The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

October 01, 2020 Rebuilding Beirut: Can Lebanon's capital make a fresh start?
As the French Red Cross spearheads a United for Lebanon fund drive, The France 24 Debate goes to Beirut two months after the chemical blast at the port that still has the capital reeling.
44 min
September 30, 2020 Race to the bottom: What does Trump-Biden debate say about US democracy?
Traditionally, US presidential debates barely sway public opinion, if at all. Of course, the spectacle that unfolded on Tuesday night in Cleveland was not your traditional debate. For 90 minutes, tens of millions of Americans watched Donald Trump and Joe Biden needle, badger, interrupt, and sometimes even insult. But were viewers agape and embarrassed or cheering and baying for blood? Is it infotainment that will soon be forgotten or a telling illustration of the state of democracy in the US?
41 min
September 29, 2020 On the Eastern Front: Macron's push to raise EU's clout
"We will do our best as Europeans to help mediate." Those were French President Emmanuel Macron's words after becoming the first Western leader to meet face-to-face with exiled Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Macron was taking time out of a long-planned visit to Lithuania to answer her call to broker dialogue with Alexander Lukashenko, who last week staged a secret inauguration to a sixth term.
41 min
September 28, 2020 All-out war? Armenia, Azerbaijan clash over Nagorno-Karabakh
Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan back to the brink of all-out war? Dozens have been killed in a flare-up of July's tensions in the separatist Armenian-speaking enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. This time, it has escalated with both sides declaring martial law and competing images to back up rival claims. It could escalate even further, what with Turkey jumping to Azerbaijan's defence and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulling no punches this time. What is Ankara's next move? What response from Russia in a standoff that pits two former Soviet republics against each other?
42 min
September 24, 2020 How to live with it? Europe scrambles to avoid second Covid lockdown
Avoid hospitals from being overrun again. Avoid a second lockdown at all costs. France but also Spain, the UK and others are all asking one simple question: how to live with Covid-19? In two weeks, the number of French Covid patients in hospital has doubled. So why are citizens in some of the hardest hit areas like Marseille so angry at new restrictions that include the shutting of bars, restaurants and gyms?
42 min
September 23, 2020 Shared responsibility? EU tries to fix broken migrant policy
What does a fair and realistic migrant policy look like in 2020? Just two weeks after the fires that gutted Europe's largest refugee camp on the Greek isle of Lesbos, the European Commission is unveiling its plan to reform the so-called Dublin protocol, which up to now obliged asylum seekers to register in their port of entry, thus making it Greece, Italy and Malta's problem.
43 min
September 21, 2020 Game changer? The battle over Trump's third Supreme Court pick
Does the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg ensure Donald Trump's legacy? The US president says that by the end of the week, he will nominate a new Supreme Court justice. If the Republican-controlled Senate approves his pick, whether or not Trump's out of a job on November 4, he will have chosen three of the nine justices on the bench. We are talking about lifetime appointments that for decades could shape arguments over deregulation, healthcare, voting rights, protection of minorities and abortion.
43 min
September 17, 2020 The 'Cuties' controversy: Are today's schoolgirls empowered or under pressure?
Why has "Cuties" struck a nerve? An award-winning film set in Paris's working class suburbs, about an 11-year-old girl torn between the demands of her family and the pressure to be sexy, seemed destined for an honourable run on the art house circuit.
39 min
September 16, 2020 Not so fast? The pros and cons of 5G technology
What’s the problem with 5G? A little over a week before France is due to deliver licenses and as newly-elected left and Green Party mayors lead the call for a moratorium, France's President tells a French tech conference that he is a fan of next generation 5G. We listen to Emmanuel Macron's take a jab at the “Amish model”. But, putting Puritan sects and COVID conspiracies aside, are there real health or environmental risks linked to what has been billed as an acceleration to warp speed for wireless mobile networks?
42 min
September 15, 2020 Historic? Israel's normalisation of ties with UAE, Bahrain
So is it historic? At the same White House that hosted Israel's 1978 peace deal with Egypt and the 1993 Oslo accords with the Palestinians, now comes the normalisation of ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrein, with both foreign ministers in attendance. Relations between Israel and the Gulf monarchies warmed a long time ago. Why come clean now?
20 min

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

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