The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

March 31, 2022 Can India stay out of it? While West sanctions Russia, Delhi maintains historic ties
It's that old adage: your friends' friends are not always your friends. Over the years, India has drifted towards the United States, partly due to its border tensions with China. But even the invasion of Ukraine cannot break the historic ties binding Delhi to Moscow – from arms and oil imports to the non-aligned strategic autonomy that steered India through the Cold War. So can India stay out of it? Can anyone? If nations don't actively oppose an invasion, do they enable it?
46 min
March 30, 2022 Who wins the information war? Russia's Ukraine invasion sparks global airwaves battle
Can Russia still win the information war? Public opinion in the West was quick to swing solidly against Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, with even the fringes of the far right and far left here muting their admiration of Moscow's strongman, but that doesn't mean Moscow's spin machine has gone quiet.
47 min
March 29, 2022 Putin's Greater Russia: What's driving the invasion of Ukraine?
Does 22 years in power change a man? Or was this Vladimir Putin's grand design all along? In justifying his invasion of Ukraine, the master of the Kremlin talked of "denazification" and how Russians and Ukrainians are the same people. Now, with the ground offensive failing to net a quick win, Moscow is reportedly dialling back the "denazification" part. We ask if it's true.
44 min
March 28, 2022 Call for regime change? Biden departs from script to blast 'butcher' Putin
Did he go off script or was he on message? The Biden administration is partially rolling back what the US president said about Vladimir Putin at the conclusion of his Saturday speech in Warsaw. Washington insists it is not plotting or espousing regime change in Moscow, instead describing an "unworkable relationship" with the current master of the Kremlin.
46 min
March 24, 2022 NATO's red lines: How far will West go in support of Ukraine?
Remember not so long ago when France's president blasted NATO as being "brain dead", wondering aloud what purpose it served? The biggest invasion Europe has seen since World War II now has the Alliance scrambling, shoring up defences on its eastern flank and trying to beef up its battle readiness in real time. We ask our guests about Thursday's NATO summit and the allies' red lines on Russia.
44 min
March 23, 2022 War in Ukraine: Should the West cut remaining ties with Russia?
Would Russia really use nuclear weapons? The Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN that that would only happen if Moscow faced an existential threat and certainly not in the current campaign in Ukraine. Is that simply stating the obvious, or should we worry?
46 min
March 22, 2022 Cyber warfare next? Russian invasion of Ukraine raises threat level
The world was stunned when Russia launched an old school ground invasion of Ukraine. But how about the great cyberwar we had been warned of? Ukrainian institutions and companies have been hacked, but none of the major attacks are taking out power grids and telecom networks – at least not yet. With the Russian military using Ukrainian mobile networks on the battlefield, some wonder if the West overestimated Moscow's tech savviness.
45 min
March 21, 2022 The longer the war... Does time favour Ukraine or Russia?
Nearly a month in, Ukraine is resisting as invading Russian forces increasingly resort to shelling civilians. With an estimated 300,000 people trapped in the besieged port city of Mariupol and amid shelling in major cities including the capital, Kyiv is refusing to surrender and the Russian advance is slow going. Are we now digging in for a long war? And what does a long war mean for the invaders and the besieged?
41 min
March 18, 2022 Algeria, 60 years on: Can France heal the open wound?
Exactly 60 years ago, the Évian Accords were signed, ending the Algerian War of Independence. For almost eight years, French colonial forces and Algerian independence fighters had been locked in a bloody conflict, but in March 1962, a ceasefire was agreed and in July of that year, 130 years of colonial occupation finally came to an end. Our guests discuss what this means today, where Algeria is going and the shadow still cast by Algeria's colonial past.
39 min
March 17, 2022 Putin's gang: The oligarchs and strongmen protecting the Russian president
Who are the people keeping Vladimir Putin in power? Much is made of the oligarchs and their billions of dollars. Their support has been vital to keeping Putin financed. But how is his influence protected? This is now down to his Saint Petersburg friends: a collection of "hard men" who are in positions of power that they own to Putin. If the Russian leader were to be deposed – or even more unlikely – democratically voted out of power, these strongmen would do everything possible to stop that. Our guests discuss how democracy, freedom and the truth are quashed in Russia today.
39 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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