Turkey elections, war in Ukraine, new protectionism, Eurovision

And across the Black Sea, they are bracing for battle. With so much of Russia's military now at the front, Moscow’s Red Square saw a scaled-down May 9 Victory Day parade this year. Although Russia’s President Vladimir Putin did manage to convince leaders of seven former Soviet states to drop in, including some that have kept their distance from his “special military operation”. In Kyiv, May 9 was marked with the president of the EU Commission coming to celebrate Europe Day alongside the president of EU candidate country Ukraine.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Joe Biden says he is relishing the prospect of running as the anti-Trump again in 2024. But the US president is often on a similar wavelength: talking tough on China, shoring up the border with Mexico and has delivered on his own version of "America First" by introducing massive green energy subsidies that are tempting European companies to move their business stateside. France's president is now trying to fight fire with fire. Emmanuel Macron has visited the French rust belt city of Dunkirk for the launch of a giant battery factory by Taiwanese ProLogium and another by Chinese maker XTC.

And it’s that time of year when a whole continent indulges in a special kind of guilty pleasure: the Eurovision song contest. Dateline Liverpool, by the banks of the Mersey. The home of the Beatles decked out in a lot of blue and yellow. That’s because last year's winner, Ukraine, is not in a position to host the event itself.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Juliette Laurain, Louise Guibert

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