The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

May 08, 2019 Dangerous escalation? Iran to roll back nuclear deal as US steps up sanctions
How far could it escalate? One year after Donald Trump decided to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal and days after he effectively banned the rest of the world from buying Iranian oil, Tehran is responding in kind - giving the other signatories of the 2015 UN-brokered agreement 60 days to get back on board or it'll suspend parts of its pledges. How far will it go in a week that's seen an alarming amount of sabre rattling?
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May 07, 2019 Can Ramaphosa deliver? ANC under pressure in South Africa's high-stakes elections
South Africa's ANC began as a liberation movement and since the fall of apartheid, it’s been a political winning machine. Now, a quarter of a century on, can the party of Nelson Mandela renew itself? On Wednesday night, ballots will be counted in the first general election since Cyril Ramaphosa ousted Jacob Zuma as president. On his predecessor's watch, support for the ANC eroded as the inequality that's plagued the Rainbow Nation from the outset continued to grow.
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May 06, 2019 Drastic times: What measures do we need to prevent mass extinction of species?
What does it take for the world to wake up? The planet's sixth wave of mass extinction is well underway according to a report that was issued at the conclusion of a UN biodiversity conference here in Paris. As London's recent “Extinction Rebellion” campaign shows, pressure to act is growing and green parties, or their ideas, are expected to make inroads in EU elections later this month.
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May 02, 2019 Sudan's power transition: After Bashir, can everyone be satisfied?
Sudan is in the midst of change. But is it the change the people want? There has been a mass mobilisation this Thursday. Announced as a million-strong march, it converged on Khartoum to express concerns about the transition of power. Omar al-Bashir was forced out of power by the army on April 11, after a 30-year rule. The protests began as complaints over the cost of living, and ended with regime change. The problem now for the streets is that the power is still not theirs, but the army's.
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May 01, 2019 Yellow Vests and Black Blocs: What to make of Paris May Day violence?
Traditional trade union banners were there, but often overlooked at May Day 2019 in Paris. Instead, grabbing the attention were the Yellow Vests who've been protesting since November and Black Blocs, anti-globalisation activists. What to make of the violence that's part of a broader upheaval? When Emmanuel Macron ran and won as an independent two years ago, he blew away the mainstream centre-left and centre-right blocs. Weakened are all the institutions that stand between Macron and the people.
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April 30, 2019 Showdown in Venezuela: Guaido calls for uprising, Maduro claims army loyalty
Is it coming to a head between Venezuela's duelling presidents? National Assembly speaker Juan Guaido spoke before dawn from a Caracas area air base alongside the leader and founder of his Voluntad Popular party, Leopoldo Lopez. Lopez sprung from house arrest, protected by what appear to be military men. Nicolas Maduro's supporters denounced an attempted coup. Which side the soldiers obey in the coming hours and days will be key.
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April 29, 2019 Spain looks left: Can Pedro Sanchez reconcile a polarized nation?
A polarized Spain, a tense campaign, a splintered vote... And yet, the moderate ticket wins the day. Pedro Sanchez led the Socialists to their best performance in years - they even won the Senate for the first time in more than a quarter-century. We ask our panel about the hard bargaining ahead now to build a working coalition, one that might need the backing of Basque nationalists or Catalan separatists. And what to make of the performance of Vox, a party nostalgic for the Franco dictatorship?
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April 24, 2019 Sisi for life? Egypt's president tightens grip on power
Can you really put the genie back in the bottle when you're the leader of Egypt? A constitutional referendum has offered Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a path to ruling the Arab world's most populous nation until 2030. The former field marshal already had strong backing from a good portion of the population when he ousted the country's first-ever democratically elected civilian leadership in a 2013 coup.
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April 24, 2019 Splintered Spain: Bitter divisions over Catalonia ahead of general election
It's a familiar drill for Spanish citizens. For the third time in four years, they're being asked to vote in a general election. And if you think four's a crowd, polls indicate the return next Sunday of the far-right after nearly four decades. The splintering of the political landscape began with the financial and real estate crisis a decade ago. How did we get from the left-wing Indignados anti-austerity movement to xenophobic right-wing nativism? How did moderate Spain become so entrenched?
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April 22, 2019 Sri Lanka attacks: Why target minority Christian community?
What's the point of targeting Sri Lanka's Christian minority? There's sadly a long history of suicide attacks in the country's past, but the coordinated bloodbath on Easter Sunday is unprecedented. It's been ten years since the country has seen this scale of violence, since a brutal civil war ended with the crushing of Tamil separatists. How will Sri Lanka react now? And more broadly, why the alarming rise of religious intolerance throughout the region?
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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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