genie: thahanks so much for >> thanks aon --> much for joining us on france 24 . i am charlie jane. a member of macron a process party withdraws from a mayoral racece over a sex tape. the coronavirus toll on health tokers hindering efforts fight the crisis. and a stunning show of dissent whitenside donald trump's

hohouse. u.s. attorney generaral william barr openly despises the president for meddling in government and legal affairs. also ahead this half hour, in business, valentine's day i is upon us. finding love is increasingly lucrative. the dating app that's raking in huge numbers. a look aton, we have whwhat is in the papers, making headlines from around the world. in just a month, -- paris's mayoral race shaken up. has withdrawnaux after what he calls "ignoble attacks" on his private life.

this was after sexual images of him were published online. griveaux is a former government spokesperson and was set to represent macacron's paris on te move party. a website and social media posted vicious private targeting my life. i cannot expose my family and that kind ofe to violence. there are no limits. it has gone too far. that's why i have decided to withdraw my candidacy for the paris municipal election. here to help p us /politicsd france 24's editor.

's politics editor. some are declined this as the americanization of french politics. what do they mean by that? all of theue reactions from the far left and far right have been indignation. this is a shame, this is private life, nothing to do with politics, below the belt literally, and there is no reason for a politician to be condemned. maybe what he did was morally wrong, but it was not legally reprehensible. indignation and we are hearing that this is not only -- media going not the after someone like has happened before -- of course, we remember the former head of the imf, scandal.in a sexual this time it is about social

networks in this video circulating, apparently circulated by a russian artist here. it's still not clear how it came out and whether it was stolen or it was someone who decided to take revenge against benjamin griveaux, but clearly it had impact.litical in less than 24 hours he decided to resign or at least withdraw -- that's the correct word -- his candidacy for the mayor of paris. this is something he fought for and immediately decided it was too much for him to take and he threw in the towel, which is extremely quick read and yes, some would say and americanization of french politics, but this is been happening for a long time and is more about social networks than america bringing its morals here in france. charli: whether he should or shouldn't have withdrawn his candidacy is up for debate, but no matter what it is a huge blow to president macron's party,

both cause of the paris mayoral race and just for the image of republic on the move in general. clearly. those municipal elections in march were already difficult elections because emmanuel macron's party is a brand-new party. it has no local anchorage. it would have been difficult to win mayor ships and seats in mayoral councils as they are known here in france. in paris is the big prize. in the -- and paris is the big prize. , macron's party performed very well in paris, but the campaign was struggling. there was a dissident candidate, well-known, and he did not being benjamin griveaux the head of paris. that polls.

it has been a disaster from the get go for emmanuel macron's party and if you add this to the struggle with pension reform, this is been a very difficult time for emmanuel macron. he did not need this. we are told that he and benjamin griveaux are very close. yesterday discussion night and emmanuel macron told him that he had to protect himself and his family and they would understand why he would withdraw his candidacy. the question is who will run for emmanuel macron's party in paris yet but will thehey find a good candidate? may be can bring the dissident back inside the tent? at this is very bad news for --ual image, but also his emmanuel macron's image, but also in his chance of winning the paris mayoral contest. and they have to go

after the lead socialist. >> exactly. charli: thank you so much for that update. next, the latest on the break.irus a in the past 24 hours, china has reported more than 5000 new deaths.d 21 new it sounds a lot, but in fact, that is the lowest number of new covid-19 in two weeks. by chinese outbreak could in april. the concern is new outbreaks could begin in other parts of the world. over in cambodia, a cruise ship that has been stranded at sea for two weeks was finally allowed to dock. no confirmed cases were on board. greeted with hours,

traditional scarves, and well wishes from the cambodian prime minister, passengers welcomed with open arms after being stuck at sea for two weeks. the vessel had been turned away from japan, the philippines, and thailand over fears it was cacarrying the cororonavirus. >> [indidiscernible] --we -- and go home . we are very happy about that. >> they did not let us in l like cambododia did. thatat is absolutely wondederfu. reporter: operators say the cruise ship, carrying over 2000 passengers and crew, had no cases of the deadly virus. the prime minister's hospitality is another show of support from the staunch beijing ally.

he paid a visit to chinese president xi jinping earlier this month, the first foreign minister to visit after the outbreak. he even offered to visit will head, but the trip could not be arranged. an, but the trip could not be arranged.d. charli:: the first passengers have become leaving the quarantined diamond princess ship in japan. the government gave permission for people over 80 years old, or to continueth, o their isolation not sure. so far, 400 people on the ship have been infected. here in france, 181 french antizens repatriated from wuh

have been released from quarantine. they started leaving this morning. agencyional health reveals that no one tested positive for covid-19 while in quarantine. in the united sits, a rare public critique of president donald trump from inside his administration -- in the knight's face, a rare public critique of president donald trump him and said his administration. -- in the united states, a rare public critique of president donald trump. william barr said the president 's tweets makes his job impossible. reporter: president donald trump tweets a lot, criticizing democrats, the media, and judicial decisions he doesn't like. the attorney general says the constant comments about outgoing cases have to stop. i am not t one to be

influenced or bullied by can anybody, congress, newspaper editorials, or the president.. i am going to do what i think is right. i think it's time to stop tweeting about department of justice criminal cases. reporter: this rare criticism comes with the roger stone addressee. the former trump advisor was found guilty of lying to congress, obstruction, and in the tampering investigation over russian interference in the 2016 16 election. prosecutors recommended seven to nine years in prison. thep criticized recommendation. oftics accused trump interfering in the case and barr of bowingg to prpressure. ag barr: the wheaeat occurred ad now the question is what to -- the occurred and now the question is what do i do?

it just t shows how disruptive these tweets can be. reporter: them because of ccused barr of trump, especially in the russia probe, calling him the president's attorney. friday marks 15 years since the assassination of former lebanese prime minister al-hariri. reporter: the prime minister

killed in the massive blast and up-tempo route, leaving the country and the people in a state of shock. horrendous crime that look likeke it belonged too another era. reporter: suspicion immediately turned to neighboring syria, country he had criticized for interference in lebanese politics. on several 16th, 150,000 people attended his funeral in beirut precedented outpouring of anger. they demanded the departure of syrian troops. pro-syrian rallies were organized, taking on the name march 8 clients, names thatat continue too frame political discourse and lebanon.

in april 2000, the syrian government relented to popular and international pressure and began pulling its t troops out f lebanon, ending nearly 30 years of military occupation. months later, has the law enter the -- hezbollah entered the lebanese government for the first time. the have remained a major player inin lebananese politics. -- they have remained a major player in lebanese politics. france, the trains and metro may be working, but that doesn't mean the strikes are over. hospital workers are staying up the job over what they say is the concern of a lakh of -- lack of funding. reporter: rising anger among doctors. funds and they lack manpower in over 70 nurse positions remain unfilled. this is our appeal to the

public. hospital save you, so let's save them. reporter: this hematologist says risingaries and workrkloads are driving workrkes away. see patientsyou leaning on stretchers in the emergency ward. people arere suffering and it is not acceptable to leave them on stretchers like that. cutbacks are not just. go. they h have practical consequences. and see them on the ground every day. -- and we see them on the ground every day. haveter: french hospitals been hit by walkouts for 10 months. this is one of hundreds of doctors who have given up third ministry of functions and protest. waye need to find another of sounding the alarm bells for the public and the government.

iss the accountancy that running the hospitals,s, where s it shoululd be the politicics of public heaealth. if the money they put in matched our need, ok, but that's not the case. reporter: the french government insists it is listening. it has promised 1.5 billion euros worth of help over three years. the two sides are due for talks in march. charli: let's take a moment to remind you of our top stories for now. the french president' s favorite candidate for -- the french president's favorite candidate paris drops out over a attacks on his private life. in the64,000 infected coronavirus in china, including 1700 frontline medics.

the ability tong fight the crisis. and a stunning show w of dissent fromom inside president trump's white house. attorney general william barr openly criticizes the president for meddling in government and legal affairs. a renowned turkish novelist acquitted on charges of belonging to a terror organization. selellingan was a net germany and was facing up to nine yearsrs in prison,n, chargs materially she wrote for a pro-kurdish paper in 2018. management of the cesar awards, france's answer to the oscars, has resigned en masse. announcedad recently the academy's opec nests, and

there is criticism roman polanski's latest film top the nomination list -- the academy's opaqueness. the academy behind the french e equivalent of the oscas has been mired in controversy, accused of being out of touch, and comingng under fire for showering director and convicted rapist roman -- roman polanski for nominations. the academy said it could not take moral positions. given the results from the first round. we expect fair treatment for everyone with no comment on anyone. reporter: the academy also crcriticized for allegedly excluding a feminist activist from a ceremony to annnnounce te

somenders, which pumped at directors to call for an overhaul of the association. for more female representation in an academy where women currently make up just 35%. it was not enough. some 400 actors, producers, and --ectors signed and opened an open letter, denouncing the organization as opaque and discriminatory. they have called for more diversity when a new board is selected after the awards ceremony february 28. it's time to run the numbers and that means it's business today with brian quinn. hello there. >> hello. chcharli: results for french auo giant renault. how does that look? >> not s so good. it's dragged down by its

relationship with nissan. a 3.4% drop from the previous year. revenues are down by a similar margin, and all of that adding up to a loss of 100 million euros. the outlook for 2020 is similarly grim, citing new e eu regulations, falling demand in china, and the coronavirus. she says the company is not ruling out factory closures. >> we have no taboos. we are not ruling anything out. given the current world market situation and that we may have had too much capacity for higher volume vision than we have today, a anything coululd b be e table, whether that is worldwide or here in france. defininitely bad news for the company, but how are we seeing it reflects on the markets today? bryan: shares in no initially

lost 4% -- over 4% in trading, but they have bounced back to -- 8.5%. a .5% the european indices treading water as investors keep an eye on the coronavirus outbreak and how it's affecting the global coming. markets and lead a bid by the chinese government cutting tariffs on sunday five billion dollars of american products, de-escalation of the u.s.-china trade war -- $75 billion american products, a de-escalation of the u.s.-china trade war. charli: over the border in germany, things are not looking great over there eitheher. itit's the largest economy in europe and there are signs of stagnation. bryan:n: y yes, indeed. disappppointing new economic daa as gerermany posts zero percent growth.

as europe's largrgesecononomy, --many' is troubless troubles troubles spell for the eurozone as a whole. reporter: it's europe's largest economy, but falling exports in a manufacturing slump are causing a toll, as germany posted 0% growth in 2019. overall, the economy grew just 6%, its worst performance since -- angela merkel's government is resisting fiscal stimulus. part of the drag, major changes in the auto industry, where have an extensive shift to producing electric cars. germany also spells trouble for the eurozone, making it the

bloc's lowest rate of expansion in seven years. is stable, but subdued growth over the next two years. we will still face significant policy uncertainty, which casts a shadow over manufacturing in particular. drags on the eurozone growth remain with trade conflicts in the fallout from >> it, as well as disruptions -- , as well as the fallout -- as well as disruptions in the supply chain from the coronavirus. up, and unusual claim from the ceo of facebook, mark zuckerberg saying he is happy to pay more e taxes in europe. it is unususual, charli.

the e facebook boss headed to a conference where he is expected to address the issue of european --nts impmping taxes european countries imposing u.s. giants. at issue, facebook's rectus of tax optimization. facebook not the only one. google and plenty other companies do that. that is where they establish headquarters in low tax areas like ireland where they round all of the eu profits. wants a global solution to taxing revenues. tech giant,her huge the chinese company huawei in more legal company -- trtrouble withth the niceties for the justice department hitting thehm with new criminal l charges. accusiningu.s. is

huhuawei of racketeering and stealingng trade secrets. the new indictment says that the top p and he v violated sanctioy jen business andnd north korea d helped tehehra track antigovernment protesters. it's the latestst from washihin, which has e effectively blblacklisted huawei in the u.s, citing it t as an espionanage r. repopoer: chinenese text giant huawei again a target of u.s. prosecutors, as new charges focus on by y letting sanctionos and nonorth korea, stealing trae secrets. are that huawei misappropriateted intetellectual propertyinincluding f from six u.s. technology companies, in an effort to grow and operate huawei' s business. is accused ofei

stealing internet router code and antenna technology in the robotics. they were caught in the middle of the night photographing a competing servever. huawei has calleled the new arges without merit. >> this new indictment as part of the jusustice department's efforts to irrevocably damaged huawei's reputation rather them on for smith. reporter: washington replaced huawei on a trade blacklist last year, citing national security concerns. the company, which is a leader network, c could be usused to spy. the daughter of the ceo is still under extradition from the u.s.

over claims of sanctions violation, which he denies. charli: if you believe the beatles, money can't buy you love, but it may help you find it.

[indistinct radio chatter] newswscaster: ththis is where it began. thihis is where the fusee was lighteted, the dususty cornr in an old neighborhood of modest homes and new low-priced apartments. man: after 6 days of rioting in s south los angeles in august of 1965, you've got 34 people who lose their life, 1,032 people are wounded and injured, and almost $30 milillion in mid-196960s of capital and building destruction. newscaster: up the street a block or so in that direction,