The Debate

Where else but the city of merchants, one whose fortune was founded on global trade to host the celebrity wedding of the digital age's king of commerce?Dateline, Venice. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of online trading platform Amazon, tying the knot with journalist-cum-TV personality Lauren Sanchez in a spectacle that's drawn both paparazzi and protesters. What does this spectacle out of a Fellini movie say about the age we live in?   Organizers tempering the extravagance with pledges of giving to good causes. For the world's third richest man, who now owns the Washington Post newspaper, what does money buy? We'll ask about the pushback, and the look for a city that hardly needs more publicity, what with its 150-thousand visitors per day. Is the issue Jeff Bezos' obscene wealth or the advertisement it brings to a bucket list destination that's already heaving under the weight of record amounts of tourism?    Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Allies can breathe a sigh of relief. The same Donald Trump who left the G7 summit early showed up on time for the NATO summit in the Netherlands – an abridged summit to curry favour and keep his undivided attention. The US president played with members' nerves, entertaining suspense over the United States' commitment to NATO's Article 5 but in the end reaffirming support for the Alliance's "all for one and one for all" clause in case of attack. After a victory lap over Iran, Trump was all smiles over Alliance members' commitment to boost defence spending to 5 percent of GDP.  It also emerged that Britain is buying 12 F-35A fighter jets made in the USA. That's music to Trump's ears, but how will the announcement go down with the likes of France, which has been arguing for Europe to reduce its dependency on Washington? And then there's Ukraine. Trump, in the end, took the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky. But there, too, there were mixed messages: both when it comes to Russia's relentless campaign of aggression and the benefit of the doubt so often granted by Trump to Vladimir Putin. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Donald Trump first going all in with B2 bomber raids against Iran's nuclear installations and then surprising allies and adversaries alike with a late Monday ceasefire announcement. All this for a victory lap at the NATO summit opening in the Netherlands? Whether it's strategy or impulse that's driving the US president, we'll attempt to make sense of an operation resisted for decades by all of his predecessors including himself in his first term. Why did Israel finally get its wish of a US-backed direct confrontation with Iran? Will it reshape a region where it's as much Israel as the United States that's imposed its will on Tehran's proxies and allies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza? Who owns this one? And what does this seeming once in a generation shift in the balance of power mean for the Middle East and for the planet?   Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

There's the plan – and then there are the unintended consequences. The United States talks diplomacy, then bombs Iran. It suggests the targeting of nuclear sites may have been a one-off, yet leaves the regime uncertain: is regime change the real objective? Following its most significant show of force since the invasion of Iraq, will Washington take ownership of what comes next? For now, the US asserts itself as the sole superpower capable of projecting force in a region where China appears reduced to the role of chief oil customer, and Russia remains preoccupied with Ukraine. And with Israel now striking Tehran's notorious Evin Prison, it's clear this goes far beyond nuclear ambitions. We look at the options left to a weakened Iran – and the consequences of toppling a militarised theocracy. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Guillaume Gougeon and Ilayda Habip.

For citizens still reeling from the crackdown on the 2022 “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, the focus now is on hunkering down as best they can. Nearly 700 people have been killed in Iran since last Friday, according to the human rights group HRANA, and citizens are bracing for more violence in scenes reminiscent of the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. How do those who defied the regime just a couple of years ago feel about this moment – and about those abroad who are cheerleading for regime change? On that score, the command in Tehran is closely watching for signs of internal dissent. We'll look into reports of arrests, internet disruptions, calls to abandon WhatsApp, and reactions to Israel's brief hacking of state television. Meanwhile, Donald Trump uses the collective “we” – as in “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” – but Israel's Iron Dome has proven unable to stop missiles like the one that struck Beersheba's hospital in the south of the country. If the United States is “all in,” it wouldn't be the first time. Iran's collective memory stretches well beyond the 1979 revolution – back to 1953, when a CIA-backed coup overthrew a democratically elected government in favor of reinstating the Shah.   Produced by Aline Bottin, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Donald Trump sold us a different kind of Pax Americana. The US-led global rules-based order was always about soft power backed by bulk military might. Trump's rules on Inauguration Day veered instead to the utilitarian: yes to the world's top superpower staking imperial claims to parts of the planet deemed vital to national interests. Yes to coveting Greenland's strategic minerals and Panama's essential waterway. No to forever wars in places like Ukraine where the US pays while Europe reaps the benefits of curbing Vladimir Putin's westward march. So why now the sudden pull of the Middle East? The US president is weighing whether to go all-in with Israel's pre-emptive war against Iran? One whose stated aims oscillate between nuclear deterrence and regime change. Why Iran and not Ukraine? And what conclusions can Europe draw from the evolution of warfare in 2025? Both Ukraine and Israel inflicting damage with spectacular operations that combine special ops in the field, drones and artificial intelligence. Sales reps are all smiles at the big Paris Air Show but how should cash-strapped states be buying for their militaries? Can an unmanned gizmo really inflict as much damage as a state-of-the-art fighter jet? If so, just how volatile a world we live in?   Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

He says he wants "better than a ceasefire". Donald Trump has returned to the White House, leaving behind the rest of the G7 leaders in western Canada. After five days of war between Israel and Iran, the US president faces a stark choice: he can either approve bunker-busting bombs to target underground nuclear facilities or tell Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu it's time to stop. With air superiority over Tehran, Israel is doubling down on an operation that was in the works for decades. And while bombing raids have killed hundreds of Iranian civilians, the offensive has shown precision in assassinating top commanders. Among the latest is Major General Ali Shadmani, who'd only been in the job of Iran's top military commander for four days after the assassination of his predecessor.  But just how degraded is the regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? What are its options? For now, the Iranians are still firing back, imposing far more casualties and damage than the usual rocket attacks from Gaza or south Lebanon. As for Israel's claim that it's reshaping the region, we put that to our panel. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip. 

It's a threat repeated so often over so many years that it started to ring hollow. Now, Israel's actually done it: striking Iran in a bid to destroy its capacity to build nuclear weapons. Jerusalem sees a window of opportunity, and with Tehran's proxies in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza are either gone or debilitated, the Israelis also targeting the senior leadership around Ayatollah Khamenei. So what's the ultimate goal, military superiority or regime change? Iran may be reeling but it's still fighting back, successfully targeting Israel's largest oil refinery in Haifa. A long war ahead? And with Israel lacking the kind of bunker-busting bombs that can reach the underground Fordo nuclear site, will the United States agree to finish the job that Benjamin Netanyahu started? Since Friday, Donald Trump's sent mixed messages, warning Israel against targeting the Supreme Leader but cheering the strikes, still billing himself as peacemaker while providing Israel with military intelligence. We'll ask about the only man who can end this unprecedented direct confrontation with a phone call. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip. 

A death spiral in Gaza with no end in sight; a Middle East peace process that's been moribund for years. What's the point of talking solutions when not even a truce is in sight? In New York next week, France is slated to co-chair with Saudi Arabia what's officially billed as a "UN International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution". Emmanuel Macron had strongly suggested he would recognise a Palestinian state at the event. Is that still the case? We ask about the pressure on the French president to dial it back. With the US silent as Israel pounds Gaza and expands illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank, what does recognising Palestinian statehood change in practice? Watch more'The two-state solution is going to happen': Israel's Olmert and ex-Palestinian FM Qudwa On Thursday, Paris will host a springboard event for New York. We hear from civil society participants at a conference hosted by the Paris Peace Forum. How to find common ground to proposals that can win over a population where positions have hardened for so long? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip. 

How to stop our needless overconsumption of cheaper and cheaper clothes that pollute the planet? France's senate passed a bill to curb advertising and tax pollution on fast fashion, with lawmakers even talking up the distinction of ultra fast fashion - garments made in a hurry - more and more using polyester and other polluting plastics, shipped at warp speed by plane and which fall apart after only a few washes.  Has the bill been partially stripped bare though? The new version seems to include a carve-out for European giants that peddle cheap clothes with the focus mostly now on China.  In fact, Europeans like the Trump administration are working to close the tax loophole on the kind of small parcels that go out by the millions from small garment factories in China. And while the likes of Shein and Temu enroll big names to lobby, including a former European Commissioner and a former interior minister of Emmanuel Macron, we asked who's winning the hearts and minds of consumers in this battle over an industry that represents up to ten percent of humanity's carbon footprint.    Produced by Rebecca Gniganti, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip.

The United States Marine Corps, the country's main foreign expedition force, has been deployed to Los Angeles – this on top of the US president enrolling the National Guard in a show of force against pockets of violent protest against the arrest of undocumented immigrants at their place of work. It's a fight that Donald Trump wanted to pick for a long time, going over the head of the Democratic governor of California just days before another first: a US president staging a military parade in Washington on his birthday. In his first term, Trump's Republican Party was the party of states' rights, regularly accusing the federal government of overreach. How did it all change so fast?A nation with a determined far right that's up against a splintered mainstream sounds a lot like the situation in France, where the next presidential election is in two years' time. As Marine Le Pen's party harks back to its trademark anti-immigrant rhetoric – a topic where a majority of US citizens back Trump – what lessons can be drawn from the seemingly fast-changing form of democracy in America?Produced by François Picard, Maya Yataghene, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

Overheated and overfished: an SOS for oceans under duress is being sent from a UN summit in Nice. But try telling that to those who advocate deep-sea drilling for precious metals. In a world hungry for the minerals that power our batteries and connect our computers, the United States but also China, India, Japan, Norway and more are seriously studying whether science fiction can become reality. We ask about the actual feasibility of deep-sea mining and the competing narratives at play, what with the US boycotting the United Nations Oceans Conference in Nice and a paltry 32 nations so far ratifying the UN's High Seas Treaty. How to protect the two-thirds of our planet's surface that belong to both everyone and no one?Watch moreNorway lured by deep-sea mining for rare metalsOn that score, there's no need to drill when you hit rock bottom. Even areas protected on paper remain vulnerable to large fishing trawlers that literally rake the seabed, killing both fish and plant life essential for our planet. What can be done before it's too late?Watch moreKenyan fishermen under pressure as foreign trawlers threaten watersProduced by François Picard, Andrew Hilliar, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip.

What have learned? What have we enacted in the six years since Christchurch and the far-right fanatic who livestreamed his own mass shooting in a New Zealand mosque? Here in France, outrage is growing over the 53-year-old man who posted five times to Facebook before and after killing his Tunisian neighbour and who also targeted two Kurdish asylum seekers. Posts included a call to "go get them wherever they are" and to vote for Marine Le Pen's National Rally. It was enough for it be treated as a terror case and for the conservative right-wing interior minister to make the trip to the French Riviera town of Puget-sur-Argens.How much of the blame for the real-life attack goes to the virtual world? As US tech platforms downsize fact-checking and content moderation on their sites, the European Union finds itself in a bind. Its Digital Services Act needs enforcement and reinforcement, say anti-racism advocates. But the bloc is also locked in wide-ranging trade negotiations with a United States whose vice president clearly states that Europe's biggest challenge is "the threat within" of a supposed assault on free speech and censorship of MAGA-world ideas.Does Europe have what it takes to define and defend the free exchange of ideas, while preventing the phones in our pockets from becoming bullhorns for hate?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip.

Ukraine's "no surrender" attitude is on display, what with daring drone raids deep in Russian territory last weekend and a new attack on the Kerch Strait bridge that links Moscow-occupied Crimea to the mainland. These are spectacular shows, but can outgunned and outnumbered Kyiv keep it up?  The question is particularly timely with the US defence secretary skipping a meeting of the NATO support group on Ukraine this Wednesday. The US, for now, is still sharing intelligence and disbursing military aid allotted to Kyiv by the previous administration. But for how much longer?We ask the question ahead of the NATO summit later this month in the Netherlands, and ahead of Thursday's Oval Office initiation for new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. What will the likes of Germany and France do if Trump loses interest entirely in Europe's defence and Ukraine's fate?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Aurore Laborie and Ilayda Habip.

Can South Korea turn the page on its most turbulent times since democracy was installed? An election this Tuesday looks like being a landslide victory for the Democratic Party and his new president Lee Jye-myeung. What is his agenda? Where will he take South Korea? Will he be able to bring stability to the east Asian economic powerhouse that was plunged into doubt and confusion last December with a declaration  of martial law by the soon deposed leader Yoon. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Why did an EU success story vote for a pro-Trump candidate? Karol Nawrocki has been narrowly elected Polish president, in part thanks to a first-round surge by candidates further to the right. Why has a nation that's a net recipient of EU funding, one that shares a border with Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, turned its back on Brussels?  We ask if time's soon up for the swing of two years ago in favour of the reformist coalition led by centre-right Prime Minister Donald Tusk and draw conclusions from the defeat of Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski. Could there even be a snap general election?What about that ongoing battle over the independence of the courts, culture war issues like abortion and attitudes towards Ukraine and European defence? Historical rivalries with Kyiv were talked up on the campaign trail. But historical rivalries are even greater with Moscow. And just as the likes of Germany and France scramble to level up on defence, Sunday's election winner clearly believes that his backers in Washington will maintain the 10,000 US troops stationed in Poland. Is that a sure bet? Can Poland be both Atlanticist and Eurosceptic? Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Théophile Vareille, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

A fortnight after Romania, Poland is holding a presidential run-off where the pro-EU candidate faces uncertain odds. On Sunday, Warsaw's liberal mayor Rafał Trzaskowski will need the kind of boost in turnout that propelled his counterpart from Bucharest to victory. Nicoşur Dan came to campaign last weekend for Trzaskowski, the candidate from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party. Trzaskowski is not the only one with celebrity endorsements. US President Donald Trump is dispatching his Director of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to stump for nationalist right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocki. The Law and Justice party of Poland's outgoing president Andrzej Duda hopes to rally the 20 percent of voters who veered further to the right in the first round. In a nation where living standards have skyrocketed since joining the EU two decades ago, why are so many citizens eager to elect Eurosceptics?Would a Nawrocki win call time after just one year on the efforts of Tusk to undo PiS's contentious rule of law reforms? Currently, the former president of the European Council has positioned himself at the heart of Brussels policymaking. Looking ahead, which direction do Poles want?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

The man who coined the term "soft power" recently died. It's ironic that Joseph Nye taught at Harvard University, the institution that's in the eye of the storm of the Trump administration's crackdown on foreign students. A court has now stopped the US government from banning foreign student enrolment at the country's most elite university, but more suspensions of federal funding are in the works. Now comes a broader move. The US State Department is pausing visa applications for the country's more than 1 million foreign students, this "in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting". In a land that prides itself on its First Amendment of the Constitution guaranteeing free speech, who decides when posting a picture of a Palestinian flag constitutes a national security threat?Are we seeing a passing fancy or the true decline of US soft power? As Europeans try to lure students and researchers to migrate to these shores, as the UK moves towards rejoining the Erasmus foreign student exchange programme that the pro-Brexit Conservatives quit, we ask what the pushback against foreign students and the use of social media posts as evidence for the prosecution say about our times and the free flow of ideas and information.Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gniganti, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

A way to pull the rug out from under Hamas or a scheme to permanently chase Palestinians out of parts of Gaza? Israel insisting that a brand-new Geneva-registered aid group aims to deliver long-awaited aid to secure distribution sites while preventing the Palestinian militant group from diverting food and medicine. With the United Nations out of the loop, and Gaza residents forced to travel vast distances mostly for what look like rations, the international community warns it's a bid to force the displacement of a population that's only seen a trickle of aid since the embargo that started in March. What's Israel's ultimate goal?And will the United States sign off on a move condemned by some of the Jewish State's closest allies like Germany and Italy? More broadly, what's to become of Gaza two-point-four million citizens, two-thirds of whom live in refugee camps? The daily bombing continues, but is there a plan? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

With 299 victims over 25 years, why wasn't serial rapist Joël Le Scouarnec stopped sooner? Closing arguments in the trial of the 74-year-old surgeon in the western French city of Vannes. We'll ask about a man convicted of purchasing child pornography online two decades ago and yet investigators failed to uncover worse crimes and the medical board allowed him to continue to practice. France's largest-ever sex abuse trial concludes, exposing decades of abuse at the Bétharram Catholic school in the southwest. The children of Prime Minister François Bayrou attended the school, where his wife also worked. Bayrou, however, maintains that he was unaware of the abuse at the time. At what point does it become a cover-up and when does deference cross a line in a nation where children are taught to obey authority figures?Most important are the victims. On the stand, Le Scouarnec eventually confessed – but to the plaintiffs, his answers felt mechanical, devoid of real remorse. Why is it so often the victims who carry the shame? Two of them took their own lives. How can that shame be overcome, and how does one begin to find closure?Produced by Théophile Vareille, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

Is it something in the water? Why insist on bottled brands at every meal when in a country like France, it flows freely from the tap – even if it's not exactly free. We'll ask about old habits and new realities that force a rethink of what we drink. Anger bubbling over this week with the French senate concluding that the government “at the highest level” covered up for Nestlé which continued to put the words "natural mineral water" on bottles and cans of iconic brands such as Perrier even though the threat of bacteria and pollution have long forced the Swiss food giant to filter the output of its spring in southeast France. Wherein lies the real issue here… for consumers… citizens…… and for the planet? We often cover stories about water scarcity. But it's also water management, in this instance how we provide and distribute drinking water. Whose job is it to make sure that it's clean, that it's fairly meted out? And who gets to profit from the service of providing this vital necessity? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Jimena Morales-Velasco, Alessandro Xenos.

It's a White House visit preceded by some heavy-handed sales tactics. South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa in the lion's den of the Oval Office after Donald Trump advisor Elon Musk accused Pretoria of discrimination over a stalled commercial deal to buy his Starlink low orbit satellite system. Ramaphosa reportedly now offering a workaround of post-Apartheid local Black ownership laws, laws to address historical inequality in a nation where whites make up 7-percent of the population but still own 70 percent of the land.Adding pressure on Donald Trump's visitor, a lie that's even appeared unsollicited on Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot. Grok talking up a supposed genocide against whites in South Africa – a country that's got way too high a homicide rate for sure, but where in reality one percent of the victims are whites. Trump himself talking up the trope and offering refugee status to whites.So how should the nation that currently hosts the rotating chair of the G20 handle its relations with the United States? How should it handle the South African-born Musk who enjoys outsized leverage it seems? And more broadly, what path for a South Africa that needs foreign investment to fulfill its potential?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Jimena Morales-Velasco, Alessandro Xenos.

Aid returning at a trickle into Gaza after a two-month blockade, but troops are on the move and the bombing continues with an average of dozens killed a day the past week. Israel's prime minister talking up what might sound like a permanent reoccupation. This collective punishment of two million civilians, many, says the UN on the brink of starvation, is exactly the sort of overreaction that Hamas wanted when it perpetrated the worst terror attack in Israel's history more than 18 months ago.  At the time, allies insisted on Israel's right to respond. But now, even nations with historical reasons for giving the Jewish state a wide berth are critical, the likes of Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK which has just summoned Israel's ambassador while suspending free trade talks. It's signed a communiqué with Canada and France which may recognize a Palestinian state next month. We'll ask how far the pivot's gone since October 7th and what sort of future for Palestinians and for Israelis.  Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Jimena Morales-Velasco.

Two weeks after the far right's George Simion garnered a whopping 41 percent in the first round of presidential elections, a surge in voter turnout instead propelled the pro-EU mayor of Bucharest Nicosur Dan onto a rocky road to victory. Dan wasn't even a candidate when the constitutional council annulled last November's first round of voting and barred pro-Russian TikTok star Calin Georgescu over foreign meddling and campaign financing records that claimed zero spending whatsoever. The call to do over the election drew criticism from the likes of JD Vance and Elon Musk in the US but also from some European liberals who felt the issue should have been sorted at the ballot box. We'll ask how this result's going down and more broadly about a onetime Soviet bloc dictatorship often dogged by corruption and that's felt the growing pains of EU membership. What next for a frontline state to the war in Ukraine and how does the rest of Europe address the grievances of citizens in a fast-changing world? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Jimena Morales-Velasco.

In the end, Vladimir Putin did not go to Istanbul for the one-on-one on offer. Instead, in what critics call a worse snub than an empty chair, the Russian president dispatched his former culture minister, a "greater Russia" ideologue, for the first face-to-face meeting with Ukraine since 2022. What's the Trump administration's next move after pushing so hard for talks? We know Zelensky's next move: travelling to Ankara instead of Istanbul, where the Ukrainian president met his Turkish counterpart. Turkey's star power is on the rise, with its influence unseating that of Moscow in neighbouring Syria and Trump heaping praise on a fellow NATO ally whose role as Black Sea arbiter and arms exporter could prove crucial.Then there's Ukraine's European allies, who are talking tougher on sanctions and nuclear deterrence. Part of that is about Putin; part of it about Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron also this week spoke of territorial concessions. The idea is that the time for talks is indeed approaching. If so, do Paris, London, Berlin, Warsaw and friends have a plan?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Annarosa Zampaglione, Alessandro Xenos.

Once a year, movie fans from near and far flock to the French Riviera resort of Cannes to catch a glimpse of their favourite celluloid stars: real stars, in the flesh. They've always seemed larger than life – particularly on a big screen –but now, in the age of virtual reality, what exactly is real? These days, what still resonates as authentic in the make-believe world of cinema? The Hollywood actors and screenwriters' strike of 2023 was in large part about technology encroaching on artistic creation: stealing the hard work of some, pushing others out of a job. So, is artificial intelligence good or bad for movies and movie making?And what about the spectator? What kind of demand exists in the digital age? And with so much of the planet spending hours a day already on screens, how is that changing not just film but humanity as a whole?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Annarosa Zampaglione.

He's back in the Gulf to do deals. But a familiar ally seems cut out of all the dealmaking. Donald Trump is on familiar ground in Saudi Arabia, where he made his first trip as president back in 2017. The US president may have said no to ceremonial Arabic coffee, but he seems ready to approve a landmark civilian nuclear agreement – one that no longer seems linked to Riyadh normalising ties with Israel. Israel was left out of Monday's release by Hamas of what's thought to be the last US citizen held by the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip; a goodwill gesture before Trump travels on to Qatar. Has Washington grown tired of Benjamin Netanyahu's forever war?Last month at the White House, the Israeli prime minister seemed caught off guard when Trump in his presence announced negotiations with Iran. Under Trump I, the Saudis would have also pushed back hard. But Riyadh's relations with Tehran have since thawed.And if it's all about the money – after all, the president of the United States says he's not a man to turn down a free plane like the one the Qataris are offering to replace Air Force One – then who's the highest bidder in this new chapter of transactional diplomacy?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Jimena Morales-Velasco, Alessandro Xenos. 

What started it? Who ended it? After the worst week of fighting between India and Pakistan in a quarter century, the whole world is breathing a sigh of relief that it didn't escalate further between nuclear-armed neighbours .... and wondering how much superpower showdowns weigh on the dynamic in the decades-old rivalry over Kashmir. What started with a terror attack spilled over from the disputed territory, with Chinese-made military hardware displayed in battle for the first time, disputes over the reported downing of French fighter jets and the US claiming a starring role in mediating a ceasefire.We also ask whether India's Hindu nationalist prime minister and Pakistan's religiously devout army chief of staff emerge strengthened or weakened? How to get beyond a zero-sum game between Narendra Modi and Asim Munir and avoid a repeat of what has just been endured on both sides of the line of control?Produced by François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Juliette Laffont, Jimena Morales-Velasco.

Live reactions from Rome and from our guests as Cardinal Robert Prevost is elected the first American pope. 

Is this the right moment to roll out the red carpet for Syria's new leader?  France is the first Western country to welcome Ahmed al-Sharaa, who with the toppling of Bashar al-Assad last December, shed his fatigues and his Islamist militia leader name Abu Mohammed al-Joulani. The right moment? Yes, if it is time to fully scrap sanctions and help Syria's economy a chance to recover from more than a decade of civil war. The new masters of Damascus say they need money and time, time to make good on their pledge of an inclusive country that protects its myriad of minorities.Already, there have been missteps and bloodbaths, the most recent involving sectarian killing between Sunni militiamen and the Druze community – a community present across the borders of Lebanon and Israel, Israel, which has carried out bombing raids in Syria in the name of protecting the Druzes. On that score, what message does Emmanuel Macron send to the Israelis when he welcomes Sharaa?And with Paris, there is a history: Syria was a protectorate of France until independence in 1946, and in the not-so distant past: the last Syrian leader welcomed to Paris was Bashar al-Assad as guest of honor on Bastille Day in 2008. With hindsight, not a good look despite Assad's popularity with French conservative and far-right MPs. What's the right approach this time?

He had the votes, he had a new coalition sealed in writing and ratified by party members, so it seemed like a formality. But Friedrich Merz's lifelong dream of finally becoming German chancellor had to be deferred by a few hours, with the 69-year-old Conservative falling at the first hurdle as backbenchers sent a signal. A hastily organised second round cancelled out what history may decide to be just a blip. But still, why did Merz fall six seats short in the first secret ballot? Who rebelled inside what now seems like a fragile coalition between Conservatives and Social Democrats?Germany's Trump and Putin-backed far-right co-leader was quick to call for snap elections. Alice Weidel was savouring her revenge after German domestic intelligence last week qualified her Nazi-rooted party as an extremist group, a status that could in theory lead to a ban for an AfD that polled second on 20 percent in February's elections. The moment of wavering in Berlin is also rattling the script in Brussels and Paris, both of which bank on the return of Germany as a strong and steady driver of reform; a nation that just scrapped its fiscal purity rules to level up after decades of chronic underfunding of infrastructure and defence.Now, with the new coalition in Berlin looking over its shoulder, with far-right challenges in upcoming Romanian and Polish elections, all of Europe is asking: will the centre hold?

Despite an annulled election and a different candidate, the re-run of the first round of Romania's presidential election has produced the same outcome. The pro-Trump, Eurosceptic candidate George Simion took 40 percent of the vote ahead of the May 18 run-off. Simion – whose party sits in the same voting bloc as Giorgia Meloni's in the European Parliament – skipped the usual victory speech at campaign headquarters to instead air a pre-recorded message where he pledged allegiance to banned pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu. Back in November, the latter went from unknown to favourite, thanks to a foreign-backed TikTok campaign. Simion even cast his vote alongside Georgescu.He will now face reformist pro-EU Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan, whose views are diametrically opposed on Europe, Ukraine and NATO, which is due to boost its presence in Romania to 10,000 troops. What has changed in the EU's newest member? Romania boasts steady growth, but also huge governance and corruption issues.More broadly, how do former Warsaw Pact nations view the closening ties between the Trump administration and the Kremlin? Romania's run-off will be held on the same day as Poland's own presidential election. Where do loyalties and interests lie in today's fast-changing world?

It's a 48-year-old argument that's once again got nuclear-armed neighbours in a showdown and locals on both sides of the border fearing the worst. India blames Pakistan for Kashmir's worst terror attack in years: the killing of 26 tourists, with non-Muslims singled out and murdered in front of loved ones. Islamabad denies involvement. It blames New Delhi for the March terror attack on a train in Baluchistan. There, too, 26 people were killed, with the matching tolls fuelling speculation and conspiracy theories. So what did happen? Why now? And how to break the cycle of repeated tensions over Kashmir, a region carved up at independence from Britain in 1947 and whose borders remain disputed to this day?How far could it go this time? India has suspended a vital 1960 treaty that manages water use between the two neighbours, a treaty that had held through three subsequent wars. Why is this time different?Then there's Kashmir itself, which on the Indian side lost its partial autonomy back in 2019. What's changed inside the Muslim-majority region since? And what's changed on the Pakistani side after what had been a period of relative détente? Is this really a fight orchestrated by respective capitals?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip.

Donald Trump marking his first 100 days in office with a rally in Michigan where he told enthusiastic supporters “we've just gotten started.” Of course, not everyone's a fan. UK magazine The Economist putting a battered American bald eagle on its cover with the caption ‘only xxx.' But what if it's too late to reverse 100 days of rule by executive order? What if the president's already the winner of a power play with the legislative and judicial branches of government?Among the daily test of boundaries, last week's arrest by federal agents of a judge in Milwaukee for refusing to let her courtroom become the scene of an arrest of a man wanted for deportation. That's on top of the arrest of foreign students for denouncing Israel's bombing of Gaza, the defunding of congressionally-mandated agencies, the targeting of universities and law firms, and so on.The real world consequences of the world's most powerful nation turning on Ukraine, abandoning the fight against global warming and arbitrarily imposing tariffs on allies has real world consequences. So could enough Americans stay silent while a 248-year old republic veers away from democracy?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip.

It was a moment that seemed to shatter the United States' aura of invincibility. April 30th, 1975 saw scenes of desperation at the US embassy amid the final pullout of US forces from Vietnam and the takeover of victorious Communist forces from the north. Who knew then that Hanoi and Washington would seal reconciliation thanks to booming trade? When, during a 2016 visit, then-president Barack Obama celebrated Vietnam's storied street food in a six-dollar dinner with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, it seemed that the pendulum had swung for good.But now come Donald Trump's tariffs and Washington's ire at a China-plus-one policy of outsourcing manufacturing to neighbours on the cheap. Beijing's leader Xi Jinping recently paid his respects at Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum outside Hanoi while on a regional tour.Back then, it was the Cold War. Today, what's Vietnam's position on the past and the current superpower showdown?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habib and Aurore Laborie. 

In the shadow of Donald Trump's goading, Canadians are casting ballots in a general election. US tariffs and talk of making the world's second largest nation by size the 51st state are helping flip the momentum from the opposition conservatives to Liberals that suffered from incumbent fatigue after a decade in power – that is until 99 days ago. Starting on Inauguration Day, Trump's belligerent tone stunned his neighbours to the north. We asked about former central banker Mark Carney who stepped in and called the snap vote after unpopular predecessor Justin Trudeau bowed out. What's the plan for a nation unsure about the lasting damage across the world's longest unprotected border?And what to make of rival Pierre Poilievre, who hails from the right wing of the Conservative Party? The MP from Ontario was actually born in Alberta, the oil-rich western province often depicted as Canada's answer to Texas and the most sympathetic to Trump. Is Canada polarising the way the US has?In Canada, whose head of state remains Britain's monarch, the fault line in politics has long been between English speakers and the sovereigntist of French-speaking Québec. What's changed?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habib and Aurore Laborie. 

It's been a sleepless night in Kyiv, after what sounds a lot like a threat from Washington. Between the US president's pressure on Ukraine to sign on the dotted line, and Vladimir Putin's deadliest nighttime raids on Kyiv in months, how does Volodymyr Zelensky react? And what about European allies? What will they do if Ukraine is coerced into giving up not only its claim to the Crimean Peninsula but all the territory occupied by the Russian invaders?Before heading to Rome for Saturday's papal funeral that's set to feature interested parties, Ukraine's president was in South Africa – host of the next G20 summit and key member of the BRICS club of emerging powers. How to convince the Global South and push back against disinformation when some of it is being repeated by the White House? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habib and Aurore Laborie. 

It took years of painstaking negotiations to reach the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. So can Washington and Tehran now really do a deal in weeks? On a trip to China this Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is talking up the chances of an agreement with the Trump administration. His government has even suggested an arms deal, this despite the absence of diplomatic relations since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. What's on the table in the talks that resume on Saturday in Oman?And should we be connecting the dots between US negotiator Steve Witkoff's previous stopover in Moscow, where he's haggling with the Kremlin over Ukraine? After all, Russia has just ratified its strategic partnership deal with Iran. Are the two files separate, or is this two-for-one bargaining by a Trump administration angling for quick results?And then there's Trump's biggest allies in the region: Saudi Arabia and Israel. Both oppose Iran getting the bomb. Recently, the US president reportedly even had to rein in Israeli plans to bomb key Iranian sites. Would we now be looking at a safer region or a Middle East nuclear arms race?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

As cardinals from the four corners of the Earth converge on Rome to pick a new pope, we ask whether the faithful want a reformer or a traditionalist. With an increasing share of the planet's 1.4 billion Catholics hailing from the Global South, the choice of a spiritual leader for the world's largest organised religion also constitutes a statement on shared values in a changing world. Should the next pope ordain women priests, loosen or lift rules on celibacy within the clergy, and extend or halt the outreach to gays, asylum seekers and other outcasts?After Saturday's public funeral of Francis will come the closed-door dealings of a papal conclave that must weigh spiritual matters and the earthly reality of a church dogged by the exploding time bomb of sex scandals and debt, but whose choice of a leader can prove a powerful voice for bridge-building in a world that desperately needs it.Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

He chartered a change of course for the Catholic Church. The faithful are mourning the passing of Francis, the first pope born outside Europe in more than a millennium. The native of Buenos Aires brought his years of parish work in working-class neighbourhoods to the high halls of the Vatican. In his 12 years as pontiff, Pope Francis championed the cause of migrants, climate action, civil unions for homosexuals, and talked up reform inside a Church worn down by declining attendance and sex scandals. The pope's very last audience on Easter Sunday with JD Vance showcased the struggle between reformers and conservatives, with the US vice president espousing the more traditional line of the American clergy and a less clement reading of scriptures. So what next? We ask about succession and the direction of a Catholic Church that's a reflection of a world that seems, once again, at a crossroads.Produced by Théophile Vareille, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Habip.Read moreWho are the leading candidates to succeed Pope Francis?

Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's Mr Fix it on Gaza, Ukraine and now Iran, is in Paris alongside Marco Rubio. Sticklers for protocol would normally insist that the US Secretary of State is the bill topper of this diplomatic tour … but these aren't normal times. Does the 68-year-old former New York real estate mogul hold sway? And can he do better than career policymakers? When Witkoff picks up on Kremlin talking points, does it mean that Washington has turned on Ukraine for good? Who in Europe can keep Witkoff and Trump onside?Perhaps French President Emmanuel Macron, or Italy's prime minister? The far right's Giorgia Meloni, who was the only EU leader present at Trump's inauguration, is back at the White House. Does she soon face a moment of choice on Ukraine, NATO bases in her own country and tariffs?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Karim Hakiki.

Since last Friday, nightly attacks against penintentiary gates, parking lots, even the homes of prison guards. A hitherto unknown group has claimed responsibility over the social medium Telegram but it's early days for investigators. We'll ask whodunnit… … and the context… with the right-wing interior and justice ministers both talking up strongarm tactics to crack down on increasingly violent and emboldened drug gangs…… gangs who last year shocked France with the deadly ambush on a prison convoy that enabled the getaway of the since recaptured kingpin known as The Fly.So what to make of plans for two French super prisons for narcos, calls for stiffer sentences for small-time pushers… even one politician's call for a US-style Guantanamo in France's North American dependencies of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon? Remember France has some of the most overcrowded prisons in Europe.Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

Donald Trump fired the first shot, but is he ready for this fight? With China's president on the second leg of a regional tour of Vietnam, Malaysia and later Cambodia, it looks like the coalition-building phase of a conflict that's sure to upend global supply chains and rewrite the rules of globalisation as they've stood since Beijing entered the World Trade Organization in 2001. To win a trade war, you need strength and resilience: not just from the foot soldiers and officers in the trenches of trading floors, factory warehouses and boardrooms, but from the civilians back home. Who of China and the United States has a more resilient population, one with the skills to adapt in a crisis and make the right choices?And what do third parties say? Do they pick a side? The current model of globalisation depends on free movement of goods, services, people and ideas. Is innovation possible if all the planet's superpowers opt for top-down models where autocrats and oligarchs rule?Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

How to truly reconcile a nation with itself? Perhaps a first step is to examine the path that was taken. Lebanon is marking 50 years since the first shots of a civil war fuelled by sea change in the wider region. Today, with Assad out in Syria, Iran on the back foot and Israel emboldened, we ask about the consequences of what looks like another sea change moment. What are the lessons from the past? Remember, 1975 was before the Iranian Revolution and the rise of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement. We look back and ask why so many actors then are still players today, a half-century later. What's changed? What's the same?And how does the next generation overcome those sectarian tensions that flare up again regularly? Can this 50-year funk be reversed? The protesters of 2019 certainly thought so.Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Alessandro Xenos.

The Netherlands is following the UK in launching initiatives to show Netflix's four-part series "Adolescence" in middle schools. Meanwhile, France's education ministry ponders tighter controls on teens exposed to hate speech and online porn. We ask about a fiction inspired by real-life cases of boys who went so far as to murder girls. Are they tragic outliers or indicative of a genuine trend? A decade ago, this show was grappling with the issue of parents shocked to discover that their teens had self-radicalised online in their bedrooms. Back then, we were talking about jihadism. Today, it's about fears that men are somehow being cancelled or replaced, an allegation amplified by the likes of influencer Andrew Tate, who was recently sprung from a Romanian jail after alleged pressure from the Trump administration.Have we gone from bro culture to a war of the sexes; a war against women that starts at a young age? And what to do about it?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

“It's all the president's decision,” said his Treasury Secretary. World trade again hangs on the whims of one man, argue François Picard's panel after Donald Trump reverses course with a 90-day moratorium on most reciprocal tariffs, but increases import duties on China to 125-percent.Will it be enough to ease markets in the long run? After all, 10% universal tariffs on the rest of the world still apply. Who between China and the United States has the stamina to win this fight between the world's top manufacturer and its number one customer? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

France's president is jetting from Cairo to the Sinai, near the border with Gaza, to show that Europe has not forgotten the plight of Palestinians who are back under daily bombardment since the collapse of last month's ceasefire with Israel. But was there perhaps a more subtle message for Benjamin Netanyahu? The visit is taking place the same day that Israel's Supreme Court rules whether the prime minister unfairly wants to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service. The service just happened to have launched a probe into two of Netanyahu's media advisors allegedly being on the take from Qatar. Are the pair behind a disinformation campaign against Egypt, with false claims of a troop buildup at the Gaza border? Either way, France's president stands by Egypt.Just 24 hours ago, we would have been asking why Netanyahu should care what Macron thinks, as long as Donald Trump has his back. But that was before an awkward visit by Netanyahu to the White House late on Monday. Did the US president catch his guest off guard when he announced the reopening of talks with Iran or praised Turkey? And what about that phone call Trump had before meeting Netanyahu with a certain Emmanuel Macron?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habip and Oihana Almandoz.

Asian and European markets are nosediving for a third straight day as Donald Trump doubles down on tariffs. Weighing further on investors, China is the first to pull the trigger on reciprocal tariffs. For the Europeans, is it best to wait and let the markets temper Trump's zeal for trade barriers? Or does retribution require nerves of steel? Last week, France and Germany called on the European Union to hit the US where it hurts: its tech sector.But just as the Covid pandemic made Europe realise how overdependent it is on Chinese manufactured goods and medicines, is the Old Continent just now waking up to the reality that in an increasingly demonetised world, the US controls both the software and the financing of our daily transactions? Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Ilayda Habip and Oihana Almandoz.

Will global trade ever be the same?In the name of “unrelented economic warfare” allegedly waged by friend and foe alike against the United States, Donald Trump unveiling a dizzying list: There's worldwide tariffs, there's targeted tariffs, there's retaliatory tariffs, carve-out, exceptions, confusion.Trump also signed an executive order ending duty-free shipments of small-value packages from mainland China and Hong Kong. It's a blow to ecommerce companies. Will it be a blow to the consumer-driven model that's gone into overdrive since Beijing joined the World Trade Organization in 2000. Wither the cheap goods that flood the four corners of the earth? Jobs and inflation in an interdependent world?The Chinese, like the Europeans, are mapping their response as rivals renew dialogue. In the case of China, they're also testing Washington's resolve… as evidenced by bigger-than-ever military drills around Taiwan… Taiwan by the way also the target of hefty Trump tariffs. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip.

Donald Trump is billing April 2 as "Liberation Day", when the United States sheds the shackles of unfair competition thanks to worldwide tariffs. We test the veracity of the US president's worldview and ask: how much is theatrics that will play well in constituencies where manufacturing jobs have disappeared? How much is a genuine sense of grievance? Or has the world's top superpower simply grown tired of playing guarantor of global free trade? Otherwise, why test the rules of globalisation when you already dominate global tech and financial services? In the short term, the United States can inflict a lot of pain. After all, it controls the world's most trusted currency, the almighty US dollar. Is that trust gone and gone for good? Even if it's all bargaining tactics and Trump ultimately rolls back these tariffs? Read moreLive: Trump tariffs fuel global trade war as EU, China vow retaliationProduced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.

There was a sea of humanity out in the streets last Saturday to protest the jailing of Turkey's popular presidential contender Ekrem Imamoglu, but now the country's on a week-long post-Ramadan break. Will it be long enough to dull the momentum of Turkey's biggest mass movement in more than a decade? For now, the mayor of Istanbul's centre-left CHP party is calling for weekly Wednesday rallies and consumer boycotts to keep up the pressure, this despite a widening crackdown. What makes this movement different to all the others that have tried and failed to unseat a leader of 22 years, who despite inflation and incumbent fatigue retains a solid base?Going forward, is time on Recep Tayyip Erdogan's side? The Turkish president needs early elections if he's to change the constitution and lift term limits before 2028. And in a nation where judges and civil servants seem to fall in line when needed, elections remain the one process that Erdogan can't seem to control. Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.