Spotlight on France - Podcast: Medical cannabis, a refugee 'at home' with PSG, Haiti's superhero

Loading player...
A sufferer of chronic pain hopes to get relief using cannabis, as part of France's first ever experiment with medical marijuana. PSG striker Nadia Nadim on the thrills of playing to the crowds again. And Toussaint Louverture, the "black superhero" who defied Napoleon.

France has embarked on an experiment with medical marijuana, to see how distributing and prescribing it could work, logistically. It is a step before full-scale drug trials that could lead towards legalisation, and is intended to allay concerns about the use of the drug, which remains illegal in France. Doctors like neurologist Didier Bouhassira are convinced of the beneficial effects of cannabis on a range of medical conditions. We meet one of his patients at the pain centre of the Antoine Pare hospital in Boulogne, west of Paris, who is desperate to join the experiment to ease her pain. (Listen @3'50'')

French football fans are slowly being allowed back into stadiums, and players are looking forward to performing in front of big crowds again. We talk to Nadia Nadim (@nadia_nadim), a striker with the Paris Saint Germain’s women’s team. Born in Afghanistan, she came to Europe as a refugee and developed a passion for football in a camp in Denmark. As she publishes her memoir, Mon histoire (My story), she tells us about adjusting to life in France, and how, as a headstrong Muslim woman, she fitted into one of France’s top women’s teams. (Listen @20')

Toussaint Louverture, born a slave in the French Caribbean colony of Saint Domingue, ended up leading a revolt that would lead to the independence of the island, known today as Haiti. But he paid the price, crossing the path of Napoleon Bonaparte. Toussaint Louverture was arrested on 7 June 1802, and deported to France, where he died in prison. (Listen @14'40'')

This episode was mixed by Cecile Pompeani.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Google podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here), or your favourite podcast app.
3 Jun 2021 English South Africa News

Other recent episodes

Podcast: Gazans in France, saving and spending habits, the Republican calendar

France recognises Palestinian statehood but evacuations from Gaza are still suspended. French savings are at an all-time high, reflecting uncertainty about the future. And the story of the ten-day week put in place after the French Revolution. Evacuations from Gaza to France were suspended on 1 August after a Gazan student…
25 Sep 32 min

Podcast: PM woes, tourists 'overtake' Montmartre, when Martinique became French

As France gets its fifth prime minister in three years, demonstrators who responded to a call to block the country talk about feeling ignored by the government. Residents and business owners in Paris' picturesque Montmartre neighbourhood hit out at overtourism. And the brutal history of France's colonisation of the Caribbean…
11 Sep 29 min

Podcast: living in 50°C, French egg shortages, Paris metro

As France heats up, an experiment simulating life in 50°C aims to get people to take climate change more seriously. Faced with a growing demand for eggs, France looks for ways to boost homegrown production and halt the need for imports. And a look back at the first line of…
3 Jul 28 min

Podcast: Assisted dying in France, Pagnol at Cannes, meet the neighbours

As French lawmakers consider legalising assisted dying, a look at the citizen's assembly that carefully considered the issue. Also, a film about the writer – and filmmaker – Marcel Pagnol at the Cannes film festival, which is finally tackling sexual harassment in the industry. And the man who created the…
22 May 28 min