>> "france 24 a very warm welcome back to." from parisching live -- a very warm welcome back to "france 24." you are watching live from the paris capital. -- v vladimir putin is a must certain to win the election. civilians stay put --

amid a renewed g gun control debate in washington, president trump told u.s. lawmakers not to be so petrified of the powerful gun lobby, the nra. coming up as the agriculture fair gets underway, our french -- local and organic food and the world's most popular music streaming service is going public. spotify -- we will have a peek inside their books in our business update. we start with russia where vladimir putin delivers his annual stat of -- state of the

nation address less than three weeks before russians had to ballot boxes to decide who w wil be their next leader with h evey indication that putin will win his fourth term. thomas is standing by in moscow. -- a lot ofmake praise for moscow and of course, this only weeks ahead of thee election. wasbsbsolutely, part of this really at his voter base two and a half weeks beforore the presidentialal election, which t a mere putting -- vladimir putin is certain to win. this is rhetoric about doubling the amount of f investment in , 2024 4 ll be the end of his nexext term if

elected. these memeasures, thesese promis aimed at peoplple in the poorer areas of russssia who are more certain about voting forr vladimir putin than those in moscowow or st. petersburg.. one thing t that would have pleased many pepeople in russss, noonlyly those r regions, but particularly were his v very had cocomments about the militararys - twoof this speech, 66% thirds was about povererty edatation and d health. a gooood third i it was about w military weapons. we have videos showing strategic nuclear missiles thatat could invade antimissile systems and vladimir putin really had strong words for r the u.s.. he has been in power a very long time, 18 years as prpresident ad prime minister r and he rememems tetelling the u.s. back in 2002 that they should not withdraw from the antimissile -- from the

missile ban t treaty. -- clclose to the end of hisis speech, he said, presumably to the u.s., you did not listen to us then, listen to us now. talking aboutn the elections and you said he was very much addressing the electorate in that speech. of course, we know that putin prettyty much has the v vote ine bag. was there anything foror the international community, especially that segment about syria? wasn't soere really much. this was a domestic speech except for that part abouout the v very new part of the military including a new airplane has just t been sent to syria fofo trials s -- active trialslsn the ground d as part f the military.

this can certainly be e seen, ts part of speech on the military and the weapons, strategic nuclear weweapons can be seen aa threatat. step back p putin did after r receiving rousining appe for these sesections on how the missiles work and e elaining why theyey were good for r e fatherland and saying that we are still open -- we are an n on country and open to talking g to the westst, to europe, and the u.s., but there is absolutely no doubt this was for the l local elecectorate, they would have a up the stuff about weapons in the economy because they know on the ground how smalall their salalaries arendnw diicicult it is f from dayay toy living as prices continue to increase and they find it difficult to get by. >> our correspondent in moscow breaking down that addressed by vladimir putin who addressed

syria at a time when the country faces a political deadlock read we will stay with that story where residents seem to be continuing to -- the opportunity to leave the battered enclave. the bombs continued to rain down and trucks loaded with aid are waiting to enter the area. for more across, our live regional correspondent currently in beirut for us. i am having trouble referring to this as a cease-fire, especially because it has been mocked by the local residents. is this another deadlock? unfortunately, thee people e in eastern gouda are not used to the ininternational community''s failures and they have reached a point where they are making point of the u.n. resolution on the ground. we have yet again reached a

deadlock. on the one hand, the un security council adopteded a resolution r a complplete cessation of hostilities over a period of 3 0 days. at the samame time, threresolutn excludes t three of the e fightg groups. thisis means technhnically the syrian regime can continue as long easternrn ghouta as it claims to be targeting one of those groups. as a result, whihile the cease-fire was never put in place. on the o oer hand, russia came up with this five-hour daily truce proposal and that is not turnining out very well either although moscow claims civilians are being evacuated. our sources on the ground tetell us thatt this is a very limited number of people and t the realy ongoingightininis still

and residents are too scared to leave. >> you just mentioned that the fighting and the shelling continues in eastern ghouta and it is being dubbed by various media outlets in the international community as the new aleppo. just how bad are the conditions on the ground -- on the ground today? the humumanitarian situation in eastern ghouta is extremely difficult. if the people we talked to on the phone every singlele day tel us the shelling i is cononstant. todaday, the bombs are still fallining on the rebel enclave. they tell l us the cease-fire ws never put in place and that t ty are in neeee o overy urgent hel. eastern ghouta has been ununder siegee since 2013. it has been five years now and the people lack everything. they lack food, they have to dig

their own wells to find waterr anand access toto medical facils is extxtremely difficult. hospititals and ambululances hae been targeted by the shelling many times, whicich partly exexplai the very high number rf casualties we have b been reportrting recently. humanitatarian organizatations n damascusus are monitoring the situation very closely. 8 c convoys are ready to go, but nothing can happen as long as the fighting is ongoing. >> chloe reporting from beirut on that horrific condition the civilians of eastern ghouta are facing. two weeks since 14 schoolchildren and three teachers were killed and one of the worst shootings in american history. return totoay students thclclassroom toto the floririda highgh school, d donald trumumpd talks at the white house control.g gun the u.s. president said restricting the availability of weapons should not be the only solution. -- has the story.

president trump: -- >> bringing the art of the deal to america's gun debate. donald trump surprised democrats and republicans as he criticized congress for being too fearful of the national rifle association. president trump: some of you people are petrified of the nra. iey do have great power, agree with that. they have great power over you people. they have less power over me. >> during an hour-long televised meeting, trump called online -- lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws. he chided both parties, but especially republicans for the way they frame the debate. the president rejected a republican backed bill with a law allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines. if you addrump: concealed carry to this, you will never get it passed me. >> -- most controversially, raising the age to 21 for

purchasing firearms. a measure that is fiercely opposed by the powerful gun lobby and many republicacans. >> the vast majority of 18, 19, and 20-year-old in pennsylvania who have a rifle or a shotgun are not threatening anyone. they are l law-abiding citizens. >> trump's push follows a waiver of gun rights activism -- a shooter killed 17 people with a seven -- semi automatic ar-1-15 rifle. dick's sporting goods and walmart have aounced they will no longer sell guns to anyone younger than 21. many democrats, however, fear trump could backtrack on strong support for gun reform. congress already has a bad record on passing gun control measures. the bipartisan bill failed twice in the senate after the 2012 sandy hook elementary school. closestf donald trump's advisers have announced she is stepping down from her position

within two weeks. resignation serves as a surprise and comes as a blow to the president. denied any link between her resignation and -- meddling in the russian election -- russian meddling in the election. -- elections are days away and there's a strong possibility the right-wing parties could gain far more influence. observers say the country's swing to the right is expected to usher in a more extremist agenda. --a professor of political science in florence. thank you for speaking with us here on "france 24." let's start with the big name in -- e elections, that is do you think he will be able to make a political comeback after this election?

seems already that hehe is doining a political comomeback d ththe result of the electiononsl bebe such that i think it's a possssibility thatat even if he canantt get a majoritity -- he participate or at least his party can participate in n a sot p presidentonation or type ofnt for different government solution that are usually adadopted in italy w whn there is no majority.. we have to talk about italy's five-star movement, which has shaken up the company -- can't -- country's political theme,

making it unlikely for either of the two traditional party blocks. the center-right to form a government. how did this happen >? that movementt i is actuauallyn expected result already in the previous political elections and i think they are still convincing a large part of the electorate. they have not lost power and i -- by many people potentiall party for governing the country. radicale not taken positions. they have reasonable positions on the environment.

i think, of course, their success -- itit is convincing because there has been many evidences that the country -- other political parties have been involved in major scandals of political corruption. i think this movement is -- even if it is very young in terms of political strength isnk it's related with the weakness of the other parties. it has made the appeal of the five-star movement and the issues of anticorruption, participation -- real representations of some type of the groups quite credible.

five-star -- offers andces of achieving gain this means also they are not a slash party. tople cannot expect it disappear in a short span of time. party, and ipe of think that they could be now more than after the previous election -- >> thank you very much for that analysis. it joining us from the professor -- in florence. here in france, the national front leader marine le pen has

been charged over tweets of pictures depicting acts of violence by the islamic state group. one of the grass of -- graphic images shows beheading a journalist. we will be bringing you more on that story as it develops. since france is a big agricultural freire -- fair is underway. the annual event is an opportunity to highlight of the struggles of the farming sector as well as its innovations. by 2022, the french government wants half of all food served in public cafeterias such as schools and hospitals to be made products. and organic one french has gotten a head start and our team went there and they bring you this report. barely begun to rise as this baker puts his last batch of flour into the knea

der. along with flour and yeast, but no additives. >> it comes back out. weighed,ugh has been even outcome and sculpted before it is baked for 20 to 25 minutes at 255 degrees celsius, some 1200 of these organic bread loaves will go to the city's cafeterias, which has been buying them between $.41, $.79 for 17 years. >> it guarantees production and a certain amount of revenue. if it weren't for the business from schools and the local government instead of having four workers, i would be all alone or with an apprentice. >> demand for the bread is part of the region's push toward organic farming. it all started here. in the early 90's', the water sy was laced -- in the early the water supply was

laced with chemicals. this farmer decided it was time to go organic. >> we set ourselves, it's crucial to protect this resource that is right under our feet and we need quality water. the whole town has to come together and those who work the land near the watershed must lower the level of nitrates and pesticides flowing in. >> in these fields near the watershed, he produces 200 tons of organic wheat, over a fourth of which goes to the city's public cafeteria. several kilometers away in this state-of-the-art milk, the wheat is ground-up, transformed into the fiber and nutrient rich into the baker kneads bread. from the farmer to the miller to the local bakery, this town is reliving a french tradition. at this child care center, the verdict is unanimous.

bread that is local and organic and not necessarily more expensive. while initially it cost to the city an extra 15,000 euros a year, over time it has become cost-effective. >> it requires no transportation, 30 kilometers at most. there is no intermediary and you can plan long-term and we've got neg return on investment. >> the local bread has inspired cities across france. cafeterias hope they will soon be servingng organic baguettes f their own. >> it's time for business news with stephen carroll. you have been looking at the stock market reaction to these gun control moves by very is retailers in the united states. >> these gunmakers tend to move in reaction to political comments. we thought it would be interesting to take a look at what happened to share prices yesterday after walmart and dick's sporting goods said they

would stop selling guns to people under 21. storm ruger's is america's biggest gun maker and their shares were down. american outdoor was down by 3% -- dick's sporting goods their sales actually rose after that news, finishing up two thirds of 1%. >> let's stay on wall street with a music streaming service spotify. >> the swedish company filed for its debut on the new york stock exchange. this initial public offering $23es spotify at up to billion. the paperwork spotify filed for this ipo gives us the clearest picture yet of the state of the company's business. brian quininhas the details. >> bringing -- music to its years as spotify plans to list on the new york stock exchange. the company expects shares to sell at prices that would put it

mark -- market value at above $23 billion, making them one of the biggest tech ipos since 2012. spotify is the world's biggest streaming music service butlable in 61 countries, faces competition from rivals like apple and amazon, both of whom are pushing hard into music streaming. spotify is in the lead with 159 million monthly users, 71 of whom are paying subscribers. apple's next with 36 million subscribers, followed by amazon with eckstein million. spotify has yet to turn a profit. rising, over 4 billion euros in 2017 38% from the previous year. losses are rises as well, 378 million euros in 2017. the ipo will not be typical. instead of hiring an investment bank to underwrite the release of new shares, investors and employees will be able to list existing shares directly.

with revenue growth outpacing cost, many are optimistic for spotify's future. the road could get rockier.. ththe company flagged problems with its financial reporting 2017, a major potential stumbling block as it looks to find its feet on the public market. >> stephen, the u.s. markets will be opening in just a few hours. ofding for the first day march. february was not a particularly good month, was it? >> it was actually one of the worst u.s. stock markets have had in two years. at the start of february, over fears the federal reserve would raise rates faster than previously expected. it did managed to claw back some losses at the start of the month, but the dow jones was still down 4% over february. if s&p 500 down by 3.9% and the nasdaq finished february down 1.9% despite the majority of

company results being positive. some firms had a good month. netflix up by 10% in february while amazon was up by 9%. we will look at the figures you can see on your screen. european market trading, not much better. shares are also trading down this lunchtime. we have paris and frankfurt down over 1%. london down by .8% in trading. we are keeping an eye on car for. there shares down over 6% in paris after results they published yesterday. investors not impressed with that and that is not helping the picture on the cac. another company we are watching is the french carmaker psa. there shares are up over 5% in paris after psa reported record profit for 2017. they were up 23% to just under 4 billion euros. it wasn't all good news.

they bought the brands from general motors last year. the division lost almost 180 million euros in the last five months of 2017. -- alliance says it plans to save 10 billion euros by 2022 through closer cooperation among its brands. under the plan announced today,, run, nissan, and mitsubishi will move closer to becoming a single country. they will launch, and products in things like auto sales service and cooperation on manufacturing. oneinally from you, accounting firm seems to be appearing for the oscars -- >> it was one of the most memorable moments when the film "lala land" was announced as the winner of best picture and it was actually "moonlight." -- handedcause a pwc

the wrong letter to the director. the wall street journal reported today about the precaution price waterhouse cooper has taken this time around. they have a meeting in place for the oscars and i have new safeguards to prevent mistakes and they will rehearse the procedure for if the wrong name is announced. the pwc partners handing out the all-important envelopes will also be banned from using their mobile phones to avoid any possibility they could be distracted by taking selfies with celebrities. >> making it for proof it seems. thank you for the latest on business news. that is it for us. stay tuned for more news coming up shortly. ♪

more d deep than dancncing for e sami: i've finally ended up in andalusia, in southern spain, the birthplace of flamenco. [men speaking spanish] [flamenco guitar playing] man: ole. [men speaking spanish] sami: flamenco is something much more deep than dancing for the tourists in a taverna, with a rose behind one ear. flamenco is powerful stuff. emotions are not held back. the soul is not spared. the technical virtuosity of the best flamenco musicians is unbelievable. the music is rhythmic science, incocorporatig