Politics make strange bedfellows

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the recently formed leftist political parties' coalition competing in France's upcoming legislative elections. There's “On This Day”, plenty of good music, 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.

Erwan and I are 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, 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 Perspective, Africa 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 quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts 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 podcasts 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, Dr 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. 

Independent RFI English 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 her 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 independent 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 recognized 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 above 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!

This week's quiz: On 30 April, I asked you a question about French politics; specifically, the legislative elections next month. As you know, the French re-elected Emmanuel Macron as president in April, and his party, Renaissance – which until recently was called The Republic on the Move - holds the majority in parliament.

RFI English journalist Amanda Morrow wrote an article right after the election about Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the head of the hard-left party France Unbowed, who came in third in the presidential polls. Mélenchon was hard at work at the time trying to create a coalition of all the left-leaning parties to deprive Macron of his majority in Parliament: Mélenchon would therefore hold the office of prime minister. At the time, it seemed highly unlikely that such a coalition could be created as there were too many differences between the parties in question. You were to refer to Amanda's article “Clock ticking as French left mulls coalition deal to humble Macron” and answer these two questions: the names of the different parties Mélenchon was trying to bring into the coalition, and the differences they have with Mélenchon.

The answer is: First and foremost, Mélenchon did succeed in creating a leftist coalition – it's called the New Popular Union. The parties Mélenchon solicited to join the coalition are the Socialists, the Communists, the Greens, and the New Anti-Capitalist Party.

There were many disagreements on Mélenchon's platform from the various parties, mainly about European integration (Mélenchon is basically anti-EU, to put it simply) and also about the percentage of representation in the legislature that members of his party, France Unbowed, would take as prizes … the majority, of course, because as Mélenchon said, he came in third place in the presidential polls, not the Socialists, or the Greens, or the Communists or the New Anti-Capitalists. They worked it all out though, and we'll see what happens next month when the French cast their ballots.

Meanwhile, Macron on his side has also created a coalition. Macron's Renaissance party has joined forces with the centrist parties MoDem and Horizons; that coalition is called Together.

The winners are: Raihan Ali, who's a member of the Nilshagor RFI Fan Club in Nilshagor, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Vladimir Gudzenko from Moscow Province, Russia; Zenon Teles, who's the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist - Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and John Yeami Sanday Turay from Freetown, Sierra Leone. Last but certainly not the least, faithful RFI English listener Bernard Egbe, from Abuja, Nigeria.

Congratulations winners!
Here's the music you heard on this week's program: Traditional Nepali folk music performed by Kutumba; “Yèkèrmo Sèw” by Mulatu Astatke, performed by Ethiopiques; “Allegro ma non troppo” from the Concerto for Two Pianos by Francis Poulenc, performed by pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Stéphane Denève; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and “Precious Lord” by Thomas A. Dorsey, sung by Mahalia Jackson.

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

This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to Ollia Horton's article “Postcard from Cannes # 3: Give peace a chance” to help you find the answer.

You have until 11 July to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 16 July podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address 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.