>> struggling farmers are skeptical about their true intentions. >> this is "france 24." time for 60 minutes live around the world. these are the headlines.s. conservative french presidential candidate refuses to withdraw from the race despite ongoing corruption investigationon agait him. his campaign has been plagued with allegations he paid his life penelope for a fake job. donald trump gives a speech to congress long on a unifying tone and sweeping initiatives

but short on replacing obamacare and how defense spending would work. the iraq he army cuts off the last main exit of the isis stronghold in western mosul. hundreds of thousands of civilians are still trapped inside. first, french conservative presidential candidate says he will stay in the race despite being summoned by magistrates investigating payments made to his wife penelope.he told reporters his lawyers s received the sumud today. he denied allegationn and said legal procedure was not properly followed in what he called a political assassination in that campaign f for the two round election that starts next month.

we were listening to that. how surprising is it fillon is staying in the race? -- wel, he was expected did not know exactly what he was going to do to be honest. i don't know how surprising it is. he could have said he would stand down if you believe what he said months ago, well now, he has reversed that. he will stay in the election even though on march 15, he will be formally placed under investigation by a magistrate. the two days later, applications of the candidates have to be formally put in. he has decided clearly to go forward, come what may. he came out with a very combative speech you noticing

what he claimed was a political assassination, which is not the assassination of himself but of the election as well. very critical of the judicial process that led to this and painting himself as a victim of this particular judicial process, claiming he had not been treated fairly by the process, that it had been conducted on behalf of the prosecution, so really trying to give the sense that this was somehohow a skewed process. it was some kind of a hatchet job on him as a candidate. genie: what kind of reaction might there be from the other presidential candidates that he was indeed staying in the race? armen: i got the impression he was speaking primarily to conservative voters because there have bee had been a sensef betrayal.

told we believed in fillon as a man beyond reproach so i believe first and foremost he is trying to rebuild with those people who so overwhelmingly backed him in the french conservative primaries are you he has tried to clear his name of them. the problem he has is in the country at large. will this be enough? will the protesters keep following him around with these pots and pans, a reference to these casseroles, the financial skeletons in cupboards that some politicians have? it is clear his campaign is not going to suddenly stop being dogeged by these allegations by protesters and hecklers and so on. that is bound to continue now that he will stay in the race.

you must have clearly decided there was no other option because as he summed it up in that speech, the choice was either to hand over to the far continuation of breslau holande. you can just imagine what his opponents are going to make of this decision to stay in the race. tv debates are coming up. what will they say to him? all the candidates. not are going to say, look, only is he covering something up, but he is not keeping his word. he said on a major french broadcaster if i am placed under formal investigation, i am going toto with draw. now, he will not do it anymore. how can you trust him? that is a obvious point that they will make in these tv debates. it is a point that will be hard for them to rebut in front of a

national audience of tv viewers. genie: thank you for that. next to washington, where donald trump gave his first speech to a joint session of congress on tuesday, and it was definitely a dialed down told from the u.s. president. some are calling it his most conventional speech to date. >> a new chapter. [applause] >> of american greatness is now beginning. genie: a new chapter and a new donald trump? speaking for the first time to a packed congress, the u.s. president struck a more presidential tone, touching on all major foreign and defensive issues. a call for unity in washington and across the united states i a. >> i am asking all moves of congress to join me in dreaming big and bold and daring things

from our country. i am asking everyone watching tonight to seize this moment. >> within the walls of the capital, the deep divisions were glaring. when he announced his plan to repeal and replace the affordable care act, republicans cheered while democrats should their heads and booed. the president made an effort to assure allies of their support, he reminded everyone that america will always come first. >> america is willing toto find new friends and forge new partnerships where shared interests align. my job is not represent the world. my job is to r represent thehe united statetes of americaca. [applause] >> trump's gentler tone could help boost his approval rating. more americans disapprove of his performance so far, but half of the country believes he will change the country for the better. genie: next t to iraq with a

bottle for mosul continues. army cut off the last exit point of the major stronghold. hundreds of thousands of civilians are still trapped inside. gallagher fenwick with more. >> the b battle for mosul rages on. iraqi soldiers taking the enemies out one at a time. members of the islamic state organization are hiding in densely populated areas of the city. an invisible but ever present enemy that still holds a grip on precious territory. hundreds of thousands of civilians are caught in the crossfire. were you not able to see

earlier? -- were you not able to see earlier? >> finalists were inside a bedroom, a very small space -- five of us were inside a bedroom, a very small space. gallagher: houses turned into rubble. mortar cannons lobbing deadly rounds on nearby areas. we are halfway to the heart of the city. next tohborhood here the southern bridge and the one behind it as well. troops, there is a asse that victory is near colleagues rapidly advanced. iraq's army claims to have seized strategic part of mo sul such as the southernmost bridge, but one officer admits

the work is not fully done. at this point, there is only 50 to 100 meters between the earth and them. that is how close they are to this, , the so-called fourthth bridge. iraqi troops have a quick through theseg open plains and areas, but they know very well that the toughest part of this battle is yet to come. that one will be unfolding in mosul's old city. genie: gallagher fenwick reporting from mosul. a veto on a you and resolution of syria. syria will not pay stations over its not permitted use of chemical weapons. the resolution was presented at the u.n. by france, britain, and the u.s. but itrs passed it, cannot be passed if one member uses a veto. russia is syria's closest ally.

here is more from russia's representative to the u.n. that theoblem is governrnment sponsors have chosn an odious and erroneous concept, which is totally unacceptable. the resolution was not supported memberscurity council should make the cosponsors think. the statements we heard leave no doubt the drop was put to a vote based on a doctrine of western space. genie: a new report by unicef abuse ofhe o african migrants in libya detention centers, particularly women and children. the migrants on memory to your are often help for months at a time -- held for months at a

time, sexually abused, exploited, and starved. >> they left their countries hoping for a better life in europe, but these migrants have no idea of the terrible conditions they would face on their journey to italy. beaten, starved, and sometimes raped. [indiscernible] it is no good. theyey used to beat us. theyeyo not give us go food. they do not give us good water. >> in its report, unicef describes the detention centers as no matte more than forced labor camps. >> multiple push factors are

leading to a level of tragedy that we have not seen in this century with respect to children on the move. it requires a response that is far more coordinated across national boundaries than we have seen to date. >> the precarious vote right from libya to italy is currently the most popular route to europe. a 2eaders in february inked million euro deal with the fragile state and pledged to establish safe refugee camps in an effort to stamp immigration. last year, 180,000 people braved the journey. 4500 drowned in route. genie: you are watching "france 24." let's take a look at today's top stories. conservative french presidential refususes torenc fillon withdraw from the election this fight the ongoing investigation of corruption against him. his campaign has been plagued

with allegations he paid his wife for a fake job. trump gives his first speech to congress short on details of how things like replacing obamacare and upping defense spending will work. he army cuts off the last may exit out of the islamic state group's stronghold in western mosul, but as the fighting rages into the city center, hundreds of thousands of civilians are still trapped inside. time now for a look at the days business news with our very own stephen carroll. lots of political drama in france over the past couple hours. you have been watching the market. stephen: we have seen shares in power state study. fillon said he was going to stay in the race. the bond markets seeing much of the movement in recent weeks. ratings.lar in poll

they stayed pretty steady. investors keeping steel nerves throughout the latest developments in france. this is the picture on the stock markets in europe. shares of over 1% in paris, london.t, and european markets focused on comments from the federal reserve about a potential interest rate rise later in the month. genie: you have e been looking t donald trump's speech to congress with a was not a lot of detail. stephen: it repeated promises we have had before from trump. president trump said again he was to cut taxes for companies and the middle class. he said he wanted fair trade for american companies by ensuring imports were subject to tariffs. he reiterated plans for infrastructure spending. >> to be honest, the significant

lack of detail comes with all of trump's speeches and pledges when it comes to policy. we had a lot again about the need of, reform big reform, big spending -- of reform, big reform, expending. military spending by $1 trillion. he was to repeal obamacare -- he wants growth being a potential driver of these. they want to reduce federal spending, but when you talk about increasing military spending by 10% as well, the math does not seem to add up and that is what the markets want to hear as well as details of where this money will go so they can

work out what kind of impact this will have ultimately on corporate balance sheets. still lacking any real detail at this time. the markets are not too determined quite yet, but we think it i is probably onlnly a matter of time until we start to see that. stephen: for more of today's business headlines, a company claims that losses of 665 million euros last year. it is a vast improvement on 2015 when they lost 2 billion euros. areva is in the middle of a restructuring. the italian energy c company has reported its first quarterly profit in a year and a half thanks to rising oil prices. net profits of 340 million euros. over 1.5 billion for the year. milan.are up 3% in

earnings were boosted in traffic. rail traffic fell by 3%. genie: now to india where figures show the impact of last year's cash crisis on the economy. stephen: economic growth slowed to 7% after the government made the shock announcement in november that it was scrapping more than 80% worth of beit bank notes installation. >> it was a massive shock to the indndia's economy. banning the equivalent of 86% of india's currency was the attempt to curb widespread corruption, stop the black market, and encourage citizens to use base rather than keeping their savings at home, a gamble that has wreaked havoc.

long lines at banks and anger in the streets. a major economic slump expected. the first gdp numbers are now in an better-than-expected. there has been 7% growth in the last quarter. that is down from 7.9% a year ago, but there has not so far been a major downturn. that may be in part because of payment firms. they are now offering services to small businesses who just months ago only accepted cash. actually covering the largest payment network in india. establishedlready district networks to allow indians to deposit cash, get a debit card, or use online banking. it is an uphill climb for some users who never had or regularly used an online bank account. >> we are trying to educate a lot of new users. a lot of new users are

comfortable with technology at. >> analysts are still waiting it 2017 figures to see how has really affected india's economy. genie: thank you so much for that look at the business news today. thanks to you for watching "france 24." let's take a look at our press review. with me on the set to take a closer look at what the papers have been saying, hi. lots of reaction to president trump's first speech to congress last night. >> a speech infused with hope. a softer trump than usual. politico says trump hit the reset button for 60 minutes and 14 seconds, because that is exactly how long that speech lasted. he abandoned the dark rhetoric and dark vision we have seen so far and offered a more aspirational message. this article is interesting. it was the most unifying moment of his very divisive and chaotic first days in office. politico is not the only paper

or website that has seen this change in tone. the new york times going so far as to say this was an optimistic address that we saw last night. genie: not everyone is buying this new optimistic, hopeful presidential president trump. florence: let's take a look at "the hill." they are saying don't be fooled by optimistic trump. as optimistic as he was, he is not a different person with different advisors or different ideas. this is the same trump. an interesting paragraph says a sudden optimistic turn, trump should only satisfy a person being stuck in the ribs would only feel bell or if the assailant was belting out happy showtunes. genie: trump supporters are calling this the best speech he has ever given. >> it is interesting to see what breitbart news is saying about this. very far right alt right website, very big fan of donald

trump. it used to be run by stephen bannon, trump's advisor. they have gone for a little bit of a quote here from a fox news anchor, chris wallace, who said i feel like tonight, donald trump became president of the united states. a lot of people say that speech was the first presidential speech we saw from donald trump. right-wing media is going further than that, saying this is the best speech trump ever gave, perhaps the best speech any president has ever made. genie: some papers on going deeper than this modified tone from donald trump and focusing on the nitty-gritty of what he said. he focused on many issues with him promising improvement to the economy, infrastructure, national security. florence: fox news is focusing on the economic aspect of the speech, the centerpiece of that address. he was calling to restart the

engine of the american economy through tax cuts, better trade deals, and immigration enforcement. some papers are not buying what he was selling. if we take a look at editorial in "the new york times," he offered a lot of promises but no real ideas on how to pay for them. these are visions of trumptopia that he is selling. genie: another thing in the press today is unity. trump said he was eager to reach across party lines and put aside what he called trivial fights in the interest of helping ordinary working americans. florence: the conservative paper "the washington times" applauded trump for calling on democrats and republicans to work together. this article is quite critical of democrats, blames them for not playing along, for not applauding trump enough, giving him a chilly response. there was a round of fake coughs coming from democrats when they were protesting his cries to drain the swamp.

quite an incredible photo of all these women in white. those were women from the democratic members of congress who decided to wear white in honor of women's suffrage. if we take a look at a tweet by nancy pelosi, you might remember her as the former house minority leader. she tweeted this photo of all the women, the democratic women wearing white. she said we wear white in support of women's rights in spite of a president of the u.s. who doesn't. genie: outside the u.s., a lot papers are responding to trump's speech. florence: many reactions trickling in a little slower because of the time difference. with one is echoing the u.s. papers were saying. as first big speech. he reigned in the tough talk. he polished his presidential tone.a spanish paper as well saying trump offered a more modern version of himself in this first big speech.

they are talking about how the speech was a nationalist and anti-immigration speech. did not really tone it down all that much. a german paper focusing on the hand he extended across the political divide to democrats, all of this as part of how trump defines himself. he is a want to meet dealmaker -- wanna-be dealmaker they say. genie: some reactions on twitter. florence: so many reactions on twitter. i had to pull out a small selection. onion,this one by half this author reference. -- oscar reference. trump.ritical of donald lots of criticism. lots of praise as well. there was an interesting tweet by the white house, a quote from trump. what is interesting about this

tweet are the reactions to the tweet. speech.nspiring you are the best president. you made my 82-year-old father-in-law cry. before he leaves this world, he wanted to see a president like you. lots of praise, but very harsh criticism as well. much forank you so that look at the press today. thanks sealver watching "france you for watching "france 24." you can get a closer look on our website, france24.com. many of our viewers out there may dream about a wonderful expat life in france but the reality of getting settled in france, even if it is paris, is not as easy as it seems. never fear, there is help on the way after the break. >> french connection presented

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