It's been five years since Emmanuel Macron rocked the French political establishment with his victory in the 2017 presidential elections. France is now returning to the polls for two rounds of voting and Macron is favourite to win a second five-year term on April 24. In this episode, we ask two French politics experts: how has Macron changed the French political system?

Featuring, Gilles Ivaldi, a researcher in political science at Sciences Po Paris in France, and Anne-Cécile Douillet, a professor of political science at the University of Lille.

And, we talk to bee expert Adrian Dyer, an associate professor at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, about humanity’s long love affair with bees – and his research showing how people expressed this appreciation through art for thousands of years. (From 33m55)

And Claudia Lorenzo, culture editor for The Conversation in Madrid, Spain, talks about the Ukrainian cultural heritage at risk from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (From 44m20)

The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Thanks to Dale Berning Sawa for the voiceover in this episode. Full credits for this episode available here.

Further reading

• War anxiety makes French voters rally round Macron. For how long?
• An assessment of Emmanuel Macron: a neoliberal agenda and pragmatism in the face of crises (in French)
• Is Emmanuel Macron, the secret heir of Nicolas Sarkozy ?
• Film and war throughout time in Odessa (In Spanish)
• A look at the novel 'She came from Mariupol' (In Spanish)