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Nous devons faire face à ce problème.

Nous devons faire face à ce problème.
We have to face this problem.
From Lesson 271:Verbs followed by à (à + infinitive)·French

Questions & Answers about Nous devons faire face à ce problème.

Why is there an à after faire face?
The expression for "to face" or "to confront" is faire face à. Just as you've learned that some verbs require à before an infinitive, this fixed expression requires à before the object you are facing, whether it's a noun like ce problème or an action.
Can I translate "to face" as a single verb instead of using faire face à?
Yes, you could use the verb affronter (to confront or face), which takes a direct object directly without a preposition: Nous devons affronter ce problème. However, faire face à is extremely common in everyday French and is an excellent idiom to master at this level.
Wait, isn't problème feminine since it ends in "-e"? Why use the masculine ce?
It is a classic exception! Problème is actually masculine (un problème), despite ending in "-e". Because it starts with a consonant, we use the standard masculine demonstrative adjective ce (meaning "this"). You only use cet for masculine nouns starting with a vowel sound.
Since devoir is conjugated as devons, why is faire in the infinitive?
Whenever you have two verbs back-to-back where the first one expresses a necessity, ability, or desire (like devoir, pouvoir, or vouloir), the second verb stays in its basic infinitive form. Here, devons tells us "we have to," and the action we have to do (faire) stays unconjugated.

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