>> welcome back to life in paris. these are headlines. nato leaders gather in madrid for a summit aimed at discussing russian aggression. turkey said it is no longer going to stand in the way of finland and sweden joining the alliance. ghislaine maxwell is sentenced to 20 years in prison for recruiting and grooming teenage girls, who were then abused by the late financier, jeffrey epstein. and a horrific human tragedy, the bodies of 50 migrants found in a lorry, small gold in

extreme heat across the border into the u.s. ♪ >> welcome back. we begin in madrid where the leaders of the 30 nato member states have gathered for a summit supporting ukraine on top of the agenda. jens stoltenberg said the summit what's at the cores of the alliance for the coming years. he added russia's invasion of ukraine had triggered a fundamental shift in nato's approach to defense. stoltenberg also said the member states will have to boost their military spending and what he called an increasingly unstable world. the u.s. president joe biden said the alliance is more united than ever and more galvanized,

as well. here's a clip of what he said. >> mr. president, you are hosting a truly historic summit in a key moment in our alliance where russia's unprovoked invasion of ukraine has shattered peace in europe and shattered every norm since world war ii that's been in place. and i want to thank you personally, you, for your leadership. the transatlantic community has been and will continue to be the greatest strength and our response to russia -- in our response to russia, transatlantic security. >> the consequence of the russian invasion was to prompt sweden and finland to abandon their long-held not alliance status and apply for nato membership. they then faced opposition from turkey to their bid, but this evening it's been announced the country has agreed to lift the opposition, following lengthy talks on the sidelines of the nato summit in madrid.

talks between the leaders, during which stoltenberg was also present. the turkish president said "they got what they wanted from sweden and finland in the talks." let's listen to what jens stoltenberg had to say about this development. >> we now have an agreement that paves the way for finland and sweden to join nato. turkey, finland, and sweden have signed a memorandum including arms exports and the fight against terrorism. >> the g7 summit in germany has now wrapped up. the french president vowed the seven leading industrialized democracies would support

ukraine and maintain sanctions against russia "as long as it's necessary." with plans to impose severe economic costs on russia. the german chancellor once again highlighted the need for a marshall plan to support ukraine, along the lines of the u.s. plan that helped revive your -- revive european economies after the second world war. yesterday's russian missile strike on a shopping mall in the ukrainian city is now known to have killed least 18 people. the authorities in the area say 36 people are unaccounted for. there are fears the death toll could rise further still. russia denies it hit that shopping mall. it says instead that it struck a weapons depot. here's more. reporter: a rescue effort that went on throughout the night. teams worked tirelessly in an attempt to find survivors

trapped inside the shopping center, targeted by russian shelling. for those who survived the attack, it was a harrowing ordeal. >> i flew headfirst and splinters hit my body. the whole place was collapsing. then i landed on the floor and i don't know if i was conscious or unconsciou i didn't understand anything. i open my eyes and i saw a b pie of rubble was on top of me. i started to scream "help me!" water was coming from somewhere. the water woke me up. reporter: according to the ukrainian army, the building was struck by missiles that came from russia, nearly 400 km away. scene from above. this is all that now remains of the shopping center. russia has been accused of deliberately targeting civilians. >> today's russian strycova trade center is one of the most

horrendous acts in the history of europe. an ordinary trade center, women and children on site. ordinary civilians. reporter: according to zelenskyy, more than 1000 people were inside the center at the time of the strike. an emergency meeting of the e.n. security council -- the un security council will take place. >> 50 people are known to have lost their lives while being smuggled into the u.s. mexicans, guatemalans, and hondurans among the casualties. the mayor called this a horrific human tragedy. let's take a closer look. reporter: one of the most deadly recent incidents of people border.ng along the u.s.-mexico moay in the remote outskirts of the city of s antonio, discovered.actor-trailer was

inside, a group of migrants, most of them dead. an incident that's been described by the mayor of san antonio as horrific. >> it is tragic. that we know of, there are 46 individuals who are no longer with us. who had families, who were likely trying to find a better life. but this is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy. reporter: those who were taken to hospital were sent to being -- said to be in stable condition but suffering from the extreme texas heat. temperatures on monday in san antonio were as high as 39 degrees celsius. >> the patients that we saw were hot to the touch. they were suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion. no signs of water in the vehicle. it was not refrigerated. the tractor-trailer. but there was no visible working

a/c unit on the rig. reporter: there have so far been no confirmation on the nationality of the migrants. a federal investigation is underway. with three suspects in custody. >> france's most fragmented parliament and decades has had a meeting for the first time since elections earlier on this month, which left president macron 37 seats short of a majority. but according to reports, the president's party is edging closer to building a majority after reaching out to individual moderates on both the left and the right. the first days of the new national assembly are taken up with the election of a speaker and other senior committee chiefs. it's been announced the pro-macro candidate has this evening been elected as the first woman ever to claim the speaker's chair in the french national assembly. that means justin to us -- just in to us. this bulletin will be re-aired

throughout the course of this evening due to strike action being taken by employees of the french public broadcasting services. concerns of possible plans to abolish the licensee, which is feared could threaten the financing on the independence of public broadcasting. i am joined by our business editor, kate moody. welcome. what is the strike? >> this plan to strike the annual licensing fee paid by french households. it was one of the emmanuel macron's campaign pledges. other candidates had vowed to do the same. it was one of the measures to help cushion the spiraling cost of living. it is set for a parliamentary vote july 6. the tax in question is a 138-year-old per year tax charge to all households that have a television. networks around $.38 per day. it does represent over 3 billion euros in funding for channels. including france 24 and our parent company.

as well as many of our colleagues. unions leading the strikes say that is key financing will threaten the very existing of public broadcasting opening the industry to more political pressure. and less transparency. the petition calling for the government to rethink that funding says in order to guarantee broadcasters independence, the budgets cannot be subject to the vagaries of an annual boat. it needs financing to dedicate financial and political independence both in terms of news reporting on cultural diversity. this is a fight playing out elsewhere as well. in the u.k., boris johnson wants to scrap the licensing fee for the bbc and 27 member states still impose media fees in the eu, including germany, italy, and portugal. >> there's a broader plan for sort of an overhaul of the french broadcasting sector. >> yes, it's not just about the licensing fee, there is more at stake here.

six major groups of public broadcasters, summer 24 hour news like france 24 and rfi, also arte, and the ina, with official archives. for years politicians have said they want to merge some of those groups. basically to cut costs. the latest proposal would group france 24's parent company with two major tv and radio groups, along with the national broadcasting archiver. all in the hopes of making one big public company called france media. a report circulating in the french senate suggested that is very much under consideration, as is the creation of an independent commission that would review budgeting issues. the concern is scrapping the licensing fees could be a step towards this kind of consolidation and budget-cutting in public broadcasting. keep in mind there are also private media outlets in france, on the tv side, bfm, seniors,

they are sometimes accused of being more biased and less transparent. as is the case in other countries as well. these criticisms were repeated by the union's leading cities strikes. saying editorial independence and quality content are really at stake here. >> thank you very much for that. kate moody, business editor. the british socialite, healing maxwell, has been sentenced today to 20 years in prison by a court in new york for her role in recruiting and grooming teenage girls who were then abused by her then boyfriend, delete financier jeffrey epstein. in december, the 60-year-old was convicted of five charges. while speaking today she said meeting epstein had been her greatest regret. here's a look back now at maxwell's downfall. reporter: it is a fall from grace for the british socialite. in december of last year,

she was convicted on five of six counts, the most serious being sex trafficking minors. >> a unanimous jury has found ghislaine maxwell guilty of one of the worst crimes imaginable. facilitating and participating in the sexual abuse of children. crimes that she committed with her longtime partner and co-conspirator, jeffrey epstein. reporter: -- >> the road to justice has been far too long. but today justice has been done. reporter: prosecutors described maxwell's conduct as a shockingly predatory. she was the key to his scheme to entice young girls, they say, many of the women who accuse the financier of abuse said she had served as a go-between -- grooming them for abuse. for these women, her trial was a chance for closure, after epstein killed himself while awaiting trial. maxwell, now age 60, denies

abusing anyone, and says she's being scapegoated for his crimes. >> lastly some news that came to us earlier on today from germany -- where it was announced a 101-year-old man was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the deaths of more than 3500 people at a concentration camp during the second world war. the man denied working as an ss guard at that nazi camp. he also pleaded not guilty throughout the trial. the trial began in october of 2021. he denied any knowledge of the crimes committed. including forced labor, murder, and medical experiments that took place at the camp. remember,, you can keep up-to-date with all the news on our website, france24.com, you will find all the news in english, french, arabic,

including all the news from the general assembly where we now have a new speaker, it is a woman. for the first. . time look forward to seeing you very shortly on france 24. stay tuned. ♪ >> france is famous for its beautiful sites and delicious food. but it is also infamous for its aggressive drivers. >> the french admit it can be a little bit wild on the roads, especially here in paris. >> speeding, road rage, drivers will tailgate you, insult you, give you the finger. it can be terrifying. >> and some of the road rules are downright confusing. and getting your license as an obstacle course. >> you can imagine how many people fail because of the right-of-way to the right. exactly. >> we are going to buckle up and merge into french driving. >> french connections,on france

24 , and france 24 dot com. ♪ >> it is one of the simplest and commonest items of clothing to be found. the high visibility jacket, the yellow vest. to have in your car when you break down or have an accident. then it became a symbol of defiance against the authority and president emmanuel macron. it was in 2010 that the yellowjacket movement was born. initial anger on social media, spreading to actual demonstrations on the streets on a variety of issues -- the price of fuel, tax hikes on fuel, and the apparent disconnect between workers in rural areas and those in power in central government. those involved, difficult to

quantify. those on the far right and the far left, the movement not even associated to any political party or supported directly by any trade union movement. yet still they grew, thousands, taking to the streets across the country with irregular -- with a regular slogan, "macron, quit." >> we are going to fire the government, we are tired of them spending everything with our money. >> we just cannot live anymore. i am outraged. >> the majority of the french population does not live well at all. there are 9 million poor. that is a huge number. >> despite concessions, the fuel tax increases canceled on december, the movements evolved, fighting even targeting luxury shops. the police responded with tougher tactics. a few protesters were even killed. others lost eyes and hands.

the movement even spread to many other countries. this demonstration brought e biggest of 10,000 people. it came to an end as a mass weekly event only with the coronavirus lockdown here in march of 2020. will a new macron government amid food and fuel increases lead to a resurgence? we revisit the yellowjacket movement for france 24. reporter: the roundabout in northwest france almost four years after the yellow vest movement, if you are still occupying it. this is where an unemployed worker committed himself to the cause. >> we all have the yellow vest movement in our hearts. >> we all have it in our hearts. it is true.

it is something striking. reporter: in any case, the movement will go down in history. >> we first went out because of the price of diesel. that is at will people up. -- woke people up. then, there were other demands. tax justice, social justice, the cost of living in general. our demands are always the same. where we have succeeded us to have made people really aware of them. reporter the movement has brought together people from across the political spectrum. this has caused i'm going debate within. -- fierce ongoing debate within. >> i am against macron. and that is that. >> it is over five years now. >> even if we hadn't voted lucas we would'veotten him anyway. >> what comes today is that we stay united. >> there are people who come to

the roundabout just to talk. because they are all alone at home. they think they cannot get by. and here we are managing to share a lot, helping each other. even if there arpeople who do not have money. reporter: his next project is to create a large shed garden. >> we will share all the vegetables between everyone, even those who cannot help much. but the yellow vests are quite like a family. reporter: the movement has never had a hierarchy, but some members are sometimes designated as spokespeople, like priscilla. she was at the time head of a small cosmetics company. after launching a petition against the carbon tax, she was present at the first official protest on the 17th of november, 2018. >> the first day is one that

marked me the most, because at the beginning we were supported by policeman. we talked with policemen who claimed to be supporters under theirniforms. i was not an activist at all. not even part of an associative movent or oanization. i learned a lot about people's anger in general. >> come on, folks, let's get back to thinking about ethics and politics. reporter: she is now continuing her learning at the academy of future leaders. a program created by a association representatives to train civil society figures and politics. her goal is to officially run for office. >> our first major line of thought aims to put this concept into play, politics, governance, and management, you already know that today politics is increasingly simulated with management.

-- assimilated with management. >> at the start of the movement, many people were really against going into politics. at the beginning it was nyet, we don't trust him, we will get there without them. many people don't trust the institutions or the system. there were protests from one week to the next. we were exhausted by the lack of political response. then opinions began to change. especially during the health crisis. we saw people standing as yellow vests and the elections presenting themselves, even associating themselves with political parties. we thought something had evolved intellectually on the subject. if not everyone agrees. the trend is being reversed. because we do no -- because we could not do it otherwise. reporter: here at the ministry of ecological transition on the 27th of november, a delegation even met with ministers. despite the steps, violent

scenes have multiplied through friends. -- through france. >> when i got to paris, it was like a war zone. excuse the expression. it was the first time i had seen scenes like that. reporter: surprise quickly gave way to action. he was among a group who shows -- to react with violence -- chose to react with violence. he was sentenced to three months in prison, lost his civil rights for five years and was bound from leaving the company. >> i think there are many, and there will be more of those who express themselves through violence. without violence, we will never be listened to. when it comes, will hear about it. as soon as things get broken, that is unfortunately when we start hearing about it.

reporter: when he was released from prison, he was for to come to paris and demonstrate. he defied the ban. he was posted on photos and videos and a few days later he was rearrested at his home. >> i found myself in front of 30 police officers, dressed as soldiers. helmets, shields, assault rifles. yes, real assault rifles. they came into the house and threw me to the ground. it was crazy. then i was in prison, and not just any prison. it was a disciplinary ward, but for lesser offenses than the first time because i was not cused of violence. it was really just a demoralizing -- it was really just to demoralize me and degrade me. i felt like a jihadist.

being punished for social radicalization today. reporter: around 12,000 people were arrested the first year of the movement. 400 of them received prison sentences. are there with theiflesh. -- others paid with their flesh. >> i am at the police prefecture. that's where the police took my eye on december 1, 2018. reporter: reporter: in the late morning of the day in question, protesters had entered the courtyard of the police station. they stayed there for some time before the police expelled them. some protesters resisted. the response came in the form of flash grenades and tear gas. >> when the evacuation took place, i backed off. i kept my distance. i didn't come to fight or do anything violent. i didn't want to take any risks. that is when a grenade exploded

in my face. i put my hand over my i while tilting my head a bit -- my eye while tilting my head a bit and my eye emptied out, it went through my fingers. from one second to the next, i had lost an eye, my identity, my face, i was disfigured. i lost my job and my license. ♪ reporter: more than three years afterwards, he still lives with daily pain. but his personal reconstruction is progressing. >> that is my prostatic -- my prosthetic. it's helped me a lot and moving forward. i have not put it on for some time now because i suffer from it all day long. it causes pain, pressure points.

cold, burns, pitching. -- itching. i suffer from it. but there's also the fact that i have progressed and myself. -- progressed in myself. i accept who i am myself a little better without the prosthetic. reporter: during yellow vest protests, 28 other people lost their eyes and five had their hands ripped off. their complaints without success -- there are complaints without success. the same results as much of the other victims. >> i got a second enormous shock after the grenade, when i learned the case had been dismissed a year and a half liter. and a half later. they talked about the fire at the prefecture. which took place in the evening.

supposedly justifying the use of the weapons that took my eye. that is how i understood it. at 1:50, there was no fire, at the time of the fire, i was sleeping in the operating theater. we were told the police violence did not exist. that we could not talk about police violence. so there were no victims of police violence for state violence. so as a victim, i simply do not exist. ♪ reporter: avoiding further police violence, without owning up to it, is the complicated situation the authorities now find themselves in. eric d. has been in the french riot police for more than 25 years. focused on teaching alternative tactics tofficers managing protests. >> with a more streamlined

advance, forward march. reporter: on the program, offensive charges, how to fire defensive weapons, and advance as a column. they must targe■x■x

07/05/22 07/05/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i am furious. i am furious that yet more innocent lives were taken by gun violence. while we celebrate the fourth of july just once a year, mass shootings have become our weekly, yes, weekly american tradition. amy: six people were killed and at least two dozen injured when a rooftop gunman armed with a hi