1:00 p.m. in the french capital. you are watching "france 24." nicolas sarkozy is expected to appeal a magistrate's decision that he stand trial. that is amidst claims that he illegally financed his 2012 reelection bid. . high-stakes legal battle rulepeals court is set to on president trump's travel ban,

which is currently suspended. in reaction to a new law passed by israel's parliament which legalizes dozens of jewish outposts in the west bank. tom: thanks for joining us. pariseveloping story in -- the judicial source says a magistrate has ordered nicolas sarkozy must stand trial. to answer allegations that he illegally financed a 2012 reelection bid. that was a bid that ultimately failed. overspending on the campaign trail as well as funding irregularities are among the allegations. from 2007 toice 2012. he could face one year behind bars.

france 24's claire williams joins us now on the set. tell us what is the latest you are hearing on this. claire: we are hearing that this investigating judge was working on the case and believes that sarkozy and his election campaign, his reelection campaign, which was eventually unsuccessful -- he says there is enough evidence to show there was illegal funding going on. the accusation is this. a communications company was charged with doing community -- with doing to medications work for sarkozy's bid in 2012. according to the evidence, receipts were falsified for the work it was doing for sarkozy's reelection campaign, and charged his party, which basically meant

that up to 18 million euros over the legal limits of how much candidates can spend on their election campaigns, was spent on sarkozy's campaign. it was willed to the -- it was billed to the party. awarey says he was not that he was overspending, and that these kind of accounting techniques were going on. this would be bad news. if sarkozy word to be put on trial, he would be the second -- president of on trial.be put before -- the first, of course, was shock sure rock, who was convicted. uem: it is very -- was jacq chirac, who was convicted. it would be -- he denies

that he breached the rules. claire: he denies that he had any knowledge of all. bit of are seeing a trend in france at the moment because there is an awful lot of -- a number of spotlight shining on permanent french politicians with a lot of questions being asked about where certain sums drama thatnt, the continues to unravel and france. claire: there seems to be in the last 10 or 15 years a change relationship the between politicians and the justice system in france. sarkozy is not alone in having been embroiled in legal affairs. he is certainly the most notorious. in 2012 he did not win an election bid, which means he lost his presidential immunity. most of the affairs involving money have come out and are

keeping lawyers very busy. but he is not alone. we saw a month ago that the former budget minister was convicted, and he got a three-year prison sentence for tax evasion, storing money in switzerland and not paying taxes on it. sarkozy,lose ally of his chief of staff at one point, former interior minister, was convicted and given a two-year prison sentence, one-year suspended. he was convicted of paying bonuses to political allies from money for the police force. francois fillon is not yet under a political investigation. it does seem to be a trend. francois fillon said just yesterday at his meeting when he spoke to press and took questions about his wife and

whether or not she actually worked for him and had a fake job. she says -- he says that she did work for him. francois fillon says that i am a politician with years of experience. perhaps i had some difficulties adapting to changes, evolutions in society. in theire politicians 50's and 60's who are not quite used to this new relationship with politician's in the justice department here in france. tom: much more scrutiny today, and as you say, no one is above the law, former president or not. moving on. francois fillon yesterday issued an apology after the damaging reports surfaced that his wife had been paid a generous -- a generous salary over several years for a nonexistent job. he described the matter as an error on his part. he said there is nothing illegal about it.

he also added that he has no plans to step down and is intent on winning the french presidency. solidarity for their candidate -- that was the order of the day for senior figures in the republicans' party, after they watched francois fillon's press conference. >> he said what needed to be said. it has been very difficult recently. many people are shocked and disappointed. that is not enough to put him into power. >> but some fear francois fillon's staying in the race may lead to defeat in the first round. he is speaking to other french people in the country. >> his political rivals cap on their criticism.

>> in the end, the problem with francois fillon is that he does not understand that while what --did with his family does is completely legal, it does not appear noble. an investigation into his misused funds is outgoing paris match may rest on the outcome. tom: a new poll just out suggests that the independent candidate, emmanuel macron, will occur in may against marine le pen. he is on track to convincingly beat her with about 66% of the vote. that is an opinion wave poll, giving marine le pen in the first round, but in the all-important second round,

track.is on monday was a day of large protests in romania, anger over plans to relax certain corruption laws despite the fact that the government has backtracked and is shelving that idea. for the seventh consecutive day, thousands gathered outside government offices in bucharest, demanding the resignation of the foreign -- of the prime minister. the prime minister says he may dismiss the justice minister for handling that controversial decree, but the romanian president has just weighed in. klaus iohannis spoke a while ago and said that one resignation might be enough. >> the repeal of this decree and the eventual resignation of a single minister is too little.

and early elections would be, at this stage, too much. this is the space for maneuver available. who should come up with a solution? caused thethose who problem. the social democrats. tom: the romanian president speaking there. the fate of donald trump us temporary travel ban will be decided by an appeals court in san francisco later today. last friday, a district chose suspended that ban. a legal battle now pits lawyers from the justice department against the state attorneys. our correspondent tells us more. >> three days after a federal judge in washington puts donald trump's travel ban on hold, an

appeals court will be reinstated. >> the law is very clear on this. the president has huge discretion to protect the safety of the american people and our nation's institutions. this is purely on the injunction that was issued. once we win the case, it will go right back into action. >> the judge's move last friday was based on claims that the state would experience in economic harm from the travel ban. he said that for it to be constitutional, it has to be based on fact, not fiction. >> the trump administration says the only harm here is that the courts are fearing -- are interfering in this order. that is a wild argument are checks and balances are part of the constitution. to say judicial review is a harm is really just outrageous. >> tech companies have thrown their weight behind the judicial

injunction. google, facebook, twitter, and .pple were among 97 companies john kerry, madeleine albright, leon panetta, and others filed a declaration saying the order would undermine national security rather than make america safer. visiting u.s. central command for the first time, trump again defended his order. pres. trump: we need strong programs so that people love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in. not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country. >> after initially denying his stay in the block, the ninth ruled -- it is on will certainly case will be taken to the supreme court.

far right politicians in israel are extending their thanks to the american people for electing donald trump, who they say made it possible for a controversial law to pass a really part on -- to pass is really parliament. the plo says the law simply legalizes the theft of land. simon harvick has more. simon: it is a decision that has sparked outrage, palestinian authorities condemning a law which retroactively legalizes israeli settlements built on palestinian lands. many see this as an extension of the illegal colonization of palestinian territory. >> israel is continuing its colonial policies and deporting palestinians from their own land. it is a country operating outside international law. it is required the palestinians

to protest against the cancer of the settlement in order to remove them. decision was passed in parliament and has attracted heavy criticism from the international community. barely two months ago, a human resolution headband -- had banned the building of israeli settlements. since donald trump's inauguration, israel has developed a plan to develop the colonies. legalize the theft of palestinian land. building settlements is a crime building settlements is against all international laws. it is fine for the community to act concretely to stop the israelis from these crimes. -- it is's actions unclear what sort of influence they will have now that israel

is protected by the new u.s. administration. tom: later this afternoon, francois hollande will be holding talks in paris with the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas. they are expected to discuss the conclusion of the conference held here in the french capital in january. -- had theence was aim of keeping the peace process a life. time to turn to business with stephen carroll. we will start with united states, where a tv way if asher has been fined -- atv manufacturer has been fined for consumers.ts stephen: according to the u.s. federal trade commission, visio gathered information on its customers without their knowledge, and sold information without their watching. they say the data could not be

much up to individuals. they will seek special permission from users before collecting information in the future. uber is to offer a in income to drivers in an effort to end a long-running dispute over pay. 4200 euros aearn month if they work 50 hours a week. >> a proposal to appease their drivers. uber has drawn up a plan to try and do two things. stalemate with their drivers and satisfy the french government so lawmakers do not depend -- do not step in. uber has been in mediation from two months. their drivers say that with the policy, it is nearly

impossible to make a living. employees work as independent theractors, not employed by firm, and are thus exempt from minimum wage laws. >> today, you are forced to work a full half-day to earn 200 euros. what is a half-day? 12 hours. there is no point. you have to pay for the fuel, the car. some colleagues say it has become slavery. >> faced with long hours, drivers have been asked to lower the 25% cut the company takes from each trip. uber says that is out of the question, but -- drivers are guaranteed turn 4200 euros a month on the condition they are connected to the app and on the road 50 hours every week. the drivers will stay need to cover expenses like gas and car maintenance.

if they do not make the 4200 euros, the company would pay the difference. another proposal on the table, beingalth of drivers with on contract with uber. stephen: european shares are trading up during this midpoint of the trading session. mining companies are doing well. french banks are trading down. the french bank is suffering after results coming from the lender. net profits jumped 15% last year but still missed expectations. the french bank also announced to invest 3 billion euros into its digital operations. investors are not impressed. shares are at 3.5% in paris. helpedrgeon oil prices

bp to double its profits last year, less than expected, though. the company raise the amount of payy it will be expected to in capital investment this year of over one billion -- capital investment this year of $1 billion. 25%, of theped by company hornby, after problems with its chinese suppliers. facebook are making a drive to tackle fake news during the french election campaign. news -- first draft helping find and verify news about the election.

stories theyg dispute. interesting they are doing things differently in europe this time around. tom: i am still trying to get my mind around that first story, tvs that are spying on us. thank you very much indeed. stephen carroll, with today's edition on business. up next is the "press review." through what is grabbing the headlines, i am joined now by florence filament oh. we are going to start implants -- in france, amidst the penelopegate scandal. francois fillon said employing his wife was a mistake , but he insisted he has not done anything illegal.

his press conference yesterday is the top story in france. "is this apology really going to jumpstart his campaign again?" to understand the headline, you need to know a little bit about french pop culture. there was a popular chocolate bar add a couple years back, " eat this chocolate and it is back on the road for you." is this apology going to be the chocolate bar, and will it allow him to continue to campaign? tom: so a rather sweet, candy-themed headline there. people in the media are having a bunch of fun at francois fillon's expense. flo: he gave a speech where he says i want to apologize to the french people, and i did not even ask penelope, my wife, to write the speech. you can also find francois fillon in the company's paper,

keeping his head high. another cartoon, the other cartoon come you can see f illon walking with his handheld that with his head held high. the business newspaper is saying willhis mea culpa jumpstart his failing campaign, and his party is hoping that will be the case as well. you can see him get the sphinx in egypt. little see all these significant characters. saying that if it is just his nose at has fallen off because of this scandal, it is ok as long as the rest holds. tom: his opponent having a little bit of fun. himthe media that supports and the right-wing media, shall we say, this is no laughing matter. flo: the main right-wing paper here is taking the situation very seriously. they say this is really f

illon's moment of truth. everyone said he would finish. everyone was wrong. his counterattack was a success. quote.ve chosen this "i am still standing." he showed his determination, showed that his in -- that his determination is intact, and his energy is boundless. he said that they said just like a good mountain climber, he weather the storm and showed strength in the face of adversity. now it would be nice if people would focus on the actual issues of the presidential campaign. we will see if that goes away. tom: i expect it will. let's cross the atlantic to the united states. the temporary travel ban is up for discussion. it's future is really hanging in the balance. it will be decided by the court of appeal in san francisco. flo: this is the ninth u.s. .ircuit court of appeals

this is the top story in the u.s. today. you can get all of it on usa today. this appeals court will decide whether to uphold the temporary restraining order put into place by a judge in seattle. what is going to happen later today in san francisco is that each side will have 30 minutes to make its case, so not very much time. according to this article, what is likely going to happen is it could go all the way to the supreme court. president trump is never far away from twitter, is he? flo: trump really lashed out against the judge in seattle that was the origin of putting things on pause with respect to the travel ban. this is u.s. court district judge james brevard -- james

robards. week, trump said, "if something happens, blame him and the court system." "the washington post" story showed outrage. the judicial that will be responsible in the event of a terrorist attack. because it blatant disrespect for a branch of the government. "amid all the noise, it is important to remember that refugees are a part of america's fabric and its promise." tom: let's end on a sporting note. the reaction to sunday night's epic super bowl. flo: the history making super bowl is getting a lot of attention in the u.s. one man at the heart of that epic super bowl is the new england patriots cornerback, tom brady.

he is the man of the moment, soon to be a hall of famer. he is a divisive character. this portrait in "the boston globe," you could say he is an athlete some people love to hate. that love trumps deflategate. -- that situation was an obstacle in his football career. he is quite divisive also because he is a big supporter of donald trump. a lot of people wonder if he is an american hero or an american villain. he certainly is a wonderful athlete. a story of a south african rugby player is being mourned today. flo: you can read that in "the mail and guardian." of 45sed away at the age

after a long battle with a neuron disease. he was part of the team that won the famous rugby world cup in 1995 in south africa. qwueeewep@1@1pxxxxxx

announcer: this is a production of china central television amererica. may: what does the future of space exploration look like? and will mars one day be able to support human life? well, scientists think so. this week on "full frame," we take a look at how both the public and private sectors are using science and technology to find out if the people of planet earth can someday be part of the red planet. i'm may lee in los angeles. let's take it "full frame."