Episode #5 News Review - January 12 to 18, 2020

News of the week - January 12 to 18, 2020 

• Pension reform in France, protests continue [spp-timestamp time=”00:00:46″]
• A referendum proposed in Russia to give more power to parliament [spp-timestamp time=”00:01:38″]
• The first convicted French jihadist has just been released [spp-timestamp time=”00:02:19″]
• A woman appointed for the first time to a very high-level position at the Vatican [spp-timestamp time=”00:03:05″]
• The BMW in which rapper Tupac was assassinated put up for auction [spp-timestamp time=”00:03:55″]
  
• Vocabulary of the week explained [spp-timestamp time=”00:04:40″]

Every Saturday, HelloFrench publishes a podcast that immerses you in the week's news. Each news review comes with a transcription, a vocabulary list, and a quiz, to help you improve your French and test yourself.

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Transcription

Hello,

Welcome to the Hello French news review, the podcast that immerses you in the week's news to help you improve your French.

Headlines for the week of January 12 to 18, 2020

1. Pension reform in France: [tooltips keyword=”manifestations” content=”demonstrations”] protests continue
2. In Russia, a referendum proposed by Putin could give a bit more power to parliament. An announcement that led to the prime minister's resignation.
3. The first convicted French jihadist has just [tooltips keyword=”être libéré” content=”to be freed”] been released after 5 years of [tooltips keyword=”incarcération” content=”imprisonment”] imprisonment.
4. [tooltips keyword=”pape” content=”pope”] Pope Francis appoints a woman for the first time to a very high-level position at the Vatican
5. The BMW in which rapper Tupac was [tooltips keyword=”assassiné” content=”killed”] assassinated has just been [tooltips keyword=”mise aux enchères” content=”auction”] put up for auction for 1.5 million euros.

44th day of mobilization in France against the pension reform plan. A few days ago, Edouard Philippe, the French prime minister, had proposed a [tooltips keyword=”compromis” content=”agreement”] compromise. He proposed maintaining a points-based retirement system but keeping, under certain conditions, the [tooltips keyword=”retraite” content=”retirement”] retirement age at 62. According to the first version of the reform, the retirement age was supposed to increase to 64. The [tooltips keyword=”syndicats” content=”union”] unions decided to reject the compromise, and the protests resumed with even greater intensity. This week, thousands of protesters marched in Paris to express their [tooltips keyword=”mécontentement” content=”dissatisfaction”] dissatisfaction. For them, no compromise is possible - they want the complete abandonment of this reform. The unions are calling for massive strike actions across all professions and throughout France on January 22 and 23.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is proposing to organize a referendum on constitutional reforms. He announced this during his annual [tooltips keyword=”discours” content=”speech”] speech to members of parliament and the political class. While the regime would remain presidential, these reforms would aim to strengthen the powers of parliament. The choice of prime minister would now fall to parliament, whereas until now, he was appointed by the president himself. No date has been specified yet. A few hours after this announcement, Prime Minister Medvedev announced the [tooltips keyword=”démission” content=”resign”] resignation of his government. He has been replaced by the head of the Russian tax authority.

Flavien Moreau, the first French jihadist convicted upon his return from Syria, has just been released from Conde-sur-Sarthe prison. [tooltips keyword=”Converti” content=”converted”] Converted to Islam and then [tooltips keyword=”radicalisé” content=”radicalized”] radicalized, he had been identified by anti-terrorism services after an initial stay in Syria. He was arrested in January 2013 in France as he was planning to return to Syria. Now 33 years old, he had been sentenced in November 2014 to seven years in prison. His release comes with various obligations for just under a year. These include finding a job, living at a designated location, receiving care, and above all, not leaving the country. The former [tooltips keyword=”détenu” content=”inmate”] inmate must also check in every morning at the [tooltips keyword=”gendarmerie” content=”police station”] police station in his area.

This is a first in the history of the Vatican. A woman has just been appointed Under-Secretary of the Section for Relations with States, the equivalent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A very important diplomatic [tooltips keyword=”poste” content=”job”] position for the Catholic state. Francesca Giovanni has been working in relations with states for 27 years. Aged 66, the new foreign affairs minister is a specialist in international law and human rights. This is the first time a woman has held a leadership position in the Secretariat of State. Francesca Giovanni believes the Pope made an innovative decision. She explained that beyond her personal promotion, this decision represents a positive sign for women. Today, only six women hold positions of responsibility at the Vatican.

A BMW already sold for 1.3 million euros in 2017 is back on sale. It is the car in which rapper Tupac was assassinated. This time, it is being put up for auction for the [tooltips keyword=”modique somme” content=”modest price”] modest sum of... 1.5 million euros, or 1.75 million dollars. Fully restored, the car shows 121,000 km on the odometer. The famous American rapper was assassinated during a [tooltips keyword=”fusillade” content=”shooting”] shooting in Las Vegas, as he was leaving a boxing match. It was September 13, 1996, and Tupac was barely 25 years old.

Vocabulary of the week

Expand your French vocabulary - download our list of key words from the week of January 12 to 18, 2020.

La manifestation (demonstration): a gathering of people who want to express their opinion together, usually in the street.
La mobilisation (mobilization): people gather to show their opinion, their view. They mobilize for or against something.
Le compromis (compromise): when you try to reach an agreement with someone who has a different idea from yours. You try to choose a middle option that can then suit everyone.
La pension (pension/retirement): retirement, the period of life when you have stopped your professional activity.
Le syndicat (union): an association that defends common rights and interests.
Le mécontentement (dissatisfaction): a situation in which one is not happy.
La profession (profession): the job, the trade. "La profession" is also used to refer to all people who do the same job.

Repartir de plus belle (expression - to start up again even stronger): to restart or continue with more intensity.

Le référendum (referendum): a vote where the population is asked for their opinion. We want to know if they are for or against a change.
Le discours (speech): speaking in front of people. You can give a political speech, a speech at a wedding, a birthday, a meeting...
La démission (resignation): when you leave your position, your job.
Le fisc (tax authority): the tax service, the fiscal administration.
Être libéré (verb - to be freed): to get out of a situation where you are physically confined. You can also use this expression for situations of moral or social confinement.

L'incarcération (incarceration): being in prison, being imprisoned.
Converti (adjective - converted): you have been convinced by something. In the podcast, we talk about "converted" to refer to someone who did not previously believe in a religion and now does. You can be converted to Islam, to Catholicism, to Judaism...
Radicalisé (adjective - radicalized): when we say someone has been radicalized, it means they believe more strongly than before in their opinions. Here, when we speak of radicalized, we mean that someone, in the name of an ideology (religious or political), resorts to violence.
Le détenu (inmate): someone who is in prison.
La gendarmerie (gendarmerie/police station): almost like the police except that in France, the gendarmerie falls under the military.

Le pape (the Pope): the leader of Catholics. He governs the state of the Vatican.
La diplomatie/diplomatique (adjective - diplomacy/diplomatic): relations with other countries.

Être assassiné (to be assassinated): to be killed by someone.
Mettre/mise aux enchères (verb - to put up for auction): to sell in a system where people can indicate the maximum price at which they wish to buy an item. The person who offers the largest sum gets it.
Pour la modique somme de (for the modest sum of): when we say something has a modest value, it means it is really cheap. The expression can be used ironically to highlight an excessive, too-large price.
Restaurer/être restauré (to restore/to be restored): to return to its original state, to repair. The verb "restaurer" is often used for works of art, heritage, cultural goods...
X kilomètres au compteur (X kilometers on the odometer): the number of kilometers a car has traveled.
La fusillade (shooting): an exchange of gunfire, where everyone is shooting at each other.