Ivory Coast Crisis: a French political story

Marc Perelman interviews Jean-Christophe Rufin, Writer and Former French Ambassador to Senegal; Marie-Roger Biloa, Editor-in-chief of Africa International; and Douglas Yates, Professor of Political Science at the American University of Paris.

POLITICS

Click here to watch part 2 of POLITICS.

Program prepared by Narimène LAOUADI.

Marc Perelman

French Politics Editor

06/12/2012 - FACE-OFF

France's Gaullist Party: Leadership war continues

On the menu today, the UMP saga continues. It's still Copé versus Fillon, but it's now happening behind closed doors after two weeks of very public onslaught. Meanwhile, the government is shaking as its Green Party ministers are fed up with a series of environmentally-unfriendly decisions, and as its budget minister is under fire for an alleged hidden bank account in Switzerland.

29/11/2012 - POLITICS

France's Conservative Party: from bad to worse

Who said politics was no fun? The surreal fight for the Conservative party leadership has kept us hypnotized, baffled and bemused for the past 12 days. The two rivals to succeed Nicolas Sarkozy are locked in a vicious standoff: both Jean François Copé and François Fillon claim victory and accuse the other of cheating. No one, not even Sarkozy himself, has been able to bridge a compromise.

22/11/2012 - POLITICS

Conservative party: the nightmare scenario (part 2)

The election of the president of France's conservative UMP party was supposed to be a straightforward affair. Former PM François Fillon was supposed to cruise to victory against Jean-François Copé. But the race turned out to be much closer than expected. More importantly, it has morphed into an ugly fight between both camps, with each claiming victory and accusing the other of cheating.

22/11/2012 - POLITICS

Conservative party: the nightmare scenario

15/11/2012 - POLITICS

François Hollande: the end of the 'normal' president?

This week saw François Hollande give his first full-fledged press conference; a 45-minute speech followed by nearly two hours of questions. It was a much-needed explanation, since he has broken a record: after only six months, he is the most unpopular French president since 1958. Is this the beginning of his comeback, or will he continue his slide in the polls?