Spotlight on France - Podcast: sheep-shearing, spanking ban and France's obsession with spelling

Football gives way to sheep as France hosts the world sheep-shearing championships, a first in mainland Europe. Men and women share with us their passion for the sport. Also, French winegrowers become the latest victims of climate change, losing vineyards in last week's heatwave. And parliament bans spanking children, but without sanctions on parents how will it be enforced? Plus, the French obsession with orthography: do 2.4 million mistakes in online feedback to the Great Debate really matter? And the French origins of the bikini.

 

 

In this episode:

- Camille Martinez (@Dr_Dico), linguist with Orthodidacte

- Ambroise Tézenas (@ambroisetezenas), photographer in residence at Vichy portraits photography festival

- Loic Leygonie, French champion sheep-shearer, and other competitors in the World Sheep Shearing championships being held in Le Dorat