People & Profit

This week, we focus on the unprecedented immigration crackdown currently taking place in the United States under President Donald Trump. We head to Los Angeles, where our team meets local business owners whose shops are on the brink of bankruptcy, as workers and customers are staying home to avoid ICE raids. Plus, Charles Pellegrin talks to Tara Watson, director of the Center for Economic Security and Opportunity at the Brookings Institution.

North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un is trying to claim his country's stake in the multibillion-dollar global tourism industry by opening a brand-new beach resort. But not many foreign tourists will be able to take advantage of the new facilities, as the country has mostly been closed to visitors since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Simon Cockerell, the general manager of Koryo Tours, a company that has been running tours in North Korea since 1993 and more recently in Afghanistan.

They burst onto the scene four years ago and are taking over the pharmaceutical world. New GLP-1-based drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound are said to be a weight-loss game changer and could drive big pharma's revenue for years to come. But they come with a hefty price tag, while some 50 to 70 percent of people taking GLP-1s suffer side effects. Charles Pellegrin asks Frederic Bizard, a health economist and professor at ESCP Business School, who has the most to gain from this pharma revolution.

This week, Charles Pellegrin takes a look back at what's being called "the Twelve-Day War" with Dr Jorge León, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy. The confrontation between Israel and Iran with the assistance of the United States has weighed on global markets, sending oil prices surging amid concerns that oil supply could be heavily disrupted. But those fears have been – at least temporarily – cast aside after a fragile ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump. So what happens now?

Canada makes its move at the Paris Air show. With its US alliance under pressure, Ottawa wants to deepen its relationship with Europe. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Mark Masluch from Bombardier Défense about what this shift could mean for domestic players and the EU. 

This week, we take you to Vivatech in Paris. The event bills itself as the biggest tech and startup event in Europe. The tech industry is the driving force for growth in the world economy, but Europe only represents a small share of it. Is Europe lagging behind in the race for artificial intelligence? Why are there no tech giants the size of Google or Apple on the continent? Our Business Editor Charles Pellegrin meets with French and German startups, as well as with Estonian Energy and Environment Minister Andres Sutt, who was previously the country's minister for entrepreneurship and innovation. 

Gender equality remains a challenge across the globe and particularly in Africa. Despite progress, women continue to face persistent barriers on the continent: limited access to education, inequalities in healthcare, difficulties in obtaining financing and underrepresentation in decision-making positions. To help change that, former French Minister Élisabeth Moreno co-founded ADWIN alongside George-Axelle Broussillon Matschinga and Prescillia Avenel Delpha. It's an international network dedicated to the promotion and empowerment of African and Afro-descendant women through training, mentorship, financing, and well-being. Moreno spoke to us in People & Profit.

US President Donald Trump's threat to drag the movie world into his trade wars has rattled an industry that is still recovering from the Covid-19 shutdown, historic Hollywood strikes and the disruption caused by streaming platforms like Netflix. Will Los Angeles end up like Detroit, the former global capital of the auto industry, or will it bounce back from this crisis? Charles Pellegrin discusses this and more with Serge Siritzky, a French film producer as well as an expert in film finance; and Stuart Nash, founder of Nash Kelly Global and former New Zealand minister for economic development. While in office he oversaw over $650 million in film subsidies to attract huge Hollywood productions such as "Avatar" or "A Minecraft Movie".

Crippled by international sanctions, and decades of mismanagement and corruption, the Iranian economy has gone through what’s been described as a lost decade of economic growth. As the national currency plummets and purchasing power declines, ordinary Iranians are struggling to make ends meet and experience regular power outages. Could the recent nuclear talks between Teheran and Washington eventually lead to a new agreement? FRANCE 24’s Charles Pellegrin speaks to Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. He is also the author of “Iran’s Grand Strategy: A political history” published by Princeton University Press.

Global tourism has fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, but dark clouds are still hanging over the industry. High transport and accommodation costs, geopolitical instability and the increasing likelihood of extreme weather events are among the key challenges the sector is facing. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to Shaikha Al Nowais. She's a travel executive with decades of experience working at the UAE-based Rotana Group and is also a candidate for the role of UN World Tourism Organization Secretary General.

Our guest puts a strong emphasis on sustainability, inclusivity and resilience. But is this possible in an industry that caters both for mass tourism and an extremely wealthy clientele that's responsible for an outsized proportion of carbon emissions?