Podcast: Homeschooling in France, banlieues talk for themselves, birth of André Citroën

The French government wants to limit homeschooling in a bid to reign in radicalisation, but not all such families pose a threat to the Republic.  Also, a look at the shift in the French media's relationship with the banlieues, thanks to the Bondy Blog, founded during the 2005 riots. And the story of car maker André Citroën, who wanted to become the Henry Ford of Europe.

Spotlight on France, episode 48 © RFI

The growing homeschooling movement in France is in the government's crosshairs. Charged with being a cover for indoctrinating children into radical Islamism, a bill going through parliament would drastically reduce the number of families allowed to homeschool. But the phenomenon remains marginal and the families' motivations are varied. We meet home-educator Anne Belléard, and her two children, to see how it is done. And we question whether the new law will serve its intended purpose. (Listen @0'20'')

French media is now addressing the issue of police violence far more than it did 15 years ago, and this is partly thanks to the Bondy Blog argues its current head Latifa Oulkhouir (@LallaKhr). She talks about the birth of the blog during the 2005 riots in the working-class banlieues, and the impact it has had on mainstream media since then. (Listen @20'15'')

France’s three car manufacturers were all founded by industrialists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Of the three, André-Gustave Citroën, born 5 February 1878, is arguably the most colourful, with a knack for invention and spectacular marketing techniques. (Listen @15'00)

This episode was mixed by Cécile Pompéani.

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.