from berlin. ukraine's president urges americans to keep supporting his nation's fight against russia. during his visit to washington, volodymyr zelenskyy receives pledges of military assistance including the patriot air defense system. pressure responds by accusing the u.s. of fighting a proxy war. also coming up, covid-19 sweeps through china.

now that beijing has abandoned its strict covid zero policy, infections are surging, causing international alarm. and a massive winter storm brings a chilling temperatures to much of north america. thousands of flights have already been canceled, throwing christmas travel into chaos. ♪ i am nicole frolich. to our viewers on pbs in the united states and all around the world, is good to have you with us. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is back home after a surprise visit to washington, d.c. he ended the journey by stopping in poland he met with his polish counterpart andrzej duda. an aid to duda said the leader spoke for two hours. zelenskyy said they discussed the year's quote, historic challenges due to a full-scale

war. while in washington, zelenskyy predicted next year would bring a turning point in the war, but stress ukraine is very much still relying on continued support from its western allies. reporter: president zelenskyy was given the red carpet treatment as he arrived at the white house. greeted like an old friend by his u.s. counterpart, joe biden. they have spoken many times on the phone, but this was their first face-to-face meeting since russia invaded ukraine. in the oval office, biden granted zelenskyy another wish i on ukraine's weaponless --weapons list. >> particularly air defense. that is why we are going to be providing ukraine with a patriot missile battery. reporter: for zelenskyy, it was an opportunity to pay his respects to ukraine's biggest

backer. >> i want to give you something. one guy is a real hero, a real captain. and he asked me to pass his award to president biden. you will understand, he's a captain. yes, he's very brave, and he said give it to a very brave president. and i want to give you the cross for military merit. >> well god love you. >> yes. >> undeserved, but much appreciated. thank you. reporter: for joe biden, it was a chance to send a clear signal to russia, that the u.s. is in it to win it. >> the united states is committed to ensuring that the brave ukrainian people can continue to defend their country against russian aggressions, as

long as it takes. >> the president of ukraine. [cheers and applause] reporter: next up for zelenskyy, a hero's welcome as he addressed a rare joint session of the united states congress. >> against all odds, and doom and gloom scenarios, ukraine didn't fall. ukraine is alive and kicking. our two nations are allies in this battle. and next year will be a turning point. i know it. the point where ukrainian courage and american resolve must guarantee the future of our common freedom. the freedom of people who stand for their values. reporter: volodymyr zelenskyy

knows support like this in washington will be vital in the months or years of fighting ahead. but it's not guaranteed. some republicans are concerned about the billions being given to ukraine, and when they take control of the house next year, they might try to tighten the pursestrings. nicole: reacting to zelenskyy's trip, the kremlin accused ukraine and the u.s. of ignoring its concerns. despite russia's continued attacks on ukraine, president vladimir putin earlier today told reporters that russia was open to diplomatic negotiations to end the war. >> all conflicts, all armed conflicts eventually end with diplomatic negotiations. and we have never rejected such an opportunity. it's the ukrainian government that has barred itself from holding negotiations, which looks quite unusual, i would

even say strange. but sooner or later, any sides that are in a conflict with each other sit down and negotiate. the sooner our opponents realize that, the better. we have never rejected that. nicole: president putin has been claiming he wants to negotiate a way out of the conflict for months. with the war going quite badly for him, i asked russian analyst maria katamadze if putin would be willing to compromise. maria: i do not think that vladimir putin is ready to compromise, at least at this moment. the stakes are too high for him. it is either only going forward whatever sacrifices that means for the russian people, or defeat, which will be devastating for the regime and potentially dangerous for him and his family. he will never compromise on crimea, for instance, which was annexed by russia back in 2014. and other four ukrainian

territories russia illegally seized in february. after having annexed ukraine as territory, at this point, moscow wants to seal the deal, but still at this point there are so many instruments valuable to vladimir putin, such as blackmailing western countries with gas and butchering ukrainians, making it difficult for them to live in homes without electricity and water. now that he has these instruments, he will see what kind of effect they will have, and that he will act accordingly. but we have seen that so far, he's ready to sacrifice everything and compromise on nothing. nicole: these remarks of course follow zelenskyy's visit to the u.s. how did the meeting go down with the public and the media in russia? maria: not surprisingly, russian state media plays a massive role in feeding the war machine. it's expect at limon zelenskyy i -- has expectedly mocked

zelenskyy. this kind of support from the media coverage is expected -- especially important for putin, since many believe he fears a rivalry with the ukrainian president. the very same day, putin held an awards ceremony at the kremlin for soldiers fighting in ukraine, as well as state media journalists. so we can see the difference between those two leaders is striking and these kind of images can affect russians and their belief in their leader. nicole: moscow says the new military aid promised by the united states will only prolong the ukrainian people's, what they call suffering, and has warned of consequences. now, the suffering is of course brought upon the ukrainian people by russia. so how big are fears of an even greater escalation now? maria: this rhetoric can be part

of russia's escalation game, which essentially boils down to threatening western countries in hopes that they will be afraid of further escalation and will be more restrained in supporting ukraine. and we have heard vague threats from the kremlin since february, especially at the beginning of the war. they made many certain leaders alert and cautious about military assistance for ukraine. but given continued and growing support for ukraine that we are witnessing now, the kremlin's threatening narrative does not work that well anymore. nicole: russian analyst maria katamadze joining us. thank you so much for that analysis. meanwhile across ukraine, millions of people are struggling without access to water, electricity, and heating due to russia's ongoing strategy of attacking civilian infrastructure. some cities, like the black sea port of odessa, have set of

warming centers where people can go to escape the misery, if only for a little while. reporter: without power, there is no school. that is why these children are here in one of odessa's many public warming centers. unlike many places, here there's electricity, water, and heating. >> i am studying. >> i have to do my homework, but because of the blackouts it is hard to study in school. reporter: russia has pounded the city with airstrikes in recent weeks. infrastructure is severely damaged. power lines are broken all over the city. electricians are preparing them as fast as they can. -- are repairing them as fast as they can. >> we are working day and night and on weekends. it is really hard, but we are trying. we will win the fight to keep the power on, and we will win in other ways too. reporter: odessa's mayor is worried for the coming months.

>> we can't rule out new blackouts. we're preparing for the worst case scenario. we have the warming centers, we have stoves and generators, so people won't freeze. reporter: she didn't have power for eight days. she has installed emergency lights throughout her apartment. at the moment, there's electricity on an hourly basis but she fears no attacks. >> i panic. i get real panic attacks. i try to cope with it of course, but even when i tried to be rational i find it difficult. reporter: but zelenskyy's visit to the u.s. gave her at least a little help. -- hope. nicole: federal prosecutors here in germany had arrested an employee of becom -- of the country's intelligence service for allegedly spying for russia.

he is accused of sharing state secrets with moscow. simon young has more. simon: this man is an employee of germany's foreign intelligence agency the bnd. he's a german citizen. and he' been arrested on the orders of the federal prosecutor, accused of spying for russia. he is alleged to have passed information that he obtained in the course of his work to russian intelligence services during 2022. and he appeared before a federal judge on thursday, accused on a charge of treason. and he is now being held in custody. his apartment and his workplace and other locations have been searched, and there's now an ongoing investigation, which is

a very sensitive investigation. in fact the head of the bnd has said that it's important that further details of this are not made public because doing that, he said, just helps germany's opponents who want to harm germany. and he went on to say that russia is a particularly ruthless and violent actor. so this is a very serious information leak, right at the heart of germany's intelligence establishment. nicole: dw political correspondent simon young. thanks. let's now move onto to some other stories making headlines around the world today. the u.s. senate has passed a $1.7 trillion spending bill for the next deal -- year. it would avert a partial government suck down. it also includes $45 billion in new aid for ukraine. the bill now goes to the house of representatives, where it is expected to pass.

israel's designated prime minister benjamin netanyahu has managed to form a new right-wing coalition government. he made the announcement after weeks of negotiations with religious and far right political partners. netanyahu led his party to win the most seats in israel's november election but needed coalition partners to govern. in afghanistan, dozens of women have rallied in kabul to protest a ban on women entering diversity's. female students have since been campuses across the country. the chinese and russian navies have begun a joint naval exercise in the east china sea, underlining a deepening military and political ties between the countries. the exercise will continue until december 27. covid-19 cases are searching across china right now -- surging across china right now.

until recently they had some of the toughest control measures in the world, but many rules were relaxed. now with experts warning hundreds of millions of people could soon be infected, chinese authorities have narrowed the criteria for identifying covid deaths. this means despite the jump in cases and overwhelm the funeral homes, there have been no official recorded deaths for two consecutive days. reporter: at times, china's zero covid policy looked like this. empty streets and some of the world's largest cities like shanghai. here, 28 million people are nowhere to be seen. other times it looked like this, with aggressive scenes and supermarkets and people desperate to grab some of the sparse food and supplies still available. there were also containment camps, entire city blocks and neighborhoods locked up, and barriers built to prevent free movement. china's zero covid rules were some of the most strictly imposed anywhere.

residents were repeatedly told zero covid was the only way to keep them safe. >> we must unswervingly adhere to the principle of people first and life first. the strategy of curbing imported cases and domestic resurgence is, and the policy of dynamic zero covid. reporter: but then this fall, cases began to spread rapidly, despite the strict policies. many chinese experienced for the first time someone close to them getting sick with covid. and as cases spiraled, so did public discontent. in late november, a rare showing of public dissent erupted in multiple parts of china. there were street demonstrations, and even some called her president xi jinping to resign. the kind of public outcry unheard of inside of china. then two weeks later, a change of heart from the government.

the health department announced the loosening of 10 zero covid rules. >> our focus will be increasingly science-based and targeted. we should firmly correct oversimplification or a one-size-fits-all approach and avoid taking excessive policy steps. reporter: on december 7, china loosened measures, allowing home quarantine, we'd used to testing, and making it -- reduced testing, and making it easier to travel. chinese authorities and state immediate largely avoided the protests, and accusations that zero covid failed. instead, they have been insisting the relaxed policies are due to a weekend -- weakened coronavirus. but the infections have been spreading rapidly, creating fear and anxiety, and further disrupting an already fragile economy. experts warn china would soon be facing a peak of up to 800 million cases in the country, which they say could mean as many as one million to two

million deaths in the coming year. nicole: ben cowling is chair of epidemiology at hong kong university school of public health. we asked if china has the necessary infrastructure to cope with these new policies. ben: it is clear it does not. something i am very worried about is that there is no effort to slow the spread of infections, and to flatten the curve. a month ago there were a lot of measures to keep cases at a minimum. those have been relaxed because we have a new strategy now of allowing the virus to circulate. but there's no attempt at the moment to slow things down. and in beijing they are dealing with a lot of very severe cases all at the same time. if those could be at least spread out over two, three, or fours weeks instead of one week, that would make a difference. so i really hope we hear about some mitigation measures, which the rest of the world was doing one or two years ago, and has

moved on since then. china still has to go through this phase. nicole: that was ben cowling there. and let's get you up to speed on some other headlines making news around the world today. the alleged boss of asia's biggest crime syndicate, dubbed as asia's el chapo, has been extradited to australia. the chinese born canadian faces drug trafficking charges and is suspected of leading one of the world's biggest suppliers of illegal methamphetamines. a u.s. judge has released disgrace cryptocurrency second of sam bankman-fried on a $250 million bond. he is facing fraud charges related to the collapse of the ftx cryptocurrency exchange which he founded. prosecutors accused him of stealing billions of dollars from customers. parts of northern india including the capital are shrouded in dense fog as the country's pollution crisis combines with wintry weather.

wednesday, low visibility led to a major vehicle pileup. millions of americans are under severe weather warnings as a major winter storm moves across the u.s. freezing arctic air is bringing blizzards and icy winds to much of the country as it pushes southeast. forecasters are warning that temperatures could plunge as low as -45 degrees celsius in some areas. the record-breaking cold comes as millions hit the roads and the skies for the holidays. airlines have already canceled thousands of flights. matthew cappucci is a meteorologist based in washington, d.c. and he told us why the storm is so unique and dangerous. matthew: it really is once in a generation because all the moving parts, all of which is having its own impact. we have an upper level low that is helping intensify a surface disturbance, causing what we

call bomb -- basically the rapid strengthening of a surface storm. because of that, it is sucking in air from all sides. on the eastern side, we're seein g winds ride northwards, flooding rains, and damaging winds. on the backside, siberian air is cascading down southwards across the central u.s., causing wind chills down to -45 to -50 celsius. actual air temperatures down to -40 celsius. dangerous conditions or anyone outside. subfreezing weather all the way down to the gulf of mexico. in between, they clash, you get heavy snow, blizzard conditions, all coming at the time of the year when about 113 million people are expected to travel 80 kilometers or more for the holidays. very bad timing. nicole: we are looking at -45, -50 degrees. how dangerous is that for the human body? matthew: it is the kind of thing the human body cannot survive unless they are protected, and really, indoors.

for folks across the u.s., we are advising if anyone has to drive more than one minute or two, have an emergency kit in your car because if you break down, it only takes a couple minutes for frostbite to set in and damage or kill your skin. very quickly thereafter one could succumb to the cold, for which reason we say do not bet on authorities reaching you in time. don't travel if you don't have to. if you are in that part of the u.s., hunker down, stay home, and stay warm. nicole: talk about the authorities, because earlier, similar, not as intense storms have knocked out power to millions and killed hundreds. are the authorities in the areas affected now better prepared than they were those previous times? matthew: i think that is a really good point you bring up. about two years ago, february 2020, we had a big event in texas were a piece of the polar vortex broke off and brought very cold temperatures, and in

the process wiped out the state's power grid for 4 million customers. i think we learned a lot of lessons since then. during that event there was wintry precipitation. ice, freezing rain, and snow that prevented fuel from reaching power plants. that will not be the case this time. ercot, who is the company in charge of the texas power grade, says they got this this time. we will see if that is correct, but i think the bigger issue, really, will be the wind's impact on travel rather than power outages. nicole: and the timing is very poor on this. meteorologist matthew cappucci in washington, d.c., thank you so much. antigovernment protests in iran are in their fourth month. it's been met with condemnation around the world. until now, french author and women's rights advocate helene cixous was unsure if it was her place to use her influence to speak out, but she has had a change of heart. dw's lisa louis met up with her in paris.

reporter: for three months now, the protests of women and young people have engulfed iran. as have the regime's brutal crackdowns. at first, french intellectual helene cixous stayed silent, thinking it was not her fight. helene: my iranian girlfriends asked me, why aren't you do anything? well, what can i do? speak up. reporter: she says iranians need to see that the world is listening and cares. helene: i think it is everyone's duty to send a signal, yes, i hear you. do you hear me? yes, i hear you. reporter: cixous says it is no surprise the unrest was sparked by the fate of one single person, who died after iran's morality police arrested her for showing too much hair. helene: that is how the great wars for freedom start. it's a little incident or one person who pays for entry into a

huge freedom movement. basically, for the last 100 years, iran has not stopped moving from one so-called revolution to the next. each time the victims or the pretext or the objects or the hostages of these movements, they completely overturn the situation in iran, they are women. reporter: cixous says women are the stronger sex, and that men are afraid of them. helene: when a woman tears off her veil industry on purpose as a political gesture, it's an unheard of act of courage, because they kill people in iran. they kill people all the time. everyone is deeply moved by the courage that this gesture represents. but does it mean victory? reporter: cixous believes iranians will need much more support from abroad if they are to turn courage into victory. helene: who will fuel the iranian's awesome, admirable, and deeply moving rebellions?

who will step up? because someone must. when everyone is going to be in jail or executed, i don't know. nicole: sports now, sweden's sandra naeslund continued her magnificent run of her 13th street victory thursday. the greatest ski cross champion of all time extended her own record to 33 podium-topping performances following a dramatic big final in northern italy. the olympic champion has captured gold in all five world cup events so far this season. and international olympic committee has decided to allow men to compete in artistic swimming for the first time at the 2024 paris games. a maximum of two men can be selected among eight athletes in the team event that is due to include 10 nations. artistic swimming, formally

known as thinker nice swimming, has been an -- formally known as synchronized swimming, has been an olympic event since 1984. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy has met with his polish counterpart while traveling back from a brief visit to washington, d.c. there, he thanked americans were supporting ukraine's fight against russian invasion. during talks at the white house, president biden pledged to continue supporting ukraine, quote, as long as it takes. you're watching "dw news." stay with us now. i will be back after a short break with "the day." we will be reviewing the biggest stories of the past 24 hours. hope to see you there. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ >> the ukrainian president is back on home soil after making an historic trip to washington, d.c. president zelenskyy returns with millions more in the u.s. military aid in his bags as his russian counterparts as moscow has never refused to negotiate. more from the ukrainian capital in a matter of minutes. it took over seven weeks to put together, but israel finally has

a new government. the coalition of benjamin netanyahu is one of the most right wing ever, prompting fears of an even tougher crackdown on the palestinian community. also this hour, travel misery for thousands hoping to reach their nearest and dearest, prompting a national rail operator to cancel 1/3 of train services this festive period. this is the latest world news summary from paris. the crane's president is back home after -- ukraine's president is back home after meeting his polish counterpart as well as u.s. congressional

representatives. after watching and listening to what actually happened in the u.s. capitol during this trip, the kremlin in moscow says neither president joe biden nor president zelenskyy have uttered anything which can be perceived as a potential readiness to listen to pressure's concerns. -- two russia's concerns. >> volodymyr zelenskyy's speech on capitol hill was passionate. ukrainian president took home another pledge of massive military aid, including a battery of patriot missiles. in kyiv, residents see his visit as a success. >> i definitely believe those missiles could be a game changer. >> he speaks like a person, not like a president, and i think he speaks for all ukrainians.

>> u.s. congress is on the verge of approving an additional 45 billion dollars in emergency assistance on top of some $50 billion already sent to ukraine this year. for moscow, zelenskyy's u.s. visit only set the bar higher for u.s. peace talks to take place. they've accused washington of fighting a proxy war with russia . >> neither ukraine nor the u.s. has tried peace. they are simply determined to continue hostilities. have you heard anything about dialogue and negotiations or contact with russia? no, of course not. >> this prevents the russian federation from achieving its goals. this leads to the fact that unfortunately, the suffering of the ukrainian people will continue longer than it might otherwise. >> meanwhile, russia's defense minister visited troops on the front line. moscow came to show footage of

him chatting with soldiers, the it did not disperse the precise location. >> let's get an update now from our reporter, who is covering this all forest in the ukrainian capital. a few hours have gone by since the ukrainian president touched down at the end of this visit. what reaction have we had to zelenskyy's u.s. trip where you are? >> ukrainians also following very closely what happens in washington because they know that what happens in washington will have huge consequences not just on the war effort but also on their daily lives. earlier today, we were out on the streets of kyiv getting reaction to president zelenskyy's speech to congress. we spoke to one woman who told us that when she watched the speech she was on the verge of tears because she felt that president zelenskyy spoke like a human being and summed up the thoughts and feelings of ordinary ukrainians across the country. we spoke to another person who

told us he thought the moment was historic. one of the things that everyone is talking about is the news that the u.s. is going to deliver a patriot missile system to ukraine. you can easily see why, bearing in mind that here in kyiv since the start of the war, people have been living through almost daily air raid sirens. that news, obviously very reassuring for them, but on the other hand, those same people telling us that they feel that the international community needs to do more, to give more support to put a stop to those russian attacks. >> you have been in the ukrainian capital for a few days now. as winter sets in, just what does life -- daily life look like for the average person living in kyiv? >> have to bear in mind, this is a war that has been waged on two fronts now. you have a war happening on the ont line, but you also have the war on energy.

russia for the last few months has been pounding ukraine's energy infrastructure. in many cities, particularly he in kyiv, the situation has become critical. the situation might be far from the front line, but people are still suffering the consequences in their daily lives. this is a city of more than 3 million people and you have entire neighborhoods that are going without power for days because there simply is not enough electricity to go around anymore. that's because a form of energy rationing has been put in place to try and handle the shortfall in electricity. a few days ago, we were invited into the home of a retired ukrainian woman who basically showed us the condition she was living in. she has been suffering from daily electricity blackouts. she does not have any power for her fridge, for example, so all the food has gone rotten, and she does not have any heating. and you have a situation where people are not just living in the dark but living in the

freezing cold as well. >> thank you very much. now for the first time since vladimir putin ordered russian boots on the ground, tens of thousands of ukrainian refugees will be spending christmas far away from their nearest and dearest. between the start of this conflict and the start of this month, france took in 60,000 ukrainians. we have and to meet some of them who are making a new home to the south of paris. >> bringing a smile to these ukrainian children's faces, that's what this association set out to do this christmas, organizing a get together to hand out presents to the several dozen refugees living in a suburb of paris. >> and just happy to be here with these people going through the same thing as us. but mainly, we would like to go back to ukraine.

>> she and her 14-year-old daughter fled kyiv last april. they are spending christmas far from dark country and their loved ones for the first time. >> where in a new country, and they don't celebrate christmas here in the same way, but we are learning new traditions. >> for their first five months in france, they have stayed with others. now they moved to their own studio flat nearby. >> it felt natural and easy. we felt a sort of brotherhood with them, so we were delighted to host them. >> grandparents. [laughter] >> i had no grandfather before

because they all died, so yay! >> she and her mother settled here because of gymnastics. in just a few months, the local club has accepted a dozen ukrainians like her who now compete in france. >> to other world news now with literally minutes to spare before a midnight deadline expired, benjamin netanyahu was able to perform israel's president that he had managed to form a coalition government. the coalition he will be heading up is one of the most far right administrations in the country's history. two leaders of the religious zionism bloc featured in the alliance have been pieced together. our correspondent joined us a short while ago. >> it is not just a government,

and i have to say, it is not yet a government. let's look athe time line. the victory was on november 1. now we are almost at christmas. although he was filmed telling the president that yes, he can form a government, the deals are not signed yet, so what we are seeing is a very bitter negotiation process. normally what happens in a negotiation is if the demands are impossible, you say i'm dumping you and taking someone else. netanyahu does not have that luxury this time, and that's what is really going on. it is almost extortion. people watching this process, what should be his natural partners, making it very hard, and that's w at this moment, there ill is not a government and unlikely to be one until next week, possibly not even until the week after, can to very lengthy, bitter process with very far right and religious parties. >> the british government has

issued a rather strange request to those living in the realm and who might be cracking open the wine and spirits this festive period. the ruling conservatives have asked people not to get drunk to avoid giving ambulance workers more cases to haggle. that's because paramedics have added their name to the list of worker walki off the job. they follow in the footsteps of nurses, driving examiners, and postal workers who have already been on strike. traveling home for the christmas break will be a complicated affair for many here in france. the national rail operator has announced that 1/3 of services are being canceled because of industrial action here. the rst hit lines will be the high-speedoutes. ticket inspectors e staging this walkout as they demand big 12% pay rise.

>> anger continues at railway ticket inspectors who have gone on strike, resulting in the cancellation of tickets for 200,000 passengers over the christmas break. [speaking foreign language] >> the french government has responded, calling on the strikers to go back to work. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the railway staff engaged in industrial action blame the management. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the strikers want more pay and recognition of their status in line with other rail workers.

>> [speaking foreign language] >> the strike is unusual in that it is not being organized by a union but by an informal collective train managers. >> that brings us to the end of this latest international news summary from france 24, but do stay with us. there's more world news coming up shortly. >> france is famous for its beautiful sight that delicious food, but it is also infamous for aggressive drivers. the french are first to admit it can be a bit wild on the roads out there, especially here in

paris. road rage, drivers who insult you, give you the finger, tailgate you -- it can be terrifying. some of the rules are downright confusing and getting your license is an obstacle course. we will buckle up and merge into french driving. vroom vroom. part of the reason french drivers get such a bad rap is because driving in paris can be so tricky. to put it simply, it is a nightmare. there's no clear logic to which way the streets are going. you got motorcycles and scooters and pedestrians jumping out at you. often people will honk at you

and parking -- you would be forgiven for thinking there's no real rules of the road here in france and i would say people in paris even take a certain amount of pride in their aggressive driving. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> french drivers are the first to admit they have issues with road rage, and that's probably because there is some truth to the matter. studies suggest that french drivers are among the most aggressive in europe. let's just say that when it comes to road etiquette, the french leave a lot to be desired and can be quite reckless behind the wheel. french drivers say they do take risks in regards to fatigue,

speeding, distractions with their devices. 20% of french drivers say they become another person behind the wheel. i admit i do. i drive like a grandmother but an aggressive grandmother. what's interesting is the number of road deaths in france has been dropping over the years. road deaths reached a peak 50 years ago when some 18,000 people were killed in one year. by 2021, the number had dropped to 1400. things have been getting better thanks to public policy, better cars, raised awareness, and tighter rules. >> if you hit the road in france, you will want to be familiar with some basic regulation. to drive a car, you have to be at least 18 years old with a valid license, and you'd better buckle up as seatbelts are compulsory for all occupants of a vehicle, front and back. how fast you can go varies depending on what kind of road

you are on and weather conditions. the speed limit is 50 kilometers an hour in urban areas, 80 outside in built-up areas and 130 in highways. in some big cities like paris, the speed limit is 30 kilometers an hour, so don't push it. for a country that worships wine, there are strict rules when it comes to drinking and driving. the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.5 grams leader, which is more or less the equivalent of about two glasses of alcohol. meanwhil france, the country with the most distinct varieties of cheeses, is also the country with the most roundabouts in the world. be sure to look out for the creative and often absurd art installations, but remember, keep your eyes on the road. the french do love their

roundabouts and we are here at one of the most famous ones. in my opinion, it is one of the scariest and most confusing places to drive in france, and that's because unlike at other roundabouts with a person in the circle gets the right-of-way, here, different rules apply. it is the rule that applies at most intersections in france. priority on the right. that means anyone driving to your right gets the right-of-way and you have to stop and let them in. this is a role that exist in other countries like ireland or malta, but it can be a real surprise to new drivers in france. same when two cars are turning left at an intersection. in countries like the united states, the cars turn in front of each other like this. where is here in france, you have to go around the other car like this. those are just some of the rules

you will have to learn if you try to get a french drivers license, which is truly a feat unto itself. rumor has it it is really hard to get your drivers license in france. it certainly felt that way when i passed by a couple years ago, so i decided to go back to drivers ed to see what it is like today. thk you for being with us. you have a family owned driving school. what are the basic requirements to getting your drivers licens here? >> people have to prepare f the theoretical test and then the practical driving exam. there are two options. reired a minimum of 20 hos of driving practice with a manual or automatic car. there's no minimumriving classes required and you have eight hours minimum.

>> the driving test is in french and the theoretical test is a multiple-choice question, right? >> exactly. 35 is good. 34, you need to come back. >> how much does it cost on average to get yr license here ? >> between 1500 and 2000, more or less, depending on the situation. people say it is expensive, but here in france, there are a lot of taxes, and for example, one hour of driving practice -- if you need 20 hours, it goes very ickly, so that's why it looks expensive, but it is a lot of worknd preparation. >> would you say it is harder to get your license in france than in other countries? >> i think in all europe it is

the same. >> some people say it is stressful to drive in france. is there a secret to having a relaxing driving experience here ? >> when you go to take the french license, you have to forget home habits, and afterwards, it is easy. >> you are going to give me driving lessons? i can hopefully have a relaxing experience behind the wheel? >> let's go. >> it can be quite scary to drive in paris, i must admit. especially the priority on the right. how does that work? >> there's no sign. you must make sure you check on the right. >> i have the priority here

compared to him, right? >> you must check. >> in this situation, you can slow down a bit. >> i'm nervous. >> we have a stop sign. >> ok. >> make sure you stop kathy solidly -- at the solid lane. if you just brake and go, for the exam you fail. so how do you feel now? >> better. >> many of you have clearly experienced the joys of driving in france because this actually got a lot of reaction online. to be fair, some of the comments

were positive, but most of them were negative. for example, this one that said, i'm glad it's difficult to get a license in france because many people should not be driving. the french drive like new yorkers. i also love this, that says, why does everyone tailgate in france? i understand when someone wants to pass a slower moving car, but they kiss my rear bumper even when passing is not an option. even an old -- even old ladies do it. i could not agree more. french driving licenses are issued with 12 points and points are deducted for bad driving. for instance, if you are caught speeding, you will be fined 135 euros and lose between one and three point depending how much over the speed limit you were. six points can be lost for the most serious cases like drinking and driving and in the most severe instances, you can have your license completely revoked.

as scary as it is, driving in france can also be a lot of on, and it's a great way to see all the wonderful sites that france has to offer, but just remember to buckle up and drive safely. that's all the options we have for today's show. thank you for watching. stay tuned for a new "french connection plus." >> for young iranian protesters, the last resort is exile. >> we chanted fedom for women's lives, death to her many, and one day during the demonstration, i was arrested and went t jl for seven days. >> these young women fled their loved ones could now be targeted. >> they threatened my family. if they don't turn me in, they will take my sister instead.

>> they are prepared to take up arms alongside kurdish fighters. >> this battle is for kurdistan and for all the women of this world. women should have the same rights everywhere. >> watch from kurdistan to iran, resistance, determination, and hope. >> [speaking forgn language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> thanks very much for joining us. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this storm has hit new york city. >> almost 99 million of you watch us every week, so thank you. >> your confidence means a lot to us. >> thank you.

>> liberte, egalite, actualite. ♪

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12/22/22 12/22/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> your support is crucial, not just to stand but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield. we have artillery, yes. thank you. we have it. is it enough? honestly, not really.