>> emmanuel macron's special meeting this us the protocols are to be adjusted. meanwhile, morocco is to sue the authors of the news story for defamation. french police under pressure as a legal move brings accusations of human rights violations.

amnesty international brought the case. thank you very much for being. france has decided to readjust security protocols, especially those regarding emmanuel macron in light of the pegasus spyware case. a government spokesman revealed this news after the special security meeting convened by the president this thursday. macron's phone was on a list of potential targets for possible surveillance. on behalf of morocco in the spyware case. >> whatever the government of morocco might say, and for other governments as well -- the government of saudi arabia have dismissed the case as well -- france is taking this seriously at least for the moment until it can be finally determined one way or another if there was an

attempt in 2019 or not to use spyware to access emmanuel macron's mobile telephone or telephones. >> he has a few, doesn't he? >> he has a few, and he changes them all the time. the government spokesperson says he has changed his phone now, at that would be neither here nor there since this was related to an incident happened -- an incident that happened in 2019. this was an opportunity for the defense counsel to look closely at what has been happening, to get a sense of where the other investigations are going. the public prosecutor has set something up. numerous inquiries have been set up into various aspects. macron has said he is treating it very seriously indeed. new security protocols have put

in place, not just a phone being changed, but now i think they will be looking to israel to get a bit more informati, where there inquiries are going, and he cannot guarantee something similar will not happen in the future. >> next, french police face a watershed legal case. amnesty international say there is racial profiling going on and in effect how police act on patrol. >> ngo's decided it was time to take action against wrench police. >> this case is historic. we are basing this on a robust legal text, which would allow the state to rule out legal measures necessary >> the ngo's including human

rights watch and amnesty international said back in january they would file action. the 2017 report found a young black or arab man was 20 times more likely to be stop by police . they seek to change the country's criminal code. the move has been criticized by one of france's biggest police unions. >> it is an insult to the professionalism of our colleagues and an insult to all different backgrounds of people working in the police force because let me remind you that r officers represent all the colors of our society and that

yone who behaves inappropriately is sanctioned. >> the action is likely to add fuel to an already tense debate on accusations of police and racism in france, and calls for wide protests sparked by heavy-handed policing. >> riding in south africa has claimed 337 lives. the government announced this on thursday. -- rioting in south africa. >> many have lost any faith in their security services, particularly the police and intelligence community. they say they have little

confidence in the president. people are asking how is it that 160 malls were looted and damaged, factories went down, and the answer is something the president gave to the country, that they did not know. for south africans, it is -- how can we ensure that we don't find ourselves in the same place again either in the future or very soon when we find out the outcome of the appeal by former president jacob zuma? >> indeed, a situation which is very shocking indeed. with the soldiers having been

sent in to try to calm the situation, why does it seem to be getting worse? >> soldiers have been sent out to protect key installations of the country, and nature highways, particularly ensuring there is transportation of petrol in the country and that we do not have shortages affected by the violence. in communities, people, when they do not see the soldiers around, they do not feel safe. there has been a lot of unity at the same time, all of south africa coming together trying to clean up. what has happened to businesses, particularly small businesses,

that is the main thing people are worried about, particularly tomorrow. what do we do? >> foreign aid now arriving in tunisia as the country battles a steep rise in covid-19 cases. vaccines, oxygen, other supplies. hospitals in the center of northwestern tunisia suffering shortages. the president has ordered the military to take over the national response. >> as well as delivery of oxygen containers, since the start of june, french support has included the delivery of three machines which produce oxygen. these machines are already operational in two places and soon will be in a third as well. as well as an urgent response,

there is also lasting support. these machines allow you to produce oxygen for 15 years. tokyo -- >> tokyo olympics directors fired the organizers over decades-old skid referencing the holocaust. -- decades-old skit referencing the holocaust. the decision will not affect the details of the ceremony according to organizers. yet another level of scandal hitting the tokyo olympics. for more, stay with us. you are watching france 24.

♪ >> paris becomes an open house for the performing arts, photography, and painting. a resort commodities exchange building posts the art collection -- posts -- hosts the art collection. let's start with an arts and culture event called the paris summer festival. a number of schools, parks, and swimming pools have opened their doors to artists and creators. most of the events are free. >> under the iconic glass pyramid of the louvre is the

first performance of the paris summer festival, a contemporary dance recital all of the motion in the program called "happy." down the usual crowded corridors of the museum, 300 spectators have a date with the lady of the mystic model. >> i did not expect this at all. we knew we were going into the museum, but we did not know we were going to be next to the mona lisa. >> visitors can see photography, also the dreamlike experience as seen by the stars as well as an expired -- inspired experience by nature. organizers say the goal of the festival is to take visitors on a journey. >> everything has started up again after what was a long hiatus. we feel there is a desire from the book and artists and our team. we are shappy.

>> the dream was brought back to life by the artists thanks to their work and our passion to share their work with the public . we have the audience we dreamed of, so we are really happy. >> as night falls, cairo comes to paris. choreographer olivier dubois along with six dancers share what he calls a dance of fire and a cry of revolt from a young generation of egyptians. >> it was once home to paris' commodities exchange. now it houses a businessman's vast contemporary art collection. he has amassed over 10,000 works from 400 artists. they are now displayed in a building recently restored.

♪ >> open to the sky, open to new experimental visions, and finally open to visitors. france's former commodities exchange is now a site of artistic exchange, hosting a collection that spans the 1960's to the present day. this building has 10 individual galleries, a studio for sound pieces, and an auditorium. we got a taste of what the venue is all about. >> everything is an attitude, an approach to life. it has to be harmonious for the

visitor. they should be surprised as they move through the gallery. we designed it so each room can be seen from left to right or right to left. >> politics and society loom large in the artwork with previously unseen pieces from david hammond dealing with race and oppression. photography from pioneering leaders tackling sex, identity, and future, and in a series of interconnected galleries, work from the new guard, including a chinese painter who captures fleeting moments on the canvas. >> i remember that night, we had dinner at a restaurant. we looked out, and she had a cigarette. she had a lot of pink and reddish light on her face.

it was kind of frozen and felt like a very long moment. i wanted to make my payments like short stories. although they look like portraits, for me, they are situations. >> carving out a public space from a lifted -- listed historical building was a delicate task, one entrusted to a japanese architect who had help from a team of french specialists. >> this huge cylinder actually flows on from the unique and incredible history of this building, the commodities exchange, which is based on circle of design, so within this historical architecture, which dates back to 1889, this new rotunda has been inserted to great dramatic effect.

>> this now constitutes the third largest private -- the largest private collection in paris, perhaps in the near future a late pantheon of late 20th century and early 20 first century talented -- early 21st century talent. ♪ >> this summer, france's biggest performing arts festival returned to avenue on after a one-year hiatus due to covid-19 -- returned to avenue on -- returned to avignon. our reporters have been

exploring the organizers' attempt to make this year's festival more inclusive. >> [speaking french] >> how are maps made and what do they tell us about society? that is the concept behind the play, whose title translates to "move the lines." >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french]

>> the hummingbird is a theater company with a difference. it's actors all have learning disabilities. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french]

>> showcasing talent, questioning how we see the world, and reflecting diversity through performing arts. this year for the first time, almost half of the theaters selected are women. france's biggest performing arts festival runs until july 25. >> finally, the grimaldi forum in monaco is organizing a retrospective of a swiss artist inspired by his own surroundings, everyday objects, his loved ones. the exhibition features his famous bronze sculptures, but also his paintings and prints. the show is on until august 29, and we will leave you with a glimpse of that. remember, we are also on twitter , instagram, and more is coming up on france 24 after this.

♪ >> it's time now for our weekly look at the intricacies of life here in france. we are going to talk about something france has been very proud of for a long time, and that is the strong fertility rate. for years, france has been the babymaking champion of europe, but for years, the number has been dropping, particularly now during the pandemic. >> which is surprising. people thought there would be a

baby boom with people staying at home, lots of time on their hands. nine months after the lockdown, france sought a historic drop in the number of births -- france saw a drop in the number of birds. people are calling it a baby bust. there was a 13% drop in the number of births compared to january 20. it turns out is it's hard to be optimiic during a pandemic. >> [speaking french] >> while a lot of french people might have postponed their babymaking plans, those who went through with it say they

lockdown at home, they were working from home. those were actually ideal conditions. >> [speaking french] the babymaking numbers might be down, but the confinement did have some positive effects, like a drop in the number premature babies. this is a trend elsewhere in the world as well, and it came as a surprise to doctors as well. doctors believe it could be reduced -- it could be due to reduced stress level for mothers in the final part of their pregnancy, cleaner air, and even better hygiene. take a listen. >> [speaking french]

>> so good news there for preemie babies, but there still is this big drop in fertility, but it is part of a trend we have seen in the last few years. >> demographers say the number of women having children is dropping. 740,000 babies were born in france in 2020, the lowest number since the end of the second world war, and you can see is it's a real drop compared to a peak in 2010 when nearly 833,000 babies were born. that said, the babymaking rate in france is still relatively high compared to other countries, particularly in

europe. let's take a look at the figures. if you compare the figures from 2018, for instance, you can see in france, there were 188 babies per woman. these are the european figures. keep in mind that the replacement fertility rate when the population renews itself, that is 2.1 children per woman. france still is the champion of europe. >> france has this traditionally strong fertility rate. why is that? it is not because french people have particular babymaking powers or anything like that. it is because france has a strong welfare program that encourages people to keep having kids. >> absolutely. a generous program put in place in the 1930's. the country set up a family allowance system.

up until recently, this was a universal system of cash handouts, but in 2015, facing a major budget -- a major budget deficit, they decided to make the system income dependent, so higher income families make a little less. it makes a big difference when it comes to people's budgets. >> keeps you in diapers, that's for sure. let's talk about parental leave. some say it is not that high in france compared to other countries. >> noted countries he all these amazing systems. maternity leave in france is 16 weeks pai full salary. paternity leave just increased recently. what makes a real difference, though, is at the state makes it easier for women to go back to work. this is what studies have shown.

the easier you make it for women to go back into the workforce, the more babies they have. that being said, this reasoning has been thrown up into the air due to the covered pandemic. there is so much uncertainty about the future. will the french recover from these baby blues? will they go back to procreating once the pandemic is a distant memory? we will have to come up with a generation name for these new babies. we were talking about the quaran -teens. >> instead of attending school, these children sort through cocoa beans on the plantation.

child labor is a scourge the industry is trying to stamp out. in early may, they received wide media coverage. dozens of officers were mobilized to root out children working. around 68 were found. >> we've been trying to raise awareness for a long time, but as long as you don't send strong signals as well as punish people who employ children in dangerous work one by one, it will always continue, so we have to send signals. >> 20 two people were sentenced to prison for child trafficking as a result of the operation.

the ivory coast is the world's largest cocoa producer. ngo's have been highlighting the plight of child laborers in the industry for decades, but only recently has the country experienced pressure from western consumers demanding ethical practices. some 2000 children have been removed from plantations in two years. many have found refuge here. >> and stop going to school when i was 10 years old. when my parents did not have enough money, i went out and helped them by working in the field. >> poverty is the main cause behind child exploitation. according to the world bank, over 2.5 million people working in the cocoa industry live below

the poverty line. >> when we welcome the children, we smile a lot to gain their trust and during the exchanges as well, and we initially listen. this allows us to detect if the child is being trafficked or not or if they are working or not. >> parents are invited to discuss the situation further. this mediation work helps improve the schooling weight -- rate of children and families working in the industry. in serious cases involving

07/22/21 07/22/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i want to thank every amazon employee and every amazon customer, because you guys paid for all of this. seriously, forvery aman customer out there and every amazon employee, thank you from the bottom of my heart. amy: as the world's richest man flies his blue origin rocket into suborbital spacee