The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

February 11, 2020 Sinn Féin's surge: Irish nationalists rock political landscape
What just happened in Ireland? Sinn Féin has upset the centre-right duopoly, the one that has ruled politics there since way back. Up to now, the left-wing nationalists were known mostly for their past as the political wing of the IRA. But the Troubles in Northern Ireland are long over and new standard bearer Mary Lou McDonald campaigned first and foremost on domestic issues like inequality and an acute housing crisis. Why the historic surge?
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February 06, 2020 Inside Iraq's uprising: FRANCE 24 follows the pro-reform movement
Could Iraq be on the brink of civil war? Protesters in Baghdad have expressed outrage after Wednesday's storming of an anti-government rally in the holy city of Najaf by supporters of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. It could be a turning point in the four-month uprising against a power-sharing system demonstrators say has made politicians unaccountable, with corruption and mismanagement unchecked. To find out how it's impacted the movement, FRANCE 24 went to southern Iraq. Senior reporter Cyril Payen, who was there, joins The Debate panel to discuss the future of the movement.
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February 05, 2020 Collision course: Turkey warns Syria over Russia-backed Idlib offensive
It's a grim endgame in northwest Syria. There are daily killings, sometimes by the dozens, plus up to half a million people displaced as the Russian-backed forces of Bashar al-Assad intensify their offensive against the last rebel-held province. The writing had long been on the wall after Assad agreed to turn Idlib into a giant holding pen for besieged rebels from elsewhere. Is this merely the start of another dark chapter?
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February 04, 2020 Caucus confusion: Will Iowa results mishap impact Democratic primary race?
What to make of the confusion in Iowa's caucuses? Organisers are not blaming the Russians, but rather a new tabling system in the rural Midwestern state which has each precinct delivering not one but three results. Caucuses were already hard enough to explain to the uninitiated. With a crowded field in the race to win the right to challenge Donald Trump in November, what can we make of the results? Finally, was Monday night's confusion a blip or an omen of what's to come for a Democratic Party which still has to unite progressives and moderates in order to win?
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February 03, 2020 Brexit: Now the real work starts
Forty-seven years of marriage and a messy divorce later, they finally got Brexit done. The UK has left the EU, but another chapter now opens. The next 11 months are likely to see intense negotiations on every aspect of the separation deal. What will be the UK's relationship with Brussels and the 27 member states of the European Union? Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already warned that his country does not have to abide by EU rules on any new accord, casting doubt on every part of the new deal even before the head-to-head talks begin.
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January 30, 2020 How to contain coronavirus? China under lockdown as fear goes global
Can it be contained? The World Health Organization's emergency committee is meeting for the third time inside of two weeks as the coronavirus continues to spread globally. The UN agency stating that it's not nearly as deadly as the 2003 SARS epidemic that killed nearly 800 people, but the WHO boss is also apologising for minimising the risk at the outset. Should it have been declared a global emergency sooner? Was there political pressure on the part of China?
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January 29, 2020 Beyond Brexit day: What direction for Britain?
Britain may be leaving, but just how far away is it going? Ahead of Brexit Day on Friday, Boris Johnson can look across the Atlantic as his foreign secretary welcomes the visiting US Secretary of State. But in fairness, it's not looking like the UK's ready to sign up as the 51st state - what with Mike Pompeo threatening to suspend intelligence-sharing over the Tuesday decision to allow the Chinese to bid for parts of Britain's future 5G communications network. Does Brexit mean having to choose between China and the US?
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January 28, 2020 Trump's 'deal of the century': Mideast plan imposes conditions on Palestinians
Donald Trump is unveiling his so-called Deal of the Century, even though Palestinians and Israelis are not speaking. Timing is everything for a US president who is running for re-election while under impeachment and an Israeli prime minister who is running for re-election while under indictment.
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January 27, 2020 Auschwitz, 75 years on: Liberation of Nazi death camp remembered
Sometimes the past is too raw to confront. Sometimes the significance fades or changes over time. And when the past is examined, it is always from the perspective of the present day. So what is the meaning of the 75th anniversary commemorations of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp? It was not mob rule or a burst of collective folly. The Final Solution, as the Nazis called it, was a state bureaucracy devoted over years to the methodical extermination of millions of men, women and children - the vast majority of them Jewish.
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January 23, 2020 Davos Debate: Tackling the digital tax dilemma
As the United States and France agree to a truce in their dispute over the French tax on big digital companies, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire joins a special FRANCE 24 debate from the World Economic Forum in Davos on how the international rulebook on this issue needs to be overhauled. Can a new global plan on how best to tax the digital economy succeed, without sparking a trade war?
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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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