look at just how much disruption and political discord lie ahead over the next few weeks in France.

And remember this could be the last Talking France episode with Francois Bayrou as Prime Minister. We’ll explore whether France has simply become ungovernable these days.

We’ll also find about one French town that has slapped a ban on people buying up property to be used as a second home. Could this be the star of a nationwide trend?

And speaking of homes, a story on The Local France has gone viral in recent weeks about a French town selling homes for just one euro. But surely there’s a catch? We’ll find out.

And the big exposé this week is to reveal which of France’s smelly cheeses is the king of stench, the most pungent of them all. The competition is tough but we’ll name the winner.

Im Ben McPartland and with me this week will be the team from The Local France, Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield.

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Episoder(172)

Heatwaves, wildfires and border delays: What to expect in France this summer

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...

9 Jul 17min

French clash over air conditioning and how France became the best place to get naked

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1 Jul 35min

Is France prepared to face more hellish heatwaves and why the French are ruling the World Cup?

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 ...

24 Jun 37min

Macron’s swan song, why France is mad for roundabouts and how Lyon became the home of gastronomy

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 int...

16 Jun 31min

70,000 outstanding complaints: France rocked by scale of child sexual violence

First up this week we'll look at how the killing of a young girl in south west France has sparked nationwide anger and protests and put the French governent under pressure to respond to a growing cris...

10 Jun 37min

Why the violence after football in France and will the French pay up for slavery role?

On this week's episode we will discuss the trouble you can get into in France for being sexist after one man was fined 55,000 euros for an ungentlemanly outburst.We'll also find out why dramatic footb...

3 Jun 32min

How to live without a car in France and are we facing an insufferably hot summer?

As we recorded this episode, France is baking under a record-breaking May heatwave that has sadly proved deadly - at least seven people having died in incidents linked to the hot weather. We’ll get t...

27 Mai 30min

France frets over contaminated baguettes and how to avoid renovation nightmares

This week we'll find out why it's all kicked off at the famous Cannes film festival. In one corner of the ring we have hundreds of French film stars, directors and industry staff and in the other corn...

20 Mai 40min