Right-wing defeats in Brazil, Israel and Serbia precede US midterms on 3 November

A run of defeats for the right

In the days before 2 November, conservative candidates lost ground at the ballot box in several countries, with Brazil, Israel and Serbia among the cases cited. In a 3 November column, Jean-Marc Vittori of Les Echos argues that candidates backed by Donald Trump are losing across the board, in those countries and in many US states. He reads the trend as a sign of vitality in a democracy that is often described as moribund.

Midterms on Tuesday

On 2 November, the day before the vote, the Les Echos discussion programme La Story brought in guests to ask whether conservatism is in retreat. The US midterm elections take place on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, with Donald Trump in the White House and his second term under scrutiny at the polls. Voters are weighing the policies of his administration in races across the country.

Food lines in Arizona

In Arizona, a state where poverty is rising fast, a long line of cars stretched along a highway in the high desert one Saturday morning, with drivers waiting for food. Kandy Soto, a retired clerk who once donated regularly to the local food bank, now relies on it herself. She voted for Trump two years ago, expecting him to make the United States affordable again. On each shopping trip, she says, the price of canned vegetables has climbed further, so she buys cheaper fish fillets or canned meat and avoids fresh beef or poultry. Some days she leaves the store with nothing. The Courrier international piece, first published on 26 October and republished on 3 November, ties rising prices, lower social benefits and overwhelmed food banks to the gap between Trump's campaign promises and daily life.

Immigration enforcement in Minnesota

In Minnesota, operations by ICE, the immigration police, have become one of the symbols of Trump's second term. Two American citizens were shot dead by federal agents in January, an event that marked the state deeply. A Minnesota resident quoted by Le Monde says the rejection of Trump is huge everywhere in America, not only in the Midwest.