>> is 1:00 p.m. in france. it is time for "live from paris" on "france 24." are headlines today. france is bracing for more protests as the hotly contested labor laws are brought before parliament. politicians from left and right are against the reforms. sixn unprecedented step months after spain's elections,

the country is going back to the ballot boxes. the political parties have been unable to agree and form a government. and looking to win more crucial delegates after six straight primary wins, donald trump is eyeing victory in indiana. if he wins tuesday night's primary, the republican front-runner is in a more powerful position than ever. also coming up for you in this hour of "live from paris," city iserlin, as the hosting tourists without special permission. that is coming up. stay tuned. thank you for joining us here on "france 24." i am catherine norris-trent. after two months of street protests, the french government

controversial plans to shake up labor laws are finally being put to parliament this tuesday. demonstrations are taking place where they are, determined to keep up pressure on the government. dupuis is inaurore paris. this is the third time in less than a week the demonstrators have been out on the streets over this law. recent protests have turned violent. how is the scene looking at the moment today? now the situation is remaining pretty calm, catherine. we are in the heart of paris. we are not very far away from the eiffel tower. it is a tourist area. the most important part is that we are a few hundred meters away from the national assembly. french mp's are due to examine the law later today. that is why it is a very

important day for the protesters. they want to maintain the pressure against the french government. over the past two months they have been protesting, taking to the streets, chanting antigovernment slogans. right now, as you can see the stage behind me, union leaders are giving speeches directly address the -- directly -- rebel socialist to have come here, seen the gathering. take a listen to what union leaders are saying. they are saying they do not even want this bill to be tweaked. they wanted to be scrapped entirely. catherine: take us through some of the issues the demonstrators have been talking about. are theyarticular opposed to with a labor reforms? aurore: among the main sticking points, catherine, is the fact that the students that we have , they say the workers

this bill will only make it easier for their employers to lay off workers for economic reasons, so they say that the bill will threaten job security and will threaten their social rights. some protesters are saying that they will be forced to work extra hours and that their salaries will not increase as a result. they also say that under the bill, while companies will be able to hold a referendum on key issues like working conditions, for example, and that labor unions will no longer be as influential as they are today. protesters are saying they do not want their social rights to be taken away from them, and that they want their salaries to be increased. that is the main key point that they wanted come across -- they want to come across to the french government, and they hope the french government will bow to the pressure. the makeup of the national mp's is to be held in the next two

weeks. there will be a first vote, but we do not know if it will be passed because the french government technically has a majority, but many socialists are turning their backs against , who mightgovernment be forced to use an amendment within the constitution to try and enforce that bill, turn that bill into law. catherine: thanks very much, aurore dupuis, reporting. forill cross back to her reports here on "france 24." there is not only anger on the streets, french mp's are bitterly divided over these reforms. the french employment minister will face tougher battles. here is a look at more detail, some of the sticking points here. it is one of the most

controversial proposals in the french government's labor reforms. that is layoffs for economic reasons. in france, apart from professional misconduct, there are three grounds to terminate a worker. if a company's restructuring, if the company goes bankrupt, or if technology replaces a person's job. -- a companyl, it could lay off staff if it sees a drop in revenue over a specific period of time. nearly 500 amendments have been added to the bill from the right and left, and the government has been forced to backtrack on several ideas to appease critics. taxing short-term contracts. in april the government put forward a proposal to tax companies that hire workers on short-term contracts in a bid to satisfy union demands to hire more permanent staff. business owners have slammed the idea as yet another tax. another concession from the government, capping conversation in labor courts -- capping compensation in labor courts.

courts are free to decide the payout. other proposed reforms include more negotiating power between workers and employees. for a -- for instance, the daily work limit could be extended from 10 to 12 hours per day if needed. mp's will have two weeks to debate the proposals. ourerine: let's go to correspondent. this hotly contested bill is headed to parliament today. let's look at the politics. will it be able to pass through? or is the government going to have to force it through? >> the government will not abandon this law. they need a political victory. they want to avoid a scenario where they would backtrack and just give in to some of the trade union demands, which is to withdraw the law altogether. having said that, the journey of this bill through parliament is going to be anything but smooth sailing. currently, the government knows

that it needs to convince about 40 or so lawmakers in order to pass this bill. it believes it is 40 votes short. so how does it convince those 40 people? will it managed to convince those 40 people? that remains an open question. either it manages to do so by way of parliamentary debates. they have managed to put forth a strong case that it is a win-win scenario, that it does not undermine workers' rights. if enough people are on board, perhaps they manage to get just that key number they need in parliament to pass the bill. if they do not, they will faced with -- they will be faced with a difficult political decision. they can use a constitutional amendment, article 49-3, that will push the bill through parliament, that will make it become law without having to go to a vote. the government always has the option of pressing this

emergency button and getting the desired results. however, it comes at a political cost. if they do that, they will be signaling, proving that they do not have, they cannot even corral a parliamentary majority support the government's work. this is going into the final year of francois hollande's presidency. catherine: why the political consequences of this, in the context here? it is more bad news for the french president, who is twinkling in the opinion polls. this is yet another political headache for him. where does it leave him here? >> he needs a political victory. he cannot concede defeat. he has already conceded defeat once this year and had to abandon a pet project when he buried constitutional reform because of popular opposition. he needs to pass this through. significantst

reform that francois hollande has a chance of passing before the end of his presidency, which has not really moved the needle on any important issues in france, has not provided major change for the country. so francois hollande needs this victory. you can look at this in terms of political momentum. year,into an electoral francois hollande wants this to pass because if it does, he will help reshape the narrative somewhat that he was able to take on defiant lawmakers and trade unions for the good of the country. if it does not pass, it will be prove that he is a lame-duck president who cannot some of the majority of parliament. catherine: thanks very much. heading to spain, which is going to hold new elections in june, six months after the last vote, because no party since then has been able to form a government. openedlipe of spain parliament a short time ago,

calling for new elections on june 26. this marks an unprecedented stalemate in spain. let's get more details with our madrid correspondent, sarah morris. we are saying this is an on president and moment in spanish politics. how did it get to this? >> spain has not been in this situation since he returned to democracy in the 1970's. the system has tended to produce very strong governments, but two brand-new policies managed to eruptrupt -- managed to into parliament. theyew anti-austerity -- have promised voters a complete change, political renewal, a crackdown on corruption that seems very difficult, but the four largest parties reached agreement. the only agreement for the parliament in these last four months was the socialist leader,

pedro sanchez, who went to parliament with the government and managed to get signed up to. and a small party from the canary islands. but that was not enough to get to a parliamentary majority, and that means there has been non-parliamentary majority this time around. podemos has said to the socialists they will not only be -- it is known that the liberals are nowhere near the government, and the people's party, the conservatives, have insisted that they want a german style coalition where they remain in power. that means we will all have to be settled after fresh elections. catherine: what difference does it make if there are new elections? can we expect to see more deadlock ahead? it seems the political lines have been completely we -- have been completely redraw on. >> that is the big question, can the election actually change the

results. the polls are suggesting that it will produce another parliament. the people's party will come out on top but they will not get that absolute majority that they need. ,here will be potential changes and we will have to see the run-up in these two months of campaigning. one is a big question. if podemos can overtake the socialists -- at the moment it looks like he has slipped back in the polls and is turning to a more left-wing communist party. they could potentially overtake the socialists, and that means they may have better bargaining power. leaves the socialists with the dilemma of supporting the socialists. we will have to watch and see. catherine: thanks very much, sarah morris. donald trump is hoping to score a decisive blow to his rivals tonight in the indiana primary. he is aiming for another win, which would put him in an all

but untouchable position. as a republican front runner. william hilderbrandt has more. william: donald trump may have taken a more conciliatory approach recently, but some of his supporters remain confrontational. cruz.d was rivaled ted ted cruz: america is a better country. >> without you. >> carly fiorina -- carly fiorina fell off the stage. -- s mentioned -- cruz ted cruz: i think the whole country is depending on indiana right now. that we are at risk of pledging over the side. >> cruz is pulling second in indiana, followed by john kasich. by amen trail donald trump

substantial margin. not just in the state but in the nationwide race. now the front runner looks increasingly likely to secure the necessary 1237 delegates to win the republican nomination. he currently has 996. donald trump: i would like to get on to hillary. indiana is very important because if i win, that is the end of it. the democratic race is not over yet. polls are closed between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. bernie sanders: if we win the primary -- we win primary and caucuses when the voter turnout is high. we lose when it is low. let us come out tomorrow for the biggest turnout of indiana history. sanders had been laying off hundreds of campaign workers after a string of primary losses. his team is concentrating its

resources with only 14 contests remaining. get thee: time now to latest business news. stephen carroll joins me for that. hi there, stephen. we start with the ongoing trade talks between the u.s. and the european union, and the hopes of the deal that seems to be fading. the french trade minister said abandoning the talks over the transatlantic the most likely option. negotiations seems probable due to what he says is the current mindset in the united states. come afternts greenpeace leak the text from the negotiation which shows significant divisions between the two sides. catherine: we are heading to berlin now, where it is becoming a lot harder to find an apartment if you want to go there for a short break. wholen: they rented apartments on site without special permission. the apartment is meant to help

keep parties open. it is a big change from on of your's most popular tourist deprivati destinations. has sweptmenon that across berlin. on shore rentals. that came to a. this weekend. a disaster for people like stefan, who manages just 15 rentals. doug: we created a business that works really well. it has employed several people. for renting, catherine was a way to make cash. while she and her family were on vacation. >> why should i leave my apartment and teen when i am on holidays? who profits from that. >> thousands have benefited from renting their apartments. online rental sites like airbnb

have transformed entire neighborhoods in the german capital. like here. in 2014, there was just one traditional long-term rental. but 100 listings on airbnb. in berlin, finding a long-term lease has become -- the mayor's office system of 12,000 apartments will be for people who actually live in the city. is more than 20,000 believers that defined housing. >> the law encourages neighbors to name and shame landlords. owners risk a hefty fine of up to 100,000 euros. in us to dissuade many at least until german courts rule on the slew of challenges to the controversial law. stephen: we are going back to the story we were talking about a few minutes ago, the

negotiations over the e.u.-u.s. trade deal. we heard from francois hollande, who said at this stage france is saying no to the trade deal. that is not a definitive no. these negotiations have been going on for a long time. we heard from the trade minister earlier, who said the most likely option was that those talks should not be abandoned. we are similar from the french president. let's have a look at what is happening on the markets. we have seen the dollar continuing to slide today, the euro trading at just under $1.16, just shy of where it was earlier. on the stock markets, lots of company, costs, -- shares in the german lender commerzbank are down over 9% in frankfurt after earnings were hit by the market turmoil and low interest rates. next, a look at some more of the big companies of the day.

hsbc is seeing pretax profits fall by 14% in the first three months of the year, to just over $6 billion. it is facing tough market conditions, but it is doing better than expected. hsbc said earlier in the year that it was freezing pay and plans to cut costs by the end of next year. profit was down some 40% on last year. the equivalent of 1.2 million euros. its earnings were hit by turmoil on the stock market and general uncertainty, shares down 8%. there are similar falls on the german airline of list tons a, -- of lufthansa. the carrier says it did not see a significant impact in passenger numbers from the terror attacks in brussels, but it has slowed down plans to increase seat capacity. catherine: one company to watch

later when wall street opens with is apple. largest apple had its losing streak on the market since 1998. apple shares closed down just .1 of 1% on monday. believe it or not, we have not seen eight straight days of falls on apple shares for 18 years. the last time this happens to apple, it was before it hit even launched the imac. so a very long time ago indeed. catherine: thanks very much, stephen carroll, with the business news up date. time now for our press review. time to take a look at what is grabbing headlines. here is florence villa minot. -- florence via minot -- florence villa minot. controversial liberal

reform plan from the government, the so-called -- the law is set to kick off a marathon in the french government. we have been talking about this for weeks and months now and remember, the elcon rate law mrirked protests -- the el co law sparked protests across the country, along with the "up all my" movement. the parliament is going to be up all night debating this labor reform, clever plan. doug: how likely will they be opening up? this is far than a done deal because mp's have filed 5000. gordy votes are missing for the reformed to be adopted with or by a majority. the parliamentary debates could be the final blow for the law. catherine: the labor minister defended a product in

le parisien. flo: you can see a quote from her interview. should we give in to pressure .rom the street you can see her quite defined in the face of many protesters we have seen across the country. let's take a look inside. a similar play on words. khomri is getting ready to be up all night with this law she is pushing into parliament. will this cave in and be forced to meet humble pie. if you take a look at this cartoon here in le parisien, you can see the prime minister holding the reform in his hands, say we're going to eat this. he says convicted of nationals, we talked about this reform for weeks and the government ended up scrapping that one. catherine: another glorious

moment, many would say, for the government. these reforms, it has been watered down quite a bit as the government has been trying to make concessions, to meet its opponents midway or at least some of the way. it requires taking a closer look is to have those with this law now. flo: does the labor law still make sense? originally, it was supposed to labor code more flexible and boost hiring. many changes have been made to appeal to all sides. but it seems like the end result is that everyone just is upset with the law. no one is really happy about it. everyone is confused by what is actually going to change with this law. if business paper says this whole thing -- with 5000 is going to turn into a parliamentary circus and make a spectacle of democracy and the socialist majority.

it is time to put an end to play time, and they call on the government to push through the reform through parliament by force. there is a new poll in the french constitution. that allowsarticle the government to essentially pushed a law through parliament without obtaining a majority. so that is what they are saying the government should do in this case. it must do so in the name of public order and for the sake of french businesses. catherine: that would be highly controversial, wouldn't it? controversialto a situation. are journalists that continuing to do their job, despite daily fears. the syrian journalists that are exiled in turkey, threatened by the islam state group and the

bashar al-assad regime. just last month, a prominent serious -- a prominent syrian journalists was shot in the head and killed. the woman you see in the photo is also exiled in this southern town. it is in turkey. she used to read the news for the syrian national tv network, radio. she works on she talked about her experience. she says you learn to live with fear on a daily basis because you do not have a choice. catherine: finally, we are going to change town and end with some football news, with the unlikely celebrating a victory of leicester city. -- s a flo: it is a huge story, of course, in leicester it self. let's look at the lyster mercury. not a people that we talk about a lot. you can see champions.

the most amazing sporting story ever, according to the elector has pulled off a miracle, and when it first -- with its top-flightcbq

narrator: this is a production of china central television america. mike: we've all heard the dire warning, we only have one planet, and it's in peril, but what can we do today to impact the environment we pass on to the next generation? this week, conversations with environmental activists who are taking on the fight for our planet's future from the seafloor to the world's highest summit, and every terrain in between. i'm mike walter coming to you from the heart of new york city's vibrant times square. let's take it "full frame."