mark: welcome to live from paris world news. i am mark owen. these are the headlines. macron versus le pen. the gap between the two candidates has never been closer, and france is braced for two weeks of intensive campaigning we will follow every step of the way. . jean-luc melenchon told his supporters to not vote le pen, without given his endorsement to macron. could this influence the final result?

all is set to be revealeover the next two weeks. ukraine pro-russian separatists claim to have seized the port area of mariupol. over 10,000 civiliansave been killed there so far. the full death toll could be quite -- twice that number. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. he met omicron faces a second round runoff against his opponent of 2017, marine le pen. the percentage split of the vote over the first round of votes, macron was first with almost 28 $. there was an increase in abstentions from the last presidential elections.

france bracing for an intense two weeks of campaigning before the final second round vote to decide who is the next french president, april 24. emmanuel macron has been on the campaign trail this monday. macron heading straight to the le pen's supporters heartland, visiting locations. accused by his first-round opponents of ignoring the election, macron has been heavily involved with foreign affairs, with the eu, g7, and nato, over the war in ukraine. now his attention turns to domestic matters with little room for error. our correspondent is at macron headquarters. reporter: convincing the french electorate is the aim of emmanuel macron's campaign. a second round that moves like an even closely -- macron has already trips to key areas, but he has his work cut out the it the election is

increasingly looking like it will hinge on disappointed voters. while other defeated candidates have said they will vote for him, third-place candidate jean-luc melenchon has not. with one third of his voters thought to be supporting marine le pen, macron knows all is still to play for. it remains to be seen over the next two weeks whether or not those who voted for other candidates or did not vote at all will be convinced. mark: marine le pen herself was on the campaign trail this monday. she is facing macron in a round two face-off for the second successive election. she resumed campaigning this monday. that is basically north-central france. kind of southeast of paris. reporter: an improvised addition

to marine le pen campaign agenda. after her historic results in the first round of voting yesterday night, marine le pen was supposed to hold meetings in paris with her campaign team to decide what the best strategy would be for the next two weeks before the second round of voting. instead she saw emmanuel macron hit the campaign trail, finally going to the north of france, going to marine le pen's backyard. that is when she decided to call up this farmer who lives on this farm in the region of burgundy southwest of paris to have a visit to talk about his everyday concerns and talk about the rise of food prices that are affecting every french person. purchasing power, an important part of marine le pen's platform. she wants to reduce to 5% to

help working-class families all over the country. she also came here to address emmanuel macron directly. he is hitting the campaign trail really for the first time today but she's been doing it for months, trying to get a view of people's concerns. macron saying he is going to the north of france to visit and see the people who have been ravaged by his economic policy. those were her words this monday on the campaign trail. clearly marine le pen trying her best to not only get the far right vote, but now as well trying to get those far left votes, those people who potentially voted for jean-luc melenchon. mark: as you see we have a reporter following each candidate. we had that necessary balance to make sure reporting is fair and equal in this extremely important time for france. the runoff is of course a rerun of the 2017 election. emmanuel macron and marine le pen have increased their share

of the vote this time. macron's lead over le pen was 1.5% larger than in 2017. the gap tightened last week. don't take anything for granted. peter o'brien would this. peter: industrial france was seen to be draining down the plug hole and whirlpool was a fitting symbol. five years ago a factory belonging to the american appliance maker in the northern city was on the brink of closing down. and it became the arena for a crucial joust between runoff candidates marine le pen and emmanuel macron. >> [speaking french] peter: while macron met with union representatives in town, le pen upstaged him by heading straight to the factory, where she received a warm welcome. >> [speaking french]

peter: not to be outdone, macron headed to the site two hours later and spent the afternoon being put through the ringer by protesters. it was the first major attack and reposte of the 2017 runoff. the second came with the televised debate. this time, le pen fell on her sword. >> [speaking french] peter: le pen has since admitted this debate was a failure and she was too aggressive. it was considered a concise a victory for macron. this time le pen will reportedly suspend public appearances for three days for the debates to prepare for it.

mark: that debate between the two candidates of course is going to be the key issue we will be covering every development up until then and beyond right until the final vote. third-place on sunday, the far left contender finishing third, jean-luc melenchon, getting 21.95% of votes cast. everyone was hanging on his words as he spoke in the wake of the result to see how he would advise his followers to vote. no vote should go to le pen, he said, but he stopped short of saying vote macron. the question now is, will this affect the result of the next round? reporter: the morning after, the night before. in the city where jean-luc melenchon topped the polls, disappointment is palpable. >> i am extremely angry. extremely angry.

we were in a catastrophic situation in this country. certain people did not choose a voice for progress, solidarity. >> i am extremely disappointed. i waited a little bit and had high hopes. i saw the margins were really tight, so i am really disappointed. reporter: in the paris region, melenchon also came out on top. and some voters have left feeling deflated. >> yesterday we thought jean-luc melenchon was going to be the second round, and eventually our new leader. but it is not the case. we will get over it, but it's true, we're a bit lost. reporter: nearly 7000 kilometers away, there was shock when the announce world announced, because melenchon had garnered over half the votes on the island. >> we are not represented in the national results. we don't feel listened to, and it is a real shame. it is a big disappointment for us. reporter: on sunday night in paris, these melenchon voters

took to the streets to voice their opposition of marine le pen. they will be key to who becomes president after the second round of voting. for the moment, many are indecisive. >> i would rather stay under my bed. there is no point. they are both the same. reporter: according to recent polling, melenchon vital votes could still go to either candidate. mark: we will have more on the implications of the election result after the first round and what happens next in the campaigning throughout the program. for now, back to the situation in ukraine. russian separatists say they have taken control of the port area of mariupol. there is no independent verification of the claim. russian troops for over a month have besieged mariupol, the port . thousands of civilians are belied to have died there since the start of russia's military operation in ukraine. monday, a separatist leader told

journalists the remaining ukrainian forces in mariupol were concentrated inside the city's giant steel and heavy machinery plants. the situation inside mariupol is something people can only guess at, and most people are guessing it is a very bleak and horrible situation. we sh -- professor at the paris school of international affairs joins us. our foreign editor says there is still resistance in mariupol. russian separatists claim to have taken control. how concerned are you about the situation there right now? michel: im very concerned in the sense it looks like it is the end game now. it will be up soon. the regiment which i believe has been theore of the defense of mariupol on the ukrainian side, apparently, they are going to surrender, or will soon be

surrendering or be overrun. and there, we will know if the russian army has a sense of hon or. the geneva conventions are very clear. an enemy combatant, which is the case of this regiment, which is a regular component of the ukrainian army, a regular force that surrenders is entitled to protection. protection by its victor. so, given the propaganda being about the regiment being neo-nazis and so on, i can understand that the soldiers of the regiment are pretty concerned about surrendering. especially after messing up the lives of the russians for more than a month. so we will know once they have surrendered if the russian army has a clue about the geneva

conventions, which they signed to, by the way, which russia signed to. and beyond that, if they have a sense of military honor in showing respect to the vanquished. mark: indeed, professor. the situation one might say is the russians have already shown that there is a lack in that department. we just book about president zelenskyy warning people in the areas that might be next to be hit, we're talking further north now, those kind of areas, to basically evacuate or risk being killed. michel: yeah. also mariul shows something else. it is not over, by the way. but it's taken one month for the russians to clear mariupol, which shows that they are not ready to assault the defendant position. that is the true offensive value

of the russian army. it can bombard at will, but when it comes to the assault, then you don't see anymore of the elite troops. these guys are not ready to mount a determined assault. mark: when you see, just moving onto a different angle if you don't mind, when you see the likes of boris johnson turning up in kyiv, and austria's chancellor heading to moscow, what do you think this is achieving apart from giving somebody a photo opportunity? michel: you are taking me out of my comfort zone. i comment on military business, not on politicians. of other nations, by the way. mark: let's get back to the military things, which is something we can value your assessment of. we saw the railway station being hit there, it's expected that area will be bombarded.

zelenskyy telling people to pull out. does ukraine have enough to stop a russian onslaught if russia's army is backed and basically boosted by more troops being brought in? michel: i think that assessment depends on who has the mt ammunition. and there, i don't know. and i don't know who knows, by the way. ultimately it will b decided by who can still fire when the other one cannot. and the russians have expended a lot. now, another point is the russian force is a spent force. after its first month of exertions, now they have been reconstituted to a certain degree. this is the last spasm. the reinforcements that they are getting are not high-quality troops. they are backfill, in essence. so i have a suspicion that apart from the ammunition story, the

reality is that this russian army does not maneuver and is not good at assaulting re-mariupol. now, what prospect do they have of actually evicting the ukrainians from their positions if they are unable or unwilling to launch an assault? i doubt the russian army of today has the offensive capabilities to take out the ukrainians. assuming the ukrainians still have ammunition, which is another story. mark: indeed. michel yakovleff, professor at the paris school of international affairs, thank you for giving us your assessment of the situation. i apologize for the question taking you off topic, but you are right to come back to what you are speak about. i appreciate what you say, and you are right to come back to what you can best give us the analysis about, and we appreciate that. thank you very much for joining us. michel: bye-bye.

mark: let's turn to business. brian quinn is with us. we have been unpacking the first round of the presidential election. one huge factor has been inflation and the rising cost of living. brian: prices rising at the fastest levels in decades here in france. no exception to that. inflation in france hit 5.1% last month. it is the highest national level since 1997. energy prices are up nearly 30% with food also getting more and more expensive. some 57% of french voters as a purchasing power is their top concern in the election ahead of health, security, or even employment. reporter: at this bakery, the baguettes are ready at 5:00 a.m., but the price of flour has gone up by 14%.

while the cost of fuel has riven -- reason for deliveries. -- has risen for deliveries. >> [speaking french] reporter: paying more for everyday staples like a baguette is a big concern for french voters, as rising inflation cuts into their spending. purchasing power has become a key issue of this election. marine le pen has focused her campaign on cost-of-living worries, promising more tax cuts and social spendinto improve the situation. including reducing bat on fuel to 5.5%. >> if emmanuel macron had osted the economy, excuse me, but we would not be talking about purchasing power. reporter: while emmanuel macron has been highlighting the government's actions to

counteract rising costs. >> the government has been working for months to deal with the rise in the cost of living. we have spent the equivalent of 20 billion euros a year to protect households against increases in electricity and gas prices. reporter: facing a very tight race, both candidates now have just two weeks to convince voters that their platforms will deliver the needed boost in purchasing power. bryan: turning to the markets, wall street lost ground monday as rising interest rates on u.s. treasury bonds. all eyes on new u.s. inflation data this week for possible new lending rate hikes. the tech heavy nasdaq dropping over 2%. s&p 500 off by around 1.7%. crude oil futures dropping sharply monday as coronavirus lockdowns in china leave predictions of cooling demand. brent crude below the $100 per barrel mark with both brent and uti down around 3.5%.

european stocks mostly treated -- mostly retreated amid fears of tightening monetary policy. though staying positive as investors taking comfort in emmanuel macron's better-than-expected. marine le pen no longer calls for leaving the euro currency, but analysts say her nationalist, protectionist agenda is still a worry to international investors. take a listen. >> macron gave back trust among foreign investors with a fiscal policy of stability, and by giving certain guarantees with the research tax credit so businesses can create centers in france and take -- favorable tax conditions. we felt its effect. france was a destination. that's one of the aspects marine le pen's election would not be able to extend. it is quite the opposite. bryan: finally for business,

could the global economic recovery be yet another casualty of the war in ukraine? setting aside for a moment the monumental human cost, ukraine's economy is already projected to shrink by some 45% this year due to the russian invasion. the wto now says that the war could cut global growth in half. last october the wto predicted 4.7% growth. that projection has now been cut to between 2.4% and 3%. africa and the middle east, due to take the brunt of the economic broil, as they are the main recipients of ukrainian and russian exports, particularly cereal grains. the wto though says the longer-term risk is the warrior leads to a distant -- the war leads to a disintegration of the

global economy into separate blocks, as geopolitical interests spark a decoupling of international supply chains. all that, without even mentioning the hit to russia's economy from sanctions. some projections between 8% to 18% recession this year alone. mark: just a phenomenal knock on effect. i think few people envisaged the effect you find in places such as africa where as soon as it began, people i knew in africa way down south were talking about prices rising, even at the beginning of march because of what was happening in ukraine. the whole knock on effect underlies the people of what is going on. bryan: no winners. mark: pleasure to see you, sir. bryan quinn with all the business. time for us to take a little focus. six months on from this shocking report on child sex abuse within

the catholic church in france. what a fracas that scandal had on those who were thinking of becoming a catholic priest. that is the question. our report features a group of trainees. reporter: at this seminary in north-central france, 42 students are preparing for priesthood, at a time when the church is marred by a pedophilia scandal. among them is this 26-year-old. he is starting his second year here. >> [speaking french] reporter: after initially studying landscape gardening, he decided on a different path, one that led him to an institution in crisis. last october, a report into sex crimes in the catholic church sent shockwaves across france. the three year investigation was unprecedented in its scope and detailed the abuse of an estimated 330,000 minors by

french priests and other church officials over the past seven decades, crimes that were systematically denied and covered up. in january, 20 million euros had been elected in financial compensation. since, more than 500 victims have contacted the authority in charge of responding to recognition and reparation requests. >> last year, someone who is the victim of sexual abuse from a priest as a child came to meet us. when these stories come out we talk about them among the seminarians. it is good to get it out in the open so that everyone feels affected by it. so that we stop and think about how this terrible thing happened, what went wrong, and what we can do to stop it. reporter: before being ordained as priests, seminaries spent seven years here with superiors who look after their pastoral care. >> if we see someone who is

normally lively suddenly goes quiet, that sets off alarm bells for us. reporter: he does not bury his head in the sand. admits it is a strange time to train to be a priest. >> almost all of them when they announced they were entering the seminary were asked, oh, are you a pedophile? there is this sad association now. we forget that 97% are not aggressors, so it is our job to give a voice to this 97%. reporter: the answer, according to him. is prevention. so every week, a therapist meets with the future priest. this session they tell him how they have been coping with anger and projection in these trying times. >>ometimes it c be hard to bear emotionally. we have all experienced it this year. people rejecting us, telling us, i am not talking to you, i'm an atheist, the church is not for

me. or sometimes more violent reactions. >> the topics are, for example, better understanding oneself, reflecting on your past end up bringing, and how they shape we work today. we also talk about ideals, feelings, and our relationship with our body. reporter: becoming a priest means opting out of a normal life. to pursue his training, he left his native country, where his family still lives. >> [speaking french] reporter: before entering the seminary, he was in a relationship. >> i had to give up on the plans i had to start a family. at first i was torn, but gradually in taking this path, i have felt the seminary calling to me to leave my life differently. it was a choice i made. i have given up on quite a lot of other things, but i do not regret it. reporter: the seminary's goal

ois to train stable, modern priests. they offer courses like management, which are also offered to secular people. today the instructor is giving him a practical exercise that it. he's tasked with ending the trial period of one of his parish employees. >> [speaking french] reporter: adapting to the realities of a job often is not easy. >> priests do not work in isolation, all alone. they mix with the whole community, with secular people too, all sorts of different people, all different cultures and histories, just like in real life. reporter: the number of people

becoming priests continues to decline in france. not everyone at the seminary will go all the way. on average, half of the trainees will complete their seven years of study and be ordained. mark: our special focus feature there. looking at the plight of men seeking to become catholic priests here in france. this of course, in the wake of the shocking report on child sex abuse within the catholic church here in france. so, that's our focus. stay with us here, live from paris. ♪

>> france 24. your economy, explained.

04/11/22 04/11/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the resolution about of no-confince against mr. imran khan has been passed by majority of the total membership of the national assembly. amy: pakistan's prime minister imran khan is ousted, losing a no-confidence vote. he calls hisemoval a form of