Hot Issues đ„
Real French debates on what France is actually talking about
â Back to the đ± Start Here
The Hot Issues Series đ„ â B2 French Debates on Current Events
đł Level: B2 · đ§ 25 episodes · â¶ïž 1 free to try
Hot Issues is the B2 finale of French with AmĂ©lie â 25 debate-style French dialogues on the current events France actually argues about: climate, AI, immigration, screens, the future of work. Each episode is a real, fast-paced conversation, with transcripts and colloquial notes. One episode is free to try; the rest come with membership.
đ§ A word from AmĂ©lie
Press â¶ïž â 30 seconds, in my voice, on why this series bites a little.
« Bienvenue dans Hot Issues â la sĂ©rie qui pique un peu ! Le climat, lâintelligence artificielle, lâimmigration, les rĂ©seaux sociaux... Les Français adorent dĂ©battre â câest notre sport national, juste aprĂšs rĂąler ! â et si tu veux suivre un dĂźner en France, il te faut ce français-lĂ . Chaque Ă©pisode, câest un vrai dĂ©bat, avec des opinions qui se bousculent. Ăcoute, forge-toi un avis... et viens le dĂ©fendre dans les commentaires. Allez, on dĂ©bat ! »
đ„ Franceâs real national sport is arguing
A warning before you come in: this series has opinions. Climate, AI, immigration, social media, the future of work â every episode is a proper debate between people who donât quite agree, because thatâs what French sounds like once the pleasantries are over.
You need to know something about us: debating is the French national sport, narrowly behind complaining â we train year-round for both. Survive a French dinner party and you havenât just eaten well; youâve refereed three arguments and joined two. This series is your training camp for exactly that French: fast, idiomatic, full of « oui, mais⊠» and « justement ! ». I built it for the moment you stop reading French and start disagreeing in it.
Reading small little stories in colloquial French is wonderfully helpful and something too often overlooked in courses. Most of us want to learn so that we can one day converse with native speakers, and for this we need to understand their everyday speech. Merci beaucoup!
â Eulalee
đ Who itâs for
This is for B2 learners who want the French of the news, the cafĂ© terrace and the family dinner â where people talk over each other, change their minds mid-sentence, and enjoy every second of it. If you can already follow a normal-speed conversation and youâre itching to have an opinion in French, youâre home.
Not ready for real-speed debate yet? No shame at all â drop back down to Conversation Starters Phase 3 âïž or Vivre en France đ„, and come back when the fast lane feels fun rather than frightening.
Not sure this is your level? Find your level on the đ± Start Here page first â itâll point you to the right series in a couple of minutes.
đ What youâll learn
Debate has its own toolkit â the phrases you reach for to concede a point, push back, soften a blow or land the winning line. Here are a few youâll walk away using, straight from the episodesâ notes:
ne te mĂ©prends pas â donât get me wrong (for softening before you disagree).
tirĂ© par les cheveux â far-fetched (dismiss a weak argument in one phrase).
tout nâest pas rose â itâs not all rosy (the classic âyes, butâŠâ nuance move).
suivre ta logique â to follow your logic (concede a step before you counter it).
tenir la route â to hold up, to make sense (as in « son explication ne tient pas la route »).
rester les bras croisĂ©s â to stand idly by (for the âwe canât just do nothingâ argument).
prendre du recul â to step back, take stock (when you need to cool a debate down).
đ§ How to take this course
Pick the topics that provoke you â annoyance is a fantastic teacher.
Listen for the debate moves: how speakers concede, counter and interrupt. Steal those phrases â theyâre the real curriculum.
Then come argue. Leave your opinion in the comments, in French. I read them all â and yes, I sometimes argue back.
đŹ The episode guide
Twenty-five debates on the current events in French that France canât stop talking about â in the order Iâd take them. Each links to its own episode with audio, transcript and notes.
25 episodes · đł B2 · đž 1 free to try
đ± Start free
One full episode is open to try â audio, transcript and notes included. Itâs one of my favourites in the whole series: the debate about whether AI is a real threat or all hot air.
Subscribe free and a new dialogue lands in your inbox every week â no card, no catch.
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Lesson Series Tests
Finished the series? Prove it!
Series tests for Hot Issues are on the way â short, focused checks built from these exact debates, so âI think Iâm keeping upâ becomes âI know I am.â Iâll add them here the moment theyâre live. And since youâve reached the very top of the library, the â monthly level tests are what keep you sharp from here â plus every new episode lands in your podcast feed the morning it publishes.
đ Ready to start?
This is the French you actually want: the fast, opinionated, real-life French people speak once they stop being polite. Members get all 220 lessons, the private podcast feed, exercises with answer keys, and monthly level tests â Hot Issues included, from episode one.
Hereâs exactly whatâs free and whatâs premium, side by side:
Ă trĂšs vite â et nâoublie pas de venir dĂ©fendre ton avis dans les commentaires.
Ton prof, ton amie,
Amélie x
Last updated: July 2026 â new episodes join this guide as they publish.