Just how sustainable is your happy hour? The beverage industry is among those facing pressure to mitigate its impact on the environment. In 2021, it accounted for 3.8 percent of global carbon emissions. We take a closer look in this edition of People & Profit.

Can European industry regain its competitive edge on the global stage? A new EU report penned by former ECB chief Mario Draghi highlights a growing gap in both productivity and innovation, and warns that businesses will face an "existential challenge" without drastic change and significant investment. Tim Figures, a partner and associate director at the Boston Consulting Group, believes the proposals "turn challenges into opportunities for growth and improved productivity in the European...

The French government plans to subject the budget to a €60 billion belt-tightening drive next year in the hope of bringing the deficit down to 5 percent of GDP from an estimated more than 6 percent this year. Two-thirds of that sum are to come from spending cuts, and the rest from new taxes. Why does the country find itself in this fiscal hole? How will this new budget impact the country's economy? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to OFCE Economist François Geerolf. 

This week we look at ethical fashion in the age of "direct-to-consumer" giants like China's Shein and Temu. Thanks to their business model based on ultra-fast design and production, consumers can purchase a new look at incredibly low prices. But at what cost for the environment and worker wellbeing? Charles Pellegrin talks to Kamila Boudova, a Paris-based slow fashion coach who helps her clients create ethical wardrobes. They discuss the challenges of wearing ethical clothes in an age of...

The athletes have crossed the finish line of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Now economists are trying their best to accurately assess the economic impact of this global event on the city and on France. Our guest, Wladimir Andreff, is one of them. He is a specialist of sports economics and a professor emeritus at the university of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne. 

After a summer of Olympic fever, it's back to business in France. But uncertainty dominates after snap elections earlier this summer returned a hung parliament. As suspense continues over who will be the country's next prime minister, France's largest employer federation, Medef, held its annual conference on the theme of ''power''. So after seven years of pro-business policies, what's next for France's business community? FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer talks to Medef's Vice President Fabrice Le Saché...

While the tech world has been flying high on a wave of optimism over all the potential applications of AI, booming demand for the technology is increasingly straining energy resources. One simple search on ChatGPT consumes almost 10 times more electricity than one on Google. Charles Pellegrin speaks to Mary de Wysocki, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cisco, a major US-based company that provides data centre products and services.

Scene on Radio, the Peabody-nominated podcast series produced by The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, has dedicated its latest season to exploring the history, failures and future of capitalism over the course of 13 episodes. John Biewen, co-host of the podcast, joins us from North Carolina for a big picture conversation about the system that governs the lives of a large chunk of humanity.  

In the run-up to the UK's general election on July 4, the state of the country's National Health Service (NHS) is a key campaign theme. Satisfaction with the NHS is at its lowest in 40 years and the same is true of social care. Both the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party are promising to increase funding for the NHS. One business-led social organisation in the UK, Business for Health, advocates for stronger investments in preventative health, especially in the workplace....

It's a common and accepted trope that free trade has led to more prosperity.  Yet free trade, and another word that often accompanies it – globalisation – are frequent targets of criticism, with both seen as eroding national sovereignty, taking away local jobs and harming the environment. Charles Pellegrin talks to John W.H. Denton, the secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business organisation, whose purpose is to fight for a business-friendly...

A cloud of uncertainty is hovering over Europe this June in the wake of the European elections. In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that President Emmanuel Macron immediately dissolved parliament and called for new elections. The possibility of seeing the far right take power in the country has led to turmoil in the markets. To better understand the economic impact of such a scenario, as well as its likelihood, we speak to Maria...

As a result of the war in Ukraine, millions of Ukrainian children have been scattered around Europe. These young refugees have seen their education heavily disrupted, with only between 30 and 50 percent of them enrolled in schools in their host countries. NGOs such as Junior Achievement (JA) Europe and UNICEF have teamed up to help offer 1.9 million hours of training and education over the course of the last year across 14 countries. Charles Pellegrin talks to Salvatore Nigro, the CEO of JA...

As decided by EU member states and the European Parliament, sales of internal combustion engine cars will be banned in the bloc by 2035, thereby forcing a transition to electric vehicles. How will Europe's car manufacturers manage this major change? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin puts the question to Julia Poliscanova, senior director in charge of vehicles and e-mobility at the European Federation for Transport and Environment.

This week, we bring you a special edition of People & Profit from VivaTech, France's major tech event. Charles Pellegrin asks Beatriz Sanz Saiz, global consulting data and AI leader at EY, how artificial intelligence could bring more equality. He also meets Olivier Oullier, whose company Inclusive Brains has developed tech that could be a game changer for people with disabilities. And Peter O'Brien reports from the halls of VivaTech to find out what the rise of AI will mean for climate tech.

Rudimentary heating systems, often fuelled by wood fire, coal and animal manure, are used by a large majority of households in Africa. Delegates from over 60 countries gathered in Paris for a summit held by the IEA to help tackle this issue. Charles Pellegrin asks Jillene Connors Belopolsky, who is the chief of staff and chief external affairs officer at the Clean Cooking Alliance, what can be done to make clean cooking options more affordable and available.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is continuing its planetary takeover, kicking off its European leg this week in France. Since her first concerts in March 2023 in the US, the pop star has been credited with boosting the national GDPs of the United States, Singapore and Australia. For a deeper look at the business phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks with former music business executive, Professor Linda Bloss-Baum. She is the assistant director of the business and...

With less than 100 days to go until the Paris 2024 Olympics, we’re looking into whether or not they will be a healthy investment for Paris and France as a whole. Will the Games boost the French economy? Or will the costs outweigh the benefits? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin discusses this and more with Christophe Lepetit from the Centre de Droit et d'Economie du Sport, a French research institute specialised in the economics of sport. 

India has kicked off its marathon elections, with nearly a billion people eligible to cast ballots. High on voters' minds will be issues relating to the country's economy. How has the world's most populous nation and fifth-biggest economy fared since the 2014 elections that brought Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP to power? Have the lives of India's people materially improved? We take a closer look in this special edition.

What does 22 years of data tell us about the nature of the economic relationship between Beijing and the African continent? FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin talks to Oyintarelado Moses, lead author of a report from Boston University's Global Development Policy Center and the African Economic Research Consortium.

The European Central Bank is making plans for a digital currency, an electronic equivalent to cash. FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to Positive Money Europe's Executive Director Vicky Van Eyck, who says the digital euro could make the financial system fairer, but fears that privately-owned commercial banks are undermining the new currency's potential.

TikTok is once again in the crosshairs of the US administration, after the House of Representatives voted in favour of a bill that would force its Chinese owner ByteDance to divest itself of the social media platform or see it banned in the US. Charles Pellegrin asks journalist Océane Herrero, who's written a book on TikTok, what it would mean for the future of the video-sharing app if the bill were signed into law.

Geologists around the world are calling it the "new gold rush". We ask why companies are rushing to capitalise on white or natural hydrogen, with our guest Minh Khoi Le. He is the head of hydrogen research at business intelligence company Rystad Energy. According to the firm, 40 companies were searching for this "white gold" across the globe at the end of 2023, including in the US, Canada, France, Albania, South Korea and Colombia. Back in 2020, only 10 companies were involved. 

The collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh 11 years ago revealed the poor working conditions endured by people serving the global fast fashion industry. What were the lessons learned and has consumer and corporate behaviour changed since then? With EU countries still divided over key new legislation on supply chain due diligence, we discuss what it would mean for companies and consumers with Abbie Morris, co-founder and CEO of Compare Ethics.

In its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank reaches the conclusion that we are in a "decade of wasted opportunity", where instead of being on track to reach key development and climate goals by 2030, we have seen the slowest half-decade of growth in 30 years. This is having devastating consequences, especially in developing and low-income economies. For more, FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin speaks to the World Bank's Deputy Chief Economist Ayhan Kose.