French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting foreign leaders in Paris for a summit focused on how to help the world's poorest countries deal with increasingly catastrophic events linked to climate change, without being saddled with huge debts. The big focus is on reform of the decades-old Bretton Woods institutions: the World Bank and the IMF. One of the key attendees at the summit is Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. She joined us for Perspective.

The world should abandon its constant race for economic growth. That's the idea behind a new book written by the UN's Special Rapporteur on human rights and extreme poverty. In it, Olivier De Schutter argues that the system is now counterproductive in rich countries and that the Earth cannot continue to provide the resources we demand of it. "Infinite growth is not possible on a finite planet," he told us in Perspective.

This week, Paris is aiming to send a message to world leaders that the major issues facing the planet such as extreme poverty and climate change have to be tackled now. The "Power Our Planet" concert on June 22 in front of the Eiffel Tower is being organised by the NGO Global Citizen, an organisation that has already raised over $40 billion worldwide to fight poverty. The event is being held as world leaders meet in Paris for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. In Perspective, we spoke to Global Citizen's Chief Policy, Impact and Government Affairs Officer, Michael Sheldrick.

The world's first international treaty to protect the high seas is set to be adopted at the United Nations later this Monday. Amid rising sea temperatures, overfishing and even the fear of underwater mining, countries have come together to forge an agreement to try to protect international waters. The text is being seen as a huge step forward after more than 15 years of talks. In Perspective, we spoke to Jessica Battle, a senior expert on global ocean policy and governance at the WWF.

"4,211 km" is the distance between Tehran and Paris. It's also the title of a new play by French-Iranian director Aila Navidi showing at France's famed Avignon theatre festival next month. The show centres around a young woman named Yalda Farhadi, born in France to Iranian dissidents who never give up their dream of returning to their home country. Navidi says the play is almost completely autobiographical and that writing it felt "very necessary – like an emergency." More than 40 years after the Islamic revolution, she says her parents' generation has more hope than ever of one day going back, particularly since the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini nine months ago.

"I Will Live" is the best-selling account of the challenges faced by a young woman growing up within the confines of a strictly religious Turkish-Dutch family, and her efforts to break free of that conservative culture. Upon its publication in 2021, Lale Gül was greeted with a wave of condemnation, including death threats from members of her own Dutch Muslim community. The award-winning author joined us for Perspective to tell us more.

Born and raised in a small coal-mining town in eastern Ukraine, our guest lost her family home in 2014 when the region was occupied by Russian-backed separatists, and her parents and sister were forced to flee as internally displaced people. Her poetry offers powerful glimpses into how one woman finds herself affected by a life-altering conflict. Her latest collection is entitled "Apricots of Donbas". In Perspective, we spoke to award-winning Ukrainian poet, playwright and screenwriter Lyuba Yakimchuk.

In the classic Scheherazade myth, a Persian queen tells stories to captivate an evil ruler, saving herself and thousands of possible victims from death. The children's book "Sharzhad and the Angry King", by Montreal-based author and illustrator Nahid Kazemi, is a wonderful retelling of that legend. It's about a little girl who helps a tyrannical leader evolve through stories. Kazemi grew up in Iran – a country that knows a thing or two about tyrants – but she says her book is not all about dictators. It sends a message to children that they can bring change through conversation and wisdom, rather than war and violence. In Paris for the release of the French translation of the book, Nahid Kazemi joined us for Perspective.

The number of wild mountain gorillas, who are at risk from humans, is increasing for the first time in years. This is thanks to the efforts of conservationists like Uganda's first-ever wildlife veterinarian, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, who says they are truly gentle giants. There are just over a thousand mountain gorillas left, mostly high in the mountains in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kalema-Zikusoka has also written a book, "Walking with Gorillas", charting her life from young enthusiast to wildlife campaigner.

It's a feat that hasn't been repeated by a French player since 1983. It's been exactly forty years since Yannick Noah thrilled the crowds at Roland Garros – and audiences across France – when he beat Sweden’s Mats Wilander in the final of the French Open. Our guest for Perspective is Benjamin Rassat, director of the documentary "Noah-ed", which features testimony from the seven competitors the then-23-year-old beat to become France's last home champion for decades.