>> hello. it's 10:00 p.m. here in paris. you watching "live from paris." the eu foreign policy chief is arriving in moscow and is expected to confront the kremlin over the jailing of its top credit, alexey navalny. -- its top critic, alexey navalny. and america is back, so says joe biden. he emphasizes a more diplomatic approach to foreign relations and announces changes in policy on yemen. a prominent lebanese shiite publisher was found shot dead in his car on -- in southern

lebanon. he was a vocal critic of hezbollah. thank you for watching france 24. we start this evening with the foreign policy chief of the european union, who begins a three-day visit to russia. that is the first such trip by talking you envoy since 2017. it comes after police arrested 10,000 people during recent nationwide protests. in support of opposition figure alexey navalny. the eu has been discussing imposing further sanctions on russia following measures in

response to the annexation of crimea. >>'s visit to moscow is unlikely to change the sentence for alexey navalny, the country's main opposition figure was sentenced to three years in prison with several countries forcing stern opposition. >> [speaking forward -- [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> words that did not go down well in moscow as the country told the bloc to stay out of

its sovereign affairs. >> [speaking foreign language] >> another option being considered by some european countries is pressure using the nord stream 2 gas pipeline between russia and germany, but her european consensus is unlikely, as berlin is highly dependent on russian gas. >> for more on that, we are joined by a professor of russian studies from switzerland. thank you for talking with us, professor schmidt, this evening on france 24. it is a complex situation with alexey navalny. the eu has taken a vocal stance against what is going on in russia vis-a-vis the kremlin's

and i suppose the legal system's approach to the alexey navalny situation. can you sum up where you see eu-russian relations now and how the alexey navalny situation might impact those relations? >> first of all, we have to see that the eu is not a strategic partner for moscow. the kremlin has bilateral relations with several european countries, and the eu, as such, is a superstructure that does not matter a lot to moscow. >> so you are saying moscow does not care about the eu? they are looking to relations with paris, relations with belarus, relations with the different z echo >> yes, especially with germany. germany is an important strategic partner, especially

over nord stream 2, and other european countries have voiced criticism towards the continuation of that program, but the german government is still coming to that project. >> emmanuel macron was criticized maybe a year, a year and a half ago when he was seen making attempts to pivot towards russia. he said pushing russia away from europe is a strategic error because we will push russia either into isolation that increases tensions or into alliances with other great powers such as china. would you agree? >> i don't think that europe is pushing russia into isolation. russia selects its own self isolation. i think this is the situation we are facing right now.

even if we look at relations between russia and china, these are always opportunistic relations. there is no shared system of value that, for instance, unites the european union. >> to speak directly about alexey navalny for a moment, he is seen as a heroic figure, but it is more complicated than that. if he were to be put on the scale of left and right in most european countries, he would fall very far on the right. he has made controversial, even racist, comments in the past, calling immigrants cockroaches, for example. what would you say as to the perception of alexey navalny as a sort of heroic figure in western media? >> i would say his nationalistic stance is quite an old story. i think he has changed his strategy in the last two years.

he fights against the russians, and i think that's what most people in russia can agree to. nevertheless, he does not stand any chance if he were to run for president. there is a survey from last september, and he gathered as little as% of the consent of the people that had to answer this question. >> where do you see this visit going? do you see it being just about the diplomatic for nam -- diplomatic formalities and not much more? [crosstalk] >> i think expectations are very low.

i think navalny will be probably just a minor topic. the eu know very well that pressure will not change anything in its position towards navalny. i think what we also can see, that navalny has taken away the initiative from the kremlin by coming back to russia because he has now forced the kremlin to act, and navalny is the one who dictates the agenda of putting. -- the agenda of putin. >> thanks very much for your comments this evening on france 24. two weeks into his presidency, joe biden visited the state department. this was biden's chance to

clarify foreign policy, but it was not just changes in substance and policy. joe biden also wanted to signal it was about style, even echoes of a slogan adopted by emmanuel macron when his presidency kicked off, france is back. here, america is back. let's take a listen. >> america is back. america is back. diplomacy is back. you are the center of all that i intend to do. you are the heart. we are going to rebuild our alliances. we are going to reengage the world and take on the enormous challenge we face dealing with the pandemic, dealing with global warming, and again, standing up for democracy and human rights around the world. >> our washington correspondent spoke to was earlier about some

of the policy shifts we are going to see with joe biden. let's take a listen to her. >> donald trump was saying he was going to end these endless wars and bring back troops, and he started withdrawing u.s. troops from all across the world. joe biden is pausing especially the withdrawal of troops from germany. that was prett controversial when donald trump announced it, so he is pausing that withdrawal and ordering a review of all the other troop positions. he also announced he was ending u.s. support to offensive operations in the war in yemen, including as suppor arms sales that could be supplied in that war in yemen, though he did say for saudi arabia and its defense of its own integrity,

support would continue. the messaging and ideology, that change was very clear. on russia, he said it himself, joe biden saying that he made it clear to president putin in a mann very different than his predecessor -- those were his words -- that the days of the u.s. rolling over in the face of russia's aggressive actions were over. that is something joe biden has been adamant, has been repeating every time he speaks for foreign policy, and that he will not roll over in the face of russia's aggression, but the same time, he is willing to discuss, negotiate, because diplomacy has to continue. >> a vocal critic of hezbollah has been found dead. his body was discovered in his

car. >> not long after news broke of the murder, friends gathered outside his southws beirut homeo offer condolenc. for his sister, hezbollah is linked to his death. >> everyone knows who controls the area he was killed in. there's no doubt about the accusation. you know who they are. killing for them is habit. >> the activist and publisher was found in his car just 60 kilometers from the capital. he had been shot in the head. he was on his way home after visiting a friend in south lebanon. the shieh political party and militant group that controls much of south beirut and south lebanon. >> we cannot trust our leaders in this murder, especially

because of where it took pla. he was constantly under threat, but he was extraordinarily brave . today, we face a real problem -- the fact that the people in power are incapable of delivering justice. >> he was no stranger to threats, due to the nature of his work. the 58-year-old's life now cut short, his empty office a reminder of his many ongoing projects. authorities have yet to determine who was behind his murder. an investigation is under way. >> it has been six months since beirut was rocked by a deadly explosion, and large parts of the population are still unable to rebuild. the explosion was caused by a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate. 211 people were killed. thousands were injured.

>> it has been six months since these explosions at beirut's ports left the lebanese people traumatized. the explosion blew out windows, costing thousands of dollars worth of damage, but the toll of the explosion has not only been financial but also psychological. >> coming to this office is still very painful. it opens up a lot of feelings like anger, feelings like desperation in a country like lebanon. >> once the smoke cleared, the people of beirut were keen to rebuild. the blast left $15 billion worth

of property damage. hundreds of millions of dollars were donated in aid flowing into the city. residents argue help from the government has been sporadic and insufficient. >> we want to rebuild. it is still a challenge. not talking about this gets me angry. >> [spki foreign language] >> the deadly port explosion was just another strain on a deadlier -- on a struggling economy on the brink of collapse . people in the country continue to show their anger toward a government that seems unable to help them. six months on, no one has been tried or convicted for explosions that killed 211 people and injured thousands.

>> today, thursday, is world cancer day. it comes after cancer patients have had to isolate because they are some of the most vulnerable to covid-19 symptoms. vaccines have not been tested on immunosuppreedatients, leaving doctors unsure as to if the vaccine will protect them. >> every week, delphine comes here for chemotherapy. she now lives in fear of covid. the risk of contracting the illness, she has had to make major changes to the way she and her seven-year-old daughter interact socially. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> it took more than a month of negotiations for health authorities to get the doctors demanding vcination for cancer patients. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the doctors say they cannot guarantee results, estimating the effects of the vaccine on

cancer patients at just 30%. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the pfizer and moderna jabs claim 95% effectiveness, but clinical trials clearly focus on immunocompromised patients. the campaign here took several months with 2240 patients injected per day. >> now to some changes under way in paris with the city fully engaged in preparation for the 2024 olympics. the eiffel tower is set to be depleted and restored to the one gustav eiffel originally

envisioned. >> revamping paris' iron lady. the eiffel tower is the pride and joy of an entire city and nation, and gustav eiffel's masterpiece is no spring chicken. she is subjected to harsh wind on a daily basis. she is in need of a facelift or a paint job. in anticipation of the paris olympics in 20 can do for, the attraction turned radio beacon turned world icon is getting an extensive makeover, and brace yourselves -- she is changing color. fret not -- the eiffel tower will not resemble the keepsake. >> it will give a more golden touch to the eiffel tower for the olympics. it will give her a more youthful look. when the paris sky is blue, we can see a nearly metallic, shiny

effect. >> it is not the sacrilege it may seem. its current brown only dates back to 1968. before that, there were some major changes. >> the color of the eiffel tower has evolved. she was painted red in 1889 with paint to protect the metal. starting three years after the tower's construction, gustav ifo completely changed its q. he got rid of the red. -- completely changed its hue. >> it's an arduous undertaking, estimated at 50 million euros. there are 18,000 metal pieces and 2.5 million rivets to repaint, not to mention the safety precautions of having to strip back 19 previous coats, some of which have led in them, and then there is the working

around of some 20,000 lamps that will continue to shine on the hour over the city of lights. >> time for business now. i know your first topic because you have told me, and it is in the covid era, new passports emerging. tell us about this new era of covid-related passports. >> a vaccine passport is what we have been talking about for months, and we are a bit closer to it becoming a reality. a digital certificate that would show his people have been vaccinated against covid-19. denmark is taking steps towards that, joining forces with businesses and the tech industry. the government hopes to have digital vaccine passports on the market in the coming months. sweden has called for digital vaccine certificates which could be used around the world, but the technology does pose a

number of challenges in terms of data privacy as well as socially quality. >> this is going to happen, and the question is -- how should it be regulated? what limits should be pled on it. what are the boundaries of social acceptability? i think those a real questions for civil society and for the government. the government is thinking very hard about these things. >> there have been protests across france today as unions call for the protection of public sector jobs. students, teachers, and theater professionals among those taking part. demonstrations were held outside a french pharmaceutical giant which recently announced plans to cut hundreds of jobs. emoyees accuse the drugmaker of making mistakes in its strategy to prioritize profits over science.

>> white lab coats and white-hot rage, these protesters are angry at plans to cut more jobs. 400 research and development posts are currently on the line. >> [speaking foreign language] >> french unions accused the company of poor strategizing. the company has put less money into research while competitors have advanced more rapidly. they have focused on producing pharmaceuticals, medicinal drugs, which account for more

than 70% of annual turnover. while it's vaccine program is worth less than 16%, for its part, the farmer giant confirmed to france 24 it plans to invest 6 billion euros in research and development over the next three years and is continuing discussions with unions regarding restructuring. it's covid vaccine under development with glaxosmithkline will not be available until at least next year. in the meantime, the company will produce its rival's -- its rivals' products. >> the number of a parikh -- the number of americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped slightly for the third week in a row. it is still nearly four times the pre-pandemic weekly average. in total, some 17.8 million people are receiving unemployment benefits. that includes those covered by

emergency pandemic programs. employers in the private sector hired far more than anticipated in a sharp turnaround from december's losses. the biden administration continues to work on a $1.9 trillion stimulus relief plan, while republicans have put forward a $600 billion counteroffer. democrats continue to push the legislation through along party lines while president bynum is still hoping for bipartisan support. wall street closed higher, dow jones adding over 300 points by the closing bell. the s&p 500 jumping to a new record closing high. ebay shares rose 5% on stronger-than-expected quarterly results. stocks in paris, frankfurt, and milan all closed higher.

brazil has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, and nowhere is the economic told more devastating than a group of sao paulo neighborhoods. >> in brazil, residents line up for a free meal. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the pandemic's toll on the economy has hit hardest in the country's slums where many residents workshops in the informal sector such as housekeeping and babysitting. many have been relying on emergency benefit payments, but the ogram just ended after officials said it was too costly

to continue. most of those left struggling to make ends meet art excluded from the traditional banking system. around 45 million brazilians do not even have a bank account according to a recent study, so they are fighting back. 10 of the biggest slums have come together to launch their own bank. dubbed the g 10 bank, it is set to open later this month with initial funding of 330 5000 dollars from anonymous investors. its mission -- to offer low-interest loans and debit cards. >> [speaking foreign language] >> its goal -- to become the development bank of the pavel's. this bistro which has been providing free meals to the community, plans to apply for a loan from the g 10 bank.

>> it looks like it could bring a lot of od solutions. thanks for that. that brings us to the end of this first half hour of "life in paris." back after a short break for the weather. do stay tuned.

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