>> elections in hong kong postponed by a year. sites theexecutive worsening coronavirus outbreak -- it follows months of protests. we'll go live to hong kong and our correspondent for the very latest. the former u.s. president barack obama accusing donald trump of

trying to undermine democracy. the current u.s. president forced to backtrack over a tweet in which he suggested postponing november elections. the symbolic stoning of the -- they write in the annual pilgrimage to member -- mecca. it comes as millions repair to mark the holiday. those are the headlines this hour.. hong kong is postptponing have anticipated elections due to take place in september, pushing them back for a year. chief executive carrie lam blames a worsening coronavirus outbreak and says she does have the backing of the government in beijing. there has been months of unrest over what is seen as a bid to undermine freedom. however, tell us more about what

carrie lam had to say about this decision to postpone the election. >> well, as expected, , the postponewas takaken to punk and carrie lalam announcedd that at ththe art ofof the press conference. strangely,y, it took her 30 minutes to o specify that it wod bebe posostponed up p to a year. this council ordininance sayss elections can only be postponed to the yeaears so she had -- two weeks, so she had to use emerergency powers ordidinance, something the opposition has frowned upon. covid-19 is the main n reason cited.d. carrie lam says 600,000 elderly voters wouould be puttining themselves a at risk my going ot to vote,e, and there were a numr ofof reasons g given -- not allf which are quite so convincing.g. one of them was that a asia's is used as a which count c cter is usesed as a fiee

right nonow for covid-19. anotother was hong kong does not have an option for e-vototing or any partial votes. carrie lam also said there weree worries about hong kongers living in mainland china who would d not be able to get acros the board -- mortar to vote. she said at t one that saiaid ty would mount a legal c challengef they were not able to vote. this is a strange thing given that carrie lam has been much impervious to public opinionon over the last 13 to 14 months, but in thiss case,e, the opposin is also frownining on thth becae ththis is ordinarily hong konges need to be ordinarily y residens in hong kong t to be able to vo. that is honored more and a breach. as you said, the central gogovernment has given the backg to the honkokong governmnment. this wilill get tongues waggingn the other side of the political divide.

>> this must come as a huge blow to the pro-democracy opposition. talk us s through -- what does t mean for thehem? they were not terribly surprised by this. they saw this coming, in fafact, probably foror quite a f few w , and it will not make a b big didifference to o the 12 candids that were disqualified yesterday. they will not be able to stand inin 12 monthshs time. likekewise, there will bee moroe disqlilified. e governmement will not babar others f from run. 14-dayas the e last of the period. joshshua wong actualally said ts was the greatest electoral fraud in hong kong history. the e opposition are certainly t happy ababout it. theyey claim the pro-b-beijing faction and by e extension thehe

government and beijingng itselfs worried they will not win the election. there e could be a repeat of the district council elelection whih was won by a landslidede by the pro-democracy camp. that prorobably would not be as crusushing a victoto this time. this time they are elelected bya look to proportion. --defininitely does smell spell a big challenge for r the pro-dedemocracy camp in order to regroup over the last year and they migight actually find that theyey will take extraparliamentary means to do that. oliver, thank you very much. the u.s. president donald trump is under fire for that from members of his own party after he floated the idea of postponing november's election because of the coronavirus.. he has attacked the idea of

postal voting can -- insisting someuld lead to fraud and critics say he is trying to undermine the results. the publicans reassured voters the election will take place in november as planned. >> hours after setting off a political fire --firestorm by suggesting november's elections should be delayed, he clarified he is not looking to change the date but repeated false claims that widespread male-in ballots would lead t to electoral fraud. president trump: you are sending out hundreds of millioions of universal male-in ballots. where are they going -- where are they being sent to -- they are asking for trouble. do i want to see a date change -- no, but i don't want to see a crooked election. >> the u.s. president would not have the power to change the election anyway, but he is

behind in the polls. experts say fraud is rare in all forms of polling, and five u.s. states already rely on m mail-in ballots including utah, where republican senator mitt romney said the s system works extremey well. senator romney: the great majority -- - 90% of our voters, maybe nine -- m more than 90% ve by mail and it is a system that works well. if there is a proboblem, go back to the paper ballots. you have an actual record. >> with more states using mail-in ballots there might be a delay in annououncing results ad are alsoso concerns about ballos getting rejected. the long struggling agency has been pushed to the brink by the coronavirus pandemic, but trump has said he would not sign off on emergency funding unless they increase their shipping rate. >> the former u.s. presisident

barack obama went a step further morning that trump's actions were a threat to u.s. democracy and accuse trump of ununderminig raracial justice. obama was s among three former president speaking at a funeral for the late civil rights icon, congressman john lewis. all right, we are having a little bit of a technical issue there. let's move on to our next story, and there is further evidence this friday of the i impact the coronavivirus pandemic has hadan western economies. the ititalian government said te economy shrank more than 12% during the second quarter when the country was in lockdown. in france, the situatition was even worse, with gdp dropping almost 14% d ding the same period. it was thehe third consecutive quarter of negative growth in france. the economy was already slowing in 2019.

the government says it was braced for a downturn. > [speaking french]h] >> a antivirus meant thahat frae did impose one of the world's strictest lockdowns. it means that some of the biggest companies are reporting historic losses. energy b behemoth shell to auto giant volkswagen, global firms are reporting historic losses in the second quarter. a story that is also playing out here in france, hitting the company's biggest company. for renaultlt, sales have droppd by a whopping 35%. the automaker reporting its biggest half-life in your loss ever. much of that loss due to the 43% stake in his japanese partner

whose revenues have also plunged amid the coronavirus pandemic. >> [speaking french] >> airbus alsoso hit hard, reporting a net loss of 1.9 billion in the first half of the year. the plane maker n now planning o cut up to 15,000 jobs, or 11% of its workforce to cope with the crisis, a crisis that is also giaiant -- the energy posting a second quarter and at loss of 17.1 billion, its first quarterly loss in five years. dire resulults underscoring the challenges faced to companies in france and aroround the world is covivid-19 continues too battlee -- covid-19. >> 4 million people will be affected by the new rules, which includes a ban on meeting people

indoors. the opposition labor party described the new rules as confusing. here is the health minister. >> we take this action with a heavy heart, but unfortunately it is necessary because we have seen the household meeting up, and a lack of social distancing is one of the causes of these rising r rates of coronavavirusd we will do whatever is necessary to keep the country safe. >> thehe annuaual mecca to saudi arabia has been postponed. v vitors are banned pete e only 10,000 visits are taking part. it comes as muslims around the world begin to mark the holiday. >> it is diffificult to keep a distance from each other at an event like this. in indonesia, home to the worlrld's biggest muslim

population, faithfull's are doing what they can to keep coronavirus in check as they celebrate the feast of the sacrifice. >> [speaking foreign language] holiest shrine in mecca, prayers through empty halls. gonel distancing science the -- thihis program isis just on the smallet modern times because e of the pandememic.

sacrifice.ate the to honor the product -- a cease-fire has started in afghanistan. it is only the third official truce in nearly 19 years of war and was already shaky before it began. just hours before the start, a car bomb killed more than two dozen people in the countries east. the taliban did not claim involvement. >> that is it for the news this hour or you're watching france 24. france 24.watching >> the stereotypical french person has a beret, striped shirt, a baguette under the arm. >> that is a cliche, but it is

true t that bread is an integral part of the diet. >> friendship will go far to find the perfect baguette, but what makes french bread so good? >> we take a bite out of the delicious heaven that is the french baguette. >> french connections plus on france 24 and france24.com. >> hello, and welcome to the interview on france 24. my guest today in visions ecology through the lens of profitability. he believes solving climate change is a fantastic market opportunity. he is a world explorer and a passionate aviator, as well as a doctor and psychiatrist. starter of thend -- foundation. look into the show. think you for being with us.

>> hello. >> you arere well-known for your achievements,, the first sololar flight arounththe world wiwith a plane powered by the sun without using a single drop of fuel, and evere that, the first round the world flight in a a ht air balloon. is saving our planet your new challenge. say yeses, but not savingng the planet in a naivevy -- same nature is beautiful and we have e to protect i it is not enouough. what i i want to do is bring solutions in a way that would create jobs s d makes l life better foror everyone on the social level and this is possibible becauause technologis are so much better than they were before that now they are profitable. >> a lot of people are currently

asking to go back to normal, the way it was before the covid-19 crisis, but you are saying we should not. >> back to normal, back to the past is really dadangerous. what did we haveve before ththe crisis? we had a world ttt was fragile, destroroyed by virusus, unstabl, unfair, polluting, onon the edge of a rececession already. -- it is have a crisis not to have it for nothing. it is to learn something, to get out of the crisisis much better than we were when we entered the crisis. this is where we have to call our habits into question andd have to find complely y new ways to make b business, new ways to protect the environmenent in a profitable way, and also new ways for the industry and new waves,s managing the circular economy, and the eneney efficienency development in our

planet. it is a fantastical for mankind -- fantastic hope for mankind, but it is in the future, not in the past. >> you claimim solving climate change i is a great markrket opportunitity rather than an expensnsive problem.. >> absolututely. what i believe in is n not to fight against growth becausee this bringngs social chaos, butt is also not to go into this unmitigated consumption because this brings chaos. i i believe in q qualitativeve h -- qualitative growth is when you create jobs and make profits by replacing what is polluting by what is protecting the newronment, and all these infrfrastructures ---- technolo, systems, programs -- all of this is thehe market opportunity of e century. we can make all the infrastructures of the countries modern, efficient, energy-saving, environment-protecting, and this

is j just a fantastic businesess oppoportunity for the inindustr, the economy, and finance. >> and you believed we could still maintainining the qualilif life even while taking care of our planet? >> we will have a much better quality y of life if we take cae of our planenet for two o reaso. the first one is w what i said before -- it i is noa a market opportunitit to take c care of e planet, to take care of thee environment, but also, it is not only about climate change. it is just a queststion of fifighting p pollution, whicichs destroyiying the help ofof the people. it is about protecting the natutural resources of our plant in order to have enough food, enough waterer for the popopula. of life..out the health if you have smog in the city it is not just climate change. you'rere getting cancer,

bronchitis, acute asthma, and this has to be included in political discussions about what to do today. >> so, with your foundation, the solar impulse foundation, you clean,ing to find 1000 profitable solutions, solutions that are not only good for the economy -- environment, but also for the economy and that creates jobs. can you address a few examples of the solutioions you already selected? bertrandnd: yes, ababsolutely. on our way to the 1000 now 5037, we have technologies, systems, or products that receive the label of the s solar impulse coalition because theyey work today. they are profitable and they are protecting the environment. this is in the f field of water. water,ifification of dedetection of leaks in the watr system of the city. it is in mobility with hydrogen, betterer valeria -- batteries,

systems that can reduce particles emitted by thermal engines by 80%. if in the field of construction with much better insulation, smalall buildings that can be upgraded. it is in t the field of inindusy like producing s stainless steel with 99% less water and 91% cheapeper. it is in the field of agriculture, where you have the scenes, for example, that are protected by a special product, natural product that requires lele water and less chemicals in order to grow them. you see in every field you can be more efficicient, more profitab.. and by the way, it protects the environment. even if there was no climate change at all, ititould be logical, as much as ecological to use these systems, products, and technologies. convince political

and business leaders, those that have power, to follow that path, speciaially when they haveve otr priorities sucuch as gettingng reelected oror making profit question account you motivate government and industries to take actction? bertrand: : i shall him the best way to be reelected, to make profit a and create jobs is to implement this new technology because itit is more profitable today to protecting ---- protett the environmement than two destroyed. it is m more profititable to energy efficientnt. it is much more profitable t to have a circular economy and make good waste management. say the is not to planet is beautiful we have to protect it. the goal is to talk to the people who are decision-makers and show them that it is in their own interest to do much better and to be much more ambitious in the energy policies and environmental targets. very involved in finding sustainable solutions in

the aviation sector and airline industry. what are some concrete measures that could be of limited to reduduce our carbon footprint, especiallyly now thahat international flights arare goig to r resume? bertrand: there are three levevels. of the first you can do immediately,y, offset in carbonn passengers are producing. this i is very chief -- very chcheap. toan airplane from paris spain, you coverer your emissio. this can be used for reform station, to convert cold power plants into solar or wind energy syststems, or ththings like tht. this you can do immediately andd you woululd be carbon neutralal. 20% youou canhave do with h operations -- distant approaches. to brining thers

airplanene to a threshold. this has t to be done. level,u have t the third which is a new technology ananwe will h have in 10 orr 15 years electricical airplan f for passengers. to travel 50,000 kilometers electric, that means either with batteries charge on the ground, not like solar impulse charging with the sun, .r using hydrogen the french governmnment was coururageous enough to l launcha program for absolutely clean editors by 2035, critical. the people that say issues -- and that is really criticacal. ththe people thahat say it is impossible should be careful

because the people that said it was impossible to fly in 19 of three with the right brothers, looked ridiculous afterwardsds. >> why are we so a afraid of the coronavirus but not climate change? bertrand: because the coronavirus is an immediate threat. climate change is a threat that goes on the long-term, but i agree that it is not logical, because when you have two degreeees of tpeperatu inincreasing your body you run o your doctor and say i'm infected by the corononavirus. when the planenet's two degrees morning temperature, people don't care. i think it i is ridicuculous. maybe to change the perspectivee of climamate change, we haveve o speak more of pollution, and less about climate change, because pollution is something people f feel. pollution makes people sick today. climate change will make people sick may be in 10 years, so a

lolot of people e say we have te to react. we don't have time to react could we have to do all of it now. bertrand picard. thank you for sharing your vision for a better one. thank you for watching. do stay tuned for more news on france 24. >> one example that stayed in my mind is when we went to niger

and wanted to dodo a report on e impact boko haram had left on the communities that we had been told by the nigerian army's four months that they had won the ground war, that the militants no longer posed a threat, and as soon as we were in the zone for ourselves we c could see that ws not the case. oure are some roads that producer was terrified to take, the fear of being kidnapped. by helicopterout because we could not drive. people were too afraid to go a kilometer away because there was still fighting going on. we even located one active boko haram member in a refugee camp who told us he was still in contact with fighters out of the ones. that highlighted for me how important it is to see for yourself what is happening and not believe what is in official statements, , press releases, or communiques.

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