Modi's France visit highlights Indo-French strategic ties, shared objectives of autonomy, historical links, and economic ties. France’s acceptance of India’s diverging stance towards Russia reaffirms the importance of bilateral diplomacy over multilateralism.

One of the many things far-right parties across the West have in common is espousing xenophobic rhetoric. However, each far-right party differs based on the local context, such as the differences in religion between France’s and America’s far-right. The American far-right seeks to promote Christianity to protect American culture from immigrants, whereas the French far-right seeks to uphold secularism to preserve French culture.

Long marked by political and economic tensions, New Caledonia has been the scene of violent conflict since May 2024. A conflict that may well open the archipelago to self-determination, while significantly threatening French sovereignty over this territory. 

As the Global South receives greater attention for its rising geopolitical stature, many countries are seeking to gain ground toward that bloc. One of these countries is France; however, its appeal in the Global South varies depending on the region. As a result, some view France as a partner against American hegemony, while others see it as a neo-colonial and imperialistic power. Ever since the Russians invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the word “Global South” seems to have made a resurgence within public discourse, with France being one of them. Aside from these rhetorical statements, does France have an effective policy that appeals to the Global South? The answer is it’s complicated, depending on the issue. 

Instead of reinforcing civic solidarity, the ban on wearing abayas in French public schools based on the principle of lacite undermines civic solidarity as it ends up isolating French Muslims from French society. Instead of cultivating civic solidarity, laicite has created alienation, which has resulted in mass polarization in French culture towards violent unrest. By aspiring to embody cosmopolitan conduct in French social policy, France can develop a genuine foundation for civic solidarity.

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) has captured widespread attention after winning a decisive 31.4% of the vote in the European parliamentary elections.

With a tumultuous tenure in office, Macron’s latest gambit has thrown French politics into upheaval, and may yet end poorly for the French President.

2023 saw the near-total collapse of France's military presence in West Africa. A string of high-profile coups in the Sahel, the region straddling the transition zone between the Sahara and the Sudanian savanna, have chased the French out of their former colonial holdings. Coupled with the disastrous end of the eight year-long counterterrorism mission Operation Barkhane in November of 2022, France has departed the Sahel just as violence and instability are reaching heretofore unseen levels. The following will examine the breakdown of the French War on Terror, and what France’s departure from the region means for the future of the Sahel.