Where do France's protesters go from here?

Europe is getting bigger, and so, it seems, are its problems. This week, Katy gives us a report from her home country of France, which for weeks has been embroiled in protests, some of which have brought significant destruction to French buildings and businesses. What began as a series of student demonstrations in early September has grown into a movement that has captured France’s growing anger over its government and the cost of living – grievances that are being echoed in similar protests across many other European countries as well.

Amidst the chaos, some of us have wondered: would a bigger EU be a better EU? To think through the implications of EU expansion, we’re joined this week by Tinatin Akhvlediani, head of the EU Enlargement Programme at the Centre for European Policy Studies. There’s no better person to unpack what EU enlargement would mean for candidate countries and potential candidates, and for the bloc more broadly. (You don’t become known as Tina Enlargement for nothing.)

Have questions about housing and energy policy? We’re taking Qs for EU commissioner Dan Jørgensen! All of our supporters are invited to pitch in to help shape our upcoming episode. To get in on the fun, you can join us over here.

We’re gearing up for the second installment of our book club, co-hosted with our friends over at the European Review of Books. Our next pick is Ece Temelkuran’s book Nation of Strangers: Rebuilding Home in the 21st Century. We’ll be discussing it on 10 December, and if you’ve read the book and have thoughts to share, you’re warmly welcomed to send in your comments via voice memo to hello@europeanspodcast.com.

Resources for this episode:

• “Hungary After Orbán” – The BBC’s Documentary Podcast, 13 October 2026
• Tina’s latest policy brief for CEPS
• Tina on LinkedIn
• Tina on Instagram
• Video of Finnish chef Tomi Kotilainen breaking the soda-chugging record
• “Chef chugs 500 ml of his favourite orange soda in just a few seconds to claim record” – Guinness World Records, 14 October 2026

Want more cheeky analysis of the week’s news? Join us over on our Substack, Good Week Bad Week! New dispatches of the newsletter appear on the platform and in your inbox every Friday.

Co-hosts: Dominic Kraemer and Katy Lee

Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak

Senior producer: Katy Lee

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak

Music: Jim Barne and Mariska Martina

Intern: Inês Ruivo

The Europeans is proudly produced using Europe’s own Hindenburg.

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