Overseas Territories in the French Media

An article written by Agence France Presse gives an update on the case of the Mennesson family, who have been campaigning for 17 years to get the French state to officially recognise their surrogate daughters' status as the children of two French parents.

The website of medical TV show Allô Docteurs reports that the French health service has been served with an official notice to improve the security of its medical insurance database, which contains highly personal information about the vast majority of the country's citizens and service users.

Relying primarily on the word of a Christian union representative, the traditionally Catholic newspaper La Croix reports on the unity of the major Abrahamic religions in France with regard to the ethics of end of life issues, and how this show of thoughtful solidarity has apparently impressed the French government's social advisory body.

Eve Roger's brief exposé, broadcast on radio station Europe 1, reveals the difficulties faced by would-be parents wishing to find a way to circumvent France's stringent anti-surrogacy laws.

Writing in France Soir, Parisian barrister Thierry Vallat explains the current state of play regarding France's "opt out" organ donation law.

In this blog about bioethics in France, a group of Lille University master's students present a range of reports from the French media concerning the debates surrounding the ongoing national consultation process on the subject. Their English versions of the articles, complete with glossaries and notes, provide an insight into how the French press is treating a variety of controversial topics.

Le Parisien’s correspondent in the South of France, Christel Brigaudeau, reports on how a provocative lawyer gets students at secondary schools in the region to open up about secularism and freedom of speech.

In a post on his ABC of Laïcité blog, Eddy Khaldi, a Mediapart Club Member, makes a strong case for putting an end to indirect State subsidy of Christian private education in France, including the charitable status of its funding bodies, on the grounds it contravenes secularism legislation.

A post on the blog "Droits des femmes contre les extrêmes droites" (Women's Rights versus Right Wing Extremisms) argues that the 'new secularism', focused on restricting freedoms of religious expression, is being used by the National Front as a means of discriminating against Muslim women.

Providing an expert opinion in Le Monde, an associate barrister at French law firm Flichy Grangé teases out the complex issues surrounding the legality of employers banning workers from wearing Muslim headscarves.