Baptism of fire: New French prime minister faces farmers' protest

Violent gangs in Haiti have overrun the country while Prime Minister Ariel Henry went to Kenya to seal a deal for an international policing force. With the PM now stuck in Puerto Rico, the situation in America's poorest nation, which has been without a president since the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moise, has gone from bad to worse. 

Now Haiti’s truly leaderless. The UN, United States and Carribean leaders are scrambling for an alternative to outright gang rule by the likes of the notorious Jimmy Cherizier – aka Barbecue. And if Washington’s tired of Henry, then what’s the alternative? 

Our panel reacts to the exclusive report we're about to show you by partner station France 2 filmed in the streets of Port-au-Prince before last weekend’s massive jail break by the gangs. 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Guillaume Gougeon and Imen Mellaz. 

Five months, 30,000 Palestinians killed and an Israeli prime minister whose only plan seems to be to reoccupy Gaza indefinitely. This time, has the US had enough?

In a first for the Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, before welcoming Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political rival. Benny Gantz is currently part of a national unity war cabinet and is also being welcomed by the US Secretary of State, this as the US starts air drops for Gaza civilians and ups the pressure on Israel.

As for Binyamin Netanyahu, who is critical of the red carpet rollout for Gantz, he's shrugging off the international community's fading support for Israel, instead playing on the support of far-right coalition partners and the nerves of mediators who don't want the Arab world to erupt when a month of prayer and fasting begins next week with Ramadan.

How insulated is Israeli public opinion from the damage done to the country’s reputation by the killing of civilians? Has last week's bloodbath at a food distribution convoy in Gaza City moved the needle?

Over the past five months, we have often asked how to find the common ground that can end this nightmare. With both sides traumatised by October 7 and its aftermath, who and how to break a deadlock that's both destructive and – critics argue – self-destructive?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz. 

Why set it in stone? France has become the first nation to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution, thanks to overwhelming approval from a rare joint session of both houses of parliament. Lawmakers launched the initiative after the US Supreme Court's overturning of a half-century-old federal guarantee. But does the rolling back of reproductive rights across the Atlantic and in places like Poland and Hungary necessitate a constitutional amendment in France?

Unspoken is the very real chance of a surging French far right taking over for the first time since World War II. Its leader Marine Le Pen herself voted for the amendment, as did a majority of her party, but many conservatives also want the constitution to recognise France’s Christian roots. 

Why do these culture wars issues resonate so powerfully? Are these issues specific to France and Europe, or part of a global conversation about how humanity defines gender rights? More broadly, which way is the pendulum swinging?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz

With July just around the corner, is Paris ready to host the Summer Games? Mostly yes, if you listen to France's president, who was on hand this Thursday for the inauguration of the Olympic village. It's one of the few venues built from scratch for an event that promised sustainability and, for the most part, to showcase existing structures. A total budget of less than €9 billion makes for 40 percent less than that of the 2012 London Olympics. 

But there's still plenty that can go wrong, from Paris transport strikes and price gouging on hotel rooms to what's on a municipal employee's stolen laptop. Sources at Paris City Hall say he claimed to have been robbed of security plans for the Olympics so that police would expedite his case. Either way, what are the challenges, particularly surrounding the opening ceremonies along the River Seine?

More broadly, there's an essential question: 100 years after Paris last hosted the Games, what are the Olympics all about? In an era of superpower tensions and of splintered allegiances, why does this global spectacle continue to fascinate?

Read moreParis in 2024: Much more than the Olympics at stake?

Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati and Louise Guibert.

Don't bet the family farm on it. Politicians in Paris, Warsaw, Brussels and New Delhi won't magically find the quick fix for an agriculture sector that's gone global at the expense of small producers. Why is it erupting all over, including here in France? 

Many of those who heckled President Emmanuel Macron at the opening of Paris's big annual agriculture fair last Saturday say they wish they could live from the fruit of their labour, but that new environmental norms and open borders make it impossible to compete. Many of them cheered the far right's leader when he showed up the next day. 

In India, those protesting lean more towards the left. The enemy, they say, isn’t sorely-needed food safety and biodiversity standards but World Trade Organization rules that let the foxes in amongst the chickens: global wholesalers and distributors who – they say – write the rules and impose their will. 

So how best to protect small farming in the 21st century?

Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati and Louise Guibert

Emmanuel Macron has turned heads at a hastily organised summit for Ukraine. The French president for the first time evoked the possibility of Western troops to thwart a Russian victory – one option among many. Macron himself acknowledged that opinions vary. In other words, he's very much in the minority.

But with US aid lost in the gridlock of an election year, Europeans – including the UK – are showing a newfound sense of urgency as they watch the Ukrainians run low on manpower and ammunition. We ask how far this continent can go and about public opinion that's solidly behind Ukraine but wary of mission creep.

We also ask whether we're talking about the same Macron who used to pride himself as the leader who can talk to Vladimir Putin. Finally, we examine Russia's reaction. Moscow has always backed Macron's main rival, the far-right’s Marine Le Pen.

Produced by Charles Wente, Guillaume Gougeon and Imen Mellaz.

There’s no good way to sugarcoat setbacks. On the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine conceded that its summer counter-offensive had stalled and that in pulling back from Avdiivka, its forces were both outmanned and outgunned.

With US military aid seemingly stuck until November’s elections and beyond, nearly two dozen European leaders met in Paris this Monday to try to cement a plan to pick up the slack. That has now begun… but at what pace? A solid majority of Europeans still support Kyiv, but increasingly question its chances of winning.

And what’s next for Russia? As early voting in occupied parts of Ukraine begins for next month’s election, Moscow has momentum… but does that mean victory for a country that has gone all-in for a wartime economy?

Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

Four months and one day after Hamas’ attack on Israel, neither side wants to stop - even though Gaza has been flattened. Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is trying to pre-empt conciliatory voices by the visiting the US secretary of state and announcing months of war ahead, with total victory as the sole option.

The head of Israel’s most right-wing government ever, helped in his brinkmanship by Hamas itself, has now piled on the demands for a hostage-prisoner exchange deal after nearly two weeks of truce talks.

Has Qatar been as ineffective with the Palestinian militants as the United States has been with Netanyahu? Do hardliners always win over moderates in the Middle East?

With Israeli guns now bearing down on Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah, and US military and civilian aid caught up in the election year gridlock of Capitol Hill, who will break the impasse? Does a breakthrough have to go through Washington?

Produced by Charles Wente, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

A country that's broke, beset by radical insurgents and on the front lines of global warming needs leadership its citizens can trust. But Thursday's elections follow a familiar pattern of revolving door politics.

Out is former prime minister Imran Khan, who first lost his coalition and then his freedom after feuding with the military-backed establishment.

In is a scion of Pakistani politics, Nawaz Sharif, whose return from exile was made possible by a Supreme Court rule change that enabled him to run despite a corruption conviction. The same Sharif once ousted in a coup is back in favour. Why? What's the army's calculation?

And how does a youthful nation break out of the dynastic politics of old? The third player in Thursday's elections is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Why do dynasties dominate in Pakistan, and what’s the alternative?

Produced by Charles Wente, Guillaume Gougeon and Imen Mellaz.

Seventeen months after King Charles III rose from the title of world's longest-waiting heir to a throne, now comes news that Britain's monarch has cancer – and it’s not just royal watchers who care.

King Charles III may occupy a post that's almost entirely devoid of political power, but even in the 21st century, a monarch is still a head of state.

Through ritual and manner, he personifies a nation, and in this case, a Commonwealth.

We ask about his decision to quickly go public with his ailment, how he has left his mark in his short reign so far, and what has changed on his watch since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

We also ask: what is the general mood as the UK heads into its second post-Brexit general election campaign?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Josephine Joly and Imen Mellaz.