All language subtitles for Global.Eye.S2026E01.1080p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-7VFr33104D_track3_[eng]

Hello and welcome to Global Eye,
a programme that brings

you unmissable investigations
and reporting from around

the world made by teams
from across the BBC's World Service.

I'm Andrew Harding, the BBC's
Paris correspondent.

France is one of Europe's most
powerful democracies,

but it's now wrestling with chronic
instability - a cycle of protests,

collapsing governments
and political deadlock.

I'll be tracing the path to this
crisis and assessing

whether the French Republic,
created to bring stability

after years of upheaval,
can still hold together today.

Also on this week's programme,
we'll take a look at how Greenlandic

parents across Denmark are fighting
to be reunited with children

forcibly taken into care.

And it's one of the world's
hottest commodities,

yet most of us walk past it
without ever realising

its true worth.

We'll uncover the remarkable story
behind the surprising

material at the centre
of a global smuggling trade.

To me, the French tend
to convey an impressive sense

of certainty about life -
the right way to order your steak,

the right way to behave in public,
a quiet confidence in the power

of the state.

But that seems to be changing.

Politics has always been
a noisy business here,

but the rise of the hard right
and the collapse of the centre

ground of French politics has left
this country reeling,

uncertain, even alarmed.

It was a seismic moment in June 2024
- President Macron abruptly

dissolved the National Assembly,
France's Parliament,

mid-term and called a snap election.

Macron framed it as a necessary
response to the surge of the far

right after a spectacular showing
by Marine Le Pen's National Rally

in European parliamentary elections.

What followed was uncomfortable
and unexpected - a three-way split

between, on the left,
the New Popular Front alliance,

the centre ground dominated
by Macron's Ensemble party,

and the far-right National Rally.

The result?

A hung parliament and a deadlock.

A deadlock now testing France's
70-year-old constitutional

system to the limit.

This is France's fifth
political regime.

The chaotic Fourth Republic
ran from 1946 to '58,

with 16 prime ministers and 21
governments, none of which lasted

much longer than a year.

When President Charles de Gaulle
established the Fifth Republic,

he significantly strengthened
presidential powers while reducing

the influence of the Prime
Minister and Parliament.

At the time, strong parties
on the left and right usually took

turns holding a parliamentary
majority, so the system

largely works.

But what if that gentle pendulum
swing between two mainstream parties

suddenly goes haywire?

The answer is gridlock.

Which is what's happening now.

Since President Macron called those
elections in 2024, France has cycled

through an astonishing clutch
of prime ministers, all with one

difficulty in common -
getting agreement for their tax

and spending plans.

One after the other,
they attempted to strike a budget

deal but failed and quit -
in one case after just

a month in power.

Sebastien Lecornu was then
reappointed as Prime Minister

just four days after
that resignation speech.

So what does this mean
for the citizens of the EU's

second largest economy?

Since Macron first became president
in 2017, promising to cut taxes,

increase growth and reduce the role
of the state, both public spending

and debt have increased.

France's crippling national debt
is now far bigger than

what European Union rules allow.

The bloc's second biggest economy
now rivals Greece and Italy in terms

of the cash it needs
to borrow every year.

The inability to pass budgets
or financial reforms has triggered

mass demonstrations,
strikes and a surge in protests.

There is a pervasive
sense of economic anxiety

on the streets of Paris.

One of the most vocal forces has
been the Bloquons Tout -

Let's Block Everything movement -
which started on social media

and has spread across France.

Striking workers have also closed
pharmacies and shuttered schools,

angered by plans to raise
the retirement age to 64.

After eight years in office,
Emmanuel Macron's position

as president is coming under
increasing pressure,

with his political rivals
calling for him to go.

Opinion polls suggest almost three
quarters of voters think

the President should step down too.

Macron himself has remained
typically bullish.

But his time is running out
and with it his power,

his ability to influence
France's future.

Now, from Paris, we're
taking you over 600 miles

north-east to Denmark where,
following a public outcry,

the government last year banned
the use of parental competency

tests, which contributed to hundreds
of Greenlandic being taken

from their families after evidence
showed the tests were

inappropriate for their culture.

Many of these families
are now fighting to get

their children returned to them.

Greenland is a former Danish colony,
and roughly a third

of Greenland's population lives
on the Danish mainland.

Despite an apology and a pledge
by the government to review

around 300 child removals,
some families have been told that

for them it's too late.

For BBC Global Women,
Sofia Bettiza has been to meet

some of the families
who are still fighting

to get their children returned.

Keira's case is one of nearly 300
that the Danish government has

said it wants to review.

Her story sparked widespread
outrage, but Zammi's the third

of Keira's children to be taken
against her will.

Tests on her parenting ability began
more than a decade earlier

after social services became
concerned about her eldest

daughter's language development.

What were these parenting
competency tests like?

What kind of questions
did they ask you?

They asked a question like,
who is Mother Teresa?

Some of the tests, I had
to play with a doll

and they were criticising me for not
having eye contact.

These kinds of questions are part
of a far-reaching assessment,

designed to evaluate intellectual
and personal capability

to meet a child's needs.

They can cover general
knowledge, logic, memory

and emotional understanding.

Parents would normally be
required to take these tests

after extensive contact
with social services.

Keira's assessment concluded that
trauma during her upbringing

affects her parenting,
preventing her from meeting

her children's needs.

She says that, on multiple
occasions, she was pressured

by psychologists and social workers
to have abortions.

The relationship between Greenland
and Denmark is steeped

in centuries of colonial rule.

Greenland's population
is about 90% indigenous Inuit.

After World War II,
Denmark launched a campaign

to modernise its colony,
aiming to bring it more in line

with Danish cultural norms.

They were aiming to renew housing,
they were aiming to provide

better health services,
improve the school system

and education, and many Greenlanders
felt kind of overwhelmed by these

policies and felt that the Danish
cultural norms were dominating

and that their lives were changing
significantly without them

participating fully
in this development.

When you intervene into a family
and remove a child, this

is always based on some ideas
about cultural norms.

For years, campaigners have raised
concerns about the way children

are taken from Inuit Greenlandic
parents in Denmark.

They say this is the latest
in a long line of Danish government

policies that reflect colonial
racism towards the

indigenous population.

In 1951, Denmark removed 22 Inuit
children from Greenland

in the Little Danes experiment,
aiming to raise them

as Danish citizens.

And in 2025, the Danish government
apologised for a forced

contraception scandal
that spanned decades.

Tina co-founded Sila 360 -
an NGO challenging the system.

The way these tests are used
is a scandal and it's shocking

and it's dehumanising.

The Danish authorities think
that the Greenlandic

people are uncivilised,
they are less smart, and actually

they are just less privileged.

While Keira waits, hoping
for answers, not every

case is under review.

Some have been permanently closed.

Back in 2010, Johanne was assessed
in a parenting competency test.

She did not have an interpreter,
even though Danish

is her second language.

The assessment found her to have
"mental retardation", but the local

council told us she did not need
an interpreter and that her children

faced physical and psychological
neglect because of Johanne's alleged

mental health issues, including
periods of depression and anxiety.

Her two children
were taken from her.

Then, nine years later,
Johanne became pregnant again.

We have another picture
when he was one day old.

Wow.

Is that you?

Yeah.

That is me.

That is the father.

And son.

And son.

That happiness was short-lived.

Eight months into her pregnancy,
Johanne learned that she and her

husband would face the parenting
competency tests once again.

The assessment described Johanne
as childish and narcissistic.

Ulrik, it said, was self-centred
and lacking empathy.

The conclusion - they could not meet
the needs of their child.

They felt the outcome
was predetermined.

One of the tests Johanne and Ulrik
and many of the families

we spoke to had to take
is the Rorschach test.

Developed in the 1920s,
it analyses personality

traits based on how people
interpret abstract inkblots.

In traditional Greenlandic culture,

where many people hunt
for their livelihood,

seeing blood from a young
age is normal.

But in Denmark, the same response
in a psychological test

could be seen as
a cause for concern.

But child removals don't just happen
because of these tests.

In Denmark, they are part
of a much wider process,

one that disproportionately
affects Greenlandic people.

There are an estimated 460
Greenlandic children

living outside parental
care in Denmark.

Proportionally, Greenlandic
parents are thought

to be almost six times more likely
to have their children

taken into care than
the general population.

I think the whole
assessment is problematic.

We have gone through so many
cases it's the same.

Same assumptions
about alcoholism,

about them being
neglected as children.

They have too many prejudices
against the Greenlandic people.

They would rather see
that the children are brought

up in another Danish home.

Johanne and Ulrik were told
that their child would be removed

from their care and
permanently adopted.

In 2020, their son was adopted.

Because of that,
their case was closed

and will not be reviewed
by the government.

They haven't seen him since.

But we've found
that more than six months

into the government review,
the pace is slow.

It's been six months
since a government review began,

and so far only ten
cases where a parenting

competency test was used
have been reviewed.

Why is progress so slow?

Well, I know that it
sounds slow, but I think

that it is also, we are getting
started and I suspect

that in the next coming
months they will

review even more cases.

Out of those ten cases, only one
was found to contain mistakes.

As of today,
the government review

has not led to a single
Greenlandic child being

returned to their family.

I can't recognise those numbers,
I must say.

Those numbers come from
the units that you've set up

to review the cases.

So they come from
a government agency

that you're in charge of.
Yeah.

We want to make sure that we look
into every placement

where this test was used to place
a child with Greenlandic background.

It is a work in progress,
yes.

The local council involved
in Johanne and Ulrik's case told us

that the child welfare
assessment indicated

"significant concern regarding
the parents' overall parenting

abilities...lifestyle
and functional level

in daily life."

In Keira's case, the local
council told us they can't

comment on individual families,

but said generally "employees
would never pressure parents

to have an abortion but only offer
advice and guidance."

They added that a decision to place
a child in care

happens when there
is serious concern about

the "child's health,
development and well-being."

In November, just after
Zammi's first birthday,

Keira was told by the authorities
that, at least for now,

her daughter will
remain in foster care.

There's no way to win.

I was never Danish enough.

I was never good enough.

Johanne and Ulrik's
future is also unclear.

Their lawyer wants
to bring their case to

the European Court of Human Rights.

When their son was
just a few days old,

they baptised him, hoping that one
day he would find them.

Here's some more great content
from the BBC World Service

this week.

We are going to run
the country until such time

as we can do a safe,
proper and judicious transition.

And it has to be judicious,
because that's what we're all about.

After US Special Forces
captured the president

of Venezuela during air
strikes on its capital,

Caracas, Americast has done
a deep dive into how

the US military were able to storm
President Maduro's home

and what kind of
intelligence the CIA had.

And as the people
of Venezuela react to

the capture of their president,
the Global Story podcast asked,

what's next for the country?

You can listen to Americast
and The Global Story on BBC Sounds

or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, to a commodity
that's been smuggled

into nearly every
country in the world.

Gangs have become involved
in the illicit trade,

while its illegal mining
and extraction is having

a devastating impact
on the environment

and local communities.

It's now in short supply
and it's something

that may really surprise you.

Here's more from the World Service's
global journalism team.

Sand - it's being smuggled
on a global scale.

There are many billions
of dollars' worth

of sand being dug up and sold
illegally every year.

It's cheap and easy to extract.

It is a low-risk,
high-reward business.

So why is sand in such high demand?

The modern world is made of it.

Sand is in concrete,
asphalt, glass and silicon.

It even turns up in places
you wouldn't expect.

We use sand in cosmetics,
in certain kinds of wine.

We use sand in paint.

We use sand to make elastics.

Around 50 billion tonnes of sand
and gravel are used every year.

That's enough to cover
the whole of Argentina

in a layer one centimetre thick.

90% of all the sand mined goes
into the construction industry.

China and India are
the biggest consumers.

All over the developing world,
hundreds of millions of people

are moving from the countryside
into cities every year.

So worldwide, we are
building the equivalent

of nine New York Cities
every single year.

And not all of the world's
sand can be used

for construction.

Desert sands eroded
by wind are round.

The best sand for concrete
has jagged edges

and comes from rivers.

This shape helps it bind together,
making it strong and durable.

Sand is taken from riverbeds
by hand or by dredgers,

and more is being extracted than can
naturally be replenished.

Globally, the sand
market is worth around

$165 billion, but it's
nearly impossible

to know how much of that has
been sourced illegally.

The estimates range
anywhere, you know,

up into the tens of
billions of dollars.

We know for sure that
there's illegal sand mining

in dozens and dozens of countries.

It happens in Western
Europe and North America

on a relatively small scale,
and it happens in the developing

world on like a millions
of tonnes scale.

Researchers estimate
that in these countries

more than 50% of sand
mining is illegal,

but no organisation tracks sand,
so there isn't international data.

In The Gambia, a one-off
Interpol operation

targeting illegal activity found
unprecedented levels of

illicit sand mining.

Illegal mining means sand
is removed without proper

authorisation or from
prohibited areas.

And once it's mixed with legal sand,
it's almost impossible to tell

the difference.

It can be transported
to a construction site

and no one knows where it came from
and nobody asks questions.

It can be moved on a container
ship and nobody knows

where the source of it is.

Ease of extraction, high demand for
concrete and the fact

that sand is legal
to buy and sell

mean that illegal mining continues
with little opposition.

And it's often at the local level
where exploitation starts

and where so-called
sand mafias operate.

It can be either a small villager
who's taking sand from

the beach to build his own house,
right up to the point where people

who have taken sand and realised
how lucrative it is

have risen and formed
networks and gangs.

This is usually possible
through bribery or intimidation.

There is just major corruption
of local and regional governments

in sand mining, because there's
very little capacity

to enforce prohibitions.

Criminal activity,
including sand mafias,

are making headlines as illegal
mining turns violent.

Hundreds of people have been
murdered over sand

just in the last few years.

And that's been, I mean,
there's documented cases

of this happening
in Mexico, in Ghana,

in Indonesia, in many,
many countries around the world,

and especially in India.

I was attacked in
2004 by sand miners,

and that's when it
became more serious

and more intense for me.

Since then, Sumaira
has been campaigning

against illegal sand mining
and highlighting the effect

it's having in India
and around the world.

Well, if your houses
are washed away,

it impacts you immediately.

Even without a catastrophe
like a flood,

you can see the effects
because you can see the erosion

on a daily basis.

Overmining of rivers
and beaches means there's

a greater risk of
landslides and flooding,

while dredging has
significant consequences

for fragile ecosystems.

When you do that, when you suck
up the bottom of a river,

obviously whatever was living
down there, whatever kind of fish

and plant life were living on
that riverbed,

you've just annihilated
their habitat, wiped it out.

New technologies could help.

More concrete than ever
is being recycled,

and sand can be created
artificially by crushing rocks.

But manufacturing is expensive,
and both are energy-intensive.

And as long as extracting
sand remains cheap

and plentiful, cracking down on sand
smuggling won't be easy.

You need to have communities
much more involved

in monitoring illegal sand mining.

You've got to be
addressing the corruption.

You need to raise awareness.

And because nobody is paying
adequate attention to it,

it goes on and the
devastation continues.

Thank you for joining
me here in Paris.

We want your feedback on Global Eye,

so let us know what you think
on social media

We'll be back next week.
Goodbye.