>> you are watching france 24. in paris, these are the headlines. elect mnusident omicron has parliamentary elections in his sights. hundreds of reveal candidates for his new centrist movement, half of whom, like him, have never run for office before. downplayinguse controversy surrounding the firing of it by director james comey, this as it comes as he

was dismissed days after he expandor more money to the investigation into russia's ties to the election. and brazil's former president on the stand for almost five hours in the first of several corruption trials against him. he says he will still run for a third term next year. has coming up this hour, snapchat lost its rainbow filter? shares have slumped after the company's first earnings report disappointed investors. details coming up in the business of date. and films from netflix will compete at the cannes film festival later this month but it could be the first and last time , unless the company changes its ways. more on that coming up. first, our top stories live from paris.

president-elect emmanuel macron is still riding the wave of his friends election victory but his big challenge now is coming up with a majority in parliament to make sure he can make good on the reforms he promised the people. that is easier said than done, though, remember, macron is a man whose centrist movement is just one year old and has currently no members of parliament. the parliamentary election is four weeks away, all seats are macron isbs and today set to release a list of hundreds of candidates, many of whom have never run for office before. republicon how macron on the move party, as it has been named, is betting these mp's, let's go to claire in southern paris. tell us more about what we can

expect in the next couple of hours. we were expecting to hear the names of all 577 candidates, but only 450 candidates will be given to us. that is because the on the move party has been a victim of its own success, to be honest. it has had over 1600 people come forward since sunday night's election saying they want to be candidates in the parliamentary elections. the on the move party is still trying to work out who it wants to be on the list. we were expecting to get all the names today that we all only get 450 of them. >> what do we know about who those people might be among those 450 names? >> the day? over many well

another member who was a part of the socialist party. he said on french radio that he wanted to be part of the en marche group in parliament. macron said that he has to apply just like everyone else online, like the 1500 other people have done. he is waiting to find out whether he will be a candidate or not. what emmanuel macron has to remember is he has a difficult balancing act, on the one hand, trying to show himself as a face of change in politics. at the same time, he needs some senior politicians, he wants that parliamentary majority in the june elections. he may find that some socialist mps may come in handy. followed the campaign closely up until his victory on sunday. a few days into this macron presidency which will begin the

sunday. what is the feeling amongst the campaigners who are behind emmanuel macron right now? there is a lot of energy but also a lot of uncertainty. at the headquarters here, there was something like 200 people here working for emmanuel macron , most of them volunteers. now in jeopardy once the campaign has come to an end. energy being put into parliamentary elections, but that is at the local level. the headquarters here in southern paris is now starting to spread out. people still trying to campaign but they don't quite know where it's going. everything really rides on that parliamentary election in june and whether or not emmanuel macron will get his parliamentary majority. it >> thank you so much. 500 and 77 parliamentary seats up for grabs. that is the importance of that parliamentary election for emmanuel macron.

now let's go to the united states where the white house is continuing to defend its decision to fire fbi director james comey. it has now come out that he was dismissed days after asking for more money to expand the investigation into links between russia and the truck campaign. that has increased calls from both democrats and republicans for a special, independent prosecutor. claire rush reports. >> in response to the fierce criticism of comey's firing, the white house insists all white ongoing investigations will continue. >> that has not changed. in fact, we encourage them to complete this investigation so we can put it behind us and we can continue to see exactly what we have been saying for nearly a year, there is no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. >> democrats have called for a special prosecutor to leave the ongoing investigation.

it isdon't think necessary, you have a house committee, senate committee, and a department of justice working on this. i don't think there is a necessary need at this point. >> the firing was also defended by republicans in congress, who pointed out the democrats had criticized comey in the past or his handling of the probe into hillary clinton's use of a private enough server during her time as secretary of state. >> our democratic colleagues in plain about the removal of an fbi director who they themselves repeatedly and sharply criticized. >> democrats have said the timing is suspicious, given that comey had requested more funding for the russian probe days before his dismissal. in the latest news, the senate committee on intelligence issued a subpoena yesterday for former national security adviser michael flynn. the request documents on russia's interference in the 2016 elections. flynn resigned in february when

it was revealed he had lied to vice president mike pence about his conversations with russian officials during the presidential campaign. >> in an awkward twist of timing, that all broke on wednesday when the only list on president trump's schedule was a meeting with the russian foreign minister. following that, the kremlin said it is cautiously optimistic about an improvement in u.s. russia relations. the russian foreign ambassador to the u.s. was also at the meeting. it is that man and his contact to trump advisors that are being scrutinized by the fbi. the meeting was meant to focus on syria but was dominated by the comey dismissal. in brief remarks to reporters, donald trump said he fired comey because he was not doing a good job. we have talked to less about the migrant crisis in europe recently but it is still very present. nearly 500 migrants packed into a wooden boat, picked up by the libyan coast guard wednesday

after it warned off a ship getting ready to pick up the migrants for passage to the european union. 30 kilometers north of libya's coast, these migrants were on the verge of being rescued by sea watch, an ngo prepared to pick them up for passage to europe. >> we found the wooden boat, we left the site of our boat, taking life vests. as we approached, we realized it was massively overcrowded, hundreds and hundreds of people. we taunted -- started to talk to them and got some details when we got an alarm saying that we were being approached by a libyan warship. when we looked over our shoulders, there was a fast boat that had just come around and was heading toward us. that unwelcome intervention was by the libyan coast guard,

taking the 300 migrants back to tripoli, and brushed off accusations that it had a legally repatriated them while the boat was in international waters. >> we were trying to assist in the search-and-rescue, it was in our territorial waters. in such rescue operations, the libyan coast guard has priority. >> the international organization for migration says 20,000 libyans are currently being held. i left the war in syria and went to libya, which was also a war. i'm now trying to go to europe to join my children. >> after the closure of the migrant routes through turkey and greece, libby has become the key departure point for those hoping to cross to europe by sea. last year, newly 200,000 people made the deadly journey. people were injured and a 27-year-old man was killed

in an other violent day of clashes in venezuela. a group of armed pro-government militiamen harassed protesters as they march to the capital. protesters say the president socialist government has become a dictatorship responsible for triple digit inflation, rising crime, and widespread shortages of food and medicine. 38 people have been killed in the protests over the past month. brazil's former president testified four hours wednesday in the first of his five corruption trials. lula da silva is accused of being the kingpin of the petrobras scandal but he has ridiculed the charges, calling that a farce. >> straight after his grilling at the hands of a federal judge, the former president greeted by thousands of supporters. putting out a show of defiance, lula announced his trial as a

political witch hunt. whoseide dilma rousseff were his innocence, making it clear he has not stand his political ambitions. i would never lie to people like you. so long trusted me, believe me, and followed me. i want to tell you that i'm alive and i prepared to be your candidate for the presidency of this country. but his chances of a political comeback in 2018 hinged on the outcome of this trial and that of four other still pending. close to the press and public, , hisirst hearings prosecutors accuse him of getting a luxury apartment from the construction companies as a kickback, claims that lula denies. this is the latest in a sprawling corruption

investigation known as operation carwash which targets construction firms that pay billions in bribes for lucrative contracts at state-run oil company petrobras. began three euros ago and now encompasses several government enterprises. nearly 100 businessmen and politicians have been convicted and scores of mps are under investigation. prosecutors and former executives at petrobras say that lula was in the thick of this game, millions in bribes allegedly funneled into his campaign fund. >> a storm is brewing between filmix and the cannes festival. this year, two netflix films are in competition for the first time ever but the festival says this will be the first and last time, unless the video-on-demand company agrees to give its movies a release in cinemas as well. inwhen the lights go up cannes next week, it will be the

first time a netflix film makes it into the competition, and it may be the last time, too. after two netflix films were nominated, they asked the company to be released in french cinemas, but netflix said no. they want perjury was to use their paid streaming services, a stance that has enraged the movie sector theater in france. netflix, theeo of california company is in its right. he said the establishment is closing ranks against us. theater chains want to block us from entering the cannes film festival. ther talks, they said that films will be allowed to stay in the competition but to abuse the french theater industry, the festival has also established a new rule. as of next year, all cannes films must be ready to be distributed in french theaters. >> we agree that a film should be released in french theaters and spectators should have access to it.

at the same time, what are we talking about? that canmber of films and unfortunately do not make it to theaters. another film in the competition but they stream online and in theaters. watching france 24. let's take a look at today's top stories. french presidential elect emmanuel macron has parliament in his sights. of hundreds of mps, half of whom had never run for office before. the white house downplaying controversy surrounding the firing of fbi director james comey. was as it comes out he dismissed days after he asked for more money to expand the investigation into russia's ties to the election. brazil's former president on the stand for almost five hours in the first of several corruption trials against him. he says he will still run for a

third term next year. time now for a look at the day's business news with stephen. you are starting with snapchat, which published its first result since floating on the stock exchange, but not good. >> not good, indeed. fail to meet expectations in terms of earnings but also in terms of how many new users the firm is adding as it faces increased competition from facebook. as a result, shares fell by 23% on wall street in after-hours trading wednesday. that is a big shift since the marketa around the stock launch. >> just a couple months ago to launch their debut on the stock founders wereat's ringing the bell on wall street, a good day for the company snap inc. after facebook's ipo, they brought in the biggest for a technology company since, but

like facebook, a cold shower right around the corner. the company known for his disappearing messaging as, with their first earnings report annually across the board it has missed the mark. the number of daily users was 166 million, which was lower than expected, with a rise of just 36% from last year. same disappointment for revenues. snap brought in nearly $150 million, that is up almost 300%, but still around 10 million shy of projections. losses, $1.2e net billion. that is because of $2 billion in payouts from the stock market debut. even after these one-time compensations, there was still $188 million in adjusted losses. likely they it is company, which has a loyal following, one b profitable until 2019. in part because the 26-year-old ceo is investing heavily in new

technology. fielding questions about how companies like facebook or copying some of snapchat features, he said "just because yahoo! has a search box does not mean they are google." stocks down by 23% in after-hours trading. at what iske a look happening on the stock markets, shares in europe for the much treading water. still hovering close to record highs. in the past few minutes, the back of england announce it is keeping interest rates unchanged. nothing to move markets there. boeing decided to halt test aircraftf its 737 max due to problems of engine parts made by a company we are watching closely and trading today. i look at today's business headlines. that profits for unicredit jumped by 40% in the first quarter. the turnaround plan began to take hold.

italy's largest bank by assets raised 13 billion euros in inequities this year, and as concernsat began were swirling about the future of the banking sector. shares in the bank are up over 4% in milan. is cutting 4000 jobs worldwide after an accounting scandal costed it almost 600 million euros. the british telecom firm was forced to write down the valley of its italian arm. profits at nissan rose more than a quarter in the last year thanks to strong sales in the u.s., china, in europe. but the japanese firm is warning they are foreseeing a sharp drop in the coming years. shares fell by just 4%. if you are having a crisis

about being in the wrong job, you may want to shield your eyes. we are talking about the best paid executives in the united states. according to bloomberg, top of the list was the ceo of walmart, $237 million. tim cook was next, $150 million. google,r pitcher from $106 million. elon musk not far behind. >> something completely different to wrap up now. py has been sold for more than peanuts. i did not write that. >> you could say that charlie brown is moving in with the teletubbies. paid $345an firm has million for the majority stake in the peanuts brand. the sale has been endorsed by jean and greg schultz, the

daughter and son of the creator. dhx also owns inspector gadget and the teletubbies. they hope to develop snoopy and friends for new platforms. the will only let you off set if you dance like one of the peanut characters. thank you, stephen carroll. now time for the press review. taking a look at what papers have been saying today. lots of focus on the backlash following the firing of the u.s. fbi director james comey. >> that's right, and unceremonious firing, the one make you think of his previous reality show. for nla cartoonist, it feels like donald trump misses his old job and is very famous catchphrase, you're fired.

although this cartoon says this is the special cover up edition, on to the factusi that many believe that comey was fired because of possible ties between donald trump and russia, and his dismissal has also cast a debt over the future of that russian investigation, according to the new york times. the fbi says it will continue to investigate all crimes. it is business as usual. that is what the acting fbi chief said. >> that man andrew mccabe also has a questionable past of his own. >> the daily beast looks into his background. one thing that stands out, mccabe is a pure product of the fbi, having come up the ranks. like comey and others who came other areas, he is season, but last year, his wife

except almost half $1 million from the political organization of the governor of virginia who is went to hillary clinton. mccabe was called to recuse himself but refused. now the conservatives have accused him of a lack of ethics. >> the firing was out of left field but particularly the white house press secretary sean spicer. for a little bit yesterday. he was caught completely off guard. he said he was planning to send out an email to journalists informing them of the decision but did not have the time, so he literally ended up in the bushes of the white house near where the u.s. networks were broadcasting. his assistant then told reporters that spicer would answer questions but not on camera. then the washington post speaks extraordinary press

conference that took place in near darkness between hedges in the white house garden. spreadingncellor uncertainty for the political future in austria. mr. lind, leader of the center-right people's party, resigned on wednesday. he will be placed by a 30-year-old. the ruling coalition in austria is already on shaky ground and this will definitely benefit, among others, the far right party. you remember, the far right party there really lost in austria's last elections. this resignation is making news in austria today. echoing him is reasons to step down. the party leader said he had as an tired of serving placeholder and had gotten sick of all the politics within the

ruling coalition and his own party. now his replacement wants a free rein in the center-right party, newspaper.o this he is considered one of austria's most popular politicians. in an opinion piece, he says he is inheriting an unattractive position but he is their last hope. if the country does not give -- power does -- party does not give him the power, it will be the end of them. >> the telegraph is talking about what is being called middle-class kitchen injuries. >> you may as well say first world problems. one of the biggest injuries is cotto -- avocado hand. you are not alone. is causingr avocados us great pain, the telegraph

talking about the number of people reporting to er rooms as a result/rooms of cutting into unripe avocados or unsuccessfully removing the pit. it is not just avocados. the one injury that is quite here inuring christmas france is oyster thumb. bert mouth,so camam burning your mouth with hot cheese. and sourdough gums. >> i think there have been some baguette booboos with all of that bread. of course, you could get more on our website, france24.com. coming up in the next half hour, emmanuel macron is now

president-elect but he will have a hard time governing without a strong majority in parliament. the details of that coming up in our next french connection.

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