Europe delights in Turkish army?

As Turkey chews over what more it needs to do to win EU membership, the Turkish army's flexing its muscles in domestic politics. The chief of staff has warned prime minister Tayyip Erdogan that the secular state is facing a threat from fundamentalist Islam. The prime minister's in a difficult situation because conservative muslims form the backbone of his support. But the Turkish army, along with the middle class, fiercely defend the separation of state and religion - something many in the EU would applaud.

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Turkey's chances of joining the exclusive EU club took another downturn this week. The issue of whether Turkey joins the EU has become one of the most divisive issues in european political life. The question many want answered is if it were to become a member, would Turkey become more European or would, as some western Europeans fear, Europe become less secular? The European commission released a much anticpated report on Turkey's accession progress on Wednesday and it didn't make for cosey bed-time reading for Ankara. Turkey was attacked on its human rights, religious freedoms and its attitude towards the divided island of Cyprus. There wasn't a call for a suspension of talks but the report's bound to fuel speculation that Turkey's whole bid is going off the rails. 

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Thousands of people in France are resorting to living all-year round in camp sites. People on low incomes are on waiting lists for years before they're offered low cost public housing. But in recent years rents in the private sector have skyrocketed, and landlords are expecting a long list of guarantees from tenants before they'll hand over the keys. You might think living on a campsite is an extreme option but more than a hundred thousand people have taken it. RFI went to meet some of them. 

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