Today

Marine warfare: Le Pen runs for president

Last night, the populist-right leader announced that she will run in the French presidential election next year. Our correspondent analyses the Le Pen dynasty and explains how this decision will shape the campaign. The world’s first refuge for whales once held in captivity. And o ... Show More

24m 27s

Yesterday

Continental rift: NATO’s tense summit

As NATO leaders gather for the annual summit in Turkey today, the thorniest issue is off the agenda: fractures within the alliance. Our correspondent travels to the Baltics, where a strategic shift is already evident. First there was vibe coding, now vibe lawyering is coming to c ... Show More

20m 19s

Jul 6

The mourning show: the politics of Khamenei’s funeral

The Iranian regime hopes the massive crowds gathered for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral will demonstrate its strength. Our correspondent says they could also reveal its weakness. Why Japan wants to change its divorce laws and custody arrangements. And the first part of our week ... Show More

20m 32s

Sep 2025

Go, fourth? France likely to lose another PM

An unpopular budget will probably spark the ousting of another prime minister, Francois Bayrou—and with him goes another government. Parliamentary impasse is now business as usual, and voters are fed up. Getting Chinese spenders spending is tricky, so policy wonks are at last con ... Show More

21m 50s

Sep 2025

Why is France in chaos again?

As French Prime Minister François Bayrou faces a motion of no confidence in the National Assembly, a grassroots protest movement is gathering steam with its rallying cry to "Block everything" on September 10. Organisers hope to bring the country to a standstill to protest against ... Show More

23m 35s

Sep 2025

Political instability jolts Japan

The French government is on the brink of another collapse, and Japan’s prime minister quits after just a year in office. Plus, China may open its domestic bond market to Russian companies for the first time since 2022, and US economic data is complicating the Federal Reserve’s up ... Show More

11m 45s

Sep 2025

What's behind the French prime minister resigning?

France's prime minister quits after losing a confidence vote in parliament. There's a sense of deja vu. The country is in a deep financial crisis that a succession of prime ministers hasn't been able to resolve. But what's behind it all? And could the European Union step in? In t ... Show More

24m 50s

Oct 2025

Liberté, égalité, désordre: chaos in France

France’s newly-appointed prime minister has resigned only weeks into the job. Now President Emmanual Macron has given him 48 hours to come up with a plan for next year’s budget. Can Macron survive the turmoil? As driverless taxis take over San Francisco, what will happen to the h ... Show More

21m 3s

Oct 2025

France in turmoil

This week Mark Leonard welcomes Célia Belin, senior policy fellow and head of ECFR’s Paris office, to discuss the unprecedented political turmoil in France. Just weeks after his appointment, Sébastien Lecornu became the fourth prime minister to resign in a year—leaving Macron to ... Show More

20m 29s

Oct 2024

Japanese PM’s uphill battle to win back voters

<p>The French government has proposed a budget for next year with some €60bn worth of spending cuts and tax increases, and Hurricane Milton ploughed across Florida on Wednesday. US inflation fell to 2.4 per cent in September<strong>. </strong>Plus, we look ahead to Japan’s early ... Show More

11m 35s

Jun 2022

Stuck in the middle with few: Macron’s parliamentary pasting

<p>resident Emmanuel Macron has <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/06/19/emmanuel-macron-loses-his-parliamentary-majority?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_te ... Show More

23m 25s

Go, fourth? France likely to lose anothe...