Le Débat was a French magazine published every two months from 1980 to 2020. It was started by Pierre Nora and Marcel Gauchet and connected to left-wing politics in France. It was called the most important intellectual magazine in France during the late 20th century.

The first issue of Le Débat was released on the day of Jean-Paul Sartre’s funeral. Pierre Nora, the editor, said the magazine would show a new way for French intellectuals to work: without being tied to political movements, they would focus on thoughtful analysis. In the 1980s, each issue sold between 8,000 and 15,000 copies. People who led the magazine in the past include Raymond Aron, Georges Dumézil, François Jacob, Michel Foucault, Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, François Furet, and Jacques Le Goff.

In 2020, Le Débat announced in its 40th anniversary issue that it would stop publishing. Christopher Caldwell said younger left-wing thinkers no longer respected the magazine. They believed its criticism of U.S.-style identity politics and its focus on French ideas of equality were outdated.