Six French and Ugandan activist groups had accused the company of failing to protect people and the environment from the Tilenga oil development and the $3.5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The so-called Final Investment Decision should pave the way for the export of millions of barrels of oil that was first discovered in 2006 in Uganda, one of the world's most biodiverse regions.
He has not spoken about it publicly. But behind the scenes the French head of state Emmanuel Macron has written to the president of Uganda supporting the role of French oil firm Total in developing an oilfield and a lengthy new oil pipeline in the East African country. In the capital Kampala, meanwhile, the French embassy has been wholeheartedly lobbying for the French multinational. Yet the projects are opposed by environmental and human rights groups who say they are not just bad for the climate but will also displace thousands of local people from their land. Mediapart's environment correspondent Jade Lindgaard reports.
An exhibition in Paris reveals Poland's now forgotten colonial ambitions in the 1930s. In doing so, it makes a link between past Polish attitudes to colonies and other peoples and the racist reflexes of some governments in Central and Eastern Europe today. Ludovic Lamant reports.
