Heritage Explains

It’s a day ending in Y in France, which means rioting. Following in the spirit of 1789, the French are burning buildings, fighting the police, and overall behaving very poorly. This time, the revolutionaries are highschoolers joined by Islamo-communists and anarchists waving Palestinian flags, but France has seen this style of faux revolution before. The rioters are the proud heirs of May ’68, an event that looms so large in the French psyche, the mere mention of soixante-huitards, or 68ers, is enough to spark furious debate. Against the smoke and sirens lies a bigger question over whether France’s current system can hold. French presidential elections are coming soon, and far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon wants to replace the Fifth Republic with a Sixth, led by, in his words, créolisation. By contrast, leader of the right-wing Marine Le Pen represents a nationalist defense of the old France, but both movements are deeply skeptical of the European Union. That’s a lot to cover. And who better to navigate us through some French politics than a Brit? My conversation with Nile Gardiner, Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center.

For the better part of a decade, China has played the role of America’s greatest long-term strategic competitor. American foreign politicos have long advised a pivot to Asia as Washington slaps tariffs on Chinese goods. The CCP has served as America’s bête noire, guilty of repeated intellectual property theft, human rights abuses, and imperial ambitions towards the essential island of Taiwan. And yet, as Bob Dylan once crooned, the times, they are a changin'. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently wrapped up a new round of talks here in Washington, with many noting the meeting seemed much more amicable than expected. If polls are to be believed, Americans are less hostile toward China than they were just a few years ago with younger Americans considerably less likely than their parents to see China’s rise as a critical threat. Overseas, countries that have traditionally looked to Washington are increasingly weighing closer economic ties with Beijing. At the same time, China still dominates critical supply chains, including rare earth minerals and questions remain about whether the United States can or should decouple its economy from Beijing. So where does the U.S.-China relationship stand? Are Americans becoming more comfortable with Beijing and Can China really present itself as an alternative to the United States on the world stage? Jeff Smith, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center may have the answers.Watch Myth vs. Fact: The Closing of The Department of Education

As stories about non-citizen voting and voter fraud become disturbingly common, Americans are beginning to lack confidence in our elections. The debate over the elections process has taken on a renewed urgency given we are just months away from the 2026 midterms and a few years out from what promises to be a contentious 2028 election.That's why Heritage Foundation recently launched the latest edition of its Election Integrity Scorecard, a tool that evaluates how states are protecting election integrity. The scorecard provides Americans a clear look at where states are making progress and where reforms are still needed.Mark Guiney recently sat down with Ken Cuccinelli, former Virginia attorney general and the Chairman of Heritage Action’s Election Transparency Initiative, to discuss Heritage's election integrity projects and what election officials must do to strengthen confidence in our elections.