the group planning populist politicians fueling racism and xenophobia. first, marine le pen's presidential campaign has been hit by a fraud investigation. two eggs the far right leader have been questioned by police and one of them has now been charged. -- two aids. move isays the political. >> while the election campaign the courtsgoing, here should not be imposing themselves onto the situation.

the investigation could be done later or could've been wrapped up already. particularly this one coming up. interestanwhile this françois bayrou, has announced he's not running for president this year and will instead seek an alliance with emmanuel macron. mac run has accepted. 's party picked up nearly 1/5 of the votes. >> he's been dubbed the eternal third manner french politics. will notois bayrou stand in this years presidential election. after weeks of speculation, the mayor has endorsed fellow centrist emmanuel macron's candidacy. >> because the risk is so high, because the french people are losing their sense of hope and direction, i have decided to offer macron a political alliance.

i tell him this election is too dangerous. we must change things, and change them quickly. let's unite our forces to make it happen. said one of his conditions for an alliance would be a major cleanup of france half political life, a proposal which mac run was quick to -- macron was quick to accept. recent polls show macron and fillon battling neck and neck for first place in the final round. macron is seen support slide in recent days. he controversially has said that france's opponents to gay marriage had been humiliated by the socialist government. he said the aim of the alliance create an electric shock

in french politics and bring hope to the country. laura: earlier i spoke to paul smith, the french politics expert at the university of nottingham. 'sask him how much bayrou support really was for emmanuel macron. >> it gives him perhaps not the figure, certainly a very important figure, the centrist rallying to his cause. bayrou is clearly decided that he doesn't see himself as part of the fillon set up, so he decided to run in the first round and risk macron not being the one who goes there to the second round, to stand back to try to influence macron in some way, but nevertheless to give heron of free run because would probably a picked up more votes from macron than he would from fillon. this reduces the risk. laura: 2016 was one of the worst

on record for human rights, according to amnesty international, which has just released its annual report. among the countries in the firing line, france. oforter: the rollout amnesty's annual report in the talking about the states i'm going -- country's ongoing state of emergency. believe the response has been reasonable. protests have been banned, people have been put in confined housing. there have been raids in the middle of the night in people's houses. this is not in line with the french constitution. saying citizens are

seeing their rights eroded in the name of security. according to the security minister, 612 house arrest have taken place over a 12 month period. this agate hammer, have been prosecuted. >> if they were so certain and had proof that i had carried out the attacks are been radicalized, i don't think they would have given me access to the airport. reporter: his lawyer confirmed amnesty international spheres. underepresented those house arrest by mistake. those they were under house arrest without any roof. their doors were broken at night , that state of panic stays with you. emergencythe state of will be extended until july 15, which would allow a new president to assess security and prolong the measure if necessary. trump is sending

his secretary of state to mexico at a time when tensions between the neighbors are at their worst in decades. rex tillerson and his head of homeland security, john kelly, will meet with president enrique piñon yet show to discuss a range of issues. proposed to make mexico pay for wall and threatens sanctions if they build factories across the border. recently trump has toughened up immigration policy, meaning millions are being at risk of being deported. thank you for being with us tonight on "france 24." let's talk about the new immigration policy that the trump administration is calling for this week. how will that directly affect texaco -- mexico? [indiscernible]

inasmuch as your question is concerned, under the obama administration there was very much a move toward finding specific, undocumented immigrants who had criminal , especially violent criminal records. hasthe trump administration opted to take a more broad approach. numerically a much higher number of people involved, and that is something that could be very intoicated for mexico to her and for the united states to actually enforce given the lack of containment facilities on both sides of the border and the fact that in recent memory we've not had anything similar to this of prosecution in the united states.

is -- the mac mexicans are worried about refugee camps literally springing up along the border. not just mexicans, but anyone who passed through mexico to get to the united states being deported. it could be a very chaotic and risky situation for mexico, couldn't it? compounding the issue further is the fact that many haveumented immigrants come through mexico in the last 10 years or so are actually from , countries like honduras and el salvador. so there are other issues involved. my understanding is that the trump administration alike returnto be the point of

who aret of immigrants not actually mexican citizens but who may have passed through, which would further complicate the administrative issues involved. economicen it comes to issues, donald trump has really been firing on all cylinders when it comes to mexico, hasn't he? from the beginning of his presidency he has been directly threatening american firms to pull out of mexico and not to build their factories there. what is the future for the trade relationship between these two still, afterch all, depend on each other for a lot of trade? >> it's an interesting situation. withth sides, it has to do catering to the political basis. on top of that, more difficult than that, there's the economic issues that are involved. tradetive balance in

between mexico and the united nafta, but if you look at , [indiscernible] it's more numerous and also cheaper. a lot of what comes from mexico are goodsnited states the united states makes. were talking about the nuts and that are turned into something more valuable in the united states that are then sold. complexity ofthe these supply chain involved, it's very difficult to actually quantify in terms of balance of adds thatactual value

the country is receiving. politically, the trump administration is having to cater to a base. strong themevery in the election. when he announced his election, one of the first things he spoke of were mexican immigration. we're talkingme, moderateentury of very rule, which is now facing the real possibility that the breakdown of the relationship with the united dates will is on track right now to potentially become president. that could be very much a game changer. mexico, regardless of the fact that they could actually benefit economically from ,ertain changes within nafta

going toral products the united states, it would very much hurt farmers that are at the core of mexican society. at the same time, certain energy mexico, neither side wants to back down. [indiscernible] you very much indeed for joining us. >> thank you for having me. laura: moving out to south africa, where the court has ruled against the government plans to last the international criminal court. the hague administration prosecuted crimes against amenity. it has been accused of having a bias against africa. today south african judges ruled that the government plans were unconstitutional. unconstitutional and

invalid. that's how a court in south africa chose to rule on the government decision to withdraw from the international criminal court without parliamentary approval. back in october, the country announced its desire to pull out of the hague-based institution. in 2015, south africa came under international criticism for failing to arrest the sudanese president, accused of genocide and war crimes while on a visit to the country. he said it was withdrawing its membership due to a conflict with the country's diplomatic immunity laws. the south african justice minister said despite the latest leave, the intention to the icc still stands, but the opposition wants the government to reconsider. >> it does create a breathing space for the government to go back to the drawing board to reconsider what they have decided and perhaps to come up with a more rational approach. quick south africa's decision to

quit the court prompted other nations on the continent to signal their intention to leave, including the run d and gambia -- including burundi and gambia. they will remain a member of the icc. the court is had to fight off allegations it has a neo-colonialist agenda. malaysia says it seeking to question a senior north korean of kimt over the murder nam accolade alum for airport. >> a stunning new allegation. malaysian police say a senior north korean diplomat in kuala lepore is wanted for questioning into the killing of kim jong nam . both were identified from cctv

footage. >> we have written to the embassy and requested the allow us to interview both of them. reporter: police are also seeking five other north koreans , although one of them has believed to have left malaysia and going back to pyongyang. he was due to take a flight to macau. have ruleduthorities out a heart attack as a possible cause, saying kim was killed in a poison attack. police say the attackers wiped his face with a talks in, denying an earlier claim that they thought they were participating in a tv prank. >> this is not something, just shooting a movie.

forced thes vietnamese and indonesian women, to others, including a north korean national, have been arrested. relations between kuala lumpur and john yang have soured. malaysia has rejected the demand for a joint investigation and recalled its ambassador from pyongyang. laura: most people born in rich companies will live longer, with women in south korea projected to live on an average of 91 years. the predictions come from a new study published in the medical journal, the lancet. >> at the beginning of the 20th century, scientists dismissed the idea as fantasy, but a new beforeo it's not long average life expectancy in the developed world began edging above 90. most people in rich countries

will live significantly longer by 2030, with south korean women leading the charge. the average female baby born in the country 17 years from now will live to an impressive 91 years old. baby girls born in japan, france, spain, and switzerland, meanwhile, can expect to live until 88. women's life expectancy outstrips men in every country, but that is not new. what is new is the prediction that the usa, already lagging behind in the life expectancy stakes, looks set to fall even further behind by 2030. with average american woman projected to live until 83 and average american man three years less than that. the authors of the study believe differences in projected life expectancy are more related to environmental factors than genetic ones. america's seemingly in congress figures can be attributed to the country's high mortality and homicide rates, and the fact

that health care is far from universal. at the other end of the scale, south korea has been championing health care for all. laura: marine le pen's chief of staff has been charged in a fake jobs scandal, leading the far right presidential candidate -- alleging they paid salaries were nonexistent jobs. marine le pen says the case against her is political. agrees to enter into an alliance with veteran politician françois bayrou. he said he will not be standing this time around. 2016 was the worst year on record for human rights abuses, according to amnesty international, which has published its annual report. it blames populist politicians for fueling racism, xenophobia, and hostility to refugees. time for an update on the business news. take muti is with us in the studio.

starting out with a warning from the european commission, france and italy need to get their economies in order. absolutely. the european commission said france in particular needs to spend its money more efficiently and perform -- reform its minimum wage and unemployment benefits system. reporter: giving out the greats, the european commission slammed nottries that said work abiding by economic standards. giving a storm will -- stern warning to reduce public spending ahead of the presidential election. progress has been made, but needs to continue. .eed to follow through this will be the responsibility of the next government. yet it was italy which got singled out as europe's bad student. forecasts have shown the

country's public debt will rise to 133 .3% of gdp this year, up from 132.8% in 2016. the guidelines call for 3.6% debt reduction. a failing grade that could have been sanctioned and that earned italy and ultimatum. >> as of today there will be a deficit procedure for italy. we will come back to this decision in the spring on the basis of the spring forecast and after verifying delivery of the commitments that have been taken. reporter: italy now has until the end of april 2 at dr. unpopular austerity measures worth at least 0.2% of its gdp. a prospect that could further boost the country's rising forces. germany was warned that despite investmentrplus, low

levels causing excessive imbalances to its economy which could impact the entire euro zone. kate: the global economy could gain a trillion dollars a year now that the new international trade you will has come into force. the trade facilitation agreement is the first multilateral deal agreed at the world trade organization. it's taken effect now that been ratified by two thirds of the wto. the deal will simple find standardize customs procedures, cutting the cost of trading by around 14% around the world. debbie t o downplay concerns about protectionism, saying it withonfident it could deal the trump administration's new trade policies. stop markets around the world are having a bit of a rough day. european shares hit a 14 month high earlier on wednesday before settling just above the flatline. unilever spiked nearly 6% just days after it refused a takeover bid from kraft heinz.

economic growth was revised up slightly for the last order. a mixed picture on wall street, the federal reserve is in focus on wednesday, saying it expects to raise interest rates fairly soon and must now try to decide if that will be at the march meeting or sometime later in the year. meeting or sometime later in the year. the austrian government has introduced new hiring rules to give preference to people who are already living in the country. a payroll tax companies will begin to -- tax cut will be given to companies doing this. it's a first in the eu , austria wants to give priority to local workers by offering tax cuts to businesses. nonwage labor costs would be have for three years to encourage hiring unemployed people or employees currently in

training for a new job. if the hiring happens elsewhere in europe, the incentive will not apply. the government says it doesn't reach the eu principle of the free movement of persons. with completely in harmony our european ideas. >> we believe we should be able to decide what happens on our labor markets. >> unemployment is fairly low in austria, hitting just under 6%, but the government says between 2013-2015, it was mostly non-eu and eu foreigners who were higher. austrians meanwhile lost over 26,000 jobs. that's why union support the new hiring incentive. that eastern european countries like hungary, the czech republic, romania and others export their employees here. it's clear that people who of been out of work for a long time won't ever have a chance to find

a job. >> the government hopes to create 160,000 jobs for a cost of 2 billion euros. kate: the french carmaker psa is pushing ahead with lines to buy general motors european operations. it's based in germany and one based in the u.k. have raised concerns about potential job losses if there taken over by the makers of peugeot and citroen vehicles. seeking assurances that their local workforces would be protected. they hope to save up to 2 billion euros the year if they acquire the two brands, which is not turned a profit since 1999. many analysts say that will be difficult to achieve without job cuts. the french government owns a 14% stake in psa. they're trying to make the deal happen and are fully aware of the stakes. >> it's an operation that can benefit everyone, but under certain conditions.

condition is obviously the one pertaining to jobs. so we've had and will continue to have discussions with the executives of these record companies in order to have confirmation of their commitments on this matter. kate: paris is stepping up its efforts to court businesses that might lead london post brexit and is even willing to change its skyline in order to win business. the financial district just outside the capital's planning to build seven new towers of the next five years. that's more than 375,000 square meters of new office space. frank for, dublin, and luxembourg or among cities vying to replace europe's financial hub once it leaves the european union. paris has been the most theessive in simplifying

complex administrative process for new firms to register in france. i know it can be real nightmare, so it might be just enough incentive with that brand-new office space to get some of the companies over here. laura:vp

02/22/17 02/22/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now!w! >> the president wanted to take the shackles off individuals in these agencies and say, you have a mission. there are laws that need to be followed. you should do your mission and follow the law. amy: millions of undocumented immigrants face potential to rotation is the trump the administration issues sweeping new rules for the department of homeland security while increasing the number of immigration and border agents by 15,000. on the campaign trail, donald