Africa

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Trump targets UN peacekeeping missions

The US president has targeted the United Nations for its alleged inefficiency in its peacekeeping operations conducted by Blue Helmets. They now face a $840 million budget cut.

Published on September 6, 2025, at 10:47 am (Paris) Benjamin Roger

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Colombian mercenaries join Rapid Support Forces fighting in Sudan

Colombian mercenaries, most of them army veterans, are recruited for their expertise gained from fighting the FARC guerrilla group.

Published on September 5, 2025, at 9:27 am (Paris) Judith Renoult

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Moroccan feminist activist Ibtissame Lachgar gets 30 months in jail for 'offending Islam'

A court in Rabat convicted Ibtissame Lachgar, one of the leading figures of Moroccan feminism, for posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt that read 'Allah is lesbian.'

Published on September 3, 2025, at 11:00 pm (Paris), updated on September 4, 2025, at 8:23 am Le Monde with AP

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France returns skull of beheaded king to Madagascar

Officials in Madagascar attended reception ceremonies on Tuesday for the return of three skulls kept by France for more than a century, including one thought to be of a king beheaded by French troops in 1897.

Published on September 2, 2025, at 2:02 pm (Paris), updated on September 2, 2025, at 6:48 pm Le Monde with AFP

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Heavy rains and 'massive' landslide kill more than 1,000 in Sudan, rebel group says

The landslide on Sunday struck the village of Tarasin in the Jebel Marra area, according to an armed group controlling the region.

Published on September 2, 2025, at 5:05 am (Paris), updated on September 2, 2025, at 11:54 am Le Monde with AFP

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New law in Burkina Faso bans homosexuality

Lawmakers in the country's unelected parliament have approved fines and prison sentences for persons convicted. Homosexuality is illegal in around 30 African countries, but not until now in Burkina Faso, whose military seized power three years ago.

Published on September 2, 2025, at 2:37 am (Paris), updated on September 2, 2025, at 10:17 am Le Monde with AFP

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Skulls repatriated from France inflame heritage battle in Madagascar

The return of three Sakalava skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to be that of King Toera, beheaded by French colonial troops in 1897, has reignited a fierce conflict among his descendants.

Published on September 1, 2025, at 4:48 pm (Paris) Guilhem Fabry

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'Drag Race France': Ivorian drag queen Mami Watta's comeback victory

The 27-year-old queen won the second victory for an Ivorian contestant, after Keiona in 2023, in the French drag show on August 28. Her success has brought hope to Côte d'Ivoire's still-marginalized LGBTQ+ community.

Published on September 1, 2025, at 4:11 pm (Paris), updated on September 1, 2025, at 4:12 pm Marine Jeannin

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Ouahiba Bouzyane's first days in France after arriving from Morocco: 'I never dreamed of leaving my country. Things just turned out that way'

Ouahiba Bouzyane, 52, arrived from Morocco in 2002 after marrying a French man. Following a divorce and a new relationship, she is now a single mother of five in Paris.

Published on September 1, 2025, at 5:30 am (Paris), updated on September 1, 2025, at 9:30 am Julia Pascual

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Malian refugee women recount repeated rapes by Russian mercenaries

Since 2021, several United Nations and International Federation for Human Rights reports have observed a rise in conflict-related sexual violence acts committed by Malian security forces and their Russian allies.

Published on August 31, 2025, at 11:06 pm (Paris), updated on September 1, 2025, at 11:17 am Célia Cuordifede

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'We left hell behind': Inside the Mbera refugee camp, a miniature Mali on Mauritania's border

Since 2023, eastern Mauritania has faced an unprecedented influx of Malian refugees fleeing violence from the Bamako army and Russian Wagner mercenaries. The arrivals have disrupted the fragile balance of a region already lacking in resources.

Published on August 30, 2025, at 5:30 pm (Paris) Célia Cuordifede

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Video: Why are young African women manufacturing Russian drones?

The Alabuga Special Economic Zone, in Tatarstan, Russia, has been producing drones since the start of the war in Ukraine. There, young African women have found themselves working on production lines, lured by a misleading vocational training program.

Published on August 30, 2025, at 12:47 pm (Paris) Thomas Eydoux Marceau Bretonnier Sinead McCausland 04:41

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In Japan, a misunderstood cooperation project with Africa sparks xenophobic backlash

Outraged reactions from many Japanese citizens to the program – largely fueled by misinformation – reveal growing anxiety about immigration, even though it is necessary in an aging country.

Published on August 30, 2025, at 2:34 am (Paris), updated on August 30, 2025, at 11:12 am Philippe Mesmer

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Mohammed VI, Islam and the Islamists

'The Enigma of Mohammed VI' (6/6). His status as 'commander of the faithful' has given the Moroccan king a unique aura and has enabled him to push back against the ambitions of Islamists, whose political project and way of life he rejects.

Published on August 29, 2025, at 6:01 pm (Paris) Christophe Ayad Frédéric Bobin

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Mohammed VI, the makhzen and the art of palace secrecy

'The Enigma of Mohammed VI' (5/6). In order to maintain his power, the Moroccan monarch relies on a handful of loyal supporters, most of whom he has known for decades. However, internal rivalries betray a certain nervousness, revealing the uncertainty surrounding the future of his reign.

Published on August 28, 2025, at 6:42 pm (Paris) Christophe Ayad Frédéric Bobin

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French sports journalist jailed in Algeria feels 'isolated,' family says

Christophe Gleizes, a French sports reporter sentenced to seven years in prison in Algeria in June, is in a 'fighting mood,' his parents said after visiting him this month.

Published on August 28, 2025, at 11:59 am (Paris), updated on August 28, 2025, at 1:03 pm Le Monde with AFP

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First US deportees arrive in Rwanda under Trump administration deal

Seven migrants deported from the United States arrived in Rwanda in mid-August, officials said Thursday, under a controversial third-country resettlement scheme pushed by Donald Trump's administration.

Published on August 28, 2025, at 10:28 am (Paris), updated on August 28, 2025, at 10:54 am Le Monde with AFP

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Moroccan court denies medical release to feminist accused of 'offending Islam'

Despite impending cancer surgery, Moroccan activist Ibtissame Lachgar will remain in prison as she awaits trial, following a court decision on Wednesday.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 8:36 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

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South Africa likens US's refugee status for white Afrikaners to 'apartheid 2.0'

On Wednesday, South Africa's foreign minister denounced the Donald Trump administration's policy of offering refugee status to members of the white Afrikaner minority, saying it resembled the country's own past of racial segregation.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 6:50 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 9:10 pm Le Monde with AFP

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Mohammed VI, a king with big foreign policy plans

'The Enigma of Mohammed VI' (4/6). In recent years, the Moroccan monarch has become highly active on the international stage. From the highly sensitive issue of Western Sahara to Morocco's rapprochement with Israel, he has often established himself as the central player.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 6:01 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 9:28 pm Christophe Ayad Frédéric Bobin

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Who is Ibtissame Lachgar, the Moroccan activist accused of insulting Islam?

The feminist activist faces up to five years in prison for wearing a T-shirt with the words 'Allah is lesbian.' Her actions have sparked heated debate, even within her own group.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 2:15 pm (Paris) Alexandre Aublanc

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Libyan coast guards fire on Ocean Viking in international waters

The humanitarian vessel operated by the NGO SOS Méditerranée came under automatic gunfire from two masked Libyan coast guards for about 20 minutes on Sunday, August 24.

Published on August 27, 2025, at 1:42 am (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 2:44 pm Allan Kaval

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Mohammed VI, the king of unfinished reforms

'The Enigma of Mohammed VI' (3/6). The Moroccan king's coronation in 1999 sparked great hope at home and abroad. After the reign of his father, which was marked by human rights abuses, the young monarch personified change and modernity, at least at the beginning.

Published on August 26, 2025, at 6:30 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 2:50 pm Frédéric Bobin Christophe Ayad

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France returns colonial-era human remains to Madagascar

France returned three human skulls dating from the colonial era to Madagascar, including one attributed to a Malagasy king who was beheaded by French troops in 1897.

Published on August 26, 2025, at 3:00 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 2:51 pm Le Monde with AFP

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The forgotten victims of the conflict in the western DRC

In western Democratic Republic of Congo, clashes between the Teke and Yaka communities have spiraled into violence carried out by Mobondo militias. Deployed in 2022, the Congolese army is now struggling to protect civilians in a conflict that has largely gone unnoticed.

Published on August 26, 2025, at 2:16 am (Paris), updated on August 26, 2025, at 2:36 pm Colin Delfosse

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Mohammed VI's youth in the shadow of Hassan II

'The Enigma of Mohammed VI' (2/6). Before ascending to the throne in 1999, the Moroccan monarch had to endure the contempt of his father, an autocrat who reproached him for his love of partying and doubted his ability to rule.

Published on August 25, 2025, at 6:01 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 9:04 am Christophe Ayad Frédéric Bobin

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The twilight of Morocco's King Mohammed VI

'The Enigma of Mohammed VI' (1/6). Twenty-six years after his 1999 coronation, the Moroccan monarch's relationship to power remains complex. As questions about his health arise, the prospect of his succession is fueling power struggles and backroom deals among the country's elite.

Published on August 24, 2025, at 6:08 pm (Paris), updated on August 27, 2025, at 9:04 am Christophe Ayad Frédéric Bobin

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Nigerian air force kills 35 militants in strikes near Cameroon border

Nigeria's military said Saturday its air force carried out precision strikes that killed more than 35 jihadist fighters massed near the Cameroon frontier, as the army faces a renewed wave of Boko Haram and ISWAP attacks in the northeast.

Published on August 24, 2025, at 12:58 am (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

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Mali arrests French intelligence officer despite diplomatic immunity

Officially registered with Malian authorities, the French agent was listed as a contact as part of anti-terrorism cooperation between Mali and France. Arrested following a purge within the Malian army, he was accused of conspiracy.

Published on August 23, 2025, at 6:19 pm (Paris) Jacques Follorou

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DRC military prosecutor seeks death penalty against former president Kabila

Kabila, 53, went on trial in his absence in July for his alleged support for Rwanda-backed M23 militants. Kabila's party called the proceedings 'a political trial.'

Published on August 23, 2025, at 12:39 am (Paris), updated on August 23, 2025, at 12:38 pm Le Monde with AFP

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France opts for hardline approach in Algeria relations crisis

French President Emmanuel Macron has asked his government to take retaliatory measures against Algeria, which has refused to take back nationals under deportation orders and has detained two French citizens.

Published on August 21, 2025, at 3:55 pm (Paris) Simon Roger

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French judges dismiss genocide case against Rwanda's former first lady

Paris judges on Thursday threw out a case accusing Agathe Habyarimana, widow of Rwanda's former president, of involvement in the 1994 genocide, making it highly unlikely she will ever face trial in France.

Published on August 21, 2025, at 2:50 pm (Paris), updated on August 21, 2025, at 3:04 pm Le Monde with AFP

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Uganda announces deal to accept migrants deported from US

Uganda's government said Thursday it would accept migrants who do not qualify to remain in the United States, becoming the latest African state after Rwanda and South Sudan to announce agreements as part of the Trump administration's attempts to speed up deportations.

Published on August 21, 2025, at 12:46 pm (Paris), updated on August 21, 2025, at 1:04 pm Le Monde with AFP

Editorial

France and Cameroon: Telling the necessary truth

By acknowledging that France waged a 'war' in Cameroon during decolonization, President Emmanuel Macron continues the necessary work of truth-telling that, from the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda to the Algerian War, must fill the gaps of amnesia – and even lies – that still weigh on French society and diplomacy.

Published on August 20, 2025, at 11:40 am (Paris) Le Monde

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The rise and fall of a gang of crypto-ransom kidnappers

The criminal group behind a string of violent kidnappings in France that recently made headlines started this activity as early as 2023 and was planning further 'attacks.' Its mastermind was arrested on June 3 in Morocco.

Published on August 19, 2025, at 8:30 pm (Paris), updated on August 19, 2025, at 8:31 pm Antoine Albertini Soren Seelow

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Mali's former prime minister charged with embezzlement after criticizing junta

Choguel Kokalla Maiga, who was dismissed as prime minister last year after condemning military rule, has been remanded in custody as the junta tightens its grip.

Published on August 19, 2025, at 7:04 pm (Paris), updated on August 19, 2025, at 8:38 pm Le Monde with AFP

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Peace is slipping further away in eastern DRC, despite mediation efforts by the US and Qatar

Talks held in Doha over a ceasefire agreement between the Congolese government and M23 rebels, who are backed by Rwanda, have stalled. Meanwhile, fighting has resumed in South Kivu.

Published on August 19, 2025, at 1:56 am (Paris), updated on August 19, 2025, at 10:40 am Mathilde Boussion

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Hamas accepts an Arab ceasefire proposal as the Palestinian death toll exceeds 62,000

A senior Hamas official told reporters that the militant group had accepted the proposal introduced by the mediators, without elaborating. Israel's plans to expand the offensive in Gaza have sparked international outrage and infuriated many Israelis who fear for the remaining surviving hostages.

Published on August 18, 2025, at 10:10 pm (Paris), updated on August 19, 2025, at 9:29 am Le Monde with AP

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Tracing a meteorite: Niger outraged over sale of a fragment from Mars

Discovered in Niger in 2023, the largest Martian meteorite ever found was sold for $5 million in New York in July. Suspecting 'illicit international trafficking,' the West African country has suspended exports of precious stones and meteorites.

Published on August 17, 2025, at 9:30 am (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

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France discussing 'unjustified' arrest of citizen in Mali

The French Foreign Ministry is seeking the 'immediate release' of the French embassy employee in Bamako. Mali authorities said that the French national had been arrested on suspicion of working for the French intelligence services.

Published on August 16, 2025, at 6:52 pm (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

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Mali junta accuses foreign powers of destabilization plot

A French national was held on suspicion of working 'on behalf of the French intelligence service.' Dozens of soldiers have also been arrested, accused of wanting to overthrow the government.

Published on August 15, 2025, at 2:43 am (Paris), updated on August 15, 2025, at 9:49 am Le Monde with AFP

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At least 40 dead in Sudan's worst cholera outbreak in years

Doctors Without Borders said the Darfur region, which has been a major battleground over more than two years of fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, had been hardest hit by the year-old outbreak.

Published on August 14, 2025, at 11:28 am (Paris), updated on August 14, 2025, at 11:50 am Le Monde with AFP

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Senegalese sailors on French fishing boats: 'They have the maritime spirit in their blood'

Over the past decade in Brittany, western France, fishing boat owners have been hiring crew members from Senegal, who are drawn to the region by wages higher than those paid in Spain.

Published on August 14, 2025, at 5:30 am (Paris) Julia Pascual

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Moroccan feminist activist Ibtissame 'Betty' Lachgar faces prosecution for 'insulting Islam'

Moroccan authorities have requested the pretrial detention of the activist after she posted a photo deemed critical of Islam. For wearing a T-shirt with the words 'Allah is lesbian,' she faces up to five years in prison.

Published on August 13, 2025, at 3:03 pm (Paris) Alexandre Aublanc

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South Africa slams US rights report as 'deeply flawed' after new tariffs

This document, partly drafted under the Biden presidency and amended by the Trump administration, called out a 'deterioration' in human rights in many countries. Pretoria on Tuesday said the report was inaccurate.

Published on August 13, 2025, at 8:41 am (Paris), updated on August 13, 2025, at 9:34 am Le Monde with AFP

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Macron admits France waged a repressive war in Cameroon during its decolonization

In a letter, President Emmanuel Macron cited a report by a joint French-Cameroonian team of historians, which clearly demonstrated that France had waged a 'war' in Cameroon, characterized by 'repressive violence.'

Published on August 12, 2025, at 8:13 pm (Paris), updated on August 13, 2025, at 9:59 am Le Monde with AFP

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Gaza: Egypt announces joint effort with Qatar and US to broker 60-day ceasefire

Egypt claimed to be working, together with Qatar and the US, on a deal for a 60-day ceasefire, with 'some hostages and some Palestinian detainees' to be released, and 'humanitarian and medical assistance' to enter Gaza.

Published on August 12, 2025, at 6:20 pm (Paris), updated on August 13, 2025, at 9:55 am Le Monde with AFP

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Casablanca has become a refuge for sub-Saharan migrants

Morocco's economic capital welcomes many immigrants from West Africa. Confronted with growing barriers to reaching Europe, some have chosen to settle in this metropolis, where they are 'tolerated.'

Published on August 12, 2025, at 12:40 pm (Paris) Mustapha Kessous

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Combat resumes between Congolese army and M23 rebels despite peace treaty

Fighting between Rwanda-backed M23 and local groups affiliated with Kinshasa has intensified since Friday around the town of Mulamba, in South Kivu province.

Published on August 12, 2025, at 8:42 am (Paris) Le Monde with AFP

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More and more Ethiopians are risking their lives at sea in attempts to reach Yemen

On August 3, at least 90 migrants died when their boat sank in the Gulf of Aden. All of them hailed from Ethiopia's Tigray region, which has been plagued by ongoing political instability after two years of civil war.

Published on August 11, 2025, at 12:18 am (Paris), updated on August 11, 2025, at 9:37 am Marlène Panara

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Satellite imagery in Senegal assists in property tax collection

Heavily indebted, the Senegalese government has turned to new technology to boost its tax revenue.

Published on August 10, 2025, at 11:29 pm (Paris), updated on August 11, 2025, at 2:00 pm Julien Bouissou

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Kenya, a final destination for fast fashion, is overwhelmed by secondhand clothing

Every year, thousands of tons of used textiles, arriving from Europe, the US and elsewhere, are unloaded at the port of Mombasa, 500 km from Nairobi. Numerous local initiatives have emerged to combat this form of pollution.

Published on August 9, 2025, at 6:30 pm (Paris) Louise Audibert

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Boko Haram lures young people with no prospects from the Lake Chad area

'Lake Chad's Troubled Waters' (4/4). In Chad's Lac province, 96% of the population is illiterate, and young people have resigned themselves to scraping by with intermittent jobs. This is a boon for the jihadist group, which recruits disadvantaged people by promising them a steady income.

Published on August 9, 2025, at 12:00 pm (Paris) Carol Valade

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How Lake Chad became neglected by international aid

'Lake Chad's Troubled Waters' (3/4). After a surge of solidarity in response to the attacks by Boko Haram, global attention has shifted away from the region. As NGOs have been weakened by the halt in US funding, the humanitarian situation remains dire.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 8:30 pm (Paris), updated on August 8, 2025, at 6:13 pm Carol Valade

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Algeria pushes back against Macron's tough line in diplomatic standoff

After a letter Emmanuel Macron sent to the prime minister, calling for 'more firmness' on matters of 'migration and security with Algeria,' was published, Algeria claimed Paris laid 'all the blame on the Algerian side.'

Published on August 7, 2025, at 6:09 pm (Paris), updated on August 7, 2025, at 8:47 pm Le Monde with AFP

Editorial

The imperative of reversing Africa's democratic drift

The decline of democracy in Africa has many causes. Among them are France's serious ambiguities, its readiness to endorse despots considered friends and its tendency to reduce democracy to the holding of elections, even rigged ones.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 12:38 pm (Paris) Le Monde

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Macron hardens his approach toward Algeria

Amid stalled cooperation on migration and the fate of writer Boualem Sansal and journalist Christophe Gleizes, the French president is taking a tougher stance toward Algiers, advocating retaliatory measures.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 11:46 am (Paris), updated on August 7, 2025, at 11:49 am Frédéric Bobin

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The scars of Boko Haram on the shores of Lake Chad: 'At night, they are the masters'

'Lake Chad's Troubled Waters' (2/4). Fifteen years after the insurgency began, successor factions of the jihadist group, though weakened, continue to spread terror around Lake Chad, which borders Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 5:30 am (Paris) Carol Valade

News

Outsider art: Two African artists somewhat lost amid the vast Decharme collection in Paris

At the Grand Palais, 402 works by 156 artists are on display in the Parisian building through September 21. Africa is represented by two creators, one from Benin and one from Angola.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 3:45 am (Paris), updated on August 7, 2025, at 11:00 am Olivier Herviaux

News

Helicopter crash kills eight in Ghana, including ministers of defense and environment

Ghana declared three days of mourning after a military helicopter crash on Wednesday killed eight people, including the defense and environment ministers.

Published on August 7, 2025, at 1:02 am (Paris), updated on August 7, 2025, at 9:37 am Le Monde with AFP

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