The Debate

By FRANCE 24 English

The Debate episodes

November 29, 2021 Covid's new variant: How to effectively stop the spread of Omicron?
A new chapter of the Covid-19 pandemic opens with a new variant emerging from southern Africa. It has been named Omicron by the World Health Organization. The WHO's director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the issue of vaccine equity will be key to getting through this new wave. Our guests discuss the threat and what to do about it.
41 min
November 25, 2021 Avoidable tragedy? Blame game follows worst ever Channel migrant disaster
A memorial was held tonight in the French port of Calais after 27 migrants drowned trying to cross 34 kilometres of icy water to England. You'll hear grandstanding between Johnson and Macron, but the two sides have cooperated for years over this border. Both sides blame smugglers, but why has there been a recent spike in crossings? And how can they protect the rights of those people who risk their lives without opening the floodgates to uncontrolled migration?
41 min
November 24, 2021 A new era for Germany: what direction under the three-party coalition?
After 16 years, the post-Merkel era is finally upon us. Social Democratic leader Olaf Scholz is taking the mantle to form Germany's first three-party coalition since the 1950s. How will it work? How compatible are the Greens to his left and the liberal FDP to his right? Berlin's loosening or tightening of the purse strings in these uncertain times is sure to dictate the tone at home and in Brussels.
43 min
November 23, 2021 What’s behind the violent pushback against new Covid restrictions?
Are those protesting against Covid-19 restrictions just an angry few, or do they represent a much deeper malaise?
As the Northern Hemisphere hunkers down for a new winter wave of Covid restrictions, backlash over these curbs is rearing up in Central Europe, the Netherlands and the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Some of the pushback is coming from fringe conspiracy theorists or muscle men, but many others have also lost trust in authorities and in what they see as heavy-handed measures and mixed messages. Is the unfiltered "anything goes" rhetoric that wins elections finally coming home to roost?
40 min
November 22, 2021 Sudan's divisive deal: Restored transition or dressed-up coup?
A climb down by the junta or has the once and future prime minister of Sudan been coopted? After long resisting pressure, Abdalla Hamdok freed from house arrest and signing with the junta an agreement to form a government of technocrats. The former international civil servant saying he did to spare further bloodshed.
41 min
November 17, 2021 Still a powder keg: Why the flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
Why the flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan? A Russian-brokered ceasefire seems to be holding so far, after the worst fighting since last year's 44-day war over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. This time, it's also a border dispute – one that was being negotiated.
40 min
November 16, 2021 Dangerous game? China forces out Fortnite amid tighter gaming controls
"Spiritual opium" is how the Chinese brand video games. After a tightening of the noose around the industry and rules at the start of the school year that limit screen time for teens to three hours a week, Fortnite has announced that it is folding. Three years on and one billion dollars spent, the popular survival game never got regulatory approval, despite the financial backing of Chinese tech giant Tencent. So what is the matter with Fortnite?
41 min
November 15, 2021 Unfinished revolution: What response to Sudan's coup?
How to make the military go back to barracks when it's held the reins of power for so long? In Sudan, Saturday's use of live ammunition to quell protests against last month's coup shows the determination of a junta which never went away after the ouster of longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir, agreeing at best to sharing power with civilians during the transition. So what response to Saturday and its aftermath? What next for Sudan's unfinished revolution?
42 min
November 11, 2021 How about the nuclear option? France goes all in on atomic enegry
A fast-heating planet means humanity is going to have to transition a whole lot faster away from fossil fuels. In the homestretch of the COP26 climate summit, delegates in Glasgow are trying to make that energy transition stick as soon as possible. Governments are asking themselves: what energy mix for a climate emergency?
39 min
November 10, 2021 The migrant card: How far will Belarus-Poland border showdown go?
NATO calls it hybrid warfare. Under-sanctions Belarus is getting back at the EU by enticing migrants with tourist visas and cheap flights before encouraging them to embark on a one-way journey to the border. On Monday, the tension escalated several notches with a new scale of seemingly orchestrated movement from Minsk. How did those migrants get there? What are the conditions as they head into a third night in the cold?
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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