byAnja Czymmeck, Max Willem Fricke, Nele Katharina Wissmann
A challenging year in the shadow of the presidential elections
France looks back on a year 2025 that was marked by political instability with a change of government, increasing social polarisation and growing dissatisfaction among the population. The year 2026 also promises to be hardly any more stable. In addition to the difficult budgetary situation, local and senate elections are coming up, and the 2027 presidential election is already casting its shadow. In this environment, the current government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu must navigate wisely, avoid an impending vote of no confidence and initiate crucial reforms for the country. This domestic political instability contrasts with the image that President Macron wants to convey of France on the international stage: a strong France that is committed to Europe and wants to strengthen its role in the world. So where does France really stand at the beginning of 2026, and can those in charge steer the country back into calmer waters?
#11: Hannah Lim on Legal Technology in South East Asia
As Head of Rule of Law and Emerging Markets at LexisNexis in Singapore, Hannah identifies areas where LexisNexis can, leveraging on technology, support the rule of law.
#6: Lee San Natalie Pang on the General Data Protection Regulation & its influence in Southeast Asia
For the last episode of our first series “Data Protection” we go to Asia and take a closer look at the Southeast with Dr Lee San Natalie Pang, our expert on Data Protection.
#5: Ridwan Oloyede about the GDPR and its influence in African legal framework
Ridwan Oloyede is co-founder of a Nigerian start-up, that helps businesses to achieve operational excellence through the reliable and efficient application of technology.
#2: Ioana Stupariu on the GDPR's influence in South East Europe
Ioana Stupariu works with tech and healthcare start-ups and companies across Central and Eastern Europe. And she researches on Data protection & Privacy.
#1: Frederick Richter on the the EU’s GDPR and data protection worldwide
We look at the EU’s GDPR: How is data protection handled in other parts of the world? How can we establish international standards? And what will happen next?