catherine: hello. it is 9:00 p.m. in the french capital. you are watching "live from paris" on "france 24." i'm catherine nicholson with your headlines. the justice minister, christiane taubira, now officially out of the cabinet. that is over plans two strip convict -- to strip convicted terrorists of their french citizenship.

hassan rouhani is now here in paris, continuing his landmark tour of europe. and, more cases of those eco-virus -- of the zika virus have been diagnosed in europe. controversy over how to diagnose and combat illness thought to have caused thousands of birth defects in babies in brazil. she was one of the best-known faces of francois hollande's government, but outspoken justice minister christine tamara has cleared -- christiane taubira has cleared her desk. delano d'souza brings us up to

date. delano: sometimes, you need to fight for what you believe in. sometimes, to fight for what you believe in means you have to go. words christiane taubira used to describe why she is stepping down as france's justice minister. parliament in france is discussing a key divisive constitutional reform. it would see convicted terrorists stripped of their french citizenship. taubira vehemently just -- opposed it. taubira: i quit the government over a major political disagreement. type chosen to remain loyal to myself -- i have chosen to remain loyal to myself. the terrorist danger which is threatening us is serious, but i think we should not given any victory, either military, diplomatic, political, or

symbolic. delano: born in french guiana, she will go down as a fiery left-winger who was french's most senior black politician. among her key legislation, pushing for legislation to allow gay couples in france to marry. but since the paris attacks last november, she has been increasingly at loggerheads with president hollande. jean-jacques urvoas has been nominated to take over taubira's post. the departure comes as order is shaken within the government as it looks to the presidential election next year. catherine: there has been plenty of relapse -- of reaction to the resignation. the former spokesperson for the socialist party says that ms. taubira will continue to count in the party and she is one who can bring people together. from the opposition, less

sympathetic, saying that her departure is a good thing for the country. earlier, i spoke to another member of his party. >> she was not very much approved by the people from the republique. she was not considered to work well with interior minister bernard, is -- bernard cazeneuve and was not considered efficient in terms of fighting the increasing insecurity. on the other hand, she was a very strong woman with a strong character, and, as you just explained, she was not sharing the view of the cabinets and the president concerning the constitutional change. it is a subject to withdraw french citizenship from

terrorists. catherine: it does look like the path has been cleared for the constitution to be changed in view of this plan to strip french citizenship from convicted terrorists. i assume that is something that you might approve of because -- approve of as part of the les republicains party. why is this law necessary? >> this is not as simple as you describe. withdrawing french citizenship is already possible by french law in case of a severe attack, for example. two days after the attack at the french bataclan, the french president, mr. blonde, announced -- mr. holl announcedande, -- mr. hollande, announced this change. there has been a lot of debate.

it is not a subject of citizenship. as you may know, most terrorists kill themselves in the acts they give. -- do. the question is much more to work together between justice and minister of interior. it's a question of information. information concerning people who are risky in terms of radicalizing. the political subject is more for the french government to take the subject. the withdrawal of miss taubira is not to the terrorist issue. it is a very global issue. catherine: paris has once again been a taxi-free zone. taxi drivers say they are unhappy about what they see as unfair competition from ride-

sharing services like uber. they have been, over has been ordered to pay a fine -- uber has been ordered to pay a fine of 1.2 million euros. some taxi drivers want authorities to ban those kinds of services altogether. international diplomatic matters now. the picture of who will be attending peace talks on friday is starting to come together. russia announced earlier that the current syrian foreign minister will be in geneva to represent president assad's regime at the united nations-sponsored meeting. members of the opposition met today to decide whether to attend. they say they will not make a final decision until wednesday. a leader of a kurdish faction said he is unaware of any kurds being invited to the table. it is a new chapter in tehran's relations with europe, those are

the words of iran's president as he arrives for a landmark state visit to paris earlier. fasano hung is through his -- hassan rouhani is midway through history to europe. tonight, he is enjoying a dinner in the capital. now that sanctions have started to be eased -- earlier on, i asked armen georgian about the current state of franco-uranium affairs -- franco-iranian affairs. armen: the share of the economy is likely to change with business deals in the pipeline, but it is -- will probably be slow and cautious change. sanctions on iran have been only partially lifted. the instrumentation of the nuclear deal is a long process. it's going to last years. there is this snap-back

mechanism where sanctions can be implemented -- be re-implement it. i think the french realize that hassan rouhani does not have much power to open up the political system in iran and, indeed, declare -- on regional issues, the french also realize that this easing of the pressure on the iranian economy could mean that tehran spends more money on its allies in the region, such as hezbollah and bashar al-assad. catherine: aside from its allies in the region, iran also has other powerful countries that are very much against its point of view, let's put it mildly. speaking of saudi arabia, paris perhaps finding itself can't between iran and saudi arabia -- finding itself caught between iran and saudi arabia. a major dispute going on between the two countries, as we know.

has perhaps -- has paris signaled a role in getting them together? is that realistic? armen: they have not said they are one to mediate, as such. they have called for de-escalation from both sides. the french realize the limits of what they can do, simply because this conflict is so intense and wide-ranging. let's take a listen on this conflict between tehran and saudi arabia to the former head of saudi intelligence who was interviewed by our own marc perelman on the eve of hassan rouhani's visit to paris. >> the deputy commander of the irgc has announced and they have 200,000 soldiers throughout the arab world. in syria, i don't know how many they have. in iraq, i don't know how many. they are interfering in bahrain,

yemen. armen: you get a sense, catherine, of how huge this conflict has become. in any case, france probably would not be seen as an impartial player in iran as it has these very close defense ties with the gulf states and with saudi arabia. catherine: across the atlantic now, donald trump has been upping the ante in a new row with the fox tv network. the outspoken republican presidential candidate slinkard -- slandered one of the network's top reporters today. more on that story. >> ♪ president donald trump reporter: he will be the elephant in the room at the final republican debate. he has confirmed he will not take part.

he has backed out, citing grievances with fox news and their choice of host, megyn kelly. donald trump: megyn kelly is a lightweight. this is not a reporter. this, to me, is a lightweight. megyn kelly shouldn't be in the debate. why should the networks continue getting rich on these debates? reporter: from' -- trump's animosity toward the reporter has played out publicly. fox news has refused to remove her as debate host, issuing this report -- >> capitulating to politicians motivated -- politicians' ultimatums about a debate moderator violets all journalistic -- politicians' ultimatums about the debates -- a debate moderator violates

journalistic integrity. >> i would invite donald to engage in a one-on-one debate with me anytime between now and the dialer -- the iowa caucuses. reporter: it will be the first real test of whether trump's unorthodox campaign can get voters to turn out at the polls. catherine: denmark and switzerland have joined a growing list of countries to report cases of the zika virus. health officials elsewhere say they have treated patients for zika in cases dating as far back as march of 2015. it is currently causing alarm in south america, where it is causing thousands of birth defects in babies. some governments, including that of el salvador, are advising women to avoid getting pregnant altogether.

the response may prove ineffective. >> more than 50% of pregnancies in latin america are not planned. if these recommendations are not accompanied by a campaign that truly explains to both men and women how they can access and use contraceptives, they are going to be completely inefficient. they also have to take into account the prevalence of sexual violence in the region, which accounts for a high rate of unplanned pregnancies as well. all we have heard from the government so far is this recommendation in a vacuum. we are alerting the region that this recommendation is far from being enough, because they expose the cracks of the system in terms of really filling the needs of, particularly women --

particularly, women. we need to address the need for information for women that are already pregnant about their choices, whether they can -- want to continue with their pregnancy. what is the safest way to do that? in the countries where abortion is legal, women need to know that. in colombia, abortion can be performed for women whose children have defects. they need to know how to access that option. catherine: some things tend to put off perspective. as in the case of one property of germany, high ranking -- a

high-ranking former nazi official. belle lupton takes us inside. belle: a jewel, idyllic, romantic, and peaceful -- that's how the previous owner described this lakeside villa in his journal. the only problem is, that owner was hitler's infamous propaganda minister, and that is making it hard to sell. the city of berlin has been trying to find a buyer for years. it wants to make sure the property doesn't fall into the hands of nazi sympathizers, but few others want to take on such a toxic history. he built the 70-room mansion on land given to him by berlin as a 39th birthday present. 40 kilometers outside the capital, the nazi chief used the village's remoteness to indulge his reputation for sleeping with aspiring actresses working at

his film studios. >> he spent a lot of time here with his mistresses. it was his refuge, somewhere to come and have fun. reporter: 70 years after his suicide, hezbollah stands in the middle -- his villa stands in the middle of the complex. hotel, college -- it is appealing to anyone with an innovative idea of how to repurpose this complex. it has become a millstone for the cash-strapped city. catherine: much less controversial film makers now, they can start brushing down their red carpet best. the nominations have just been revealed for the upcoming cesar awards. they are billed as the french oscars. they recognize a more diverse range of talents.

algerian born best actresses -- there are two algerian-born actress is in the best actress. category time for the business news -- actress category. time for the business news. markus karlsson is with me. markus: european commission says it wants to get tough with european carmakers. it wants to make sure that those automakers abide by safety standards and environmental standards following the volkswagen scandal, of course. the commission is therefore putting forward a proposal that would enable it to order recalls and also impose stiff penalties in the european union. those responsibilities currently lie with national regulators. reporter: more scrutiny, more

accountability, more transparency. car manufacturers in europe could face pressure to commit to emissions limits under a new proposal by the european union. the bloc is hoping to overhaul the vehicle testing system in the hope of avoiding another volkswagen emissions scandal. >> the revolution -- evolution of wrongdoing at volkswagen are not only shocking that underlying urgent need for change -- shocking, but underline urgent need for change. we have to make sure this never happens again. reporter: they would be graded -- granted greater powers to audit, control, and check, including ordering recalls and slapping fines of up to 30,000 euros per car if manufacturers are caught breaking in missions standards -- breaking emissions standards. cars already on the road could be subject to spot tests in addition to prototypes.

importantly, the european union wants to eliminate the financial link between car companies and emissions testing centers. technical centers would become more financially independent. they would be paid directly by consumers -- by member states. that would be distributed to designated technical services. reporter: it must be approved by member states and the european parliament's because it is etched into law. this could take months, even years. markus: the u.s. federal reserve says it saw signs of a weakening u.s. economy at the end of last year and it is keeping its benchmark interest rates steady for now. this is the upshot of a closely watched two-day policy-setting meeting at the fed in washington, d.c. investors are watching the u.s. central bank closely for clues on where it will go next after the fed's first interest rate hike in nine years last month. let's get more now on the

latest, nick harper. thank you for being with us. investors want to know when the fed will raise interest rates next. what have we learned from the fed statement that we got through this wednesday when it comes to just that issue? nick: in terms of those rate hikes, some hint, very much veiled hint -- obviously, there is never directed knowledge meant of when the next rate hike will be. the thinking before the meeting was a good cs many as four rate hikes during the course of this year -- before the meeting was we could see as many as four rate hikes during the course of this year. however, this statement is much more dovish. they do say that future rate hikes will be gradual. that is language they have used before. it suggests those four rate hikes may not go over quite as

quickly. they may not be able to fit in four during the course of 2015. markus: what has the market reaction been? it seemed like the language is a class -- case of glass half-empty, glass half-full. nick: there is a little bit of concern around, initially, the markets rose. they slumped back into negative territory. the dow is down about 1.6%. the s&p and nasdaq are both down as well. the nasdaq down by nearly 2.5%. the markets initially rose, but then dropped away. i think the worry is that there was simply be less rate hikes this year and that has been something of a cause for concern

for the dollar. markus: the fed has a balancing act to do, really, during 2016. this, after we spoke all of last year of when the fed would start hiking interest rates and how, etc. what do you think the fed is watching now in 2016 for the rest of the year? what is the main factor that it will be taking into account? nick: it really is a balancing act every -- at. c -- act. every time they need, they have to look at all of the different factors. they mentioned they were closely monitoring global economic and financial developments, hinting at the slowdown in the economy we have seen in china and the stock market volatility we have seen around the world. but it is probably domestic matters they are more worried about, in particular inflation and the jobs market.

in terms of inflation, they think that it will remain low in the near-term. they want inflation to be near the 2% target. it's well below that the moment. they want that to rise before they push too far ahead with interest rate hikes. in terms of the labor market, they are happy with how that is. they did say that the economy would continue to grow at a moderate pace, helped by the labor market. we saw some good job gains over the last year or so. you are not so worried about that. inflation is -- they are not so worried about that. inflation is what they are worried about. the global picture is in the back of their mind as well. markus: thank you very much indeed for helping us to interpret the signals coming out of washington, d.c., and the u.s. federal reserve. next, we are going to take a look at how the markets have been reacting. let's show you the figures from wall street. nick just touched upon it a little bit. stocks in negative territory

this hour. we have seen those losses accelerate after the fed statement. the nasdaq hardest hit, down almost 2%. this, as apple shares are also coming under pressure. we will take a look at why that is in just a moment. let's show you the picture in europe at the end of the trading day. we saw markets starting in negative territory on this wednesday in europe, but, as you can see, we saw those shares turnaround as we saw oil prices tick higher, which helped energy and mining stocks in particular. that's the reason why the london ftse 100 powered ahead to such an extent, up more than 1.3% at the end of the trading day. let's talk you through a few individual companies and stocks we are watching for you. apple is in the spotlight on wall street on fears that -- shares are down after reports of a drop in iphone sales, the slowest sales growth ever for

iphone, which is by far apples best--- apple s -- apple's best-selling product. boeing shares are also down on wall street. the playmaker has reported that -- the plane-maker has reported -- plane deliveries and revenues could fall in 2016. last week, boeing said it would have the production -- halve the production of its 747's. according to a french government source speaking to a news agency, this report comes as iran's president arrived in france during his second leg of a european tour. it used to be the biggest -- peugeot used to be the best-selling car company in europe. we are going to stay in france.

europe's economic recovery is still not filtering through to the french labor market. the number of job seekers in france grew in december. nearly 16,000 extra jobseekers brought the jobless total to just shy of 3.6 million. just shy of 3.6 million. it

01/27/16 01/27/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from the sundance film festival in park city, utah this , is democracy now! >> he is kind of the movie expert. what does alfred say? why do we fall, sir? so we can learn