Romain Chauvet is a French Canadian journalist based in Europe. He's interested in stories linked to politics, migration, social issues, and climate change.
After Cyclone Chido hit the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte, Emmanuel Macron told locals that they would be “10,000 times more in the shit” if they weren’t French-ruled. The mass casualties show how little France has actually done to protect the islanders.
Despite plummeting polls, by-election losses, and growing calls for his resignation, Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has so far refused to step down. With his leadership under siege, this winter may bring deep discontent for Trudeau.
Center-left Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, disparaged by Parisians as a “bourgeois bohemian,” is betting on the success of the Olympics to revive her political career. Scandals and dismal polls stand in her way as she eyes the 2026 elections.
Canada’s social democratic party, the NDP, is grappling with Conservative inroads into its voter base, declining support, and internal divisions. As the party confronts the phenomenon of class dealignment, its future is an open question.