The Talking France podcast returns this week, covering Elon Musk’s missed meeting with French prosecutors, the potential consequences of scrapping the country’s low-emission zones, and the risk of flight cancellations this summer linked to the war in the Middle East.
Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local France’s Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and John Lichfield to look at all the news and talking points from France this week.
You can find the Talking France podcast on Spotify, Apple or the French platform Deezer and via our friends at World Radio Paris. You can download it here or listen on the link below.
Starting with how Elon Musk failed to show up for an interview with Paris prosecutors, who had summoned the American tech billionaire over a probe into his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok, we also discuss what efforts France has made to try to step away from American tech.
Next, we look at the various low-emission zones across the country, originally introduced to tackle pollution. Following a recently passed amendment to scrap them, we’ll explore what this means for drivers and what could happen in areas where these zones are currently in place.
We’ll also examine the new Paris mayor’s plan to transform the capital’s famous ring road into a greener space.
We then discuss the potential impact of the jet fuel shortage linked to the war in Iran, and how the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could affect summer travel plans.
Train travel might seem like a good alternative, but a new European report says the ‘stone age’ ticket booking systems are holding passengers back.
Finally, we finish this episode with a French vocabulary section on words and expressions to know when talking about being drunk and…the morning after hungover – all guaranteed to make you sound like a native speaker.
Talking France is a free podcast made possible by the support of paying members of The Local – you can find out more about becoming a member here. Members can also help us to spread by leaving a nice review on their podcast platform, sharing episodes on social media or just telling a friend about us.
