Is the burqa compatible with a western society?

Marc Perelman interviews Tariq Ramadan (Saint Antony’s College Oxford); Nicolas Perruchot (Nouveau Centre Party); Amel Boubekeur (Carnegie Middle East Center); and Fouad Al Obaid (Kuwait Times).

POLITICS

Click here to watch part 2 with Tariq Ramadan, Amel Boubekeur, Fouad Al Obaid and Stefan Braendle.

Marc Perelman

French Politics Editor

27/06/2012 - POLITICS

France-Germany : No Merkollande ... yet

He came to power pledging to hold back the tide of austerity washing over Europe. But does Francois Hollande have the power to drive the French agenda through, when his German counterpart is calling for "more Europe"? It may be too early to shout federalism, but moves are a foot to create a banking union and to give the European Commission unprecedented oversight of national budgets.

20/06/2012 - POLITICS

Socialists Sweep Elections : Now comes to the hard part...

The Presidency, the Senate, the majority of big towns, counties and regions, and now, the National Assembly... The socialists have control of all the levers of powers in France for the first time. No need for allies to govern but no excuses for failure. On the other side of the political aisle, after a stinging defeat, the conservatives need to regroup and refresh after 10 years in power.

13/06/2012 - FRANCE 2012

'Twittergate': First Lady creates scandal

François Hollande had pledged he would be a "normal" president after Nicolas Sarkozy: no more drama, no more private life exposed in the media. He kept his promise - until this Tuesday, just before noon Paris time, when Hollande's partner, Valérie Trierweiler, fired off a tweet. In it, she expressed support for a dissident Socialist candidate running for a seat in the parliamentary elections against Ségolène Royal, who happens to be Hollande’s ex.

13/06/2012 - POLITICS

Parliamentary elections: an absolute majority for the Socialists?

The second round of France's parliamentary elections is on Sunday and the Socialists are hoping to win an outright majority on their own. They need to clinch 289 seats to be able to govern without the support of the Greens or the far-left. Meanwhile, the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis the far-right National Front is creating headaches for the mainstream parties, with their leadership struggling to impose its decisions on local candidates.

07/06/2012 - POLITICS

Parliamentary elections: a Socialist triumph?

We are now only three days away from round one of the French parliamentary elections. After the election of Socialist President François Hollande, the Socialists are hoping for a clear victory in order to have a majority with which to implement the government's policies.