The Debate

It's not even Bastille Day yet, and France is already in the grip of its third heatwave of the season. Hospitals are under strain, wildfires are spreading, riverbeds are running dry, work and study are being disrupted—and there's even a shortage of ice. Many of you reacted strongly to our recent discussion on whether air conditioning is the answer. We'll briefly revisit that debate, but also look at the bigger picture: why is France still so unprepared for extreme heat?
We'll ask why new construction has so often failed to deliver on the promise of homes that stay warmer in winter and cooler in summer—and what solutions exist for the vast majority who can't simply build a new house from scratch. Can Paris preserve the charm of its iconic zinc rooftops without turning top-floor apartments into ovens? How do we help those who can't afford costly heat pumps or extensive insulation?
As climate change deepens inequality, competition is also intensifying for the water needed to grow crops, cool nuclear power plants, and restore depleted soils. At a time when the political mood favors rolling back regulations, where should policymakers draw the line?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Guillaume Gougeon and Piera Rocco

The world’s longest-running democracy is celebrating its 250th anniversary. It is a milestone for a United States that still seems like a new world to many Europeans. Since 1789, the US has been governed under the same constitution while in France, there have been five republics, three monarchies and three dictatorships – including the Nazi occupation. In this edition, we ask: what is the significance of this Fourth of July? 
What does this celebration really mean? Is it about 1776 and the birth of a nation, or remembering 250 years of events that shaped a common present? Perhaps it is a celebration of the world’s premier superpower that won the Cold War, has dominated trade and finance and gave the world so much music, movies and literature? At a time when the current president is loosening traditional alliances, where global admiration for democracy in America is plummeting, we look at why the US seems to have changed so suddenly – and so much.
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

Some days they talk. Some days they fight. Iran and the United States have settled into a pattern since the truce signed last month. This Wednesday in Doha, both sides are present in indirect negotiations. Whatever comes of that, the attention is now shifting to Tehran, where the Islamic Republic is preparing for Saturday's kickoff of four days of state funeral proceedings for slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Tehran can boast of a growing list of foreign dignitaries – a show of strength for a regime that's rebounded since Khamenei was killed on the very first day of the war. His funeral is certainly intended as a victory lap for a leadership that's always revered martyrdom. But does that mask the reality that the Iran war has resulted, according to some, in a lose-lose situation? And with Khamenei's son and successor yet to show signs of life, who really is in charge?
Are we also witnessing the funeral of a theocracy, replaced instead with a military dictatorship? More broadly, how will the masters of Tehran deal both with a region that's working on how to bypass its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz and a population that still has to grapple with corruption, rampant inflation and the cruel legacy of the New Year's crackdown on protests that left untold numbers dead or imprisoned?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Riham Mahir, Charles Wente.

A couple of weeks back, we asked if the tide was turning in Ukraine. The short answer: a little, but it's hard to cut through the fog of war. Now, we're beginning to wonder if Crimea could be back in play. Kyiv's new line of longer-range missiles and drones are wreaking havoc on fuel and power supplies. And while Russia continues to inch forward in other frontline flashpoints, the peninsula occupied in 2014 by Vladimir Putin's little green men has never looked so vulnerable. 
A Ukrainian offensive still seems like a pipe dream. Instead, is the current pressure a way to force concessions out of a Kremlin forced to admit what's all over Russian social media: that petrol stations across Russia are running on empty because of those long-range strikes? Will Vladimir Putin compromise or double down?
And what do Crimeans themselves want? Most seemed happy to vote yes in a referendum to rejoin a Russia they only left in 1954. More broadly, what consequences for the entire Black Sea region, which since 2022 has alternated between periods of war, disruption and mutually agreed calm to allow both sides to ship goods? The Black Sea is of course shared with Turkey, which hosts next week's timely NATO summit. 
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.

We are in awe of Venezuela’s first responders and all the brave citizens still pulling survivors from under the rubble of some 770 buildings that collapsed in last Wednesday’s double earthquakes. Is the sudden collapsing of so many structures – many built during the boom years of high oil prices – a tipping point for a nation under sanctions that has been dogged by decades of eroding services and infrastructure? Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuelan interim president of a regime in survival mode, was booed copiously Saturday in Caracas as many accuse the successor of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro of putting security before disaster relief.
In this edition, we ask how best the international community can help Venezuela and take a look at the dozens of US forces airlifting in supplies and helping coordinate air traffic – an unexpected turnaround as Washington was once the sworn enemy of Caracas. But US President Donald Trump has claimed the locals are "dancing in the streets" now that he’s removed former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the oil’s flowing his way. If this is truly a turning point, then what kind of turning point is it?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Riham Mahir and Charles Wente.