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French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou unveiled his government’s 2026 budget plan, which will aim to reduce France’s deficit while offsetting an increase in defense spending through approximately 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in spending cuts, tax hikes and a freeze to pensions and social benefits, Le Monde reported on July 15.

France: Prime Minister Bayrou Presents Government Plans for Austerity Budget

Military & Security

New Caledonian delegations regrouping political parties for and against independence from France reached an agreement on the territory's institutional future that involves opening provincial voter rolls, creating a New Caledonian state within the French Republic and allowing dual French and Caledonian citizenship, Le Point reported on July 12. 

France: New Caledonian Factions Reach Deal on Institutional Future 

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Australia launched U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as part of the 2025 Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest iteration of the biennial multinational drills to date, AP reported on July 14.

Australia: HIMARS Fired Amid Largest-Ever Military Drills

French financial police searched the Paris headquarters of the far-right National Rally party as part of a probe into suspected campaign finance violations, party leader Jordan Bardella announced on July 9 in a post on X, denouncing the operation as politically driven.

France: French Authorities Raid Far-Right National Rally Party Offices

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Nigerien authorities announced that they would nationalize uranium mining company SOMAIR, a subsidiary of France's state-owned Orano that owns the country's only operating uranium mine, Reuters reported on June 20. 

Niger: Junta To Nationalize Subsidiary of France's Orano 

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The EU foreign policy chief and the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France and Germany -- the so-called E3 grouping of signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal -- met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, Switzerland, to encourage Iran to negotiate with the United States for a new nuclear deal, Reuters reported on June 20. 

Europe, Iran: E3, Iranian Foreign Ministers Meet in Geneva

French President Emmanuel Macron and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed 27 cooperation agreements during the former's state visit to Indonesia, deepening collaboration in defense and energy, among other areas, the Indonesia Business Post reported on May 29.

France, Indonesia: Paris, Jakarta Deepen Defense, Energy Ties

Environment, Science & Technology

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France and Vietnam signed 14 cooperation agreements during French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit in Hanoi, covering defense, satellite technology, transportation, vaccine production and a $10.25 billion Airbus aircraft deal, Bao Chinh Phu reported on May 26. 

France, Vietnam: Countries Deepen Partnership With Defense and Investment Deals

Snapshots

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a press conference on July 10, 2025, in London.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The series of agreements will deepen cooperation between Europe's two nuclear powers at a time of strategic flux and institutional fragmentation across the Continent.

New U.K.-France Defense Deals Mark a Step Toward a European Nuclear Deterrent

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Brazil

Israel-Hamas Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: Netanyahu's U.S. Visit, a Franco-British Summit

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou speaks during a press conference at a hotel in Paris on June 24, 2025. 

The collapse of negotiations over potential changes to President Macron's controversial pensions reform will increase the risk of more no-confidence votes against the government, budgetary deadlock and another early election.

In France, the Collapse of Pension Reform Talks Risks Worsening Political Instability

Sub-Saharan Africa

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Rescue teams work at damaged buildings in Nobonyad Square following Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. 

Global Trade

The Weekly Rundown: G7 Leaders' Summit, More Israeli Attacks on Iran

Ukraine

An image shows a row of flags from the G7 members.

The June 15-17 summit will provide an opportunity for the bloc to discuss trade tensions and the war in Ukraine, but the meeting is more likely to expose transatlantic divisions over Trump's tariffs and reluctance to pressure Russia.

What To Expect From the First G7 Summit Following Trump's Return to the White House

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press briefing during his trip to Singapore on May 30, 2025. 

U.S.-China Relations

The deals reached with Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam expand France's role in Southeast Asia amid shifting global trade and defense dynamics, a welcome development for a region increasingly pinned between the U.S. and China.

Macron's Southeast Asia Tour Deepens French Footprint in the Region

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A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (2 L) and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C) attend a meeting with European and Ukrainian officials on April 17 at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris.

Ukraine will be forced to choose between compromising on its supposed red lines to de-escalate its war with Russia, or risk losing U.S. support and its battlefield position. 

Growing U.S. Pressure for a Peace Deal Puts Ukraine in a Difficult Position

Poland

Spain

NATO military forces during static display after the Steadfast Dart 2025 military exercises at the Smardan Training Area in Smardan, Romania, on Feb. 19, 2025. 

Europe is increasingly focused on achieving greater strategic autonomy in defense, but internal divisions and material constraints will plague this quest, even as the United States' role on the Continent continues to shrink, meaning NATO will likely remain the cornerstone of Europe’s security architecture. 

The Future of Transatlantic Security Cooperation, Part 2: The View From Europe

South Africa

A list of countries facing reciprocal tariffs on display April 2 at the White House.

The Weekly Rundown: The Escalating Global Trade War, South Africa's Coalition Government on the Brink

Ireland

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an April 2 event in the Rose Garden in Washington. The U.S.–EU trade dispute is on track to escalate as Brussels prepares retaliation against Washington's sweeping 20% tariff on EU goods, increasing the risk of a protracted tit-for-tat trade war that would disrupt supply chains, slow growth on both sides of the Atlantic and strain broader cooperation. 

The developments could see a protracted tit-for-tat trade war that disrupts supply chains, slows growth on both sides of the Atlantic and strains broader cooperation.

Brussels Prepares to Respond to the Latest Trump Tariffs

<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

France: Prime Minister Bayrou Presents Government Plans for Austerity Budget

France: New Caledonian Factions Reach Deal on Institutional Future

Australia: HIMARS Fired Amid Largest-Ever Military Drills

France: French Authorities Raid Far-Right National Rally Party Offices

Niger: Junta To Nationalize Subsidiary of France's Orano

Europe, Iran: E3, Iranian Foreign Ministers Meet in Geneva

France, Indonesia: Paris, Jakarta Deepen Defense, Energy Ties

France, Vietnam: Countries Deepen Partnership With Defense and Investment Deals

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