Media Interventions

Rebel commander Alexander Zakharchenko smiled only slightly on hearing that he had won this weekend's elections in Donetsk, Ukraine (pictured). The results were never in doubt: Mr Zakharchenko's nominal opponents openly supported him, and his face was the only one on campaign billboards. Nonetheless, eastern Ukraine's separatist republics went through the motions of democracy, including inviting international election observers. Those proved hard to find: while Russia has said it will respect the vote, America, the European Union, and the United Nations have all condemned it.

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The issues from the United States midterm elections explained by Laurence Nardon on Fabrice Lundy's TV show "Les décodeurs de l'éco" on BFM Business. 

Laurence Nardon, head of the United States program at IFRI sits down with Gilles Sengès to discuss the midterm elections and the Obama administration's politics. 

France's Finance Minister cast doubt Thursday on what Russia had said was the imminent delivery of the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers, feeding uncertainty that French political analysts view as authorities' reluctance to be seen as caving in to Russian pressure.

Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Thursday that the conditions set by French President Francois Hollande last month for delivering the first Mistral — i.e., upholding the tenuous cease-fire and reaching a political settlement in Ukraine — "had not been met at this time."

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Laurence Nardon, head of the United States Program at Ifri, joined Frabrice Lundy on October 4th on "Good Morning Weekend" on BFM Business. She discussed major current events including the Brazilian presidential election, the American fight against ISIS and the protests in Hong-Kong. 

À Pékin, les autorités célèbrent ce mercredi l'anniversaire de la création de la Chine communiste. Au même moment, des dizaines de milliers de Hongkongais profitent de ce jour férié pour descendre dans les rues et exiger le respect de leurs libertés publiques. À la mi-journée, leur nombre était tel qu'ils bloquaient le centre des affaires de Hong Kong. La contestation prend une ampleur inédite, et a désormais un nom : la «révolution des parapluies», l'objet qu'ils utilisent pour se protéger des grenades lacrymogènes. Le pouvoir fait face à la plus grave crise politique depuis la rétrocession de Hongkong à la Chine en 1997.

Alice Ekman, chercheuse spécialiste de la Chine à l'Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI), estime pourtant que Pékin ne peut pas se permettre de réprimer violemment les manifestants. Le gouvernement devrait plutôt miser sur le pourrissement de la situation, sans nécessairement céder sur les revendications politiques des manifestations.

Michael Lind, Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C, was the guest of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) on September 29th 2014. In this video, he discusses the evolution of globalization.

Michael Lind, Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C, was the guest of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) on September 29th 2014. In this video, he discusses the evolution of globalization.

Michael Lind, Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C, was the guest of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) on September 29th 2014. In this video, he analyzes the major economic trends post-2008, and forecasts the end of globalization.