Oliver Farry is pleased to welcome Steven Erlanger, Chief Diplomatic Correspondent in Europe for The New York Times, based in Berlin. Europe's political centre is confronting a crisis that extends far beyond electoral volatility. From France and Germany to Italy and Spain, mounting economic frustration, generational inequality and declining confidence in established political leadership are reshaping the continent's democratic landscape. "The promises of more economic growth haven't come true," explains Erlanger, describing a continent marked by "a kind of general disgust" and "a sense of drift." 

Youth-driven protests have been popping up all over Europe: in Belgium, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Albania, Serbia and Greece. The spark here in France was deteriorating conditions in high schools and universities, particularly for students from underprivileged backgrounds. Meanwhile, wages aren't keeping up with inflation. The housing crisis is front and centre in places like Spain and Portugal, while corruption and democratic backsliding have sparked uproar in Albania and Serbia.

In Pavlohrad, a Ukrainian city less than 90km from the front line with Russia, there is no respite from war. Residents describe daily life under bombardment, caught between exhaustion and determination. Amid criticism of Trump, TikTok rumours and strikes against civilians, FRANCE 24 gathered accounts from those who “refuse to yield”.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with France’s intelligence services Thursday as authorities braced for a fresh wave of demonstrations Saturday. The government has said it will put armed troops in the street after rioting and looting broke out on the fringes of mass peaceful demonstrations over the weekend. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

Russia and Ukraine traded major drone and missile strikes on each other's capitals overnight, hours after Moscow signalled readiness to resume US-mediated peace talks. President Donald Trump said negotiations were closer than ever to ending the war, though the Kremlin expressed doubts over Ukrainian and European proposals.

Irish lawmakers voted Wednesday to scrap a requirement for UN approval before deploying military peacekeepers overseas, approving the controversial legislation by 79 votes to 71. Opposition lawmakers warned the move threatened Ireland’s longstanding military neutrality. Ireland is not a NATO member but has traditionally participated in international peacekeeping missions.

Pope Leo XIV, 71, will require no further treatment for lung cancer after tests confirmed the disease was localised, the Vatican said Wednesday. The pontiff underwent surgery last week to remove part of his right lung after being diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. He was discharged Saturday and will gradually resume activities.

The far-right European Parliament group of French presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen's party said Wednesday EU prosecutors were searching its offices as part of a graft probe into its now-defunct predecessor. The Patriots for Europe group said the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) had been searching its administrative offices in Brussels and Strasbourg "since this morning". FRANCE 24's Dave Keating reports from Strasbourg.

President ⁠Volodymyr Zelenskiy ​said on Wednesday ​that Ukraine supported a US proposal for ​three-way talks ‌with Russia ⁠and the United ‌States at the level ⁠of negotiators to be held as soon ​as possible, preferably ‌no later than early November. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Grégoire Roos, Director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, says that "it's not clear whether Putin would meet Trump and Zelensky", adding that "meeting Zelensky is the last thing that Putin would be prepared to do".

US President Donald Trump's pivot away from Ukraine has triggered fresh questions about his attachment to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the man a top American envoy flattered on Wednesday as a "humanitarian. Trump has cast his dealings with Putin as part of a mega-deal that has secured the release of American detainee Stephen Hubbard -- and which Trump says will end Russia's war on Ukraine. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Kharkiv.

Moscow is ready to resume trilateral US-Ukraine-Russia talks next month, the Kremlin said Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin met with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Russia. FRANCE 24's correspondent Gulliver Cragg has more.

EU prosecutors on Wednesday searched offices belonging to the far-right Patriots parliamentary group as part of a graft probe into the bloc’s dissolved predecessor, Identity and Democracy, which brought together several European far-right parties including French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.

Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday said they are both ready to resume trilateral talks with the United States. The news comes after US envoy Steve Witkoff separately met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on two consecutive days.

Angela Diffley is pleased to welcome Peter Zalmayev, Founder and Director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative, LIVE from Kyiv. And he warns, "I'm seeing, I'm smelling a Yalta II. I'm smelling another Munich (1938), where we're seeing appeasement of the aggressor." Ukraine faces the possibility that its sovereignty and security could become mere bargaining chips in an era Zalmayev describes as great-power "collusion". He delivers a forceful critique of the Trump administration's approach to Russia, arguing that Washington is weakening Ukraine's negotiating position while offering Vladimir Putin little incentive to abandon his maximalist demands. At stake, he suggests, are the cohesion of the transatlantic alliance, and the credibility of Western security commitments.

Students, teachers and civil servants are demonstrating in Greece today, protesting over staff shortages, poor infrastructure and the cost of living. Dozens of students have set up tents in the Square facing Parliament, in Athens, and on a pedestrian street in Thessaloniki on Tuesday. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Athens, Nathalie Savaricas.

Portuguese demonstrators have been protesting against the cost of housing in the country. They are opposed to recent measures announced by the government and are calling for a new gathering in the coming days, despite police clearing protest camps.

US envoy Steve Witkoff is in Saint Petersburg, holding talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The face to face meeting comes after he met with Ukraine's president and other European leaders in Oslo. Witkoff is due to return to the Norwegian capital after his visit to Russia. Washington seeks to breathe new life into US-led efforts to end the war. Details and analysis by FRANCE 24 international affairs editor, Kethevane Gorjestani.

US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday about Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump pushes Kyiv to make a deal that stops the fighting. The day before, the American official had met with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway. Details by FRANCE 24 international affairs editor Philip Turle.

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is headed to Russia today to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on his end, met with the US official in Norway Tuesday. What progress has been made in Oslo? Ophélie Jacobson explains.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday announced the deployment of 500 troops to Milan to assist police following clashes in the city. Meloni said a cabinet meeting also approved measures to make the detention of minors easier and to impose fines on their parents for any damage. Story by Morgan Ayre.