Summer is thankfully almost over and September is upon us, which means it's time for a new series of Talking France.

Thanks to you all for tuning in to this podcast, which is produced by the team at The Local France and is a must-listen - so they say - for anyone wanting to follow French news, keep up to date with the major changes to life in France and boost their knowledge of French language and culture.

On this week's episode we'll look at the impact of France's summer from hell, which saw thousands of lives lost amid the frequent and punishing heatwaves, parts of the country left devastated by unforgiving wildfires and then there’s the ongoing drought the impact of which will soon become clear.

We'll also look at the other challenges facing France this September and explain why so many French taxpayers have been targeted by hackers and try to understand why the locals here love to correct our French mistakes - and why we shouldn't be annoyed - even if it can be really bloody annoying.

I'm Ben McPartland your host, and I'm joined for this new series by the old team from The Local France, Emma Pearson and Emma Albright.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You are listening to a special summer episode of Talking France podcast and it's a pretty solemn episode too given France is in the midst of unprecedented heatwaves, drought and devastating wildfires.

We are recording this at the end of July to bring all you listeners up to date with what's happening in the country right now and look at what might be in store in August. Yep we are still weeks away from the end of summer.

We'll get the latest news on the fires and the heatwaves, explain the impact on travel and holiday plans and we'll find out why the country's politicians are failing miserably right now.

And for anyone in France we'll run you through some vocab that will come in handy if you are in a part of the country affected by the fires.

Host Ben McPartland is joined by The Local France's Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and our French politics expert John Lichfield.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week’s episode of Talking France we’ll look ahead to the holiday season in July and August and spell out exactly what you can expect in France this summer from the weather outlook and wildfire alerts to what will happen in French politics and what to expect if you’re travelling to or within France?

Remember even though Talking France takes a break over the summer our team will still be covering all the essential news in France so make sure to visit thelocal.fr where you can sign up for our daily newsletters.

The Talking France team would like to offer listeners the last chance to join The Local using our half-price introductory offer. Just click on this link to take advantage of it. Members, feel free to pass the offer on to friends and family.

I’m Ben McPartland and I’ll be joined by The Local France’s Emma Pearson and politics expert John Lichfield.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.