How France Lost Control of Its Streets
From the riots of 2005 to the scenes of urban guerrilla warfare on 17 and 18 October, violence in French cities has grown increasingly intense. And the authorities are struggling to respond.
Europe
A collection of 91 posts
France’s Imaginary Austerity
France’s protesters are rioting against austerity that doesn’t exist. Macron might as well give them the real thing.
The Retro Fashion of the Wealth Tax
Every few decades, the ideas with the worst track records come back into style.
How Europe Became the World Champion of Heat Deaths
The continent with the lowest number of hot days leads the world in heat mortality. Europe’s self-inflicted aversion to air conditioning betrays a deeper hostility to energy and to progress itself.
The Data a Flemish TV Network Didn't Want You to See
How I read a confidential memo on live television—and what it reveals about ideological bias.
From Babylon to Eurovision
My nephew's schoolmate sang at Eurovision last week. Here is what the people who booed him don't understand.
The Ballad of East and West
In a fascinating new book, historian Anthony Bale vividly reconstructs the brutal, fantastical, and sometimes deeply religious experiences of medieval travellers across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Postliberalism After Hungary
Orbán’s defeat should scare the hell out of populist authoritarians.
Francesca Albanese and the Perversion of Academia
Three Flemish universities are about to convey the sanction of university-recognised expertise to a deeply dishonest and fraudulent individual.
The Disgrace of Tariq Ramadan
The Islamist grandson of Hasan al-Banna convinced many Western liberals that he was a moderate because he promised to bridge a divide many feared could not be crossed.
Why Europe Still Misreads America
Why Germans fear American religion, and what this reveals about Europe.
The Nazi in My Family
Evil pollutes everything it touches; for a long time I wrestled with my own shame, as though I bore some guilt by association.
Island of Spies
The British establishment is experiencing a schism over China policy and approval of a controversial new embassy.
“Nothing Is to Be Feared. Everything Is to Be Understood.”
An interview with Peggy Sastre.
The Central Dichotomy
An appreciation of Richard Herzinger (1957–2025).