Research carried out by the Alliance4Europe NGO suggests that pro-Russian networks manipulated information online in an effort to exacerbate anger in France ahead of last weekend's massive protests and subsequent unrest. After analysing more than half a million posts across various social media platforms, the group says it was able to track the campaign back to the start of September. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Omri Preiss, Managing Director at the Alliance4Europe.
Egypt's parliament on Monday delayed a debate on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's request to authorise military support for Saudi Arabia until next week, state media reported, after an emergency session ended without a decision a day earlier. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Dr May Darwich, Associate Professor in International Relations of the Middle East at the University of Birmingham. She explains that "this kind of military operation does not really have any objectives or exit strategy so at the moment this might actually weaken Egypt's regional role".
In the wake of the weekend violence in France, political camps have been trading blame for the "chaos". The riots have played into the hands of the far-right National Rally, which has been quick to capitalise on the anger and fears over law and order. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Dr David Lees, Reader in French Studies at the University of Warwick, says that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen "is trying to use these events as a vehicle for pushing her popularity ahead of the elections next year".
Irish author Sally Rooney can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for the activist group Palestine Action, her publisher Faber said on Wednesday. Rooney has previously expressed her support for the group, which was banned as a "terrorist" organisation by the UK government in July 2025. It is not banned in Ireland, where Rooney lives. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Alan Greene, Professor of Constitutional Law and Human Rights at the Birmingham Law School.
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor has taken over the investigation into a school shooting near Marseille, after an initial probe found the 14-year-old suspect appeared to belong to a group called the True Crime Community. Two teachers were shot and wounded, after a student opened fire with a hunting rifle that had been hidden inside a guitar case. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Alexandre Rodde, security consultant, researcher and author of the report "Understanding nihilistic violent extremism and the True Crime Community in France".
US President Donald Trump's envoys told Ukrainian officials on Friday that a deal to allow Russian diesel exports is part of a bid to draw Russia back to negotiations after the failure of previous efforts to launch sustained talks to end the war, three people familiar with the meeting told Reuters. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Grégoire Roos, director of the Europe and Russia and Eurasia Programmes at Chatham House. He says that "it's clear that Moscow is just playing with Washington because Vladimir Putin knows that Donald Trump lives on borrowed time".
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro received on Monday endorsements from Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema, two right-wing politicians who ran against him in Sunday's first-round vote, for the runoff against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later this month. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney, Anthony Pereira, Executive Director of the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University, says that "Lula's path to victory lies in mobilising voters who didn't vote in the first round" while Flavio Bolsonaro "will probably benefit from the voters who voted for other right-wing candidates and who will simply migrate to him, so it looks a lot easier for Flavio to win the second round than it does for Lula".