Podcast: Justice for children, De Gaulle on screen, France’s animal welfare gap

The murder of a young girl has sparked a reckoning with France's failures to investigate and prosecute violence against children. A historian's take on bringing Charles de Gaulle to the big screen. And how France's legal recognition of animal sentience has yet to guarantee the welfare of farm animals.

The murder of a child in south-west France has caused outcry after it emerged that the chief suspect was previously accused of raping and sexual assaulting other children – but had never been charged, or even interviewed by police. Child welfare advocates and feminist groups have started weekly demonstrations outside the Justice Ministry, demanding stronger action against systemic failures to investigate, prosecute and convict child abusers. Steffy Alexandrian and Arnaud Gallais, who both founded child protection groups after being sexually abused, describe their experiences with the justice system and why an overhaul is long overdue. (Listen @3')

On 18 June 1940, a then little-known general made a radio broadcast from London to German-occupied France to rally the French resistance. Few heard his call, but the speech would launch Charles de Gaulle on the path to becoming one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. Eighty-six years later, de Gaulle is back in the spotlight thanks to the blockbuster biopic La Bataille de Gaulle. Historian Julian Jackson – whose acclaimed biography, A Certain Idea of France, inspired the film – talks about the delicate process of bringing history to the screen, the general's love-hate relationship with Winston Churchill, and why his warnings about Europe's dependence on America still resonate. (Listen @18'40'')

In July 1976, France passed a landmark law for animal rights: Article L214 of the Rural Code, which recognised animals as “sentient beings” with needs that humans had to respect. Fifty years later, animal studies specialist Émilie Dardenne says it has not stopped sometimes shocking cruelty in France’s massive farming industry. (Listen @12'40'')

Episode mixed by Jeremie Boucher.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app.