The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

December 18, 2023 Growing pressure: How long can Israel resist Gaza ceasefire calls?
How long can Israel's government dismiss the pressure? The US defence secretary is in town after a week in which Joe Biden and Binyamin Netanyahu, for the first time in 10 weeks of war, pointedly aired their differences publicly over the way Israel is conducting its ground operation in Gaza and the plan for what happens next.
46 min
December 13, 2023 Historic pledge or hot air? COP28 agrees to 'transition away' from fossil fuels
Is it too little, too late or a milestone moment? The gavel has gone down on the annual UN climate summit, with a final declaration that for the first time recognises the need to "transition away" from fossil fuels. That was not a given when it was announced that the UAE, the world's seventh-largest oil producer, would be hosting COP28 in Dubai. As always, these summits conclude with statements of intention, at best. So how much will this one matter?
44 min
December 12, 2023 Ukraine aid on life support? Zelensky pleads for more funding amid battlefield stalemate
Last week he sent his defence minister. This time, Volodymyr Zelensky made the trip in person to Washington to try to convince Republicans to lift objections to a desperately-needed financial lifeline for Kyiv. That is not the furthest Ukraine's president has gone. Zelensky travelled all the way to Buenos Aires, nominally to attend the inauguration of new president Javier Milei – but more importantly, to lobby the pro-Milei, pro-Trump leader of Hungary: Viktor Orban.
44 min
December 11, 2023 The return of Donald Tusk: Will Poland's pro-EU swing signal reform or gridlock?
It's the second coming of Donald Tusk, with implications well beyond Poland’s borders. Two months after a general election win marked by huge turnout comes a comeback for the centre-right leader. Tusk's first stint as prime minister was followed up by a move to Brussels where as president of the European Council, he found himself clashing with the leadership of his own country.
45 min
December 07, 2023 Ukraine on its own? Support wavers as Kyiv faces battlefield stalemate
As a nation enters a third winter of fighting for its very existence, it must wait – one ocean away – on a domestic partisan feud. Republicans in the US Senate have shrugged off Joe Biden's plea not to gift a win to Vladimir Putin and have blocked aid for Ukraine over a dispute on funding for the border with Mexico. It's classic Beltway horse trading. But what are the life-or-death consequences? What about Washington's street cred as guarantor of the NATO alliance?
46 min
December 06, 2023 Fuel on the fire? West Bank settler violence draws international condemnation
While the world watches Israel's war with Hamas and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, surely anything that eases tensions is to be welcomed? So why won't Israel's government call time on attacks by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, settlers who since October 7 have stepped up their push to forcefully expel Palestinians from their land?
46 min
December 05, 2023 Age of violence? Eiffel Tower attack adds to security concerns in France
When is it terrorism? And when is it a mental health issue? France's interior minister is branding Saturday night's fatal stabbing of a German tourist near Paris's Eiffel Tower a "failure of psychiatric care". We ask about Gérald Darmanin's words and the profile of a 26-year-old suspect who had been detained before, treated before and who remained on a police radicalisation watchlist.
48 min
December 04, 2023 Can Israel go it alone? Gaza war intensifies despite international pressure
If the objective is the total destruction of Hamas, then "the war will last 10 years". That warning from France's president follows the collapse of a seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas. After an Act I that reduced huge swathes of northern Gaza to rubble, how long will Act II last? We hear from Emmanuel Macron and the warning issued by US President Joe Biden's defence secretary: if Israel doesn’t do more to protect civilians, it risks "strategic defeat".
47 min
November 30, 2023 Impossible to quit? COP28 showdown over phase-out of fossil fuels
All evidence points to an acceleration of the planet's record-breaking heat. And so the blame game begins as the COP28 summit opens in the oil and gas-rich United Arab Emirates, between those who provide fossil fuels, those who consume them and those on the front lines of desertification and rising sea levels. Before even contemplating binding targets, will the final communiqué even include a pledge to phase out hydrocarbons?
47 min
November 29, 2023 What's the alternative? Israel vows return to Gaza offensive after current truce
If a second Gaza ceasefire extension holds, it will have been well over a week since the respite began for the daily pounding of the Gaza Strip. Pressure from hostages' families has forced Israel’s government to prioritise the return of loved ones above revenge for the bloodiest day in the country’s history. What has happened since the guns have gone quiet?
45 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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