It's a deal that's been decades in the works, but might not make it across the finishing line. The free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Mercosur trading bloc is driving a wedge between those who are eager to diversify and strengthen their international trade, like Germany, and those who are concerned about protecting their agricultural sector, like France. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to Maxime Combes, a French economist who fundamentally opposes the Mercosur trade deal – but not for the same reasons the French government does. 

They buy, hoard and sell the Earth's resources. In this episode, journalist Javier Blas helps us shed some light on the shadowy realm of billionaire commodity traders. He co-wrote with Jack Farchy "The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth's Resources", about the power concentrated in the hands of a small number of commodity trading houses.

This episode of People & Profit explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the wine industry. Expert Felicity Carter explains how new tools let even small producers harness big-player insights – from vineyard decisions to consumer sales – opening up fresh economic opportunities across the entire supply chain.

How to create economic opportunities in underprivileged areas? John Hope Bryant is the founder and CEO of Operation HOPE, a US non-profit that works to promote financial literacy and economic empowerment to young people and adults. A self-made millionaire himself, he has spent decades advocating on behalf of America's poorest citizens and making sure they know how to get their slice of the American Dream. He tells FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin that "financial literacy is the civil rights issue of this generation".

The World Bank was created in 1944 with a simple mission: to finance reconstruction post-World War II, a mandate that later evolved into reducing global poverty and fostering development. Over the decades, the mission has broadly stayed the same, but the methods have evolved – often through trial and error. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Axel van Trotsenburg, the outgoing senior managing director of the World Bank, who has been part of the institution for nearly 40 years.

The week, we head to Belem in Brazil where COP30, the UN's annual climate summit, is taking place. As rich nations drag their feet, will the Global South take the lead in climate action? We put the question to our guest, Charra Tesfaye Terfassa, economic and climate prosperity programme manager at the Open Society.

This week, we're heading to the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2025) for a conversation with Gaurav Sharma, an independent energy analyst also know on social media as the "Oilholic". As temperatures are rising, so is energy demand. What does that mean for fossil fuels? And how will AI reshape the future of energy? We put these questions and more to our guest.

Volatile weather affecting harvests, uncertainty in global trade and rising production costs could soon make everyday treats like coffee, tea and chocolate a luxury. But are the farmers growing them getting a fair share of the price surge? Yuka Royer discusses this and more with Jason Archie-Acheampong, sustainable sourcing lead for coffee and cocoa at the Fairtrade Foundation.  

This week, Charles Pellegrin talks to Jaco Cilliersd, the UN development programme's representative for Palestine about the arduous task of trying to clear the millions of tonnes of rubbles from Gaza and preparing the stage for reconstruction amid a tenuous ceasefire. 

This week, we take a look at the renewable energy sector, specifically in China at a time when solar and wind power have surpassed coal in global electricity generation, according to a report by climate think tank Ember. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, the report's author and senior electricity analyst.

Was the "Argentina miracle" that Javier Milei boasted about really a miracle? As the libertarian president approaches his third year in office, and with midterm elections around the corner on October 26, we take a closer look at Argentina's economy with Juan Ignacio Carranza, lead analyst at Aurora Macro Strategies in Buenos Aires.

This week, we focus on the Zucman tax. Named after French economist Gabriel Zucman, the proposal targets the ultra-wealthy and is the French left's answer to the country's public finance woes. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has already rejected it, but has acknowledged the desire for more fiscal justice in France. To help us better understand why this tax has come about and what it hopes to achieve, Charles Pellegrin is joined by Giulia Varaschin, policy advisor at the EU Tax Observatory, of which Gabriel Zucman is the director. 

Brazil, under the leadership of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is now the target of tariffs of up to 50 percent on most of its goods heading to the United States. Brazilian businesses are looking to the Chinese market to make up for losses in the US market. But can China fill that gap for the Brazilian economy? Charles Pellegrin speaks to Tulio Cariello, director of research at the Brazil-China Business Council. Plus, our reporters met with coffee producers in Brazil who are trying to reduce their reliance on the US.

French PM François Bayrou submitted his resignation on Tuesday after losing a confidence vote in parliament. He had gambled on a budget demanding over €40 billion in savings. The plan would have frozen welfare benefits, cut civil-service jobs and scrapped two public holidays. President Emmanuel Macron then named Sébastien Lecornu, a longtime ally, as France's new prime minister to pick up the mantle of trying to pass a budget through a divided parliament. So where does the country's economy stand now? Charles Pellegrin discusses this and more with Alexandra Roulet, associate professor of economics at INSEAD. 

This week we zero in on the military tech sector in Ukraine with our correspondent Gulliver Cragg and Kateryna Bondar, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, an improvised industry of defence tech startups has surged, and technology – particularly drones – has helped Kyiv to hold the line against Moscow. But the country currently lacks the funding to scale production. Meanwhile the Kremlin is catching up, rapidly growing its domestic production of Shahed drones.  

This week, we are at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris – not for the French Open tennis tournament, but to meet business leaders who are gathered for the annual end-of-summer conference of Medef, France's largest employers' federation. This year's theme "Jeu décisif" is a tennis metaphor meaning "tie-break", reflecting the decisive moment businesses are facing. From Donald Trump's trade war to political instability in the country, how do French entrepreneurs plan to navigate through another year of geopolitical uncertainty? FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer has been finding out.

This week, we focus on the unprecedented immigration crackdown currently taking place in the United States under President Donald Trump. We head to Los Angeles, where our team meets local business owners whose shops are on the brink of bankruptcy, as workers and customers are staying home to avoid ICE raids. Plus, Charles Pellegrin talks to Tara Watson, director of the Center for Economic Security and Opportunity at the Brookings Institution.

North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un is trying to claim his country's stake in the multibillion-dollar global tourism industry by opening a brand-new beach resort. But not many foreign tourists will be able to take advantage of the new facilities, as the country has mostly been closed to visitors since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Simon Cockerell, the general manager of Koryo Tours, a company that has been running tours in North Korea since 1993 and more recently in Afghanistan.

They burst onto the scene four years ago and are taking over the pharmaceutical world. New GLP-1-based drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy or Zepbound are said to be a weight-loss game changer and could drive big pharma's revenue for years to come. But they come with a hefty price tag, while some 50 to 70 percent of people taking GLP-1s suffer side effects. Charles Pellegrin asks Frederic Bizard, a health economist and professor at ESCP Business School, who has the most to gain from this pharma revolution.

This week, Charles Pellegrin takes a look back at what's being called "the Twelve-Day War" with Dr Jorge León, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy. The confrontation between Israel and Iran with the assistance of the United States has weighed on global markets, sending oil prices surging amid concerns that oil supply could be heavily disrupted. But those fears have been – at least temporarily – cast aside after a fragile ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump. So what happens now?