>> the eu commission approved the use of the pfizer biontech vaccine, the jab demonstrated a 95% efficiency rate and could be disturbed at as early as next week. boris johnson assured brittany he is working as hard as possible to left a travel ban on the u.k. countries close their borders to britain as a new strain of coronavirus spread. the british prime minister has

resisted calls to extend the brexit deadline after failing to reach a trade deal with the eu. the british pm says he is ready for a no deal scenario. hello and thank you very much for joining us here in the newsroom for "france 24." hopeful news in regard to the covid-19 pandemic. the pfizer biontech vaccine has been approved by the european union medicine regulator. this means that the drug will be available in the 27 states, and the jab will be available for people over 16 with tests showing it is 95% efficient against coronavirus after thorough checks. >> the european medicines agency assessed this vaccine thoroughly. and it concluded that it is safe and effective against covid-19. based on this scientific assessment, we proceeded to authorize it for that european union market. >> france 24's dave keating has

been keeping an eye on proceedings and brussels. earlier we asked why had taken the eu so long to approve a vaccine already being circulated in other countries? >> the organization has been under significant pressure from eu governments because they could see vaccine rollouts in the u.k. and the u.s. and canada. the distinction is that the ema wanted to wait for this conditional approval. what the u.k. did was that number. any eu country could have got had with an emergency approval before the em took the decisiona -- before the ema took the decision. but doing an emergent does leave

the government open if something goes wrong. so theema wanted to get the full conditional approval here to make sure it evaluated everything. extrthree weeks betweens en the u. gavan emergen approval andhe ema give a conditional approval -- conditional approval whether that made a difference in terms of having more guaranties about vaccine safety. or, on the other hand, having a negative effect on the eu's preparedness to start destroying this vaccine. three weeks may not seem like a lot, but when we are talking about a pandemic come a it is quita lot. 500,000 people in the u.k. have already been vaccinated, and in the eu that number is zero. so we will see starting on sunday if the eu can get a lot of vaccinations out, first to the most vulnerable people, frontline health care workers. we are probably looking until not until spring or summer for

everybody else, otherwise healthy people. probably we are going to see vaccines rolled out, autumn. so some people may have to wait months until they actually are eligible to receive this vaccine . >> british prime minister boris johnson has said more infections are inevitable as the u.k. grapples with a new strain of the coronavirus. johnson addressed travel ban imposed on the u.k. and said he was working to open borders as quickly as possible, but that increased restrictions were also to be expected across britain. the eu's meeting to discuss a chordate response to the health care crisis, and johnson said he had a good call with french president emmanuel macron to reopen trade across the channel. >> we in the u.k. fully understand the anxieties of our friends about covid, their anxieties about the new variant. but it is also true that we believe the risks of

transmission by a solitary driver, sitting alone in the cab, are really very low. and so, we hope to make progress as fast as we possibly can. >> to discuss this border crisis further, we are now joined by the france 24 reporter from the port of dover, live on the program. all the trade between the u.k. and francis at a standstill. you have been surrounded --u.k. u.k. the between the u.k. and france is at a standstill. you have been surrounded by what i imagine are frustrated workers. >> they certainly would like some kind of a decision, a protocol to be taken between the u.k. and the rest of europe, because they haven't stuck your, some for 24 hours already. the weather is close to a storm here.

every time, they try to knock on the door of the dover terminal, they are being told to go away, and to wait, at least for 48 hours. sometimes, there are angry exchanges with those whose job it is to send them away. we have witnessed this today. certainly, president macron talked to the british prime minister today. they are hoping that the situation will be solved, and the next couple of days, with the protocol, that will enable the reopening at least of cargo freight tour the continent, because at the moment, this area, dover in particular, has been turned into a lorry park. and major supermarket chains are saying and 48 hours there will be some shortages and fresh food, salads, vegetables and

some fruit, which is not good when you're preparing for christmas. >> and of course, if we look at the big picture, as you mentioned, trade is stopped, stores are perhaps lacking goods in the next coming days. holiday makers also stranded. surely, these are very desperate times for the british government, aren't? >> well, it is not boris johnson 's best year so far, no doubt about that. we have heard about where the talks are going, in terms of a deal on a relationship between first of january, and that is going nowhere fast. on top of that, this variant was under scrutiny the lasnumber of weeks, since the end of september, by authorities. on friday night, they were able to lake at west the contagions,

a number of cases of coronavirus here going through the roof, 36,000 and onday yesterday. and now we know that it is because this new variant is 75% more contagious than the previous one. in the immediate future, the british government is going to make sure that they are testing the vaccine to make sure the vaccine continues tbe working, to be efficient, on this new variant. because the vaccination that was started early in december, the u.k. was the first country in the world to do so and has already enabled half a llion people to be vaccinated. evybody realizes here this looks like the only way to get out from under this pandemic. >> we will have to see how that proceeds. live from dover, thank you fo this update. boris johnson is, of course,

involved in another massive struggle to deliver a solid brexit write the end of the year. -- by the end of the air. so-- by the end of the year. the prime minister has resisted calls to extend the deadline and has said the country is ready to walk away with no deal. >> the u.k. government will stick to the december 31 deadline, that is the message from british prime minister boris johnson, rushing off concerns about eight no deal brexit. >> prosper mightily, remains of a really good description of life after january 1, either way. >> without a trade deal, the united kingdom is expected to lose preferential access to the european single market, automatically defaulting to tariff rules set by the wto. reacting to that possibility, the prime minister said those terms would be satisfactory.

conservative mps and the opposition have now called for johnson to request an extension, and for talks to resume in the new year. this, as the country faces another crisis, following the discovery of a new strain of covid-19. several european countries have .hut their borders with the u.k. france given barring the entry of tracks, raising fears of food shortages. -- barring the entry of chocks. -- of trucks. the french government said they would be willing to give the u.k. a few more hours or days to secure a deal. >> [speaking french] >> negotiators met again in brussels monday, but failed to reach a breakthrough. fishing rights remain a key point of contention. but, deal or no deal, the european parliament will not be able to give its seal of

approval before the 31st of december. if both parties reach a compromise, the agreement would then be ratified temporarily, before an official vote early next year. >> the coronavirus situation is not only developing in europe. australia has seen a major spike in contaminations in the past week. the government increased restrictions nationwide. new south wales with its capital city has effectively been cut off from the rest of the country. flights have been canceled in and out of the city. the area where the new cluster emerged, northern beaches, is now under local lockdown. we have the details. >> sunrise at bondi beach, on the most iconic spots in australia. during the day, cars lined up by the dozen, passengers looking to get tested for covid-19. in recent days, sidney's

northern suburbs recorded a cluster of 80 cases, leading authorities to impose a lockdown in the era and encouraged testing and self-isolation for those at risk. as of monday the neighboring states of victoria and queensland opted to ban all travel from city. the country's prime minister -- from sydney. the prime minister acknowledged restrictions are frustrating for many. >> of course we want everything to be open but the virus had a different idea about that, and that is a practical reality. i should say, in seven states and territories, we certainly will be having christmas in this country like few countries in the world are. and while there are frustrations and disappointment and disruptions this christmas, i think here in australia we have a lot to be think before. >> in spite of the flare up, australia has flicked -- fared comparatively well, thanks to a combination of border controls, lockdowns and widespread

testing. until this week, australia had gone two weeks without any local transmission of covid. the country has reported just over 900 deaths since the pandemic began. >> president-elect joe biden has received the covid-19 vaccine. the democratic president to be has made fighting coronavirus is top priority when he takes office january 20. biden is considered in the high-risk bracket of people who could die from the infection. the public vaccination is seen by many as a political move to boost confidence and covid vaccines that have so far been mistrusted in the u.s. long lines have formed in the spanish capital of madrid as people flock to buy tickets for the christmas lottery, an event consider the luckiest in spain, despite a recent surge of coronavirus cases across the country. madrid regional authorities

announced they will tighten restrictions during christmas reducing the number of people who can beat up from 10 to six. >> hundreds of people wait for hours in front of this lottery office. here, people can buy tickets for the spanish lottery, a christmas tradition that goes back to hundred years. 1,800 prizes to be won, the top being the gordo, the jackpot. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this year, spaniards hope the popular tradition will bring them much needed luck during the covid-19 crisis. spain has endured some of the toughest lockdown restrictions, and highest coronavirus tolls in europe. >> [speaking spanish]

>> security guards were present to ensure people respected social distancing measures, but this may not have been enough. >> [speakingpanish] >> the draw is held every year on december 22. there are 2.5 billion euros up for grabs in what is considered the world's largest lottery. >> let's hope that one lucky person can win that jackpot. that is all we have for now. thank you very much for watching. do stay tuned to the channel. ♪

>> it is time for french connections, a weekly look at life here in france. now, it may seem paradoxical, but france, the cradle of louis pastor -- pasteur's pioneering discovery, is also skeptical when it comes to vaccines. >> according to several polls, 50% of french people say they have no intention of getting vaccinated against covid-19. a lot of people are worried about the consequences of the vaccine side effects, essentially. to get an idea of how divided the french are over the covid vaccination, listen to elderly people and nursing homes, the first in line in the nationwide vaccination campaign, even some couples are divided. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french]

>> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [spking french] [laughter] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> as you heard there, a lot of fear. but there is nothing new here because vaccine skepticism it runs deep and france. >> it does, france repeatedly tops the charts. in early 2019, there was a global study on public attitudes toward science and health. you can see here, when asked whether vaccines are safe,

french people disagree the most, out of 140 countries. 33% of people in france disagree that vaccines are safe. according to the same gallup poll, 20% to not believe vaccines are effective. >> until 2000, 90% of french people were prone vaccine. but over the years the effectiveness of vaccinations has increasingly been put into question, why is that? >> some reasons are similar to other antivax arguments around the world. there are conspiracy theories online about the dangers of vaccinations and unfound aches between vaccines and autism, for instance are conspiracy theories that say big pharma and the government are putting profitability ahead of people's health. but vaccine skepticism is actually a lot like a virus, and it spreads particularly online. now, the french government has been trying to do a lot. there is no vaccination against

conspiracy theories but the government has been pushing education, transparency campaigns about trying to build trust. but it really does remain a hot button and divisive issue in france. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> vaccine skepticism can have real consequences, because diseased believed to have been eradicated are developing again. >> absolutely. the means else, -- measels has been making a comeback in france and this is in having global consequences. in 2019 a family of french

tourists cause an outbreak of the measles in costa rica which had not seen a case since when he 14. the families five drill by had not been vaccinated against the disease. >> some reasons why the anti-vax movement is so strong and france are specific to france. >> first, a lot of vaccines are obligatory in france since the first of january 2000 18, 11 vaccinations are compulsory for a child to enter childcare and schools. that includes polio. the measles. putting cough. diphtheria. along less. analysts say skepticism against vaccines reflects a deep-seated mistrust of institutions. member, france has among the highest levels of distrust in the government. on top of that, in recent years, there have been several high-profile scandals in france, involving drug companies that have shaken public often it. for instance -- that have shaken public confidence. there was the hiv tainted blood

transfusion scandal in 1980's. there was a row over hepatitis b vaccine in the 1990's. edit 2009, the french government ordered huge quantities of a vaccine against swine flu, and less than 10% of these vaccines were used. so the government was seen as having massively overspent with public funds, and this really raise questions about financial interests. >> at the time the french government was seen as being overly cautious. 10 years later the government is being accused of not being cautious enough when it comes to covid-19. >> that's right, the french government has been accused of mishandling the covid-19 pandemic, weather masks in the beginning or mass testing. now with the vaccine the government is keen to convince the public it has things under control but it has its work cut out for it. while it is not mandatory, authorities are calling for

citizens to see the vaccination as an act of all tourism toward fellow citizens. but the question is, is that possible when there are these deep-rooted trust issues? >> that is all we have time for. in the meantime, tweet your questions. and check out our website, france 24.com. ♪ >> bonjour. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] ♪

[shouting in french] >> [eaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] ♪ >> [speaking french] ♪ >> [speaking french] [applause]

>> sabrina grew up here in the hope housing project about among the 10 people from disadvantaged suburbs chosen to join five weeks of coaching and the possibility of a job offer from a major french bank. a national handball competitor, sabrina does not have a higher education degree. until recently she worked on jobs. >> [speaking french] [laughter] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french]

♪ >> the program, launched in 2015, by the education agency for education through sports, boasts a 50% recruitment rate. janelle, a wrestler, and the director of a committee center, is core netting a second cohort. >> [speaking french]

>> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] ♪ >> [speaking french] >> after spending the morning in the bank, professionals including journalists trained the group in public speaking. >> [speaking french] ♪ >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] ♪

>> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> they are all aiming for account manager positions. impatient to start working in a bank, one remains conscious of that challenges. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french]

[laughter] ♪

12/21/20 12/21/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! the $340 million in new money that is included in the proposal not been discussed given they inadequate nature of the unprecedented crises that we face. amy: the house could be voting as soon as today on a new $900