Mauritania faces severe socioeconomic challenges, including chronic unemployment and poverty, while political factions fiercely debate extending the presidential mandate further.

The Algerian presidency has launched a scathing verbal attack on the country’s leading Islamist party, sparking questions about the motives behind the criticism and its ties to the municipal and parliamentary elections set for mid-2026.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, 64, recently won the race to become the next leader of the Republicans party (center-right), further raising his profile ahead of a possible presidential run two years from now.

Voters expressed their frustration with the main parties, ousting the candidate representing the ruling coalition, prompting PM Marcel Ciolacu to resign, compounding Romania’s political crisis that started last year.

In a ruling that could reshape France's political future, a French court has convicted far-right leader Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from running for public office for five years.