The Debate

What’s the plan and does it go beyond dropping bombs from the sky? On Day 3 of the US and Israeli campaign that’s killed Iran’s supreme leader, the United States insisting there will be no boots on the ground. But while the US defense secretary talks of nuclear installations and missile launchers, the U-S president's spoken of laying the groundwork for regime change. Already, the escalation’s gone well beyond last June’s 12 days of bombing raids. Did the Pentagon properly prepare for Tehran firing not just on Israel alongside its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah but also targeting Gulf states with missiles landing as far away as Cyprus? The missiles have shut down Qatar's gas production, damaged at least one oil field in Saudi Arabia and shut the Strait of Hormuz, passageway that ships more than one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas? We’ll hear the Trump administration’s rationale for starting this war, weigh the unintended consequences that might result… and whether a US president who’s so often used his military to push red lines - from the 2020 assassination of charismatic Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani to the seizing of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro - can use of force as he pleases against an Islamic Republic that back in January proved it was unafraid to slaughter its own people by the thousands if that’s what it takes to ensure its survival.    Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Andrew Hilliar.

What would it take for Donald Trump to call off air strikes against an Iran that's told Omani mediators it sees a pathway to compromise over its nuclear programme? We delve into where the veteran Tehran team of veteran negotiators can entice US envoy Steve Witkoff, whose red lines sometimes include the Islamic Republic's missile programme, sometimes less so.  Neither side is drawing much attention to the actual situation inside Iran, where after the thousands killed in New Year's protests, fresh dissent has erupted as Amnesty International warns of looming executions of tortured demonstrators, some as young as 17. Watch moreExclusive: Iran, massacre under a blackout Watching from the sidelines are France, Germany, the UK and the other signatories of the 2015 UN agreement that Trump ripped up in 2018. Where to put the accent? And what's this showdown ultimately about? Produced by François Picard, Antonia Cimini, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

What does a boss who's built an image as a tough guy from Queens do when naysayers claim he's reached his limits? To dispel doubts, he can for instance hold the floor for an hour and 47 minutes. In the longest ever State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump proved he can stick to script instead of rambling. Trump was as combative as ever: bashing immigrants, Iran, the opposition Democrats and even the US Supreme Court for last week's ruling striking down many of his tariffs, the biggest pushback yet for a president who's wielded historically grand executive powers since returning to office 13 months ago. We ask about his plans to not only double down on tariffs – he's saying they can replace income taxes – but to do so without congressional approval. Read moreTrump’s marathon State of Union: Big claims and the questions he left unanswered We weigh Trump's methods, his arguments and ask about blurred lines between public policy and personal interest. As a term-limited president approaches midterm elections that could further corner a leader whose mantra's always been "attack, attack, attack", what will Trump do? And how's the rest of the world reading the moment? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

We think about war and peace like a light switch that's either flicked on or off. But Russia did not suddenly decide to swoop for Kyiv on a February night of 2022. To this day, it still refuses to call it a war, sticking instead to the less definitive "special military operation". And yet the writing had long been on the wall, and the actual war started long before: in 2014. Many, through blindness or necessity, refused to heed the warning signs. Even Ukraine's president continued to downplay the intelligence reports. When does rivalry turn to hostility, hostility to war, and are we sometimes at war without knowing it? Fast forward to the present day and there's no doubting what to call this long, brutal slog with its hundreds of thousands killed, its nightly air raids and its freezing homes due to the targeting of the power grid. How long can a war last? Or how long can peace last? Were the last eight decades the exception for a Europe that in that time went from the zero-sum game of the Cold War to the enlarged defence shield of a US-led NATO? As Washington's support for Ukraine now drops dramatically, what do the next four years have in store?

Forget the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and those zero US casualties. Iran is not Venezuela and the Pentagon knows it. It's deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East along with a fleet of ships, aircraft and support to take on a weakened regime, but still a nation of 90 million that boasts a huge military with a homegrown arsenal of missiles and drones. Is the US prepared for all eventualities, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for more than one fifth of the planet's oil and gas? Watch moreIran-US tensions soar as second US aircraft carrier approaches region More broadly, why this potential fight? Why now? How does the same Donald Trump who now chairs a Board of Peace actually view the use of force? The president who campaigned on the promise of no boots on the ground already crossed a red line last June when the US joined Israel’s bombing of Iranian nuclear installations. Will he pull the trigger this time? And how does the Islamic Republic and its supreme leader view an ultimatum that's mainly but not only about its nuclear programme? To ensure its survival, the regime mowed down protesters by the thousands back in January. Does it emerge further weakened or strengthened after what now lies ahead?

Justice can be slow… and then, suddenly, swift. Two months to the day after the US Justice Department began releasing the Epstein files comes the arrest of King Charles’s brother, Andrew. He had already been stripped of his titles over allegations of relations with sex-trafficked minors. Now, he stands accused of leaking state secrets to the disgraced financier at a time when his late mother was pushing for his appointment as trade envoy. What are the consequences for Andrew – for the British monarchy – and for institutions already rattled by Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the prime minister’s ambassador to the United States, even though he too stands accused of leaking insider information to Epstein during the financial crisis? Will the arrests restore faith, or further fuel public cynicism? Moreover, will Andrew’s arrest force Donald Trump’s Justice Department to come clean about what remains unreleased – and to pursue wrongdoing impartially? Whether it’s sex trafficking, trading state secrets, or tax evasion, who is above the law – and who is not?   Produced by François Picard, Charles Wente, Théo Vareille, Daniel Whittington and Ilayda Habip

Call it speed dating diplomacy. In Geneva, real estate magnate Steve Witkoff is playing lead US negotiator with Iran in one room, while in another acting as broker for the hard bargaining between Russia and Ukraine. We ask how the Ukrainians feel about it, especially when the mediator's boss piles fresh pressure on them. And what about the Kremlin's envoy this time, a revisionist historian who spouts the "Greater Russia" line of Vladimir Putin? And even though Ukrainians are feeling the heat during a winter left in the cold by relentless attacks on their power grid, Kyiv has also found a way into the good graces of pro-Trump tech titans, particularly with the shutting of Elon Musk's Starlink low-orbit satellites to Russian forces. That's enabled counter-offensives in the past week. Still, ahead of next week’s fourth anniversary of Putin's bid to take Ukraine's capital, both sides are reeling from a meat grinder of a war with lasting consequences. It’s been said that it’s politically impossible for Putin to quit now. But how viable is it to keep on fighting? Produced by Charles Wente, Théo Vareille, Daniel Whittington and Ilayda Habip

There’s trade deals, there's partnerships and then there's fighter jets. French President Emmanuel Macron is in Mumbai to put the finishing touches on a €30 billion sale of 114 Rafale jets. This third batch comes as France struggles to convince European neighbours to either buy its warplanes, build one together or – at the very least – get NATO allies to de-risk from relying on US-made F-35s.  On the Indian side, there's scrutiny over how Rafale sales have gone so far, both with cost and in combat. Then there's the question of how much Delhi weens itself off historic supplier Russia. And what goes for military hardware goes for oil imports, what with US pressure to stop buying discounted crude from Moscow. On that score, what to make of fast-tracked trade deals with Washington and the European Union? How much strategic autonomy can both India and France afford in a realigning world? Produced by Charles Wente, Aline Bottin, Daniel Whittington and Ilayda Habip

In the wake of the Munich Security Conference, we're asking: what happens now? With Russia's war on Ukraine still raging, do the grand words of Munich mean anything to those struggling to feed themselves, stay warm and survive under Vladimir Putin's ongoing missile and drone attacks? On European security, tensions are rising. Germany is pressing France to increase its defence spending, with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul essentially telling Emmanuel Macron to put his money where his mouth is. But with France facing a massive public debt crisis, finding the 5 percent of GDP required for NATO commitments is far from simple. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Budapest, delivering a message of support from President Donald Trump to his ally Viktor Orbán – Europe's most outspoken admirer of Putin. Rubio's words at Munich suggested conciliation, but standing side by side with Orbán raises questions: is the gap between the US and the EU widening, just when unity is needed most for Ukraine? Read moreRubio visits Slovakia and Hungary to bolster ties with pro-Trump leaders Produced by Charles Wente, Aline Bottin, Guillaume Gougeon and Ilayda Habip

Can Europe man the ramparts on its own? As the US war secretary snubbed a NATO defence ministers' meeting in Brussels, EU leaders converged on the 16th-century Alden Biesen castle in Belgium's Limburg province to answer former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi's call for a "big bazooka" approach to reform and competitiveness.  But behind the walls of the one-time headquarters of the Knights of the Teutonic Order lies a rift: between France, which is pushing a "Buy European" approach to strategic autonomy; and a converging German-Italian couple, which is more focused on lightening regulation and striking new trade deals.  Read moreEU leaders back major economic overhaul to counter pressure from US, China and Russia How much of a sense of urgency is there when it comes to safeguarding strategic industries, energy, defence and financing of the 27-member EU's needs? This Old Continent feels caught in a superpower squeeze: between China, with its flood of cheap goods; the US, with its adversarial trade policy and its full-throttled support for Eurosceptic far-right parties; and Russia, which continues to pound Ukraine just as Washington signals the end of its historic role as Europe's defense shield.  When Draghi was chair of the European Central Bank, he once assured that he would do "whatever it takes" to safeguard the continent's common currency. Markets believed him. For Europe circa 2026, what does "whatever takes" look like and who can deliver it? 

Here in Europe, the heads have started to roll. As journalists and prosecutors continue to speed-read their way through the more than 3 million documents dumped a week ago Friday in the Epstein files, the revelations have already led to resignations, sackings and criminal probes in Norway, France, the UK and beyond. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hanging by a thread and he never even met Epstein. Over in the US, former president Bill Clinton has been subpoenaed by a Congressional panel, but what about the current occupant of the White House and his commerce secretary, who visibly lied about never having seen Epstein again after 2005? In the age of echo chambers, does telling the truth ultimately matter? Read moreUS Attorney General Bondi deflects questions, clashes with democrats over Epstein files More broadly, will the Epstein files go down in history as the moment that made accountability great again, or be remembered as the bellwether of an irreversible erosion of the rules-based order?

Imagine having to mourn a loved one in secret. One month on, that seems to be the lot of many inside a shellshocked Iran, this after seeing the regime shut the internet and start shooting at unarmed protesters across the country in towns big and small. When the lights came back on, the Islamic Republic of Iran had got away with the very bloodbath that Donald Trump warned it not to carry out.  While Washington's attention has instead shifted to nuclear negotiations with Tehran, the journalists at FRANCE 24's investigative unit have been hard at work on the testimony and images sent their way – with contacts risking their own lives by getting the word out. We show you an excerpt from their documentary "Iran, massacre under a blackout". Watch moreExclusive: Iran, massacre under a blackout You can sometimes win a war by annihilating your enemy. We ask our panel about the bloodbath, the subsequent arrests and if in a nation of 90 million people, Iran's clerics can simply annihilate dissent. Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Rochelle Ferguson.

Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party has turned the wobbly coalition she inherited back in October as Japan's first woman prime minister into a landslide win in snap elections, giving the 64-year-old admirer of late British maverick prime minister Margaret Thatcher enough leeway to reform the constitution and break with eight decades of pacifism.  In a nation whose population is in decline, we ask why young Gen Z voters broke for the anti-immigrant, China-bashing nationalist and whether flag-waving is the way to go. Cue the conservative sweep in Thailand this past weekend. There, it's border tensions with Cambodia that upended the script.  And then there is what Takaichi does with her endorsement by US President Donald Trump, who's preparing a spring visit to China, and a United States whose military presence remains vital for both Japan and South Korea. Washington is in two minds when it comes to defending Taiwan and keeping the peace in the Pacific. How volatile could it get in the region? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Rochelle Ferguson.

It's snowing in the Alps. Normal weather for February, you say? But cue the sighs of relief of organisers of the 25th Winter Olympics in Milan and the Dolomites resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Organisers of the next Games just over the border in the French Alps will take heart. Mother Nature has been fickle in recent years.  As the US vice president and secretary of state attend the opening ceremonies, there's been plenty of media coverage of the flying in of federal immigration agents, the same who've been grabbing five-year-olds and shooting protesters in Minnesota. The ICE agents are there purely in an advisory role, but it throws the spotlight on the optics of what's ostensibly PM Giorgia Meloni's moment of glory. The only European leader invited to Donald Trump's inauguration a year ago must astutely calibrate between her far-right roots and Europe's interests as she hosts the planet. How will these Olympics play in times of testy transatlantic relations, especially ahead of next summer's World Cup in the United States? More broadly, what legacy for the 2026 Winter Olympics? Which exploits and which characters will transcend the flag waving? And when the fortnight's over, how will the locals feel about having welcomed the world? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Ilayda Habip, Delphine Liou.

It's moving day at the palace – or should we say moving night. The former prince Andrew exited Windsor Castle under the cover of darkness for his brother's private Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The latest document dump about disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein provided more lewd allegations around the former royal.  Also out, but not yet stripped of his title, is ultimate Labour Party insider Peter Mandelson, who's under criminal investigation over the leaking of state secrets to an Epstein who had many friends and acquaintances, from the Kremlin to the Clintons, from far-left thinker Noam Chomsky to far-right agitator Steve Bannon.  Read moreUK ex-US ambassador Peter Mandelson quits House of Lords amid Epstein scandal Will the current occupant of the White House himself face a reckoning, or simply shrug off the latest allegations with a "see, they all do it" attitude to entitled elites that further fans the flames of populism? Can the age of massive data dumps meet the promise of transparency, or overwhelm and cloud the issue of accountability for all? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Ilayda Habip, Delphine Liou.

One month after the US captured Nicolas Maduro, is Washington trying its Venezuela template on Iran? Not the part where special forces swoop in for foreign leaders, but rather the part where the regime and its apparatus can stay, so long as Washington gets what it wants. In the case of Iran, maximum pressure and Donald Trump's initial promise to protesters that "help is on the way" seem to be morphing into art of the deal-style nuclear bargaining.  We ask about this coming Friday's direct talks between the Iranian foreign minister and Trump's New York real estate buddy-cum-special envoy for hot zones Steve Witkoff, whose busy week started with a stop in Israel. How very different times these are from 2015, when the UN could still broker an Iran nuclear deal with all the permanent members of the Security Council.  Today, despite sanctions, last June's US and Israeli strikes against nuclear facilities and most recently, a ferocious crackdown that's possibly left tens of thousands of Iranians dead, the clerics and the Revolutionary Guards still rule. With all the upheaval in the region, what next for a traumatised nation and a region in flux? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Delphine Liou.

The official line these days out of China is that it's a stable partner "in an uncertain world." So what to make of the bombshell news out of Beijing? Xi Jinping has purged his top general Zhang Youxia, with accusations against the 75-year-old loyalist that range from corruption to leaking nuclear secrets to the US. We ask about the reasons and the timing, what with the move fuelling speculation that an invasion of Taiwan could now come sooner rather than later. How soon? And with what pushback from a United States that's offering fresh armament for Taipei but not troop support, and from wary neighbours like Japan, where new nationalist Prime Minister Takaichi Sanai has taken a big gamble by calling a snap election for this coming Sunday. More broadly, does this purge signal a very new chapter in the longest reign of China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Piera Rocco, Delphine Liou.

Making Ukrainians freeze in winter wasn't enough. A Russian strike hit a moving train on Tuesday in the northeastern Kharkiv region, killing six people. As the casualty toll on both sides approaches two million according to an independent study, we weigh the grinding effect of nearly four years of all-out war.  Read moreAt least six killed in Russian drone attack on passenger train And what it will take to end it? Ahead of more talks in Abu Dhabi, the United States is adopting a neutral tone in the face of Russia's demand that Ukraine give up the entirety of the eastern region of Donbas. What are Kyiv's options? And what are Europe’s options? NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is telling allies to "keep on dreaming" if they think they can go it alone without a US-led NATO. With the French president due to speak in the coming weeks on an eventual expansion of France's nuclear umbrella to neighbours, and public opinion across the continent rallying against Donald Trump's hostile takeover bid for Greenland, what does 2026 have in store? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

Now that Iran's internet blackout is over, how many are dead during those 20 days? Nationwide New Year's protests were met with a new measure of ruthlessness. We ask about a death toll that could run into the tens of thousands and what this scale of loss will mean for Iranians both at home and abroad.  Read more‘As in wartime’: Iranian doctors recount deadly crackdown on protesters We also revisit Donald Trump's promise at the height of the defiance that help was on the way. What to make of US warships only now arriving in the region? For what aim? Is Washington engaging or disengaging? Allies like Saudi Arabia want no part of a new bombing campaign and the is US pressuring Iran, while easing away from a presence to support the Kurds in neighbouring Syria.  More importantly, the regime this time proved its ability to shut down the internet for as long as it takes. Despite the inflation that triggered the protests, has the Islamic Republic – weakened after US-Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities last summer – emerged stronger? Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Daniel Whittington, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.

It's being described as the mother of all deals. But will the trade agreement struck between the EU and India lead to a wider sense of a happy family? The signing took place with predictable and – some might say – justifiable fanfare. The headline says it's a free trade festival, 20 years in the planning, with clear and present opportunities for business to go back and forth. We discuss the plan, analyse the opportunities and shine a light on the possible threats. In a world where local production is often bragged about by politicians, does a multilateral accord represent a threat to local businesses? The scenes of French farmers protesting over the European Union deal with South America's Mercosur are still very fresh in our minds. Produced by Mark Owen, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Piera Rocco, Charles Wente.