France 24 debate asks whether US midterms will be free and fair
French international news channel France 24 has devoted a debate to the US midterm elections taking place on Tuesday. It examines how the result and the vote count could affect the state of American democracy.
France 24, the French international news channel, has devoted an episode of its discussion programme "The Debate" to the US midterm elections, which take place on Tuesday. The programme centres on how far the US president might go if the vote does not favour his party, and on whether the elections will be free and fair.
Questions the programme raises
The producers point to campaign promises phrased as "only if the Republicans win" and to a US Justice Department that has already become involved in some races. They ask whether the White House will try to weigh on the outcome and how ballot counting will unfold. The discussion also compares the situation with the period when the president's "stop the steal" rhetoric led to the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, and asks what has changed since.
Another question is how much of a stress test this is for a democracy in which individual states, not the federal government, organise elections. The programme also asks who controls not only the airwaves but also the digital space. If 2024 was the first TikTok election, it says, this one is the first AI election. Successive court decisions have all but removed campaign financing restrictions, so the debate also considers how much money will matter.
Democracy on the ballot
In 2024, Democrats told voters that democracy was on the ballot. Swing constituencies mostly shrugged and instead backed Donald Trump over pocketbook issues. The programme asks whether democracy is actually on the ballot this time and, if so, how much it matters to citizens.
The guests are Randy Yaloz, president of Republicans Overseas France; Bernard Harcourt, professor of law and political theory at Columbia University and EHESS; and Kethevane Gorjestani, international affairs editor at France 24 and a former Washington correspondent.
