The Debate

It's a second coming and a very different Washington. Four years after his unseating at the ballot box and an insurrection that rattled the world's most powerful nation, a victorious Donald Trump returns to the White House with the promise of radical change. François Picard's panel of guests give us their take on his inaugural address and what we can expect from Trump 2.0. Read moreTrump's inaugural address: The main takeaways

How should US allies deal with Donald Trump's return? His inauguration, featuring far-right figures, signals a US president-elect who's intent on shaking up alliances and settling scores. Critics warn he could hand concessions to leaders like Binyamin Netanyahu or Vladimir Putin to dismantle the Washington consensus.  But early moves, like pressuring Israel towards a Gaza ceasefire, complicate the picture. Will Trump push Ukraine into a rushed deal that favours Moscow, scale back Europe's defence or take an entirely different approach?For NATO allies, what does "America First" mean now, as Trump's far-right fanbase grows across Europe? Produced by François Picard, Théophile Vareille, Guillaume Gougeon and Ilayda Habip.

It's a done deal for some; close but not quite over the line for others. After so many false starts since the last ceasefire 14 months ago, a deal finally appears at hand for the guns to go silent in the Gaza Strip. Could the difference be the imminent return of Donald Trump? His return comes in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and the pummelling of Iran proxy Hezbollah at the hands of Israel. What leverage is left for Hamas? And who to pick up the pieces of a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and a territory that is largely destroyed?A truce would also prove a moment of truth for Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu. Do his personal fortunes depend on prolonging the war, or is this a window of opportunity to pivot away from the far right and prolong the political shelf life of Israel's longest-serving leader?

Force majeure is defined as an event that's above and beyond our control. That expression is borrowed by insurers from the French to describe what may otherwise be described as an act of God. Los Angeles's devastating wildfires certainly qualify as force majeure: the explosive cocktail of prolonged drought, low humidity and hurricane-force winds together sparking an unprecedented disaster. But is it all down to Mother Nature? What does it take to prevent and put out wildfires in times of global warming? There is what insurers should cover in earthquake, mudslide and fire-prone Southern California, and what authorities should do – from building codes and safety norms, to how much tax should be raised to fund rescue services.The well-to-do in the posh Pacific Palisades neighborhood will almost certainly land on their feet. Some can even pay for private firefighters. But what about the rest of the population?More broadly, are we ready for the new normal?

It's not just Elon Musk. Be they cabinet picks, ambassadors or advisers, Donald Trump’s roster of nominees is stacked with a record number of billionaires. What does that say about the times we live in? And if Trump's first stint as US president is anything to go by, it's safe to predict more deregulation and tax cuts that will serve his team nicely. But does success in making money imply success in serving the common good? Four years ago, captains of industry and tech titans were distancing themselves from Trump's brand of politics after the storming of the Capitol that attempted to stop the January 6 certification of his defeat.Last week, Facebook's boss Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was ditching US-based fact-checkers on his platforms. Will kissing the ring be good for Meta and will the rest of the world feel the impact of what is happening across the Atlantic?At a time when the world needs to come together on issues of environmental norms and artificial intelligence, what response will there be if things get adversarial?

Is it more than the final sendoff for a long-gone one-term president? With Jimmy Carter's passing, Washington is marking two legacies: that of a peanut farmer-turned-governor of a southern state whose rise to power embodied a backlash after the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal; and that of a leader voted out of the White House after a hostage and energy crisis but whose second act in life made him a moral authority on issues such as peacebuilding, election monitoring and affordable housing.  Carter's funeral comes in the final days before another one-term president leaves office. And just as Carter's loss begat the Reagan years and a backlash against his vision of the social contract between citizens and their government, what does the coming presidency mean at this moment, both for the US and for the world?Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Habip. 

Imagine if Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping threatened a hostile takeover of Greenland or the Panama Canal. So what about the president-elect of the United States? Is Donald Trump serious? Trump's growing fixation comes two weeks ahead of Inauguration Day. He even sent his son to Greenland, much to the dismay of Denmark. That EU member has ruled Greenland for two centuries. Today it needs US-led NATO support to stare down the more pressing threat of the Russians in the Baltic Sea. Trump has goaded other allies, again suggesting a merger with Canada on the day when his liberal opposite to the north, Justin Trudeau, announced his resignation. Meanwhile, Trump vexed his neighbour to the south by saying he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. How do the Trudeaus of this world react?Beyond performative politics, what is it all about? Is the man who wants a Ukraine deal on Day One an isolationist or an imperialist at heart? What sets him apart from his Russian and Chinese counterparts?Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Habip. 

It's been 10 years since the attack on a very French institution: the targeting of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and the murder of 12 people, including five cartoonists and two police officers. That attack would launch a wave of jihadist terror on French soil and spark a slogan that would go global.  In 2025, what does it mean to post "Je suis Charlie" - I am Charlie? How has that slogan evolved since that massive demonstration in Paris, four days after the Charlie Hebdo attack, where some 40 world leaders attended and where in a very rare moment of national unity, crowds even cheered the police?Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayd Habip. 

Elon Musk really doesn't like British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. This Monday saw Starmer hit back at Musk after days of silence, saying the world's richest man was spreading "lies and misinformation" with his attacks on the British leader and one of his ministers on X. More broadly, what is Europe to do about X owner Musk's trolling of sitting governments and support for the far right? Elon Musk is no longer just the billionaire boss of Tesla and SpaceX. He has been tapped for what is billed as a cabinet position by Donald Trump. He's no longer a private citizen and so it is all the more surprising that he's using his social medium X to furiously slam sitting governments in Britain and Germany and endorse far-right leaders and tropes.Do not feed the troll, says the German chancellor. But as Olaf Scholz himself admits, Musk's unique positioning presents new challenges. Is the Trump whisperer inciting hate? Is it foreign meddling on the part of the incoming US administration? How do European leaders react?And what do Musk's invectives signal for relations between Washington and Europe after Inauguration Day on January 20?Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Habip. 

Guilty verdicts for all. A court in southern France has sentenced Dominique Pelicot along with the 50 co-defendants he invited over the internet into the family home to rape his drugged wife. The 72-year-old pensioner got the maximum 20 years behind bars, but his co-accused received lighter sentences than those demanded by the prosecution. We ask what the last few months have revealed, first about the courage of ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot who opted to go public. She attended every day of the three-and-a-half month-long trial, saying shame was for her abusers – less than a third of whom expressed remorse in their closing statements. Is the verdict a triumph for victims the world over? Or does it challenge the presumption that after #MeToo, women's rights can only progress? After all, the evidence was posted online years before police or the victim caught wind of what was playing out in the sleepy Provence village of Mazan. Produced by Aline Bottin, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Habip. 

The killing in the heart of Moscow of Vladimir Putin's general in charge of chemical weapons comes on the eve of the Russian president's traditional marathon end-of-year press conference. Putin is so far yet to comment on his country's precipitated drawdown from Syria after the fall of Assad, but he's sure to opine on the death of under-sanctions General Igor Kirillov, what with the arrest of an Uzbek suspect who's confessed to working for Ukraine. Russia may seem exposed and weak, but time is not on Volodymyr Zelensky's side. The Ukrainian president is making the rounds at NATO headquarters, as the Alliance prepares for the return of a Donald Trump who's talked up a deal to end the war; an agreement that could redraw national boundaries in Moscow's favour.Simply put, which is weaker: a Ukraine exhausted by a decade of fighting, or a Russia that's had to pivot to a wartime economy and still ask for Iranian drones and North Korean reinforcements? In the middle, there's Europe, which is divided over how much it’s going to have to invest in assistance and defence spending for what lies ahead.Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri and Ilayda Habip.

Just as the leader of the Islamist-led alliance that toppled Syria's Assad announced he was shedding his wartime alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, can Ahmed al-Sharaa's HTS shed its past as the al-Nusra Front, a hardline offshoot of al Qaeda? FRANCE 24's Wassim Nasr was one of just a handful of journalists to interview Sharaa on Monday. For the president-elect of the United States, it was Turkey that toppled Assad. Donald Trump calls it a "hostile takeover", this as the outgoing Biden administration reportedly sounds the alarm over a potential Turkish invasion of northern Syria to oust US-backed Kurdish militias. Those same militias guard IS group prisoners for the West.In the middle, Europe is sending dignitaries and diplomats to both Ankara and Damascus. When is the right time for normalisation? How much has the map of the region been redrawn?Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip.Read moreExclusive: Syria’s de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa calls for lifting of sanctions

Paris got 46 hours of sunlight in November. The weather wasn’t particularly cold, it was only slightly wetter than usual, but definitely grey. As for France's political climate, the deadlock's enough to make the natives want to hibernate. Emmanuel Macron to name his fourth prime minister of 2024 after a divided parliament ousted the minority government of veteran conservative Michel Barnier. After a surprise call of snap elections, the French president then waited nearly two months to name Barnier and try to double down on a core of centrists and conservatives to pass a budget.  With the country constitutionally unable to return to the polls to replace the hung parliament until summer, will Macron try to change tack and offer concessions to the oppositions, even attempt a German-style grand coalition? France is an outlier in Europe: when there’s a majority in the legislature, its president has outsized powers with the ability to micro-manage day-to-day affairs.   Can the French do compromise? The far left and far right have their eyes on the big prize, the next presidential election in 2027 and demand purity tests of their faithful and allies. But then, how do you get a budget over the line? And does the system safeguard against illiberal methods. One week after South Korea’s president tried and failed at martial law, as the West prepares for the return of Donald Trump … how will France’s democracy weather what’s ahead?  Produced by Rebecca Gnignati, Elisa Amiri, Ilayda Habip. 

Taking advantage of a brief power vacuum or are we witnessing a scramble for Syria? As Islamist-led rebels savour their surprise swoop on Damascus, foreign powers are seizing the moment to either clean house or settle scores: Turkey targeting Kurds in the north, the US hitting Isis positions in the east and Israel firing on all cylinders in a bid to debilitate Iran-backed military installations.  Assad never bent and so he broke, but for more than a decade, Syria’s seemingly immovable strongman could rely on Russia, powerful neighbour Iran, and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei blaming Assad’s fall on a US-Israeli plot and, without naming it, Turkey. How will Tehran react, particularly if the feels under threat?Will the dust settle or is there more to come in the region? Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Annarosa Zampaglione. 

Refugees, asylum seekers, Syrians in exil: the return to Syria begins with people who have given up on returning now back on their home soil. Syria after Assad starts to take shape this Tuesday December 10, with a people still trying to come to terms with the end of the Assad regime that has ruled for over 50 years. Europe starts to close its doors: states that have welcomed Syrian refugees are now stopping processing asylum requests. But does the end of the Assad regime mean it’s safe to go back?The world watches and other states are calculating their stance as a new Syria starts to emerge. Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Annarosa Zampaglione.

And suddenly, they were gone. For more than half-a-century, the Assads ruled Syria with an iron fist, seeing off uprisings, plots and a civil war. But in less than two weeks, encountering little resistance, an Islamist-led rebellion managed to swoop into Aleppo, Hama, Homs and now Damascus. We will ask why, why now, and what to make of Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the onetime jihadist who has groomed a more moderate image and made alliances with Syria’s other rebel factions, including the Kurds.Why the defeat for Bashar al-Assad now exiled to Moscow? What’s next for a former Ottoman dependency-cum-French protectorate that has only known dynasty and dictatorship for most of its citizens’ lives? Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Annarosa Zampaglione. 

Forget that France is without a government, forget illiberal winds, superpower tensions and the overseas wars. On Saturday, the City of Light welcomes the world for the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral.  How the planet has changed in the five years since Our Lady of Paris was destroyed by fire. The presence at the grand reopening of US president-elect Donald Trump can attest to that, further proof that Notre-Dame means so much to so many over the world. So what does it mean? A place of worship? An attraction in the bigger tourist playground that is Paris? A relic of history? A measure of timelessness? What does it mean today and what's the current evolution of that meaning?  Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Ilayda Habip, Elisa Amiri, Rebecca Gnignati 

For Michel Barnier, negotiating with the Tories will have seemed a breeze compared with his short stint as French prime minister. The EU’s former Brexit negotiator is on the cusp of watching his minority government fall to the hands of parliament, a first in this country since 1962. It was always going to be an uphill battle to pass a budget while so far outnumbered by an opposition that goes from the far right to the far left. We will ask what the 73-year old conservative could have done differently, and whether it is all down to an unpopular president who hopes his political luck will carry him from Wednesday’s conclusion of a state visit to Saudi Arabia to Saturday’s reopening of Notre Dame without drawing too much attention during this major institutional crisis.A crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s own making, argue critics. After seven years in power, the French president inexplicably called snap elections that instead of giving his center-right bloc a majority brought Marine Le Pen’s far right closer than ever to power. He still has got two years in power, so is too soon to ask if this marks the start of Macron’s twilight?

It took years for Bashar al-Assad’s forces to take back Syria’s second city. But it took only days for Islamist rebels to overrun Aleppo. Why has a conflict that has been effectively frozen for four years suddenly sprung back to life? What to make of Hezbollah, which says it won’t be sending help for now as it’s pinned down at home by a precarious truce with Israel? What role for Assad-backers Russia and Iran? And what role for Turkey, which backs some of the rebel groups with an eye to pushing Syrian Kurdish forces away from its border? Recep Tayyip Erdogan last summer offered a deal with Damascus, which Assad turned down on the grounds that it would mean ceding the nominal sovereignty he has over a territory never really recaptured in eleven years.Back then, it was the Arab Spring and the leader of a hereditary dynasty who looked ready to fall, but Assad proved predictions wrong. Could this time be different? If so, how?Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Habip. 

Is France broken? Is France broke? Marine Le Pen to join the left and bring down a minority government that was scrambling to plug France's spiraling budget deficit. What is the plan for the far-right leader of parliament’s largest opposition party? We will ask about a crisis that has been brewing ever since Emmanuel Macron’s surprise call for snap elections backfired last July with a hung parliament that constitutionally cannot be dissolved again until summer. With next year's budget yet to be approved, there will not be a US-style shutdown, but it is anyone's guess how a caretaker government limps along with a spiraling deficit. Yes, the hangover from tax breaks and Covid-era subsidies has France borrowing at a higher cost than Greece … and with an opposition that wants no part of belt-tightening and neighbouring Germany also in political and economic turmoil, it is all of Europe that just might have a problem.  Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Elisa Amiri, Rebecca Gnignati and Ilayda Ibip.