The Monday Briefing welcomes some fresh faces this week, in which we highlight the student movement sweeping France. Still in France, we discuss Mistral, Europe’s leading LLM model. Elsewhere, we talk about the three-year anniversary of the October 7th attacks, the Nobel Peace Prize, a deal between Putin and Trump, and oil in Trinidad and Tobago. In economic news, we cover the sale of British retailer Boots, a billionaire tax in California, and apocalyptic warnings on AI.
Spotlight: Student Protests Expose France’s Troubles
By Anouk Lainé and Diego de Carvalho
In the past week, international media has been flooded with images of student protests across France. Over the week, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in a movement started by students demanding better conditions in their high schools. Among these demands are a response to the teacher shortage, the renovation of old buildings, and a reform of the country’s university admissions system.
Despite mostly peaceful protests, the movement has been faced with police violence against its more belligerent demonstrations. In response to rioters, police officers have resorted to physical violence, tear gas, and stun grenades that have already left some protesters severely injured. Further, 5 thousand protesters have been taken into custody in the past week alone, signalling the tensions between the movement and the government. Despite this, most demonstrations have been peaceful, taken place in a spirit of solidarity, with humorous and provocative Gen-Z slogans.
The protests rapidly grew out of the Parisian suburbs where it started from, as it gained momentum across the country. Even though students are at the head of the movement, many other sectors of French society have adhered to it, including trade unions, civil servants, and educators.
Importantly, the protests have been backed by the leftist La France Insoumise (LFI), the third largest party in the French Parliament. The party, which is headed by the popular and controversial Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has attempted to seize the protests as part of its wider criticism against the Macron government for its poor provision of public services and welfare, but has been criticised by centrist and right-wing politicians for inciting violence.
The French government’s reaction has been mixed: after initially assessing the blockades as acts of “urban violence”, it backtracked as the movement has gained popularity and recognised its “legitimate demands”. Edouard Geffray, France’s Minister of Education, has announced a deployment of 3 thousand substitute teachers next week and a broader discussion about high school democracy, buildings, and scholar schedules.
Yet, the Macron administration’s attempts to quell the demonstrations may be a misdiagnosis of the larger angst it represents. France is currently in a state of polycrisis, as it faces difficulties in sustaining its welfare state while maintaining fiscal discipline. Public services have been poor not only in education, but also in public transportation and housing. Meanwhile, the country’s financial position is increasingly dire; bond markets have demanded increasingly higher yields to finance its ballooning government debt and unsustainable pension system. Elsewhere, the French economy has been squeezed by always-increasing fuel prices and a loss of competitiveness in global markets.
The result has come politically: Marine Le Pen holds a large lead in polls for the country’s presidential election, which will come in April of next year. The French far-right has increasingly gained support this century and it seems poised to overcome the cordon sainitaire which led to its defeat in 2002, 2017, and 2022.
In general, France’s struggles seem far from unique. As covered in the last couple Monday Briefings, the political establishment has struggled across the continent, as Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom face similar difficulties in governance. The French youth’s rebellion is a sign not only of these troubles, but also of a generation that does not feel seen by its governments. Europe’s politicians have so far been unable to adapt to this angst, but perhaps increased civil participation will mobilise power towards their demands.
European News
Mistral’s new AI model gets promising result with very little
By Ruben Gianzini
French AI company Mistral, Europe’s leading force in the sector, presented its newest model, Mistral Large 4, on Wednesday; the model is still in preview, and its weights will become public on October 27.
The model, also called “Le Chonk” is currently the most powerful European LLM, as Mistral is the only notable AI firm in the continent. It was also presented as the best open-weights model in the West.
Benchmarks presented by the company show how Mistral Large 4 is still behind Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Astra in coding; however, it got better evaluations than these frontier models in visual grounding, corporate work in finance and accounting, and complex legal problems. The company also claimed even greater results in cybersecurity, without providing any evidence; Mistral’s models currently serve this purpose for the French government.
The most striking outcome is that these results were achieved with much less computing power than the current best commercial models. Le Chonk was in fact trained in two months using 3800 GPUs (the hardware used to train AIs) and 10 gigawatt-hours; for comparison, GPT-6 Astra was trained for three months using 100 thousand GPUs, consuming another 100 thousand gigawatt-hours
Born as a startup in 2023, Mistral is Europe’s leading AI company: its strategy has so far mainly focused on being an alternative to models from China and the US. In addition, companies often do not need the best-performing (and therefore most expensive) models to carry out simpler tasks, and Mistral is the only company that provides cheaper and customisable open-weight models across Europe and America.
Despite massive fundings and a roadmap to become the “AI Continent”, Europe is struggling to develop sovereign AI models, part of a broader picture that sees it striving for strategic autonomy to stay competitive and not to be crushed among the world’s two superpowers.
World News
October 7th, Three Years On: Where Does the Israeli Palestinian Conflict Stand?
By Anouk Lainé
Three years ago, the world woke up in shock after Hamas’s attack on Southern Israel. On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas killed 1,200 people. Israel’s subsequent response has killed more than 70 thousand Palestinian in Gaza since then, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Three years on, the situation is still unresolved and has evolved into a bigger regional conflict.
In Gaza, much of the population remains displaced, living among ruins, neither in war nor peace. The US-negotiated ceasefire that came into effect on October 10, 2025, still stands despite daily Israeli strikes and has allowed for the exchange of hostages and prisoners between Israel and Hamas.
However, there has been little progress in the disarmament of Hamas and the rebuilding of Gaza. Israel withdrawal from Gaza has also stalled, as two thirds of the region is under Israeli control. In the West Bank, tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinians have consistently escalated. Meanwhile, Western support has become more divided, although the US remains a central ally.
Beyond Gaza, the conflict has evolved into a regional, even global, matter. To the North, Israel has been engaged in conflict with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant group backed by Iran and Hamas. Further east, tensions with Iran have exploded into an all-out war, which has involved the USA and most countries in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have led to a blockade on the Strait of Bab al-Mandeb.
All eyes now turn on Israel’s general election on October 27. Beyond Netanyahu’s political future, the vote could influence Israel’s approach to Gaza and the prospects for a lasting peace with the Palestinians.
South African judge Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize
By Riccardo De Ambroggi
The jurist Navanethem Pillay, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, becoming the 13th African individual to receive the recognition. She was informed of the reward while she was in the Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice with a crowd gathered to applaud her.
The judge, who is 85 years old, was recognized “for her effort to promote peace and international law,” as said by the Committee, “paving the way for a more comprehensive global legal order”. Pillay, born and raised in Durban, started his career defending anti-apartheid activists in South Africa. In 1995, Nelson Mandela nominated her for a judgeship on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and she was elected Judge President. In 2008 the Secretary-General appointed Pillay the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She was also the chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and she has served as an ad hoc judge on the Rohingya genocide case.
Interviewed after the nomination, Pillay joked about last year’s winner Maria Corina Machado: “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.” The reference about Machado is clear, since the Venezuelan opposition leader gave her medal to the US president as “recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom”. According to Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of Nobel committee, the prize was intended to give a message to the world about the importance of implementing and ensuring international law at a time where wars and conflicts pose existential challenges to international cooperation and legality.
Trump and Putin Agree on Diesel Deal
By Daniel Dishdishyan
On a phone call this Friday (October 9th), Trump and Putin agreed to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. 300 thousand tons of diesel are to be released now and another 500 thousand tons in November. According to Trump, the diesel is set to be released “to the American and Global Marketplace”. As consideration to the easing of American sanctions, Russia has started removing its export restrictions on oil and petroleum products; these restrictions had been put into place due to Ukraine’s successful refinery strike campaign.
The deal comes as diesel prices hit record highs of $6.53 in the US, amid supply shocks caused by the conflicts in Iran and Ukraine. Due to this, Trump’s position for the upcoming US midterm elections is significantly weakened, as energy-sensitive industries like trucking and agriculture are parts of his base. To achieve the release, the US Treasury is issuing a temporary general license for Russian Diesel. However, it is unclear whether this will reduce prices: the US was never a large purchaser of Russian diesel.
In reaction to the deal, doubts have been cast upon Russia’s ability to supplement global diesel supply, given that Russia is only operating at 60% of refinery capacity. Nonetheless, Ukraine has come out in strong condemnation of the agreement: President Zelenskyy has called it a “weak decision” and a “gift” to Putin. In general, the deal represents an American realignment away from Ukraine, as the country’s pragmatic economic and political interests have made it less hostile towards Russia.
Trinidad and Tobago to Expand Oil Boom in the Caribbean
By Diego de Carvalho
In the past week, the energy giant ExxonMobil announced it was considering exploration off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation off the coast of Venezuela. The move comes after a huge oil boom in neighboring Guyana, which has brought economic interest towards the region.
Offshore drilling in the Gulf of Venezuela, which Trinidad and Tobago is part of, has fueled Venezuela’s economy for decades. Trinidad also took part in this exploration, but its oil industry regressed, and the country pivoted to natural gas.
Now, the country looks to revive the industry by copying Guyana’s economic model. The South American nation has enjoyed an oil boom of its own through drilling in the Gulf of Guyana, which was done in partnership with ExxonMobil. As a result, Guyana is one of the world’s fastest growing countries, enjoying rapid development by deploying oil capital into investments in infrastructure and education.
Oil exploration in the Americas is of great interest to the USA, which hope to be use the region as an alternative to Middle Eastern oil, especially as the region is embroiled in conflict. This is one of the main drivers behind the country’s interventionism in Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the world. Nevertheless, although this movement has fueled the region’s development, it expands fossil fuel emission and undermines attempts at a global energy transition.
Economic News
Boots Nears $9 Billion Sale as Questions Grow Over Foreign Ownership
By Derinsu Polat
Boots, the leading British health and beauty retailer and pharmacy chain, is reportedly nearing a sale worth close to $9 billion including debt. Its owner, the US private equity firm Sycamore Partners, is in advanced talks to sell it to the Canadian branch of the billionaire Weston family.
Boots is a historic British icon, founded in Nottingham in 1849. Although it is a British company, the Boots Group operates stores in several other countries, including Ireland, Thailand, Mexico, and Germany. Boots is one of the largest retailers in the UK and Ireland, both by revenue and by number of stores.
In August 2025, Boots came under new ownership when New York-based Sycamore Partners completed its acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance, the owner of both Walgreens in the US and Boots in the UK.
The acquisition of numerous UK and European companies by US firms has led some to question whether these countries are losing part of their identity, as some of them, such as EasyJet and Nestlé’s water brands, are deeply embedded in their national cultures. This is also the case for Boots and it remains to be seen what impact this sale will have on the company, as it changes hands again in such a brief period.
California Votes on Billionaire Tax
By Andreas Manolopoulos
On 3 November, Californians will vote on Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on people worth at least $1 billion who lived in the state on 1 January 2026, affecting a few hundred residents. Real estate, pensions, and retirement accounts would generally be excluded, while payments could be spread over five years at an additional cost. Ninety percent of the revenue would fund public healthcare, with the remainder allocated to education, food assistance, and tax administration.
Behind the proposal sits one of California’s costliest ballot fights: by early October, supporters had raised $32.4 million, a meagre figure compared to the more than $300 million for opposition campaigns and two rival measures. Google co-founder Sergey Brin supplied nearly one-third of the opposition total.
Opposition advertisements warn that the tax could eventually reach ordinary Californians and drive billionaires away. A CalMatters fact-check found that lawmakers could amend the measure, but only with a two-thirds majority and through changes consistent with its stated purpose. Expanding it beyond billionaires would probably require another public vote. Proposition 41 mandates audits of programmes funded by new special taxes, while Proposition 42 prohibits new taxes on financial assets and personal property. If either receives more votes than Proposition 40, courts could block the billionaire tax even if it also passes.
This dispute also narrows the state’s governor race, with Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton both opposing Proposition 40, although Becerra’s position conflicts with the California Democratic Party’s endorsement. The winner would oversee its implementation and any resulting legal challenges.
Malicious AI and Nuclear Conflict Pose Threat of Human Extinction
By Alice Di Terlizzi
“We are not starting from a point of view of ‘oh look, we want to scare you’. We’re starting from the premise that if you are a policymaker today, these are the potential threats that you could face” reports Ibrahim Abubakar, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at UCL and member of the Lancet Commission on 21st Century Global Threats to Health.
The latter, comprehensive of 35 members, has been called upon to share its findings on human-related health as menaced by emerging technologies during the World Health Summit, hosted in Berling on October 11th-13th. According to newly developed risk assessment, there exists a list of 17 major and intertwined threats to human health in the next 75 years, although “a realistic route to act” can be identified for each, according to the Commission.
The list was created by the Commission based on the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (Dalys) measure, that was used to build a model predicting how many years of good health may be lost due to the identified threats; among them prominently figure the malicious use of AI, including bioweapons, nuclear conflict and nuclear famine, as an attempt to counter global warming can inadvertently cripple global food supply. These are accompanied by “major catastrophic threats”, such as air pollution, childhood malnutrition, and income inequality. Moreover, non-communicable diseases such as obesity and poor mental health have been identified as major threats to higher-income regions, while health loss in lower income regions is driven by scarce educational attainment.
Together, these threats create the potential for middle-to-long term human extinction which, although quite unlikely, is seen as a possibility as AI-driven weapons can inject enough particles into the upper atmosphere to block sunlight and cause famine. Investing in tech innovation and strengthening health systems may be some, or the only, ways out of these apocalyptic scenarios.
Every week, your TiL Monday Briefing 🗞: you better read it with a cup of coffee! ☕️
Head of the Monday Briefing column: Diego de Carvalho. Current writing staff: Alice di Terlizzi, Andreas Manolopoulos, Anouk Lainé, Daniel Dishdishyan, Derinsu Polat, Riccardo de Ambroggi, Ruben Gianzini. Cartoons by Polina Mednikova. The Monday Briefing column was established in its current form in 2021 by Bojan Zeric.
My name is Diego, and I am currently in my 3rd year of BESS. I was born and raised in Brasília, Brazil and although I have lived also in Switzerland, the United States, and now Italy, I consider myself Brazilian and Latin-American by heart. My heart and time are often split by many different interests, including football, history, geopolitics, philosophy, music, and cinema.
First year BGL student and journalist at heart, whose goal is to keep people informed; mainly covering politics and history, while giving my opinion so that you can think more critically.
I'm Derinsu, an exchange student from the University of Birmingham studying Marketing and Management at Bocconi. I'm passionate about e-marketing, art, fashion and cultural issues. My goal is to explore Milan and Italy, make this journey memorable and write about the issues that matter to me. Through Tra i Leoni, my aim is to turn my perspective into stories worth reading.
Hi guys, my name is Andreas. I was born in Athens, Greece but had the pleasure of growing up all over the world. I am a 3rd year BESS student and enjoy learning about current events and economic policy. I'm a big fan of sports, specifically snowboarding and football, music, and watching movies.
