Podcast: French Greens, skiing's melting future, nuclear radio hoax

Podcast: French Greens, skiing's melting future, nuclear radio hoax

From Spotlight on France by RFI English

March 26, 2026 · 31 min · Episode 142

About this episode

The episode discusses France's local elections, the impact of climate change on skiing, and a historical nuclear radio hoax.

A look at France's local elections, and what happened to the 2020 "green wave". The small French ski resort fighting to keep its slopes open despite diminishing snowfall. And the 1946 radio programme that was accused of causing a nuclear scare. France's far right has made further inroads into the mainstream of French politics, winning 70 cities and hundreds of municipal council seats in last week's local elections. On the left, divisions were laid bare, with Socialists who refused alliances with the hard-left France Unbowed perfoming better overall than those who joined forces. Meanwhile, the Greens party, in coalitions with the Socialists, struggled to hold onto the cities it won in 2020 during the so-called " green wave ". Political scientist Sylvie Ollitrault examines how France's Greens are caught between left-wing factions, and considers how the environmental movement in France may be abandoning politics altogether. (Listen @0') France's skiing industry employs some 120,000 people directly or indirectly in its 250 resorts. But diminishing snowfall linked to climate change means that smaller, lower altitude sites are struggling to survive. Some have also failed to…

Topics covered

  • local elections
  • climate change
  • skiing industry
  • political divisions
  • environmental movement

Keywords

  • French Greens
  • local elections
  • climate change
  • skiing
  • nuclear scare

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: France Unbowed, Greens party

Places: Alpe du Grand Serre, France

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