Just days before the final round of France's snap parliamentary elections, we discuss possible scenarios for what could emerge from the messy political situation in Paris: shiny new leaders, a shaky new government, rocky cohabitation — or even more chaos.

Host Sarah Wheaton talks to POLITICO's senior correspondent in Paris, Clea Caulcutt.

Later she's joined by former U.S. Ambassador to the EU Anthony Gardner and the director of the German Marshall Fund's Berlin office, Sudha David-Wilp. They break down the reactions of European leaders to President Joe Biden's poor performance in last week's debate with challenger Donald Trump, their doubts over Biden's prospects in November's election, and how Europe is approaching the possibility of Trump 2.0.

Finally, to mark the start of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the EU, we have a dispatch from POLITICO reporter Eddy Wax, who sailed down the Danube recently on a trip to Budapest.

If you're hungry for more election coverage, please tune in to POLITICO's Power Play, Westminster Insider and Politics at Jack and Sam's. This week they'll all be tackling the July 4 general election in the U.K.

Programming alert! A special episode with news and analysis on the results of the second round of the French elections will be delivered to your feed on Monday morning. Don't miss it!

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Straight from the European Council summit, we bring you the latest news and analysis on a range of tough issues on the leaders' agenda.

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a special guest at the summit, EU leaders also talked about Ukraine — following the official opening of accession talks between Brussels and Kyiv earlier this week.

Finally, we speak to Clea Caulcutt, our senior correspondent in Paris. She unpacks the prospects of Sunday's first round of snap parliamentary elections.

Further reading:

EU leaders arrive to discuss top jobs at high-stakes meeting — live updates by POLITICO

Giorgia Meloni hits out at EU top jobs backroom deal by Barbara Moens, Hannah Roberts and Giorgio Leali

Far right seizes France’s conservative heartlands by Clea Caulcutt

French election: Your guide to a vote that is set to shake the EU and NATO by Clea Caulcutt

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Almost two weeks after the EU election, there is still a lot of political manoeuvring going on — both in Brussels and in national capitals.

First, POLITICO's chief EU correspondent, Barbara Moens, recaps of the race for the top jobs after European leaders failed to reach a deal at their informal dinner in Brussels earlier this week.

Then, we zoom in on the countries and leaders who until recently were calling the shots, but now seem weakened — and those who are trying to seize the new zeitgeist and claim more power than they've had in the past.

Host Sarah Wheaton and POLITICO's chief Europe correspondent in Berlin, Matthew Karnitschnig, discuss the precarious situation in which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the parties in his governing coalition find themselves as a result of the EU vote.

Later, we move to Poland and take a look at Donald Tusk and his increasingly dominant position among European leaders. Sarah is joined by Andrzej Bobiński, journalist and managing director of Polityka Insight in Warsaw, and Jan Cienski, POLITICO's senior political editor.

And finally, Hungary's newly-unveiled slogan for its upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU may be "Make Europe Great Again," but we here at EU Confidential are all about MAGA: Making Audio Great Again. So do keep sending your ideas and comments to podcast@politico.eu.

Further reading:

EU leaders fail to agree on von der Leyen’s second term , by Barbara Moens, Jacopo Barigazzi and Stuart Lau

Time runs out for Olaf Scholz, by Matthew Karnitschnig

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