logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2023
23m 34s

Riot-geared: the tensions behind France’...

The Economist
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Yesterday
Saving your bacon: healthy-eating policy evolves
Decades of messaging have not worked, so governments are trying new ways to get citizens to eat well, from scary labelling to taxing the junkiest foods. Will it work? The death of a plague researcher in Russia is made more mysterious by the government’s resolute lack of transpare ... Show More
24m 42s
Oct 8
Valley of the shadow of debt: bond-market jitters
Bond yields across the rich world keep ticking up. We take a global look at where the risks are mounting most, and just how much worry is warranted. What might have once seemed fanciful is becoming real: delivering daylight to dark parts of the world using mirrors in space. And t ... Show More
21m 39s
Oct 7
Gilets jeunes? France’s school protests
What started as a small protest about conditions of a school and of schooling has mushroomed, and tapped into national anxieties that may prove hard to tame. In the context of the “Cornell 7” case we examine Title IX, the statute that should protect students—but that is failing. ... Show More
19m 36s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2023
Riot-geared: the tensions behind France’s unrest
<p>The killing of a teenager in a Paris suburb has ignited <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/07/01/rioting-in-france-presents-a-fresh-political-test-for-emmanuel-macron?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.con ... Show More
23m 34s
Jul 2023
What might riots tell us about life in France?
Riots spread from Paris to many French cities after the killing by police of Nahel M, a 17-year-old boy of Algerian origin. The unrest has been described as unprecedented in terms of scale and intensity. While the riots were sparked by the death of Nahel, it has also raised quest ... Show More
20m 50s
Jun 2025
A house divided against itself: America simmers
<p>Political assassinations. Troops on city streets. <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/06/15/protests-against-a-regal-presidency-have-been-notably-peaceful?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.a ... Show More
24m 23s
Jul 2023
Understanding the unrest in France
French cities have been engulfed by almost a week of intense riots, following the death of a teenager. Nahel M was shot at point blank range by police after he refused to stop for a traffic check in his hometown of Nanterre, a north-west Parisian suburb. The unrest led to more th ... Show More
49m 29s
Jul 2023
France Riots
The death of 17-year-old French-Algerian Nahel Merzouk, killed by a police officer on 27 June in Nanterre, France sparked urban riots across France. Things seem to be calming down, however tension definitely persists. In ths episode we look at the factors behind these riots and h ... Show More
22m 55s
Jul 2023
How a killing by French police led to a week of riots
Last week a 17 year-old was shot dead at a traffic stop in the French town of Nanterre near Paris. In response, the country erupted in rage and riots. Protesters say the killing is evidence of long-standing racism and brutality by the police. So can the relationship between Franc ... Show More
30m 19s
Dec 2018
Behind the Unrest Sweeping Paris
Protesters have sparked mass demonstrations, vandalism and violence on the streets of Paris over the past few weekends. David Meyers speaks with Bloomberg's Paris bureau chief Geraldine Amiel on just who the Yellow Vests are and how they're throwing the future of President Macron ... Show More
15m 10s
Oct 2022
Hell hath no fury: a look inside Iran’s protests
<p>Unrest is only spreading and the authorities trying to quell it are looking increasingly desperate. We hear from <a href="https://www.economist.com/1843/2022/10/12/are-they-watching-our-homes-are-they-in-our-phones-a-diary-of-fear-in-tehran?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.p ... Show More
26m 38s
Sep 2022
Off the top of their heads: Iran’s widespread protests
Women are burning their hijabs on bonfires and hacking off their hair—but the <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2022/09/26/irans-rebellion-spreads-despite-lethal-repression?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_conten ... Show More
25m 12s
Jul 2023
Reporting the French riots
After the fatal shooting of a 17 year old boy by a police officer during a traffic stop in a suburb of Paris, protests and riots have taken place across France over the last week. Thousands have been arrested, shops looted, and hundreds of vehicles set alight. Journalists reporti ... Show More
28m 4s