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A debate on the latest developments in French politics with two Paris-based journalists. Every Tuesday at 4.45 pm Paris time.

France 24


    • Mar 3, 2017 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 24 EPISODES


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    French presidential race: Is Emmanuel Macron unstoppable?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2017


    When Emmanuel Macron decided to run for French president, the consensus among politicians and pundits was that he stood no chance. A 39-year-old former banker who served under the deeply unpopular François Hollande, a man with no party behind him and claiming to be neither on the right or on the left could never sit in the Elysée Palace, it was said. But today, with less than two months to go before the first round, the maverick is firmly in the race and could even clinch France's top job.

    French presidential race: Le Pen makes groundbreaking visit to Lebanon

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2017


    Marine Le Pen has finally broken a glass ceiling - not in France, but in Lebanon. For the first time, the French far-right leader was hosted by a foreign sitting president and head of government. She hopes it will boost her international credentials and presidential bid. In the meantime, with less than two months to go before round one of the elections, the left is still struggling to figure out how many candidates it will field - and the clock is ticking.

    French presidential race: Will Marine Le Pen benefit from 'Penelopegate'?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2017


    With just over two months to go before the first round of France's presidential election, conservative candidate François Fillon is mired in a scandal over the hiring of his wife and children as parliamentary aides. The former frontrunner is now edged in opinion polls by far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron. As Fillon battles to keep his run alive, he is also warning that if he is forced out, many of his sympathisers could throw their support behind Le Pen.

    Can France's conservatives recover from 'Penelopegate'?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2017


    With his poll ratings in freefall amid claims he might have created a fake job for his wife, French conservative candidate François Fillon held a defiant press conference this week to try to save his presidential bid. But will he be able to hold on until the elections? And has the scandal damaged his chances of victory?

    2017 French presidential election: Conservative candidate Fillon hit by scandal

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2017


    The stage is finally set. Less than three months before the French presidential election, all the candidates are now known after the Socialists chose Benoit Hamon as their flag-bearer. It is certainly a wide-open race. The favourite, conservative candidate François Fillon, is mired in controversy over allegations his wife held a fictitious job, while his two main rivals, far-right leader Marine Le Pen and centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron, are gearing up to fully launch their campaigns.

    French left-wing primaries: A surprise winner?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2017


    A few months ago, France's conservatives held a primary to designate their presidential candidate and an outsider, François Fillon, won handily. This week, the left is voting to choose its presidential hopeful and the favourite after the first round, Benoit Hamon, is a man who was not on the radar just a few weeks ago. This means that aside from far-right leader Marine Le Pen, all the favourites to win this spring's elections are out of contention. A most unusual election season is upon us.

    2017 French presidential election: Can newcomer Macron win?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2017


    On January 22, the French left is holding the first round of a primary to designate its candidate for the presidential election. But as the contenders hold rallies across the country, the winner is slated to be only a bit player in this April's election. Other rivals are well ahead in the polls: on the right and the far-right, but also on the left, where the future Socialist candidate is lagging behind far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and rising star Emmanuel Macron.

    A 'Catholic' president? French conservative Fillon breaks with secularism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2017


    "I am a Gaullist and I am a Christian". This is how the conservative candidate for France's presidential election, François Fillon, defines himself. By wearing his religion on his sleeve, the favourite for next May's election is entering uncharted territory for the deeply secular French political class. Also on the agenda this week: the first of three debates between the candidates for the Socialist primary which will designate their presidential hopeful.

    French Socialist primaries: Ruling party faces fight for survival

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2017


    The sprint has already begun. In just three weeks' time, France’s Socialists will square off in round one of the primary to designate their candidate for the presidential election this spring. Seven hopefuls are on the starting line with no clear favourite emerging. But the winner will face a daunting task, with far-right and conservative candidates far better positioned to win the presidency.

    2017 French presidential election: A wide-open race

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2016


    In a little over four months, the mother of all elections in France - the presidential election - will take place. One thing is for sure: a new president will be voted in. François Hollande has announced he will not run for re-election and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy is also out of contention. But who will sit in the Elysée Palace next May remains anyone's guess. For our last show of the year, we take stock of the political situation in France and look ahead to the presidential race.

    France's Socialist presidential primary: A crowded race

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2016


    After French President François Hollande's shock announcement that he will not run for re-election, the battle on the left has begun in earnest. A Socialist primary election is scheduled for the end of January but its winner will have to contend with two emerging rivals, Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the far-left and Emmanuel Macron in the centre. This division bodes ill for the left in the presidential election, especially when compared to the unity on the right and the far-right.

    2017 French presidential election: Can Valls unite the left?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2016


    After the surprise election of François Fillon as the conservative candidate for next year's French presidential elections, there was another surprise last Thursday with the shock announcement by François Hollande that he would not be seeking a second term. A few days later, his Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced that he would run for the Socialist presidential nomination in January. But can Valls unite a divided party?

    The 'French Margaret Thatcher'? Former PM Fillon wins conservative primary

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2016


    François Fillon is the new uncontested leader of the conservatives in France. After his resounding win in the primaries, the former prime minister is already training his sights on a bigger prize: the presidential palace. His most likely opponent will be the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. This is all the more likely because the ruling Socialists are not only deeply unpopular but also deeply divided - so much so that the president and prime minister locked horns in public this week.

    French conservative primary: An unexpected runoff

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 23, 2016


    In a stunning upset, François Fillon, the former prime minister who was considered out of contention just two weeks ago, not only won, but won a resounding victory in the first round of France's conservative primary on Sunday. He will face off against the man who was the supposed favourite, Alain Juppé. Fillon's triumph also means that the man under whom he served as prime minister, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, is out of the race - and, at least for a while - out of politics.

    The rise of populism: Will there be a Trump domino effect in France?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2016


    Donald Trump's election has shocked the world and the aftershocks have crossed the Atlantic, landing smack in the middle of the French presidential campaign. Could a populist candidate such as far-right leader Marine Le Pen also carry the day next May, or will what happened in the US stay in the US? This question will be on French voters' minds on Sunday as they cast their ballots in the first round of the conservative party's primaries.

    France’s 2017 presidential election: New alternatives rising on the left?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2016


    Next year's presidential election in France will be unusual in many ways: In addition to the strong probability that far-right leader Marine Le Pen will qualify for the decisive second round, it is also likely that a socialist candidate –for the first time during the Fifth Republic – will be beaten by a leftist alternative. Two serious contenders seem to be emerging: Jean-Luc Mélenchon on the far left, and former economy minister Emmanuel Macron on the center-left.

    Countdown to France's conservative primary election

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2016


    In France, the conservative party's primary to designate its candidate for next year's presidential election is looming. If the polls are correct, the winner could well be France's next president. While former PM Alain Juppé is comfortably ahead, his main challenger, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, is not going down without a fight. The atmosphere is increasingly tense as the seven candidates prepare to square off this week in the second of three televised debates.

    Calais migrant crisis: A solution at last?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2016


    The dismantling of the so-called Calais "Jungle" is well under way. After years of hesitation and controversy, the French government decided that the ramshackle camp, where 6,000 to 8,000 migrants were living in rough conditions, had to go. The migrants are being relocated to dozens of spots across France. Also this week, President François Hollande's dreadful polling figures are prompting wild speculation that he should not run for re-election and should let his prime minister run instead.

    2017 French presidential election: Will Hollande be able to run?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2016


    This week, President François Hollande paid a highly controversial visit to Florange, a struggling steel factory in eastern France that has become a symbol of political promises gone awry. Both Hollande and his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy stand accused by workers and some unions of betraying repeated promises to save jobs. As they both train their sights on next year's presidential election, they will need to overcome their track record on this issue.

    France's conservative primary election: The gloves are off!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2016


    This week, the candidates for France's conservative primary will square off in the first of three debates. With the election a little over a month away, seven politicians are trying to show their mettle, but the real battle will be a duel between former president Nicolas Sarkozy and former prime minister Alain Juppé.

    Socialist presidential primary: A major gamble for Hollande

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2016


    For the first time in French history, a sitting president is likely to seek re-election through a primary contest. If the plan laid out this weekend by the Socialist Party is implemented, François Hollande will face off against several rivals to be the party's candidate for next year's presidential elections. There is actually a good chance he could be eliminated, given his abysmal poll numbers. He already has one declared adversary, his former Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg.

    Migrant crisis: A political football in France?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2016


    For years, migrants trying to make their way from France across the Channel to the UK have been stuck in the Calais "jungle" migrant camp, often living in squalid conditions. And for years, politicians have promised to deal with the situation, to no avail. Now, with the French presidential campaign in sight, Calais has seen a flurry of visits in recent days, first and foremost by President Hollande and then by his predecessor - and possibly also his successor - Nicolas Sarkozy.

    Marine Le Pen's presidential campaign: One step closer?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2016


    After months of near-silence, the leader of France's National Front party Marine Le Pen has come one step closer to launching her campaign to become France's next president when elections take place in May next year. In a speech at the weekend in the southern town of Fréjus, Le Pen said that if elected she would defend national sovereignty. Opinion polls all show that the National Front is almost certainly guaranteed a place in the second round of next year's presidential elections.

    Hollande vs Sarkozy: A remake of the 2012 presidential election?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 14, 2016


    French President François Hollande and his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, are angling for a second face-off in the presidential elections scheduled for May of next year. Over the past few weeks, they've traded barbs, first and foremost about their prowess to fight terrorism. But there is no guarantee whatsoever that they will make it to the second round, or even to the election. Their rivals are actually counting on the public's rejection of such a duel to push them out of the running.

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