♪ >> military grade spyware is being used by governments to listen in to journalists and campaigners. two media have been targeted in france. the health pass plan approved but more will be discussed. the government spokesman announces we're in the fourth wave. cases are up 125% over the past week. riding the wave into the history books. the surfers compete for the first time ever at the olympics.

a special report from japan. we start with the outrage in media and campaigning circles as it is it was revealed that spyware software developed for military use has been turned on civilians. here in france, two media organizations -- known for investigations that expose misdeeds of the rich and powerful have been targeted. in another country, a journalist working for the wire shares her experience. >> i was told a few months ago the government in touch with a the wire, which is reporting on the entire scandal. that some phone numbers, my number as well as the numbers of my editors was targeted by this software. and to be honest, when i heard

this, it did not come as a surprise because over the last few years this have changed a lot in india where journalists are concerned. e last for years we have been told, anybody who does investigative source who asks questions of the modi government are told to be careful. we've all been under surveillance but we did not know and thisntrusive.this extensive. when we look at how india is slipping so much in the press freedom indices allver the world every year, new reports come out. this confirms that there is no freedom of the press. we're now living in times where asking questions is being criminalized. there are cases that are routinely fined against journalists for calling out ridiculous claims by members of

this government or for reporting horrific gang rape. a colleague of mine is sitting in jail because he wanted to -- tackle the gang rape of a very oppressed woman who later died, in a state governed by the b. so, when you see this, you see how journalists were target is and you look at the profile of the journalists that were targeted, all were antiestablishment voices. it confirms everything we have been hearing, that there is for free journalism in india. >> wire news website in india sharing her experience. in france, two media organizations targeted, known for exposing things that the rich and powerful probably want to best keep hidden. the french government spokesperson has spoken to give an assurance that if in his

words, if anything has been done that was wrong, it will be investigated. >> i found out about this through the investigation that your fellow journalist published. of course the claims are incredibly shocking. if they are true, they are extremely serious. there will be further clarifications and investigations. i would highlight the investigation found the french government is not involved with this spyware. our intelligence techniques in france are authorized by law and we respect individual freedoms and notably those of the press. >> the spokesperson for the french government. the spyware, pegasus, was developed by the israelis used by governments to spy on journalists and campaigners. peter o'brien has more on how pegasus works.

peter: pegasus is one of the st powerful bs of spyware ever made. it is easily installed and almost impossible to detect and even harder to get rid of. what's more, it gis the atcker root access to the victims phone. >> it is pretty much turning your phone into something that's spying on you all the time in your pocket, which is extremely invasive. peter: tagus's can slip into a phone and a number of ways -- pegasus can slip into a phone and a number of ways. a malicious link, manually by hacking a stolen phone or the zero click approach which exploits a closeness to the phone without any action on the users part. once they are in -- they can read messages, look at photos and videos, access contacts and calendar data and track using gps.

pegasus can use the microphone and camera, meaning anything being typed, a password, can be known to the hacker. the phone will not shown any sign -- who any signs of being hacked. even if you knew pegasus was on your phone, you would have to turn it off for good to stop being spied on. researchers say the malware can survive even a factory reset. >> the controversial health pass has been approved by politicians in france, as the government spokesman told reporters we have not entered the fourth wave of the pandemic. from july 21, the pass will be essential to enter bars, restaurants and and cruiseships and campsites. >> holiday may be relaxing. at the campsite reception the phone is ringing off the hook. the french authorities -- but

many people are sll confused about what they need to do. >> [speaking french] >> this campsite can host 2000 people. visitors are unclear about t rules. >> in this campsite, campers are given a bracelet to show they have been vaccinated and, after that, they can access all the activities.

> for now the health pass only has to be shown at sites that host more than 50 people. >> covid cases have been confirmed in tokyo. two footballers from south africa. 40 surfers set to make history at the olympics. our team in japan sent this. >> here the sea dictates the rules, or rather, its waves do. if the wave is plunging, surfer can go in the barrel. they are expected to demonstrate tricks and maneuvers. >> five judges assess them on each wave. the two highest scores are combined for the highest --

the overall total. it require special training. a surfer's ability to read the waves is key. the practice was born in polynesia. the sport spread throughout the world when united states annexed the hawaiian archipelago. long considered a leisure activity, surfing turned professional in the 1990's.

for the 2024 olympic games it will return to its birthplace. surfers will take on tahiti's legendarary -- waves in french polynesia. >> fantastic. stay with us. you are watching "france 24." ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> glimpse of some of the tracks many of you will be bumping along to this summer. welcome to the music show. this week we are doing a summer special, and my guests are from a band known for taking peng and -- punk and goth and giving it a bossa nova twist. and we have kristen bell, an actress and model and singer. you may have seen here in the last season of "twin peaks." thank you both for coming on the show.. youv've come together as a band called strange as angels and just released a 13 track album of covers. how the hell did you guys meet?

[laughter] >> of course, i was a fan of his for years. i knew of marc. i think it was a mutual friend that brought us together. marc came to a show and we met. we just had a lovely connection. and then i think maybe somehow the seed was planted that we might want to work together. so, when this project came up , marc thought of me. i am very fortunate that was the case. >> you are an old hat at covering music from the 1970's and 1980's. why did you guys choose the cure? >> because it is one of my favorite bands. when i was young i was listening to cure all the time. it was very popular in france. the image of this kind of goth, romantic thing. they wrote beautiful songs.

it is a longtime i wanted to really explore the band, because it is a lot of different bands. i chose the cure to start with. with only one singer. >> how about we check out the fabulous hit "friday, i'm in love." >> ♪ thursday but friday i'm in love monday tuesday, wednesday thursday i'm in love saturday sunday always comes too late friday never hesitates ♪ ♪ >> a classic by the cure. robert smith recently announced there were a couple of cure

albums that were ready to be released, and they may be the band's last. any thoughts of this as fans of the cure? >> he said that a lot of times already. i do not know if you can really believe it. but the interesting question is that for how long a rock band can last. as w-- they are doing shows that are four hours long. why do they have to stop? so, i don't believe it. >> wait and see. it's very orientated towards the stage. something you are conscious of when you put the show together.. you were making, recording the music. tell us how this is comingi in and future shows, what can we expect live? >> sure. it is this marvelous opportunity

to really perform these songs, because they are such great songs and people ow them so you have a strong association alrey there. and, because the songs are so singable and enjoyable -- i really love it. so much fun. and the people really respond and we get to just like bask in the joy of all these perfectly beautifully written songs, and the feelings that people already have with them. we have a great show. works out quite well. >> how do you feel if ever robert showed up to one of your shows? what would that be like for you? >> i would love it. i mean, it is always difficult because when you're doing a cover, you are -- a new arrangement of the song you are doing it mostly for yourself.

so, it is not necessary to please the author, but if you would love it i would be very happy. >> would you be scared? >> oh, i would be thrilled. i can only speak from my experience when people cover my songs, i'm overjoyed. i would hope that robert would feel the same way but i would say it is true what marc says, you're really doing it for your own artistic performance. then, if the artist loves it, you are over the moon. if they don't, might cry, but you will be ok. >> got a few tour dates. when people will be able to enjoy your live. i'm always thinking of the future because it is an excellent record but if you work on another album, who would you cover, which band? >> ooh! >> ahh. i think there are some bands like from the same era, from the cure, like depeche mode or u2 or new order.

maybe. i don't know if you like that. kind of really important bands that had dozens of hits and beautiful songs. >> you know, i would defer to marc, because he is composing the instrumentation's and re visualizing. darling, what are we doing? he would share and i would be on board. >> speaking of the return of live music with an audience, festivals are going had this summer. in france, if you head out today marseille 22th of august, you can go to i-- to an excellent festival. that will feature princess nokia and hot new french act called la beatrice. time to check out some other tracks that looks set to earworm their way into the summer of

2021. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ♪ a sign of the times ♪ >> [singing in french] ♪ ♪ >> [singing in french] ♪ >> let's get lost, baby ♪ ♪ >> it's brutal out here. ♪ ♪ >> some testing hits, music -- some of the fantastic music that is being released this summer but i want to ask guys, what are

your summer picks? you were talking about something that has been out for a while. >> indeed. i was so in love with the record that jazmine sullivan put out last year. the think the record is called "feelings." this woman's voice is just in the stratosphere, maybe the best singer maybe ever. she is so good and i get so inspired. by hearing her sing, and the songs are fantastic. that was my pick. >> over to you, marc. >> yeah, i am really into italian music. these days. i believe in the back of italian singers. and this singer called -- "volare." i'm really into these phot o summer, summertime, sun. > let's check out this

bipolar love track. ♪ >> [singing in italian] ♪ >> thank you very much for that. personally i am digging the african funk artist called "bella." and it has some lovely 1960's rock undertones. ♪ >> p singing in french] ♪

♪ >> i'm afraid that is all we have time for as the "france 24" news is coming up. thank to my guests. you are strange as angels and your record is already available. check it out if you are a fan of the cure. you can also catch them live in the autumn and in 2022. if you would like to share with us what you think are the hits of this summer 2022 2021, head o our social media platforms. we're going to play you out with some fabulous ladies. the track taken from their latest album. let's check it out.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> time now for french connections, our weekly look at the intricacies of life in france. good to see you, flo. this week we are going to focus on on e of france's most famous figures, napoleon p -- napoleon bonaparte.

his legacy remains controversy and there has been a fierce debate about whether to commemorate. >> t napoleon, it is hard to bore them down into just a five-minute show. we're not going to get into all of battles but what is interesting is to see what napoleon means to the french today for some, the famed corsican was a military genius who brought france grandeur and glory on the international stage and really represents everything france has lost since then. for critics, he was a racist, misogynistic tyrant who has the blood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on his hands and is the caricature of french -- >> whatever you think about him, france's -- he's one of french people's favorite historical figures. >> a majority of french people say that he best represents french history, ahead of king louis xiv and charles de gaulle.

also an object of fascination abroad, whether it is people who collect memorabilia. it's very expensive to get anything that napoleon touched. also people who persistent -- participate in these historic green -- historic reenactments, the legend lives on. >> before we get into the more controversial aspects of his legacy, polian ba-- napoleon did participate to the state. >> france owes a lot to him. he crowned himself emperor. to name a few owe to napoleon.

there is the central bank, the country's highest civilian award, the legion of honor and the arc d'triomphe. he was also behind our expression visual, big red book that was the basis of the french legal system. a lot of friends law -- a lot of french law was based on the napoleonic code, but it was not all progress but rolled back the clock on women who managed to gain a lot of rights in the first years of the revolution. went backwards with napoleon. >> a marrried woman suddenly found yourself in a powerless position in society. she cannot do anything without her husband's permission. she cannot go to court without her husband's permission to cheat cannot be a witness if she cannot take an exam, get a passport, she cannot work without her husband's permission and when she does have his permission, it is him who gets the salary. she doesn't have any more rights

than a child. >> now, there is a big dispute raging in france over how napoleon should be remembered in the 221st century with much of the debate -- in the 21st century with much of the debate of his introduction of slavery into the caribbean islands. >> napoleon restored slavery by decree in the french caribbean colonies in 1802. this was after its postrevolutionary abolition in 1794. it was only re- abolished in 1848. this aspect of napoleon's legacy really has been in the spotlight.. in the age of cancel culture, some people wonder whether we should cancel napoleon. there has been a heated debate amongst historians over whether it is fair to judge napoleon by today's ethical standards or whether his actions sho-- shoud be seen in the context of history.

>> napoleon restored slavery for economic reasons, essentially to control sugar in the caribbean. when i say that, i don't mentioned the human aspects of all of this. at the time, those questions re notaised. but we can't go back in time 200 years. >> the 1802 law was actually discussed at the time. about a third of representative spoke against the measure. we can't say that everyone was in agreement. >> many former french presidents have avoided this hot potato over napoleon's legacy. many seem to grab -- >> it's interesting because a lot of people draw parallels between napoleon and macron. macron is france's youngest leader since napoleon. he came out of nowhere, got to the top, has big ambitions about europe, was to make a more

lasting -- in france. macron decided to lay a wreath at napoleon's tomb and said it was important to look at history in the face warts and all. >> [speaking french] >> critics say this is classic macron, not trying to make up his mind also the while trying to woo voters ahead of the next presidential election. macron's early stepped into the heart of a culture war in france and a wider debate about controversial historical figures and how to commemorate them and condemn them, celebrate them. it is a big debate. >> we talk about them. thank you very much for that. that's all we have time for.

in the meantime, you can tweet your questions to flo and check out our website at france24.com. ñrç rcrcrcrcrcrcrcrcrcrcrcrcrcrc

[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york this is democracy now! >> witn the la 20 years mo than 50000mericans haveeen kill by ovdoses. corolledeleased oxyconn -- whatf we diovered t crisis started with a crime? amy: as drug overdoses soar to record highs in the united states, we will look