Topic: Total Energies

Media reports from Al Jazeera and Democracy Now highlight the "Francophone Spring," noting that Gabon marks the tenth coup or attempted takeover in West and Central Africa in three years. The narrative focuses on the failure of the Bongo family to use oil wealth to alleviate poverty, with specific mention of French oil giant Total Energies. The military's dissolution of state institutions in Gabon is met with public cheers in the capital, Libreville.

Bloomberg reports that crude oil released from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is being shipped to the port of Rotterdam in Europe by a French energy company. This move is questioned given the administration's stated goal of lowering domestic gasoline prices through these reserve releases.

The geopolitical conflict in Ukraine is framed as a struggle over energy resources, specifically shale gas fields. The hosts discuss a French debate where a socialist politician argued that the crisis is a "scam" to get American gas into Europe. They note that while France has banned fracking domestically, French energy company Total S.A. continues fracking operations abroad.