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Renovate or Ban: The Two Levers That the Housing Crisis Demands Be Combined at Last
On November 5, 2018, two buildings collapse on rue d'Aubagne in Marseille. Eight dead. A third building demolished, 4,500 people evacuated. The trial opens six years later, in November 2024. The verdict on July 7, 2025, convicts ten of sixteen defendants, including three co-owners, to prison time wi
The Gulf deploys 34 GW in renewables with no regional market to sell it
The Gulf countries are deploying growing solar capacities. Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are deploying growing renewable capacities, but only Oman has a national spot market; regional exchanges occur via bilateral contracts and scheduled transfers organized by the Regional Inte
Cultural Sovereignty, Cheap AI Content Arrives Before Editorial Safeguards
The Congress of Arabic Creative Industries was announced on August 25, 2026 for September 20, 2026, with a program including publishing houses and AI-related issues. Gulf actors are developing Arabic or bilingual models, particularly to improve the representation of the Arabic language in AI. But th
Ecological Restoration, the Model Works, Multilateral Financing Blocks
Across 18 million hectares in Africa, degraded landscapes are becoming productive again thanks to a restoration and management initiative involving multiple interventions, actors and local communities. WWF reports approximately 55,000 households as direct beneficiaries of its 2021–2025 initiative. T
In the United States, homeownership recedes by a generation
In 1981, an American bought their first home at 29 years old; in 2025, they wait until age 40. This shift affects the accumulation of wealth between generations. The median age of first-time homebuyers has risen by eleven years over four decades, according to the National Association of Home Builder
Suez and Panama Disrupted: Shipowners Manage Capacity Like a Valve
In September 2026, only 27% of containerized traffic had returned to the Suez Canal, according to Sea-Intelligence. A significant share of capacity remains absorbed by the African route via the Cape of Good Hope, lengthening voyages. The returns announced by Maersk are gradual and conditional on ass
Humanoids: Europe and China Regulate Differently and Reach the Same Result
From December 9, 2026, European Directive 2024/2853 applies to products placed on the market or put into service after that date, harmonizing liability for damages caused by defective products, including software. On the same date, the MIIT/SASAC circular provides for at least 20 units of priority s
Employment of Older Workers: France Has Chosen to Discourage Long-Term Work
Only 44 percent of 60-64 year-olds are employed in France. This figure is not a demographic accident. Bertrand Martinot and Franck Morel address taxation and pensions in Work Is the Solution (2025), a book that examines institutional choices affecting late-career activity. The question that emerge
SMEs in Europe: 75% claim to use AI, 7% actually integrate it
According to the AI Chamber 2025 survey, a majority of SMEs surveyed in Central Europe claim to use artificial intelligence. 7% of enterprises in the eurozone are classified as intensive users; no measured rate of effect on productivity is established. The gap between these two figures sums up a pro
Health in Eastern Europe: Spending More Is Not Enough Without Governance
Eastern European countries devote on average 5.47% of their GDP to health. In the twelve Central and Eastern European countries studied by the EFPIA, average treatable mortality is 159 per 100,000 compared to 67 for the EU4 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain), or roughly 137% higher. Bangladesh spends 3
Asian Fintech Includes Urban Dwellers and Forgets the Rest
Nine out of ten fintech executives in Asia-Pacific affirm that social good guides their strategy. Fintech services can remain unevenly accessible depending on geographic zones. The gap between this claim and ground reality is neither an accident nor a misunderstanding: it stems from a structural ten
Real Estate Rises, Social Mobility Falls
In the Netherlands, between 2012 and 2024, real estate prices increased in Amsterdam and Rotterdam according to CBS-Kadaster nominal indices, while a study comparing intergenerational gaps observed in 2017 across 28 countries does not establish how mobility evolved over time. This coincidence is not
A Low Gini Yet 50% of Wealth in the Hands of the Top 10%
France redistributes income massively while wealth remains heavily concentrated. Its Gini index after redistribution hovers near 0.30 and sits close to the European average, while 50.0% of net wealth belongs to the top 10% according to INSEE, based on 2020-2021 data. This dual face reflects a fiscal
Factories Return to the United States, But Not the Jobs
In 2025, the United States installed approximately 38,000 robots in its factories. According to preliminary BLS estimates, manufacturing employment fell by 68,000 between December 2024 and December 2025. American manufacturing production was able to grow without a proportional increase in labor, not
SMRs Await Their Fuel
The fuel is missing before the reactors even exist. By end of June 2026, Centrus Energy was to reach 1.8 MTU of HALEU, generally produced as UF6 before its deconversion and manufacture into fuel required by most advanced reactor designs—less than 10% of demand estimates associated with possible depl
The Minimum Wage Catches Up With Middle-Skilled Professions
Technicians, supervisors, nurses, foremen: in 2024, these were the ones who fell behind. Their real net salary declined by 0.1%, while that of manual workers rose by 1.1% [1]. The 2027 decision will be whether to continue subsidizing a floor while leaving the middle of the distribution without rules
Book Review. "The Future of Work in Developing Countries" by Akbar Noman, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Arjun Jayadev (eds.)
According to several comparative studies, countries that succeeded in creating stable, well-paid jobs did not do so because they were growing rapidly. They did so because they chose to. The Future of Work in Developing Countries, published in March 2026 by Columbia University Press, advances this
Robots Fill a Labor Shortage and Create a Technician Shortage
American factories have adopted robots to offset a lack of workers. They are discovering they now lack the brains capable of keeping them running. The BLS projects a 16.1% increase in industrial mechanics between 2024 and 2034. Deloitte estimated as many as 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by
Education: Stable Housing in Adolescence Matters as Much as School
The initial NLSCY cohort comprised 22,831 children and was tracked through biennial waves from 1994 to 2009 to measure what determines their educational trajectories. A first move at age 14 or older is associated with a predicted probability of on-time completion roughly 10 percentage points lower t
Family Background Surpasses Education as Driver of Income in the United States
In 1940, nine out of ten American children earned more than their parents. In 1985, one out of two. This decline in absolute mobility was documented by Raj Chetty and his coauthors. Opportunity Insights, the research center he directs at Harvard, was created later to continue this analysis. - Upward
Health Insurance Replaces Administrative Files with Biometrics
Some American insurers have begun integrating biometric data into their risk assessments. The global market for biometric health technologies will reach $11.57 billion in 2026, according to Towards Healthcare, with compound annual growth of 17.34%. The promise is real: objective physiological data i
Universal Health Coverage in China: 300 Million Second-Tier Insured
By the end of 2023, approximately 1.334 billion people were covered by basic health insurance. But having an insurance card and receiving care are two distinct realities. Migrants can encounter less favorable reimbursements depending on their scheme, their place of enrollment, and local regulations.
Inheritance regains its place as the primary determinant of wealth
Forty years have been enough to reshuffle the deck. The share of large inherited fortunes in the total wealth of French households now represents 60%, compared to 35% at the beginning of the 1970s [9]. France is returning to the wealth importance of the Belle Époque, driven by a tax architecture tha
Rare Earths, Africa Tries to Control Its Resource
In 2026, the Democratic Republic of Congo imposed a cobalt quota, and the price reached elevated levels. The maneuver was audacious on paper. Cobalt accumulated as export restrictions took effect; insufficient local refining capacity constituted a distinct structural industrial brake. A large share