♪ >> france reports its highest ever recorded total of daily new covid cases as it repairs for subdued new year's celebrations. south africa lifts several coronavirus restrictions after announcing it has passed its peak of omicron infections. france and germany call for a more sovereign europe as the french get ready to take over the presidency of the european

council. and countries around the world bring in the new year -- ring in the new year. how omicron has affected celebrations. julia: you're watching france 24. i am julia kim. good to have you with us. france has reported 232,200 new covid-19 cases this friday, the highest-ever accorded total. it is the third a in a row daily new infections surpassed 200,000, making france a coronavirus epicenter. the wave, driven by the omicron variant, sweeping across europe. in his new year's eve address, french president emmanuel macron said the weeks to come would be difficult. he said he believed a way out of the pandemic was possible as early as 2022, providing everyone gets vaccinated. >> vaccination is our strongest

asset. it cuts infection rates, it means you are 10 times less likely to suffer from acute forms of the virus. that is why i ask again, the 5 million people who are not vaccinated, to take a simple step for your compatriots, for your country. be a responsible citizen for your own benefits and others. our civil duties come before our rights. julia: rance is preparing for subdued new year's celebrations with many fireworks events canceled and people being told to mask up. france 24's international affairs editor talked us through newco restrictions in france. reporter -- talked us through new covid restrictions in france. reporter: tremendous changes on new year's eve. a traditional fireworks display has been canceled. that wasn't a big surprise. discos were supposed to be

closed, so we knew more or less what the restrictions were going to be. the changes really come on january 3. that is when there will be no more drinking and standing up in bars and cafes. people have to be seated. that has proved controversial with bar and cafe owners. and also, a new restriction on long-distance trains in france -- no eating and drinking during the journey. that has led to a backlash on social media from users, so that is when things become more visible in terms of changes in people's everyday lives, on january 3. as for tonight, there was an interesting poll, a harris poll, in which 63% of the respondents said they were not owing to do any festivities anyway tonight,

that was regardless of what the government was going to impose. they just decided that because of this very high number of infections every day, these record numbers of macron -- of omicron infections, a lot of people decided they would have a quiet evening, perhaps with their partner or one or two loved ones, but much scaled-back. that was a kind of voluntary scaling back a lot of people decided to do anyway. julia: in south africa, the government lifting a midnight covid curfew the day after it announced its wave of omicron infections peaked. curfew rules have been in place for the past two years, as we have in this report. catherine: new data shows coronavirus infections dropped nearly 30% last week compared to the week before comeau while

hospital admissions declined in eight of nine provinces. in mid december with omicron surgeon, the country reached 26,000 daily cases. >> according to experts, omicron has reached a peak. having reached a peak with clinical manifestations tha have not caused alarm in the hospital situation, based on experts, the conditions do allow that we lift the curfew. catherine: the announcement comes just in time for new year's eve with officials removing a midnight curfew and again aowing alcohol sales after 11:00 p.m. even though a marginal increase in deaths was recorded during the omicron spike, a mask mandate remains in place for public spaces. gatherings are limited to 1000 people indoors, and 2000 people

outdoors. omicron was first identified in south africa and botswana in late november and is now present in more than 100 countries. julia: israel has become one of the first countries to administer a fourth covid vaccine dose to people with weakened immunity. this comes as the country recorded over 4000 new coronavirus cases, a high not seen since september. we have this report. reporter: these israelis have one thing in common, all have undergone heart transplants at some point. as a vulnerable group, they are getting vaccinated for a fourth time to protect against covid-19 at this hospital outside tel aviv. >> this population is at very high risk of complications from this virus. we know the viruses that transmit in the heart, they are not going to be ok.

we are going forward, we have a very good results of the safety of the vaccine and efficacy of the vaccine. reporter: clinical tests were completed a week ago and health-care care workers at this very hospital first receive therefore dose -- first to receive their fourth dose. >> we have advanced in years, and this is one of them. reporter: people living in retirement homes and those in geriatric care are also eligible for the fourth dose, which will soon be offered to over 60s and all health care workers. israel has been hit hard by omicron. as in other countries, the strain does not seem to have prompted a significant rising hospital admissions. claire: julia: -- julia: the world began ushering in 2022 this friday after another to mulch it was pandemic

year, but there was alimmer of hope for better times. russia, one of the latest countries to welcome the new year, you can see there fireworks going off above moscow -- you can see they are, fireworks going off above moscow the -- you can see there, fireworks going off above moscow. in dubai, and in sydney, australia, six tons of technical fireworks lighting up the opera house and sydney harbour. in taiwan, grounds gathered at the foot of the taipei 101 skyscraper, and celebrations also taking place in thailand, as you can see there. let's cross live to turkey now, which said goodbye to 2021 in the past few minutes. france 24 is in swan park,

central ankara. jasper, in spite of covid, how is the new year being celebrated? jasper: it has been well celebrated despite covid. the park behind me is called swan park, and it is on the southern side of the city. and it was packed minutes ago. and we heard a count down in turkish and then we heard firecrackers -- a countdown in turkish and then we heard firecrackers and confetti being shot in the air, and a lot of public drinking and cheering. i am afraid to say, a lot of the people were not masked. however, turkey is doing relatively well in comparison to europe on the covid front. in france, you are on more than 200,000 new infections a day. in turkey, we are on 40,000 new

infections a day. in france, you have 180 daily deaths. in turkey, we have 140 daily deaths. and these turkish figures are more impressive because turkey has a substantially bigger population than france. the turkish population is 83 million, whereas france is about 67 million. now, the major reason for the difference in these figures is that omicron hasn't hit turkey for force yet. on december 21, the health minister said omicron was responsible for 10% of new infections. today, however, he warned that the omicron responsibility's share of new infections is rising, so we must watch out. and he said people must take

precautions. end tonight -- and tonight, the police have closed down the center of ingres -- ankara, which is about two kilometers over there. another factor the government has reason to be proud of is that 83% of adults in turkey have had two jabs, they are fully vaccinated. end 18 million people -- and 18 million people have had the booster. julia: find you, it doesn't seem to be a reasonably festive atmosphere, although low-key. what do turkish people want from 2022? >> hello?

julia: jasper seems to be having technical issues, we will get back to him later on in the program. the first day of 2022 will see france taking over the six-month presidency of the european council. germany says it supports president macron's vision for a more sovereign europe. france's priorities for its european council president include a block-wide minimum wage, more regulation of digital giants and a carbon border tax. we spoke to france 24's correspondent in brussels earlier. par: the incoming president testa set out an agenda, a number of goals which have been summarized in the slogan that the ench government and emmanuelacron have put forward. the sovereignty part among the

striking prioritiesrance is putting on the table for this rotating, six-month presiden cy of the council of the european union. in terms of sovereignty, some goals are going to be easier to achieve than others. let's take, for example, the strategic compass, orientations for the next move for europe on geopolitical issues, defense and the like. this has already been put forward by the german presidency two years ago and has been worked on by joseph barrell, high representative for the european union. so it is going to take a swift implementation to have this adopted at the beginning of the presidency. you can take the same for granted as regards the reform of space. some issues are going to be

harder, i.e. the reform of rules of europe. and a number of priorities had to have been worked on, and there are about 150 working groups. and each of those french ministers and the french government are going to have quite a lot of work to get things started if they want their priorities to move forward. julia: a bit of sad news, american actress and comedienne betty white has passed away at the age of 99. white was a television icon, a career that spanned over seven decades, winning fans across generations. the five-time emmy award winner was best known for her roles in "the mary tyler moore show" and "golden girls," and offscreen was a tireless advocate for animal welfare. she died 18 days shy of her 100th birthday. that is it for this edition. more news coming up here and france 24. stay with us.

♪ >> thanks for joining us. we are starting with the fashion world. the designer celebrated for addressing madonna in a conical bra, popularizing skirts for striped t-shirt into a wardrobey classic. john paul is about to turn 70,

with a film on the influence of his work. we went to meet him. ♪ >> [speaking french] >> welcome. >> hello. >> i believe you saw a film and television when you were around 12 years old, the film that inspired your career choice. what fascinated you? >> i saw it by accident one afternoon. it is a black-and-white film from the 1940's. i was instantly captivated because it tells a story that engaged me, a love story. and at the same time, it takes place in the world of fashion.

it showed you the character of victoria and i said to myself, that is the job that i want. >> [speaking french] ♪ >> how did cinema influence your definition of femininity and masculinity? >> they are both channels through which social trends past and ultimately our projections of what is happening in the real world and in society. this exhibition shows the evolution of women who have become more powerful, stronger and stronger. on the other hand, men have become objects themselves, it started with marlon brando, and you have the free woman, who is about feeling free, wearing a

gingham wedding dress. >> we learn in the exhibition that your cult piece, the sailor's top, was inspired by a film in 1982. >> it was inspired by that, but also by the fact that back then, i used to go to flea markets to get my close, often sailor t-shirts. they were cheap, cute and had a bold design. i saw the film and it coincided with the sultry image of sexuality, so i thought dressing women in the style of a sailor presented a paradox. the idea was to create corset dresses inspired by my grandmother's corsets. they were almost fetishist dresses. it was the total oosite and they wereicked up by women for that reason. but at the end of the day, it was a garment to object if i

women. >> you designed a lot of costumes for film. cinema has summoned you many times, whether it is the city of lost children, the fifth element, the bruce willis costume from that film is in the collection. >> and the cook, the thief, the wife and his lover with helen mirren. >> were these pieces only worn in the films? where were they capped when not in the exhibition -- capped -- kept when not in the exhibition? >> the costume from bruce willis is the only one i have left. i don't have the chris tucker one left. myla's character was originally going to be played by julia roberts. reporter: is making film costumes another job or a natural extension of your

creative work? >> it is an extension, but different because it is not my story. by that, i mean, when i create a collection, i am telling my own story, my desires and the choices i make. and there are things i don't want to include in the end. on the other hand, the film as a director's story told in their own way, and i adapt to that in what i make for them. reporter: that seems to correspond to your mantra that there is not just one kind of beauty, but many times. you lead the way with queer body types. have you pushed boundaries? for instance, on gay marriage and freedom to express themselves with their bodies? >> aolutel but i help simply by using my abilities. my work, my collections, they were honest. they weren't propaganda.

things developed naturally and corresponded with what i saw as evolution and what i thought was good. reporter: the last-ever fashion show was in 2020, a celebration of your 50-your career. but it wasn't a sad occasion, there were 200 models there. was it like a film of you professional life? >> maybe like a spectacle of my professional life. there were film elements in it, because i was influenced by films, including the ones that you saw in exhibition that affected me in my chihood. these were films that influenced fashion like bonnie and clyde, the seven samurai, the good come the bad and the ugly. they made a mark on me so yes, similar is everywhere, and in my fashion, to -- sinemet -- cinema

is everywhere, and in my fashion, too. >> is it the representation of a strong [indiscernible] ? >> it wasn't to object if i women. it was a breastplate, protection. it was meant to be provocative or a woman to wear it, too. reporter: will there be a film about jean paul gaultier one day? >> i don't know, but i won't be making it. making a film involve technical work, budgeting, etc. it would be too much responsibility for me. i ink not. ♪ >> jean paul gaultier and cinema fans have a host of exhibitions to choose from in paris at the revamped fashion museum. two of them are on offer. we have this report.

♪ reporter: in the heart of paris, a temple for fashion worshipers. a bellowing gown from the 1730's sits in perfect harmony with modern-day construction from a japanese brand. a year after its grand reopening, they are rummaging through the dressing-up box to stitch together the history of a museum. >> we wanted to take visitors on a historical journey showing the evolution of fashion over time. we also want to show how it reflected the history of the place. reporter: created in 1920 thanks to an artist's donation of a vast collection of costumes, the paris gallery anchored itself as the leading fashion museum. >> we have some masterpieces,

such as the wardrobe of a countess. we have recent donations from 2019, 2020, as well as pieces that have never been shown to the public. reporter: showcasing the museum's rich history coincides with an important birthday in the fashion calendar -- vogue paris turns 100. to celebrate, the galleria is offering a rare peek into the archives of the french fashion magazine, from a party dress to early kate moss, just some treats from the vault. vogue paris is the only magazine to feature a capital city in the title. >> when vogue france was launched in 1920, it was a member image of vogue america. but very quickly affirmed the specificity of french vogue to show its autonomy. paris is at the heart, it is

also about parisian culture and lifestyle. reporter: over 1000 vogue covers grace the walls of the gallery. the evolution of covers from illustrations to photography demonstrates the continuous strive for reinvention. >> vogue is producing more digital content for social media, for website and fashion films. so the first cover from 1920, a watercolor, and finishing with a film, it showcases this evolution. reporter: fashion reflecting the zeitgeist. this is at the heart of vogue paris and the gallery's manifesto. >> a perfect example would be war accessories such as a turbine made out of twine, esme

drills that reflect a strong sense of patriotism during the wartime era, so through what can often be considered as frivolous, we can tie it to many things about society. reporter: a pilgrimage to the gallery is an antidote for fashionistas waiting for the next season of catwalk collections. >> before we go, designer yves saint laurent was deemed by many to be the last great 20th-century designer and the founder of modern fashions for women. these notes are connections to the cities of paris and mayor cash, now, new collection highlights his special bond with french city of lyon. we will leave you with that. and remember, we have a website and are on facebook and instagram. or coming up on france 24.

-- more coming up on france 24. ♪

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