Benin

Burkina Faso

Cote d'Ivoire

Mali

Niger

France

Military & Security

Politics

The chiefs of staff of the French, Ivorian and Beninese militaries discussed jihadist activity in northern Benin and Cote d'Ivoire and strengthening trilateral counterterrorism cooperation on March 19, Radio France Internationale reported on March 20.

West Africa: France, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire To Deepen Counterterrorism Coordination

France held the first round of municipal elections on March 15, with the far-right National Rally retaining strongholds in Perpignan and Henin-Beaumont and advancing in southern cities such as Toulon, Nice and Marseille, Le Monde reported on March 16. 

France: First Round of Municipal Elections Highlights Far-Right Gains and Tests Runoff Alliances

Canada

United States

Iran

Israel

Japan

Europe

Germany

United Kingdom

Italy

Economics

Energy

G7 finance ministers held an emergency meeting on March 9 to discuss the impact of the Iran war on global energy markets and possible stabilisation measures, including a release of strategic oil reserves, Reuters reported the same day.

Global: G7 Considers Coordinated Strategic Oil Reserve Release as Iran War Drives Crude Above $100

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on March 2 that France will expand its nuclear arsenal and consider deploying nuclear-capable aircraft to allied European countries under a new "forward deterrence" doctrine, while retaining sole authority over their use, Reuters reported.

France: Macron Proposes Expanding Country's Nuclear Arsenal in Coordination With European Allies

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Paraguay

Uruguay

Poland

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the European Union will provisionally apply its trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc before full ratification, Euractiv reported on Feb. 27.

EU, Mercosur: Brussels Moves To Provisionally Apply Mercosur Trade Deal Before Full Ratification

Ukraine

Russia

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia had not yet achieved its objectives in Ukraine and that military operations would continue, but that Moscow remained open to political and diplomatic avenues to reach those goals, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Feb. 24.

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Says War Objectives Unmet, Military Operations To Continue

Algeria

Algeria and France agreed to restore security cooperation following the Feb. 16-17 visit of France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez to Algiers, where he met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, AFP reported on Feb. 18.

Algeria, France: Governments To Resume Security Cooperation

Spain

India

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to renew their bilateral defense cooperation framework for another decade, expand joint defense production, deepen interoperability, increase joint exercises and raise defense industrial integration, according to a Feb. 17 joint statement. 

France, Spain, India: Defense and Technology Cooperation Is Set To Deepen

Assessments

Denmark

The European Parliament building in 2019 in Strasbourg, France. Parliament is set to hold a plenary vote March 26 on implementing the 2025 EU‑U.S. trade framework agreement.

U.S.-Iran Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A Vote on the EU‑U.S. Trade Framework, the Iran Conflict Continues

Chile

Colombia

Lebanon

China

Greece

Cyprus

Netherlands

Plumes of smoke rise following reported explosions in Tehran on March 2, 2026, after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top military leaders, prompting a new wave of Iranian retaliatory missile attacks across the region. 

The Weekly Rundown: War in the Middle East, U.S.-China Trade Talks

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) on Feb. 25 at the quay of the North Port in Malmo, Sweden. A prolonged conflict in the Middle East would increase Europe's exposure to security risks, including potential attacks on European-linked assets, renewed migration pressures and an elevated terrorism threat, particularly if European capitals assume a more active military or diplomatic role against the Iranian regime.

A protracted regional war threatens to expose the Continent to risks ranging from cyberattacks against critical infrastructure to a renewed influx of asylum seekers.

Prolonged Conflict in Iran Would Elevate Security, Migration Threats Against Europe

Columns

On Geopolitics

A digital illustration shows a nuclear launch map of Europe. 

Amid doubts about the U.S. security guarantee, Europe is considering using Franco-British nuclear arms to bolster its strategic autonomy within NATO, though this plan faces significant political and technical challenges.

The European Nuclear Umbrella: A Search for Strategic Autonomy

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu speaks in parliament after surviving two no-confidence votes in Paris, France on Jan. 23 23, 2026. 

The budget's likely adoption will keep the minority government in office, but deep political fragmentation will limit policy action and sustain the risk of early elections, keeping France's fiscal trajectory uncertain.

The Risks to France's Fiscal Outlook Beyond the 2026 Budget

Greenland

Finland

Sweden

Norway

The HDMS Knud Rasmussen ship of the Danish Navy patrols the waters off of Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 20, 2026. 

Global Trade

Trump's threatened tariffs over his bid to acquire Greenland have turned the U.S.-EU trade dispute into a high-stakes geopolitical confrontation, raising the risk of a sustained trade war that would severely strain transatlantic economic ties and NATO cohesion.

Trump's Greenland Tariff Threat Escalates Transatlantic Tensions

Palestinian Territories

Vietnam

Switzerland

A sniper police officer on the Congress hotel during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on Jan. 24, 2025, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Davos, Europe Steps Up Greenland Deployments

South Africa

The Ukrainian flag is projected on the facade of Berlaymont, the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels on Nov. 18 to commemorate the Nov. 18, 2024, Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Weekly Rundown: A European Council Decision on Ukraine Financing, South Africa Braces for Commission Findings

Nigeria

A photo taken on Dec. 8, 2025, shows an armored vehicle at the entrance of a blocked road in Cotonou, Benin, near the headquarters of the state broadcaster Benin TV.

The coup attempt will increase political and security risks ahead of Benin's 2026 elections, while the swift, Nigeria-led ECOWAS intervention suggests Abuja is assuming a more assertive regional role with tacit French backing following Paris's troop drawdown.

Benin's Foiled Coup Signals Strengthening Franco-Nigerian Coordination in West Africa

Cameroon

Palestinians on Oct. 10 on Al-Rashid road headed toward Gaza City. U.S. President Donald Trump said he might visit the Middle East just as 20 hostages are meant to be released by Hamas after surviving two years in captivity as the White House pushes for the solidification of a frail ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Weekly Rundown: Trump Tries To Solidify the Gaza Ceasefire, a Presidential Vote in Cameroon

Outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrives to deliver a statement at the Hotel Matignon in Paris after submitting his resignation to French President Emmanuel Macron on Oct. 6, 2025. 

Lecornu's resignation leaves President Macron with few good options to ease the ongoing political gridlock over the budget, portending further market volatility, social unrest and, potentially, a fiscal crisis.

French Political Crisis Deepens as Another Prime Minister Resigns

Syria

Turkey

Tajikistan

Azerbaijan

Georgia

The assembly hall of the Syrian parliament Oct. 1 in Damascus. An Oct. 5 indirect election for parliament will mark the first time Syrians have had an electoral say in their government since the 1960s.

The Weekly Rundown: Japan's Election, Syria's Political Transition

<p>France is a country in Western Europe bound in the south by the Alps, Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. To the west and north is the Atlantic Ocean, and on its eastern border lies the river Rhine and the low mountains of the Ardennes, Vosges and Jura. Mountains, rivers and seas help protect France at all points but one: the North European Plain. As a result, France&#39;s main geographic challenge is safeguarding its eastern border on the path of this historic invasion route. The lack of internal geographic barriers contributed to France&#39;s social cohesion, which in turn led France to become one of the world&#39;s first modern nation-states. The Beauce region represents France&#39;s core. Its navigable rivers, warm climate, sufficient rainfall and fertile soils have made France one of the world&#39;s leading agricultural powers. At the extreme northern border of the Beauce region, where the rivers Marne and Seine meet, lies Paris &mdash; France&#39;s economic and political center. Paris&#39; strategic location on these rivers gives it administrative control of trading routes from the Beauce region to the rest of France and Europe In modern times, the most existential threats to France have come from its powerful eastern neighbor, Germany. Between 1871 and 1945, France and Germany fought three major wars &mdash; all on the North European Plain. After World War II, France attempted to contain Germany largely through the creation of the European Union. The economic and political crisis plaguing Europe has put France&#39;s containment strategy into question.</p>

EU: Regional Blocs

Divided EU Foreign Policies

The Fate of the Eurozone

European Disintegration

SITUATION REPORTS

West Africa: France, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire To Deepen Counterterrorism Coordination

France: First Round of Municipal Elections Highlights Far-Right Gains and Tests Runoff Alliances

Global: G7 Considers Coordinated Strategic Oil Reserve Release as Iran War Drives Crude Above $100

France: Macron Proposes Expanding Country's Nuclear Arsenal in Coordination With European Allies

EU, Mercosur: Brussels Moves To Provisionally Apply Mercosur Trade Deal Before Full Ratification

Russia, Ukraine: Kremlin Says War Objectives Unmet, Military Operations To Continue

Algeria, France: Governments To Resume Security Cooperation

France, Spain, India: Defense and Technology Cooperation Is Set To Deepen

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