Info et société | ARTE

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Politics and society | ARTE

Política y sociedad | ARTE

Polityka i społeczeństwo | ARTE

Politica e società | ARTE

Investigative documentary series, geopolitical analysis, and international commentary

Politics and society

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Darío Aguirre is from Ecuador, living in Germany with his wife. When the city of Hamburg unexpectedly invited him to become a German citizen, Darío revisits his rocky path to building a life for himself in Europe and wonders about who he has become. This film is about arriving and living abroad in a time when xenophobia is suddenly acceptable again in Germany, and society is struggling to find the right way to integrate new citizens.

What it's like to live in Germany as a foreigner when xenophobia is suddenly socially acceptable again

How I Became German

Current Highlights

collections

Ten years ago, the popular uprisings in the Arab world were a source of hope for freedom and change, but overall these hopes were dashed. A special collection that will help you understand the last tumultuous decade in the Arab states.

Ten years ago, the popular uprisings in the Arab world were a source of hope for freedom and change, but overall these hopes were dashed.

10 Years of the Arab Spring

With 600,000 casualties and five million refugees, the war in Syria is the bloodiest conflict of the 21st century so far.

10 Years of War

Syria: The Never-Ending Conflict

Chinese people make do without Google, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter. Instead, regime has built its own online offer. How is this Chinese internet structured and what does it mean for democracy and debate? 

How is this Chinese internet structured and what does it mean for democracy and debate? 

Internet Made in China

How do our neighbours in Europe view the pressing social issues of our time? What issues are they concerned with? Five partners, five languages and one joint project: The European Collection. As part of this project, ARTE, ARD, ZDF, France Télévisions and SRG SSR offer a joint selection of documentaries, reports and web formats on current issues in European politics and society.

The view of our European neighbours on current political and social issues in Europe.

The European Collection

A year after the world was first plunged into chaos through the coronavirus pandemic, an overview of where we are after twelve months of covid.

The covid world 12 months on

Belarus has been rocked by protests since Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected president after August’s contested vote. As foreign journalists see their accreditation revoked, ARTE local correspondent Kseniya Halubovic continues to report from inside the protest movement.

Belarus has been rocked by protests since Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected president after August’s contested vote. 

Belarus: Diary of a Revolution

Collections

playlists

Playlists

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Fortune-telling and astrology: more and more Europeans are resorting to the supernatural.  Should we view this return to esotericism as a spiritual quest or a loss of our collective bearings?

Vox Pop

Esotericism: On the Rise?

The Cabo Delgado region, in north-eastern Mozambique, has been struggling for the past 4 years. Al-Shabab jihadists, affiliated with the Islamic State since 2019, are wreaking havoc there. The number of violent attacks perpetrated tripled throughout 2020 compared to the previous year and many people fear for the future. 

ARTE Reportage

In north-eastern Mozambique, Al-Shabab is terrorising locals

Mozambique: Escape From Al-Shabab

Chronic anxiety, depression and addiction: How can we prevent the Covid-19 pandemic from creating a mental health epidemic?

The Mental Health Pandemic

Italy has the highest rate of cosmetic surgery per capita in Europe with more and more young people going under the knife. Vox Pop investigates why this is.

Italian Youth: Addicted to Plastic Surgery

Vox Pop investigates how Brexit is affecting British exports. The fishing industry, cheesemakers and many other exporting businesses are complaining of excessive paperwork and misleading information from the British government.

The fishing industry, cheesemakers and many other exporting businesses are complaining of excessive paperwork and misleading information from the British government.

Brexit: More Borders, More Problems

The pressure to look beautiful and keep physically fit assails us from advertising, cinema and ever-present social media with whole industries catering to our insecurities.

The Body Beautiful

Children in Nigeria who are accused of being witches are cast out into the streets by their families. There, they desperately try to earn enough to live by going through rubbish dumps. They are easy targets for predators, and sexual abuse is an every day occurrence.

Children in Nigeria who are accused of being witches are abandoned and become easy targets for predators

Nigeria: The Plight of the Witch Children

Investigation and reports

Saype is a graffiti artist with a difference. He doesn't spray his works on walls but in fields and on grass, using his own biodegradable paint. His huge works of art are best appreciated by drone, where the true scale is revealed. 

Gymnastics

Saype, Green-Fingered Graffitti Artist

For the last 50 years, German artist Christina Kubisch has been obsessed with the sounds of everyday life.

Christina Kubisch - Sound Artist

The American director Peter Sellars was invited to the Salzburg Festival. For the 2017 edition he staged The Clemency of Titus by Mozart.

Carte Blanche to Peter Sellars

Square Artiste: Peter Sellars

Mariusz would never have become the artist he is now if Poland had not joined the European Union. He now creates striking murals in cities all over the world.

Europe of Artists

Mariusz Waras, Street Artist

French writer Emmanuel Ruben is a bicycle enthusiast. Writing about his cycle from west to east following Europe’s longest river, the Danube, Ruben reflects on Europe and migration.

Rewriting Europe Along the Danube

Europe as a source of inspiration: Meeting artists from across the continent whose works spring from Europe’s cultural diversity.

Through the eyes of artists

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Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

The New World of Xi Jinping

One Country, Two Systems? No Way! say the youth of Taiwan. But China under President Xi Jinping wants more than ever to bring the island of Taiwan back into the fold, just like Hong Kong. Can the burgeoning democracy on China’s doorstep, driven by digital technology, resist the Middle Kingdom’s advances?  

One Country, Two Systems? No Way! say the youth of Taiwan. But China under President Xi Jinping wants more than ever to bring the island of Taiwan back into the fold.

Taiwan: A Digital Democracy in China's Shadow

All world powers want a piece of Antartica, the only continent that belongs to everyone and no one. This unique territory at the end of the world is currently protected by international law, with only scientific research allowed. But for how long will it remain a pristine wilderness?

Mapping the World

All world powers want a piece of Antartica, the only continent that belongs to everyone and no one.

Antarctica: Ice and Greed

With a beautiful coastline stretching more than 2,000 kilometres along the Indian Ocean and a wealth of natural resources, Mozambique has the makings of an Eldorado. But the former Portuguese colony is facing a jihadist insurgency in the north which is jeopardising its chances of development and stability

Mozambique has the makings of an Eldorado with natural beauty and resources. But the former Portuguese colony is facing a jihadist insurgency in the north which is jeopardising its development.

Mozambique: A Cursed Eldorado

Morocco is a beacon of stability in an unstable region. However, the kingdom still faces problems of serious social inequality, a lack of democratic freedoms, and the ongoing unresolved status of Western Sahara.

What Future for the Kingdom of Morocco?

Vietnam had a bloody twentieth century as long wars with the French and subsequently the Americans cost the country dearly. Recently things have been on the up as the south-east Asian country reinvents itself as a model economy and tourist destination.

Recently things have been on the up as the south-east Asian country reinvents itself as a model economy and tourist destination.

Vietnam: The New Asian Tiger

Designer Erik Spiekermann explains how he created the map for Berlin's newly unified public transport network, just after reunification and the fall of the Berlin wall.

Designer Erik Spiekermann explains how he created the map for Berlin's newly unified public transport network

How a Map Healed Berlin

Insights

Kids

In France 173 people were killed by abusive partners in 2019.  84% of these victims were women. In the press and on social media the list of femicides grows longer every week and yet we know little about these women who have become statistics. This documentary focuses on domestic violence and femicide, a crisis going on behind closed doors.

This documentary focuses on domestic violence and femicide, a crisis going on behind closed doors.

To the Bitter End

Many people throughout the world are subjected on a daily basis to insistent, aggressive and hostile voices which are inaudible to the rest of us. Arguments is a rigorous and sensitive exploration which maps out the perceptions of “voice hearers”, and their projection of the intimate onto the outside world. The film is an account of this often unexpressed deep suffering and chaotic din

Many people throughout the world are subjected on a daily basis to insistent, aggressive and hostile voices which are inaudible to the rest of us. Arguments is an exploration of life for voice hearers.

Arguments

During Ramadan, Jasmine and her husband Said would always spend the evening breaking fast with their friends, family or wider community. But for the second year running, this most important period in the Muslim calendar is a subdued affair. In Turkey, imam Osman Gökrem continues to help the homeless despite the pandemic, and in Paris, student Yasmine sets up a pop-up store selling sweets. 

For the second year running, Ramadan - the most important period in the Muslim calendar - is a subdued affair

Ramadan in Europe

The pandemic has stopped some people from attending the funerals of their loved ones, or forced them into low key, socially distanced affairs. Raphaël Enthoven explores the psychological impact on missing out on those grief rituals. But if they don't help lessen the pain, what is the point of them? Grief therapist Sophie Poupard-Bonnet and philosopher Vincent Delecroix explore what it means to grieve in a time of coronavirus.

Philosophy

Raphaël Enthoven explores the psychological impact of socially distanced funerals on grief

Does Consoling the Bereaved Even Work?

Suffering from hepatitis C, Tania refused treatment and ‘fled’ France for Guatemala where she felt at home. She adopted local lifestyle and customs and writes songs about the people that are important to her. A documentary by Valérie Jouve about a woman who resists norms and lives life her own way.

Tania ‘fled’ France for Guatemala where she felt at home. She adopted local lifestyle and customs and now writes songs about the people that are important to her. 

Guatemala Blues

The mask is both a symbol of altruism and civicism, and of personal liberty curtailed. Raphaël Enthoven explores its many paradoxes with the philosophy researcher Elsa Novelli and the Secretary of State Sophie Cluzel in charge of People with Disabilities.

The mask is both a symbol of altruism and civicism, but also of personal liberty curtailed