France

The idea of “European strategic autonomy” just won’t go away.

The French president has good ideas—but his approach to the EU is vague, unilateral, and self-serving.

The EU’s obsession with security in the Sahel is a reflection of its own anxieties—and a betrayal of its values.

A quiet academic becomes a lightning rod in France’s culture wars.

Russia’s war has opened up a vast strategic chasm within the European Union.

Berlin—along with Paris—may yet help Moscow snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

The French president wants to leave room for talks and carve out a bigger role for France.

Moscow’s war and Berlin’s morally bankrupt response to it leave Europe without a leader.

Macron’s victory and Scholz’s wavering over Russia could shatter the momentary unity between Paris and Berlin.

The French presidential contender’s reliance on referenda suggests she is more of a Bonapartist.

For two weeks, the French president and the far-right leader have been vying for the left-wing vote—and it’s still up for grabs.

By expanding executive power, previous presidents have primed the system for her abuse.

Her party is condemned to underperform—even if it finally wins.

An imported culture war is playing a major role in the presidential election.

The success of France’s most famous novelist has less to do with art and knowledge than anxiety and rock ’n’ roll.

There’s a word for the anger and disappointment French voters are feeling: “seum.”

Europe’s past isn’t as white as right-wing politicians pretend.

A grand intellectual edifice has collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.