Podcast: French farmers beef up against agro-bashing, the 15-minute city and origins of nylon stockings

French farmers take to Twitter and Youtube to show a different side to their profession, the case for Paris becoming a 15-minute city, and how the nylon stocking helped the rise of planned obsolescence .

Spotlight on France episode 32 RFI

Farmers in France are in the spotight at the annual agricultural fair in Paris, where urban and rural worlds rub shoulders once a year. We meet a group of farmers who have taken to social media to connect with consumers, tell their own stories and thereby counter so-called "agro-bashing" from environmental and animal-rights activists. France Agri Twittos (@Fragritwittos) are connected, innovative and positive about the future of French farming. (Listen @)

How far away from work, from school or your doctor should you live? Carlos Moreno (@CarlosMorenoFr) thinks that in Paris those amenities should be within a 15-minute walk or bike ride and the current Paris mayor has embraced his "15-minute city" concept in her campaign for re-election. The researcher also argues for a 30-minute territory for smaller French cities as a way of addressing many of the issues raised by the Yellow Vest protest movement. (Listen @)

On the anniversary of the introduction of nylon, on 28 February 1935 (by Dupont, a company originally founded by a Frenchman), we look at stockings, and the rise of planned obsolescence. (Listen @)

Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.

Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on iTunes (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app.