Articles by: "Paul Soyez"
Macron and Turnbull clarify their common ambitions

France was a significant stopover in Malcolm Turnbull’s tour of Europe. The Australian prime minister visited France two weeks ago to hold his first bilateral meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron and to inspect the …

Can Macron march to victory?

The French presidential election race has rarely been so tight and so interesting. The four candidates (three men and one woman) who have a real chance of getting through the first round on 23 April …

The two faces of French populism

Will French voters have to choose between two extremes at their presidential election? In advance of the first round of voting this weekend, the fear that France will surrender to populism is significant, with far-right …

Can France still afford its nuclear deterrence?

France has a deep and abiding relationship with nuclear technology. French policy-makers have based France’s energy and military independence around nuclear programs. However, as the French government attempts to justify its budget policies in the …

French–Indian relations take off again

France and India have further deepened their military and economic relationship through India’s purchase of 36 French “Rafale” fighter jets at a cost of almost €8 billion. This order is France’s largest aeronautic contract ever …

French presence in the Pacific reinforced by the PIF

France strengthened its South Pacific presence during the 47th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) earlier this month, with New Caledonia and French Polynesia becoming full members of the organisation. This double integration, supported by Australia, constitutes …

Terrorism hijacks France’s presidential election

France’s presidential campaign is heating up, with terrorism constituting one of the key debate topics. In the past 18 months, four terrorist attacks have targeted French territories, from Paris to the small suburban city of …

France reassures its partners after DCNS leak

While the DCNS leak crisis shouldn’t deeply harm France’s relations with India and Australia, it has already had consequences. In particular, recent reporting that India might not go ahead with a follow-on buy of Scorpenes …