Podcast: Civil liberties vs terrorism, Pelicot trial revisited, the Pascaline

A decade after the 2015 Paris terror attacks, France continues to pass security laws, sometimes to the detriment of civil liberties. A feminist journalist's take on the Pelicot mass rape trial. And the auction of the Pascaline, one of the world's earliest calculators, is halted.

Spotlight on France, episode 135 © RFI

Immediately following the Paris attacks on 13 November, 2015, the French government put in place a nationwide state of emergency, granting police exceptional powers to detain and search people suspected of links to terrorism. Some of those sweeping powers have since passed into law, at the expense of civil liberties. Law professor Sophie Duroy says that while the public may have got used to authorities having greater reach, it is not always the best way to fight terrorism. (Listen @0')

Last December, 51 men were found guilty of raping or sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot in her home in Mazan in what was France's biggest rape trial to date. It made headlines worldwide – not least because Pélicot chose to drop her anonymity to make "shame swap sides" from victim to rapist. Independent photojournalist Anna Margueritat was one of many to cover the trial, but in her own way: as a feminist, an activist and victim of sexual violence, posting daily photos and stories on her Instagram account. Author of a recent book on her experience, she reflects on her time in court and what it changed. (Listen @16'45'')

A judge this week suspended the auction of a nearly 400-year-old calculator, after a group of academics called for the government to stop it leaving France. The object in question is a Pascaline, one of the first calculating machines, invented by French scientist Blaise Pascal in the 1640s. (Listen @10'40'')

Episode mixed by Nicolas Doreau.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, Apple podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here) or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).