>> this is live from paris. these are our headlines. on the second national strike day of the year, thousands take to the streets to protest against reforming the pension system and raising the retirement age. following a meeting with his ukrainian counterpart, france alleges a howitzer and more air defenses. on what is the first papal visit to the democratic republic of congo since 1980 five, pope francis demands foreign powers

stop plundering africa's natural resources. welcome back. people have been taking to the streets across france today for the second time this year on what has been the second day of national strike action of the year. those taking part trying to oppression or -- trying to pressure emmanuel macron. 500,000 people took part in paris alone. the police say it was more like 87 thousand. the government is showing no signs of backing down. catherine noris trent has the latest. >> huge crowds marched through the streets of paris and through towns and cities across france

on this second day of mass mobilization against the government's planned pension reforms. here in the french capital one trade union said half a million people had hit the seets. the police authorities as always put the figures way lower. they estimated 87,000 people turned up. whichever of those figures you take, they are up from the first day of strikes and protests on january 19. people we spoke to amid the crowds said they were determined to carry on their action for as long as it took and the government eking in on its position saying raising the retirement age to 64 was now nonnegotiable. it looks like this is setting in to be a long flight. there were a few scuffles with police firing tear gas at the end of today's day of demos here in paris. this past off very peacefully

with crowds of determined marchers from all walks of life young and old once again turning out to make their voices heard. >> catherine noris trent reporting from paris. some critics of the pension reform plan say working for longer is not the only solution. a look now at some of the other possibilities. >> after months of anticipation on january 10, the french government unveiled its pension reform plans. >> from september 1, the legal retirement age will be gradually raised three months per year until it reaches 64 years in 2030. at the same time we will not go further than the 43 years of pension contributions set up by the previous administration but we will reach this target faster. >> the key objective was financing the pension system over the long-term with 12 billion euros reportly needed

by 2027. labor unions, economist and opposition parties have offered alternative solutions. a post-covid rebound in 2022 saw inflation surge across france. the cgt union argues that wages should rise accordingly with a 5% increase burning in potentially 9 billion euros in annual contributions but the government fears this could lead to an inflationary spiral. another option is raising the rates of social contributions but unions are split between employers or employees take on the load. alternatively, the pension of current retirees could be lowered. the solution has not gained much traction. a recent inequality report showed taxing france's billionaires by 2% per year would solve the crisis. economists say this could see big fortunes leave the country. a final alternative would be to fight unemployment among senior workers. currently 56% of france's 55 to

64-year-olds are are in job. proposing sanctions on companies letting go of senior employees. >> russia says its forces have captured a ukrainian village which lies to the north. if confirmed this with the latest of a series of gradual advancements in the area. a large russian forces this week began with assaults on the ukrainian held bastion. andrew is in kyiv and gave us this update. >> the latest report suggesting russian forces are making a fresh push on two villages some 30 kilometers southwest of donetsk. that is in eastern ukraine. they are not far from there. the russian defense ministry claiming it has captured another

village. we have not been able to independently verify those claims coming out of the kremlin . looking at the bigger picture, this could be part of a fresh russian offensive with some analysts suggesting it could be part of russian efforts to divert ukrainian forces away from back much. that has been the epicenter of fierce fighting over the last ukrainian military saying it has managed to fend off wave after wave of attack from the russian military, from the mercenary group. despite those relentless attacks, the ukrainian military saying it has -- it is managing to hold out. >> the french defense minister has been holding talks in paris with his ukrainian counterpart. he says paris will provide kyiv

with a further 12 more truckmounted howitzers as well as air defenses. howitzers can fire a highly accurate volley that ranges up to 40 kilometers. france has yet to commit to sending battle tanks. paris will be giving kyiv a radar system capable of detecting enemy aircraft at distances of up to 250 kilometers. that includes low-flying drones. on the subject of supplying fighter jets to ukraine, the french defense minister said there were no taboos. >> speaking alongside his french counterpart, ukraine's defense minister expressed gratitude for france's ongoing military support. he hailed the recent delivery of tanks which ended up having a ripple effect. >> france took a leading position when it announced the delivery of amx 10 rc tanks.

in fact, this snowball turned into an avalanche. >> after a round of talks on france's future military assistance, the defense minister pledged to send an additional 12 caesar howitzer cannons as well as 150 army staff to train ukrainian soldiers. while french authorities declined to give a definitive answer on the potential delivery of fighter jets, they said they remained open to the idea as long as the planes were used for defensive purposes. >> we are ready to examine any further demands by ukraine. while continuing to abide by three key principles. our aid must not provoke escalation. it must be useful and practical. and it must not weaken our own defense capacity. >> ukraine has long asked its

nato allies for fighter jets to help fight the russian invasion. emmanuel macron said monday nothing was off the table in terms of military aid. days after the u.s. in germany both rolled out delivering more planes to keep. -- to kyiv. >> large crowds lined the streets of kinshasa to welcome pope francis. about half of the country's population is roman catholic. the drc has some of the richest deposits of diamonds, gold, copper and other precious raw materials. the 86 yield pope condemned to what he called the economic colonialism on the african continent. >> this country and this continent deserve to be respected and listened to.

they deserve to find space and ceive attention. hands off the democratic republic of congo. hands off africa. stop choking africa. africa is not a mine to be stripped. may africa be the protagonist of its own destiny. >> this papal visit will offer pope francis and offer to reflect on the future of the catholic church in africa which is one of the only places in the world where the flock is still growing. france 24's team on the ground filed this report. >> this is saint joseph's parish. congregants are singing and praying for the arrival of pope francis. the papal visit is high on everyone's mind. a time for benediction and joy. >> it will solidify my faith because he is a spiritual man. a b spiritualather who is arring. will bless us and bring a

message of joy. >> the pope's arrival is expected to help usher in peace and reconciliation. it will also reinvigorate the role of the catholic church. the democratic republic of congo has 45 million catholics. while it is the largest religious community in the country, in recent years it has seen its influence slip. in this pentecostal church in kinshasa, the ambience is different. the singing of hymns is more upbeat. what impresses the faithful here the most are the sermons that are often off-the-cuff. >> we will not be those soldiers who took money and are corrupt. one of the reasons the pentecostal church is popular is because we are close to our flock. in case of misfortune and happiness, we are together.

we care about their daily lives, their worries. >> sermons which echo the daily ves -- [no audio] >> problems that brought us to the pentecostal church. >> the city is split on the pope's visit. while there is some indifference, others are overjoyed. during his trip pope francis is expected to celebrate mass at the airport with over one million faithful expected. >> u.s. secretary of state antony blinken has been wrapping up a visit to the middle east. during the last 24 hours he held separate meetings with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and palestinian president mahmoud abbas. in january alone, 35 palestinian adults and children have been

killed along with six israeli civilians. amongst them a child. when ukrainian was also killed. here is what he said during his visit. >> we believe it is important to take steps to de-escalate, to stop violence. to reduce tension. it is also important to continue to strive not only to reduce the violence but ensuring that ultimately the israelis and palestinians alike enjoy the same rights, same opportunities. what we are seeing now from palestinians is a shrinking of hope and not expanding. >> the u.s. secretary of ramallah. 100 people lost their lives and yesterday's bombing whic struck a crowded mosque in northern pakistani city of pesce were. more tha200 people were

injured. it has raised serious security questions. it is not clear who is responsible. this comes at a time when the pakistani taliban has been stepping up activity and targeting the police and the military. that brings you up-to-date with the world news. i will see you tomorrow. ♪ >> follow our international journalists on france 24. douglas herbert, angela diffley, robert parsons, philip terrell and almond georgia. from the newsroom to the studio, or live on air, they are on standby 24/7 to analyze world events. whether tackling historic, or

environmental issues, our experts to the heart of the biggest international news stories. they contribute to our special reports and scour the headlines for information. follow it alive. follow the news. follow france 24. ♪ >> hello and welcome to the france 24 interview. our guest is the deputy head of the office of ukraine's president of volodymyr zelenskyy. he is his chief political advisor. he is with us from kyiv. thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> germany in the u.s. have agreed to send battle tanks to ukraine. ukraine now once fighter checks

and long-range missiles. our such talks already underway with your allies? >> the decision on battle tanks was long awaited by ukraine. it is good it has been taken. battle tanks on the battlefield is a real game changer. the types of weapons you are mentioning of long-range missiles and fighter jets is still the type of weapon we are missing on the battlefield. we don't have western modern type air jets and we still lack long-range missiles. next meeting is scheduled for

february. it is to become a ghter jets meeting. ghter t result orited eting. we are working with several western countes who a having a front of fighr jets. we are looking forward to a positive result. >> one possible option is poland. it has already indicated it is ready to supply ukraine with f-16 fighter jets if nato agrees . is this something that could become a tangible result quickly? f-16s from poland. >> poland is not the only country who possesses the f-16 fighter jets. i told you that f6s is not the only option. i will draw your attention to -- you mentioned the nato agreement.

speculate on the necessity to have a neato decision. we heard from the secretary-general several times it is the sovereign right of the countries to give ukraine their type of weapon that you -- that ukraine needs. it i up to the governments of the country to give or not to give. courage or bravery on the decision. we need them now. we need that type of weapon yesterday. we need them now and tomorrow. to start the counter advance and our victory. >> as you said, some countries make their own decisions. german chancellor olaf scholz said berlin would not send fighter jets -- fighter jets to ukraine. you could argue he also said germany would never send tanks

to ukraine. are you disappointed by germany's statement or do you think this migh change also? >> we are very satisfied with tanks.rman decisn on battle we can thank gmany on is decision. taking into account germany has made previous dissidents. -- previous decisions. germany is not the only country that possesses modern fighter jets. if you ask me, -- other countries of europe and nato. >> the long-range missiles is another weapon you are asking for. could this be useful for ukraine may be to target more russian bases, troops and infrastructure in crimea that could be a big change on the battlefield? >> we have all the rights to

target any military targets. i emasize mitary targets of the territory of ukraine. we number -- we never aim or target anything on the territory of ukraine. we all remember the borders of ukraine as of the 24th of october 1991 including crimea as well. >> on the ground it seems there is a stalemate. ukraine has stopped making military gains and some are concerned russia is planning a major offensive around the 24th of february. is this what ukraine's military and intelligence circles are fearing? >> we have not only from intelligence services but from other partners. this is really serious. athe same time, you are talking about -- by ukraine

armed rces. we might lose momentum. we had a very good and rifle decision vis-a-vis the battle field for six months. almost 50% of the territory russia captured from the 24th of february last year. to not lose the momentum again the needed weapons.e issue o when you start the counteroffensive you first need artillery systems to start the artillery fight. when you are successful you start using your battle tanks and armored vehicles to tether -- to carry the manpower to the battlefield. provided as of now we would have enough artillery system with enough ammunition or enough battle tanks and armor. we could have started this offensive yesterday or today or

immediately tomorrow. be even more successful on the battlefield. we believe on the united efforts of our partners in delivering weaponry to us. >> the top u.s. military commander expresses serious doubts ukraine would be able to regain its territory this year in 2023. you intend to prove him wrong? >> we remember some military experts said andt the beginning of the w uaine will not withstand me than three orive for one week after russian aggression. today we are almt nearinone ar. the only withstanding. -- not only withstanding but we have all the successes. weant the victory to happen in 2023. >> your president said russia's participation in the 2024 paris olympic games what amount to

showing terror can be something acceptable. will ukraine athletes boycott the paris olympic games of russia and belarus are able to participate one way or another? >> i think if the international olympic committee will allow russian or belarus athletes to participate in the paris olympics, not only ukrainian athletes would boycott might boycott this very important sports events but other civilized countries, athletes from other civilized countries won't think twice whether to accept the possibility to be in the olympics with the athletes coming from the russian aggressor. it is not about only ukraine. weave to understand this is not only about sports.

this is t just srts. many russian athletes are coming from the armed forces. they are members of the armed forces russian federation. you cannot imagine french athletes be on the same track and field or pitch with representativeof the aed forces of russian federation with the athletes who are not ly not doing anything against the russian aggression but in most of the cases, supporters. >> last issue, there is supposed to be and e.u. ukraine summit in kyiv later this week. president zelenskyy, the heads of the you commission and council. your prime minister said ukraine wants to join the european union in the next two years. obviously this is a tall order.

we were member the french president saying a few months ago it would be decades before ukraine joins. is this serious? do you really think ukraine will be a member of the european union within two years? >> we have shown to all the world ukrainian student do -- can do -- ukrainians can do miracles sometimes. let's from ember how many days past from the wood for application for membership of ukraine in february of last year and the decision of the 27th of june. 115 days only we received the statutes. i would not say it is impossible. i would agree with some critical -- is that we need to go through the steps of european integration for this process to be credible. we are finalizing the seven recommendations provided by the

european recommendation for we are waiting for the injury assessment report this early spring. after this report is positive which i am sure of, we do make out on the next step which is negotiations for ukraine. then we will see after the beginning of the negotiations it will be another story. i can agree it would be much quicker. ukraine is not starting from scratch on applying to membership unlike some other countries which may be needed -- to become members of the e.u. >> just as a conclusion, how important would that be for ukraine? >> crucially important. a decisive moment. becoming a full-fledged member is one of the pillars of ukraine's victory over the aggressor. we want to become part of the european future not the russian past. part of the e.u. that is --

>> i want to thank you for being with us on the france 24 interview from kyiv, the capital of ukraine. thank you for watching it. ♪ >> a war crime founded in silence on marseille's high street. >> [speaking french] >> survivors who will never forget. >> [speaking french] >> one last fight in their memory. >> [speakintg french] >> marseille 1943. a forgotten crime. on france 24 and france 24.com.

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01/31/23 01/31/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we were definitely happy they are moving in the right direction. the organized crime unit, they all wo under t same umbrella as the scorpioand they should be dbanded as well. amy: as the memphis police department disbands its scorpion unit after the fatal police beating of tyre nichols, we will