The Observers: Recent Episodes
FRANCE 24 English
A show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from our Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris. Saturday at 10.45 am Paris time (09:45 GMT).
After a leak of confidential documents revealed how Russian agents have been placing hundreds of articles in French-speaking media outlets in West and Central Africa, FRANCE 24 travelled to Dakar, Senegal, to investigate this secret operation.
As Colombia’s conflict has intensified in recent years, armed groups have flooded social media like TikTok with videos aimed at getting new recruits – particularly young people. The FRANCE 24 Observers team investigated the inner workings of this new recruitment method.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A UN camp with no water for days, makeshift shelters in schools, and hospitals that are already overwhelmed... These are the conditions that residents from the northern part of the Gaza Strip find when they arrive in the south after fleeing the Israeli bombardment. The FRANCE 24 Observers team has been following two families who fled the north to seek refuge in the south. They've set up camp at schools and hospitals, where supplies are severely lacking.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
Six months into the Sudan conflict, civilians find themselves at the forefront of hostilities between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. This militia faction stands accused of engaging in a series of grave offences, including rape, unlawful seizure of property, and various forms of humiliation inflicted upon civilians—many of which may constitute war crimes. Leveraging hundreds of images captured by eyewitnesses, three of our Observers set out to tell the story of this civil war, which has already claimed 5,000 lives. Their resounding plea: to not overlook the plight of the Sudanese, even as the conflict persists and global attention shifts towards other regions.
On August 26, an evangelical pastor and his followers attempted to attack a gang in the north of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, armed with sticks and machetes. The gang retaliated with firearms, killing at least 21 people. What exactly happened that day? Why did ordinary churchgoers go to confront an armed gang? The FRANCE 24 Observers team investigated in this special program: "Haiti: Faith against bullets".
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
On September 16, 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for wearing her hijab "improperly". Her death led to massive anti-regime protests, known by their now-iconic slogan: “Woman, Life, Freedom”. The Observers team has been in regular contact with dozens of women across Iran over the past 12 months. Many of them have told us that it has become the “new normal” for millions of women in Iran to go out in public with their hair uncovered. But with a new law under discussion that would massively increase the penalties for hijab-related offenses, how long will these new freedoms last?
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
The Bedouin communities living in the unforgiving Badia, or the Syrian desert, are facing a surge in armed attacks. The violence reaches a peak each year between February and April: the truffle season. As tribes go out to hunt truffles, they risk being ambushed by sleeper cells of the Islamic State group, which has taken refuge in the Badia since 2019. This exclusive investigation from FRANCE 24's Observers team exposes the horrific abuses being carried out deep in the desert.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
Fed up with gang violence, Haitians are hunting down people they suspect of being connected to these infamous armed groups, not hesitating to kill them. The movement – called Bwa Kale – began on April 24 in Port-au-Prince and quickly spread around the country. Dozens of people have been killed by vigilante mobs, often after very brief questioning.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
Syria has been torn apart by years of civil war, and while the country is still split into government and rebel-controlled zones, Western travel influencers are sharing videos of their "apolitical" trips to the country. But what is the truth behind their content? In this video, we uncover how these influencers are being shown around the country by regime-sponsored guides who shape the narrative. One guide even has family ties with the Syrian deputy minister of tourism.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from the FRANCE 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from the FRANCE 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from the FRANCE 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from The FRANCE 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
An investigation by the FRANCE 24 Observers has provoked a furious reaction from Iranians in Iran and around the world. In an article published November 25, the Observers team published photographs showing 13 shotgun cartridges bearing the logos of Cheddite, a French-Italian ammunition manufacturer, that had been recovered from protests in Iran. The presence of EU-made ammunition in Iran is an apparent violation of a 2011 EU sanction banning the "export, directly or indirectly, [of] equipment which might be used for internal repression" in Iran.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
Iranian security forces have widely used shotguns to repress the protests exploding around the country. At least 20 protesters have died after being hit by shotgun blasts, according to Amnesty International. A member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s militia, the Basij, told us how security forces are trained to control protests.
While much of the international community denounces the repression of the Uighur ethnic group in Xinjiang, a region in western China, these Uighur "influencers" are offering an idyllic vision of their daily life. In a study published mid-October, an Australian research centre has dissected more than 1,700 videos to show how they are in fact part of the complex Chinese propaganda network under President Xi Jinping.
More than 150 gangs are active in Haiti, where they impose their law on a powerless state. Most of them are located in the capital Port-au-Prince, which they largely control. Massacres, stray bullets, kidnappings: everyday Haitians are the first victims of their violence. FRANCE 24's Observers investigated their abuses in this special programme: "Haiti: in the grip of the gangs".
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
This week on The Observers, a group of sub-Saharan migrants were left stranded in the desert at the Libyan border by Tunisian authorities. They captured videos of the experience, and one of them told us what it was like. Meanwhile, in Ivory Coast, a main thoroughfare between Guiglo and Tai turned to mud after heavy rains in the region. Our Observer Gaspard Goore Bi sent us videos of the situation as well as accounts from locals affected by the damage. Finally, a new rap song celebrates the Central African Republic capital of Bangui.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
The FRANCE 24 Observers team brings you a special programme following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Afghans from all over the country agreed to talk to us and tell us about what's happening on the ground. Who are the Taliban who are governing today? What's really happening in the capital and across the country? Our Observers recount what life is like under Taliban rule.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from FRANCE 24 Observers around the world – all checked by our staff here in Paris.
A weekly news show produced with photos, videos and personal accounts from France 24 Observers around the world - all checked by our staff in Paris. This week: in Tunisia, protests over the suspension of a football team turned into a demonstration of the kind of desperation that drives so many Tunisians to try to cross the Mediterranean for a better life in Europe. We also take a look the complicated relations between Twitter and Donald Trump, and some fake news from Brazil.
Our Observer used social media to save emaciated lions suffering in a zoo in Sudan. We also spoke to our Observer in Kenya about the farmers struggling to cope with swarms of locusts. And lastly, we debunk a curious video of a ball of fire that has been shared repeatedly online.