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FRANCE 24's prime time interview of the day goes beyond the headlines: join us as news-making guests from around the globe go in depth on the stories that matter. Every day at 6:15pm Paris time.

  1. 4h ago

    ‘Major potential breaches of British election law’: Inside Channel 4’s investigation into Reform UK

    Gavin Lee is pleased to welcome Peter Geoghegan, an award-winning investigative journalist. He's the editor of the Substack Democracy for Sale and the author of the best-selling book "Democracy for Sale". Geoghegan explains the significance of the Channel 4 investigation not simply over the conduct allegedly captured on camera, but in the broader question of how political influence is financed and made visible, or invisible, within British democracy. His central argument is that the polling controversy may be more consequential than the hypothetical discussion of routing a foreign donation, precisely because the polling actually occurred and entered the public sphere. Polls, in his account, are not neutral measurements of opinion: they can help construct political momentum, determine news agendas and shape perceptions of electoral viability. If polling designed for a political party’s benefit is financed by another party without transparent attribution, voters may encounter what appears to be independent political information without being able to see the financial and partisan relationships behind it. He also rejects the claim that undercover journalism is inherently illegitimate. Instead, he applies a public-interest test: subterfuge can be justified when it reveals consequential behaviour that powerful actors would be unlikely to disclose openly. Most strikingly, he argues that the investigation matters because the alleged mechanisms were not merely proposed to Reform officials by reporters; according to his reading of the footage, officials themselves explained how they might work. That distinction shifts the analytical question from whether journalists manufactured a scandal to what the investigation reveals about political practices normally hidden from public view.

  2. 11h ago

    'Moroccans are desperate: Years of political crackdown and lack of economic opportunities'

    François Picard is pleased to welcome Aida Alami, New York Times World contributor. Drawing on her own field reporting at the Moroccan border, Alami challenges attempts to explain the mass crossing to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta primarily through a theory of deliberate state orchestration. While acknowledging both Morocco's history of leveraging migration in its relations with Spain and the possibility that security forces made tactical decisions on the day, Alami insists on distinguishing evidence from inference. Her reporting instead points towards an interaction between online misinformation, overwhelmed security forces and a population already primed to migrate by political repression and limited economic opportunity. More significantly, Alami shifts the analytical frame from the intentions of the Moroccan state to the motivations of the migrants themselves. In her account, speculation over whether Morocco "manufactured" the crisis can obscure a more consequential political fact: large numbers of Moroccans were sufficiently disillusioned with conditions at home that rumours of an open border could rapidly mobilise them. Read moreNo 'solid proof' Morocco planned Ceuta migrant rush, says Spanish PM Sanchez The border crisis therefore becomes not only a question of Moroccan-Spanish diplomacy or migration management, but also an expression of deeper frustration within Moroccan society.

  3. 1d ago

    Putin's 'global battle' against US, NATO: Russia 'testing' NATO since 2022 Ukraine invasion began

    François Picard is pleased to welcome Anna Borshchevskaya, Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute. She interprets Russia's reported missile support for Iran not as an isolated arms transaction, but as part of a broader geopolitical strategy in which Moscow treats Ukraine, Iran, NATO and the United States as interconnected fronts. In her analysis, Vladimir Putin’s objective is less about pursuing direct military confrontation with Washington than about altering the strategic environment around it: strengthening actors hostile to the United States, increasing the costs of American and Israeli military action, and repeatedly probing Western thresholds for retaliation. Vladimir Putin relentlessly tests where Western "red lines" actually lie rather than where Western governments say they lie: Russian drones entering NATO territory, cyberattacks, disinformation, support for Iran and the continuing war in Ukraine become different expressions of the same strategic logic. Her "bigger chessboard" metaphor captures this interpretation particularly well. It presents Putin as connecting geographically distinct conflicts through a common calculus of pressure, escalation, and opportunity. There is also an important political dimension to her argument. Borshchevskaya suggests that Moscow has a strong interest in the survival of the existing Iranian regime, because the emergence of a pro-Western government in Tehran would represent a major strategic setback for Russia. On this reading, Russian military assistance does more than improve Iranian capabilities: it helps preserve a regional order advantageous to Moscow. Her broader warning is that insufficiently enforced Western red lines can themselves become strategically consequential, encouraging further attempts to determine just how far Russia could go.

  4. 2d ago

    Is Wintour still en vogue? Met navigates rough seas as Galliano retrospective sinks into 'Horizons'

    François Picard is pleased to welcome Dana Thomas, author of "Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano" and the New York Times bestseller "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster". The fiery controversy surrounding the Met’s now-cancelled John Galliano retrospective "Horizons" revives the timeless debate over whether we can separate the art from the artist. But our guest argues that the central issue is one of institutional power, with the art itself almost relegated to an afterthought. From her perspective, Galliano’s stature as an artist and fashion designer was never in dispute. His character, however, is once again being called into question in a very public arena. A retrospective at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art does more than examine an artist’s legacy: it confers prestige and historical legitimacy. In this case, it would also have given its living subject a key role in shaping the homage to his own life and legacy. Against a backdrop of renewed scrutiny of Galliano’s past racist, anti-Semitic and misogynistic tirades, Thomas argues that such an exhibition cannot be treated as culturally neutral. Read moreFashion designer Galliano calls off Met Gala exhibit as backlash over anti-Semitic rant mounts She also turns her attention to Anna Wintour, the former Vogue editor who is a trustee of the Met. Wintour’s decades-long friendship with Galliano, coupled with her formidable presence in fashion spanning nearly half a century, casts a harsh light on the tensions that arise when the rarefied worlds of art, fashion and high society collide with the responsibilities of a world-renowned cultural institution. What might be explained away within the tightly controlled, cut-throat world of fashion, prestige, power and celebrity becomes considerably more contentious at a New York museum cherished around the world, with a civic role, a formidable reputation and a diverse public to serve. Ultimately, for Dana Thomas, this is not about erasing Galliano’s legacy from the world of fashion, but rather about which institutions confer legitimacy, and how history should be written.

  5. 3d ago

    'Sea change: Much of the world's economic GDP has moved to the Asia-Pacific region'

    François Picard is pleased to welcome Rana Mitter, historian, author and ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He discusses the significance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as it pertains to the evolution of a changing international system, this as the bloc holds a summit in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. Once largely a symbolic vehicle for China and Russia to signal their distance from a US-led order, the SCO is quickly becoming a forum in which Asian powers increasingly coordinate around the material foundations of security: energy, technology, infrastructure and trade. Mitter's analysis resists the simple narrative of an emerging anti-Western bloc. India, in particular, illustrates a more fluid order in which major powers can participate in rival institutions while pursuing their own strategic interests. What is emerging, in his view, is therefore not necessarily a replacement for American hegemony led by China, but a more fragmented and transactional system shaped by the long-term movement of economic and demographic weight toward Asia. Even a change of administration in Washington, Mitter argues, is unlikely to restore the unipolar order of previous decades. Bishkek thus offers a glimpse not simply of today's geopolitical alignments, but of a world whose economic and strategic center of gravity is steadily moving towards the Pacific.

  6. Aug 27

    'National treasure: If we could all be like Dolly, the world would be a much better place'

    As the world pays homage to the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, François Picard is pleased to welcome Nashville's Irene Kelley, country musician and celebrated songwriter, alongside her daughter, Justyna Kelley, country musician, songwriter, actress and producer. For the Kelley family, Parton’s significance lies in the extraordinary reach of her music, and even more in the way she turned intimate stories into something remarkably universal. Her songs were grounded in home and family, sharing life's immense struggles while staying true to her values. The Kelleys see Parton as a national treasure who transcended generations, social class and the great political divide. Parton's influence, music and voice were as enough to change the trajectory of a young Irene Kelley. And her own music subsequently was generational, as Kelley passed on her passion for country, and most notably Dolly's music, to both of her daughters, Justyna and Sara Jean. What made Dolly exceptional, in her view, was her ability to hold qualities that are too often regarded as polar opposites: "glamorous and grounded", "funny and profound", commercially successful yet exceptionally generous to America's youth, the underprivileged and underrepresented. Read moreEmbraced across divides, Dolly Parton leaves a lasting legacy During an era of deep polarisation, Dolly's commitment to connect with all walks of life became part of her cultural legacy. She "loved everybody" and "accepted everyone"; That consistency between the stories she told, the values she held dear and the life she lived helps explain why her passing offers us all pause to reflect on a life fully lived, and celebrate Dolly's life, legacy and her art of celebrating all that it is to be human.

  7. Jul 23

    Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger: 'No single blueprint for the Democratic Party'

    A rising star among Democratic Party moderates, Virginia’s first woman governor, Abigail Spanberger, was elected on the same night last November as New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist. In a wide-ranging interview with François Picard, Spanberger outlines a pragmatic vision of politics rooted in coalition-building, institutional trust and addressing voters’ everyday concerns through practical governance rather than ideological confrontation. She argues that electoral success begins with engaging directly with people – going door to door and listening to their priorities. Asked whether Germany’s chancellor is right to worry about US election interference in upcoming regional elections, where the far-right AfD is leading, Spanberger says: “As a proud American, the fact that the question is a relevant one, I find that distressing.” She nonetheless insists that Russia, China and Iran remain greater potential threats to European elections than the United States. Now more than ever, Spanberger asserts, the United States must rise to the occasion and “live and abide by our democratic values by setting an example, a clear example, for what it looks like to be a strong democracy.”

  8. Jul 18

    What's at stake for the EU's carbon market blueprint

    The European Commission has confirmed it will allow EU industries to continue emitting planet-warming CO₂ gases well into the 2040s. The move comes as part of an overhaul of the bloc's Emissions Trading System. Starting in 2036, the Commission will give industries the option of buying carbon credits from outside the EU to offset their emissions. That means the carbon price could be lowered and give industries more options to pollute if EU carbon allowances run out. In this edition, we speak to Michael Bloss, a European MEP from the Greens/European Free Alliance and Wijnand Stoefs of the non-profit research organisation Carbon Market Watch.

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About

FRANCE 24's prime time interview of the day goes beyond the headlines: join us as news-making guests from around the globe go in depth on the stories that matter. Every day at 6:15pm Paris time.

Information

  • Creator
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    15
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © France Médias Monde
  • Show Website
    Spotlight