Thought of as one of the best in the world, the French healthcare system is under fire after two fatal incidents within a week. Former nurse and blogger William Rejault condemns the system's insufficiencies and calls on health minister Roselyne Bachelot to take the problem of staff shortages seriously. Read more...

Nationwide protests against educational reforms led French students to fight police, burn cars and block train lines on Thursday. We publish a video shot in Lyon, where the clashes resulted in 38 arrests. Read more...

Prisoners from a French jail have managed to film under the watch of the guards using hidden cameras smuggled into the jail. A shocking look into the world of the French prison service. Read more and see the video...

Bernard Kouchner, France's foreign minister, has publicly questioned the role of his country's state secretary for human rights, Rama Yade, dealing a harsh blow to the junior minister. His statement sparked, made on the60 ^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, sparked immediate controversy. A chance to ask our Observers, from Iran to China, if they believe France can still claim to be a reference for human rights throughout the world. Read more...

The poster that saw Barack Obama rise to fame has been altered to accommodate the beaky face of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and plastered around the streets of Paris. Nobody knows who's behind the somewhat baffling idea; only that the mystery is attracting a lot of attention. Read more...

UPDATE (3 Dec. 08 2pm): Greenpeace has announced that they're behind the "Sarkobama" campaign. On Wednesday morning, the organisation followed up the original posters with the same image, this time displaying the message "Cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in Europe? Yes, you must!"

According to the director of Greenpeace France, the campaign was designed to attract attention to their message before the imminent singing of the climate package deal by the EU, and while the UN conference in Poznan is going on.

A Kigali resident sent us photos of the procession from his iPhone. He explains why he took part in the demonstration. Read more and see his photos...

Despite three days of grappling at their annual congress, none of the French Socialist Party top dogs managed to emerge as leader of the party. We ask some socialist supporters what they make of the chaos. Read more...

You're forced to retire at 65 in France. But not for long - the French government is discussing plans to push it up to 70. Great, you might think. But the French don't. An extra five years of work means the end of social protection, they say. Read more and take part in the debate...

France's biggest annual art fair, Fiac came to an end on Sunday. In the midst of the financial crisis, you might expect a little more thrift than usual. Not so. Read more and see photos sold pieces.

On Tuesday we published video footage of police brutality against a youth in the northern Paris suburb of Montfermeil. A police unit chief, who worked in the suburbs for ten years, tells us how his colleagues were "scared to death", and considers the chief of police's proposition of being filmed on the job. Read his account...