0:01Hello and welcome to the
0:02Hello French press review ! The podcast that immerses you in the news
0:06of the week to help you improve your French.
0:11On the front page for this week, from December 29, 2019 to January 4, 2020.
0:16Tensions between the USA and Iran.
0:18One of the main generals of the Iranian regime killed by an American raid.
0:23Australia ravaged by terrible
0:26fires, an area twice the size of Belgium. Already gone up in smoke.
0:31Carlos Ghosn, ex Renault,
0:33fled Japan and takes refuge in Lebanon to avoid his trial in Paris.
0:38An anti-abortion and anti-PMA advertising campaign withdrawn from the metro.
0:43The tension is at its height between Iran and the United States.
0:47General Soleimani, one of the main generals of the
0:51Iranian regime , was killed by an American drone this Friday in Iraq.
0:57The order to assassinate the warlord was given by Donald Trump, alone,
1:02without consultation of Congress, very popular in Iran.
1:06The general was considered the symbol of Iranian foreign policy.
1:11the Iranian state guarantees revenge in retaliation for American action.
1:15Bombs have already fallen on Saturday in Baghdad, in the area of the
1:19American embassy and on a base housing American soldiers.
1:22These attacks caused no casualties.
1:24Americans, on the other hand, are divided.
1:27The pros trumps consider the president's decision courageous and necessary.
1:32Conversely, the Democrats show
1:34strong opposition and demonstrations are organized in the streets.
1:38They fear an escalation of violence between the two countries.
1:41On social networks, there is even already talk of World War III.
1:45Fires have ravaged
1:47Australia 6 million hectares since September , an area equivalent to twice.
1:52Belgium is already completely gone up in smoke.
1:55Far from calming down, the situation could last for several more months.
2:00The cause is global warming,
2:03which would lead to a longer and stronger fire season.
2:06At least 23 people have lost their lives
2:09and more than 480 million animals are believed to have died.
2:12An estimate that only takes into account birds, reptiles and mammals.
2:17The result could therefore be much
2:19heavier if we add insects, frogs or even bats. One thing is certain,
2:26these fires will have very serious consequences on the Australian ecosystem.
2:31Since Friday, January 4,
2:33hundreds of people trapped in a town in the south of the country,
2:37surrounded by flames, began to be evacuated by boat.
2:41More than 100,000 people in the south-east of the island have already been forced
2:45to leave their homes to flee the forest fires.
2:48A leak worthy of a James Bond movie. For the former CEO of the
2:53Renault-Nissan Alliance , Carlos Ghosn, suspected of embezzlement
2:57between 2011 and 2015, he was arrested in Japan in November 2018
3:03after several months of detention, then a house arrest in Tokyo,
3:07with ban to see his wife or talk to his son.
3:11The businessman was awaiting his trial in the spring of 2020
3:16after learning that his trial would be postponed and would not take place this year.
3:20He decides to put into practice a plan to organize his escape.
3:24Last Sunday, he therefore fled
3:26to Lebanon, his family's country of origin.
3:29In a press release, Carlos Ghosn explains that
3:32he mounted this operation to avoid unfair Japanese justice.
3:37According to him, the former boss would have boarded
3:39a private jet and would have passed through Turkey before reaching Beirut.
3:45Many areas remain unclear as to how he organized his escape.
3:49Gray areas that leave room for many theories like this one.
3:54Carlos Ghosn allegedly organized a concert at his home and hid
3:58in a case of musical instruments to be taken to the airport.
4:02A theory denied by those around him.
4:05In Paris, an anti-abortion and antipub EMAS advertising campaign
4:09in train and metro stations sparked controversy this week,
4:13as Parliament voted for a law in favor of assisted reproduction
4:18for all women and that it will soon be debated in the Senate.
4:23The pro-life association Alliance Vita has decided to fight back.
4:28Among the slogans, we find
4:31society will progress on condition of respecting life
4:35or society will progress on condition of respecting motherhood,
4:41indignant like many Internet users.
4:43The mayor of Paris has called for the immediate
4:46withdrawal of this poster campaign from stations and subways.
4:49Thanks for listening to this podcast. We hope you liked it.
4:53I will now explain the keywords, the important words of the week
4:59in the news. The United States, we used the word
5:031 general and the plural of the word generals.
5:08A general is the most senior person in the military.
5:13We said the general was assassinated. It means he was killed.
5:19He is dead. We said he was killed by a drone.
5:24A drone is a tiny unmanned aircraft that is piloted remotely.
5:31It can be equipped simply with a camera to film or with a bomb.
5:38We talked about revenge and retaliation. Revenge is taking revenge,
5:45committing acts against someone who has hurt us.
5:49Retaliation is retaliation.
5:52This is what we will put in place to generally
5:56take revenge for violent actions. We said there was no casualty.
6:02A victim is a person who suffers
6:05an accident, who will experience a situation where someone acts.
6:12We also used the expression escalation of violence.
6:17This means that violence rises when we say that there is an escalation.
6:23It means that a situation gets worse, gets worse, gets stronger.
6:29You could tell escalating prices when
6:32real estate prices are getting more expensive
6:36in the news in Australia. We have talked about fires after fires.
6:43These are big fires that cause a lot of damage.
6:48We have said that these fires are ravaging the country.
6:51The verb to ravage
6:53means that fires destroy the country, damage the country, devastate it.
7:01We said the country is going up in smoke. Go up in smoke.
7:06This means that there is nothing left,
7:09that everything has been destroyed by fire, by flames, by fires.
7:15This expression can be used figuratively.
7:19For example, you can say I lost my voice.
7:24My dream of becoming a singer goes up in smoke. There is no more hope.
7:31We talked about different types of animals. We talked about birds.
7:37These are the animals that fly. We have talked about mammals.
7:43Mammals are animals like koalas or kangaroos.
7:50We also talked about reptiles, reptiles, for example.
7:55These are the snakes or the lizards. We also talked about insects.
8:01Insects are animals like flies or bees.
8:07We have said that people are trapped, being trapped.
8:11This means not being able to get out of a
8:14situation or a place that you are in difficulty.
8:20We also talked about the ecosystem.
8:24The ecosystem is an environment with all the species that live in it.
8:32We used the verb to evacuate when saying that people were evacuated.
8:38This means that they were taken out of a place
8:43in the news on Carlos Ghosn. We used the word CEO.
8:49A CEO is the boss of a company, the manager, the head of a company.
8:56We said he fled. A leak is when we leave, we escape, we escape.
9:04Usually, we run away because we want to avoid something.
9:11We talked about embezzlement, embezzlement.
9:16It's when you steal money from your
9:18business, from the state, if you work for it
9:21or someone who trusted us to manage their money.
9:27We have said that Carlos Ghosn was in detention for several months.
9:32Detention is when you are put in prison. We can't go out.
9:37He was then placed under house arrest.
9:41This means that his house becomes a prison. He can't get out of it.
9:49We have said that areas remain unclear, that there are areas of shadow
9:53when we use the expressions remain unclear or shaded area, that
9:59is to say that everything is not clear, that we have not a perfect visibility
10:04on how the situation turned out. In the news on
10:11advertising campaigns in the metro, we talked about anti-abortion associations.
10:18Abortion is the act of stopping a pregnancy when you are pregnant.
10:23Abortion can be natural or induced when it is induced.
10:29We also talk about 10 veg IDG, a voluntary termination of pregnancy.
10:37We also talked about ART, medically assisted reproduction.
10:44These are medical techniques
10:47to help fertility, procreation, the woman to be pregnant.
10:55We have used the expression to
10:58be in favor of it means that we are for something, that we agree.
11:04For example, we can say I am in favor of organic food.
11:08I am for organic food. We said that the mayor of Paris and indignant.
11:17It means that she is shocked, that
11:20she does not find it fair, that she is scandalized.