The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

December 15, 2020 Brexit's never-ending endgame: UK, EU extend talks as both sides try to clinch deal
"Keep calm and carry on" is a phrase adopted on the other side of the English Channel to sum up the British phlegmatic spirit. So perhaps it's no surprise that we are now in yet another extended period of discussion and negotiation about Brexit. The Sunday deadline to sort out a trade deal came and went with no tangible progress, except a commitment to carry on… and keep calm. So can the sticking points be overcome? Can a deal be done?
41 min
December 10, 2020 Merkel's last hurrah? Crucial summit caps German EU presidency
Many had billed this date on the calendar as the crowning moment for Germany's rotating EU presidency and its outgoing chancellor before her final months in office. So how will Angela Merkel – a fixture for so long on the European stage – weather a summit that couldn't be more crucial?
42 min
December 09, 2020 France's fight over sacred values: Macron's republican principals bill takes on radical Islam
It's no longer labelled a law against religious separatism and you will not find in it the words "radical Islam". But as Emmanuel Macron's justice minister openly states, it's abundantly clear that "between the lines", the French government's much anticipated law to reinforce republican principles is precisely about what this nation can no longer endure.
40 min
December 08, 2020 Turning point? First shots in rollout of Covid-19 vaccine
The first shots of a long battle. A 90-year-old pensioner from Enniskillen was the first to get her Covid-19 vaccine jab. We ask if it's truly the beginning of the end, how the rollout will proceed not just in Brexit-bound Britain but across Europe and the world. It's also a chance to measure the significance of the moment: the first-ever inoculation against a coronavirus going to market in record time. Will the public be clamouring to be first in line or will sceptics need convincing?
43 min
December 07, 2020 Unconditional support? Macron reluctant to call out Egypt's Sisi on human rights
The Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is currently on a three-day visit to France, where he's been given a red carpet welcome by Emmanuel Macron, underscoring the close alliance between Cairo and Paris. The Egyptian leader says both nations wish to push their strategic relations further. But not everyone is pleased to see these two men standing side by side. Some rights groups have branded Sisi a "dictator" and pointed to the fact that there are 60,000 prisoners of conscience in Egypt. Is Macron being too lenient on his Egyptian guest with regard to this issue of human rights?
43 min
December 03, 2020 Misunderstood reformer? The France of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing died Wednesday due to complications linked to Covid-19. He was 94. Giscard d’Estaing was the last French leader to fight the Nazis in World War II. His tenure was that of social reform, particularly women's rights, but he couldn't stave off inflation, unemployment, and the Bokassa diamonds scandal. At 55, he was suddenly a one-term former president. Yet Giscard d’Estaing would go on to outlast all of his rivals, devoting himself to the European project, putting reconciliation with Germany at its heart. What's left of that legacy today?
45 min
December 02, 2020 Don't mess with Beijing: Pushback over Covid fuels China-Australia row
How did we go from calls to research the origins of Covid-19, to China's call to boycott Australian wine? Relations between Beijing and Canberra started to go south back in May when Australia demanded an independent probe into the origins of the pandemic. Now, on the week of the first anniversary of the first documented Covid-19 case in Wuhan, ties have soured further after a senior Chinese official posted a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child, prompting Australian Prime Minister Morrison to demand an apology from Beijing.
43 min
December 01, 2020 No going back? Assassination of nuclear physicist dampens hopes of reviving Iran nuclear deal
It struck at the heart of the Iranian regime. After last Friday's daring and sophisticated ambush of 59-year old nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh outside Tehran, the country is mourning him like a national hero. How will Iran respond to yet another assassination of a scientist associated with its covert weapons program? Iran accuses Israel of masterminding the killing. We take a look at the attack itself, and especially the timing of it, occurring in the final weeks of the Trump presidency and ahead of a potential snap election in Israel.
41 min
November 30, 2020 Macron under pressure: Police brutality and an embarrassing U-turn
Today we look at the dramatic events since last Tuesday when France's lower house of parliament gave initial approval to a controversial security bill which would make it illegal in many cases, to circulate or publish images of police officers. The bill was heavily criticised by press freedom groups and the anger intensified when images surfaced of officers beating and racially abusing music producer Michel Zecler, who is black.
43 min
November 26, 2020 In a league of his own: The genius and controversy of Diego Maradona, football's golden child
What becomes a legend most? Flawed geniuses abound in the annals of history but how many drew the same kind of devotion as Argentine footballer Diego Armando Maradona? What made the short-in-size but larger-than-life soccer wizard a one-of-a-kind icon? As Argentina and the football-loving world grieve their pibe de oro, we ask about the ups and downs of a star whose career coincided with the rise of cable TV, the consecration of a sport gone global and the rollercoaster fortunes of a South American nation, which often mirrored those of its golden child.
43 min

About The Debate

From the publisher's feed

A live debate on the topic of the day, with four guests. From Monday to Thursday at 7:10pm Paris time.

Share The Debate

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Debate

The Debate episodes

About The Debate

More shows like The Debate

Global News Podcast

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Fareed Zakaria GPS

Intelligence Squared

Newshour

Amanpour

The Documentary Podcast

The Interview

arts24

People & Profit

Access Asia

Talking Europe

The 51%

Fashion

Inside Europe

Tech 24

Down to Earth

Business

Inside the Americas

Europe Rendezvous

The World This Week

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Reporters

Focus

Banlieue Project

The Ezra Klein Show

The Observers

Press Review

Ones and Tooze

The Observers Direct

The Foreign Affairs Interview

The Global Story