The Debate

Saying they feel exposed in the face of an Islamist insurgency rampant across the Sahel region, soldiers in Burkina Faso have taken to national television to confirm the ousting of President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré. But what will a coup change in yet another poor, landlocked nation where radicals seem to prey on weak institutions? Seven years ago, young people were instrumental in the popular uprising that led to the downfall of strongman Blaise Compaoré. Do these soldiers represent a different generation, or a return to the past?

How strong is the West's resolve when it comes to Ukraine? A steady diet of diplomacy is so far failing to lift the uncertainty over Vladimir Putin's true intentions when it comes to those 100,000 troops amassed at the border.

Call it an Olympic-sized gamble. Ahead of Chinese New Year holiday travel and the Winter Games, authorities there are sticking to their zero-Covid policy. As Omicron tears through much of the rest of the world, can the coronavirus really be barred from the Beijing Olympics?

Order has been restored in Kazakhstan after protests turned to open revolt in clashes last week. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev calls it an attempted coup, blaming foreign terror networks, but he's also arrested the former head of security left over from his once all-powerful predecessor. At 81, Nursultan Nazarbayev is out as head of the country's ruling supreme council. We ask about his whereabouts and his exit from the limelight. From Angola to Uzbekistan, controlling your legacy is tricky when you run an oil-rich oligarchy.

Why are Mali's neighbours coming down hard? A harsh embargo has been decided after coup leaders in that landlocked West African state reneged on their promise of a quick return to civilian rule. How harsh? We talk border closures and trade embargoes. It's not as if the region has never seen a putsch before: look no further than neighbouring Guinea.

Is it better than Putin bargained for? Critics of Geneva talks between Cold War rivals say they reward the Kremlin for its massive troop build-up on the Ukrainian border. Would the United States be sitting down with Russia without the threat of an invasion? Is it better to talk or not to talk?

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.

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.

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?

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?