french colleagues at french national tv. all five candidates ready to sit down and have their first live televised debate at the political spectrum. everything covered from the far left. pen, who is ahead in the polls with 25%. predictable election race. right here on france 24.

we are having a little bit of technical problem in that we cannot hear the presenters over at the news channel. we have people working on that for you right now. we should be going back to you soon. james is here with me in the studio. they are still warming up. >> we had two primaries and the run up to this election campaign. conservative party francois fillon performed extremely well in two televised debates. he was being written off.

even qualify for the second round of that primary. he won the first round of the primary by a huge margin. he was very strong, had a clear message. that particular primary debate and race, he won because his campaign was very solid. and he spoke clearly and coherently. >> since then things have gone disastrously wrong for him. revelation after revelation. right up to the moment where officiallye had to place in a formal investigation. >>'s campaign has been disastrous. i'm hoping he can get it back in track. he did very way

well in the primary debates. if you look at the case study of francois fillon, there could be some big surprises. a candidate who performs better than expected. chances, credibility, presidential -- i think i also expect a few people. are going to be attempts as well throughout the evening to create very dramatic moments. we can expect candidates to come out with very scripted scenarios where we try to tackle specific .andidates on a specific issues to beerybody is going looking at a two-hour debate or

three-hour debate, but candidates will be mindful to create strong moments in order to become memorable. >> it could be a real game changer. marine le pen is going to have a tough ahead of her as well. supporterso keep her and expect the usual hard-line rhetoric. but she really must pick up a few centrists, otherwise she has absolutely no chance whatsoever. >> we can expect she is going to be attacked by all of the other candidates. the two front-runners that we can expect would be targeted. of course the national front party is a far right party. despite her attempts to normalize the image of the party, many are still seen as --

>> we're going to that debate. >> all of these candidates have the necessary qualities to become president of the republic. marine le pen -- >> good evening get settled. this is our first debate for the 2017 presidential election. >> we are ourselves to the future confidently. i am a fighter, don't be afraid. don't doubt.

i will lead to a strong recovery. >> national decline, we have had enough. thatroject is a project will liberate and protect us. we must be proud of our project has that is what we want to do. i am a candidate in favor of work. represent people who can't be fooled a third or fourth time. vote. my commitment is to restore order. to do that we need everyone. a free french people. all, everyone will

have the same amount of time after 90 seconds you will see a red light go on. discuss andable to clear and myself will be moderating the debate. was drawnof speaking by lots. what about the economy and what is the position of france in the world. let's begin with a very simple question but essential, what kind of president do you want to be? each of you has 90 seconds. francois fillon. wouldould like to say it about the organization. 11 candidates are standing for the presidential election. five are present, which raises the question of democracy. i know opinion polls were interesting for commentators.

i wouldn't be able to participate in the primaries of the right and center. i want to be the president of the national recovery. free thedent that will french democracy, that will free the french from excessive taxes and regulations that prevent them from fulfilling their dreams and blocks their ambitions. i'll be the president of places france on a path that will lead us to being the top european power in less than 10 years time. i will be -- insecurity has continually risen domestically and the state must resume its responsibility and a broad, because we are living in a more uncertain and dangerous world with a very unpredictable american president. the world trade dominated by china, and the immediate mortal

, the development of islamic totalitarianism, which is a threat for peace across the world. challenge, iis have a project which i have been preparing for for a long time, a project which i will implement with a majority, a consistent stable majority. i will probably be dealing one who will be able to win this at the parliamentary elections. i will get the participation and civil society. >> jean-luc melenchon. >> the last president of the fifth republic -- rules redefine all of the of our democracy. at the end of the presidential monarchy during that time, we will implement -- the

constituent assembly is working a program. the most urgent thing would be the ecology us, that we need to meet the challenges of our era. we will leave the nuclear age, go to 100% renewable energy. we will do it with chemical agriculture. eradicate unacceptable poverty and unemployment. wealth is to unequally divided in our country. president of and subservient france in europe and the world. finally i will be the president of peace, because i am alarmed at the rise in the world and in europe itself.

will leave nato. we have no control -- we will no longer be forced into wars we have no control over. i will serve them with honor. the meaning of my candidacy is a program. >> it is your turn. >> good evening to all of you. i share the words by the other candidates that are not here this evening. nothing was written before hand. i haven't been a bit -- then a member of the establishment. i was a civil servant, a banker. some criticized me for this. i'm proud of having been a banker. ministera government and i think it is a useful thing.

i fought for what i believe in. i see what is blocking our country. i decided to take my responsibility and launched a political movement. i left the government, i resigned from the civil service and by taking my freedom i assumed my responsibility with many of you in order to change the ancient divisiveness. our country today is in an unprecedented situation, facing a totalitarian threat. facing deep changes, digital eyes asian, climate change. the traditional divide between the parties, which for decades have not been able to solve the

problems of yesterday. my project is steve automation of a new change of personnel. new faces. it has confidence in its energy. it will give rise to -- >> marine le pen, what kind of president will you be? >> i think the majority of the candidates seem to agree. six candidates are not here tonight. i want to be the president of the french republic. i am not going to become involved in a vague region. i don't want to be the

salesperson for multinational or a large group. i want to be president of the --nch republic, which were which respects article five, which states that the president guarantees national sovereignty. it's not just empty words when talking about national independent -- national independence. it means the right to decide for themselves, that the french people decide for themselves. people decide to choose how to help their own national companies or their own farmers to identify their own identities. to decide to rearm to faced forrnational competition

the weakest of our citizens. without being lectured or criticized by some supernatural structure. people muste french be able to defend their own interests, the interests of the banks, not the interest of the financier, not the interest of european capital. it is absolutely urgent to our sovereignty and defend our borders. against islamic radicals, who really represent a major danger. fightt rearm to globalization.

we have to fight the secular spirit. impact. we must establish proportional elections so that never again things may be done or decided without the people. >> what kind of president will you be? question than what what president i will be, i would like to call on you and ask you this question. what people do you want to be? we are concerned that we are going to leave posterity or short-term conflict. when it is kind to the elderly or the poorest.

peace and cooperation or competition and nationalism? you will be drawing the portrait of the coming president, and the republic will be elected may 7. and just.honest i will be free and independent from the powers of money and lobbies that are a threat to the general interest. impact of work and climate change. , an economic model that can't do away with economic equality. designed to benefit the same people with it. they are was the same efforts and same people. ratherturn over new leaf than these old-time warrant promises.

it will become a desirable future once it comes to you. >> let's go on to the first main theme. what type of this -- what type of society do we want to? let's begin with the topic of education. you all agree we have to improve our school system and the fact it is a elementary school where things are really important. teachers must follow more today? >> 150,000 who leave our school system without mastering the basics of education. primary school should be the place where you meet the fundamentals. 75% of school time should be dedicated to the fundamentals. disciplinespect and

and something that is in -- that is an important symbol. symbolizes there is a quality and belonging in the international community. my second priority would be to make sure that apprenticeship would be a way of reaching vocational training, which would be the authority of the regions and professional trades. national education would supervise, and to make the system function, the teachers, who should be better paid, should accept little by little to work more within to be more present at school for a longer time. this will be the solution i propose systematically to

improve the working conditions of all the people who work in the public sector. we need fewer public service who are better paid and more respected. >> you emphasize the priority education. schoolo >> today 20% of how tols don't know read, write, and count. and these difficulties explain why there are 150,000 schoolchildren without diplomas or jobs. what i propose is we should focus on the fundamentals of education. more hours should be dedicated to the fundamental and the priority educational zones, where is a higher concentration of economic --

we must reduce the number of pupils to one dozen to correct inequalities. i believe in equality of opportunity. i think we need more guidance, more career guidance. and teaching the area -- they must be better paid. at least 3000 euros per month for teachers who work in the priority zone. a project i defend focuses on vocational training. we must simplify contracts. national education's ministry must play an important role. but professional trade should be more involved. the different categories should

focus more on apprenticeship. >> of all of the candidates here, you are the one who wants to recruit the most teachers, 60,000 over a five-year period. does this mean the real issue in french schools is a problem of means? >> it has become a problem of resources. general overview of this school, the common pillar for our life living together. i don't agree with all these young people who say there are masses of young people who can't read or write or count. all three at the same time, that is rather rare. the biggest number of engineers of engineers per 100, and since you are speaking about vocational training, your thought -- you are wrong to

think and apprenticeship should not be the royal road to professional insertion. why.e ask you why have you closed som any professional high schools over the last 10 years? 170 have been closed. promote, mainly vocational public training so that tens of thousands of young people can make up the space of middle level other management, of which there could be no modern industry, therefore we will give the scholarship to the young people who choose apprenticeship at the age of 16. they have to work evenings and weekends.

we have to hire more staff, not just teachers but also health professionals. up checked of should be to say that it is magical to have that knowledge, to have culture and arts. the more we share that, the more there will be of that. that's why school must be free. even the cafeteria must be free. the school that i dream of, which will be a platform for , what isfulfillment important is one should fulfill himself as a human being. the problem of schools a problem of means.

>> i'm surprised at what mr. fillon said. he said something about the percentages of professional education or for learning french. >> it doesn't mean anything, everyone speaks french at school. >> we are not logged -- we're not talking about learning in french, we are about learning french languages. >> i think we have to think we y with teaching the languages of cultural origins the schools and the town no longer know how to with the way this school year is organized. -- i met with the minister of education and saw she had a

lot of disdain for professional training. i'm also in favor of secularism and security. there are too many teachers today being mistreated. there is an absence of security inside our schools. i see our political leaders are turning a blind eye to what has changed. in fact the teacher daily mission is becoming a nightmare. they go to school afraid of what is going to happen. if we do not have peace and calm in our schools, you cannot teach, you cannot learn. >> you said you want to rework the way to school map is recognized.

it should be taken hostage to a political this -- political debate. disgusting,her through the teaching of languages of origin. a priority of my term will be to emphasize the first years of elementary school.

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03/20/17 03/20/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> justice scalia was a line of the law. agree or disagree with him, all of his colleagues on the bench cherished his wisdom and his humor. and like them, i miss him. amy: supreme court confirmation hearings again today for neil gorsuch. we will look at his record, what it means for workers, women, and voting rights. plus, we look back at his time as the student