- Défis Humanitaires : Défis Humanitaires would like to thank you for this interview on the occasion of issue 100 of our online magazine. Your programme is well known to connoisseurs and audiences interested in international relations and geopolitics. But we probably don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. Can you tell us when your programme was created, how many programmes it has produced and how widely it is broadcast in France and internationally?
Marie-France Chatin : I took over the show in September 2008, just after the Russian-Georgian war in August 2008, a brief conflict with far-reaching geopolitical consequences. It marked a turning point in relations between Russia and the West, often seen as a prelude to more aggressive action, such as the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The show had been created some five years earlier, I believe. I developed it and installed it in the news landscape. It occupies the same time slot on both days of the weekend. Which wasn’t the case at the beginning. I’ve created a few partnerships with geopolitical magazines to give the programme a wider audience.
- What sets your programme apart from other ways of talking about geopolitics on RFI or other channels?
It’s a weekend programme. You don’t have the same expectations at the weekend as you do during the week. During the week you get information. At the weekend we try to understand the information we’ve accumulated, perhaps paying less attention to the details. We need explanations and understanding. It’s hard to say what sets me apart from other programmes, except to say that GEOPOLITIQUE is a programme about current affairs that takes the time to get to grips with them, giving them perspective and depth. I have a great deal of respect for reflection. I don’t like to cut my guests off in order to exist myself. I like to let them develop their thoughts and go as far as they can. I realise that giving time – within reason and avoiding boredom – has a particularly positive and rich result, because things are said that you don’t hear elsewhere. I have the weakness of believing that listeners find it very rewarding.
- Do you get any feedback from your listeners and what do they tell you?
We don’t get much feedback from listeners. But GEOPOLITIQUE is the most podcasted programme on RFI. Podcasts have become a reality. You no longer need to be tuned in at a specific time to listen to a programme. It’s all à la carte. You can go back three years on programmes. It’s an incredible luxury. And it’s a wonderful tool for high school and pre-university students who have geopolitics on their syllabus. And for researchers too. What’s more, I try to vary my guests as much as possible and to give young researchers a chance to have their say.
- You are involved in various geopolitical initiatives in Nantes, Grenoble and elsewhere. How is geopolitics faring in these cities and what are the effects of these synergies with RFI?
Yes, it’s not just Paris. More and more events are being organised in the provinces. These are local initiatives that are very successful. People come out to watch the debates and ask questions. The hunger for information is there. And people in the provinces are immensely grateful that people from the capital are coming. They feel they exist, and believe me, they have nothing to envy Parisians when it comes to asking relevant questions. Their interest in these events is immense. And we can’t help but appreciate that. I think the synergy with RFI is a result of this. The broadcasts are recorded live. This gives those present an opportunity to understand what live radio is all about. The presence of GEOPOLITIQUE is also an opportunity to gain listeners and above all to bring us closer to people who are interested in international relations.
- Since you’ve been producing your programme, have you noticed any distinct periods of renewed interest among listeners, and what does that inspire in you?
I’m always amused to hear people say to me ‘ah but at the moment you’re not short of news’. In fact, there’s news all the time. I’d even go so far as to say that it’s frustrating when big events happen over a long period of time, because they overshadow other events that are de facto out of the limelight. The 2010s and the Arab Spring focused the world’s attention to the detriment of other events. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s prevented us from seeing China take off and paying more attention to what was happening there. Who is talking about the particularly deadly civil war in Sudan since the war in Gaza? The distinct periods you mention are those of major geopolitical upheavals. They are the ones that set the tempo and structure our times.
- You mainly invite academics and experts to talk about the subjects of your programmes. How do you perceive their position and expectations with regard to France’s foreign policy?
This is a delicate question. And I’m going to answer it in a roundabout way by extending it to Europe. It’s fascinating to see how much researchers, experts and academics are looking for Europe in all the issues they deal with, and how difficult it is to find it. We all hope that what we have been experiencing since 20 January with Donald Trump in the White House will be an opportunity for Europe to take a leap forward. Europe is being observed, watched and hoped for on many issues. Perhaps the European moment has arrived. We can only hope. There are many expectations of our old continent. Emmanuel Macron has long advocated Europe’s strategic autonomy. His voice is finding it hard to carry.
- When we look at the themes of your recent broadcasts, we get the impression that the history we are living through is accelerating. Are we in what the Germans call a ‘Zeitenwende’, a geopolitical rupture, a tipping point? How do you understand this through your broadcasts and your contacts?
It’s obvious. History is accelerating. The balance of power is increasingly present in international relations. Violence is everywhere. The so-called ‘strong men’ of the world want to do battle with the world order as it has been constructed since 1945. They are turning the tables. Breaking codes. The technical and technological revolution is of course no stranger to the phenomenon of accelerating events. Artificial intelligence is also playing its part.
- How do you see the humanitarian dimension in your choice of programmes in this context of conflict, and a drop in humanitarian and development aid at a time when the needs of populations in danger are increasing and this situation will certainly have political and geopolitical consequences?
Humanitarian aid has a place in GEOPOLITIQUE’s programming. But probably not enough. I am struck by the extent to which, in many situations, the human factor is not the priority. Look at what’s happening in Gaza and all the restrictions on NGOs. Not to mention the fact that journalists are not allowed in. Emergencies persist and grow because nothing is really done about them. Our societies show a certain passivity. Perhaps our young people will be more resistant.
- How would you like to conclude this interview?
Humanitarianism is a challenge, to use your title. I realise this more and more every day, as violent discourse and acts transform the international scene. Efforts at peace and dialogue seem powerless in the face of the brutality of the world. But let’s not make it a foregone conclusion.
Marie-France CHATIN
I invite you to read these interviews and articles published in the edition :
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- Humanitarian and geopolitics overview
- Humanitarian action put to the test by dwindling public funding. An article by Antoine Vaccaro
- So here we are. An article by Cyprien Fabre
- Who wants peace prepares for war. An article by Grégoire de Saint-Quentin
- Défis Humanitaires, what do you think?
- Put your pens to the test!