7-across – French prime minister appointed September 2024 : MICHEL

8-across – __ Brezhnev, Soviet leader 1964-1982 : LEONID

9-across – Susannah __, actor remembered for They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? : YORK

10-across – See 24 : SUNSHINE

11-across – 7/17’s predecessor in the role : GABRIEL

13-across – See 11 : ATTAL

15-across – Twyla __, choreographer : THARP

17-across – See 7 : BARNIER

20-across – Controversial owner of X : ELONMUSK

21-across – See 24 : MISS

23-across – Cultural exhibition held every two years in Italy : VENICE

24-across – 2006 comedy for which Abigail Breslin was nominated for an Oscar : LITTLE

1-down – Pejorative term for Republicans deemed insufficiently ideologically aligned : RINO

2-down – Member of a religious sect known for their minimalist furniture designs : SHAKER

3-down – Dramatic monologue by Tennyson beginning, “It little profits that an idle king … ” : ULYSSES

4-down – __ Close, actor who won a Golden Globe for her performance in The Wife : GLENN

5-down – Movie in which Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire danced cheek to cheek? : TOPHAT

6-down – See 23 Across : BIENNALE

12-down – Greek hero who slew Hector at the gates of Troy : ACHILLES

14-down – Elizabeth __, Victorian biographer : GASKELL

16-down – Ian __, author of the Rebus novels : RANKIN

18-down – Scottish slang for a fool : NUMPTY

19-down – W.H. __, poet whose works included Funeral Blues : AUDEN

22-down – Jonas __, developer of the first polio vaccine : SALK

7-across – Mononym of musician Richard Hall : MOBY

8-across – In literary analysis, a character representing the author or their views : ALTEREGO

9-across – Mike __, CIA director under Donald Trump : POMPEO

10-across – French city on the Loire : NANTES

11-across – Mononym of musician Robyn Fenty : RIHANNA

13-across – Ghanaian currency : CEDI

15-across – Simon __, actor who plays Benji Dunn in the Mission: Impossible films : PEGG

17-across – Language fusing German, Hebrew and elements of other languages : YIDDISH

20-across – County and city in Northern Ireland : ARMAGH

21-across – Artist and director of Exit Through the Gift Shop : BANKSY

23-across – Royal residence in Aberdeenshire : BALMORAL

24-across – Cornish town at the mouth of the River Neet : BUDE

1-down – Mononym of musician Paul Hewson : BONO

2-down – Another name for shortsightedness : MYOPIA

3-down – Mononym of musician __ Louise Ciccone : MADONNA

4-down – Mononym of musician Gordon Sumner : STING

5-down – Mononym of musician __ Rogers Nelson : PRINCE

6-down – Julio and Enrique __, musicians : IGLESIAS

12-down – __ College, London university specialising in applied sciences : IMPERIAL

14-down – Kipling’s spy, better known as Kim : KIMBALL

16-down – Award presented by the United States Recording Academy for outstanding achievement in music : GRAMMY

18-down – River flowing through Vienna : DANUBE

19-down – See 14 : OHARA

22-down – Mononym of musician Helen Folasade Adu : SADE

7-across – Russian carriage pulled by three horses : TROIKA

8-across – Title adopted by Benito Mussolini : ILDUCE

9-across – __ buco, dish made of veal shanks braised with vegetables, white wine and broth : OSSO

10-across – A type of French Protestant : HUGUENOT

11-across – Trademark name for piped music, typically used in lifts : MUZAK

13-across – See 24 : MONKEYS

16-across – Numbers of people required for a collective decision to be valid : QUORUMS

17-across – Currency used in e-commerce : ECASH

18-across – A 3 litre bottle of champagne : JEROBOAM

21-across – Barbara Lewis hit from 1965 re-recorded by Cass Elliot, Cher and 24/13 amongst others : BABY

23-across – Sheffield district southwest of the city centre : NETHER

24-across – Sheffield band whose early releases include 21/15 : ARCTIC

1-down – The Greek god of love : EROS

2-down – Mythical creature, half man, half ox : MINOTAUR

3-down – __ 1, velocity equal to the speed of sound : MACH

4-down – Light given off by the atmosphere of a planet : AIRGLOW

5-down – See 23 Across : EDGE

6-down – Abbreviated initials used as words : ACRONYMS

12-down – Stringed instruments, originally from Hawaii : UKULELES

14-down – A pinball machine part – or a bribe? : KICKBACK

15-down – See 21 Across : IMYOURS

19-down – Most populous of the Hawaiian islands : OAHU

20-down – Biblical kingdom in what is now Jordan : MOAB

22-down – French region – and its eponymous soft cheese : BRIE

1-across – Artform at which Marcel Marceau excelled : MIME

3-across – US president, assassinated in 1881 : GARFIELD

9-across – US president, assassinated in 1963 : KENNEDY

10-across – Charles and Ray __, furniture designers : EAMES

11-across – BBC animated children’s series featuring Three, Four, Five and Six : NUMBERJACKS

14-across – French phrase for a person who exercises power without holding an official position : EMINENCEGRISE

16-across – The nine-times women’s world championship motorcycle rider : EMMABRISTOW

19-across – A city in Yorkshire but a castle in Kent? : LEEDS

20-across – US president, assassinated in 1865 : LINCOLN

21-across – British prime minister assassinated in 1812 : PERCEVAL

22-across – __ Carter and Park, England footballers : JESS

1-down – US president, assassinated in 1901 : MCKINLEY

2-down – A half note in music : MINIM

4-down – __ Dorrit, protagonist in the Dickens novel : AMY

5-down – Overseas department of France on the South American mainland : FRENCHGUIANA

6-down – Inactive volcano in southern Peru : ELMISTI

7-down – Norfolk market town near the Suffolk border : DISS

8-down – French term for military conscription in times of crisis : LEVEEENMASSE

12-down – Sir __ Rees-Mogg, former cabinet minister : JACOB

13-down – Birds of the thrush family, typically found in berry filled hedgerows : REDWINGS

15-down – The animated TV brother of Grizzly and Panda? : ICEBEAR

17-down – Ella __, England footballer : TOONE

18-down – The __, slang for Gonorrhoea : CLAP

20-down – River running through east London : LEA

7-across – Jean Paul __, fashion designer : GAULTIER

8-across – __ Hegerty, ‘the governess’ to viewers of The Chase : ANNE

9-across – Writer who read her poem On the Pulse of Morning at Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration : MAYA

10-across – Olympic equestrian event : DRESSAGE

11-across – See 9 : ANGELOU

13-across – Electronic facial composites, used by law enforcement agencies : EFITS

15-across – T.E. Lawrence’s autobiographical reflections : SEVEN

17-across – See 15 : PILLARS

20-across – See 15 : OFWISDOM

21-across – The _, US TV series starring Laura Linney : BIGC

22-across – Country bordered by Ecuador and Chile : PERU

23-across – City on New Zealand’s North Island : AUCKLAND

1-down – King Arthur’s nephew? : GAWAIN

2-down – __ Kurylenko, star of Quantum of Solace : OLGA

3-down – A castle in Berkshire – or a House in the UK? : WINDSOR

4-down – Rival beheaded by Sir 1 in the medieval tale : GREEN

5-down – Wagner opera : PARSIFAL

6-down – See 4 : KNIGHT

12-down – Title given to retired professors : EMERITUS

14-down – Charlie __, television presenter and gardener : DIMMOCK

16-down – Alexandre Gustave __, French engineer known for his eponymous tower : EIFFEL

18-down – Scorsese biopic of Jake LaMotta : RAGING

19-down – __ Wright, director of the Cornetto trilogy? : EDGAR

21-down – See 18 : BULL