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PODCAST

The Debate

FRANCE 24 English

A live debate on the topic of the day, with four guests. From Monday to Thursday at 7:10pm Paris time.

news & politics

All Episodes

00:43:37

Coalition of the reluctant? Germany's Merz elected...

The Debate ·

2025/05/06

He had the votes, he had a new coalition sealed in writing and ratified by party members, so it seemed like a formality. But Friedrich Merz's lifelong dream of finally becoming German chancellor had to be deferred by a few hours, with the 69-year-old Conservative falling at the first hurdle as backbenchers sent a signal. A hastily organised second round cancelled out what history may decide to be just a blip. But still, why did Merz fall six seats short in the first secret ballot? Who rebelled

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00:45:11

Why Romania's MAGA surge? Far-right Simion takes lead...

The Debate ·

2025/05/05

Despite an annulled election and a different candidate, the re-run of the first round of Romania's presidential election has produced the same outcome. The pro-Trump, Eurosceptic candidate George Simion took 40 percent of the vote ahead of the May 18 run-off. Simion – whose party sits in the same voting bloc as Giorgia Meloni's in the European Parliament – skipped the usual victory speech at campaign headquarters to instead air a pre-recorded message where he pledged allegiance to banned pro-Russian

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00:44:50

India-Pakistan: How to break cycle of tensions over...

The Debate ·

2025/05/01

It's a 48-year-old argument that's once again got nuclear-armed neighbours in a showdown and locals on both sides of the border fearing the worst. India blames Pakistan for Kashmir's worst terror attack in years: the killing of 26 tourists, with non-Muslims singled out and murdered in front of loved ones. Islamabad denies involvement. It blames New Delhi for the March terror attack on a train in Baluchistan. There, too, 26 people were killed, with the matching tolls fuelling speculation and

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00:45:21

Trump’s United States after 100 days: Only the...

The Debate ·

2025/04/30

Donald Trump marking his first 100 days in office with a rally in Michigan where he told enthusiastic supporters “we’ve just gotten started.” Of course, not everyone’s a fan. UK magazine The Economist putting a battered American bald eagle on its cover with the caption ‘only xxx.’ But what if it’s too late to reverse 100 days of rule by executive order? What if the president’s already the winner of a power play with the legislative and judicial branches of government?Among the daily test of

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00:44:55

Vietnam then and now: Fifty years on, what relations...

The Debate ·

2025/04/29

It was a moment that seemed to shatter the United States’ aura of invincibility. April 30th, 1975 saw scenes of desperation at the US embassy amid the final pullout of US forces from Vietnam and the takeover of victorious Communist forces from the north. Who knew then that Hanoi and Washington would seal reconciliation thanks to booming trade? When, during a 2016 visit, then-president Barack Obama celebrated Vietnam's storied street food in a six-dollar dinner with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain,

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00:42:58

Canada's border problem: How will the next prime...

The Debate ·

2025/04/28

In the shadow of Donald Trump’s goading, Canadians are casting ballots in a general election. US tariffs and talk of making the world’s second largest nation by size the 51st state are helping flip the momentum from the opposition conservatives to Liberals that suffered from incumbent fatigue after a decade in power – that is until 99 days ago. Starting on Inauguration Day, Trump’s belligerent tone stunned his neighbours to the north. We asked about former central banker Mark Carney who stepped in

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00:44:11

An offer Ukraine can't refuse? As US pressures...

The Debate ·

2025/04/24

It's been a sleepless night in Kyiv, after what sounds a lot like a threat from Washington. Between the US president's pressure on Ukraine to sign on the dotted line, and Vladimir Putin's deadliest nighttime raids on Kyiv in months, how does Volodymyr Zelensky react? And what about European allies? What will they do if Ukraine is coerced into giving up not only its claim to the Crimean Peninsula but all the territory occupied by the Russian invaders?Before heading to Rome for Saturday's papal

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00:42:54

Two for one? Trump eyes deal with Russia ally Iran

The Debate ·

2025/04/23

It took years of painstaking negotiations to reach the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. So can Washington and Tehran now really do a deal in weeks? On a trip to China, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi talking up chances of an agreement with the Trump administration. His government’s even suggested an arms deal, this despite the absence of diplomatic relations since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. What’s on the table in the talks that resume Saturday in Oman?And should we be connecting the dots between US

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00:45:04

Reformer or traditionalist: Who to succeed Pope Francis?

The Debate ·

2025/04/22

As cardinals from the four corners of the Earth converge on Rome to pick a new pope, we ask whether the faithful want a reformer or a traditionalist. With an increasing share of the planet's 1.4 billion Catholics hailing from the Global South, the choice of a spiritual leader for the world's largest organised religion also constitutes a statement on shared values in a changing world. Should the next pope ordain women priests, loosen or lift rules on celibacy within the clergy, and extend or halt the

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00:49:37

A true reformer? The legacy of Pope Francis

The Debate ·

2025/04/21

He chartered a change of course for the Catholic Church. The faithful are mourning the passing of Francis, the first pope born outside Europe in more than a millennium. The native of Buenos Aires brought his years of parish work in working-class neighbourhoods to the high halls of the Vatican. In his 12 years as pontiff, Pope Francis championed the cause of migrants, climate action, civil unions for homosexuals, and talked up reform inside a Church worn down by declining attendance and sex

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00:44:17

Who’s attacking France's prisons?

The Debate ·

2025/04/16

Since last Friday, nightly attacks against penintentiary gates, parking lots, even the homes of prison guards. A hitherto unknown group has claimed responsibility over the social medium Telegram but it’s early days for investigators. We’ll ask whodunnit… … and the context… with the right-wing interior and justice ministers both talking up strongarm tactics to crack down on increasingly violent and emboldened drug gangs…… gangs who last year shocked France with the deadly ambush on a prison convoy

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00:45:07

The Debate - Trump tariffs: West’s pain, China’s gain?

The Debate ·

2025/04/15

Donald Trump fired the first shot but is he ready for this fight? With China’s president on the second leg of a regional tour of Vietnam, Malaysia and later Cambodia, it looks like the coalition building phase of a conflict that’s sure to upend global supply chains and rewrite the rules of globalization as they’ve stood since Beijing entered the World Trade Organization in 2001. To win a war, you need strength and resilience, not just from the foot soldiers and officers in the trenches of trading

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00:44:21

Lebanon, 50 years on: Anatomy of a civil war

The Debate ·

2025/04/14

How to truly reconcile a nation with itself? Perhaps a first step is to examine the path that was taken. Lebanon is marking 50 years since the first shots of a civil war fuelled by sea change in the wider region. Today, with Assad out in Syria, Iran on the back foot and Israel emboldened, we ask about the consequences of what looks like another sea change moment. What are the lessons from the past? Remember, 1975 was before the Iranian Revolution and the rise of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah movement

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00:46:31

Radicalised Adolescence? Hit series sparks calls to...

The Debate ·

2025/04/10

The Netherlands is following the UK in launching initiatives to show Netflix's four-part series "Adolescence" in middle schools. Meanwhile, France's education ministry ponders tighter controls on teens exposed to hate speech and online porn. We ask about a fiction inspired by real-life cases of boys who went so far as to murder girls. Are they tragic outliers or indicative of a genuine trend? A decade ago, this show was grappling with the issue of parents shocked to discover that their teens had

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00:45:55

Who blinks first? Trump raises China tariff to 125%

The Debate ·

2025/04/09

“It’s all the president’s decision,” said his Treasury Secretary. World trade again hangs on the whims of one man, argue François Picard’s panel after Donald Trump reverses course with a 90-day moratorium on most reciprocal tariffs, but increases import duties on China to 125-percent.Will it be enough to ease markets in the long run? After all, 10% universal tariffs on the rest of the world still apply. Who between China and the United States has the stamina to win this fight between the world’s top

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00:45:28

Macron's Sinai signalling: Can France bolster Egypt...

The Debate ·

2025/04/08

France’s president jetting from Cairo to the Sinai near the border with Gaza to show that Europe has not forgotten the plight of Palestinians who are back under daily bombardments since the collapse of last month’s ceasefire with Israel. But was there perhaps a more subtle message for Benjamin Netanyahu? The visit takes place the same day that Israel’s Supreme Court rules whether the prime minister unfairly wants to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service. The service just happened to

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00:44:36

What's Europe going to do about it? EU weighs options...

The Debate ·

2025/04/07

Asian and European markets are nosediving for a third straight day as Donald Trump doubles down on tariffs. Weighing further on investors, China is the first to pull the trigger on reciprocal tariffs. For the Europeans, is it best to wait and let the markets temper Trump's zeal for trade barriers? Or does retribution require nerves of steel? Last week, France and Germany called on the European Union to hit the US where it hurts: its tech sector.But just as the Covid pandemic made Europe realise how

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00:43:10

Trump tariffs: Pain or gain for China?

The Debate ·

2025/04/03

Will global trade ever be the same?In the name of “unrelented economic warfare” allegedly waged by friend and foe alike against the United States, Donald Trump unveiling a dizzying list: There’s worldwide tariffs, there’s targeted tariffs, there’s retaliatory tariffs, carve-out, exceptions, confusion.Trump also signed an executive order ending duty-free shipments of small-value packages from mainland China and Hong Kong. It’s a blow to ecommerce companies. Will it be a blow to the consumer-driven

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00:45:32

It's strictly business? Trump's tariffs & the erosion...

The Debate ·

2025/04/03

Donald Trump is billing April 2 as "Liberation Day", when the United States sheds the shackles of unfair competition thanks to worldwide tariffs. We test the veracity of the US president’s worldview and ask: how much is theatrics that will play well in constituencies where manufacturing jobs have disappeared? How much is a genuine sense of grievance? Or has the world’s top superpower simply grown tired of playing guarantor of global free trade? Otherwise, why test the rules of globalisation when you

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00:45:29

Which course for Turkey? Mass protests defy Erdogan's...

The Debate ·

2025/04/01

There was a sea of humanity out in the streets last Saturday to protest the jailing of Turkey’s popular presidential contender Ekrem Imamoglu, but now the country's on a weeklong post-Ramadan break. Long enough to dull the momentum of the country’s biggest mass movement in more than a decade? For now, the mayor of Istanbul’s center-left CHP party calling for weekly Wednesday rallies and consumer boycotts to keep up the pressure, this despite a widening crackdown. What makes this movement different

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