The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

June 20, 2023 Deep-sea search continues for missing Titanic tourist sub
There's been no sign of life since Sunday. It would be wrong to entertain false hopes for the five crew and passengers who plunged into the North Atlantic aboard a small tourist sub to explore the wreck of the Titanic. We ask about the massive search-and-rescue effort and see why it would be a miracle if those inside the Titan live to tell the tale.
33 min
June 19, 2023 Can they dial it back? Blinken in Beijing to stabilise US-China relations
Could it really spiral out of control? Increasingly militarised standoffs in the Pacific are just part of the picture as Antony Blinken becomes the highest-ranking US official to visit Beijing in five years. The trip had been pushed back at the start of the year, when a Chinese spy balloon was shot out of the sky over US territory. Are the tensions about Taiwan or trade? The answer seems to be both, if you consider that more than half of the world's semi-conductors are manufactured by Taipei and that Beijing remains the world's factory.
46 min
June 15, 2023 Tragedy in the Mediterranean: Was the migrant boat disaster avoidable?
More than a hundred migrants were rescued from an overcrowded fishing vessel that capsized southwest of the Greek port of Pylos on Wednesday. At least 78 people have been confirmed dead, making it Greece's deadliest migrant shipwreck since 2016. However, that figure is expected to rise, with estimates of the number on board ranging from 400 to 750.
46 min
June 14, 2023 Berlusconi's way: State funeral for populist who transformed Italy
His legacy stretches beyond Italian borders and well beyond European borders. A state funeral has been held for Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's longest-serving post-war leader who passed away on Monday aged 86. Inside, the high and mighty packed Milan's Duomo Cathedral, while outside pressed Forza Italia loyalists and fans of AC Milan and Monza, the football clubs he owned.
47 min
June 13, 2023 The case against Trump: How far will Republicans go in defence of ex-president?
Donald Trump in a court of law is nothing new. Two months after New York City charged the former US president with felony business fraud, federal prosecutors in Miami are accusing Trump of stashing and concealing classified documents that contain nuclear and military secrets at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left office in 2021.
47 min
June 09, 2023 The World This Week: Ukraine Counter-Offensive, Canada Forest Fires
The frontline dam burst that flooded southern Ukraine is a nightmare scenario come true. Who stands to gain from the catastrophe? Also, the nightmare scenario for the planet: Canadian forest fires follow freak spring droughts. The smog is choking North America and sending smoke to Europe, and it's only early June.
45 min
June 08, 2023 Quiet reconciliation: Are US-Saudi relations out of the rough?
Are the United States and Saudi Arabia quietly drawing closer? It’s been nearly a year since we were in Jeddah covering that frosty fist bump between Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Critics had been quick to evoke memories of 9/11, the brutal war in Yemen and the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while Biden's hosts were irked by what they view as patronising lecturing on how to run a kingdom.
45 min
June 07, 2023 Torrent of destruction: What comes next after Ukraine dam burst?
It’s a "worst nightmare" come true. How big is the catastrophe?Whether sabotage or carelessness is to blame for the breach in the Russian-held Nova Khakovka dam, the livelihoods of tens of thousands downstream have been washed away in a matter of hours.
46 min
June 05, 2023 Has it already begun? Ukraine's counter-offensive strategy
Is Ukraine armed and ready for its long-touted spring counter-offensive? We’ll ask about air cover, cross-border strikes and ammunition. More broadly, what does it take to claim heavily fortified, heavily mined Russian-held positions? Is Kyiv ready? Is NATO ready? Will stepped-up supplies of military hardware suffice? We also weigh the consequences of a protracted war on the NATO alliance.
45 min
June 05, 2023 Artificial intelligence: Why is facial recognition so scary?
In 2020, American startup Clearview AI introduced one of the most highly controversial facial recognition applications. This inspired FRANCE 24's documentary “Your faces are ours: the dangers of facial recognition”. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look into our investigation of a technology using artificial intelligence to precisely identify anyone who has been photographed or filmed.
19 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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