>> hello, you are watching live from paris on "france 24." i am thomas waterhouse neds are the latest headlines. it is the capstone of joe biden's eight day tour of europe. the u.s. president meets with his russian counterpart. vladimir putin says there was no hostility. joe biden says the tone is positive. we will speak to francois in a just a few minutes france says adieu to face masks and prepares to bid farewell two months of nighttime curfew's in the battle against covid-19 and its variants.

first there were 70 or now they're just four. the number of candidates standing in this friday's presidential election in iran. two hardliners and one moderate quit the race as campaigning officially comes to an end. ♪ thomas: the u.s. and russian presidents are flying out of switzerland after spending four hours in the same room engine in geneva for their first meeting since joe biden took office. the two have agreed to return their nations ambassadors and replace the treaty limiting nuclear weapons. in talks that pru putin called very efficient and joe biden said was positive.

let's take a look at what both men were saying at their respective press conferences following landmark discussions pit >> i do not think he is looking for a cold war with the united states. it is clearly not in anybody's interest, yours country -- your country or mine for us to be in a situation where we are in a new cold war. there's a prospect to improve relations between our two countries without us giving up a single solitary thing based on principle and our values. >> i believe there has been no hostility. on the contrary. the talks were quite constructive. indeed, there are a number of issues to be resolved. but both sides expressed an intention to understand each other and to seek common ground. thomas: for more, let's bring in

our very own francois covering this story in geneva. leaders are heading back home after what has been a rather busy day with lots of very different issues raised, ranging from human rights to cybersecurity. francois: yeah, busy day. a busy eight days for joe biden. his first foreign trip as u.s. president. the sun has set on lake geneva after a meeting that was slightly shorter than what was officially announced, not by much but still. and where there was this low bar of expectations to overcome. that is do better than donald trump, in the press conference in 2018 in helsinki. no joint press conference as a mentioned. but what we did here h ear joe biden say as he talked about basic rules of the road we can all abide by.

too much uncertainty in all those issues you just mentioned. and biden is somebody who, throughout his very long political career, likes face-to-face encounters, likes to get the feel of a person, to hear him talk about a positive tone is interesting, especially since this is the same vladimir putin who he once described as having no soul. we did hear some of that blunt language in joe biden's press conference. talking about how ridiculous when a reporter talking about the comparison between putin had made previously between strumming the -- storing the capitol and the black lives movement. in talking about devastating consequences for alexei navalny, the top kremlin critic. beyond that joe biden leaving the door open for what he described himself as talks in

the interest of pragmatic solutions. thomas: can we in any way talk about one of these two men having had the upper hand in these landmark discussions where you are?? francois: we, before the summit were wondering, would vladimir putin have the upper hand? after all, this gives him recognition on the international stage. it's early in joe biden's mandate. so, usually you hold summits when it is the culmination of some kind of long negotiation. but, actually, in this particular case, does seem as though both men for now come out on top in the sense that you have this promise, the promise of stability or at least more readable and less for little relations -- less volitile

relations particular when it comes to nuclear deterrents and cyber hacking. what happened with theack of that pipeline in the northeast of the united states the start of last month. that spooked not just the united states but the entire planet and a little bit the russians realizing that their duty to perhaps be tighter controls. of course, as biden said, we will know in a couple of month'' time, -- it is only the beginning of this discussion -- whether or not moscow is sincere when it comes to these important strategic issues. thomas: ok. on the shores on lake geneva. thank you very much. for more on the outcome of this meeting we can speak now to matthew, a director of the kenin institute, the woodrow wilson center in washington. thank you very much for joining us on "france 24" tthis -- this hour.

vladimir putin has said he saw a glimmer of hope about future mutual trust coming out of these talks there with joe biden. are we witnessing a new dawn in the relationship between moscow and washington? >> you know, putin actually quoted russian literature and talking about the mere glimmer of hope. it's something we have to cling to. if it is a don, i will tell you what, it's very, very early dawn. because i think the take away, as your correspondence that is exactly right, expectations were set appropriately low. they were exceeded but only in so far as the two leaders have what we understand -- had what we understand was a pragmatic, you know, kind of productive discussion, not the kind of explosive theatrics we saw in helsinki between trump and putin

several years ago, but they mainly agreed to have their teams continue to talk to each other about the hard issues which is very appropriate. thomas: back on home soil, how might this play out on the domestic front in both countries? >> well, it's an important question actually for both leaders. very clearly for president biden , he's trying to heal the country, bring people together, lead all americans, build bck -- back better, that is his slogan with respect to covid, but it is true about the extreme partisan politics around russia. he was taking a fair amount of criticism from hawks in washington, even giving putin a meeting with somee-- somehow weak. i think he showed that that was ridiculous. the president have the united states has a responsibility to negotiate directly with the leader of the capability to end life as we know it in under an

hour. it was very striking that the two president in their joint statement, which was an achievement. i was not expecting a joint statement. they cited the words of reagan and gorbachev. ronald reagan, cold warrior if ever there was one, who in geneva 35 years ago agreed with gorbachev that a nuclear war cannot be won, and therefore should never be fought. biden, mission accomplished on that. thomas: just on that point, can we at the end of the summit talk about a winner or loser or is that too complicated? >> one of the russian journalists asked vladimir putin that question. he said what's the score? wh who won? putin was very clear that is not how you do diplomacy. and i think botbiden and putin have a sophistic understanding of this meeting which means they were not going to score points

against one another. neither one would agree to the meeting if that was the expectation. the meeting was held because the relationship has become so dangerously unpredictable that we needed to restore some degree of predictability and stabili, but the onus shifts to what comes next which will be working level staff level dialogue about the nuclear issue, about cyber, about regional security problems, and about the basic infrastructure, the embassies, getting them back to work. these are all difficult challenges. they will not be resolved tomorrow. thomas: the director of the george kennan institute of the woodrow wilson center in washington. thank you so much for being with us on "france 24." moving on. it has been another glorious if not stifling day here france with many wishing they could take off their facemasks, given the heat. well, as of this thursday, the government says those protected covid masks can be removed outdoors. with the sanitary situation set

to be improving. and days ahead of schedule, nighttime curfew has been in place since mid-december is also being scrapped. >> seeing light at the end of the tunnel. french prime minister was an unlikely bearer of good news as he announced the lifting of several sanitary restrictions in the coming days. >> wearing a mask outdoors will no longer be mandatory except in certain circumstances. the 11 p.m. curfew which was supposed to last until june 30, will be lifted on sunday. >> masks will remain mandatory indoors and in crowded outdoor settings such as stadiums. and, while the nighttime curfew will be lifted on sunday, gatherings of more than six people will remain illegal.

despite keeping many existing measures in place, the prime minister's announcement sent a strong message that, after months of harsh and unpopular restrictions, france was beginning to emerge from a deadly third wave. >> our country's sanitary situation is improving and it is improving faster than expected. we haven't seen such a low infection rate since last august. >> an improvement which had relieved pressure on the french health system. the prime minister also hailed the countries vaccination drive which has seen over 60 million adults fully inoculated and said the aim was to reach 35 million by the end of the summer. he did warmn that france would not hesitate to reinstitute the restrictions if faced with a resurgence of cases. thomas: next, the u.s. is one of eight countries and overseas territories that have been added to the e.u.'s so-called white

list, which is good news for many travelers this holiday season. lebanon, taiwan and serbia have been placed on the list which means they are now exempt from a coronavirus travel ban. e.u. member states, are still free to demand that inbound passengers from these areas undergo a covid-19 test or spend time in quarantine. iran's supreme leader has urged his fellow countrymen and women to come out in droves this friday with one state opinion pull predicting that just 42% of voters will have their say in this presidential election. this wednesday was the final day f campaigning with rules stating that no drumming of support can take place in the final 24 hours. two hard-line candidates and the only reformer standing have been called out. and many are now seeing this as a showdown between the hard-line judiciary chief abraham or sisi

and the moderate, former central bank chief. >> as the poll approaches, the feel of candidates is narrowing. but those who remain in the race still are unlikely to pose a serious challenge to the ultraconservative cleric seen as the favorite. friday's vote will choose the successor to iran's moderate president rouhani. the architect of the iran nuclear deal who came under fire from arch conservatives. many voters are expected to abstain. apathy is running deep and economic -- and the pandemic hit iran. >> people have lost interest. considering the past eight years when many promises were made, especially to us, the younger generation. and then they did not do anything. >> i used to say no way will i

leave the country but now am seriously considering it. i wanted to stay and build but not anymore. i do not see a bright future. >> iranians have also been left disappointed by the choice of candidates. the countries powerful guarding counsel -- jkkept any reformers for money. romney has urged the public -- rouhani has urged the public to vote. >> the way of expressing a complaint is not by turning our backs on ballot boxes. that is not the solution. turning away from the ballot box does not resolve anything for us. >> e brahim raisi including revolutionary guard chief. and a pro-reform party last the support -- lacks support of the main coalition. thomas: a spot of diy but far away from planet earth. the french astronaut and his u.s. counterpart have stepped

out for the first of several spacewalks to install new and more powerful solar panels to the international space station. this refit is needed before the first visitors, a russian film director and actors, drop in later this year. >> these new solar arrays. >> on board the international space station, the final preparations are made for these astronauts before stepping out into the void of space. >the astronauts begin their spacewalk wednesday to install new more powerful solar panels, part of an ongoing effort to boost the aging orbital laboratories electoral system. their mission more hazardous than the average extra vehicle activity or eva as working with the power grid brings the risk of electric shock and trial runs are fewer than they used to be. >> they got to practice together

but only a few times. the way we do business with the international space station training, they get a few chances to see what normally back in the shuttle days they had several, many runs at this eva. we are kinda counting on them studying the procedures. >> the new solar palace weigh -- solar panels way 350 kilos. they move out to a length of 19 meters, smaller than the stations existing 20-year-old solar wings, but more energy efficient. the old and new power panels will work in concert. the iss needs the extra juice to accommodate paying visitors, russian film crew this fall, followed by three wealthy space tourists in late 2021. thomas: staying with the space theme, in a matter of hours, three chinese astronauts will be setting off on board the 12 spacecraft inthe northwestern province. it's the first of four missions

to get the country space station up and running and completed by the end of nt year. one of those astronauts, the 56-year-old former air force pilot, will bece the oldest chinese astronaut to head into space. blastoff is scheduled for just after 9:20 a.m., local time, 1:20 gmt. time now for business news with kate moody . the e.u. has come one step closer to handing out financial aid from its emergency covid-19 recovery fund. kate: and has been a long time coming. the head of the european commission has given the green light for portugal to receive 16 billion euros and spain some 140 billion. they are the first countries to get that approval. she will then be heading to greece and denmark on thursday. she will start use the digital health certificate to facilitate travel. showing off that qr code.

each member state had to submit for approval of the details of how they plan to use that money, but the percentage earmarked march for digital and environmental friendly project. the funds will start arriving sometime in july. a major step for the bloc. >> our plan is worth 800 billion euros. it is the largest recovery package in europe's history since the marshall plan. kate: o n tuesday the e.u. said it had raised it first 20 building euros by issuing 10 year bonds. how will the financing work? we look at the next generation e.u. fund. >> the beginning of a landmark borrowing reince priebus set to transform the e.u. into a huge cash machine for amber states hit hard by covid-19. they seek to raise a monumental 800 billion euros in five years with 750 billion earmarked

for the recovery e.u. fund financed by a common e.u. debt. unlike before the pandemic when countries managed borrowing debts on their own terms. to country depending on notntry heavily covid-19 impacted on them. italy will receive the highest amount at 192 billion euros. 40 billion will go to france 69 .5 billion to spain and 23 billion to germany. >> it's going to take into account the impact of the crisis in relation to natnal world -- population and that is why big countries that were seriously affected like italy and spain and to some extent france will receive more than countries that are smaller that were less affected by the pandemic. >> half of the fund will be handed out in the form of loans. each country individually paying back what it receives. the other half of the fund, 2t60 billion -- 360 billion euros will be listed as grants. >> one part involves each

country repaying according to the size of its economy. and there are other possible routes by which the money will be repaid in the form of the europewide tax. for first,, tax on the profits of companies that produce in the european union. -- for example. or attacks on businesses that contain co2. >> the funding should help e.u. number states build back their economies with theb bloc on track to grow by 4.2%. kate: the u.s. federal reserve may start scaling back easy lending conditions sooner than predicted as the pandemic begins to have "a diminishing effect on the u.s. economy." the central bank said it was looking at two interest rate hikes by late 2023. its previous target was 2024. for now support for the u.s. economy remains on hold at high level of inflation sparked concern on some economists. consumer prices jumped 5% inmate and producer prices 6.6%. the fastest pace in a decade.

when inflation outpaces wage growth it can relate life -- make life too expensive for workers. the fed raised forecast from inflation from 2.4% to 3.4% by the end of this year but believes that the currentevel is transitory and 2% target in the long-term. today's trading action. investors were surprised by the decision to bring forward the timeline of interest rate rises. wall street accelerating its earlier losses. the dow jones was down by 300 point earlier. the s&p 500 and nasdaq each closing lower after those previous record highs reached earlier this week. the major european indices close mostly highes on gains in london, paris and milan. french president emmanuel macron has said the possibility of breaking out the dominant digital giants -- breaking up the digital giants is a question. the tech industry could be facing more pressure.

this week joe biden and a vocal silicon valley critic to had the federal trade commission, america's top regulator. the e.u. is also trying to overhaul its digital policies with new proposals to police content and reduce market monopoly. apple chief executive tim cook said the changes were not in the best interest of users, but that apple will continue engaging in conversation with brussels. both cook and macron were addressing vivatech. thomas: kate moody with business news. thank you very much. next, if you are a bookworm, a fan of all types of printed matter or if you simply have taken an interest in ancient history, today's focus report is for you. hidden deep in northwest africa are thousands of books and manuscript, many of which date back as far as the 12th-century. our colleagues have been finding out, these are rare collections

at risk. >> it was once the cultural capital of mauritania in the heart of the sahara. for 1000 years, this ancient city has welcomed travelers crossing the desert. as nomads came and went, many left remnants behind. historical tests were in light breeze like this one which holds 7000 ancient manuscripts. >> you see -- here we are in my home. this is the collection of my family. since 1699. >> safe islam is a proud custodian for the trove of 450 books collected by his ancestors. these ancient books were left by pilgrims on their way to mecca but brought back from countries across the islamic world. >> these are scripts of arabic

poetry and here we have some scientific texts on astrology. this here is a little pocket-sized travel book. >> manuscripts dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries, passed down generations. >> our ancestors knew our planet was around and rotated around the sun long before copernicus and galileo. >> thanks to its dozens of light breeze, it has earned the nickname the sorbonne of the desert. the jihadist threat has receded over the last 10 years, but there are plenty of other dangers. the greatest enemy is time, and the blistering heat of the sahara. but, not only. he owns one of the most renowned libraries in the city. his collection of over 1000 books -- are lined with gold and have been eaten away by termites.

>> but threats also lurk outside. carried by dry winds, frequent sandstorms are a force of nature engulfing houses one by one. >> mohamed is in charge of maintenance. in order to get in, though. he has to clear the way first. >> you have to dig out all of the sand to be able to get in.

this house was built in 1993 and back then there was not a grain of sand. now we have a juen here -- june here that is about 50 centimeters high. and, on the other side, it is practically at the level of the top of the house which is three meters high. >> rows of trees like these are planted to counter the sand and winds but it is no match for the shear force of the wilderness. to save the manuscript, mohammed works on the digitization of the writings. a delicate, ticket process, with the -- and meticulous process with the added difficulty of persuading the owners. the time capsules continue to stand the test of time. shelved in small treasure coast in the desert. thomas: i'm back after the

break with more world news and analysis here on "france 24." do stay with us if you can.

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[captioning made possible by democracy now!] ♪♪ [music break] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. biden: i have met with him . he is bright, he is tough, and i have found that he is a, as they say when we used to play ball, where the adversary. amy: president biden and russian president vladimir putin are meeting in geneva for a high