>> hello, you are watching live from paris here on "france 24." the headlines, the gloves are well and truly off as the french overdential hopefuls clash europe, the economy, and security in a marathon debate, with some of the minor candidates stealing the spotlight from the big-name front runners. 564 and 133 against lawmakers with votes overwhelmingly in

favor of a brexit resolution to define the negotiations for a final deal. i will have the latest coming up a little bit later. all the evidence points to the assad regime. accusations for the british foreign secretary after a deadly attack in the foreign province caused outrage, prompting the security council to call for emergency forces. thanks her much for joining. jostling for the spotlight, clamoring for their 18 minutes of frame -- fame come the french presidential hopefuls went head-to-head tuesday night, sparring over the economy, security, and the country's lace in europe. for the first time in history

all 11 candidates took to the stage with the front runners and lesser-known names having under 20 minutes to make their case. hoping to woo french voters just two and a half weeks to for country heads to the polls. sharon reports on the evening's standout moments. >> an unprecedented debate involving all 11 candidates for the french presidency. some of the most heated exchanges took place in europe. the far right candidate, marie le pen, once france to take control of its borders, scrap the euro and the eu. >> we will see the job market crumble, economic sectors crumbling as well. >> he accused her of economic warfare, saying that her policies would harm french exports. >> she says she will abolish the rules and policies to a tech --

for jobs, which is great, but look at what the farmers export. fruits and that symbols are massively accessible. >> rivals to the front runners were hoping the debate would give them a chance to close the gap. the conservative candidate was criticized by allegations that his wife and family were paid for jobs that they didn't do. have not made any mistakes and i refuse to respond to any questions on this topic. candidateialist party took a swipe at the pledge to reduce the size of the civil service. >> what he forgot to tell us is that he would start i'm downsizing 500,000 public sector jobs, so he will have to create a lot to reduce unemployment. >> the campaign has been focused on the five main contenders for the presidency, but this debate allowed the six minor candidates to step into the spotlight for the first time.

polls showing about one third of voters are still undecided, and it remains to be seen how much of an impact a debate between all 11 candidates will have in influencing the momentum of the campaign. >> staying with this story, earlier i spoke to our political editor for his take on last night's heated exchange. he called it an opportunity for the lesser-known candidates to get their turn in the spotlight. the first debate with the five major candidates, much the sixismay of smaller. they are all candidates that should be on the same line with the same opportunity. this was their time to shine. nearly four hours of debate and many of those candidates are unknown to the french. several of them have been candidates before, but most of them not, so this was really their 15 or 18 minutes of fame.

it went from the far left of the spectrum to the far right. like the ways that karl marx wanted to defend workers. others want and to exit the european union faster than the far right marie le pen's is proposing. some of them are going after the mainstream candidates. the ravens major candidates tend not to do. it was refreshing, however obviously 11 is a lot. it's a whole football team on a debate set. at times it was a bit awkward. >> did last night's debate shake things up? >> i really don't think so. first, the format that we discussed.

we had to be careful to show that they were respecting the other candidates. that they were not looking down at them. they traded barbs with the far right, with the leftists. distanced to keep a from the everyone, a newcomer, but he was not as much a target as his main opponent would have liked him to be terms of dynamics. it's reallyk changed much. the main issue is the record number of undecided voters. never in history have we seen so many undecided voters with less than three weeks to go. whether they will have time to make up their mind before the first round is a big question. maybe they will stay home, but this is why it is still pretty

much a wide-open race and i don't think that yesterday's debates were the big clarification moment that some people were waiting for. >> moving on to other news now, eu lawmakers have given the green light to a resolution that defines the condition for a final brexit deal. they voted overwhelmingly in favor of negotiations with britain, with 516 approving, 113 against, 50 abstention's. the negotiating guidelines, known as red lines, go against the british government that wanted exit talks and trade talks to happen at the same time. for more on this story, let's get the latest. today's resolution was overwhelmingly backed by eu lawmakers, so what does it all mean?

>> it's a working document that separates the red lines of the european parliament going forward into the brexit talks likely to take place here at the end of may. the parliament will not have a seat inside the talk, but they will have a say at the end and they will have to vote and give full backing to agreements made with the united kingdom. in the interest, they will have a leave -- read through them. similar to what we saw from the council the other day, no a la carte access to the single market. first, talks will need to be sealed on withdrawal agreement before trade talks can be negotiated. also, the rights of citizens are high up in the agenda there. the main negotiator there, he spoke today in strasburg and said that with this document, they set the tone for what will be very transparent talks. and they said they would make sure that citizens, pensioners,

farmers, they would not have to pay the price. but he said the biggest lulu scenario would be a no deal, that that would be a catastrophe with no winners whatsoever. , therehead of that vote were very heated exchanges and debates. what more can you tell us? >> you can probably see them on your screen. all eyes were on the former head of the u.k. independence party, who campaigned tirelessly to take britain out of the european union. he called the guidelines to addictive, nasty, comparing it to a mafia run by gangsters. a comment that didn't go down well with the chair of the parliament. an italian man who called the comments unacceptable. thinksid, nigel farage that the eu is taking a big risk by not letting the u.k. negotiate trade deals already. he said he wouldn't mind not

having to drink french wine, belgian chocolate, or by german cars. >> thank you for that update from brussels. next, at least seven people have died and several others were wounded after a massive car bomb tore through a restaurant in the somali capital of mogadishu. the blast rocked an area close to government buildings. there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the bloodshed, however the islamist militant group has been blamed for some of the attacks in the past. now, the un security council is set to hold emergency talks this wednesday after an alleged chemical attack in syria left at least 72 people dead. the meeting was called by france in the u.k. after the release of chemicals in the rebel held town's. fingers are being pointed at the assad regime.

boris johnson saying "all the evidence leads to the syrian government." >> observing a minute of silence for the victims. this followed by a message of condemnation from the un's secretary-general, who has called for an investigation. >> the horrific events of yesterday demonstrate that unfortunately war crimes are going on in syria. international human longer remains violated frequently. the council will meet today. we have been asking for accountability related to the crimes that are committed but i'm confident that we will live up to the responsibilities. after onetement comes of the worst suspected chemical bombings on a rebel held area in syria, as seen in this amateur

video. and blamed the government the narrative distance from russia. >> the syrian air force carried out a strike on a large terrorist ammunition depot. it's a military warehouse on the eastern outskirts of the town. there were workshops near the depot. chemical warfare munitions. >> this amateur footage, provided by the medical center, shows victims inside a hospital, where many were being treated. they were not spared either. children and the wounded, making an escape following a second airstrike. escaping the one place in which the government -- in which they still felt safe. russian authorities have identified some of the victims

from the petersburg metro explosion. monday's blast into subway stations left at least 14 people dead and nearly 15 others wounded. trains are running again as investigators continue to dig up information about the suspect, a russian national born. alice say he may have been suicide bomber. meanwhile, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. north korea, flexing its military muscle once again, firing a ballistic missile from the eastern port of the country into the sea of japan. south korean defense ministry 60d the rocket traveled miles. the latest in a series of tests that pyongyang claims are peaceful despite widespread suspicion that their planning to develop nuclear weapons. massive four counts continue to paralyze french guiana, where widespread strikes have been ongoing for 10 days.

demonstrators are upping the pressure on the government by taking their protest to the space center in the heart of the french space industry. >> the protesters have found their symbol. a fist rising. the logo used by the group that launched a strike is now also a culture. >> pounding her fist on the table without breaking anything, we are being heard by raising our arms in the air. >> protesters have been blocking businesses. but not only that, they are also that leads this road to france's strategic pay center. hundreds of demonstrators have settled outside the highly secure site. some say it is the ultimate bargaining chip. protesters are determined to get up to 3 billion euros of aid

from terrorists. -- tariffs. many people are mobilizing. the space center is a flagship of the european space program. the issue has international dimension when using it to be heard by everyone. >> more than two dozen , occupyingare inside management offices. they say they are not planning to leave. decided tole inside stay inside until the government meets again. to the lawyer, the site director, who said staying in protesters,ith the the head of the european space center is expected in coral, the company is anxious to defuse the crisis, losing 500,000 euros every day as the site remains closed. >> you are watching live, from paris, of -- on "france 24."

the gloves are well in truly off as the french presidential hopefuls clash over security and the economy with minor candidates stealing the spotlight. 560, 4, 130 against. but overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution factor five in the final appeal. thethe evidence points to assad regime. damming accusations from the british secretary on the deadly chemical attack sparking global outrage and the year -- un security council to call for talks. we have got a brand-new segment for you today. it is called the campaign beat, daily round up of news from the french presidential campaign trail. my guest.d by

we are starting with the biggest story of the day, really, last night's presidential debate, an unprecedented event in french politics. the first time all 11 french presidential candidates took to the stage to battle it out in a four hour live debate. a marathon. >> it was really long. to the end, despite my early start in the morning. chaotic, a little noisy, dry at other times. i admit that there were moments when i zoned out, but then there were exciting moments when the gloves came off, as you said. i put together a small selection of highlights of zingers, so that you don't have to sit through those four hours. let's start with this clash that is getting a lot of attention between the far right leader and the more centrist candidate. they really had the most to lose

during the debate, they are seen as the front runners, here, so they didn't really pull their punches during this question on europe. >> nationalism means war. i come from a region that is filled with cemeteries and i don't want to go back to that time in history. let's never forget where we have come from. it has been 70 years that our country has lived. >> you shouldn't present yourself as something the you and your sayings that are 50 years old. >> forgive me for saying this, but you trot out lies that we have heard for 40 years from the mouth of your father. >> she also clashed with the far left candidate. this was on the touchy subject of state secularism. >> such a thorny topic. it all started when she started talking about a crash. a nativity scene depicting the

birth of jesus. they exist everywhere in the world, but they are white controversial in france as there has been a big debate recently as to whether they should be displayed in public areas, like in front of a town, during christmas time. france is a very secular country, after all. ruled thethey nativity scenes are more cultural than religious. this might be surprising for non-french people. therefore they ruled that these are compatible with the strict state secularism of france. but it is still a touchy subject. >> you want to put religious symbols and town halls? is that your idea of secularism? >> it's not just a question of religion. it's a tradition and i know that bothers you. to theirattached tradition. they want protection.

>> you are wrong. 50% of french people don't have your religion. give us a break from your talk of religion. >> just like christmas trees in schools, it's not just religion, it's a part of our roots. >> what are you talking about? >> well, quite a heated exchange firebrands, the far left and the far right. throughout the campaign you are going to give us the soundbite of the day, today goes to one of the lesser-known candidates. zinger of thest night. who is this? rest assured, most french people didn't know who he was until last night, because he stole the show. he's the candidate from the far left new anti-capitalist party and his day job is to be a worker at a ford car factory. he stuck out from the get-go. only one not wearing

a suit. a lot of people pointed that out on social media. >> crumpled t-shirt. >> open. the hair. >> the hair. in thealso did take part official photo at the beginning of the debate. he also spoke at the speed of light. a lot of people picked up on that. but he really stole the show for this exchange. take a listen. >> in front of me, riddled by scandals. the national front says it is against the system. but they have attached themselves with parliamentary immunity. one.e police decide, for >> but we go. there is no workers unity. you are lucky that the system protects you. heard that he got around of applause. that was rare during the debate.

around of applause for that comment and it was a harsh blow for a real append. pen.rine le >> that comment was widely picked up on twitter, giving him his moment of fame on social media. >> he certainly was a trending topic on twitter. there was much hashtags. i put out just this selection to show you, but there really were a lot to choose from. this tweet is from morgan giuliana, who took a screen grab that was shared a lot on social media, showing his unconventional style, turning around while the camera was on him to talk to the team. she mentioned what she should talk about -- crush him or crush him? a lot of people said that vladimir putin didn't have the -- a lot of people saying that philip did not have the guts. loud,you can see here out

this when comparing him to double 07, the one that no one expects. and this twitter user saying again that the comment, saying that workers don't get immunity from going to the police, that was the punchline of the night. he won the prize for best punchline, we will have to see if that will translate into real votes on election day. we have 18 days to find out. >> he certainly was a standout amidst of the colorful cast of characters. other questions about the campaign, the short to tweet at us. right, time for the business news now. stephen carroll joins me in the business studio. donald trump is getting to work on changing regulations for the banks. >> the new u.s. president says that he will give banking rules

and haircut in an effort to make it easier for them to lend people money. he is particularly talking about the dodd frank financial reforms passed in the wake of the financial crisis. he claims the rules have hurt lending, but in fact lending to consumers has hit a record high since the past. beautiful.o >> inviting business leaders to the white house, he said that the era of what he called horrible banking regulations would soon be over. >> we are going to do a very major haircut. we want strong restrictions and regulation. but not regulation that makes it impossible for the banks to loan to people to create jobs. >> his target, the dodd frank act, was finally law after 2010 after the financial crisis. they know the goal is to reduce systemic risks, doubling the

recession, with a stringent regulations and better protections for consumers. it created a federal financial stability oversight council to monitor the health of banks that are too big to fail, requiring banks with enough cash to face creditors. they only went to those who could afford them. in his annual letter to investors, the jpmorgan ceo, jamie dimon, said that while many of the rules are fine, it's clear that the banks have too much capital, and more could be safely used to finance the economy. the u.s. president already in february.epeal they have yet to deliver the details of an alternative plan. data shows that dodd frank has not slowed down lending since the law was enacted.

next, the european union has given the green light to a massive merger in the chemicals industry. >> they approved the sale of seed groups to china, the $43 billion deal being the biggest ever for an acquisition by a chinese company. it comes with conditions, though, they need to sell their large chunk on other assets. the u.s. authorities approved the sale on tuesday. >> what is happening on the markets? up 1%.es trading generally speaking on the european markets, it's a bit of a mixed picture. frankfurt is trading down by one third of 1%. businesst today's headlines, spotify has a new licensing deal with giant universal. allowing paying subscribers

and theo new releases company that is trying to find similar, long-term arrangements, is looking at

narrator: yet anotother hurricae pounds cuba. waves as tall as five story buildings. streets flooded. many forced from their homes. in an era of climate change, ather around the world is becoming more extreme. hurricanes are getting worse. if this is the future for our coastal cities, how will they survive the storm?