People & Profit

As a result of the war in Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian children have been scattered around Europe. These young refugees have seen their education heavily disrupted, with only between 30 and 50 percent of them enrolled in schools in their host countries. NGOs such as Junior Achievement (JA) Europe and UNICEF have teamed up to help offer 1.9 million hours of training and education over the course of the last year across 14 countries. Charles Pellegrin talks to Salvatore Nigro, the CEO of JA Europe.

Also in the programme:

• The recurrence of extreme flooding in Brazil is making it harder and harder to run a business, underlining the devastating economic impact of climate change. Andrew Hilliar takes a look at how businesses are coping.

• And in neighbouring Argentina, President Javier Milei's libertarian cost-cutting policies are forcing soup kitchens to clean out their pantries. Our correspondents Mathilde Guillaume and Matis Musa show us how that's impacted the country’s poor – a population that's seen its ranks grow in the past few years.

As decided by EU member states and the European Parliament, sales of internal combustion engine cars will be banned in the bloc by 2035, thereby forcing a transition to electric vehicles. How will Europe's car manufacturers manage this major change? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin puts the question to Julia Poliscanova, senior director in charge of vehicles and e-mobility at the European Federation for Transport and Environment.

This week, we bring you a special edition of People & Profit from VivaTech, France's major tech event. Charles Pellegrin asks Beatriz Sanz Saiz, global consulting data and AI leader at EY, how artificial intelligence could bring more equality. He also meets Olivier Oullier, whose company Inclusive Brains has developed tech that could be a game changer for people with disabilities. And Peter O'Brien reports from the halls of VivaTech to find out what the rise of AI will mean for climate tech.

Rudimentary heating systems, often fuelled by wood fire, coal and animal manure, are used by a large majority of households in Africa. Delegates from over 60 countries gathered in Paris for a summit held by the IEA to help tackle this issue. Charles Pellegrin asks Jillene Connors Belopolsky, who is the chief of staff and chief external affairs officer at the Clean Cooking Alliance, what can be done to make clean cooking options more affordable and available.

Also on the programme: We take a look at what the United Arab Emirates’s first micro-brewery could mean for a region looking to build up its tourism sector and reduce its reliance on its fossil fuel industry.

We also check out how Sweden has turned into a global gaming sector powerhouse.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is continuing its planetary takeover, kicking off its European leg this week in France. Since her first concerts in March 2023 in the US, the pop star has been credited with boosting the national GDPs of the United States, Singapore and Australia. For a deeper look at the business phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks with former music business executive, Professor Linda Bloss-Baum. She is the assistant director of the business and entertainment programme at American University's Kogod School of Business. 

Also in the programme:

More than a year after Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore diplomatic ties, the implications of that thaw in tensions can be felt beyond the two nations. For instance, Iraq has seen a surge in investments from Gulf states which had previously avoided the country because of its links to Tehran.

And we head to southern China, where young sales professionals are going back to school to learn how to use TikTok to better target foreign markets. 

With less than 100 days to go until the Paris 2024 Olympics, we’re looking into whether or not they will be a healthy investment for Paris and France as a whole. Will the Games boost the French economy? Or will the costs outweigh the benefits? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin discusses this and more with Christophe Lepetit from the Centre de Droit et d'Economie du Sport, a French research institute specialised in the economics of sport. 

India has kicked off its marathon elections, with nearly a billion people eligible to cast ballots. High on voters' minds will be issues relating to the country's economy. How has the world's most populous nation and fifth-biggest economy fared since the 2014 elections that brought Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP to power? Have the lives of India's people materially improved? We take a closer look in this special edition.

What does 22 years of data tell us about the nature of the economic relationship between Beijing and the African continent? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to Oyintarelado Moses, lead author of a report from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center and the African Economic Research Consortium.

Watch moreZambia: Under Chinese influence

Also on the programme:

China's cosmetics industry is increasingly catering to the needs of men. We meet the people and companies turning male skincare routines into big business.

Plus, France develops a scoring system to rank the environmental impact of items of clothing, ahead of a formal decree in May and implementation in the autumn.

The European Central Bank is making plans for a digital currency, an electronic equivalent to cash. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to Positive Money Europe's Executive Director Vicky Van Eyck, who says the digital euro could make the financial system fairer, but fears that privately-owned commercial banks are undermining the new currency's potential.

Also on the programme:

Croatia's accession to the European Union and its Schengen zone has allowed Croatians to work elsewhere in the bloc, leading to a massive labour shortage at home. Foreign labourers and their integration into society has become a hot-button issue ahead of elections scheduled for April 17.

Plus, India is the world's most populous nation and its fifth-largest economic power. We report on how companies from around the world, including France, are vying for a piece of this growing market.

TikTok is once again in the crosshairs of the US administration, after the House of Representatives voted in favour of a bill that would force its Chinese owner ByteDance to divest itself of the social media platform or see it banned in the US. Charles Pellegrin asks journalist Océane Herrero, who's written a book on TikTok, what it would mean for the future of the video-sharing app if the bill were signed into law.

Also on the programme:

Under the leadership of dictator Nayib Bukele, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as an official currency three years ago. The country is now rejoicing as the cryptocurrency smashes records, but danger still lurks around the corner.

Plus, French glove factory "Maison Fabre" is celebrating 100 years of existence. From crafting gloves for Grace Kelly's wedding to bankruptcy woes, it's been through ups and downs over the past century and is now revamping the industry in its local region of southwestern France.