>> welcome to "live from paris," world news and analysis from france 24. i'm mark en. boris johnson resigns over rule breaking. the prime minister has apologized while still denying knowledge. after angela merkel. germany's new chancellor has been sworn in. he leads a three-way coalition

tasked with beating the next wave of infection. india's military chief and 12 others have been killed this wednesday in a helicopter crash. thank you very much for being with us. the u.k. prime minister, boris johnson, has apologized unreservedly, he said, to the british people over the downing street christmas party controversy. at the same time, johnson denied it ever took waste. the opposition accused the prime minister of lying to the public while he flouted covert rules.

-- covid rules. >> i will regret those remarks for the rest of my life. that is have -- how the senior government aid referred to the infamous video. >> for those of you who endured intolerable loneliness and who struggled with your businesses, i'm sorry and this afternoon i tendered my resignation to the prime minister. >> prime minister johnson continues to deny knowledge of a party, despite the leaked video. mr. johnson spoke for the first time since the leak of the video at wednesday afternoon's prime minister's questions. he apologize for the joking seen in the video while denying knowledge of the party. >> i apologize for the offense

it has caused up and on the country and i apologize for the impression that it gives, but i repeat, mr. speaker, that i have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no covert rules were broken, at that is what i have been repeatedly assured. >> the footage in question was shot on december 27 last year at a time when much of the u.k. was in lockdown and people were banned from mixing with their families. opposition leader has accused the prime minister and the government of repeatedly lying to the public. >> the prime minister, the government spent the week telling the british public there was no party. all guidance was followed completely, millions of people now think the prime minister was taking them for fools.

they are right, aren't they? >> prime minister's questions came amid reports the government is set to implement further restrictions to tackle the spread of covid-19. mark: let's get more analysis and bring in the head of politics at the university of import. i'm wondering what charts boris johnson has -- what chance for chanson has of getting people of england to respect the new stricter rules he has announce on the back of what he said earlier today with the rising cases of covid and the new variant -- what chances has he got of getting people to follow those rules given is controversy? >> i think you have gone straight to the problem for the prime minister. the prime minister has essentially preempted a crisis of confidence in his own

administration. it has been a long time brewing. we saw last year when one of his chief advisers drew 200 miles an hour, which was against the rules. the notion that theovernment has been less keen to follow rules themselves, and the controversy now about the party that apparently took lyse last year has created yet another kind of example of perception of a government that creates one rule for itself and one for the country. this evening, the prime minister has gone for a press conference and announced we were going into increased restrictions at the same time with a backdrop that

the british public do not believe his own governor followed the rules with previous restrictions. there is a real problem of credibility and that is something the prime minister is really going to struggle with. he's going to struggle with the public. he's going to struggle with the opposition. he's going to struggle with his own supporters and his own and p -- his own and p -- his own mp's. mark: you remember when prince philip was buried in the image of queen elizabeth set the isolated, socially distance, by herself, respecting the rules laid down by the government, the health authority. the queen obeying what goes on. the fact that you have the conservative party doing or not

doing -- let's take the story as we understand -- the point of this is that the conservative press -- "the sun," "the daily mail" they have turned against him, haven't they? >> again, that is a really interesting point, that several members of the conservative with a small c britain have represented the whole kind of we are all in it together kind of notion of the pandemic, and that people selfishly, really, followed rules for the benefit of other people, and not just on this occasion, but it has apparently been exposed that the government may not have been following those rules itself.

the most damaging thing about the leaked video -- i don't think it was the fact -- it's not the objects of the fact that they're discussing the fact that a party has taken place. it is the fact that they are doing so with such liberty. the fact that they are laughing about, wouldn't we work -- wouldn't it be terrible if we were asked a question about a party which may or may not have happened? how would we come up with a way to spin out of that controversy? hey your own, it has been proven that they cannot really spin out of it. as you say, it is the lack of leadership in the perception amongst the public that there's one rule for the government and one rule for everybody else, and that is, i think, what is really going to hurt him. i think that, actually, boris johnson is such an unusual character. for many years, he was almost

the left's most popular white ringer -- right-winger. not that they liked him, but they always thought he was funny, and he could go on chat shows, and they would be entertained an then when he was mayor of london, some of that started to wear off. when he is unusual and it's working, his reputation is really high, but when it's not working, that unusual quality can very easily translate to actually, he does not care about the job, actually, he's not doing his homework. mark: we saw when he lost his space with his speech, he could have just thrown away the speech and improvised, but johnson could not, and it is that lack

of mastering the subject matter that i think many people pick on. can i just ask about the resignation of the advisor, allegra stratton, which most people watching this i think have not heard of, but they have seen her crying and making apologies, which many people i the u.k. may think sounds rather hollow? what would it take for johnson to resign? >> we have an electionoming thursday in a very safe seat. no structure, slap bang in the middle of england. -- north rupture -- north shropshire. it also belong to the mp who had to resign because they felt all of the regulations about lobbying, were found guilty of

breaking the rules on parliamentary silence. i think if they were to lose that deep, you would start to see pressure mount even more. politicians like johnson, and there are not many politicians like johnson, when they reach that tipping point, things can change very, very quickly. i'm not going to say he's about to be deposed before christmas or anything, but once the tide turns, i think things can change very rapidly indeed, and there is evidence finally that public opinion seems to be turning against the government and turning against mr. johnson. we know about the conservatives is that by instinct they are incredibly ruthless. if they think their leader is not performing for them, they certainly will not hold back, and it has been very noticeable looking at parliament that support amongst his own side,

people have not been cheerleading in the way they traditionally have. mark: we need to leave it there. thank you very much indeed. in the face of the new wave of the new variant, omicron, boris johnson has announced new measures against covid-19. it has been billed as plan b. the headline is that people are being urged to work from home next monday, face masks in public places, and passes will be required to enter public places. new cases of covid in france are up again. 61,340 over the past 24 hours. new stricter measures to stop

the spread of the disease in light of the new variant were announced monday by the prime minister. the head of the world health organization about the impact of covid omicron. this its impact is still to be assessed. >> certain features of omicron, including its global spread, suggest it could have an impact on the course of the recovery. exactly what that impact will be is still difficult to know. emerging data from south africa suggest increased risk of reinfection with omicron, but more data are needed to draw firm conclusions. there's also some evidence that omicron causes milder symptoms

than delta, but again, it is still too early to know. mark: the latest perception of the omicron variant. you're watching all the analysis. the new chancellor of germany has been shorn -- sworn in, ending 16 years of angela merkel. schulte has pledged to boost green investment. he becomes the ninth chancellor of germany since old war two. >> it was very intimate. this was not a handover that was full of pomp and ceremony as might be the case -- as is the case in the united states with motorcades and concerts and pop stars singing -- there was nothing like that. there was a vote in parliament, and then ola schulz went to the presidency and was sworn in.

the words exchanged between he and his former boss, angela merkel -- because he was her vice chancellor -- were really white warm. she said this is the best job in the world to take care of the german people and he said thank you for the lessons you taught me in the time we shared in office, so it was an informal handover. earlier in the day, it was touching to see angela merkel sitting in the visitors part of the bundestag. she has left the political stage nationally and internationally. got a long standing ovation from the members of parliament as schulz's future was being decided. it was a done deal on that vote that saw him become germany's

ninth postwar chancellor. mark: india's military chief and 12 others have been killed this wednesday not say helicopter crash. the air force said the russian-made helicopter was on its way from an air force base to the army defense services college when it crashed. the reason for the crash is not yet known. our correspondent with this. >> it was only after four or five hours tt the air force finally confirmed that the general along with his wife and 11 other personnel were killed. they are saying that there is one survivor, who is the indian air force captain, who is being treated at the military hospital on the site near where the

accident happened. as you said, just after the news was confirmed, tributes have been coming in from all over india, and the prime minister, the president, and top leaders have taken to twitter to pay their tributes. the prime minister said he was a true patriot and he concretely contributed in modernizing the indian armed forces. he was already a popular general, but also, he was controversial because of certain actions he took as the chief of the armed forces and also because of some outspoken comments, for example, regarding the disputed region of kashmir, he said -and also he suprted a mor army purveyed. he said the action was an

innovative way to teach the kashmiris and lesson, and also just last month, he said that the kashmiris have taken themselves to lynch the terrorists themselves, which is a positive sn. heaid that women in combat should not complain about men peeping into their tents, so a lot of controversial comments were made by this highly popular general. mark: the helicopter crash in india. as soon as we get development, we will bring your them. the turkish president is once again defending his controversial economic and monetary policy. >> less than a week after he appointed a new finance minister, erdogan has said turks should be patient and trust that his new vision will lead to growth and jobs. he has made interest rate cuts despite soaring inflation.

he has -- it has made life difficult for many families. >> leading up to by cutprice bread. the traditional stronghold of president brca 1 and his ak party. even here, residents are losing patience. "the government must change. for 20 years, it has been the same system, the same politics." "the situation is really bad. it is not just me, it is everyone." the decision taken by istanbul's mayor as response to the growing crisis. >> we are processing 1.5 million loaves of bread and there are still cues -- still queues,

so it's not enough, not merely an economic crisis but a political crisis. i see this as an inability to run the country. >> as the liver continues to plunge, thousands have taken to the streets, calling for her to resign, but the president is urging residents to trust him -- as the lira continues to plunge. inflation reached a three-year high last month. >> some of these prices will come down again soon. unfortunately, one of the reasons for the extortionate price rises in our country is the greedy opportunists. >> while erdogan phrase -- infle

is at its highest level in 10 years. prices rose 2.8% in november, affecting prices across the board and in particular some culinary staples of the festive end of your season. >> foie gras, oysters, and

scallops this year are coming with a higher price tag as the food industry grapples with shortages, supply chain disruptions, and increasing energy costs. oysters will be smaller and more expensive than usual after months of that weather affecting farming. >> [speaking foreign language] >> for shellfish, there's the added problem of brexit. fewer scallops have been caught in the run up to christmas, and as france and the united kingdom's route -- row over fishing rights continues. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the price of foie gras has gone up to over 40 euros a kilo amid a rise in prices and an outbreak of heard flu -- bird

flu earlier this year. will the prices be reflected on the plate? this owner is already weighing his options. >> [speaking foreign language] >> supplies and restaurant owners are hoping a rise in prices will not dent people's desire to treat themselves this season. >> we talk a lot about the way inflation is rising constantly. we've been talking about these figures for months, really. this is another concrete example to how it impacts people at home, how it impacts families. this christmas parade could have a real impact. mark: it is amazing. i saw something on the french news earlier about foie gras, which, like it or loathe it, it is an integral part of french christmas, and last christmas, i think it was 40 euros a kilo,

and this year it has gone up by 10 euros, and that is indicative of how prices have increased, isn't it? >> absolutely. that report all about foie gras and oysters, gifting look serious, but it has affected things like potatoes as well. mark: think you very much indeed. kate moody there with all the business, as ever. -- thank you very much indeed. across the studio, are we truthing or are we faking? we have catalina to sort out the truth from the trash, i believe is the expression. the first story we have is about a young boy in burkina faso. >> the context begins with a 13-year-old boy in brick and a faso who became a national hero.

witnesses say he supported lisha -- he reportedly shot down a military drone with a slingshot. here's a video someone posted of the moment this drone was allegedly shot down by this boy. people called him a national hero. this twitter user even compared him to the country's revolutionary hero as well. it has come out, there are no overfished -- there are no official reports that he shot down the drone. this is a double fakeness type of segment. what happened was that days later, there were posts like this. this user says the drum -- the 13-year-old boy took down the

drone, and he is being honored by the government, but this is a completely different boy. mark: i was going to say. does not look like the kid who was held aloft. >> exactly. the original post was held on the ace book page of the national forest center with the details of the boy. -- the facebook page of the national forest center with the details of the boy. as you well confirmed, both boys don't look anything alike. mark: is there more on that, or are we moving on? >> there's more. mark: oh, please carry on. sorry. >> yesterday, our journalists spoke to the boy's mother. t's take a listen to what she had to say. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> so this is a special case and and a rare crazy moment when we get to see the consequences of this type of misinformation online and we get to see what is behind this post, who was embarrassed at school because his classmates were calling him the sniper, and he had nothing to do with it. mark: great to see you. thanks to kate with business as well. great to see you. more to come live from paris. ♪

12/08/21 12/08/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i will tell you as president by looked at president putin in the eye, things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now. amy: the united states is threatening new sanctions against russia if it invades ukraine. we will look at the virtual summit between biden and putin and why russia fears nato's expansion in eastern europe.