>> it is 9:00 p.m. in the french capital. you are watching live from paris on "france 24." i'm tom burges watson. promising a free cuba -- president donald trump addresses crowds in miami saying he will partially reversed the obama administration policy of detente towards havana. the have lost a great european -- the words of french president emmanuel macron as he pays tribute to former german chancellor helmut kohl, who died 87.y at age and on track to win big, as campaigning draws to a close ahead of sunday's second round of legislative elections in

france, opinion polls point to a decisive win for the party president emmanuel macron. tom: good evening. u.s. president donald trump announced earlier on today that he will partially reverse the obama administration policy of whilst towards cuba, maintaining diplomatic relations. put theys the u.s. will brakes on the flow of cash to the country, in particular any linked to the cuban military. he says it is part of a plan to empower the cuban people and hold the regime accountable. plans are also in place to tighten restrictions on americans traveling to havana let's listen to what president trump had to say. policy thatump:

makes less sense than the prior administration's terrible and misguided zeal with the castro regime. the previous administration's easing of restrictions on travel and trade does not help the cuban people. they only enrich the cuban regime. tom: u.s. president donald trump speaking there. for mark and we can cross -- for we go to: harding. not a major surprise, this announcement. what do these changes actually mean for relations between cuba and the united states? >> the details will have to be worked out. it was a partial opening o

initiated by president obama. he made pledges during the campaign to the older generation of the cuban exile community in florida that he would reverse the policy, if you found some way of doing that. bere are going to restrictions on contacts with cuba, but limited. there is not going to be a flow of money into the cuban military. military -- hotels and those are the sorts of things that americans in cuba the last year, staying in hotels -- hard how they'll stop it going to the cuban military . but it is a partial attempt to take a tougher line than obama. well, not perhaps as

far-reaching as some people thought these changes might be. nevertheless, right foods are saying that isolating cuba is going to make the situation worse for the country. ?hat is your take on that >> that was the argument made by obama and his advisers, that america has been isolating in its policy towards cuba for many years. the rest of the world, notably the european union, has been advocating rapprochement, encouraging them to introduce economic reforms, improve the human rights record. using years and years of trying to isolate cuba by the embargo had a no real effect. and the argument now is being used by obama's -- the architects of obama's policy to go back to isolate cuba will be

ineffective and arguably make things worse because it penalizes ordinary cubans. they don't have any outside influence coming in. tom: ok, well, thank you very much indeed for sharing that with us, colin harding. to our viewers for the audio quality on that skype. german chancellor angela merkel has been leading tributes to former chancellor helmut kohl, who died earlier today. kohl, who served from 1982 to 1998, was the longest-serving postwar chancellor, the architect of the country's reunification in 1990. european flags are flying at half mast today in brussels. tributes are pouring in from around the world. helmut kohl was 87 years old. let's look back at his life.

it was one of the defining moments of helmut kohl's political career. just weeks after the fall of the said figureskohl of reunification in motion. and it is what delay german chancellor wanted to be remembered for. chancellor kohl: we germans don't have too many reasons to be proud of our history, but i have reason to be proud of those years when i was chancellor. better, nothing than germanroud of, reunification. [applause] born in southwestern germany in 1930, helmut kohl became the leader of the conservative party in 1973, and eventually the chancellor just

under a decade later. along with his contemporaries, british prime minister margaret thatcher and u.s. president ronald reagan, kohl advocated free market capitalism. but unlike thatcher, he was strongly pro-european. in 1984, during commemorations of world war i, he held hands with french president françois mitterrand. he was instrumental in the introduction of the single european currency. kohl served 2 terms as chancellor of west germany. then, in 1990, in the first free time german elections in years, he returned to power in a landslide victory. but his popularity waned as the reality of our unified germany set in. unemployment rose and government spending was cut. after his fourth term as chancellor, kohl suffered a heavy defeat in the 1998

election. resigned defeat, kohl as leader of the cdu, but his retirement wasn't quiet. he fought off allegations that he accepted illegal donations for the party. in 1999, he admitted to taking cash from but refused to name the donors the follow-up of the scandal helped angela merkel rise to party leadership. there were difficulties in kohl 's personal life, too. in 2001, his wife committed suicide. her death led to speculation in the normally reticent german media about kohl's private life and his relationship with his longtime assistant. a fall in 2008 led to a fractured skull and a stint in intensive care. the accident left him partially paralyzed with impaired speech. with the end of his life, he became increasingly withdrawn from the public. to: for more, we can cross berlin. jessica, what has been the

reaction to this news of the passing of the former chancellor helmut kohl? jessica: well, respect for helmut kohl goes beyond party borders good have a lot of reading politicians paying respects. angela merkel visibly saddened when she spoke of the death of helmut kohl from the german embassy in rome. she said helmut kohl was a great german and great european. she said she personally had a lot to thank him for. angela merkel famously was the protége underneath helmut kohl when she was a young politician herself. germany's president, the social democrat, said that a chapter of germany's history has now closed with the death of a man who shaped it so decisively. he said german unity will be .ver linked to helmut kohl gerhard schroder, the former social democrat chancellor who fought a very bitter campaign against helmut kohl for the chancellery back in 1998, also

paid his respects today to a great patriot and a great his former opponent helmut kohl. this is the tone that is coming out of germany tonight, germans remembering someone who is very important, the father of unity, and also a very important european. tom: thank you very much indeed for that, jessica saltz in berlin. for more now, let's cross to a universityt danube in austria and the founder of the european democracy lab think tank. thank you for speaking to us. would it be an exaggeration to say that helmut kohl change the shape of europe? >> no, i mean, the wall came down, and so basically, history meant that everything changed. you need to remember that kohl had been chancellor nine years before the wall came down, and that he was -- we have forgotten this now, but he was physically not really a steam to.

movement and his way to manage this which brought him that he managed basically to be the european chancellor and the chancellor of unification. we just heard from our correspondent in berlin, the reunification of germany in 1990 was his crowning achievement. would you agree with that? would you say there are other achievements that are greater than that in terms of his legacy? >> no, i think it really the 89 movement was his legacy. there were satirical pictures about him, ridiculization. he wouldn't speak good english, always the comparison with him and schmidt, who had the status of elder statesman. it was the 89 movement which brought helmut kohl the true respect of all europeans. he made the european germany in

the tradition -- it was always is saying that german reunification, european unification belonged together, and that is what made him a statesman. tom: what do you think he will be best remembered for? >> if you look at the twitter posts going through germany and all, it is all about europe. it is essentially bringing germany together but bringing europe together, because, let's remember, 1989, german eurocation, and it was the making, it was the gesture, the unificatione german and european unification belongs together. there is a lot to be reminded of today. this is why all the twitter posts and the articles coming out now, all laying down

european. tom: thank you for sharing that with us. >> my pleasure. tom: campaigning is wrapping up here in france ahead of the second round of the legislative elections on sunday. according to three separate opinion polls, the party of the new president emmanuel macron is on track to win 80% of the seats in the lower house, which would give his party the biggest parliamentary majority in decades by any party. recording to forecasts, turnout is not expected to be high. we will head to one area in the north of paris, where macron's party looks set to win big. we find out how the final few hours of campaigning are going . reporter: she is a librarian and charity worker who came second

in round one of the parliamentary elections. far leftidate for the party, she won 17% of the vote in his neighborhood in northern paris. greens,y communists, and some socialist antennas, the 36-year-old hoped to get enough support across the left to win a seat in parliament. i think in the last few weeks the government's moves have shown that the stakes are really high, particularly in terms of the presidential orders that macron is planning to use to push labor reforms through parliament. i think all that could influence people who were thinking they wanted to give macron a chance, because now we know what he is planning and a lot of people don't want to give him the power he needs to do what he wants. reporter: beatrice is running for emmanuel macron's party, and she is running for the same seat as danielle. in the first round, the president's candidate one to 31% of the vote, and she is excited

to easily win the second round. the former air force officer hopes local knowledge will win her votes. >> we get it. he is campaigning for emmanuel macron and he lives in the estate behind the camp. we are aware of what is going on. next to theght housing block, hundreds of migrants are sleeping on the street. >> this is a situation that cannot go on. it has become too much for local residents, and there are other problems in the neighborhood. here,are enough jobs quality of life is not ideal, and infrastructure is in a poor state. i don't think i'm lying when i say this is the worst maintained area on the edge of paris. improving living conditions for migrants and local residents, that is what

the debate comes down to between the two candidates. in a neighborhood that until now was a left-wing stronghold. tom: in other news, greece has turned anger in london following from the wednesday fire at a government housing block, in which at least 30 people have lost their lives. cost-saving during the recent renovation of the building could have played a part in making the fire spread so fast. residents are demanding to know why british prime minister theresa may took so long to get to the scene and meet the survivors. earlier on today, the queen and her grandson prince william visited a facility which is being used by the survivors, and whilst they were there, they expressed some of these to those who lost loved ones during the wednesday night blaze. now, the to other news death toll from more than two months of antigovernment protests in venezuela has risen

to 72, following the death of two people on thursday, both aged 30, and separate regions of the country. the situation remains extreme the tents, with desperate shortages of food, medicine, and other basic goods. and we'll betide tied anybody caught stealing valuable commodities, because lynchings are on the rise. we must when you, this next report contains images you may find distressing. reporter: less than 6% of crimes are brought to justice in venezuela. now, amidst broken economic and political system, citizens are taking matters into their own hands. lynchings are skyrocketing. angry crowds do not hesitate to kill those they say are guilty of criminal behavior. >> anger him anger, hatred towards that person. i didn't feel pretty for him because i know that he is a criminal, and i saw him carrying out a robbery. i felt indignation and anger. whatever happens to him, it is ok.

the government arrests him, puts him in prison, and in a few days he will be free, you understand? here in caracas, this is a mess. it is a mess starting with the government. reporter: fearing that the government is no longer capable of guaranteeing the city, people are driven to angry mobs in a tense for order and security the lynchings are germinating as much -- generating as much if not more terror than what they seek to punish. >> it is unjust that if you steal, i'm going to come and kill you and bring you and destroy you. i don't think so. i don't agree. least 60 this year, at people have been killed in the lynchings. in these instances of lynching or attended lynching, citizens train the anger and discontent they have against a state that doesn't guarantee their rights, and in this case, the right to justice.

citizens believe they are doing justice and they do it in anger, and that is why they reach the level of killing another person. no longer only the government that is broken, but society itself. tom: time for our daily business update. we have been looking at images of the west president donald trump in miami. he is addressing the situation in cuba. what are the economic applications? >> trump has denounced repression in cuba and he plans to ban u.s. companies from doing business with the military to put pressure on the communist government could but the cuban military is deeply ingrained in the economy, controlling the retail chains along with hotels and travel companies. his policies may end up hurting the cubans trump claims he wants to protect. reporter: after warming under president obama, cuban-american

relations are about to go through a cold snap. president trump plans to ban americans from doing business with properties that are owned by the military. there is just one hitch -- >> the militaries is involved in over half of the cuban economy. if you are not allowed to do business with military comedies, you can't do business in cuba. reporter: the cuban army's business wing sprang up in the 1980's to bring military efficiency to soviet-style bureaucracy. it employs roughly 20% of workers through a number of subsidiaries. gaesa run 62 major hotels, which cater to 40% of a foreign largest reportthe export corporation is also going to buy the military, as is a a retail chain. clampdownthat trump's

will disproportionately affect everyday cubans. >> i'm concerned it will affect the private sector quite a bit, certainly much more than the cuban government. reporter: nevertheless, trump's new rules give a framework for future business dealings, and there is no set timeline for implementation. anca: now let's turn to greece from which is set to receive its third bailout installment could the decision from european creditors comes not a moment too soon. the country badly needed to 8.5 billion-euro payment to avoid defaulting on debt coming due in a few short weeks. the issue of the crippling debt has divided creditors. the international monetary fund has not thrown it's support behind this recent installment, as he did behind the last two bailouts. debt needst greece's to be more sustainable affordable hand out funds. for the prime minister alexis tsipras, the deal still shows progress. >> we had a decisive step yesterday.

it was a decisive step for the exit of the country from this long-term crisis, a clear signal of confidence given towards the markets, and at the same time, a clear commitment was given for the end of the program, the bailouts, in one year from now. that is what matters to the greek people, web suffered great sacrifices with patience and calm. france, president emmanuel macron met with european leaders to reaffirm the shared pro-european views ahead of a european summit next week. after a meeting with the dutch prime minister mark rutte , macron called on european authorities to do more to solve the problem of social dumping, where workers, to work in western european countries. my wish isacron: that we are able to build in the deepest sense a stricter agreement that will allow us to stop social dumping in europe, double respect each country in its specifics. it will pave the way to having a real open labor market based on

talent and merit, not because there are work is the cost less in certain countries than in others. this pulls us all towards the bottom. together, we are going to build a good compromise come in particular with the central and eastern european countries, so everyone will find interest and elements of convergence. anca: online retailer amazon shook the markets by announcing it has by the u.s. organic grocery store chain whole foods market for $13.47 billion. it is the latest foray into the grocery industry, sector with hundreds of billions of dollars that amazon has been tried to break into four years. it is an opportunity for whole foods from which is under pressure from investors first i get stuck crisis. the stock jumped 20% after the news of the deal broke. rivals saw their stocks fall up to 16%. now let's look at how the markets are trading this session.

on wall street in u.s. stocks fell for the fifth time in six days. they rebounded slightly but remain low. down 1/5 of a percent. food retailers led the losses. the dow also weakened after poor housing data was released. european markets were supported by the decision to have greece the third bailout installment. the ftse is up .6%. frankfurt dax up .5%. it is sent to take a look at the other business news we are following for you. a japanese automotive supplier is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as next week. the company is facing billions of dollars in liabilities from defective airbags linked to dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide. the company is reported to be working towards an acquisition deal by the u.s. auto-parts maker.

google is bracing itself for a record fine from the european union in the first of three antitrust decisions. it is accused of using its search engine dominance unfairly. the of these penalty could top one billion euros. mcdonald's has cut short its decades long sponsorship of the olympic games three years earlier than expected. the american fast-food chain has been a sponsor since 1976 that it generates $100 million over each four-your olympics cycle . mcdonald's is the latest u.s. brand to abandon its sponsorship in the past two years, following budweiser and at&t. international crime probe is ruffling feathers in hollywood. after the initial probe last year that implicated "the willful wall street, -- "the wolf of wall street," they have

anded "dumb and dumber to" "daddy's home" to the list of films that were financed illegally. it is part of a larger investigation into the diversion of $4.5 billion from one malaysian development firm, stolenuthorities say was from companies linked to u.s. bank accounts. they want to recover gets linked to leonardo dicaprio, including an academy award that other originally belonged to marlon brando that he has since returned. kind of aware thing to g -- kind of a weird thing to gift to someone, i believe. tom: i will be back at half past 9:00 with the top stories. stay tuned to "france 24."

06/16/17 06/16/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! not clean.eline is it is not pretty. it is not a beautiful thing. it is something that is going to use back and haunt maybe not today, but the future. amy: the standing rock sioux tribe wins a major legal victory in federal court that could force the shutdownwn of the $3.8 billion dakota access pipeline. a judge ruled the trump