The Night of Ideas at The French Institute – Thursday 5th February 2026

As you may or may not know, I’ve become somewhat of a Francophile in recent years; there are loads of French people in London, and practically every one I’ve met has been lovely. More than that, the French appreciate art and artists more than any other nation, especially compared to the British! When I’m in France, I feel a sense of belonging. It’s too bad I discovered all this after Brexit!

So anyway, because of my love of France, I keep an eye on events at The French Institute in South Kensington, and on Thursday they held their 10th annual ‘Night of Ideas’, where they present a series of talks, dance and music, all for free!

Talk 1 was with Dancers; they talked about having no plan B, being fearless, and just going for it! Dance teaches you discipline and self-confidence, so combined with the fearlessness of youth, you get to where you're going wherever that is.

For me, in my films, I need to remember how I thought when I was young. So many decades have passed, and so many failures experienced, it kind of blunts your edge. I need to be bold and fearless again!

Talk 2 was very contentious, for me, anyway. I’m someone that believes that war should always be the last possible resort, but this panel on ‘The Baltic Frontline’ was the most one-sided, belligerent panel I’ve seen, possibly ever! It was hardly a balanced debate, but rather the same old 'sabre-rattling' from the West, towards Russia.

I love a recent quote from a former MI6 spy, pointing out that a continent of 500 million relies on a country of 342 million, to protect it from a country of 146 million!

So obviously, Europe does need to get its house in order!
'We need to win the war!' Declared Marie Mendras, in a bellicose tone.

She also labelled Russia as cowards! The debate lacked any nuance, or perspective. It was just plain propaganda! They kept referring to Russia as a dictatorship, but I know for sure that the UK puts more people in prison for things they say, or post online, than practically any other country on Earth!

There was also the usual Zelensky worshipping. 

Let me be clear; Russia should absolutely not have invaded Ukraine, but I remember when Ukraine and Poland both hosted the Euro’s (football tournament), and how so many journalists exposed Ukraine as being the most corrupt country in Europe, and how there were groups of men that were openly Nazis! As a brown man, Ukraine was never on my list of countries to visit, because of such reasons. Yet, as soon as the war started, the media and the West, suddenly made Ukraine the bastion of virtue!

Like most people, I don’t buy a word of their bullsh!t. Especially in light of all the unjust wars they’ve dragged us into, as recently as the past 25 years! (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria)

And now the panellists are baffled as to why young men don’t want to fight in another war?! Fight for what?! A country we have no stake in? We don’t own homes, we don’t have wives and children, what are we fighting for? The machinations of the elites, who start these wars from the comfort of their armchairs, knowing that they nor their ilk will never face a single discomfort!

These people are so disconnected from the working class, it’s laughable! Corrupt politicians, open borders and an endless stream of migrants who become competition for jobs, housing and services, are far more of a concern to people on the ground, than Russia!

Finland is very war ready, in terms of population, infrastructure and military. Estonia is also prepared.

The UK's infrastructure and population is very ill prepared. A fire at a single electric substation closed down the UK's main airport. We would not survive the kind of bombardment that Ukraine has survived, which is a fair point. The UK, as anyone that lives here knows, is a joke. There’s no National Security when it comes to our infrastructure, because of years of under-investment under privatisation; it’s all foreign owned too!

The main problem is, the West has cried wolf so many times, it's hard to believe them anymore!

The UK has instigated so many unjust wars this century, that even if faced with a ‘just war’ (whatever that is), we as the public, don't believe them!
The panel, like the entire establishment, was completely ‘pro war’! Which is easy to be, when you’re not going to be the ones fighting and dying in battle.

If it were up to me, I’d put all the people that want a war in a room and let them fight it out, whilst normal people around the world just get on with living our lives in peace.

Talk 3 was the best talk in my opinion. The panellists were all very well-informed and cut through the narrative pushed by the media, and gave answers that were based on data, not opinion!

The establishment is concerned about Gen Z mistrusting the media, but look at how we've been lied to! Covid was a scam that enriched the elites, Palestine is forever presented as the villain; the suffering and genocide of their people constantly justified as a rational response.

The panellists get this.

The idea amongst Gen Z is that the establishment is basically the new aristocracy: journalists, judges, government, they're all part of the same beast; a beast that only wants to sustain a system that benefits it.

Young people get no benefit from society, so why wouldn't they turn to the extremes of politics, when those extremes offer them hope.

One of the panellists said that picking out Gen Z’s voting intentions is sensationalist. There's no big chasm in voting patterns. The general population is moving in the same direction.

The media talks about young men turning to the far right but the biggest trend is women voting green! But that doesn't suit the narrative. Actually, a lot of young men are also turning to the Greens! But again, it's all about the narrative being pushed, which is another reason why no one trusts mainstream media!

Young people on the far left and the far right both share a distrust of politicians and the media and establishment, but how to solve those issues is what separates them.

Generally speaking, young people still lean left compared to the rest of the population, so this worry about the young turning right, is overblown.

The role of social media in polarisation cannot be understated. Social media takes complex views and complex people and reduces them to a single, overarching opinion. There's far more to a person, and an issue, than simply 'pro or anti-immigration' for example.

The solution to so much mistrust at all levels, is to band together at a local, community level and change our local community first. A solution suggested by Rosie Campbell.

We can't rely on politicians or the media to solve our problems, clearly! We must do it ourselves at a local level.

Basically, there's a massive mistrust because there is so much inequality, and INJUSTICE! We don't live in fair society, and everyone can see it and feel it, and that's what is driving division in society!

Bravo to the panel! They were hitting all the right notes!!

That's the solution. Banding together at a local level. Build your community. If there’s strength and cohesion at a local level, there’s inevitably strength at a national level too. We’re too self-focused and atomised in our lives, and I hate to say it, but it’s completely deliberate. People are facing an ever more powerful ruling class, and even though we outnumber them by a few billion, if we feel alone, we behave in a way that confirms our powerlessness.
If we come together, and act as one, we become powerful, and a threat to the powers that be.

Divide and rule; the oldest play in the book, and one that continues to work on a global scale.

Anyway, it was a great night! The highlight for me wasn’t actually any of the events, but chatting to fellow attendees; one beautiful French woman in particular. Too bad she lived in Bristol with her boyfriend! Haha!