G-7 has now become a ‘Tower of Babel,’ says Lowy Institute’s Lemahieu

With inflation taking a toll on people's finances and amid a growing sense of responsibility towards the climate, second-hand shops are booming across the globe. In France, around 10 percent of clothes each year are now resold, and thrift stores are attracting a wider audience.

Can you still send strong messages when you have rolled out the red carpet and chilled the champagne for a state dinner? China’s Xi Jinping feted in the French capital for his first visit to Europe since 2019, this despite trade tensions, spy scandals and insistence that he isolate Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. How much has changed since a year ago when Emmanuel Macron was accused of lax messaging on human rights and Taiwan when he traveled to Beijing?

Can you still send strong messages when you've rolled out the red carpet and chilled the champagne for a state dinner? China's Xi Jinping is being feted in the French capital for his first visit to Europe since 2019, despite trade tensions, spy scandals and insistence that he isolate Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.