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00:02Europe I would not want to miss this rich in history and culture absolutely beautiful for
00:13centuries this continent has played a central role on the world stage but this is Europe's
00:21most perilous moment since the Second World War this is the bunker it faces an aggressive Russia
00:31an ambitious China it's quite shocking to hear you say that it is much closer right now to Beijing
00:38than it is to Washington and Europe's most powerful ally can no longer be fully relied on I said if
00:45you're not going to pay your bills we're not going to defend you I'm Katya Adler and after years of
00:54living and working in Italy France Spain and Germany I've got to know them really well who
01:01said that Germans don't have an excellent sense of humor so how are these four countries with
01:08mainland Europe's biggest economies responding to this turbulent new world there are a lot of
01:14police vans behind us what strengthens them oh wow it looks like a shark and what weakens them
01:24in this episode I'll continue my journey through Spain so it's like an army coming towards you
01:31before traveling onto a French rainforest where plans for Europe's defense are taking off there it is ready
01:53for launch I'm starting this part of my Spanish journey in the region of Castilla la Mancha in Spain's hot
02:01central south of all the countries I'm visiting on this trip Spain is the one that plays the smallest role
02:09internationally Spain's economy is the fourth biggest in the EU so you'd think that the country would
02:17have quite a lot of clout at least on the European stage so often Spain is just missing in action
02:25I mean
02:26take Ukraine for example you've got France working with the UK to organize security guarantees for
02:32Kiev and Spain is nowhere in sight I mean geographically the threat from Russia feels most Spaniards very
02:41very far away Spain is the only NATO country that has resisted Donald Trump's demands that all member
02:52states increase defense spending to five percent of GDP from Madrid's point of view there are other national
03:00security challenges and national security challenges closer to home that it needs to spend its money on
03:07so there's something I'd really like to show you the Spanish government produces a map that it
03:14regularly updates you can click on fires and that is the map of Spain right now red
03:22extreme extreme the majority of Spain is at extreme risk of fires so this is just for public information if
03:30you live here you look at this because you know could save your life almost 90 percent of Spaniards think
03:38the country needs to spend money on coping with climate change I'm visiting in July 2025 during Spain's worst fire
03:48season for decades look at that sign no lighting cigarettes definitely no campfires look how dry
03:57it is right the government is pumping billions into trying to deal with a threat literally taking money
04:06from its defense budget to spend on fighting climate change I've come to join a team of firefighters to see
04:14where some of that money's going the team is led by Isidro Gonzalez
04:47Today is a training exercise, they never know where the
04:53next fire will start, so every drill is crucial.
05:03The siren that we've just heard means that the water's about to be dropped.
05:12Here we go, and it'll now drop the water in this area, here it comes, whoa!
05:22Forest fires here aren't new, but they're getting worse.
05:26In 2025, an area twice the size of Greater London burned in Spain.
05:32Now we're in the sixth generation of fires.
05:35The climate change has already made, and the fires are spread faster.
05:40So climate change is really changing your job?
05:44The training exercise has barely finished when the team are called out to a real fire.
05:59I can see a whole tonne of smoke spreading out, like almost in a straight line across the trees.
06:08Right now, the fire feels a safe distance away.
06:13But the danger is how quickly it can spread.
06:17The firefighters warned us of this, that if you just have one ember that flies on the wind that you
06:23can feel all around,
06:24another fire starts there, another there, another there.
06:30This is how fast it goes. This is the reality of living in hot, dry Spain.
06:40Six helicopters are trying to contain the fire.
06:44I think that could be the group that we were filming with this morning.
06:50Meanwhile, farmers are desperately ploughing the fields, trying to create fire breaks,
06:56turning over fresh soil to stop the flames from spreading.
06:59But strong winds make it hard to get the blaze under control.
07:03Look at the fire eating up the bush over there.
07:06That tree has just caught alight.
07:09Feels almost surreal.
07:12Farmers still in their tractors trying desperately to protect their land.
07:16The helicopters overhead.
07:17The fires licking all around us.
07:20This huge amount of destruction.
07:22You can hear about wildfires.
07:25Breathing them, seeing them, and how fast they spread is quite something else.
07:34Yeah, the wind is starting to blow towards us, I think.
07:38We're going to get out of here for our own safety now.
07:40Yeah, we should, yeah.
07:48Firefighters fought for nearly 20 hours to bring the blaze under control.
07:54But the toll of climate change goes beyond the fires themselves.
07:59Spain is Europe's largest producer of fruit and veg.
08:03But worsening droughts are putting farmers under great pressure.
08:08Fortunately, the Spanish have a crop that thrives almost anywhere.
08:14If I say olive oil, you probably think Italy.
08:19And that really winds the Spaniards up because they are the biggest producers of olive oil in the world.
08:26And this region, AndalucÃa in the south, well, that's where the bulk of it's made.
08:33I've come to meet Ignacio Rojas, who runs a small olive farm.
08:38Nice to meet you.
08:39Nice to meet you too.
08:40And your lovely olive grove.
08:43Olive trees can grow in the harshest of conditions.
08:47They need very little water and can tolerate a scorching sun.
08:52This is for my family since one century ago.
08:56One century.
08:56Yeah.
08:57We are three generations working in the farm.
09:00Yeah.
09:01And we are very proud about what we are doing.
09:03The olives are turned into oil.
09:05And the best way to sample it is straight up.
09:09This is the best juice that you can drink in the world.
09:13Yeah, I bet.
09:13Salute.
09:17Oh, that is delicious.
09:21But Ignacio's farm is in trouble.
09:25This area is the worst percentage in terms of productivity.
09:29The soil is very sandy here.
09:33Yeah.
09:34I mean, it is.
09:34I mean, it's actual sand like on a beach, right?
09:37It's like a…
09:37Yeah, it's sand.
09:39The farm is around 120 miles from the driest region in all of Europe,
09:44where the arid conditions are like those you'd find in a desert.
09:50This is the front line, where fertile land is turning into dust.
09:57In 15-20 years, we are going to be in that desert area.
10:00Or we have to face the desertification.
10:02So it's like an army coming towards you.
10:04Yeah, indeed.
10:05The desertification and the climate change
10:07are not able to produce all the years.
10:09What we have in the last five years,
10:11we have had three years of production
10:13because of the heat.
10:14That was impossible before.
10:16Wow.
10:20These trees look healthy,
10:22but without enough water, they don't produce olives.
10:27Is the area of land you can't use anymore getting bigger?
10:32Yes, it's becoming more and more.
10:36This plant in particular is completely productive.
10:39So there's nothing you can do with this land anymore?
10:42And before?
10:44Antiguamente, this was called villatomates.
10:47Why?
10:48Because here, at the level of the garden,
10:49there were tomatoes and they were very productive.
10:52And the villatomates, nowadays,
10:54are still in Villanada.
10:56We can't do anything here.
10:57So you had tomatoes, now you have dust.
10:59Yes.
11:01This is the only one we have.
11:02Of course.
11:04Once land becomes unfarmable,
11:07it can eventually become unlivable.
11:10After Greece, Spain has the highest number of displaced people
11:15due to climate change in all of Europe.
11:18Migration because of climate change.
11:21So when people pack up and leave their homes,
11:24moving to another part of the country
11:26or just leaving their country altogether,
11:29we don't really hear about that here in Europe.
11:32But in Spain, it is a big topic of conversation.
11:35You already have 90% of Spaniards crammed into the big cities here
11:40or living just in the coastal areas
11:43and leaving the increasingly vast, arid parts of their country behind them.
11:48And it is that growing climate challenge
11:51that to a big extent is responsible for distracting Spain
11:55and preventing it playing a much bigger role on the world stage.
12:03My next stop is more than 300 miles north.
12:07I'm going to the region of Galicia.
12:17Lovely Galicia.
12:19It's so much greener and more lush
12:22than we often think of as Spain.
12:25And whereas Northern Europeans,
12:28so the Brits, the Dutch, the Germans,
12:32still rush to the south to Andalusia for summer holidays.
12:36It's got so hot there with climate change
12:39that clever Spaniards make their way here up north.
12:44In Galicia, much of life revolves around the sea.
12:49The region is Europe's biggest producer of shellfish.
12:55There you have the wonderful sea on one side
12:58and on the other,
12:59you have all of these seafood production warehouses.
13:03And there you have it written in red.
13:06Mariscos, it means seafood.
13:09Delicious.
13:11When the tide's out,
13:13the conditions here are perfect for finding clams and cockles.
13:18Here we go.
13:19I'm on the wrong leg already.
13:22Right.
13:23I've travelled the world.
13:25Gone to war zones.
13:26I can definitely put these on with dignity.
13:35Hola, buenos dÃas.
13:37Hola.
13:37Hello.
13:38Hola, Marisa.
13:40¿Qué tal?
13:40Hola, Marisa.
13:41¿Cómo se dice hola en gallego?
13:44Vos dÃas.
13:44Vos dÃas.
13:45Vos dÃas.
13:46Vos dÃas.
13:46So, tell us what you're doing here.
13:49What's this implement?
13:49¿Nos puede describir?
13:52Este es un rastrillo.
13:53Este es el rastrillo de mariscar.
13:55Y como veis,
13:56es un rastrillo prácticamente normal,
13:58solo que tiene los dientes muy largos.
14:01Porque tenemos que cavar profundo
14:03para llegar a la almeja fina.
14:06¿Es posible que yo te ayude un poco?
14:08Can I help a little bit?
14:09Ah, sÃ, sÃ, sÃ.
14:09Tell me what to do.
14:10¿Quieres unos guantes?
14:11Sin problema ninguno.
14:13A ver lo que encuentras.
14:20Puedes intentar,
14:21si eso te es muy difÃcil.
14:23Pues haces asÃ, mira.
14:24SÃ.
14:25Vale.
14:25Entonces, esto igual es más fácil.
14:27Mira.
14:28Are you telling me
14:29that I'm not strong enough?
14:31Y rapidito,
14:32porque el mar sube.
14:34I think.
14:35Weirdly satisfying.
14:37¿Vale o no vale?
14:38SÃ, esto sÃ.
14:39Yeah.
14:40Esto sÃ.
14:40I've got one.
14:42Excellent.
14:43Completely useless.
14:44Esto es un trabajo
14:46de hace siglos,
14:48ya casi te voy a decir.
14:49desde siempre.
14:50¿Ves?
14:51Tú puedes vivir de esto.
14:52I don't think my family
14:54would do very well
14:54if this was my job,
14:55I have to say.
14:57People working here
14:59sell their shellfish
15:00at the local market.
15:02But it's getting harder
15:03and harder to make a living.
15:06Ahora va a menos,
15:07porque, a ver,
15:08tenemos el cambio climático
15:10que es muy importante.
15:11¿Qué ha cambiado con la clima?
15:13Sobre todo las aguas calientes.
15:16Eso es para Galicia malÃsimo.
15:19Nosotros en Galicia tenemos una fama
15:21de que tenemos las aguas frÃas.
15:22¿Vale?
15:23Ya.
15:23Porque nadie se quiere bañar en Galicia.
15:25Pero para nosotros es muy bueno eso.
15:28Porque si no hubiera esa agua frÃa
15:30no tendrÃamos este marisco que tenemos.
15:33Aquà las aguas calientes no nos convienen
15:35porque si no se muere,
15:36esto se acaba.
15:37Claro.
15:37Esto se acaba.
15:40Are there fewer people working
15:42in the industry now?
15:43Fuimos 250 personas
15:45aquà en Villanova mariscando.
15:47Pero ahora somos ciento...
15:50Trabajando 150, más o menos.
15:52Y la gente joven está dejando.
15:54So over how long
15:55have the numbers dropped like that?
15:57Ahora los últimos cuatro años.
15:58Wow.
16:01Esto fue bajando cada vez más.
16:04Yeah.
16:04Cada vez más.
16:05That's dramatic.
16:07Galicia's seafood industry
16:09may be struggling.
16:12But it's a very different story
16:15for Spain's economy as a whole.
16:17In 2024, Spain's was the fastest growing
16:21of all of Europe's major economies.
16:23In part because its Prime Minister,
16:26Pedro Sánchez, has taken a radical step
16:29compared to other leaders in Europe.
16:31He's openly accepted that Spain needs
16:34a huge influx of immigrants.
16:37A lo largo de la historia, señorÃas,
16:39las migraciones han sido
16:40uno de los grandes motores
16:42del desarrollo de las naciones.
16:44Y el odio y la xenofobia
16:45han sido y son
16:47las mayores destructoras de las naciones.
16:51I've come to Spain's capital, Madrid.
16:55So I've been told
16:57that several nights of the week
16:59people come here to dance salsa.
17:02Most of them from Latin America.
17:06And I can already hear it.
17:10Like so much of Europe,
17:12Spain is wary of migration
17:14from the Middle East and Africa.
17:16But it's opened its arms to South Americans.
17:45Spain's government has announced plans
17:47to legalize almost a million undocumented migrants
17:50over the next couple of years.
18:01The economy isn't just getting a boost from South America.
18:05Spain has taken another controversial step
18:09compared to most European neighbours,
18:10welcoming investment from China with open arms.
18:15Seemingly without much question.
18:18Oh, I think this must be him now.
18:20Yes, it is.
18:23Victor.
18:23Buenos dias.
18:24Katia.
18:25Pleased to meet you.
18:27Victor Cortizo is a lawyer
18:29who helped Chinese companies
18:31looking to invest in Spain.
18:34The beginning of the Chinese communities
18:36in Spain was restaurants,
18:38simple restaurants
18:39or small stores of products.
18:42I remember that.
18:43When I was living in Spain
18:44many, many years ago,
18:45it was like the corner shops.
18:46That's where you saw.
18:48They were bought by a lot of Chinese families.
18:50Yes, yes.
18:51But now, that is the past, absolutely.
18:56Now it's business, big business.
18:58Now it's business.
18:59Now it's business.
18:59Now in Madrid,
19:00practically every week
19:02there are two or three Chinese communities
19:03visiting Madrid.
19:05Because for many Chinese companies
19:07Spain is the bridge.
19:09Where it's the bridge to where?
19:12So they know that a Chinese presence
19:15in Spain opens the doors
19:17to the North of Africa.
19:18Spain is a great European country
19:20It's fully incorporated and it's a bridge to Latin America.
19:25And that's the great strategic opportunity in Spain.
19:30This is Huawei.
19:32It's great and it's complete.
19:34There's a lot of people working here.
19:36Are these jobs from China?
19:39Many from China.
19:43In 2025, Spain awarded Huawei a multi-million euro contract
19:49to store wiretap recordings used by its intelligence services.
19:54Spain's interior ministry said it couldn't see a security risk.
19:59It would be hard to imagine the UK
20:01or other Western European countries doing something similar.
20:07There are a lot of European countries that said
20:09we do not want to have the involvement of Huawei
20:12in our telecommunication system because of fears of spying.
20:16China is making a significant investment for Spain
20:19and we want to invest in Spain.
20:21So it's a difficult balance that breaks
20:24when governments like the United States or the European Union,
20:27especially the United States,
20:29warn them,
20:30I'm not going to share intelligence information with you
20:33if you work with Huawei.
20:37In the last few years,
20:39dozens of Chinese investment projects in Spain have been announced,
20:43many involving billions of euros.
20:47Spain is hungry for more.
20:49It's already the end point of the world's longest rail route
20:53going all the way from near Shanghai to Madrid.
21:03So this is like the drop-off point for the rest of Europe.
21:09With America less predictable,
21:11Europe is wrestling with how to view China,
21:14strategic threat or stable business partner.
21:18Spain has made up its mind.
21:20Spain is part of NATO,
21:22Spain is part of the European Union.
21:23If you have a look at the relationships that Spain has,
21:26how important is that relationship with China?
21:29Well, obviously, it's very important.
21:32Spain will never be able to threaten its allies
21:34for a relationship with China.
21:36But Spain doesn't consider China as a enemy,
21:39maybe as a small rival.
21:41But Spain stands out from its big European allies
21:45in provoking Donald Trump, you could say.
21:48Opening up markets to China when he says close them to China,
21:52he says it very clearly.
21:53And when he says spend more on defense,
21:56Spain is the only, the only NATO ally to say,
22:00no, I'm not going to do it.
22:01Does Spain feel closer or have more trust,
22:05at least when it comes to business,
22:07in China or in the US under Donald Trump?
22:10In these moments, obviously with China.
22:12But at this moment, obviously,
22:13the image of China in Spain is growing very positively
22:16and North American image is reducing significantly.
22:19It's quite shocking to hear you say
22:22that it is much closer right now to Beijing
22:24than it is to Washington.
22:26Do you think this is the future for Spain
22:28or could this change with a different president,
22:31different geopolitics?
22:32I think it's difficult to know.
22:35I mean, China has a certain passion for Spain,
22:41to get closer to Spain.
22:42And the only thing they're doing is putting it in value
22:44and recognizing it.
22:45If your traditional allies, like the United States,
22:50are acting in a strong way,
22:53China doesn't have to take advantage of the opportunity.
22:55that.
22:56Victor is a lawyer who can make money
22:59from Chinese businesses investing in Spain.
23:01But there's no doubt that compared
23:04to its major Western European neighbors,
23:06Spain right now is an outlier,
23:09far less worried about Russia,
23:11far more friendly with China.
23:14These are major differences of opinion,
23:17and if they deepen,
23:18they'll present a significant threat
23:20to a sense of common purpose in Europe.
23:28My final stop in Spain is somewhere
23:30that shows what Europe's big powers can achieve
23:33if they work together.
23:36I look, there are some of the military planes.
23:39Airbus, here we come.
23:44Airbus is the world's biggest manufacturer of planes.
23:48Many of us have flown on holiday in one of them.
23:50But they also build military aircraft
23:53and do a fashionable line in hard hats.
23:57Regulations, you know.
23:59Head of air power at Airbus is Jean-Brice Dumont.
24:03Hi, I'm Katia.
24:05Very pleased to meet you.
24:06I'm very pleased to be here.
24:08Let me show you a bit of the aircraft
24:11and tell you where we are.
24:13This building is the building
24:14of the final assembly line of the A400M.
24:17This is where you put together parts
24:19coming from all over Europe,
24:21and it's here in Spain
24:22that the aircraft is finally assembled.
24:25We've got four very powerful engines,
24:27which makes this aircraft the most powerful.
24:30The most powerful in the world?
24:32It can carry close to 40 tonnes of payload.
24:3640 tonnes is a lot.
24:38It can be troops.
24:39It can be equipment.
24:41So that's, in terms of engine power
24:43and ability to go far, unrivaled in the world of today.
24:49I'm particularly proud of what we could achieve.
24:51This one is the flagship of a European cooperation.
24:55Give us an idea of the nations that have been involved over time,
24:58because the UK has been involved as well, isn't it?
25:01With a few exceptions,
25:03all the wings of all the Airbus aircraft
25:04are designed and produced in the UK.
25:07You might appreciate that an aircraft without wings is a tube.
25:11So the role of the UK in the Airbus landscape is one of the key roles.
25:16It's one of what we name in our Airbus jargon,
25:20a home country.
25:21So the home countries of Airbus are France, Germany, UK, Spain.
25:27Airbus is a publicly traded company,
25:30but some of its biggest shareholders are European governments.
25:34It was started more than 50 years ago,
25:36with a vision of giving Europe commercial independence
25:40from the United States in producing aircraft.
25:43Oh, wow.
25:44It looks like a shark.
25:47Doesn't it look like an open-mouth shark?
25:50Today, with Europe feeling less able to rely on the US for its security,
25:55Airbus could play an increasingly important role
25:59in Europe's defence capabilities.
26:02How important is it in the times that we're living in
26:06that Europe works together
26:08in order to create these kind of aircraft like Airbus?
26:12I do believe it's essential.
26:13I do believe if Europe, as a set of countries,
26:17as a force for good,
26:19if Europe doesn't unite efforts,
26:23doesn't unite money,
26:24money to invest on big programs like this one,
26:28will become obsolete, will be irrelevant.
26:30Europe has to play the role.
26:32You have defence ministers, like in Germany,
26:34saying Russia will be able to invade NATO proper
26:37in just a few years' time.
26:39Is it realistic?
26:41Is Europe up to the task of becoming more self-reliant soon?
26:46I think with the number of products we have,
26:50which are European products,
26:51the answer is yes.
26:53We've proven a model that works.
26:55Commonly in Airbus we say,
26:56Airbus is Europe that works.
27:00Kind of implicitly admitting that there are areas in Europe
27:03that don't work so well.
27:04The message we are getting from the US is you have to contribute more.
27:09And this is definitely the call of duty that Europe has to receive and has to assume.
27:18Europe is now responding to Donald Trump's insistence that it contribute more to its own defence.
27:24And this isn't just about keeping America on side.
27:28Europe has realised that the US has new priorities
27:32and Europeans need to be able to look after themselves.
27:43The final country I'm visiting on this journey is France.
27:47But I'm not heading to a part of the country that many of us know.
27:51Well, that looks lush and tropical.
27:58I'm off to French Guiana on the other side of the Atlantic.
28:10French Guiana is officially part of France.
28:14They don't see it as a colony.
28:16It's the legal equivalent of a British county.
28:21Even though it's on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.
28:37I'm going to be completely honest.
28:39I didn't come to French Guiana to be in the rainforest.
28:44But most of this place is covered by it.
28:47You don't have to travel very far to see it.
28:51And why wouldn't I? I mean, it is spectacular.
28:57French Guiana became a French colony during the Napoleonic Wars.
29:01It was made a proper part of France in 1946.
29:07About 95% of this little corner of France is rainforest.
29:12Much of it primeval and breathtaking.
29:18But I'm here to see something even more surprising.
29:23Europe's spaceport.
29:25Centre special Guiana.
29:28I'm here to watch a rocket launch.
29:32The middle of French Guiana's rainforest is where the European Space Agency,
29:37or ESA, has its launch pad.
29:41Tony?
29:41Yeah.
29:42I'm Katja.
29:43Pleased to meet you.
29:44Can I hop in with you?
29:45Yes, sure.
29:45Tony Tolke-Nielsen has worked at ESA for 30 years.
29:51He's from Denmark, one of 23 European countries, including the UK,
29:56that are members of ESA.
29:59Why do you launch from here, from French Guiana?
30:02I mean, it is very far away.
30:05It's probably the best place to launch from in the world.
30:08Why?
30:09Because it's very close to equator.
30:12So when you do launches to the east, you profit from the rotation of the earth,
30:17and you are launching into the exact plane where you want to launch many satellites.
30:21Then we also have a very benign climate here.
30:24There are no hurricanes here.
30:26And we can launch to the north and to the east, because we are launching overseas.
30:35The Guiana Space Center is a massive site.
30:39It takes half an hour to drive from the entrance to the assembly hall,
30:43where the rockets are put together.
30:45Wow.
30:46All the launches that take place from here are to send satellites into space.
30:51How important is it that Europe is autonomous now in space?
30:57Space is fundamental for our economy.
31:01That's the first point.
31:02What way?
31:03Navigation, for example.
31:06You use navigation every day when you take your car.
31:10It's so fundamental for many things.
31:12When you do bank transitions, the signal passes via satellite to have secure communication.
31:20Space today is fundamental for our economy, but also for our security.
31:25So when NATO says, insists, that we all have to spend a lot more on defense,
31:30people tend to think of weapons or armored vehicles.
31:34How important is space in defense?
31:37So we need, for example, secure communication, cybersecurity, and all these kinds of things.
31:44And intelligence, all this is now space-based.
31:47China, it's the US, it's Russia.
31:49They all have these kinds of systems, and they are even moving into having,
31:53let's call it aggressive things in space.
31:57What does that mean, aggressive?
31:59It can jam our satellites, for example, with electromagnetic signals.
32:05We can even take our satellites out of orbit, and things like that.
32:10We are answering to that by developing and proposing new systems in addition to what we already have,
32:17because Europe needs this in the new geopolitical context.
32:21To what extent is Europe's push for autonomy in space now, down to Donald Trump?
32:27A change in the US administration, and him saying very clearly, right?
32:31Europe, you can't rely on us anymore totally for your security.
32:35100%.
32:36This situation with Trump has made everybody realize that we need to ensure our own security.
32:45Two years ago, it was a bit taboo for the European Space Agency to talk about space systems for defense.
32:52This has completely changed. It's really taking off now. We are ramping up in industry.
33:02In 2025, ESA launched four satellites into orbit.
33:07In 2026, that doubles to eight.
33:12And in 2027, it'll be even more.
33:19So there it is, ready for launch.
33:23We're pretty close, though, you know, it's a lot bigger than it seems from here.
33:27It's taller than the Statue of Liberty.
33:29And it's in a kind of temporary housing that you can see,
33:33and it's been waiting there to be protected from the elements until take-off today.
33:40The satellite being launched today will provide high-resolution radar imagery of Earth.
33:46So really slowly now, that protective building is reversing away from the rocket,
33:52so it will be free for take-off.
34:01Oh, yeah, it's time to leave now. We are going to start the fueling launch.
34:05Oh, so we have to get out of here.
34:07OK, thank you. Thanks.
34:09Time to go.
34:11With the launch imminent, all the media and engineers are moved to a safe distance.
34:20This is as close as we're allowed to go.
34:23You can just make out the rocket over there in the distance.
34:27We're just under four miles away.
34:30Six, cinq, quatre, trois, deux, un.
34:38Oh!
34:40Look, there it goes.
34:45Look at that.
34:47Look at that.
34:50Wow.
34:51Awesome.
34:58And now the saddle.
35:08I feel that vibrating inside my chest.
35:13This is absolutely epic.
35:16I...
35:18I didn't think it would just feel so powerful, actually.
35:22You know, I mean...
35:24Wow.
35:25I can still see it going and going.
35:28Donald Trump's insistence that Europe pay a lot more for its own defence came as a shock to much of
35:35the continent.
35:36But France has long been wary of relying on America.
35:41Over the years, it's opted for totally independent nuclear and intelligence programmes, in contrast to the UK, which is far
35:49more entangled with Washington.
35:52With this launch, France pushing for it, and for so many more launches from its territory, and also France pushing
36:00for Europe's autonomy in space, in these much more dangerous times we live in.
36:07All of that is key to understanding the French mentality, because France sees itself as a leader.
36:14It wants to lead in Europe. It expects to lead. It demands to lead.
36:23As the launcher falls back to Earth, it's time for me to leave French Guiana.
36:31I'm heading to France's capital, Paris.
36:38The so-called city of love helps make France the most visited country on Earth.
36:45It's home to endless iconic sights, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame, to Montmartre.
36:54I'm a little bit in love with Montmartre's past, you know, suffering artists and a bohemian lifestyle.
37:03Nowadays, well, it's a lot more about tourism and getting a caricature done.
37:09France is fiercely proud of its arts and culture.
37:14It legislates aggressively to protect them.
37:20Around four out of ten songs played on French radio have to be en français by law.
37:27French film is shielded against Hollywood blockbusters by very generous subsidies.
37:33Basically, France pays through the nose to support its culture, its language and its people.
37:39France is a country that loves to spend.
37:43The health system here is brilliant.
37:45The welfare state, so generous.
37:49And public spending is pretty much the highest in Europe.
37:54And that is brilliant if you can pay for it.
37:59But France is struggling to do that.
38:02Its national debt is huge.
38:05In the Eurozone, only Greece and Italy are more indebted.
38:09And that hampers France's lofty ambitions on the world stage and puts spending at home under pressure.
38:18So, are the French willing to give up some of their generous welfare state?
38:22I've come to a café in Montmartre to ask the owner, Fred Monnier, what he thinks.
38:30Do you have a minute to sit with me?
38:35So, now France has a huge government debt crisis.
38:39France is seen as a problem child in Europe.
38:42You know, you're supposed to be one of the big powers in Europe next to Germany.
38:45But actually, you're in big, big, big, big trouble here.
38:49But it seems to me that the people of France are not willing to give up this...
38:54...to prove a generous welfare state.
38:57So, when you say to the French...
38:58...to remove what they already have, they don't have a lot of money.
39:02Then the French say, why?
39:03It's not exactly right.
39:04We have so much of the habit that the state provides.
39:07If you go to Germany, people are quite willing to do their bit for the country if things are difficult.
39:14In France, there seems to be an attitude, the state owes me.
39:19As a citizen, the state looks after me.
39:24The state provides for everything.
39:26If I don't have enough money to pay my apartment, it will help me.
39:29If I don't have work, it will help me.
39:31If I don't have enough food, it will help me.
39:33If I want to buy my first house, the state will help me.
39:37But how does France go forward, right?
39:39Because it's sort of reaching crunch time with a massive debt crisis and the world is changing.
39:46And your president, Macron, says, you know, Europe has to be more independent.
39:51We have to spend more on our own weapons, on defense, helping Ukraine.
39:56The money has to come from somewhere.
40:08The French have a strong sense of national identity.
40:12But they also expect their state to look after them.
40:17But while France might have a more generous welfare state than most,
40:21it's far from alone in Europe in its budget dilemmas.
40:25There are really, really hard choices facing governments right across Europe.
40:30There's only a certain amount of money in the pot.
40:33So how do you keep the welfare state going?
40:35Make good on your promises to spend more on defense.
40:38And no one wants to pay a whole load of new taxes.
40:42The thing is here in France, when you ask people to give up even a tiny little bit of their
40:47welfare,
40:48they go out and they protest.
40:56Just before I came to Paris, there were huge protests after the government suggested scrapping two bank holidays in order
41:03to boost the economy.
41:06A couple of weeks later, the prime minister was forced out.
41:10The fifth to go in less than two years.
41:14France, one of Europe's leading powers, is in trouble.
41:25While Paris may be home to the culture, glitz and glamour that France is so famous for,
41:31arguably the real soul of this country is far removed from the big city in rural France.
41:39It's just lovingly windy roads.
41:46There's a spectacular view of that village.
41:50That's amazing.
41:52It's like a movie set or something.
41:59That says Gorge de la Cesse.
42:01I love the Gorge.
42:03Let's go and have a look.
42:09I want to see how close to the Gorge I can get.
42:21So I really wasn't expecting this.
42:24I don't really have the right footwear, but heels go any time in my book.
42:30And this, well, I wouldn't want to miss this for the world.
42:42But France's stunning landscapes aren't just easy on the eye.
42:47Its farms are famous for the delicious wines and food they produce,
42:52including allegedly up to 1,600 types of cheese.
43:00So, bright and early, I'm off to meet some farmers.
43:07You can hear raised voices in this car park.
43:11You've got a farmer's meeting today to take part in a nationwide protest against the government.
43:17So, I just want to listen to what they're saying.
43:18We have a challenge.
43:20We have the mayor of France.
43:24We have the mayor of France.
43:25We have the mayor of France.
43:26We have cut our asses for the non-fondation tax.
43:28Now, that's enough.
43:30As across much of Europe, many farmers in France feel that the political establishment is deaf to countryside concerns.
43:37We have the mayor of France.
43:42Cedric?
43:44I'm Katia.
43:44Bonjour.
43:45Pleased to meet you.
43:46I'm very pleased to meet you.
43:47Je peux vous accompagner?
43:49Yeah, oui, bien sûr, bien sûr.
43:50Avec plaisir.
43:50OK.
43:58Cedric Soor is an organic grape farmer.
44:02Do you come from a family of farming? Does it go back?
44:06Oui.
44:07Mon grand-père était agriculteur.
44:09Mon père était agriculteur.
44:11Is it harder for farmers to persuade young people to stay in farming?
44:17Je vais même aller plus loin.
44:19J'ai trois enfants.
44:20Il n'y en a aucun qui est en agriculture.
44:23Ben, je suis soulagé.
44:24Pourquoi soulagé?
44:26Parce que c'est un métier qui est très, très dur.
44:28On est le seul métier où les contraintes changent comme ça tous les cinq ans avec la politique européenne.
44:34La loi de production change tous les cinq ans.
44:39Cédric and his convoy of farmers are heading to local government offices to make their point.
44:46Looking in my wing mirror there, there are a lot of policemen behind us.
44:56They're plotting where to dump their loads, so to speak.
45:00Like all the, you know, the earth, the branches and stuff that farmers have brought with them.
45:08So this comes from the vineyards, the earth from the vineyards.
45:11I've been to a lot of protests where they've chosen manure instead.
45:17It's quite well, look, you've got the steam rising from it.
45:23There's quite a lot of graffiti being put up there.
45:25This is pretty strong, look.
45:28On meurt.
45:30We're dying.
45:31They feel that their livelihoods are dying, actually.
45:35And this is one sign there are going to be more stops across town.
45:45Some more dumping on the government office.
45:51One of Cédric's big concerns is that government politicians in Paris are obsessed with being green.
45:57Even if that pushes up costs and stops French farmers being able to compete with cheaper produce coming from outside
46:05Europe.
46:06They've just graffitied this on the wall.
46:08So enough regulation, you know, whether it's for the environment, all the green regulations.
46:15You know, they just, what they just say is whether from Paris or the EU in Brussels, they just get
46:21more and more and more paperwork,
46:24more and more constrictions on how they can run their farms and they feel it strangles them.
46:29Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!
46:36Suicides amongst desperate French farmers are far higher than the national average.
46:41Farmers are now being courted by the political extremes on the left and right who say they'll do things differently.
46:48So what do you think you can change with your protests?
47:03So Emmanuel Macron, the EU talked about having a green revolution. They wanted to be...
47:08A Green Deal.
47:09Yeah, the Green Deal, exactly.
47:11They don't understand the life of farmers. They don't understand the life of farmers.
47:16And the Green Deal should help us to be better and environmentally friendly.
47:21But in fact, if you want to win your life with the Green Deal, you don't have to produce.
47:26You don't work your crops, you don't work your crops, you don't work your crops, you don't produce any trees.
47:31So we don't do anything. Today there's no good sense.
47:37The French government argues that the Green Deal can make farms more sustainable and resilient.
47:44But these regular protests are working.
47:47Afraid of losing the farmers' votes to the political extremes, the French government and the EU are growing back on
47:55parts of their once-trumpeted Green Revolution.
48:06The final stop on my trip around France is the country's second city, Marseille.
48:17With its location on the Med, Marseille has always been a gateway for immigrants arriving in France.
48:24It's a vibrant and cosmopolitan melting pot.
48:28It feels so different to Paris here. Paris is glamour.
48:33Marseille has an edge to it.
48:37It's a city of graffiti, Middle Eastern North African restaurants and boats.
48:46But scratch the surface, and it's also a glaring example of the parallel societies you find in cities across the
48:54country.
48:55After the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of North African immigrants came to France to help build the economy.
49:07But they've often been housed far from the glamorous city centres.
49:29But they've often been housed far from the glamorous city centres.
49:34I've come to one of Marseille's northern suburbs, where more than 40% of people officially live in poverty.
49:42Many of these areas are plagued by drug dealing, gang violence and high murder rates.
49:50Marseille has even been called one of the most dangerous cities in Europe.
49:56Excuse me.
49:57Bonjour.
49:57Bonjour.
49:58Mounir?
49:59Mounir Moutrani works in a youth centre on an estate called La Bousserine, trying to keep local kids away from
50:06drugs and crime.
50:07We've got a lot of families originally from immigration.
50:11Yes, here by 100%.
50:13100% of the neighborhood are people from immigration, most of the people who are immigrants.
50:19A lot of Arabs, Maghrébans, African Americans.
50:24But a real European or a real French, someone called Jérôme or Mathieu, would not like to live here.
50:31It's incredible that you say a real French.
50:34Yes, a real French, because we are not considered French.
50:37We are not considered French.
50:38We are not considered French.
50:39I was born in Marseille.
50:42My parents and grandparents are from immigration.
50:44But I am not considered French.
50:46What happened?
50:49There was a car ride?
50:51There are cars.
50:51It's often, it's sad.
50:53There are cars that are burning.
50:54Yes, yes.
50:54They say, all cars are suffering here.
50:56Yes.
50:57It's sad, but it's part of the decor, in fact.
51:02Despite being born in France, Mounir doesn't feel the same strong sense of national identity that I've seen so far
51:09in this country.
51:11No, we are not accepted here in France.
51:13If tomorrow I'm going to work or someone will work, there will be a difference between us.
51:17They will say, no, we will prefer to take them because he is called Mehdi or Mounir.
51:20He is a fighter, he is an Arab, he is a terrorist.
51:23We are directly categorized by our religion or the color of the poor.
51:28It's okay?
51:29It's okay?
51:30It's okay.
51:32It's okay.
51:33It's okay.
51:34It's okay.
51:34It's okay, Mounir.
51:34It's okay.
51:37As far as Mounir is concerned, people like him are treated like second-class citizens.
51:43But he's hoping to help the next generation aspire to a better future.
51:53Today, Mounir has brought some teenagers from his estate to Marseille's swanky fort to perform at a concert.
52:14It is just a concert.
52:17It won't change the world or these boys' lives.
52:20But it is a small step towards bringing Marseille's two parallel worlds together.
52:27You have done before?
52:29No, I'm not too used to it.
52:31Because in fact, it's the small part of the North, it's still on the side, it's 5 minutes, but
52:36it's some places where they may be more in safety here than in their neighborhood.
52:41So you're still at school.
52:44After school, what do you want to do?
52:46What do you want to do?
52:47Well, after school, I'd like to be able to be a superior technician in what is maintenance
52:52and start working.
52:56And what do you want to do after school?
52:58I'm going to go to an architecture school.
53:00Wow!
53:01What's your message for people who have prejudices, for example, like that?
53:06They should spend a day with us so they can show us how we are real.
53:11And they can show us our real faces and not stereotypes and prejudices.
53:16France is one of the central pillars of Europe, and it sees itself as a leader.
53:22It's not alone in facing political, social and economic problems right now.
53:27But as the EU's second largest economy, when it struggles, it can have a big impact on
53:35all its neighbors.
53:43Before I end my European journey, there's one more thing I want to see on the outskirts
53:49of Marseille.
53:52Admittedly, it's ugly and grey, but it is so important.
53:57It's a terminal for storing imported LNG.
54:01It's natural gas that's been turned into a liquid to make it easier to transport.
54:07And Russia produces a lot of it.
54:11After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe was pretty quick to slap sanctions
54:17on Russian oil and gas.
54:19Basically, it just felt really wrong to keep spending loads of money in Russia that it
54:25would then use in Ukraine for the war.
54:29Imports of Russian oil and regular natural gas into the EU were banned.
54:34But Russian liquefied natural gas is still being imported into Europe.
54:40Take a look at this website.
54:43It's pretty cool, actually.
54:45It shows you all of the ships all over the world carrying LNG.
54:50So each one of those blue triangles is a ship.
54:54And if I go in a bit closer, click on that ship, and it tells me that the ship loaded
55:06up
55:06with LNG in the Yamal Peninsula.
55:08That's in Russia.
55:09There's a massive LNG filling station there.
55:12And it's delivering it, guess where?
55:15To France.
55:16So that means that three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine,
55:22Europe is still buying LNG from Russia.
55:26In fact, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022,
55:32the volume of Russian LNG coming into Europe has actually risen.
55:39Energy is just so important to us.
55:42And at the most fundamental level, we need it to heat our homes,
55:47to drive our cars, to power our entire economies.
55:51The problem for Europe is we're not energy independent.
55:55We have to buy it in.
55:57And that makes Europe really vulnerable.
55:59There are plans for the EU to stop importing Russian LNG.
56:05But almost four years after realising just how much of a threat Vladimir Putin poses,
56:11it is still importing it.
56:14It's an astonishing indictment of how reliant this continent is on others,
56:20even those it views as its enemies.
56:32I've come to the end of my journey.
56:35This is a continent at a crossroads.
56:40I've worked as a reporter across Europe for a really long time now.
56:45And sometimes you have to take a big step back from the dizzying cycle of daily news
56:50to truly appreciate just how much things have changed.
56:54Europe has relied for decades on the US for security and defence
56:59in a world dominated by the West.
57:01But that is over.
57:03Washington doesn't prioritise Europe anymore.
57:06It's busy on the world stage jostling with other giants like China and India and Russia.
57:13As I've seen on my travels across Europe,
57:16we all have different pressures and priorities.
57:21But this whole continent is now being forced into a fundamental rethink
57:27about how to become more self-reliant
57:31now the American president has turned post-war assumptions on their head.
57:36What kind of Europe will emerge?
57:39Right now, that's unclear.
57:43But each country's history and experiences have left their mark.
57:49And understanding that will be essential to navigating our new world.
57:55An unfocused Europe risked being left behind or even trampled underfoot
58:00in this new jungle of big power politics that we now inhabit.
58:05To belit in this new world.
58:08To be seen on the planet.DER
58:10demain Well,
58:33thanks.СТ03
58:35ISBL
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