People & Profit

In the run-up to the UK's general election on July 4, the state of the country's National Health Service (NHS) is a key campaign theme. Satisfaction with the NHS is at its lowest in 40 years and the same is true of social care. Both the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party are promising to increase funding for the NHS. One business-led social organisation in the UK, Business for Health, advocates for stronger investments in preventative health, especially in the workplace. This could end up reducing the stress on the NHS. Charles Pellegrin speaks to its founder and CEO, Tina Woods.

It's a common and accepted trope that free trade has led to more prosperity.  Yet free trade, and another word that often accompanies it – globalisation – are frequent targets of criticism, with both seen as eroding national sovereignty, taking away local jobs and harming the environment. Charles Pellegrin talks to John W.H. Denton, the secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business organisation, whose purpose is to fight for a business-friendly environment around the globe.

A cloud of uncertainty is hovering over Europe this June in the wake of the European elections. In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that President Emmanuel Macron immediately dissolved parliament and called for new elections. The possibility of seeing the far right take power in the country has led to turmoil in the markets. To better understand the economic impact of such a scenario, as well as its likelihood, we speak to Maria Demertzis, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank that specialises in European policy. 

Also in the programme:

• We peer into one of the world’s leading robotics hubs – in the town of Odense in Denmark – and see why the Scandinavian country has made a name for itself in the high-tech space.

• And we explore why South Korea's cosmetics industry – also known as K-Beauty – is going global, surfing on the success of other cultural exports like K-pop and K-drama.

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.