As the doors of the illustrious Hôtel Beauharnais on Rue de Lille 78 swung open on the evening of 4 October, and the masses streamed into the German Embassy in Paris to celebrate German Unity Day, the reports of the currently strained state of Franco-German relations seemed almost surreal. 

The tragic exodus of the Armenian population from the Nagorno Karabakh region has closed a chapter in the long saga of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The debate about labor shortages has been long dominating the German public debate. It has been pushed to the agenda again in the context of recent reforms in migration policy. Paradoxically, Germany boasts a robust population size, a significant labor force, and a notably larger proportion of working-age individuals compared to France. 

While matters related to research security and international partnerships in critical domains are certainly not new, they have become increasingly central to governments, research institutions and industry since the turn of the 2020s.

The Oslo agreements signed in 1993 raised high hopes for peace in the Middle East. But appraising the state of affairs, thirty years on, the picture is bleak. 

The Oslo Agreement of 1993 was a declaration of principles that later needed to be clarified through further negotiations. 

As US-China rivalry reaches its peak and the likelihood of a high-intensity conflict in the region seems greater than ever, this report advocates for a pragmatic recalibration of France’s strategic posture in the Indo-Pacific. This adjustment should be grounded in a realistic reframing of ambitions and an analysis of France’s core interests and the threats it faces.

As one of the most successful trading blocs, the EU sees itself confronted with the erosion of the global rules-based trading system and trade becoming increasingly weaponized.