♪ >> talks resume on the iran nuclear deal while biden's desire to bring the us back on board is a negative. france passes a grim milestone, 100,000 covid deaths. president macron meets with advisors on whether reopening in mid-may is a realistic aim.

president macron was at notre dame, the second anniversary of the fire that threatened to destroy it. the goal of reopening in 2024 is still set but work may not be complete. thank you for joining us. talks resume this thursday on rescuing the 2015 around nuclear deal. discussions complicated by tehran's decision to ramp up to 60% purity. this is in the wake of an israeli sabotage mission on the nuclear site. >> iran and the world powers have been suffering -- some fling back and forth -- shuffle. the city was previously the birth of the historic nuclear deal back in 2015.

while eyebrows have been raised over the islamic -- 60% purity, the president is reiterating that a bomb was not on iran's agenda but the move was a response to a reported attack on one of its facilities. >> we have said this from the beginning and continue to stand by this. our nuclear -- are completed peaceful and we are not after bombs. >> while the u.s. is not at the negotiation table, it is one of the main decision-makers. the americans warned that for the iranians there is one requirement, that all sanctions are rejected. now is a timetable for simultaneously reversing u.s. sanctions and iran's nuclear

breaches. >> the compliance of the around nuclear deal is in our interest and the interest of regional stability but it would only be the beginning of our work. >>the sanctions that were supposed to be lifted have cost the economy at least 200 billion u.s. dollars. >> thank you for joining us, a fellow at the arab gulf states institute. are there ways to set this back on track? >> there seem to be. as your report mentioned, the u.s. position is that iran has to first come into compliance with the jcpoa which was signed in 2015 for any sanctions will be lifted. the iranians are saying no, the sanctions need to be lifted first. that is the first obstacle.

the second obstacle of coue is that there is an iranian presidential election coming up this summer and it is likely that someone far more conservative will be elected. the iranians now are not in a position to make concessions to the united states particularly as this upcoming election approaches. i think the third point for the united states is that unlike the obama administration, biden has said he is going to take into account the views of saudi arabia, of the uae, and israel. under obama of course there were contentious relations. these countries do not want the united states to reenter a nuclear negotiation with iran on current terms. they want any negotiations to

expand to include otheissues besides the nuclear issue. those other issues are, iran must stop its proxy activity in the middle east. its militarization in iraq, yemen, syria, has only increased since the deal was signed. as your report mentioned, those attacks yesterday are being blamed on the iranian backed militias in iraq, it was an attack at a base near the airport. these attacks happen regularly in iraq which the iranians have turned into a battleground between the united states and iran. --tehran. the unit's dates -- united states once you take in biden administrations policy which is different then the other allies. they want to be part of any agreement with iraq, iran says

no. there are too many issues that have created an impasse. it is highly unlikely that there will be any movement, particularly before the iranian election or after. >> it is sounding like the jcpoa needs to be struck down, rewritten, we shookgiven this. and iranians talked about 6% purity after the nuclear facility. >> what the strategy that tehran has been using is that, every time there are new sanctions or an attack on them, and as you mentioned the attack several days -- a few days ago over the nuclear facility, they up the ante. they say if you are going to sanction us, attack our nuclear

facility, we will enrich uranium. what is happening is escalation on both sides. the iranians have escalated their position to buy the 60% uranium enrichment, and presumably israel, who is being named as the culprit on the attack, they are raising the ante too because they are trying to derail nuclear talks happening in vienna. exactly for this reason, because now iraniansre risking -- hemorrhaging in greater degrees and there is a lot of pressure in the united states and others to stop the talks. the biden policy opponents are asking why are you engaging with a company that is aiming toward nuclear weapon. a few days ago, there was a

letter sent to president biden by a bipartisan committee of senators asking him not to negotiate with iran as a starting point unless these other issues prs, of militarizan and the missile program, are part of it from the outside and not later. biden has said let's start with the nuclear deal and with's get them to cooperate their -- let's get them to cooperate there, but if they do not agree to these issues at the outset there should be no talks. >> from the arab gulf state institute of washington, thank you for that analysis of the problems ahead in trying to get the 2015 around nuclear deal back on track. the talk is continuing in vienna. france this thursday became the third country in europe after the u.k. andtaly to reach the unwanted milestone of 100,000

covid-19 related deaths. new infections and deaths surge due to virus variants. france has had 107 -- 100,077 deaths. france is the eighth nation in the world to reach 100,000 deaths. >> a grim and unwanted milestone after 14 months of battling covid-19, france now joins the u.k. and italy to become the third european country to surpass 100,000 deaths. this icu doctor says it reflects the reality that many victims in france were high-risk patients. >> france has recorded 100,000 patients -- many of our patients

who died were very fragile patients. and sadly did not have a high life except in c. expectancy. >> for the average hospital in france, 84% of victims were more than 70 years of age, the majority men. lower socioeconomic groups have been hit hard. [speaking foreign language] >> it is a figure once unthinkable. france is currently in the midst of a third lockdown imposed last month after a surge in cases attributed to the british variant. as of thursday, almost 6000 patients are in intensive care, but with vaccine rollout

underwear despite delays, the country is hoping to curb the spread for good. >> emmanuel macron visited the notre dame cathedral, two years after a fire almost totally destroy the site. he is now involved in the living and restoration of notre dame. he wants it rebuilt and opened by 2024. experts say it is possible but the whole job not be completed by then. time to check on the days business stories, we are joined by kate moody. the united states has pointed -- recorded more signs of a strong economic recovery. tell us more. kate: millions of americans -- the number of americans filing for jobless claims dropped to the lowest level since the pandemic began, 576,000, down nearly to a 2000 from the previous week. claiming benefits dropped from

18.2 to just under 17 million. there are still 8 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic. consumers are also spending more, retail jumped 9.8% in march as people received stimulus checks. the restaurant and bar industry so i 13% rise in spending as more people were vaccinated and restrictions were eased. industrial production also picked up in march. consumer confidence in the u.s. at its highest level since before the pandemic. all of that new data painting a picture of an economy that is surging back. >> what impact has this had on the markets? kate: it is upbeat. dow jones closing about 300 points higher, topping 34,000 for the first time ever. the s&p 500 was up over 1% at a new record. delta airlines bucked the trend, they dropped about 3%, reporting

new quarterly losses, they expect to break even in june as domestic travel recovers. the ftse 100 was up about .63%, -- they did not accept the strong pace of growth to continue after the pandemic ends. >> thank you very much indeed. kate moody with all of the business, the news continues and we will keep you abreast of all developments. stay with us. ♪

>> welcome to people in profit, driving change in the motor industry. adapting to the post pandemic market, new eu admissions rules -- omissions rolls and a shortage osemiconductors. we will discuss the challenge ahead. electric car sales are on the rise but how much our government subsidies driving demands? plus, the rise in carpooling in france as local governments pick up the bill for commuters. 2021 was meant to be a year of recovery in the global auto industry but the bounceback has been uneven. chinese sales have returned to predict -- pre-pandemic levels while the eu has the wor february since 2013. fast production problems because of a shortage of semiconductors.

you are launching your new car today but it is a difficult time for the motor industry. how are things looking now, a year into the pandemic should ? >>the year has been challenging. e deepest problem was the first state horn -- home -- stay-at-home orders, we are now at a situation where the market is depressed but more in the percentage of a few years ago. we are doing not great but ok. the toughest part is the situation,00 shiningown, another opening up, the supply chain is under a lot of stress. but we are surviving. >> does not go for different parts of the world? we have heard other carmakers

say that for example, china is still quite strong while europe is weak. hows it playing out regionally? >> region by region the situation is different from one into the next. china has had an interesting and strong rebound, some places in africa are still in the growth dynamics -- latin america, argentina had a great end of year, that was an up and down situation. europe, from one market to another, the situation is quite different. we are in quite risk business as we speak. germany has had tougher month to the last three months but they will come out strong. >> what is your prognosis for recovery and why do you think things might return to pre-pandemic levels? >> i think the pre-pandemic model will not exist, there will be more chaos and unoved ability.

i think agility is the key word. it comes to the pandemic, we start seeing the impact of these measures being taken around december. what will still remain is the challenge is because the cost of the pandemic will take years to absorb. make sure that we offers is to relevant products, and a price point for the new world. >> it is interesting to see, it is coming in petrol and hybrid, but not fully electric. what is the rationale behind that decision? >> when we talk about it, we are talking about an experience -- people driving around discovering new places, new people, and they are involved in a serene journey, high quality

experience. or this kind of demand, the right answer today in our view is a hybrid solution. it gives you the benefit of 100% electric when you need and the serenity of long range. the full electric will grow across europe will start with a more compact segments, -- it might take some more years to come for this car. >> there is new regulatory pressure on carmakers as well as we have new omission standards in the -- in mission is standards in the eu. --emission standards. how are you adapting? >> the regulatory pressure is accelerating. what we have seen in 2020 is an

accelerated shift from traditional combustion engine to electrified -- be it fully electric or lung and hybrid, both more than dover -- double -- and the growth continues. we see for example the amount of carbon -- carbon emissions will probably move substantially. it is not under regulatory pressure, it is a deep involvement of our customers and the accessibility. >> what one challenge is the global shortage of semiconductors. are you being affected by that? >> i think we are. as every carmaker is under stress by the current shortage of some of the comnents. this is an extremely complex

situation to face. the good news for us is we have a very agile company, a very powerful supply chain purchasing organization. have people working y and night to ensure supply, provide alternative solutions, optimize the makeup of our makers, and renew construction. we will mitigate most of the challenges. >> how is the brand's future looking with its new neighbors? >> it was born in one of the largest car making companies of the world and it is housed by a number of brands. the good news here is we are being backed by a solid, capable, profitable business and it is giving us a solid view of innovations awaiting us in the

year to come from a brand point of view, it also requires us to be clearer, sharper, and more relevant in years to come as part of this variety of brands. for citroein, it is good because it stands for novation well-being of its customers, and those are all things we have been experiencing for the past year. >> think you for joining us. >> thank you, my pleasure. >> they are expecting sales of low emission vehicles to rise sharply. the international energy agency says in 2020 elected goal sales topped 3 million worldwide, up over 30%. in many countries government subsidies have helped to bring down the cost of these cars for consumers. kate moody is here with more. how much are different countries offering subsidies? >> keep in mind that the rental

price -- renovation price -- an additional 5000 if they also get rid of an old polluting car. germany is offering 9000 euro subsidy and the u.k. is offering grants for 30% the cost of a new car up to 2800 euros. the u.s. has a tax credit of just over six thousand euros, the biden administration is hoping to raise that as part of its focus on green energy. in many states offer additional sentiments -- incentives for hybrid buyers. >> what effect of having? x there is no question -- >> there is no question these are helping. electric vehicle sales slowed when they took him away in china.

in the u.s., electric vehicles jumped but they are only about 4% of the global market share. it could reach 45%. >> are these financials incentives needed or are there other things in the way? >> potential buyers say the issue they are most concerned about when switching to an electric or hybrid car is the cost. the subsidy can go some way to helping. there's also the issue of infrastructure and charging stations, and they are investing in more batteries for powering electric vehicles. without them many companies could face a shortage. >> turning to other transport solutions next and the rise of carpooling for commuters in france. dozens of cities have added

carpooling to transport services. it can be a win-win for drivers and passengers. >> it is 7:00 in the morning, she is waiting to be picked up for her carpal journey to work. by kara takes 50 minutes instead of one hour and a half -- by kara takes 50 minutes and set up an hour and a half by train. the driver works at the same hospital. i taking a passenger she earns almost two euros per trip. [speaking foreign language] the passenger pays nothing for the journey. the france regional government pays up to two or three trips per day for people with public transport passes. >> [indiscernible] >> with many people now working from home, car commutes in france have gone down by almost

half. but business is still booming for carpool platform providers like this one and that is thanks to increasing amounts of subsidies from local authorities. >> [speaking foreign language] >> their contract the city alone brings in thousands a year. >> [speaking foreign language] >> although subsidies only cover local journeys, the drive to encourage car sharing is a silver lining for the travel sector, since air, rail, and other traffic is still down compared to pre-pandemic levels. >> is all from us for now but you will find all of our previous episodes on the france 24 website. if you would like to get in touch with your comments and questions, you will find me and the team on social media. until next time, thanks for watching.

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04/15/21 04/15/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. biden: war in afghanistan was never meant to be multigenerational. we were attacked. we went to war with clear goals. we achieved those objectives. bin laden is dead and al qaeda is degraded in iraq and afghanistan. and it is time to end