>> traditional christmas message, where he prays for u.n. act peace agreements to urge eight dignified future for migrants. touching down, and just prime minister arrives in pakistan's eastern city of lahore. counterpart, surprise visit is the first sign of the indian -- 2004.ince 24

and extraordinary crisis rocked europe with an estimated one million migrants reaching its shores in search of a better life. we look at what is to become up three migrants who stories have made headlines. hello, you're watching "france 24." these are our top stories. pope francis delivered a message of tolerance and peace during his traditional christmas in rome. addressing thousands of believers, the pontiff prays does praised those who have taken in refugees and stressed to give them "dignified future." the pope also said he prayed the would toed agreements announce suffering. -- the non-suffering. >> we pray that the agreement reached in the united nations

may succeed in halting as quickly as possible the clash of remedyingria and in the extremely grave humanitarian situation of its suffering people. >> the very latest on the pope's speech, philip is in rome. good afternoon to you. talk as through some of the key messages the pope stressed on today. >> as we expected, the pope addressed various conflict hotspots around the world, as you say, libya and syria were high on his list. he also mentioned the conflict between the israelis and palestinians, and called for resumption of direct talks between the two sides. he mentioned other countries in the middle east and africa.

what was unusual, perhaps on this occasion, the pope singled out a series of recent terrorist massacres, mentioning them by name in egyptian airspace, he said in beirut, paris and tunis. his call for dialogue and reconciliation was set against this backdrop of very negative, violent events around the world. >> a strong series of messages, we can say. how effective are these likely to be. >> that is an interesting question. the pope delivers this type of message over a year and every year, there seems to be a lot of war and conflict going on in the world. but it is true pope francis has established himself as a very significant global leader and his voice does appear to be

listened to by many people, far beyond the confines of the christian faith. i think he has extra credibility because he does teach by example and he also seeks to identify the root causes of many of these ,onflicts in poverty competition for resources, climate change. so i think many people consider his voice is a considered voice, and one that merits being listened to very carefully. >> speaking to us from rome, thank you. theirms kicked off christmas celebrations in bethlehem on thursday. the festivities were subdued against a backdrop of violence. triggered unrest has a sharp decline in visitors to the holy land this year. only a sparse crowd was on hand to welcome the latin patriarch.

they said they were proud to have made the trip. square, visited by mahmoud abbas attending midnight mass. it is a tense time. for three months, clashes between israeli troops and palestinian protesters have been rife in this holy city. the mood is somber. crowns are thin. but the presence of a palestinian leader is an attempt to try to lift spirits. on thursday, four palestinians were killed in separate incidences in the west bank. israel says three of them carried out attacks on israeli soldiers and securely guards. -- security guards. it comes a day after an israeli man died from wounds sustained in a stabbing attack in jerusalem. >> when i was told what

happened, i fell on the ground and i started crying to god. the 16-year-old girl bearing a father. >> the latest violence overshadows what should be a festive time of the year for all. other world news, in france, the festive season is fully underway but six weeks on from terror attacks that rocked the capital, the country is under tight security. an estimated 120,000 soldiers and policemen have been mobilized over the christmas period with patrols stepped up from tourist attractions to churches. >> it is midnight mass in paris is latin quarter and christians are greeted by security guards. believers are asked to wait a minute before entering the church. i'm looking and checking their bags deceive there is

anything abnormal. >> the state of emergency has been declared across france ever since paris was attacked by terrorists in november. >> we are not here to worry them, but to reassure them. >> for the first time, this priest says he has to hire security. for dozens of years, christmas has been celebrated in peace but in many countries, that is never been the case. so unfortunate, we can't say it is unbelievable to see christmas take place here, an atmosphere of tension and slight fear. >> just as many believers as usual have taken a seat for what they see as a holy night. midnight mass is a very special moment for them. >> christmas invites us to live in trust by praying for peace in the world, therefore, i don't think want to be tempted to give in and spread some kind of fear. we know there can never be zero risk. all measures have been taken to prevent another catastrophe from hitting france and possibly a church. >> the church will have 120,000

forces including policeman have been mobilized over christmas. yet another day or night at work for those men and women whose duty is to protect the people in france. hasndia's prime minister touched on in the pakistani city of lahore and a surprise visit to meet his counterpart nowaz sharif. india and pakistan resumed high-level contacts on the sidelines of the recent climate change talks here in paris. an effort toof restart a peace dialogue. we will get the latest from islam a bad. hello to you. this is an unexpected visit, but outlined for us -- outline for us what will be on the agenda. >> as you mentioned, this was a surprise visit and modi in a tweet announced he would be stopping over in lahore, which

is a city of the prime minister, a stronghold. and right now they landed most is gone to and he the prime minister's residence. we do not really know the agenda. from what the observers are saying, political commentators are sang, because modi is coming from afghanistan and this was a stopover in pakistan and then going back home, this -- one of the main things they could talk indiais the trade between and afghanistan, which is what the foreign minister recently also mentioned in one of the meetings with the foreign minister of pakistan, that they wanted to access to afghanistan through pakistan, the land routes right now do not exist. the indian trade is not allowed to go through pakistan to afghanistan. that could possibly be one of the main agendas, given the fact afghanistan.g from at the same time, they did

discuss in the national security advisor meeting that happened last month, they will resume the dialogue which was suspended for a few years in which they will talk about all of the conflicts there are. there might be some headway in that also, but most of the observers here in pakistan feel because it is a surprise visit, a short visit, there won't be in a breakthrough but there will be an outline of a plan for what to do next within pakistan and india. as we have seen the relationship has seen some improvement in the last be months. >> you touched on improvement. it is fair to say relations arif have notand sh been clear sailing. perhaps this could set them on the right track "france 24 definitely. we have been saying that ever since modi came in. -- modi.nt to the there is a contentious point between both countries, which is

the mumbai attacks in 2008, india still says pakistan has not brought the perpetrators of the attacks to justice. india has given them some evidence about that. so that is one of the points of contention, the mumbai attack, what is happened in the investigation. otherwise, despite that, the focus on trade, which could lead to further improvement, sort of a silver lining in the relationships in which modi and sharif both have said will improve relations or trade. and that could lead to further breakthroughs in the relationship between two countries. fromeaking to us islamabad, thank you. officials say scores of people have been killed during a huge gas explosion after -- in the southeast of the country. the blast is thought to of been triggered by a truck exploding as a offloaded cooking gas.

more than 100 people were said to have been lining up to refill their cooking gas cylinders in time for christmas when explosion occurred. in 2015, extraordinary crisis rocked europe with an estimated one million migrants, a record number, reaching its shores in search of a better life. the hardships many migrants faced in their native countries would become struggles to across european borders, but for a lucky few, a happy ending was inside. here is what became of three migrants who stories that made headlines around the world this year. p a ini the ruinsanist and football coach. they were among the one million migrants who reached europe this year. and three months later, they lead 's. one is the father of the boy who was found dead on a beach in

turkey. since then, he's been busy with a humanitarian project in iraq and is a message for europe. >> my messages, i would like the whole world to open its doors to syrians at this time of year. i would like to ask you all to think about the pain of fathers, mothers who are seeking peace and security. i wish you a very happy new year posted hopefully, next year, the war will end in syria. he was playing the piano in a refugee cap in damascus. amid the devastation, he encouraged children to sing. but music is prohibited by the islamic state group. and one day, he was questioned. , a pno?is this, he said

don't you know music is prohibited? and then bye bye piano. it is not a good idea to argue uph them, so you just give and you retreat. >> like many migrants, he took the perilous journey by sea and made it to germany. a manufacturer promised to give him a brand-new piano while he awaits official refugee status of you can continue his studies. found himself on the ground with his son in his arms. tripped by this kind during journalist. a football coach in syria, his story struck a court in madrid where he was offered a job.

the father and son are often pitch, the stands or the their smiles on their faces as they rub shoulders with football stars. three men symbolizing the struggles of refugees who fled conflict and traveled to europe in search of a better life. thank you very much. we will be back in 15 minutes with more world headlines. stay tuned. >> thank you for joining us. this week, we're looking at the face of the french press, which like the print media and many other countries of the world, has in circulation figures fall

in the last 10 or 15 years. this is a growing number of people who look online to find out what is going on. no sign of a slowdown here. this is batches of le monde newspaper. coming up, we see how the main players in france's printed press are doing in these increasingly uncertain times. we introduce you to some of the owners of the country's best-known newspapers. and the perfect recipe, it is not all doom and group. some of france's specialized publication seemed to be doing just fine. for just a stones throw from paris's main airport. just behind me, 200,000 copies ready datenewspaper the new stance and a couple of hours from now. during the course of the last 15 years, newspaper sales have been in a decline in france. as we will see, that trend isn't publicly uniform. >> the golden age of the written

press feels long gone most of 1913, printing workshops turned out 10 million newspapers every day. 320 different publications, the fastest -- the biggest in europe and the second biggest in the world. both world war ii the industry hard. by the 1970's, two thirds of publications had disappeared. french never reads newspapers. the country's bestseller is original paper, with 715,000 copies a day, it sells more than figaro and le mond. weekly magazines, television guys are the most popular, 12 million fly off shelves every week. celebrity in women's magazines are struggling, while cooking magazines are still going strong. french newspapers went out of steam. apparently, not.

readership is rising. one in five uses a tablet to get the news. readership on smartphones has grown 29%. keeping a bombing across platforms, looks like french people will keep reading them. keeping reading across platforms, looks like french people will keep reading them. kiosks like this one, central position on the streets of french towns and cities. given the decline in newspaper sales, many of the vendors are struggling to stay afloat. last year alone, hundreds went out of business. >> le monde, le monde, get your copy here. >> ever since i've been in paris, i sold papers between one and three. people get their copy of le monde from you. after 3:00, no one is around. >> is a well-known figure. the last remaining newspaper vendor of its kind in paris.

been around the streets for 43 years. these your, -- these days coming he sells less papers than he used to. day, sometimes 300 when something big happened like a tragedy or war. these days, even the death of a president counts for nothing. i still sell a few, but now people just get out their phones to find out if anything is true. david faces similar problems. after running this is agent for the past nine years, over the summer she was forced to shut up shop for good. >> back then, it was the figaro in the morning and le monde in the afternoon. everything had its allotted times. >> she hasn't been able to pay herself a cellar for several years due to her debt. a crisis not only linked to the drop in sales. >> we have to rethink the paper press. we need new models and distribute in different ways. >> most of the criticism is

directed at distributors who provide the publications for cell. in 2012, the market was paralyzed following a strike led by one of the two biggest distributor's in paris. you want to buy your paper and read it in the morning stop when it is delivered at 11:00 a.m., what are you supposed to do? >> to deal with the crisis, several innovations have sprung up in response. >> where are we at now? uses a printer revolutionary new process. each edition of the magazine is tailored to its reader specifications. >> i think that mass printing will soon also become high-quality printing. >> the latest technology allows us to use inkjet, which means we can send 500,000 people 500,000 different versions of the publication. >> so-called intelligent paper is one way the printing industry has responded to the challenging it faces, rivals online can

create infinitely customizable content almost instantly. the tough times facing the french press, newspapers are still a hit with investors. --t recently, lbmh purchased let's take a look at some of the other big-name investors in the french press. >> a long-standing tradition, industrial tycoons buying up the media business. this time it is starting to look like a giant game of monopoly. after injecting 14 million euros , telecom magnet has taken over 20 french titles that were under the belgian media group, including a weekly paper and a monthly magazine. according to a historian, these do captains of the media industry are an acquisition spree, to be present on all fronts and master the entire chain of information. >> we have the same articles,

the same shows being shown on different screens, tvs, and mobile phones. it is what we call the coming together of content. mr. draghi's logic is simple, he owns the telecom companies and the pipelines, so why not buy the content that travels through those pipelines, too? another telecom entrepreneur made multiple investments in french media. and --ht daily le monde the president of one of the biggest entertainment groups in a tvorld recently bought channel. following the acquisition, he canceled a satirical program, raising fears who could intervene and other editorial choices. the problem is that all this could start weighing on the editorial choices of newspapers and self censorship could emerge

. in some ways, information and the media in france would be controlled by journalists would be muzzled. the investments come as the french newspaper and magazine industry is struggling amid declining readership and falling advertisement revenue. union representatives said several newspapers have warned these type of mergers often lead to massive job cuts. >> we know in central paris, a shop that sells newspapers and magazines come always from the times of the french revolution of to the modern age. what is on display just goes to show the broad range of interest that france's media caters to. it is precisely this specialized action of the market which in some cases since two have booked the downward trend. we will take you now to see one

magazine which seems to have cooked up the perfect recipe for success. >> here we go, a yummy cereal bar. >> beat the boss, making a new recipe that will be published -- meet the boss, making a new recipe that will be published. the chef doesn't usually come up with recipes, web users do. they share their ideas online and the best ones are then printed in the magazine. >> people enjoy recipes that are put forward by other people liked them. it reassures them into thinking they can make it. it is not like a chef's recipe. and that is why it is important there are no professionals, only foodies. >> the project started in the 1990's when he was a computer engineer. he launched his startup with two colleagues. now 17 employees work for him in central paris. they are in charge of the website and the print version the first came out five years ago. that day, the content manager

turned into a photographer. she says the magazine pictures should not look to glossy. >> it has to be easy and simple, meaning anyone should be able to make it at home with no difficulty. >> the number one food website, the second-most popular culinary magazine in france with more than 4 million fans. tens of thousands of recipes that all have to satisfy a reader's needs. withen you have to deal your nanny, school and groceries, he cannot afford to spend two hours in the kitchen. at the same time, people want to eat healthy meals, and that is something that preoccupies the more and more. >> more than a dozen food magazines have mushroomed in france, even newspapers dedicate special editions to gastronomy. journalists, culinary articles have always been popular. >> back in the day, people used to write down recipes and notebooks, whatever family members taught them or whatever they learned at finishing school. now people still have a habit of

flipping through magazines. what are they talking about this month? chestnuts. they would not have thought about it if they had not read about it. food magazines take a large slice of the cake in the french press. there are so many to choose from, you will be left in a pickle. >> that is it for this week's edition of "france in focus." see you again soon.

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