>> reversible. -- it will be irreversible. who join the system .ome up reserving their rights it will gradually include a going percentage of the new system. , you can and gentlemen see that we are taking a long view. as you have all understood, i am determined to carry out this

reform. i think it is fair. it is fair for millions of women, and four children. i don't underestimate the complexity of the reform. if i were to try to do this, in conclusion, this is what i would say. we are gradually changing the pension system to build a stronger pay-as-you-go system with synthesis, because every the earned will count, and entitlement, and it will be forever because the rules will be fair for everyone, and strong solidarity will protect the weakest. at the same time, we are also going to achieve social progress that will protect the pensions

of women, families. solidarityress the with farmers and small tradesmen. we will be upgrading the compensation for teachers, researchers. we will integrate the bonuses of civil servants. of we will extend the notion arduous work to caregivers and hospitals. it will be a simpler, fairer allowingased on ourselves the time, gradually putting it into the special scheme. it is a very large-scale change, but it is a change that will be carried out progressively, gradually, with the trade unit , so our country ,an remain this great nation

respecting solidarity. we are proposing to remain true , to haverench ideal this packed between -- pact between generations, all workers, their parents, without distinction of status. it is not a leap into the unknown. it is returning to the very principles of the foundation of our republic. come to build a universal pension scheme. thank you for your attention. [applause] anchor: you are watching "france

24." we have been listening to the french foreign minister talking about the details of the new pension reform. the planned reform that has pushed thousands of people in the streets in france, has shut down traffic for seven days of a nationwide strike. marc perelman was listening to that with me. there is a lot to unpack here. what struck you the most about what adouard philippe had to say? edouard philippe had to say? marc: he stressed this i is nota dismantling of the pension system since world war ii. he said we are going back to the roots, but the world has changed, especially people live longer, so we basically cannot finance the current system, because people live longer and less workers have to pay for more retirees. so it does not work. but we are not going to go to a u.s.-style system.

notion that t we are not giving this system to the bubusiness comommunity, to g business, what trying to reform it. that entails the system where .eople will earn points basically, your pension was calculated on three month periods. he said it is going to be much simpler, much leaner, and fairer, especially to women, who he said would be the "big winners" of that system. he stressed, and this was important, that the value -- that has been a bone of contention. how would you measure? there would be a golden rule that would be enshrined, that the value would be decided by the unions, the government, under the control of the parliament, and would be

calculated based on wages and , like the price index many said. this is a way to reassure the french that this transition to this new system would not mean lower pensions, because that is the concern. he also said this would be progressive. to make it simple, those born between 1975 would not be concerned by that system. it would be only those who were born after that who would be cover first of all, partially concerned, and only those who are not working yet would be fully concerned by this new system. he said that this means that people will have to work in putting in a little bit longer. he said we are maintaining the legal age of retirement at 62.

this was a promise by emmanuel macron. but we are essentially putting in place a system of notices, whereby if you work longer, you will earn a higher pension. he said basically what we call the pivot age would be 64 years old, and he said we should get there by 2027. the initial plan was to get there by 2025. he hopes this lower concern will allay concerns and win over the unions. he also said those who have tough careers would be able to maintain privileges. he also promised higher wages for teachers, because the way the pension is calculated now is more favorable, because it is based on your last six months, and the new system would be based on your whole career.

a number of announcements, saying we are not there to change the whole system. we are there to maintain it because the economics have changed. the demographics have changed. we have to adapt. the big question is whether the unions will listen to it. he said the strike must stop. i am fully determined to make this happen. thelast word about calendar. he said this would be presented 22,he cabinet on january and be put to a vote in the parliament in late february. and he is hoping that the new system will begin in 2022. macron's partyo does have the majority. in theory this will pass. the big question is, will this be enough to satisfy the unions? marc: that is the big question.

the fact that he has basically pushed back the time when the system will kick in, and also involves the unions in the -- in defining the value of those points that you will accumulate throughout your career, is a way cannoting them, "you accuse us of manipulating the .alue of this point if there is an economic crisis, we will lower it? this will be guaranteed by law. you will be in the room. you will decide how much the point is worth." clearly, this is a bone thrown to the unions. they had their own doubts. he also announced that the 42 different pension systems will cease to exist, progressively. it will be a transition period. there will be compensation, but they will end. for some of the unions, this is unacceptable.

the most hard-line union, the cgt, would certainly not accept this. or key for edouard philippe emmanuel macron is to win over the more moderate unions. some have been sitting on the fence. some have been marching in the streets. others have not. the most important is in favor of such a universal system with points, that has misgivings about the way this is being handled. hidden agenda -- he used that word. we do not have a hidden agenda. we are not just here to cut costs. we are here to make sure the canem stays in place and live decently with the new demographic and the constraints we have. genie: our politics editor marc perelman. let's go to luke shrago, who is

not far from the part of town where the premise to give that speech moments ago. it really seems like edouard philippe was trying to reach out to the protesters, particularly in sensitive areas, like for women, saying women would be the big winners, when there was fear they might lose out in this reform. also saying those with difficult careers can retire two years earlier than those with less difficult careers. tell us more about what you got from the speech. we finally found out, as he said, the time is now. right from the outset, he was careful about the line which he used, harking back to the initial construction of the system in the 1940's. he spoke about not wanting more like rhetoric, preserving that link. that he understands the anger and mistrust.

he came to this point of universality. it is all french. we are all in it together. they can't be looking for shortcuts. things will progressively be getting better. it will allow for easier freedom of movement between jobs. interesting to see how he will be pushing that one forward. he was really careful all the way through this, the use of language, bringing people in. his second major point is social justice. he wants to build social protections. universal system would better protect those who need the help the most. the rumor that had been going around this morning of a minimum pension of 1000 euros, something closely linked to the minimum wage here in france.

minimum wage here in france. and with women, it does remain to be seen what the unions will call for. they will have a lot to chew over. he gave us a lot of details about the reform he wants to push through, but there are these unions that are saying know it any cost. we don't want to move from what we have. it is better the devil you know. the question is whether what edouardphilippe -- philippe has said will resonate. it is the most comprehensive reform to the frech pension system we have ever seen. we will have to keep an eye on all of this to see if this. people from striking in the streets, as the strike in france is still in its seventh day. another big story out of brussels, where the european commission is announcingng detas of a new green deal today. that ambitious new plan aims to make europe climate-neutral by 2050, a goal spearheaded by ursula bundle lien. to brussels with

dave keating. we are talking about 100 billion this to help finance climate transition. give us the details of the plan. dave: : a new press conference unveiling the grgreen deal has just been adopted by the european commission. ththis is the same name as the w green deal in the ununited stat, bubut that you has beat the unid states to the punch. thiseadline things from are that they will become a bymate neututral continent 2050. toto get everyonone on boaoard,s ideaea for this big 100 million find, this transnsition fund, tt came later. it is in order to bring on board more skepticalal governments. deridident bonder lien -- von lion is headiding to a special

sitting of the parliament in ussels. she has a fririendly audience. the parliament are definitely going to pass this piece of legislation, for this communication. the difficulty is the member states, and particularly the government in the east and the european union. they a are still r resisting a avoidtical declararation to getting to zero emissions. b big test is going to be when polandnd will relenent and and s veto on the popolitical dedeclaration. is thought the big bazooka of cash in the e form of the transition funund will be e eno. thisy crititical is that in greeeen new deal, the commission

is goingng to go ahead with writing legislation in march in order to set that target foror t , it has to be passed by member states, so poland cannot veto i it anyway. this is probably going through either way. genie: dave, a v very expensive, very ambitioious plan. the big question -- is it realistic? dave: so far, there has been a positive reaction, obviously, climate campaigners like it.. ththey are sayaying the usual tt it is not ambitious enough but is a welcome step. industry groups a are really welcoming this, in n that they want to work with it. want to engage with it. i have not seen any statement of people outright opposing this, even oil and gas. the biggest resistance we are seeing his in the eastern

european capititals -- warsaw, budapest, prague. they are going to o be the probm that von der leyen faces in the coming monthth at the moment, this s is just a communication. it is not binding legislation. it is outlining legislation the commission is going to adopt over the next year. a lot of things have to do with revamping how the agricultural subsidies are given out, changing the transport system,m, changing thehe goods for energy. it is a lot of stuffff and it ts going to take a lot of legislation. it is in those pieces of legislation where this will really be tested. is a set o of ambitions, but the proof will be in the putting when we actually have things o n paper that legislators have to approve.e. that will be t the real test. so far, we are seeing g pretty posititive reaction to this gren deal. of course, the commission is keen to trumpet this, because

this was a thing bonder lien the european parliament, particularly socialist and green mep's and the e european paparliament, to get their r bag for her confirirmation in july. this is very important for the new president and she is going to be defendnding it very strongly. the e key in this press conferee -- she said d the existing model of thehe european union is no longer fit for purpose. we canannot continue withoutut thinking how it t protects the climate, above economic growth. that may seem lilike a vague statement, but it is a pretty different way of thinking about the economy, so we will see how it goes over with h national capitals. genie: thanks for that. dave keating reporting from brussels. this is "france 24." our top stories this hour -- the france prime minister has just unveiled the details of the new pension reform plan. has provoked the seventh day

of a strike. a french moderate union is saying the reform plan has crossed a redline with the proposal to delay retirement age with a discounted premium system. on thanks uchi defense or country, myanmar, against charges of genocide. speaks before the top court, one day after she was urged to stop the killing of rohingya muslims. e.u. announces its green new the plan to make the you -- e.u. climate neutral by 2020. stephen carroll, you are going to start with the saudi oil giant aramco. it hasas launchehed shares on te stock exchange in riyadh. stephen: w what a cocontrast tot wewe are jusust herere in bruss. shares jumped 10% in the first

minute of trading, reachching te daily limit for gains on the stock k exchange. -- it makes countntry it the most v valuable e public listed comompany. the kingdodom had bebeen tryingo drdrum up demand in advance ofoe lalaunch, including from state investment funds. it seems to have worked. reporter: it is the bigigst ever market d debut as sharares in si surged to the maximum 10% % allowed in the stk exchange in riyadh. the company is responsible e for 10% of thehe world oil supply, d last week successfully raised $25.6 billion during its initial public offering. combineded with today's shares, this puts the company's valuation at almost 1.9 trillion dollars, making it the most valuable publicly listed company

in the world, , rth more t than microsofoft or apple. it is also worth more than the top fiveve oil companies of exxn mobil, total, royal dutch shell, chevron, and bp combined. >> we have seen the markets respond to our results as a company. we continue to be the leader globally when it comes to the energy sector. reporter: but it has been a rocky road to get to this point. the govevernment announced p pls for the ipo almost five years ago. but tepid response from inteternational institutioions d foreign investors forceded officials to scale back the plan to just 1.5%. campaign a national ad , saudi banks have offered loans to citizens, enabling them to buy shares. this is part of crown prince mohammed bin salman's ambitious plan to modernize the saudi economy and make it less reliant on oil sales. the government says the money

raised will be used to find domestic projects. stephen: interesting t to see hw some rivals are doing. wrench company total down in paris. ep in n london down as well. a more mixed picture on the european share markets. germany's dax seeing some gains. we are keeping an ion the british pound today ahead of tomorrow's general election in the u.k. we have seen the currency stabilize now. after that poll showing the ruling conservatives had lost much of their lead over the , theition labor party pound still holding onto its gains in the past week. the market seem to be pricing in a conservative victory. another story being watched carefully as the trade war betweween the u.s. . and ch. stephen: every move is closely watched by investors. beijing and washington are

preparing to delay an increase in tariffs that were scheduled for this sunday. as a deadlineen to get a phase i agreement concluded. that date could slip. genie: the owner of the fashion brand zara? taxhen: profifits up as into -- up for the world's biggest fashion retailer. they said profits were boosted by the use of technology to map sales. itsr expandingng, it says collections are now available in 200 countries. genie: you have got the latest for us now on the new north american tradede deal bebetweene u.s., canada, anand mexico. ststephen: trade n negotiators n ththose three countries s have sisigned a revised versision ofe deal i in mexico c city after ts were dememandebyby the demococrs in the house of representntativs and the e united states.

their support is needed to pass the deal. the usmca replaces t the 2525ear-oldd nafafta, which has been fiercely criticized by president donald trump. the white house and democrats finally reaching an agreement on modifications to the u.s.-mexico canada trade agreement, trade officials from the three countries signed a deal to replace nafta. the result, i think, is the best trade agreement in history. i think it is going to do the most for manufacturing in this region. it is going to do the most for farmers in this region. trade -- it's digital trade and e-commerce provisions are the gold standard. reporter: there are rules to makeke it easier for workers in mexico to unionize. it also boosts auto manufacturing, with the goal to have more car and truck parts made in north america. going forwardrd, a vehicle must

have 75% of its components made in canada, mexexico, or the u.s, up from the current 62.5% requirement. at least 40% of the work must be done by work is earning a minimum of $16 an hour. it a nod to the changing times, a new chapter on digital trade, which includes new benefits for the tech secector, such as prohibiting canada and mexico from forcing u.s.s. companies to store their data on servers in the countries. tuesday's agreement cleared the way for the deal to be ratified by all three couountries befefot finally becomes law early next ar.. hsbc is to pay more than $190 million in fines after it admitted helping american customers to hide more than a billion dollars in assets from tax authorities, part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the united states department of justice. branch says hsbc's swiss

conspired to conceal assets abroad and to evade tax. genie: netflix has given us some eaea how one o of itsts biggest recent releleases has been perfrforming. stepephen: netflix d does not do this oftften and gives a veryy select figigures on who is watching whaha this time, it is to do with the martin scorsese film "the irishman." it h has been viewedy more t than 26 million househols in its first week, according to ththe head o of content. the only comparison we have is the sandra bullock film bird box, which drew an audience of 40 million.. netflix is facing growing competition from apple and disney. they both recently launched streamining services. netflix may continue to releleae some of this information, but i think we may only get to hear about the good stories, and less about the ones nobody watches. genie: i know who my favorite irishman t to watch is. stephehen: awww. genie: coming up in the next

half-hour, the holiday season is fast approaching. if you are wororrying how to handle the text -- the tech toys your kids may be taking for, we have tips coming up.

claudette zepeda-wilkins: american is a relative term. what is american? personally i think the border is, you know, just a speed bump in between two countries. as a child, i think we took tj for granted not because it was a different country to me. to me, it was just like, "oh, it's just tj. it's where the other half of my family lives." and even if i i was in tj my entire lilife, being this far n north,u aare sort ofof removed f from te other parts of f mexico and the cultuture. youu're mexica b but you don'n't really know. my last restauranant was mexica,