In ‘Franklin,’ Michael Douglas Uses His Charm to Bankroll America
A new Apple TV+ series dramatizes the years Benjamin Franklin spent in France, leveraging diplomacy and guile to secure his nascent country’s future.
By Roger Cohen
I focus on coverage of France and Europe, but also the wars in Ukraine and Israel-Gaza. My great interest lies in personal stories that tell us something about the life of a nation and its people.
I have worked at The Times for more than three decades, as foreign editor, an Opinion columnist and a foreign correspondent, reporting from all over the world. Before that I worked at Reuters and The Wall Street Journal in Europe and South America.
I received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize and a George Polk Award as part of The Times reporting team covering the war in Ukraine, and a 2024 George Polk Award as part of The Times team covering the war between Israel and Hamas. In 2021, I received the Légion d’Honneur from the French Republic for my work over four decades.
I am the author of five books, including a family memoir entitled, “The Girl from Human Street: Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family,” and the recent, “An Affirming Flame: Meditations on Life and Politics.” I have taught journalism at Princeton and Indiana University, Bloomington, and the role of diplomacy as a fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center.
I grew up in England and South Africa and graduated from Oxford. I am a naturalized American citizen.
I have worked to uphold the highest journalistic standards of accuracy, fairness, sensitivity and clarity in the knowledge that the trust of our readers is the foundation of our reputation. You can read more about The Times’s ethics guidelines.
Email: rocohen@nytimes.com
A new Apple TV+ series dramatizes the years Benjamin Franklin spent in France, leveraging diplomacy and guile to secure his nascent country’s future.
By Roger Cohen
Farm protests are changing not only Europe’s food system but also its politics, as the far right senses an opportunity.
By Roger Cohen and Ivor Prickett
Aya Nakamura’s music is one of France’s top cultural exports. But reports that she might perform at the Paris Games have prompted fierce debates over identity and language.
By Roger Cohen and Aurelien Breeden
The leaders of France and Germany tried to heal an increasingly public rift over their approach to the war, holding talks alongside Poland’s prime minister on support for Kyiv.
By Erika Solomon and Roger Cohen
A fraught relationship has recently turned bitter, with insults and barbs threatening European unity at a critical moment.
By Steven Erlanger, Roger Cohen and Erika Solomon
The French president attempted to forge a united front on a harder line against Russia. But few were persuaded.
By Roger Cohen
The French president’s openness to Western troops in Ukraine signaled a quest for military resolve. But some allies felt blindsided.
By Roger Cohen
The new prime minister wants to succeed President Macron. But first he must see off the far right and define himself before a restive public.
By Roger Cohen
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy of France saw an appeals court uphold his conviction for illegally financing an election campaign, but he received a lighter sentence.
By Roger Cohen
Robert Badinter, the former minister who abolished the death penalty, was honored in Paris after his death on Friday, but members of the far left and right were told they were unwelcome.
By Roger Cohen