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Added on the 17/09/2021 15:09:39 - Copyright : France 24 EN
French President Emmanuel Macron and SNCF Chairman Jean-Pierre Farandou attend a ceremony at the Gare de Lyon in Paris to mark the 40th anniversary of the TGV (Train Grande Vitesse, Eds.). IMAGES
Workers for France’s SNCF trains are on strike, demanding better pay and working conditions.
In this week's French Connections show, we're climbing aboard an institution: the TGV. France's cherished bullet train is an important part of the landscape and has been connecting far-flung parts of the country for more than 40 years. The first voyage of a TGV was inaugurated by President François Mitterrand in September 1981. Not only was it an industrial feat, it also revolutionised modern train travel and decentralised the country. So what does the TGV of the future look like? And can it keep France's state-owned railway company, the SNCF, on track against mounting competition? We take a closer look.
It's been exactly 40 years since France's then Socialist government made good on one of François Mitterrand's campaign promises and abolished capital punishment. It was Justice Minister Robert Badinter who spearheaded the push for the death penalty to be scrapped after nearly two centuries of debate. We take a closer look at this chapter in French history. We're also joined by Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner, a French woman who's married to Hank Skinner, a man on death row in Texas. She's long been a campaigner against the death penalty and tells us more about her activism.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends the unveiling of a life-size model of the engine of the new TGV M at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, to mark the 40th anniversary of the high-speed TGV. The latest model is expected to hit the rails in 2024. COMPLETES VIDI9MZ9PP_EN IMAGES
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