The Debate

With the digital age came the scramble for minerals below and to master the heavens above. US President Donald Trump wants a thousand rocket launches per year and with SpaceX’s reusable modules leading the way. The United States towers over the competition – which is why Ukraine’s president has to beg Elon Musk to use his Starlink low orbit satellite system to take out the Russian cruise missile launchers. 

Europe is late to the space race. Only around 10 launches are planned for its Ariane rocket next year. In this edition, we look at Norway’s first private launch of a German satellite this past weekend and more broadly, whether there’s room for everyone in an orbit already littered with debris. Those hoping for global cooperation on managing the skies above may be disappointed. Germany dropped out of co-hosting the Paris International Space Summit and the White House reportedly influenced US aerospace leaders to stay away. We ask: Does space need regulating? How urgently? And if not, what are the consequences?

Produced by François Picard, Maya Yataghène, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Andrew Hilliar.

Ukraine’s momentum on the battlefield was a primary focus at July’s NATO summit in Turkey. Kyiv’s long-range drones and US President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that the Washington would allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missiles on in the country. However, Trump's deal has yet to materialize. Moreover, Russia has ramped up cruise missile launches and Ukraine has run out of air defenses to stop them. Moscow is also failing to stop incoming missiles. In today’s edition we ask: What happens in war when offense proves better than defense for both sides?

Could this lose-lose situation make mediation efforts like the one undertaken in the past days by Donald Trump’s emissaries more relevant? When Russia is still calling the war a ‘special military operation’, what will it take for Moscow and Kyiv to get serious about a lasting settlement? The Kremlin is looking beyond the battlefield to the momentum enjoyed by Putin-friendly populists in France and Germany, as well as the US midterm elections and NATO. In that context, we look at Berlin’s calibrated response to a drone attack at Leipzig Airport. Is war in Ukraine about to wind down or escalate a whole further?

Produced by François Picard, Andrew Hilliar, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

The result was not enough to win outright, but certainly enough to shake Germany and Europe to their core: the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) trounced the ruling conservatives in the impoverished former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt in Sunday's election. We ask about the consequences of voting for an anti-immigrant, pro-Russian party that wants schools to teach less about the ills of Hitler and more about the glory of Bismarck.

Will Sunday's result further fuel the momentum of the far right in places like Sweden, which votes next Sunday or here in France, where the far right is currently the odds-on favourite in next spring's presidential elections? 

After dropping in on Nigel Farage's Reform UK party, French far-right leader Jordan Bardella was invited to speak to Italian business leaders at a weekend forum. Are we seeing a further normalisation of parties that once seemed fringe?

As for the mainstream, be it France or Germany, what does it need to offer to win back voters from MAGA and Putin-backed formations? You might ask: between Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France's outgoing leader Emmanuel Macron, who is on shakier ground?

Produced by François Picard, Andrew Hilliar, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

Could Europeans awaken next Monday to another shock bellwether moment? German voters could for the first time since World War II give an outright majority to a far-right party in regional elections. We ask about the AfD's push in Saxony-Anhalt and a charismatic lead candidate whose campaign strives to put charm above the vitriol usually associated with a party with pro-Nazi roots.

Saxony-Anhalt has a familiar tale: that of a former East German state rattled by globalisation with declining industry and an ageing population. Contrast its dying towns and villages with the dynamism of not-so-far-off cities like Berlin and Leipzig.

Speaking of Leipzig, the German government this week directly accused Russia over last month's drone attack on a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport. Do German voters care that we're talking about the same Russia that's actively aligned with Moscow and a Trump administration that claims immigrants are a bigger threat to Europe than Russian hostility?

These questions may be the warmup for next spring's French presidential poll, where Marine Le Pen's party this week floated the idea of banning the Muslim headscarf in public.

Both the far-right National Rally and Germany's AfD oppose a more federal Europe. What happens if they win?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.

What can an 11th-century comic strip about the Norman Conquest of England tell us about the spectre of sea change in 2026 Europe? France’s president is on hand for the hottest ticket in London, the first-ever cross-Channel visit of the Bayeux Tapestry, which, for the record, is not a tapestry but a delicate scroll of embroidered cloth that chronicles a radical turning point in our continent’s history. Should France’s outgoing president and the British monarch who welcomes him be likened more to the defending Saxons or the invading Normans?

Fast forward to the present and Europe has got plenty of ramparts to man, sandwiched between a hostile Russia and a withdrawing United States. How fast can Emmanuel Macron and new Prime Minister Andy Burnham level up to spearhead an alternative to an unravelling NATO? They're already leading a coalition of the willing for Ukraine. 

And why is the momentum with far-right populists with friends in Moscow and Washington, one of whom is currently favoured to become Macron's successor in eight months' time? Is it too late for mainstream forces to change the course of history?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.

A lot happened during summer recess: France's constitutional council struck down the core of a new law to ban social media for under-15s, but it did validate the extension to high schoolers of a phone ban already in effect for younger pupils. Why one but not the other? On the first day of school across this country and others, we size up what's best for future citizens, parents and teachers, all grappling in this age of distraction with the lure of screens. 

Over in the US last week, state attorneys general succeeded where legislators have not, forcing the parent group of Instagram and Facebook to put curbs on screen time for teens. Meta opted to settle for $17 billion rather than face the prospect of its boss Mark Zuckerberg answering questions under oath about encouraging addiction to his products. But social media is just one challenge. 

Teaching, homework and grading is increasingly happening in the virtual world. What's the impact on humanity’s ability to hone its reading, writing and arithmetic skills, and to learn critical thinking? How to learn and to clear enough mind space to reflect? It's quite the learning curve for all of us. 

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.

It may well be one of the tragic consequences of global warming. Scientists will tell us whether receding glaciers are to blame for last Wednesday’s ice shelf collapse that triggered a catastrophic flood, cascading down more than 3,000 metres from the Chinese border into Nepal.

We get the latest and draw consequences for Nepal and its Himalayan superpower neighbours China and India, and for the rest of humanity, as we gauge rescue and recovery in an area that not only boasts the world's tallest mountains but also serves as Asia's water tower.

How do we prepare for the next big emergency and the drastic long-term changes to our natural habitats?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.

After a stunning performance in Argentina’s come-from-behind win against England, 39-year-old Lionel Messi secured the defending World Cup champions their second final in a row – much to the delight of organizers. Taking note of Messi’s star power, the US bent the rules to include him on the Inter Miami side in the Club World Cup last year. In this edition we ask: what legacy will there be for the biggest World Cup ever, with its three countries, 64 teams and record-smashing ticket pricing?

What will the world remember from World Cup 2026? Will it be the on-field drama or the American-style packaging of the spectacle: commercial breaks disguised as water breaks, TV cutaways to celebrities during the action and red cards overturned to please the host country's leader? What will the final bring? Will US President Donald Trump be flanked by his Argentinian counterpart and far-right ally Javier Milei? Will they pose with Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of a left-led Spain Trump has threatened to cut ties with?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Riham Mahir, Andrew Hilliar.

In this edition, we take a look at the French love for food – in this case, chain rotisserie chicken and the current squabble over it that has turned political.

When the Master Poulet fast-food chicken chain opened up a branch in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Ouen, the Socialist Mayor Karim Bouamranne saw red, as the heat lamps and the smell of rotisserie until 2am did not gel with his vision for a modernized city centre. Meanwhile, hard-left mayor of neighbouring Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko savoured the moment to praise Master Poulet’s product and price.  A FRANCE 24 journalist went to Saint-Ouen to take a closer look at the controversy.

Our guests talk affordability, convenience and the right to healthy eating. They also address the concept of “food ghettos”, a nation of growing inequality where quality produce is more expensive in working class neighbourhoods. Finally, while the left tears itself apart over the issue, we ask how to find the common ground to better feed the French?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Andrew Hilliar.

Who needs nuclear weapons when you have the Strait of Hormuz? While ordinary Iranians are far worse off than on February 28th – when the US and Israel launched a war that killed the Supreme Leader on day one – the Islamic Republic has since shown it has massive leverage in the war and is betting that Donald Trump’s threats of invasion are empty.

Iran's leadership can now paint US president Donald Trump as the villain after he threatened a 20 percent toll on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday – though he has since walked the toll back. With missiles flying across the Gulf and as the price of crude climbs to a four-week high, we ask broader questions: why this cycle of war, talks, televised signing ceremonies and then return to hostilities? Are we just spectators in this performative drama? How can the cycle be broken?

Produced by François Picard, Andrew Hilliar, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Juliette Brown.

Forget last week's Nato summit, where Donald Trump put the alliance through another rollercoaster. It's Bastille Day in Paris, with the “Coalition of the willing” – Nato minus the United States – gathering for a more measured summit on the eve of the traditional military parade down the Champs-Élysées, where aircraft from Germany, Ukraine, the UK, Sweden and Greece will join the flypast.

Beyond the pageantry and the photo opportunities, however, lies the hard reality of doing more without Washington's military and financial muscle. For what could be Keir Starmer's last summit as British prime minister, the UK has signed up to a €60bn EU defence loan scheme, Germany has pledged €90 million to help build Ukrainian long-range drones, and Ukraine itself has the wind in its sails. Its long-range strikes are forcing fuel shortages in Russia, yet it remains unable to stop ballistic missiles from killing civilians or prevent Russian forces from inching forward in the Donbas industrial heartland.

As Moscow continues to feed the meat grinder on a brutal frontline, how do Europeans prepare for what comes next?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Piera Rocco, Andrew Hilliar.

It's not even Bastille Day yet, and France is already in the grip of its third heatwave of the season. Hospitals are under strain, wildfires are spreading, riverbeds are running dry, work and study are being disrupted—and there's even a shortage of ice. Many of you reacted strongly to our recent discussion on whether air conditioning is the answer. We'll briefly revisit that debate, but also look at the bigger picture: why is France still so unprepared for extreme heat?

We'll ask why new construction has so often failed to deliver on the promise of homes that stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer—and what solutions exist for the vast majority who can't simply build a new house from scratch. Can Paris preserve the charm of its iconic zinc rooftops without turning top-floor apartments into ovens? How do we help those who can't afford costly heat pumps or extensive insulation?

As climate change deepens inequality, competition is also intensifying for the water needed to grow crops, cool nuclear power plants, and restore depleted soils. At a time when the political mood favors rolling back regulations, where should policymakers draw the line?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Guillaume Gougeon, Ilayda Habip and Piera Rocco

The world’s longest-running democracy is celebrating its 250th anniversary. It is a milestone for a United States that still seems like a new world to many Europeans. Since 1789, the US has been governed under the same constitution while in France, there have been five republics, three monarchies and three dictatorships – including the Nazi occupation. In this edition, we ask: what is the significance of this Fourth of July? 

What does this celebration really mean? Is it about 1776 and the birth of a nation, or remembering 250 years of events that shaped a common present? Perhaps it is a celebration of the world’s premier superpower that won the Cold War, has dominated trade and finance and gave the world so much music, movies and literature? At a time when the current president is loosening traditional alliances, where global admiration for democracy in America is plummeting, we look at why the US seems to have changed so suddenly – and so much.

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

Some days they talk. Some days they fight. Iran and the United States have settled into a pattern since the truce signed last month. This Wednesday in Doha, both sides are present in indirect negotiations. Whatever comes of that, the attention is now shifting to Tehran, where the Islamic Republic is preparing for Saturday's kickoff of four days of state funeral proceedings for slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran can boast of a growing list of foreign dignitaries – a show of strength for a regime that's rebounded since Khameneiwas killed on the very first day of the war. His funeral is certainly intended as a victory lap for a leadership that's always revered martyrdom. But does that mask the reality that the Iran war has resulted, according to some, in a lose-lose situation? And with Khamenei's son and successor yet to show signs of life, who really is in charge?

Are we also witnessing the funeral of a theocracy, replaced instead with a military dictatorship? More broadly, how will the masters of Tehran deal both with a region that's working on how to bypass its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and a population that still has to grapple with corruption, rampant inflation and the cruel legacy of the New Year's crackdown on protests that left untold numbers dead or imprisoned?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Riham Mahir, Charles Wente.

A couple of weeks back, we asked if the tide was turning in Ukraine. The short answer: a little, but it's hard to cut through the fog of war. Now, we're beginning to wonder if Crimea could be back in play. Kyiv's new line of longer-range missiles and drones are wreaking havoc on fuel and power supplies. And while Russia continues to inch forward in other frontline flashpoints, the peninsula occupied in 2014 by Vladimir Putin's little green men has never looked so vulnerable. 

A Ukrainian offensive still seems like a pipe dream. Instead, is the current pressure a way to force concessions out of a Kremlin forced to admit what's all over Russian social media: that petrol stations across Russia are running on empty because of those long-range strikes? Will Vladimir Putin compromise or double down?

And what do Crimeans themselves want? Most seemed happy to vote yes in a referendum to rejoin a Russia they only left in 1954. More broadly, what consequences for the entire Black Sea region, which since 2022 has alternated between periods of war, disruption and mutually agreed calm to allow both sides to ship goods? The Black Sea is of course shared with Turkey, which hosts next week's timely NATO summit. 

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

We are in awe of Venezuela’s first responders and all the brave citizens still pulling survivors from under the rubble of some 770 buildings that collapsed in last Wednesday’s double earthquakes. Is the sudden collapsing of so many structures – many built during the boom years of high oil prices – a tipping point for a nation under sanctions that has been dogged by decades of eroding services and infrastructure? Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuelan interim president of a regime in survival mode, was booed copiously Saturday in Caracas as many accuse the successor of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro of putting security before disaster relief.

In this edition, we ask how best the international community can help Venezuela and take a look at the dozens of US forces airlifting in supplies and helping coordinate air traffic –an unexpected turnaround asWashington was once the sworn enemy of Caracas. But US President Donald Trump has claimed the locals are "dancing in the streets" now that he’s removed former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the oil’s flowing his way. If this is truly a turning point, then what kind of turning point is it?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Riham Mahir and Charles Wente.

Has Trump whispering run its course? Ask the now departing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who famously brought that letter of invitation from the king to the Oval Office, or Hungary’s ousted leader Viktor Orban. And how about the very public breakup with the only European leader invited to Donald Trump's second inauguration last year? Beyond the spat over whether Italy's Giorgia Meloni begged the US president for a selfie at last week's G7 summit, there's a growing divide between Rome and Washington over trade, Ukraine, Greenland, Israel, Lebanon and the war in Iran.   

On that score, some still stick to Trump whispering, like the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who before a show-and-tell display of flattery in the Oval Office told Fox News that Italy had allowed "500 US planes" to take off from bases as part of Operation Epic Fury.

We ask if the Italian prime minister lied about her refusal to actively take part in the campaign against Iran and, more broadly, about Meloni's tack towards the pro-EU mainstream – patching up sometimes testy relations with neighbour France and getting a red carpet welcome this Thursday from Emmanuel Macron at an overdue bilateral summit in the French Riviera town of Antibes.

Why the shift? Is it the end of the whole of the European far-right's MAGA envy? Remember that 2027 is an election year in both France and Italy.

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Riham Mahir, Charles Wente.

Can citizens of Albania – population 2.4 million – push back against their own government and the Trump family? Albanians are accusing the US president’s son-in-law and his wife of capitalizing on their connections to build a luxury resort on protected coastline along the Adriatic Sea. Launching what activists have dubbed the Flamingo Revolution of 2026, the leaderless movement is trying to stop the couple’s bid to build a $4 billion luxury resort on the land – purchased by Qatari contacts of the Kushners. 

From no-bid contracts and allegations of fraudulent sales of land, to the diplomatic row sparked over the manhandling of ethnic Greeks in the area, we ask about the situation and the prime minister’s promise that the project will propel Albania into the “Champions League” of tourist destinations.

In this David-versus-Goliath tale, the lines are becoming blurred between the personal business interests of the Trump family and the power of a sitting US president. US President Donald Trump has sent his son-in-law to mediate peace with Iran and Russia, pardoned his convicted real estate mogul father and appointed him ambassador to France. Why does the outrage seem stronger in Albania than in the United States or here in France, where French President Emmanuel Macron quietly welcomed four-term Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama just this week?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

The heat is on: enough to make Parisians take the plunge into the once notoriously polluted Canal Saint-Martin. France this Tuesday awakened from its hottest night on record, testing the tempers of Paris city dwellers as they sizzle under the zinc roofs of top-floor apartments built for a bygone age. This is the second heat dome to settle over Western Europe in less than a month.

Watch moreHow can France adapt to recurrent heatwaves?

France's political class is scrambling to prove it's prepared to do what's necessary. Enter that burning question: should there be air conditioning for all? Emphatic yeses are arising from more than just home appliance salespeople: the far-right is all in with A/C, framing as constraining and elitist those who fret that cooling systems add to the warming outside temperatures.

Unquestionably, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and social housing need to adapt to the new normal, with more than half of France's heatwaves occurring since 2010. So what measures should be taken? How to help those who can't afford expensive geothermal pumps or new shutters for their homes? What's fair and what's sustainable?

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

Another post-Brexit prime minister bites the dust. Keir Starmer has owned up to the obvious: that he's too unpopular to lead the Labour Party into the next general election. After replacing the hard left's Jeremy Corbyn, the same Starmer won a landslide election victory two years ago on the promise of stability after all the chaos of Tory rule. So where did it all go wrong? Can the heavy favourite to replace him win back disgruntled Labour voters who first flocked to the Conservatives and now to the far-right Reform UK party?

Read moreAndy Burnham, ‘King of the North’ and frontrunner to replace Starmer as PM

We ask about the politics of popular Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, and reflect – on the eve of Tuesday's tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum – if the same Britain that took a punt on leaving the European Union can rally behind any leader or any party to end a decade of turmoil.

Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Juliette Brown, Charles Wente.