The Debate

FRANCE 24 English
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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.

  1. 3 hrs ago

    At the mercy of Silicon Valley? Europe exposed by Trump AI export ban

    Is it better to persuade or to confront? French leader Emmanuel Macron is opting for the royal treatment with Donald Trump at Versailles, what with a dinner to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the King of France's support for the birth of a new nation. It's all about keeping the US president on board: on Ukraine, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and more. But will flattery work when it comes to the AI revolution? Lunch preceded dinner with tech titans the guests of honour on the closing day of the G7 summit in the French Alps. There, the elephant in the room was Trump's sudden decision last Friday to give Anthropic 90 minutes to shut down foreign access to its latest artificial intelligence models. The reason cited: national security. How exposed are both governments and major corporations like French banking giant BNP Paribas, which recently announced it was partnering with Anthropic for its security needs? Can a stroke of the pen from the Oval Office suddenly expose the rest of the world to hackers? Read moreAnthropic disables access to top-tier AI models after US ban on foreign use For years, the same Europeans who counted on the US defence shield to protect them also banked on its big tech: everything from Visa credit cards and Google searches to Amazon deliveries and cloud storage. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos is the star attraction at this week's VivaTech trade fair in Paris. Silicon Valley's dominance has grown to the point where it draws the planet's money and data. Its billionaire bosses dictate their terms and oligarchs like Elon Musk peddle pro-Kremlin, far-right messaging on their platforms. So how does the rest of the world defend its own national security and sovereignty? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    42 min

  2. 1 day ago

    Ukraine back in favour? At G7, Trump threatens return of Russia oil sanctions

    Before he left Washington, there were reports that Volodymyr Zelensky wasn't even on Donald Trump's G7 bilateral meeting list. But in the end, the US president took the meeting, and more. In the French Alps resort of Evian, Trump is putting the onus on Vladimir Putin to come to the bargaining table and even suggesting a rapid return to full sanctions on Russian oil. Why the sudden turn-for-the-better in relations between Washington and Kyiv? Watch moreTrump suggests US can swiftly reimpose sanctions on Russian oil How much of it is down to facts on the ground? Overnight, a Moscow-area refinery was hit by a long-range drone, illustrating Kyiv's growing capacity to cripple Russia's oil and gas exports with long-range strikes. Already, Europeans are tapping into that Ukrainian military upscaling in what's a race against time, with the US drawing down its NATO presence on the continent, making allies pay for Ukraine-bound US hardware and pulling rank on the use of AI by traditional allies who know that true strategic autonomy is years away. So at summits like this one, even after an Iran war they didn't ask for, G7 members' primary job, critics say, is to placate the president of the United States. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    42 min

  3. 2 days ago

    'Let the oil flow!' Can US and Iran actually strike a lasting deal?

    If Donald Trump calls it a peace deal, does that make it so? '"Let the oil flow," trumpeted the US president after agreeing on the day of his 80th birthday to a memorandum of understanding with Iran. Trump was quick to schedule a signing ceremony for this coming Friday in Switzerland, across from where he's flown in for a G7 summit on the French side of Lake Geneva. We ask what's actually in the memorandum of understanding brokered by Pakistan and Qatar, and whether the uncertainty is well and truly lifted for the world's biggest maritime choke point, the Strait of Hormuz. Will Iran continue to charge for passage? Will the Gulf states pay the US protection money, as Trump insinuated in a New York Times interview?  Read moreWhat we know about the US-Iran memorandum of understanding Are Europeans right to volunteer naval patrols? And what should those signatories of the 2015 UN-brokered nuclear agreement make of vague US promises of a new deal with Iran? Everything was done to accommodate the US. Hosts France even pushed back the G7 summit by a day so Trump could enjoy his birthday festivities in Washington. How accommodating  should allies be going forward? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    43 min

  4. 6 days ago

    Trump's World Cup: More matches, higher prices, fewer foreigners

    Can blatant racism and shameless greed ruin the World Cup? Fans of the beautiful game and its history can take solace in the opening match at Mexico City's storied Azteca Stadium, the only venue to already host two World Cup finals. It's a stark contrast with the build-up in the United States, a host nation that's barred Somalia's African referee of the year despite accreditation and a valid visa, refused entry to fans and support staff from a host of nations, imposed short stay restrictions on Iran's team, which will have to plane-hop between LA and new base camp Tiujana, while FIFA's president counts the cash from both a bloated 48-team tournament and ticket prices that are out of this world. Read moreSomali referee banned by US from World Cup to officiate European Super Cup, UEFA says When is it too much? Each World Cup is a snapshot of its time: 1978 in junta-ruled Argentina, 1998 and France feting its black-blanc-beurre multiracial heroes, 2014 and the social unrest of post-commodities boom Brazil. FRANCE 24's François Picard had the privilege of covering the last time the World Cup was in the United States, in 1994: the highs and lows of Diego Maradona, Bulgaria's shock upset of defending champions Germany and a very different America that hosted the final between Brazil and Italy. How will this one be remembered? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Andrew Hilliar.

    43 min

  5. 10 June

    Has France failed its children? Outrage over murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna

    Here in France, outrage over the apparent failure to stop the murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna. The suspect – a 41-year-old father of one of her schoolmates – had previously been flagged over suspected paedophile offences but was never questioned. We'll ask what went wrong and examine why a string of child abuse cases is forcing France to confront difficult questions about prevention, accountability and institutional failures. We'll also discuss fresh developments involving French singer Patrick Bruel, who was formally charged on Wednesday over allegations of rape and sexual abuse dating back to 1997. Under pressure, the government has unveiled a series of proposals, including life sentences for certain sex offenders. The Justice Minister blames magistrates for dropping the ball. The far right blames those same magistrates for pursuing what it sees as political vendettas – pointing to the corruption conviction of Marine Le Pen. The left, meanwhile, accuses the government of focusing too heavily on small-time drug dealers while neglecting other priorities. Across the political spectrum, however, there is broad agreement on one point: a lack of resources. One stark statistic comes from the head of the gendarmerie: in France, four minors every hour file complaints relating to sexual offences. How do authorities cope with such a daunting caseload? And what more can be done to protect children?   Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Andrew Hilliar.

    44 min

  6. 9 June

    Unbreakable Kim? China's Xi visits Russia-backed North Korean leader

    It takes convincing these days to get China's leader to go abroad. Xi Jinping has just wrapped up what was only his first foreign visit of 2026. Why Pyongyang? It's hard to deduce from official readouts of that two-day state visit to neighbouring North Korea. Was it politeness after a pair of visits by Kim Jong Un to Beijing? Celebrations of the 65th anniversary of their mutual defence pact? Or is it those ever closer ties between North Korea and Russia? Moscow's help in exchange for support in the war against Ukraine has been followed up by North Korea's boast of plans to "exponentially" ramp up its nuclear arsenal. We ask about what was unsaid during Xi's visit to Pyongyang and whether those claims of a construction boom and growth inside one of the world's most reclusive states are true. For instance, is North Korea serious when it talks of developing a tourist industry? And if that growth is for real, how's China taking the news? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    44 min

  7. 8 June

    Who calls the shots? Trump tries to rein in Netanyahu, salvage Iran deal

    The US president believed those who insisted he could wrap up hostilities by the end of March, long before the November midterms. If not, the off-ramp would be easy to find. But did Donald Trump factor in that his main ally in the war against Iran was also gearing up for a campaign? That's right: Benjamin Netanyahu is running for re-election. This past weekend, Israel's prime minister ignored the US president and did what most of his constituents want, bombing both Beirut and Iran. Trump could easily cut Israel off for ignoring him. But does he even dare, what with a coalition of Evangelicals and pro-Israel lobbyists so embedded with the Republican establishment that supports him? Read moreIran launches missiles at Israel in first bombardment since fragile ceasefire We ask about Trump's options and the fading hope of all those investors and world leaders, who hope that if they just close their eyes long enough, good business sense will prevail and the Strait of Hormuz will return to the free-flowing passage it was before February 28. With hardliners in both Israel and Iran finding that war is the best insurance policy for their political survival, how does Washington secure a deal that guarantees closure? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    42 min

  8. 4 June

    Cancer breakthroughs: Does a string of advances signal turning point?

    It’s not every day that a standing ovation at a medical conference goes viral. Dateline: Chicago, at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Doctors from around the world rose to their feet to applaud the announcement of a new pill that doubles survival time for pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease. The conference also brought major advances in breast, bladder and head and neck cancers, among others. So why are breakthroughs coming so quickly? Is it the same wave of innovation that delivered Covid vaccines in record time? The growing use of artificial intelligence and increasingly sophisticated data science? Or a political determination to intensify the fight against diseases that affect an ever-growing share of the population? That broader question inevitably leads to prevention. We'll examine access to screening, lifestyle choices and a factor that often receives far less attention than it deserves: environmental exposure. From air pollution to industrial chemicals, many cancer risks lie beyond the control of any one individual. Case in point: the bill passed on Wednesday by the French Parliament to reduce cadmium levels in fertilisers and food. Lawmakers backed stricter measures than those proposed by the government, which has faced pressure from France's powerful agricultural lobby. The dangers of tobacco and alcohol are well known. But how many of the cancers we develop are shaped not only by personal choices, but also by political decisions and commercial interests?   Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    43 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.6
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About

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

Information

  • Channel
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Creator
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © France Médias Monde
  • Show Website
    The Debate

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