The French reconnection: Macron in Britain
Economist Podcasts
The Economist
4.3 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 8 July 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Anglo-French relations have not been so good since before the Brexit vote. Beneath the state-visit pageantry, though, there is much co-operation for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss. Gangs have infiltrated many of Latin America’s mining operations—with violent results. And an ode to Britain’s Shipping Forecast, an inscrutable radio feature that is turning 100.
Additional audio courtesy of Alexander Seale @alexseale.
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Transcript
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| 1:27.0 | from The Economist. |
| 1:28.4 | I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 1:29.3 | And I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 1:30.6 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the event shaping your world. |
| 1:40.1 | What happens when Latin American states and companies pull out of mining operations just at the time that cocaine smuggling becomes less profitable? |
| 1:49.0 | You get gangs moving from the drug trade into mining and bringing violence with them. |
| 1:54.0 | And the calm, soporific sound of the shipping forecast is almost like a prayer to many Britons, not least because most of |
| 2:01.9 | us don't understand it. Our correspondent explains its enduring allure. But first... At first... |
| 2:23.3 | At Windsor Castle in Britain, preparations have been underway for days. |
| 2:31.3 | The royals do pomp and circumstance extremely well. And today, |
... |
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