As French lawmakers consider legalising assisted dying, a look at the citizen's assembly that carefully considered the issue. Also, a film about the writer – and filmmaker – Marcel Pagnol at the Cannes film festival, which is finally tackling sexual harassment in the industry. And the man who created the fête des voisins 25 years ago so neighbours get to know one other.

French MPs are shortly to vote on whether or not to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia. The draft legislation draws heavily on the work of the Citizens’ Convention on end-of-life care – a group of 184 people, randomly selected in late 2022 to reflect France's diverse population. Though strangers to each other and to the subject, they spent four months in thoughtful debate, building a spirit of mutual respect despite deep differences of opinion. Economist Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn, one of the participants, talks about why this exercise in deliberative democracy was so enriching and valuable to society. Along with others, he's helped launch an association to ensure the dialogue, and the social inclusion it fostered, continues beyond the convention itself. (Listen @0')

This year's Cannes film festival is taking the issue of sexual harassment in the movie industry more seriously than ever, just weeks after actor Gerard Depardieu was convicted for sexual assault. Ollia Horton talks about what's changing. She also introduces a film about the life of Marcel Pagnol – one of France's most cherished writers and a former Cannes jury president. (Listen @20'15'')

The annual fête des voisins, held on the last Friday of May, is an opportunity for neighbours to get to know each other. Launched 25 years ago in Paris by local councillor Atanase Périfan, it was aimed at bringing more solidarity into everyday life and it seems to be working. (Listen @14'10'')

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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).

France is opening its arms to foreign scientists, particularly from the US, as the Trump administration pulls back from climate research. French GPs and trainee doctors are up in arms over proposals to address 'medical deserts', which they say would make the problem worse. And as Europe marks the 80th anniversary of Europe Day, Algeria commemorates the 8 May, 1945 massacre of civilians by French colonial forces.

Ever since US President Donald Trump started defunding and dismantling US scientific institutions, France has made a push to get scientists to move. In March the French minister in charge of research asked universities to fund programmes to attract American scientists. In 2017, after Trump first pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accords, Macron launched a recruitment drive aimed at climate scientists working in the US. Two of those grantees, Ben Sanderson and Philip Shulz, talk about the experience of leaving the US for France, and what the current environment is like for climate scientists today. (Listen @1'10)

With 87 percent of France considered a "medical desert", lawmakers and the government are looking to tackle doctor shortages. But the proposals – to regulate where specialists can open their private practices and require health professionals to work two days a month in areas with chronic shortages – have met with strong opposition from GPs, trainee doctors and students. Yassine Bahr, vice-president of the French junior doctors union (ISNI), and Anna Boctor, president of France's Jeunes Medecins (young doctors) union, talk about why the proposals won't solve the problem and the sense of injustice at being held responsible for a situation that is not of their making. (Listen @20'20)

On 8 May 1945, during a celebration of the end of WWII in Europe in the Algerian city of Setif, French colonial authorities shot at Algerians holding pro-independence signs. The ensuing riots then spread to neighbouring cities where the authorities unleashed a campaign of reprisals to crush the unrest – indiscriminately killing tens of thousands of Algerian men, women and children. France has yet to officially acknowledge its role in the massacres. (Listen @15'00)

Episode mixed by Cécile Pompeani

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).

A French-German weapons manufacturer ramps up production to meet the needs of France's war economy. An encounter with France's largest supercomputer dedicated to artificial intelligence. And how the Marseillaise national anthem has contributed to reinforcing French values and ideals.

Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Emmanuel Macron said France was moving into a "war economy" – calling on weapons manufacturers in particular to produce more and more quickly. We hear from staff at KNDS, a Franco-German defence group half-owned by the French state, about how they've managed to triple production of Caesar artillery and ammunitions to deliver to Ukraine. We also talk about the challenges of funding a war economy, given France's huge deficit, with economist Virginie Monvoisin from the Grenoble School of Management. (Listen @2'20'')

As France aims to become a leader in developing artificial intelligence, it is upping its investment into building the computing power needed to run it. The Jean Zay supercomputer, at the Paris-Saclay university campus south of Paris, is one of France's most powerful, and is available free of charge for researchers. Pierre-François Lavallée, director of France's IT research institute (IDRIS), explains how the supercomputer works, its uses, and how the massive amount of heat generated by the calculations is redirected and reused as a source of energy. (Listen @18'45'')

La Marseillaise became the French national anthem 230 years ago, in 1795. Written in a few hours, on 25 April 1792, it has weathered many a storm and remains a popular symbol of revolutionary fervour against authoritarianism. It has also been reinterpreted in France and abroad to serve other political causes, such as feminism. (Listen @12')

Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.

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).