>> welcome to "live from paris," world news and analysis from france 24. u.k. workers united against the cost of living prices, strikes causing disruption across the country. teachers, lecturers, train drivers, civil servants calling for better pay to make ends meet. pope francis has condemned the war in the east of the democratic republic of congo. the pope met and heard stories of atrocities firsthand from survivors.

biden's home searched again for top-secret documents. so far, nothing has been found. the president's lawyers have been briefing the news media about the operation. thank you very much for being with us. strikes in effect in almost all sectors of the united kingdom this wednesday. more than half of schools are disrupted. teachers staying home. university lecturers, librarians, other university staff also following suit. the rail network disrupted over widespread cancellations. some london bus drivers also refuse to take to their vehicles. many thousands of civil servants joined in. this strike up and down the u.k.

. the education sector saw most staff stay away. >> in real terms, a huge amount to lose, and that is causing recruitment and retention crisis in our schools, so schools cannot get teachers and teachers are not staying in the profession. >> there are not enough of us doing all the work that needs to be done. we are continually demonized. some of the support feels like is not there. >> we have more on the strike from london. >> you are teachers, university staff, train drivers, bus drivers, lecturers, civil servants, many of whom we saw here coming out of ministries with flags, and they want and are insisting that they get a pay rise that matches the double-digit inflation we still have here, which is 10.5

percent, and again, to refer to the scale of today's severe disruption, 23,000 schools across england and wales were affected, some in scotland as well. that is 85% effective, so only 15% were able to function normally. some did try to stay open for key workers and vulnerable children. if you are parents, you are working, and you need to turn your child -- your child could not go to school and needed to be looked after. you have a real stalemate between all these professions. we have more strikes planned next week in the health sector, and we heard from speakers just behind us here because we are at the gates of downing street, as you might be able to see, is very much about solidarity, about the fact that they are not

going to allow this government, they said, to sit this out. 10.5% inflation just means that they are getting job cuts, they say, and they feel they have already lost quite enough in their pay packet over the last decade, so real resolve here and very local and a march we watched proceed very peacefully but very vocally. mark: pay not keeping pace with inflation means people at the end of the month cannot make ends meet. this is what fundamentally the strike in the u.k. is about. we will continue to chart every development of this story. let's bring you back to france in the wake of the mass strike against the raising of the retirement age from 62 to 64. the french government says this unpopular measure is not negotiable. the words came after over one million people took to the streets in protest of the plan which was unveiled last month.

more strike days are planned on february 7 and february 11. opinion polls show a substantial majority in france opposed increasing the retirement age, a move president macron argues is viable to ensure the viability of the french pension system. pope francis has condemned what he calls brutal atrocities committed in the east of the democratic republic of congo after harrowing accounts of violence from the turbulent region during the second day of his visit to the region on the holy see's diplomatic mission. he listened as for victims of conflict recounted stories of rape and mutilation. >> on the second day of his visit to the democratic republic of the congo, pope francis met with victims of violence in the central african country.

children as young as 13 recounted harrowing experiences of human rights violations and the pontiff pointed the finger at those who are profiting from the decades-long war in the drc. the pope had planned to visit the east of the country with -- where the notorious m-23 movement has resumed attacks, but that was shelved for security reasons. earlier in the day, he arrived to a rapturous recession i'm called to an end -- called for an end to the cycle of violence that has plagued the republic for decades and asked citizens to grant each other a great amnesty of the heart. >> do not be afraid to take the crucifix between your hands and hold it close to your heart in order to share the wounds with the wounds of jesus. >> many locals had come to the

airport hours in advance to make sure they did not miss the opportunity to see the pontiff, and the significance of the visit was not lost on them. >> people are suffering. there's more there and there's too much suffering in kinshasa as well, but i hope the pope coming here gives the order for us to be at peace. >> on tuesday, the popemong us. denounced western colonialism which he said had contributed to the strife in the drc. pope francis is to spend four days in the democratic republic of the congo before moving onto the next leg of his trip in south sudan. >> pope francis in the democratic republic of congo. we will have a report following the pope's visit. next, another search for classified documents has taken place on a property belonging to president joe biden. it is reported so far nothing has been found.

the search, disclosed by biden's personal lawyer, is the latest discomforting moment in a president who sought to contrast his administration with that of the previous president. our next guest joins us from "the guardian" newspaper in washington. >> it seems to be so far at least a big sigh of relief for joe biden because his personal lawyer is saying [indiscernible] came out empty-handed. apparently nothing came to light. if they had, i think that would have been a significant blow, but if it is indeed the case that no documents are found,

they can try to put this behind them. it does seem to be a scandal that just sort of runs and runs. it has been going on a few weeks now. of course, documents were found at former president trump's home, which democrats are keen to point out is a very different case. also documents found of the home of the former vice president, which was also a relief for biden. perhaps part of the problem is that too many documents get classified in the first place. >> you probably take your work home with you. i have been known to do that occasionally. are we being too hard on these guys or is it a case of what properties is something of real

risk to the united states? >> we still don't know for sure what is in these classified documents, and i think that will be crucial. if it turns out from his time as vice president, joe biden has very sensitive materials to do or you name it, that couldcrets considerably undermine his reelection campaign. indications are it is probably not that serious. the trunk documents seemed more serious, more numerous. biden himself has admitted this was a mistake. mike pence, the former vice president, has acknowledged mistakes were made. clearly there does need to be a process where presidents and vice presidents and others have a better protocol for the way they pack up these documents

when they leave office, which tends to be in a bit of a rush, making way for the next person, but i would also come back to the point that about 50 million documents in america are classified every year and there are plenty of activists and government watchdogs who say this is too many. it is overzealous and includes information that, frankly, you can find on the internet, and that also needs some examination. there's just too much government secrecy going on. >> it is fascinating to look at. of course, we don't know what is in the documents. that is the very sort of crux of the matter. is it the case that this could be a storm in a teacup? the other thing i wanted to ask, is there any indication there is political motivation behind this? is there any sense that in these investigations there's any political motivation? >> no, not as yet.

i thinkerrick garland, the attorney general, who was appointed by joe biden, who is overseeing these investigations, he appointed special counsel to look at the trump matter at mar-a-lago. to dthe same for biden,s obliged otherwise he would appear to be biased. the problem is going down the road, when he says yes, we are going to charge trump but not biden, that would give the appearance he is not being fair in this. certainly republicans in congress view this as an issue. we will see how it plays out. >> i guess it shows that nobody

is above the law, not even the president or the ex-president or vice president or indeed you or i. thank you very much. someone we often call in for his analysis and take on things. staying in the states, the former south carolina governor, nikki haley, is to lunch her candidacy for the 2024 republican presidential nomination on february 15. she will square off against her longtime boss, the former president we were just speaking about, donald trump. the daughter of two indian immigrants, she scanned a reputation in the republican party for her ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers and has pitched herself as a stalwart defender of american interests abroad having served, you may remember, as u.s. ambassador to the united nations under trump. thanks for being with us, as

ever, always a pleasure to get your point of view. what is your sense of what nikki haley's candidacy might mean? >> well, she is bright, attractive, accomplished, and a fresh voice in national republican politics. she is very good at the art of disagreeing without being disagreeable. i think she will run a mostly affirmative campaign presenting her credentials rather than a negative campaign against her other competitors for the republican nomination, and i think she has handled the situation very well so far. >> i'm not asking you to nail your colors to the mast because that would be unfair, but it sounds to me as if you think she's got a chance. >> i have been through six

presidential campaigns and many more primary campaigns, and experience has taught me that positions of candidates in the polls more than a year before the first vote is cast don't really mean very much. right now it looks like a two-person race between donald trump, the former president, and former governor desantis, but that could change because as individuals who are less well-known got to present themselves to the voters in the months before the primary campaigns, they sometimes catch fire, even though they barely register in the polls a year in advance. you never know. i think she has the qualifications to mount a credible run. if there is a place for her in this rapidly evolving republican party remains to be seen, but i would not rule out. >> thank you very much indeed for that insight.

pleasure to have you here on france 24. next, business. we are getting more details about the eu plans for cleantech to counter america's sweeping green subsidies. >> european officials a fit -- had denounced the u.s. inflation reduction act as protectionist, but the european commission has formally put forward its own green tech industrial plant in an effort to avoid losing business to the u.s. and china and ramp up its own competitive edge. >>'s it's a proposal designed to help europe's industries rid themselves of co2 emissions and be competitive on the global stage. on wednesday, the european commission president unveiled the eu's green deal industrial plan. >> the plan has four pillars.

a conducive regulatory environment for the net zero industries. second, national and eu funding. third, the ensuring of proper skills for the greens transition, and an ambitious trade position is the fourth pillar. >> the plan was designed to rid europe of dependency on russian fossil fuels, something that occurred well ahead of schedule, but now the measures couldome amid sweeping energy cost to clients. the bill, which funnels 370 billion dollars into america's energy transition, offers tax breaks, subsidies, and other advantages for building and buying american tech. europe's response. >> we need this first step of funding now so we have the possibility to redirect or

reorient additional funding. it is about 250 billion euros to our net zero industries. >> despite backing from germany and france, other countries remain divided, arguing rich member states will be able to help their own countries and fragment the single market. debate on the proposals is expected to begin in brussels next week. >> america's central bank has once again raised interest rates to deal with high inflation. the quarter-point move brings the federal funds rate to between 4.5% and 4.20 5%, the highest level since 2007. last year, the fed carried out for consecutive rate hikes of .75 percent, lowering 2.5% in december. that's because consumer prices are rising at a more moderate pace. inflation still higher than the

fed's longer-term 2% target. the central bank chairman saying monetary tightening would be ongoing as appropriate to help support households and businesses. >> that's not grounds for complacency, althoug inflation has moderated recently, it remains too high. my colleagues and i are acutely aware that high inflation can pose a significant hardship as it erodes purchasing power, especially for those least able to meet the higher cost of essentials like food, housing, and transportation. we are highly attentive to the risks that inflation poses to both sides of our mandate and we are strongly committed to returning inflation to our 2% objective. >> wall street had already priced in that rate hike. u.s. stocks made of earlier losses to close in positive territory. the dow had been down as much as 400 points. it closed just slightly above the flatline. the s&p 500 up one percentage point. the nasdaq up about two.

we saw a mixed close with major european indices. just the frankfurt tax ending in a slightly positive territory today. the european central bank and bank of england will each be in the spotlight this thursday. the case of price rises in the eurozone zone is slowing. new data showed that inflation for the 20-member bloc was 8.5% in january. the ecb is expected to continue raising its key borrowing rate despite that studying pace of inflation. in the u.k., meanwhile, the huge protest that have rocked the country are also largely focused on stubbornly high inflation there. overall consumer prices were 10.5% higher in december than they were a year earlier, still floating near 40-year highs of 11.1% seen in october. food and energy costs are especially high. grocery prices rose nearly 17% for the first four weeks of january. by contrast, public sector wages

rose just 2.7% between august and october compared to just under 7% for private sector workers. union demands throughout these protests have varied, but they are all calling for wages to keep pace with spiraling cost of living. the government had a controversial effort to ensure minimum service even throughout union-sponsored walkouts. >> many >> of the government had a great deal of things to say very negatively about that idea. comparisons with north korea among others. we continue to watch all developments on that story. thank you very much indeed. pleasure to see you, as always. time now for choosing -- time now for truthing or faking.

as a video on social media show american m1 tanks arriving in poland? >> let's begin by looking at this tiktok video that was posted just six days ago. it has reached already over 9000 views on tiktok. this user claims to show breaking news. a train is pulling tons of abrams tanks and infantry vehicles spotted in poland amid claims that we, referring to the u.s., have no fight in this war, yet biden continues to push aggression. let's look at the video that goes with this post. you can see the video was captured in a moving car filming this train that is transporting what seems to be an endless line of abrams tanks and infantry vehicles in the snow we feel that users claim to be located in poland. we also saw these claims

circulating on twitter here in english and on french social media accounts as well as users claim american tanks drive through poland, so these posts started circulating on january 25 when president biden announced that the u.s. would send m1 abrams tanks -- would be delivered to ukraine. >> i suppose the question is -- was this video actually filmed in poland or somewhere else? this is where we revealed there is a place called warsaw in alabama. >> not alabama, but it was filmed in kansas in the united states, not too far. by conducting a reverse image search, we found the original footage. "the independent" posted this video right here on their youtube page on january 26.

it is the same video users claim with a report train carries dozens of tanks in kansas a day before biden agreed to send abrams tanks to ukraine, and the description for this video, they specify that the video was shot on january 24, approximately one mile west of gorham in highway 41, so this is important. here at this location into google location right here on highway 40, you can quickly verify that the location is the same one as the one we see in the video and in the false claims. we will have a demonstration right here with a screenshot of the video used in the claims of highway 40 where you can see, for example, this road sign that you see in the video is the same road sign that we see right here . the train passed by right here where you can also see the

railroad warning signs, so two images that coincide. same location. here is also a weather report in the kansas area where they announced light snow in this area consistent with the weather conditions we see in the videos in the false claims. mark: not poland, not warsaw, not even warsaw, alabama. this is somewhere else completely. who originally posted this video and where? >> here is the original tweet of the video posted on twitter by this user, eddie johnson on twitter on january 24, so one day before biden announced that he will aid ukraine with m1 abrams tanks. this video reached over one million views on twitter with a caption that reads, is this decision already made? this was kansas today. so an image people picked up online to claim that these were

abrams tanks in poland heading to ukraine. >> if eddie johnson knew what he was doing when he put that on line, i wonder. look what he started. as always, pleasure to see you. and thanks to you all for watching wherever you are. more to come live from paris. ♪ >> people and profit. your business show that gs we on the numbers and the corporate jargon. understand everything related to major business stories and how the economy affects our lives. people and profit on france 24 and france24.com. >> the world is ever-changing. the news does not wait.

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02/01/23 02/023 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the ft is a traffic stop should not be a life-and-dea situion. the terry nichols cas shows once again police violence comes in many shapes and forms and it not just a civil rigs issue, it is a human rights issue. we will not stop figing to the entire system of racist policing is undone.