Podcast: immigration referendum, childfree in France, the feline astronaut

<p>Is a referendum the answer to France's deadlock on immigration reform? Childless by choice in the European country with the highest birthrate. And the story of Félicette – the first cat to fly into space.</p> <p>After the reform of the pension system, the next thorny political issue is immigration, with parliament set to start debating a bill in November. But finding a compromise on such a polarising issue will be difficult. President Emmanuel Macron has <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20230825-france-macron-referendums-to-break-political-deadlock">floated the idea of a referendum</a>, which could allow people to have their say on France's immigration policies. <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/author/amanda-morrow/">Amanda Morrow</a> talks about the bill and why a referendum on the issue could be problematic. (Listen @2'50'')</p><p>Women in France are having fewer babies and the birthrate, while still the highest in the EU, is at its lowest since the end of WW2. A small but increasing number of women are choosing not to have children, but they're accused of being selfish and contributing to France's decline. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jeneveuxpasdenfant/?hl=en">Bettina Zourli</a>, 31, who launched the instagram account #jeneveuxpasdenfant (I don't want kids) in 2019 to connect with other childfree women, talks about never wanting to be a mother in a country where motherhood is idolised. (Listen @18'55'')</p><p>In the early days of the space race, France became the first – and only – country to launch a cat into space. A trained feline astronaut named Félicette completed her mission on 18 October 1963, but her success was short-lived. (Listen @10'32'')</p><p><em>Episode mixed by Vincent Pora.</em></p><p><em>Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/podcasts/spotlight-france/">rfienglish.com</a>, <a href="http://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spotlight-on-france/id1241973975">Apple podcasts (link here)</a>, <a href="http://open.spotify.