The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

January 07, 2022 The shadow of January 6: Which way for democracy in America?
On the first anniversary of the US Capitol assault, the arrests and revelations keep coming over a planned insurrection, encouraged and never denounced by an outgoing president who was trying to stop the certification of an election he had lost. Two weeks later, despite pressure from the top to overturn the will of the people in states like Georgia and Pennsylvania, institutions held firm and a new president was sworn in.
41 min
January 05, 2022 European campaign? Macron mounts re-election bid amid French EU presidency
When Emmanuel Macron first ran for president five years ago, he touted himself as a disruptor; a leader who could reform France from outside the box of the traditional political parties. It turns out the reformer can sometimes be a loose cannon. We ask our panel about the incumbent's latest shock statement that's got the chattering classes going in Paris.
41 min
January 04, 2022 Erdogan's gamble: What's behind Turkey's soaring inflation?
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is defying the standard prescriptions for inflation – the country's worst in nearly two decades – by burning through currency reserves and central bank governors to keep interest rates low. As those reserves dwindle and lines lengthen at subsidised bakeries, we ask our guests about the impact on ordinary citizens and why Erdogan is holding out, with cues to booming exports which he says are the flipside of a plummeting lira.
39 min
January 03, 2022 Post-coup showdown in Sudan: No room for compromise after PM Hamdok's resignation?
Sunday's resignation of the Sudanese civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok deprives coup leaders of their face of being the natural continuity between the revolution that toppled longtime strongman Omar el-Bachir in 2019 and a junta that's since scrapped power sharing and jailed key architects of the transition to democracy.
41 min
December 25, 2021 The World in 2022: France's presidential race, Bolsonaro v Lula, China to crown Xi, World Cup in Qatar
He won as an outsider, but can French President Emmanuel Macron win a second term? François Picard’s panel weighs the odds ahead of April elections. Also, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro cries foul ahead of a presidential poll scheduled for October, China’s Communist Party prepares to remove de facto term limits for Xi Jinping, why hosting the FIFA World Cup could backfire for Qatar, and the panel’s pick of books and movies to prepare for the year ahead.
46 min
December 23, 2021 What's left of the USSR? Remembering the break-up of the Soviet Union
We bring you a special edition of the FRANCE 24 Debate marking the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Growing up, it seemed as if the zero-sum game of the Cold War would last forever. What did we see coming? And what did we miss as supplies ran low, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant broke down, the Red Army suffered setbacks in Afghanistan and the Communist Party's grip started to loosen, in the far reaches of an empire that stretched over 11 time zones?
47 min
December 23, 2021 Politics and Prejudices: How to thrive and survive the identity wars?
Amid a global pandemic that’s threatening lives and livelihoods, politics instead seem infused with culture clashes and identity wars. Why is so much of the conversation in the run-up to France’s presidential election about outsourced industry and loss of identity? Where’s the left? In uncertain times, when citizens want a state that protects them, many arguments center around which side is more elitist. Are we looking at a breakdown of the social contract?
47 min
December 21, 2021 The future of food: What's on the menu for saving the planet?
Can we stomach it? We're going to have to change our eating habits if we're going to save the planet. At the approach of the holiday season, amid a pandemic that's got many people home cooking instead of restaurant dining, a "no longer so quiet" revolution is on the move. In the past decade, vegetarian dishes have already stopped being a rarity on Parisian menus. But how much of a sacrifice will the future be for meat lovers?
41 min
December 21, 2021 The World This Year: vaccines and variants, Biden’s battles, Myanmar coup, Ethiopia civil war
2021 began with the promise of vaccines to the rescue. But as one variant begets another, rich nations talk of boosters and jabs for kids while much of the developing world still waits for first doses.
46 min
December 16, 2021 Inside the new Afghanistan: FRANCE 24's exclusive look at life under the Taliban
What's it really like inside the new Afghanistan? Four months after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, FRANCE 24 went to the capital and beyond to speak to citizens from all walks of life. What they heard was a mix: relief that the guns have gone quiet but worry over the prospect of a bleak winter, with more than half the population facing acute food shortages.
42 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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