>> thank you for joining us. coming up this evening. the government imposes a new super tax. is this the end of the sport here in france? let's get all the latest international news. >> these are the headlines.

phase one complete. syria's stocks of chemical weapons have been placed under seal. lawmakers in turkey wore their headscarf in parliament for the first time in 14 years. france's president tells football bosses he will not drop his super tax. syria can no longer produce new chemical weapons. that is what the watchdog announced this thursday. the day before the deadline set. a detailed plan to destroy the chemical weapons stock pile. >> one day before deadline, according to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, the regime has destroyed the facilities used to

produce chemical agents. >> we have observed all the destruction activity. they are not in a position to conduct any further production, mixing of chemical weapons. >> syria agreed to destroy all of its chemical weapons after washington threatened to use force. that was in response to the killing of an estimated 1400 people in an attack near damascus in august. president assad said rebels were behind the attack. they visited 21 of 23 sites. the organization says the remaining two sides were too dangerous to visit and is confident the equipment had been moved to other sites for inspection. damascus says the remaining two sides are no longer in use.

under the timetable, the chemical weapons themselves must be destroyed i made 2014. the conflict continues -- must be destroyed i 2014. all the while, the conflict continues. >> for female lawmakers have attended a parliament session in turkey wearing headscarves for the first time since 1999. the recent reversal of the ban on islamic headgear. >> there are four parties in parliament and only one opposed today's move. the republican people's party [inaudible] should enter parliament.

they opposed the way it has been done. they sell today's move as a political maneuver and the keys spokesman in the debate said he had a system -- a sister who wears the headscarf who has been wearing it since the age of 12. but the four women in parliament have come into parliament many times without the headscarves. he attacked these women very strongly. they have never taken part in parliamentary debate. this is true. i had never spoken out against husband speeding up their wives or killing their wives in turkey. they had never spoken out against police's spraying pepper gas into a woman's face during the protests in june. how can you women talk about a headscarf as a human right when

you have ignored, you have failed to defend women's rights? >> it is unjustified, and that is our jerry's reaction after morocco recalled its ambassador to algiers -- a jury's reaction after morocco recalled its ambassador to algiers. >> dozens of moroccans dissented on the streets of the capital. they are protesting outside of the algerian embassy against what they see as the latest insult aimed by algeria and morocco over the western sahara. a speech read on behalf of algeria's president on wednesday called for an international monitor of human rights in the disputed territory. local struggle for freedom was suppressed amid human rights violations.

>> it is a demonstration to show our solidarity with the moroccan people, the nation, and the king. >> has even undermined our kings dignity. >> on wednesday, morocco recalled its ambassador for the first time. a move algeria described as unjustified. algeria has long supported the september -- separatist movement. >> we love algerians and we have nothing against the algerian people. we want god to help their leaders to open the borders so that we can have free movement. >> morocco annexed the former spanish colony, in a move never recognized by the international community. >> residents have overwhelmingly voted in favor of being part of south sudan.

the status was unresolved after south sudan became independent in 2011. it was an unofficial referendum with more than 99% of votes. the french government may have backtracked on a few taxes recently, but not the 75% super tax. they are still urging players to hang up their boots at the end of november. >> french president francois hollande refused to back down despite the arguments brought forward by the delegation representing french football. they all feel this new 75% tax will damage their clubs finances and prevent them from recruiting top layers.

that is what the bordeaux president told us. >> we ask for adjustments. we wanted the president to listen to our side, but i do not think we can come to this conclusion after the meeting. for the moment, we do not think we got very far. >> a lockout for the end -- a walkout at the end of november seems more inevitable than ever. it is only fair that footballers pay more taxes in the next couple of years in these tough economic times. >> he has cooked for six french presidents. but he is retiring. not before spilling some secrets in a book. >> the kitchen is his kingdom.

after 39 years of dedicated service, he is hanging up his apron. he joined the palace's culinary season back in 1974. >> it makes it interesting. >> he has cooked for six french presidents. >> i have the same customer to serve. we feel obliged to keep changing things up. like always having different side dishes. >> for state dinners, the stakes were high. he served up many memorable meals for visiting heads of state, including several u.s. presidents come alike ronald reagan.

>> it is to show all of the french flair and know-how. cable service and flowers. -- cable service and flowers. books to markets retirement, -- >> to mark his retirement, he has published his memoir. francois hollande likes nearly everything. nicholas sarkozy dieted and banned cheese from the menu. >> that is it from the newsroom for now. >> thank you very much. on the debate this evening, football, french football. anyone looking forward to -- will be disappointed. clubs are going on strike, a dozen games were postponed. because of an impending super tax promised by françoise

gallant -- francois hollande. there are lawyers will have to pay that money. football clubs say it is the death of french football. >> the meeting took place in an environment that left all of the major players to express their concern. there worries. -- their worries. >> a good atmosphere? that is not quite the way the french football officials saw it. >> the possibility of moving forward for the time being, there has been no progress regarding the possibility of a solution. we might have even taken a step backward. >> is socialism going to kill french but all?

dan leavy is our "france 24" sports editor. thank you for being on set with us. we have a business consultant. he will be telling us whether clubs can still be competitive after the super tax. elizabeth is a columnist for the sunday telegraph. you have been writing about these tax issues. an economist passionate about football and writing about economics. he has a book, do not blame football. thank you to everyone for being with us. my first question, are clubs being a little dramatic?

they are saying this is the end of french football. >> for some of them, they could go to the court and face bankruptcy. monaco will not pay any tax because they have a special status. >> there is the football italy and also the football middle class. -- elite and also the football middle class. >> marr side -- marseille. some of them just break even. >> let's look at the amount of money that is involved and the amount of money the clubs are going to be paying.

they say it is 4 million euros. their clubs will have to pay 44 million euros. marseille with 8 million. bordeaux paying several million euros a year. they say they will have to let go of their best layers in order to balance their books -- best layers in order to balance their books. >> he is one of the few exceptions. monaco, because of the enormous

amount, has been able to bring back star players, some of them french. normally, the cases they create top layers and they go to places like england and spain. it is a real problem for french football. >> in terms of the economic competitiveness, clubs are saying, we are losing money. >> many clubs are not big companies. we have two issues. one is a global issue.

all french companies are paying too much taxes. in france, we have the highest corporate tax rate. it is about 36%. the government is planning to increase it again. >> it will apply to several hundred companies, about 450 companies. it is not just football. >> it is a global issue for all of the french companies. it is more interesting to see the whole issue. the whole issue is the french competitiveness. germany has lowered its corporate tax by 22 points. france is now going to increase it. there is this very special tax. the government is planning to increase it again.

we have a government who is going the opposite. >> football players playing in france are good taxpayers. they are good taxpayers. i have the list of the french sportsmen who went to switzerland. all of them pay their tax in france. if you add social taxes and the rates, it is 685 million euros that are paid by the football to the treasury. >> they are fulfilling their tax

>> all of them. >> some other sportsmen avoid french taxes. >> i have some names. >> they are living outside. when the government says it wants to eat the rich people, these rich people already pay their taxes. >> people leave france to avoid the french taxes. >> they do not have much choice. they do not -- if you are a good footballer, you go to england. >> that is a shame, but it is true. >> the french taxes, it is just too much.

the french government has gone over the top. in the past two years, there is so much fury that he tries something out and he gets hit by public opinion and he takes it back. it is not just that people are being overtaxed, and not just the rich. anybody rich is somebody making over 4500 euros a month. >> he said the enemy is finance. >> we know exactly what he meant. >> he is also a football fan. >> i think so.

>> if he is really a football fan -- >> he also has other duties. >> i have not seen him at games. when the french team won the world cup in 1998, she kissed the head of the goalkeeper. it was a magic movement. it was charming. you could see that he had been watching the matches. it is not just people feel they are being overtaxed, it is also that businesses have no visibility. you do not know what the taxes are going to be like. you do not know for how long. >> this taxes retroactive. >> many taxes are being made retroactive.

it seems to me completely contrary to law. >> there are huge issues about this. it is something -- it is good since, you cannot ask people to pay taxes they have earned in the past few years. >> these clubs will have to pay tax on the players they signed last season. >> companies, football clubs are just asking for visibility. many companies are just leaving france because -- if you cannot

do this, even if taxes are low - - >> you need reliability. >> they are not low, they are very high. >> we are past denmark to be the country where public this -- public expenditure is the highest percentage of gdp. take this tax on life insurance and that is richer active to 1997. -- retroactive to 1997. i do not know if they picked that out of a hat.

it has been gone and you are told you have to pay more taxes on stuff you made almost 20 years ago. >> in france, they tend to negotiate the contracts net. they are protected from this type of legislative change. that is why the burden is falling on the clubs. they are protected by the nature of their negotiations. they will receive the same amount of money. it is not just -- this whole debate is built upon -- it is

not about them protesting for more money. >> you are saying that football players negotiate their salaries in terms of net salaries? >> in the u.k., it tends not to be. you have had instances of players thinking that their salaries were net. >> there is stability in terms of -- the clubs have to balance their books, everything has to be foreseeable. for the players, everything is foreseeable. >> listen to the budget minister. this is exactly what he had to say. >> the president of the republic

sat down with the governments wish to implement this tax. it would mean that all of the french businesses abide by the same tax laws. >> this is not coming out of nowhere. francois hollande and heritage -- inherited a situation. he is try to reduce debt in the way the central left parties often do here in france, by increasing taxes across the board. >> the efficiency of this tax would be very weak. it is a symbol. >> it is punitive. >> it is a punitive tax, yes. >> this took place in a very

special context. he had good news yesterday. it does not matter if they loose money. a symbol is a simple. >> the government had to make a point. >> the president, at least. >> in france, say you are a boss. the somebody is going to receive 1000 euros. that person will pay payroll taxes. they will see 780 euros. the boss will have to pay something like 1700 euros.

it is very expensive. you pay a special tax on all households. all of this is very expensive. the other point about football is they are striking. suddenly, the media tell you, strikes are very dangerous. businesses around the stadiums are going to lose money. you are not supposed to criticize strikers. the point has to be made. >> there is a national consensus against -- >> against anybody who is perceived as being rich. >> this is not about the players, it is about the clubs. >> they want to see clubs survive.

they are subject to enormous wage inflation. they can kind of pay whatever they like. >> also scoring in lots of goals. >> it is not such a concern. other players will see the kind of wages going on. i have to go somewhere like england. >> one of our viewers saying, just when french football is finally taking off, and

unjustified tax is going to bring it down. we will take a short break. >> phase one complete, inspectors say serious -- syria's stockpile of chemical weapons have been placed under seal.

female lawmakers in turkey for their headscarves in parliament for the first time in 14 years. part two of the "france 24" debate. salaries and france over one million euros will be taxed 75%. football clubs will have to be -- will have to let go of their best players. will socialism kill french football? what is social media saying? >> lots of people are not really supporting the footballers. you have to take the hit like the rest of us. 67% of french people think the players should pay up.

it is quite a french attitude when it comes to the wealthy. a lot of people pointing to this front page. that is a rather unflattering portrayal. clearly, not a lot of compassion. other people, i thought that was their editorial for a second. it is just a report in the sports newspaper. the state is inflexible. this one advisor saying no one is solving the immense poverty of football clubs -- ha ha. >> francois hollande playing

football. >> perhaps it has something to do with his very awkward style. that was a treat going back a couple of days. -- tweet going back a couple of days. are we going to see a protest with for aris -- ferraris and porsches? there have been two about turns by french governments on tax issues. people are protesting in red caps over the tax that was going to hit truckers. that was already -- gave rise to a lot of headlines.

highly unlikely when the public supports francois hollande, for once. >> thank you jerry much. let's get more of this -- thank you very much. let's get more on this with our panel. danley be is with us this evening. -- dan leavy is with us this evening. what is your favorite team? >> it was part of my youth.

they belong to my culture. >> before we get to the european models, let's look at how this super tax came about. he first floated the idea during his electoral campaign in february 2012. a month later, french football officials warned that it might be the death of french football. they canceled the tax, saying that it ran counter to the french constitution. the tax was revised. that it was when it was decided that companies, not employees, would have to pay the tax. a dozen games will be canceled.

there has been wage inflation in the english premier league. >> they make it off tv revenue. merchandising. and they can make it specifically from a wealthy benefactor as well. the problem is that if you have benefactors, which has happened recently, they tend to raise the average wage level. the way that football is viewed has gone up across the world. their match day revenue was what they make at the stadium.

tv money is far and away the largest growing of those three. in the future, it will be the backbone. french football is not that well regarded. the foreign television rights are sold for a pittance. the english premier league went for 800 million. the french one, 32. it shows you the difference. it trickles down. the amount of money is enormous. they are paying a lot less tax

for their players and it will be players. -- to attract the top players. >> players playing for french clubs are in -- earn half a million euros a year. dan was just talking about the english premier league. it is considerably more. they charge more for their tickets. it is highly sought after and greatly desired. >> they are not paying a 75% tax. >> what you said about the tv rights is very interesting. and you look at the amount of money, you see the last of the

championship in the premier league making more money with the tv rights than the french championship. the question today is to improve the match day revenue. >> the team that wins the english premier league is set to make 100 million pounds. if you are bottom of the lead at 70 million euros, that is a lot of money. >> france has gained, it is more attractive to international viewers. it has more glamour. >> clubs are making it much more difficult for other teams.

they have more organic revenue streams. they make it difficult for the other teams. it should render it a less appealing product. however, the only way they come in is through wealthy benefactors. >> it is an industry. it has to be considered an industry. >> how do you make the world attractive to international audiences? >> we will have a two speed championship. today, the league class will be

hit by this tax. it is a question of competitiveness in terms of economy. >> listen to what one of our viewers is saying on twitter. who would want to play in france with a 75% tax rate? >> someone who could play for monaco. >> it is a sign to the professional players, do not come to france. >> david beckham played in his agreement was that he would play for five months and 28 days. that is why he did not become liable to pay tax in france. >> he is such an attractive and global brand.

spain had a tax system for a number of years that was called be beckham system. >> it was 22%. foreign players would only play 20 something percent income tax. it has recently lapsed. they're back to 46%. the benefit is they can count on huge revenue from tv because they are one of the few shining lights at the top of the game. >> from a competitiveness standpoint, you have to bring in the good players. you have to be competitive from a fiscal standpoint. >> what is interesting, the

football clubs are companies. if you just look at the business , it is the same structure. >> listed on the french stock exchange. >> have the means to -- some are leaving the country. they have tax lawyers and many people working for them. you have the small companies that cannot become bigger. it is the same in the football industry. we have the two stars and all of the medium companies that cannot grow because the taxes, because of labor laws. i wanted to come back on what we

read in the press. why do the french hate the rich people? we have francois hollande saying -- speaking. >> he did not use quite that strong of words. he did not like the rich. >> i hate money. >> very strong for a french president. they opened the wall street journal and they read, i hate finance. >> he is representing a view that does exist in france. >> it is not about money.

it is about justice. >> the football players are good taxpayers. the contribution of all clubs is more than 600 million euros. what is going to happen? too much tax -- what is going to happen is that the players are going to play outside france and the money will not come to france. >> what our viewer was saying, france is in dire economic straits and 50% of the french population earns under 1700 euros a month.

and do not pay taxes. and the point that politicians across the board come not just the socialist, what we have to address the economy, we need to ask for more solidarity on behalf of the businesses. >> justice and solidarity are very nice words. france was a catholic country. it has never decided that marxism was a bad thing. you mix the two and that is what you get. germany raised the rate by one percent in 2010. it does not change that. it worked. we are doing a series of taxes that hurt categories because

they are an object of envy for the rest. it is not efficient. it is not pushing the economy forward. >> it is right that they contribute a lot of money to the tax system. >> other businesses [inaudible] >> the problem is no different. >> why do the french want the rich to pay so much taxes? there is a level of income that cannot be justified. even if you are very good, it is not justified. we decide to pass laws.

we live in a frozen society. if you are at the bottom of society, you will never grow up. it is impossible. you say ok, i will never become rich. i will not let the others become rich. >> there is something else that is feeding into this, perhaps. french attitudes towards -- players who play for the french national team had a bad image. look at some of the pictures and the reason why they have had such a bad image dating back to 2010. the world cup in south africa. that bus, what is that?

>> this is the 2010 where the french players refuse to come off the team bus. after what happened in the dressing room. the coach. this has had a huge impact. we saw the captain recently speaking out. >> this is about french football, not just the national team. >> that feeds into this debate. it is ingrained into the collective consciousness. this overall pervasive impression that footballers are a bunch of spoiled brats. >> we have an organization --

that does not exist in england. it is a question of culture. when you go to england, the united kingdom, from the pub to the match, this is what i am doing, too. a strong identification with the fans. it is not a real french phenomenon. >> i forget which year that was, lost the world cup for the french. he was forgiven immediately. >> there is a statue of him in qatar. >> the guy insults at him.

-- insulted him. he should have lost all of his endorsements and his contracts. he was allowed to apologize after a deal with his agent. he explained he was highly insulted. the message that was being sent to french youth was, if somebody insults you, hit them. what happened in south africa was the direct consequence of the tantrum and nobody ever dared to tell him that he was wrong. i will agree that they are spoiled brats. >> in england, players earn huge amounts of money, but it is easy

for the clubs to absorb that. they can count on revenue from tv deals. here in france, it is a much more acute problem. french clubs are struggling. it was a unanimous vote the strike. monico, it does not affect them at all. they still know this is a problem. for a product to remain appealing to spectators, it needs to retain competitiveness. you do lose that if the middle class clubs are having to pay a great amount of money for the

players they have had previously. >> you are a tax lawyer and a business consultant. let's assume you are hired by pascal's favor club -- favorite club. they are not an elite club. they have a strong fan base. i hit a nerve. what would you advise them to do? keep your star players and pay the tax? >> they will have to pay before christmas. >> what would you advise them to do? >> they have already had to do that.

they needed the money. it is already been happening for several years. they cannot compete with the kind of money generated by clubs in england, spain, and italy. >> the springboards for better leagues. >> you will have to pay taxes. try to cut the costs. as you will have to pay, try communication. go on strike. that is what they are doing. they cannot leave the country,

it is impossible. they have a communication battle. >> maybe they could spend the money they already have. they could market themselves better. >> good point. >> the fans end up paying. fans will always support their team, more or less. even if the price goes up, they still want to see their team. so much of the revenue is from abroad, tv revenue. a football fan in india watching

french football. nobody wants to watch this, so we should change. people abroad, they are watching on tv now. new fans bring up all the time. i see clubs going onto her to asian now. -- tour to asia now. france is not one of those leagues. >> fans have not fallen in love. thank you very much. thank you to all of our guests this evening for joining the "france 24" debate. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

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