The results of France’s presidential election are in: Emmanuel Macron has won a second term as the French president with a comfortable majority. However, this victory is tempered by the fact that the far right, led by Marine Le Pen, achieved its best result in the history of the Fifth Republic.

Ido Vock discusses Macron’s success and Le Pen’s relative gains with the New Statesman executive foreign editor, Megan Gibson.

They cover the reaction in France and across the world, the sincerity of Macron’s promise to deliver change via an entirely new political project, and the looming parliamentary elections in June.

While the election is over, the France Elects podcast series will continue to provide updates on French politics with special episodes to cover big developments.

Further reading:

Macron wins re-election: live results and analysis here.

How Le Pen failed to land knockout blow against Macron in TV debate.

Macron courted left-wing voters in Marseille.

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In a special episode of France Elects supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), we discuss its latest report on the far right, "Understanding Right-Wing Populism and What to do About It". As Marine Le Pen faces Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the French presidential election, her National Rally party is on course for the far-right’s best ever result in the country.

We’re joined by one of the report's co-authors, Daphne Halikiopoulou from the University of Reading, and by Marta Lorimer, a fellow in European politics at the LSE European Institute. 

They discuss how the far right has managed to detoxify its brand, the challenges for the centre left as it looks to counter this electoral success, and the dangers of trying to out-populist the populists.

Then Ido is joined by the FES’s head of office in Vienna, Johanna Lutz, to explain more of the work of the foundation. 

Further reading:

The FES report: "Understanding Right-Wing Populism and What to do About It"

Find out more about the work of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung internationally and in the UK, and on the topic of democracy

Also recommended is the IPS, the English-language FES Journal

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As discontent rises in Shanghai during another Covid lockdown, Katie Stallard, the New Statesman's senior editor, China and global affairs, and Emily Tamkin, senior editor, US, discuss how China has ended up in this situation and why it could struggle to find a way out.

They also examine the increasing communal violence in India. 

Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on the role of diplomacy in Russia's war in Ukraine.

If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected]

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer

Further Reading:

“Control your soul’s desire for freedom”: Shanghai’s dystopian Covid regime

India reveres its democracy, but the room for dissent is shrinking

Why Putin’s war in Ukraine turned into a military disaster

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Under a week before Emmanuel Macron faces Marine Le Pen in the final round of the French presidential elections, we have a special episode looking at the latest polling and what the candidates will be trying to achieve in the final days of their campaigns.

Europe correspondent Ido Vock is joined by Paul Hilder, the founder of Datapraxis, – a strategy company which has been polling the French election – to discuss whether Macron is doing enough to win over left-wing voters, widely viewed as the kingmakers in the second round.

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.

Further reading:

Macron courts left-wing voters in Marseille to see off Le Pen

Exclusive polling: Macron strengthens his position after the first round of the French election

Five takeaways from the first round of the French presidential election

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Alix Kroeger speaks to Olia Hercules, a London-based Ukrainian chef and food writer who has become an unexpected activist following the Russian invasion of her home country.

They discuss her parents’ recent escape, her reunion with them, her journey from writer to campaigner, and what British people can do – and cook – to welcome Ukrainians.

Donate to Olia's #CookForUkraine fundraiser here.

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On the eve of the 2022 French presidential election, the New Statesman’s writer-at-large Jeremy Cliffe caught a train from Courseulles-sur-Mer on the north coast of France to Marseille on the Mediterranean. Stopping in Caen, Paris and Vierzon along the way, he heard how contemporary France is reshaping itself in the long shadow of Charles de Gaulle – and against the backdrop of Europe’s biggest war since 1945. What does the future hold for the Fifth Republic?

Written by Jeremy Cliffe and read by Adrian Bradley.

Subscribe to Audio Long Reads, from the New Statesman here.

Read the text version here. It was first published on the New Statesman website on 12 March 2022, and in the magazine on 18 March 2022.

To receive all our long reads, subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special podcast offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.

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Finland and Sweden are poised to make a historic decision as the countries consider joining Nato. Polls have shown a surge in support for the move following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC and Megan Gibson in London discuss this extraordinary move and its possible consequences as Sweden’s elections approach, as well as the Ukrainian response. 

Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen will go head to head with President Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election run-off in a fortnight. Emily and Megan discuss what a potential win for Le Pen would mean for France’s support of Nato and the European Union.

Then, in You Ask Us, a listener asks: Finland has quite an open road-border linking it to St Petersburg; what would be the impact if that border became a Nato defence against invasion by Russia?

If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email [email protected].

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.

Further reading:

Alix Kroeger on why ‘Finlandisation’ is not an option for Ukraine.

Andrew Hussey on the evolution of Marine Le Pen.

Jeremy Cliffe on the new Iron Curtain.

Jeremy Cliffe on why the possibility of a Marine Le Pen victory in France is a boost for Vladimir Putin.

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As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters a new phase, the New Statesman’s Europe correspondent Ido Vock speaks to the Russian investigative journalist and security services analyst Andrei Soldatov.

They discuss how Russia got its pre-war planning so wrong, how the Kremlin is responding to military setbacks, and why a palace coup to overthrow Vladimir Putin is unlikely to happen.

If you have a You Ask Us question for the international team, email [email protected].

Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman using our special offer of just £1 a week for 12 weeks. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to find out more.

Further reading:

“Russia cannot afford to lose, so we need a kind of a victory”: Sergey Karaganov on what Putin wants.

Putin has little to celebrate in Ukraine as a key anniversary approaches.

Putin’s war aims are in disarray, as the Donbas debacle shows.

As the conflict in Ukraine grinds on, Putin escalates his information war at home.

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In a special episode of France Elects, Ido Vock looks at the results of the first round of the French presidential election with New Statesman executive editor Megan Gibson.

They examine how Macron beat his 2017 performance, and why he could nevertheless find the second round much tougher this time. Also under discussion: how Marine Le Pen successfully detoxified her brand and the death of the traditional parties in French politics.

Ido and Megan also answer a listener’s question on why French presidents have traditionally struggled with re-election.

Further reading:

Exclusive polling: Marine Le Pen on 49 per cent of the vote for French president

French election 2022: Live results and analysis

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Harrowing images and reports from Bucha – a town where hundreds of Ukrainian civilians appear to have been massacred – have shocked the world. US president Joe Biden has joined calls for Putin to face trial for war crimes.

Emily Tamkin in Washington, DC and Alix Kroeger in London discuss the atrocities, lessons learned from the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and why, despite huge public pressure, it is so difficult to prevent war crimes from being committed and to prosecute those responsible.

Also on the show: on Sunday (3 April) Viktor Orbán won a fourth consecutive term as Hungarian prime minister, in an election mired in allegations of corruption. Emily and Alix talk about what four more years of Orbán will mean for Hungary and its relations with the EU.

Further reading:

Emily Tamkin on the long road to prosecuting war crimes.

Emily Tamkin asks what four more years of Viktor Orbán mean for Hungary.

Cas Mudde argues that Orbán’s unfair election victory makes a travesty of EU values.t

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