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.

  1. 3 DNI TEMU

    Leo and 'the tyrants': Does new pope's defiant message resonate?

    The new US-born pope is on his first-ever visit to Cameroon's restive English-speaking northwest, and he's not turning the other cheek. "Blessed are the peacemakers! But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth," Pope Leo XIV declared on Thursday in Bamenda. Read morePope Leo blasts 'handful of tyrants' ravaging world during Cameroon visit The message was the same when he landed on Wednesday in Yaoundé and while it may sound like a rebuttal to a critical US president who's an ocean away, it's also first a pointed message to the leader in the room hosting Leo: 93-year-old Paul Biya, only the second head of state Cameroon has known since independence from France in 1960.   We ask our panel what makes the Bamenda leg of the pope's four-nation tour of Africa historic, about the separatist rebels who called a four-day truce during the visit, and how the Church can help in a nation where half the population is under 18 and whose politics can feel like a ticking time bomb, with zero visibility surrounding Biya's succession. We also ask how, less than a year after succeeding Francis, this pope is faring under fire from Donald Trump and Catholic conservatives, and whether his message resonates among the faithful in an age of wars, growing inequality and artificial intelligence. In the face of stiff competition from evangelical churches, the direction of the world's largest organised religion in the 21st century is at stake. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    43 min

  2. 4 DNI TEMU

    Will the Gulf ever be the same? Trump, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula

    Iran is proving that missiles don't need to travel thousands of kilometres. Across the Gulf is all it takes to force the world's mightiest army to the bargaining table. Pressure on the choke point for one-fifth of the planet's oil and gas is exposing the vulnerability of Arabian Peninsula monarchies. They'd spent decades building reputations as reliable havens of stability fuelled by an endless supply of petrodollars. We track the price of crude, the latest movement of tankers through the Strait, prospects for talks, and ask how Gulf states could rethink their alliances with Washington, particularly investments that can sometimes seem like protection money to pay for the US defence shield from Tehran and its proxies like the Houthis, who in the past already hit oil installations. Read moreUS blockade of the Strait of Hormuz: What do the numbers show? With Russia and now China accused of actively aiding Iran target its neighbours, where do those Gulf states turn for their defence? Are they all of the same mind when it comes to Iran? And more broadly, can they restore the veneer of the dream destinations displayed by social media influencers who fled when the fighting started? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Delphine Liou.

    43 min

  3. 5 DNI TEMU

    What will it take? Israel-Lebanon talks open as fighting continues

    Israeli and Lebanese envoys are appearing together on camera in the same room – that may well be a first. It's happening under the auspices of the US secretary of state in Washington. If you're rooting for peace, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the Lebanese government's never been so vocal in calling on Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah to disarm and the US president has a real stake in reining in Israel if he wants his attempts to strike a deal with Tehran to bear fruit.  Read moreUS hails 'historic opportunity' for peace after Lebanon, Israel talks in Washington The bad news is that the fighting continues, with Israel accused of the Gaza-style levelling of villages in southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah refusing both surrender and disarmament. Will Israel set up for good, pushing boundaries like it did recently in neighbouring Syria? A week ago, Benjamin Netanyahu was depicted as omnipotent with outlets like The New York Times reporting on how it was he who convinced Donald Trump to attack Iran. If that was true, is it still the case? Or was last Wednesday's daytime bombing of Beirut that killed more than 300 people too much, even for Israel's closest allies? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Delphine Liou.

    44 min

  4. 5 DNI TEMU

    End of an era: Why did Hungary vote out far-right's Orban?

    Eurosceptics may come and go, but there's only one Viktor Orban. It took 16 years and Sunday's record turnout in Hungary to vote out the seemingly unbeatable far-right leader who once boasted of building an illiberal state. Why did the far-right idol of MAGA world finally fall out of favour? And not just by a nose: "The Hungarian people didn't vote for a simple change of government, but for a complete change of regime," boasts Prime Minister-in-waiting Peter Magyar. How will the once-ally-turned-pro-EU conservative turn his constitutional supermajority into a rolling back of Orban's consolidation of power? We ask about the task at hand and reactions abroad – starting with Russia, on which Hungary depends for its oil and gas. How to handle the Kremlin? The sighs of relief in Brussels and Kyiv are audible, what with Budapest no longer championing a coalition of Eurosceptics that includes France's Marine Le Pen. But it doesn't mean Hungary will always be pliant, nor that hostility from bigger powers will magically disappear. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    44 min

  5. 9 KWI

    Who profits from the Iran war? Strait of Hormuz toll talk fuels outrage

    A most confusing Wednesday it was. In the space of six minutes, during a single press conference, the White House spokesperson first hailed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, then called on Iran to reopen the world’s most oil-sensitive shipping lane. Five weeks of contradictory statements have bred wider uncertainty over the true contents of the ceasefire deal – and even who is party to it. Confusion moves markets, and in a war that has triggered the most severe energy crisis in decades, oil prices reflect that volatility: having fallen sharply on Wednesday, they have since climbed back above $100 a barrel. And amid such turbulence, there are always those who sense an opportunity to profit. We’ll examine who stands to gain, and how – whether this is simply smart investing, or something more troubling. With so much power concentrated in the hands of a single man, we’ll also ask whether greater scrutiny is warranted within the cabinet of Donald Trump, amid accusations that the line between national interest and personal profit may be blurring. If it is oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, that is one thing. But what if it is the United States itself?   Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    45 min

  6. 8 KWI

    Can the ceasefire hold? Fragile US–Iran truce tested ahead of talks

    No apocalypse. Instead, an eleventh-hour ceasefire between Iran and the United States – one that is still being tested – with both sides claiming victory after five and a half weeks of war that may reshape how the world views them. Meanwhile, there is no ceasefire in Beirut, where Israel has carried out its heaviest strikes yet on the capital, hitting multiple densely populated areas. Dozens are feared dead. Will Washington tell Israel to halt its operation against Hezbollah? Then there is the Gulf. Even if the guns fall silent, it could take weeks – months, perhaps longer – to restore oil output to previous levels. And finally, there is the ratcheting up of biblical rhetoric. Faced with a regime where, for now, soldiers – not clerics – appear to hold sway, Donald Trump and his White House have issued the kind of doomsday threats more often associated with radical theocracies or rogue nuclear states. Will the world remember the threat to erase “an entire civilisation”, even if it never comes to pass?   Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    44 min

  7. 7 KWI

    Europe's future on the ballot? Hungary's Orban in tight re-election race

    Is Europe’s future on the ballot in Hungary? In Budapest, the US vice president is actively stumping for far-right incumbent Viktor Orban who trails in the polls ahead of Sunday’s general election. European politicians sometimes campaign for likeminded peers from neighbouring nations, but in this case, it is the United States openly taking aim at the bloc using the same talking points as Vladimir Putin’s Russia.  We talk about whether JD Vance’s support helps or hurts Orban in the homestretch of a race where the 62-year-old populist has made a point of holding up the European Union’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine. We also take a look at Orban's strategy and the opposition's claim that the prime minister attempted a false flag operation in neighbouring Serbia.  More broadly, we assess how the nation of 9.5 million has fared under Orban’s 16-year rule. How has pushing Hungary as the avant garde of a white Christian anti-woke, anti-immigrant alliance served Hungary? And what is the opposition offering instead? Produced by François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente

    45 min

  8. 2 KWI

    No longer so mighty? Iran war tests US strength and resolve

    Might is right… until it isn’t. 2026 began with US commandos seizing Venezuela’s president in a zero-casualty operation that put the rest of the world on notice. But now, Donald Trump’s first prime-time address in nearly five weeks of war is worrying markets rather than reassuring them. The US president is telling affected nations to buy more oil from him – and, if they are so concerned about energy security in the Strait of Hormuz, to go in themselves and sort it out. How should Gulf, European and Asian allies react to this “I break it, you fix it” approach to warfare? Is it already too late to walk away? And even if Washington washes its hands of the war it started with Israel, how can a fresh ten-year cycle of instability in the Middle East be avoided? For the United States, is this merely a passing blemish? Will the midterm elections rescue those hoping for a return to the previous world order? History suggests that, despite setbacks – from the failed 1980 hostage rescue in Iran to the insurgencies that bogged the US down in Iraq and Afghanistan – the United States has ultimately emerged undiminished as the world’s leading superpower. But now Trump has picked a fight with an enemy that is both a state and seemingly capable of deploying insurgent tactics. Is this a turning point – the moment after which the United States of America no longer appears quite so mighty?   Produced by François Picard, Aline Bottin, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

    43 min
Wyświetl wszystko (27)

O programie

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

Informacje

  • Kanał
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Twórca
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Lata aktywności
    2015 - 2026
  • Odcinki
    27
  • Klasyfikacja
    Dla wszystkich
  • Prawa autorskie
    © France Médias Monde
  • Witryna programu
    The Debate
  • Dostawca

Więcej od: FRANCE 24 English

Możesz również polubić