Chlordecone Accountability: France’s lower house voted unanimously to recognize the state’s partial responsibility for long-term health, environmental, and economic harm from chlordecone (Kepone) used in Guadeloupe and Martinique banana plantations despite warnings; MPs cite contamination affecting nearly 90% of adults and links to cancers plus nervous, hormonal, and reproductive harm, with a new law pushing decontamination, victim support, and renewed research. Disaster Readiness: The Armed Forces in the Antilles continue “Operation Caribbean 26,” a multinational disaster-response drill simulating a major cyclone, training interministerial teams and deploying specialized units including RSMA forces from Martinique and Guadeloupe through June 4. Local Sailing Tech & Global Racing: A Collingwood resident is training on a foiling IMOCA 60 for the Vendée Globe 2028 and will sail the Route du Rhum from France to Guadeloupe in November, with residents invited to tour the rare boat in harbour. Sports Tech Sponsorship: B&G has joined Francesca Clapcich’s Vendée Globe 2028 campaign as an official supplier, highlighting navigation and autopilot systems built for high-speed offshore foiling racing. Colonial Memory & Public History: France’s slavery reckoning continues as debates over plaques, museums, and monuments resurface, including the symbolic repeal of the “Code Noir” and ongoing efforts by port cities to confront their slave-trade past. Science & Agriculture History: New genetics research revisits where Upland cotton was domesticated, showing a messy, multi-continent story behind the crop that became globally dominant.