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Record abstention rates in France’s second round of regional elections

By Susan Owensby - RFI
France Record abstention rates in Frances second round of regional elections
JUL 24, 2021 LISTEN

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the quiz about France's second round of regional elections. You'll hear about Simon Bolivar Day and the Carnival of Awussu, the Tunisian hot-weather festival. There's music chosen by The Sound Kitchen's producing engineer, musician Erwan Rome, and of course, the new quiz question, too. Just click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy! 

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you've grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

I am busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, rfienglish.com, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.

There's Paris PerspectiveAfrica Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still part of the RFI English service!  Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists.

Send me your music requests! I'll make programmes using your favourite music when I can't be in the kitchen to cook up something new for you … write to me at [email protected]

To listen to our features from your PC, go to our website and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose Listen to RFI / Podcasts, and you've got 'em! You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our features from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]   If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: my beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Br Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free ! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.

RFI Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to them so that I know what is going on, too. N.B. You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognised RFI English Club, go to the Facebook link above and fill out the questionnaire!!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”).

There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do!

We have a new RFI Listeners Club member to welcome: Peter Jones, who hails from West Sussex in Britain.

Welcome, Peter! So glad you have joined us!
You too can be a member of the RFI Listeners Club – just write to me at [email protected] and tell me you want to join, and I'll send you a membership number. It's that easy. When you win a Sound Kitchen quiz as an RFI Listeners Club member, you receive a premium prize, AND, you can join our Facebook page, the RFI Listeners Club page. You must ask to join the group, you must furnish your RFI Listeners Club membership number, I'll approve you, and then off you go! Peter, be sure you join!

This week's quiz: On the 3rd of July, I asked you a question about France's second round of regional elections, which were held on the 27th of June. Not many French voted, and I asked you to send in the percentage of French voters estimated to have stayed away from the polls.  

The answer is: A whopping 66 percent. Not very good, is it?

The winners are: Ferhat Bezazel, the president of the RFI Butterflies Club Ain Kechera in Ain Kechera, Algeria; Mahesh Jain, the president of the RFI Club Delhi in Delhi, India, and Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, the coordinator of the RFI Chaitak Listeners Club in Medinipur, India.  Rounding out the list of winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark, and Biswanath Mandal from Murshidabad in West Bengal, India.

Congratulations winners!
Here's the music you heard on this week's programme: “Caballo Viejo” by Simón Díaz, performed by the composer and his ensemble; traditional music from Tunisia; “Dynamite Bugaloo” by Gilles Douied and Jacques Mercier; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “Entre dos Aguas” by José Torregrosa Alcaraz and Francisco Sánchez Gómez, performed by Paco De Lucía and his ensemble, and the medley: “La bobine / Entre-deux / Les vignerons” by E. Elsener and P. Bouffard, performed by La Chavannée Cotillon.

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [email protected]

This week's question ... You'll have to listen to the show to participate. You have until the 30th of August to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the September 4th podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address in with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:
[email protected]
or
Susan Owensby
RFI – The Sound Kitchen
80, rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
or
By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here

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