The French right and left united against Elisabeth Borne, the prime minister, in a vote of confidence. Her government survived, but barely. What does it mean for Emmanuel Macron, the president?

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss the paradox of a strong presidency and weak president and what might come next in French politics.

Then they turn to the United States, where progressive Democrats sent, and then retracted, a letter urging Joe Biden to negotiate with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. What does this mean for the future of US president’s Ukraine policy? And what are we really talking about when we urge “diplomacy”?

They also take a listener’s question on Ukraine’s request to have Russia labelled a terrorist state in this week’s You Ask Us.

If you have a question you'd like the team to answer, just go to newstatesman.com/youaskus

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What will stop Vladimir Putin?

Everything you need to know about the US midterm elections

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