France

A national catastrophe is ruining the French president’s plans for a revival.

“You have restraint on your side. He has no restraint. So you lose,” says outgoing French Ambassador Gérard Araud.

Ukraine’s Azov movement is hostile to Russia, friendly to neo-Nazis, and inspired by France’s new right. It’s not running in Ukraine’s presidential elections because it plans to win power by playing a long game.

The Libyan general was poised to rise to power. Now his unnecessary assault on the capital is alienating key international backers and potential local allies.

The gunman who massacred Muslims was inspired by ideas that have circulated for decades on the French far-right.

The 82-year-old Abdelaziz Bouteflika has pledged to step down, but the protesters’ victory won’t be complete without a genuine democratic transition.

The yellow vest movement is using historical language out of context.

Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Cairo and Donald Trump’s cheerleading have bolstered Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as he faces popular protest over his latest power grab.

France’s president is pushing around Britain, Germany, and Italy—and going back to his country’s foreign-policy roots.

Five Star used to be a protest movement; now it’s the establishment. By bashing Emmanuel Macron and embracing the yellow vest uprising, it’s hoping to restore its radical credentials.

Shunning populist parties won’t make Jews safer. Engaging with them is a matter of realpolitik, and Israel should focus on contemporary threats, not those of the past.

Ivory Coast is often held up as a post-conflict success. That could all fall apart.

The latest novel by France’s most famous author cements his reputation as a prophet of populism.

Emmanuel Macron’s responsibilities in the Middle East’s biggest war are about to grow beyond his ability to fulfill them.

The French president can make all the concessions he wants, but he can’t make the public like him.

The French will remain restive unless and until the effects of their president’s ambitious reforms kick in.

France’s angry nationwide protests are less like a revolution than a Tea Party—and that’s bad news for the government.

Many counter-extremism efforts falter because ideological reform programs run by governments lack credibility. Appealing to the basic psychological needs of ex-radicals is more promising.

When the world’s newest country broke away from Khartoum, it discarded Sudan’s main official language, too. But casting aside the oppressor’s tongue did not heal the country’s divisions.

There’s no good reason to pull Marshal Philippe Pétain from the dustbin of history.