michelle: hello and welcome to "focus on europe," where we take you behind the headlines and discuss the stories affecting the people across this great continent. i'm michelle henery. thank you for joining us. on today's show -- taking the taboo out of domestic violence in france. poland's political horse trading. and ukraine's eurovision entry hits a historical note. with the explosive revelations from the panama papers, where big name financial groups, political elites and even soccer stars were helped to hide cash in offshore havens, it's no surprise that the public is angry.

while tax avoidance is not entirely illegal, that anger's en brewing foromtime now. a small town in was,ic tired of the apparent double standard between the haves -- who often seem immune paying taxes -- and have nots -- who always seem to be paying them -- decided to take action. a group of small business owners in the town of crickhowell have turned the tables and gone offshore. reporter: the people of crickhowell live a proudly independent lifestyle. it's home to a number of small businesses. steve lewis runs a café. jo carthew owns a smokery. and steve askew heads the town's bakery, a family business. askew and his neighbors are no revolutionaries, but they're

tired of seeing how unevenly the tax burden in their country is distributed. >> we all understand and appreciate we've got to pay taxes, we've got to fund services and no one's got a problem with that. the problem we've got is small people paying the taxes and large corporations avoiding paying the taxes. you know i've paid taxes, i've run a successful business, it's not easy, but i still pay my taxes. my staff pay their income tax and you know it's just unjust and unfair. reporter: this is their battle cry to take on the tax authorities. they're using the brand ofa fair tax city to promote their cause. just 2,000 inhabitants live here -- ideal for a test run. the idea came from elsewhere, but it's stirred up excitement in this small welsh town, and a new-found self-confidence.

jo carthew explains the "fair tax city" project. the starting point is, why shouldn't small business owners have the possibility to use tax loopholes too? >> the idea was that we would try to find a way of mimicking the mechanisms and the strategies that big businesses use by working in coalition, by getting small businesses to work in coalition so that they can behave like a big company. reporter: the strategy is an entity for small firms to shift their holdings offshore to tax havens, and with a few tricks, they can avoid paying taxes. it's all legal, because they've received expert assistance. >> i think that what one just realises is that they just not contributing to the communities where they're obviously making ofits.

and that seems very wrong. reporter: the people of crickhowell share a strong loyalty to their town. what started as an experiment to see how smaller businesses could avoid paying taxes soon turned into a david-versus-goliath struggle. cafe owner steve lewis wants to send a signal about everything that's wrong with tax laws in the uk. >> well it's very, very simple. the government have created a tax system that invites tax avoidance. my point is that tax avoidance has now become tax abuse. reporter: now part of his holdings are in a tax haven. lewis wants to set a precedent with his provocative act and plug every tax loophole. he wants fair taxes for everyone. >> you know going back to medieval times, the peasants will always pay and we'll leave the sort of rich and famous --

they can have their own rules. and i'm saying no, i've had enough of that now. and i'm not an activist. reporter: no one's against paying taxes here. they believe in the meaning of contributing to the greater good of their community. now the people in this small town in wales are keen to find out if their action can bring the tax-evading giants to their knees. michelle: domestic violence affects women all over the world. but we tend to associate a culture of silence around it with countries where women have few rights. not in places like france. but experts say that discussing domestic violence, much less reporting it, has long been taboo there. instead, an outdated patriarchal attitude prevails. but a case of spousal abuse there that has made headlines all over the world has brought hope to women like alexia, who

suffered at the hands of her abusive husband in silence. reporter: it's the first time alexia has returned to where she used to live with her husband. she'd moved from southern france to paris just for him. >> this where we lived. i used to admire him, i thought he was a genius. i was a student then. but i was scared because i wasn't allowed to see my parents. and i withdrew from my friends, as well. reporter: then they moved to a house in the suburbs. and her husband, who'd seemed like a respectable engineer, turn out to be a violent man. >> he forced me to sit on a chair for hours. first, he beat me -- on my arms mostly. then he started throwing things at me.

i wasn't allowed to move, just sit there. and i had to keep looking him in the eyes. reporter: for alexia, defending herself wasn't an option. she stayed, and suffered quietly. until the day her husband tried to kill her. that's when she fled to the neighbours and filed charges. >> i always thought i hadn't done enough for him. that i somehow had to be better. it's like i was under the spell of a guru. when he cheated on me, he blamed it on me, saying i hadn't taken good enough care of him. reporter: for abusers, guilt and isolation are a standard tactic to maintain control over their victims. often, they're aided by relatives and neighbors who look the other way. in france, domestic violence remains a taboo -- more than in other european countries.

many experts say that beneath the appearance of equality, traditional gender roles still hold sway here. >> unlike other european countries, france was an absolute monarchy. the monarch symbolized god on earth. the monarch was always male. this symbolism is still powerful today. women struggle to overcome this symbolic force, how to find the windows and doors to escape. reporter: jacqueline sauvage did escape domestic violence -- but at a very high cost. sauvage shot and killed her abusive husband. in october 2014, she was sentenced to ten years. the verdict was a controversial one. but the judges were not persuaded that sauvage had acted in self-defense. others disagreed. they believe that sauvage had no other way to escape her husband,

who was known around the community as a violent man. >> she suffered all her life. she must be released from prison. reporter: the sauvage case convinced many women it was time to take action. for months, french women from all walks of life campaigned on sauvage's behalf. the publicity was successful. most likely to silence the protests, francois hollande granted jacqueline sauvage a rare presidential pardon. but not all legal experts agree with the decision. >> the pardon means that anyone can decide to end the life of another person. someone, a man or a woman, lives in an abusive relationship for 20, 30 or 40 years. and then, one day, one of them decides to kill the other. that can't be right. that's more dangerous than our current system.

reporter: in france the private sphere enjoys unusually strong legal protection, and that has hindered the passage of laws to address domestic violence. alexia's lawyer believes this is why it took a presidential pardon to spark the process of change. >> now, after the sauvage case, perhaps the courts will begin to punish domestic violence more vigorously. otherwise we will keep seeing women who are forced to defend themselves alone, and there will be more unbearable situations that will end in tragedy. reporter: alexia has brought charges against her ex-husband for grievous bodily harm. last year, he was sentenced to just one year probation. it's a controversial sentence that is now being examined by a higher court.

michelle: will jacquleine sauvage's case help to change attitudes? what more should be done? let us know what you think about that or any of today's stories by getting in touch on facebook, email or twitter. after just a few months in power, poland's new right-wing government is already involved in a very particular scandal. poland, you see, is famous for breeding arabian horses. and the head of one of its state-run and internationally acclaimed stud farm's was recently fired. despite being well liked and respected, he was replaced by a government loyalist. the change has caused outrage at home and abroad and sparked protests. call it a case of political horse trading. reporter: this is ascott, an arabian thoroughbred. he belongs to saudi arabia's royal family. but he lives here in poland at janów podlaski, a renowned stud farm that specializes in this expensive breed. for nearly 200 years, janów podlaski has been knownall over

the world for its arabian horses. but this year things have suddenly been turned on their head. marek trela, the director of this illustrious institution, was fired from his job, and replaced by a government-appointed manager. >> next year, the farm will be 200 years old. it's a very special place -- not just for me, but for many people. having to leave is very painful for me. janów has always been a state-run institution. i've always stayed out of politics and so has the farm. but unfortunately the government in now stepping in. reporter: he's been replaced by an economist, who has no apparent knowledge of horses. a second stud farm has met the same fate, triggering public protests. demonstrators say poland's new

right-wing government is riding roughshod over democratic norms constitutional court, the media, and now the country's stud farms. "hands off our horses," they say. >> the government isn't satisfied with just ruling over people. now they want animals as well. it's a scandal. reporter: many believe poland's law and justice party wants to make money with the stud farms to finance their campaign promises. the minister of agriculture called a press conference to try to explain the dismissals. >> there were a number of accusations -- of economic mismanagement, poor veterinary care, lack of supervision. we've sent the matter to the public prosecutor's office, and there may be criminal offences involved. reporter: the government cited the unexplained death of an arabian mare last year, as an example of the director's incompetence. equestrian journalist marek szewczyk says the government's behavior is totally unreasonable.

>> the stud farms always made a profit under the old management. the government ought to be giving them medals and holding them up as examples in this difficult industry. not firing them! the reasons they give are absurd. reporter: once a year selected horses are groomed with particular care, ready for auction. the annual sale of arabian horses, called the "pride of poland", is a highlight of the international equestrian calendar. 10-year-old pepita sold for 1.4 million euros last year -- to an anonymous buyer from switzerland. if the director is so incompetent, could his horse really command such prices? the potential customers certainly seemed convinced by the farm's pedigree. horse lovers like charlie watts from the rolling stones, along with american millionnaires and representatives from the arab

emirates on a shopping tour for their rulers. but could that now change? >> continuity is very important in breeding. we're concerned that horses will now be sold to make up the state budget. but if you sell too many good horses too fast, you ruin your breeding. reporter: marek trela has received messages of support from around the world. but right now he can do nothing. >> it was especially painful saying goodbye to the horses. they were all born during my tenure. reporter: would he go back? >> i think i will have to go back, to clean up the mess. reporter: he may well be right. two more horses have died under the new director, triggering a public investigation. the uproar over poland's stud farms continue. michelle: the first group of migrants who entered greece

illegally have now been returned to turkey. in return, the eu will take in thousands of syrian refugees directly from turkey. switzerland has relatively few syrian refugees because of their very strict asylum laws, but they now hope to absorb more. for those who make it there, they not only have the challenge of learning a new language but of adopting the swiss way of life. but switzerland hopes to ease their transition by offering integration courses -- including one on how to run a household -- swiss style. >> how does this get cleaned? reporter: a housekeeping class for asylum-seekers, run by the salvation army in bern. >> this stove is covered in ceramic glass. reporter: introducing the newcomers to the ins and outs of domestic life in switzerland. but finding a place to live is difficult. that's why swiss canton has

tasked the salvation army with subletting apartments to refugees. but they are scarce and expensive, and state support is limited. fabienne notter scours the ads, looking for affordable options. with so few apartments available, how important are housekeeping classes? >> very important. because when i call a landlord and say we're interested in an apartment we can also tell the landlord that we're helping the refugees, that we're showing them how to care for the apartments, teaching a class, and making inspections. sometimes that helps convince them to rent us an apartment. reporter: for some of the refugees, housekeeping swiss-style involves many unfamiliar rituals -- programming therostats, preventing damp and mold by regular airing, separating rubbish for recycling. much of this isn't new to refugees from middle-class backgrounds. but tekle kifle from eritrea says the class is still useful for new arrivals. he's learned some tips for

saving electricity, for example. right now, kifle is subletting a room from a swiss family. >> i'm making fruit salad. reporter: living with a swiss family -- there's no better way to learn the local customs. the housekeeping class came in handy here, too. >> it's very good, because i can see what the family does, and learn. and i can also help out. reporter: kifle is happy to help out whenever he can. and the hess family are happy to give him pointers on cultural differences. >> tekle made chicken for us, and spent a long time washing and cleaning it. we told him that's not really necessary here. here in switzerland, the hygeine standards for chicken packaging are very high, so we don't have to spend quite as much time cleaning it.

>> we can tell he is eager to learn. he wants to know how things are done here in switzerland. he's very open. that will make it easier for him to get used to life here in switzerland. reporter: when the refugees have their own apartment, the salvation army regularly sends out a community service volunteer to see how things are going. time for a quick checkup. four young eritrean men share the apartment. are they staying on top of things? the tiles are clean, and free of lime deposits. but a problem is developing. no wonder, with four people and no window in the bathroom. >> there's some mold. you need to air the place out a bit. >> we've got a cleaning rota. so we all take our turn.

reporter: the cleaning rota works, the apartment is tidy, and not just because of the visiting camera crew. word of the housekeeping classes has gotten around with local landlords, and they're happy about it, too. the owner of this old smithy plans to renovate it so that refugees can move in. remo bisang has already found many apartments for the new arrivals through friends and acquaintances. many want to help. and the housekeeping classes helps give them confidence their properties will be well looked-after. apartment doesn't need renovating again after just two or three years, and end up costing them money. reporter: the classes are paying off. landlords are more willing to rent to the new arrivals. and the refugees have a greater chance of finding a place they can call home.

michelle: i wonder how many swiss people could pass such a course? in a couple of weeks the annual eurovision song contest will take place again. broadcast live across the continent, it's best known for its kitsch, campy costumes and fondness for power ballads. but ukraine's entry strikes a very different note this year. their singer, jamala, is a tatar from crimea whose song, 1944, describes the mass deportations of crimean tatars under stalin. that was more than 70 years ago -- but the song is striking a very contemporary political nerve, especially with the russians. >> strangrs come into your house, kill you and say, "we're not to blame". ♪ it's a song that takes on a dark moment in history. in may 1944, stalin's henchmen herded hundreds of thousands of

muslim tatars into boxcars and deported them from crimea to central asia -- among them, jamala's great-grandmother. it's also a highly personal song about displacement and loss, and the heartache of growing up far away from crimea, where her great-grandmother lived. jamala is now 32. she grew up in kyiv and trained as an opera and jazz singer. her ballad is dedicated to her great-grandmother, who never overcame the trauma of deportation. >> my great grandmother and her five small children were deported from crimea to central asia. they were loaded into boxcars like cattle. the doors were locked, and they went for days without food, water or fresh air. her daughter died in her arms. reporter: stalin justified the deportation as collective punishment, claiming that the tatars had collaborated with

nazi troops during their occupation of crimea in 1941. it was not until the 1960's that the charges were officially withdrawn. >> my great-grandmother was deported, even though her husband fought for the soviet union in the war. he defended stalin and fell at the front as a hero who died defending the soviet union. reporter: tamila tasheva explains that the tatars were not permitted to return home until the perestroika of the 1980's. tasheva is also a tatar of the diaspora, and an activist. for her and many other tatars, jamala's song has relevance to their situation today. >> the experiences of jamala's family are a prism that illuminates the pain of the crimean tatars. it's very important for us to talk about this now. we can't let it be forgotten. it's the only way to keep something like this from ever

happening again. and this is exactly the right moment. reporter: since russia's annexion of crimea in march 2014, tens of thousands of tatars have fled the peninsula. one was erfan kudusov, a lawyer who worked in a local firm. but when russian troops appeared, he and his family packed their bags and moved to mainland ukraine. >> just imagine that your children are being taught in school that putin is a hero. at home, they hear that crimea is occupied, and that this is basically russian fascism. i realized immediately that my family would be torn apart, so we decided to leave crimea right away. not to mention our language -- anything that wasn't russian -- was banned in the schools. reporter: russia sees jamala's

song as a provocation. but she says it was meant to recall the fate suffered by her family. >> i wrote it so people would know and understand, not lay blame or call to account. it's the story of my great-grandmother. the song recounts a year in her family's life -- the year 1944. and that's the title of the song. reporter: and, she says, the song is intended to keep alive the emory of people of whom nothing remains -- not even a photo. michelle: that's it for today. thank you for watching. be sure to tune in next week, when our beloved damien mcguiness returns. in the meantime, it's goodbye from me and the whole team. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its

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