>> welcome to live from paris. world news and analysis from france 24. these are the headlines. macron in gabon. the french president to redefine france's relationship with africa and its former colonies. this against the context of growing disillusionment stoped by internet subversion suspected to be sourced inussia. arrests as the knesset holds. a per luminary vote on changes to israel's justice system. prime minister facing

allegations of corruption. in ukraine the fight becomes more intense. russia claims to be near victory. ukraine remains defiant. a war of attrition for a key point and control of the dundas in the east. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. emmanuel macron is in gabon on a presidential tour to showcase a new presidential relationship with africa. the french president is in libreville. former french colonies stoked by subversive internet campaigns originating in russia. gabon became independent from france in 1960. oureporter is following esident macron.

>> resident macron h no touched down in libreville for the start of a widely anticipated tour. he has set down with bonds president in the presidential palace. he is here for the one forest summit. the summit looking at ways to protect the environment, to protect biodiversity. it would be fair to say there has been mixed reaction among local people with whom we have been speaking in the run-up to this visit. there are those who have applauded has environmental efforts. others have criticized him coming during an election year. i think it is fair to say we have not seen the same amount of enthusiasm you would expect to see for the arrival of a french president in this part of the world compared with 20 or so years ago. the other thing you have to bear in mind is this visit comes as

france continues to lose influence in the face of competition from countries like russia and china. it will be interesting to see whether or not president macron can do anything to reverse that tendency. not just here in gabon but also angola, congo and democratic republic of congo over the next few days. >> our reporter who is following president macron on that trip gambon has one of the highest proportions of forest on earth. its management of these areas is considered essential to the balance of the ecosystem in africa. >> gabon's jungle stretches as far as the eyes can see. thousands of hectors covering more than 80% of the territory. the vast forests are the center of the discussions about the diverse location of the economy. the country is trying to prepare for the post oil euro.

>> we should be able to promote controlled felling which allows us to protect not only the resources but also the workers and the environment. >> here, the chopping of wood has been subject to forest regulation since 2001. they help preserve ecosystems and prevent climate change will limiting dependence on oil. the exportation of raw logs was banned a decade ago. since then more timber resources have been managed sustainably. that has led to the creation of a lucrative market for luxury furniture made from a variety of rare species. >> this has made it possible for us to set up an industry with companies that choose nearly one million cubic meters of food per year. today we have better control of our production. we can better trace concessions.

>> about 20,000 jobs have been created both directly and indirectly by the model. authorities say libreville's special economic zone makes up 40% of the country's exports but not everyone is convinced about the transparency of the process. >> article 290 of the forest code stipulates the administration is required to produce in annual report on the state of forest. over 20 years after t law, we are still waiting for its first report. >> most of the forest are threatened by overexploitation. it will be more examination of how to better preserve tropical forests at the one forest summit held at the first and second of march. > who have more on president macron's visit to africa. 39 arrest at a demonstration in

jerusalem against the planned overhaul of the justice system. opponents say the aim of the reform is to protect that in yahoo! who is -- a benjamin netanyahu who is facing allegations of corruption. >> undeterred by the heavy police presence and stun grenades protesters blocked roads and scuffled with police in tel aviv wednesday morning. incensed by a controversial plan to overhaul the israeli judicial system. >> i fight for 30 years in this country. now i am fighting against the dictatorship. i will not let it happen. >> stopping the entire traffic in the entire traffic -- entire country and he the government will understand we are dead serious and we will do everything in our power to

change the current path. >> the reforms spearheaded by prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his far right government would give even more power to the ruling coalition. it would also curb the power of the supreme court. currently the only institution that can review legislation passed by parliamentary majority. the reforms have sparked a storm in the country. it is facing one of the largest protest movements in its history. netanyahu's government says the reforms will correct an imbalance in which the courts have too much power. national security minister has described the protesters as anarchists but there has been witticism from establishment figures. the former attorney general told local outlets the lows with neuter the judicial system. he said the timing was far from fortuitous. the overhaul comes as net yahoo! is facing trial over corruption charges.

a trial the former attorney general warned could end in an improper manner. >> let's get analysis on this controversy. we are joined by the professor of political science at the hebrew university of jerusalem. is the aim here to politicize the courts in the same manner of the sueme court in the usa where justices are appointed by the president and lean toward presidential policies? >> t aim of the so-called reform is to give all of the power to the executive branch which means the end of israeli democracy >>. is there a case then to say that yahoo! is keen on this because he is trying to save himself from a corruption process? >> if we look at the past, he is the one that moderated the calls

for the so-called reforms of the courts. once his trial has begun and this has come to some type of climate in which these elections is attacking the courts with his partners from the coalition. >> you say this will be the end of justice in israel. what can be done to stop this from happening? collects some brave people are going out and shout. this is one thing. the other thing is the economy. the economy is in bad shape because of these ideas. the strength of the israeli economy and it is a very strong economy has to do with the power of the courts. people who invest the money here know that they are protected. their property rights are protected.

once the courts would be weekend we are afraid people will take their money. if the economy declines will be some pressures from outside, pressures from inside. this process might be blocked or moderated. >> does this then come back to the question about netanyahu and his reason for wanting this to happen? >> once again i think it is a very personal thing right now. that is the reason he he wantst to happen. to let the majority rule without any restraints. >> how and i think you have already answered the question but i'm going to ask you to elaborate more. how will this change israeli society? how will this change the way israel is perceived in the world? >> the way the world has seen a

lot of countries -- seen a lot of credit backsliding. the problem is if israel. a democracy. many people are invested their life here. many people are invested their life in the whole project of establishing a demratic state for the jewish people. some of these pple, many el that their life project is in dockerty -- and in jeopardy. democracy is in danger. >> is all of this due to the fact that israel has possibly its most far right combination of government ever? >> i think it has to do because if there would be a government of moderate right like they have moderate right all over the

world, moderate right is supporting democracy all over the world so you are absolutely right. it is probably at least some of the things that happen now have to do with the pressure from the far right who prefer to limit democracy as much as they can in order to have their goals progressed much faster than ever before. >> your obvious concern is coming through this interview. clearly you are very worried about what this will do to israel, to israel society, to israel standing on the international stage and of course to the whole justices of in israel. protesting is something you said people can do. is there any other protest you can see given your experience? any other process you can see to head this off.

>> athe end of the day we have a government right now and if this government will decide that it goes with all of its power to legislate these so-called reforms so then they will have it their way. the only thing that can happen, the only thing that can help is protest. people will show that they do not support this government. already see opinion polls some of the voters of the coalition are not happy about this reform. according to opinion polls, only about 30% of the population support so-called reforms. about 50% are against it and understand. say they do not they dnot know. i think if you look at all of

these pressures together together they might work. the president of israel is also trying to moderate. he might succeed at the end of the day. i cannot predict the future. what i am saying is i wouldn't expect these reforms to be on the table. it is not something democratic countries do. >> professor of political science at the hebrew university in jerusalem. thank you very much indeed. we are watching for developments on the story. arrests made as april the minardi vote was taken place in knesset of the overhaul of the israeli justice system. we are watching for developments. let's turn to ukraine. volodymyr zelenskyy has been speaking. he says ukraine is -- has overcome a difficult winter.

he is referring to the acceleration of russia's invasion. the fate of the town of buck much is the subject of a war of attrition that has been going on since july and has caused thousands of lives. russia claims to be on the verge ukraine remains defiant. >> these ukrainian soldiers are preparing for the next round of -- they are targeting russian infantry forces in dancing. -- forces advancing. >> it is a difficult place. it is difficult territory to defend. ny battlesave to be fought. there is a very large concentration of enemy infantry. they are putting all their resources into this. >> the paramilitary group wegner is on the front line.

mercenaries are trying to surround ukrainian forces. the head of the group issued an audio message saying the fighting was increasingly fierce. >> ukrainian armed forces are throwing era reserves into the city. they are trying to hold the town th all their strength. tens of thousands of ukrainian army soldiers are putting up a furious resistance. the bloodshed and battle is growing by the day. >> ukrainian soldiers in the village 10 kilometers are helping to evacuate the less civilians there. the villages on the road to the west near the front line. these people have no choice but to flee the fighting. >> we are leaving because there is shoing. this is our seventh place of sidence. the others were destroyed. >> seven missiles hit those residences.

>> the capture would open the way for russian forces to the rest of the dundas in particular the city 15 kilometers to the northwest. >> a final word from volodymyr zelenskyy this evening should he says ukraine is keeping all fronts under control. a report coming from the situation we see going from bad to worse. it is time for business. peter o'brien joins us. elon musk poised to unveil another so-called master plan in texas. tell us more. >> elon musk reckons this is the time when he can finally convince investors that tesla can produce a cheap car. this is at an event in the factory in texas which is going on right now. musk the richest man after briefly being knocked off top spot is expected to unveil plans for an electric vehicle priced

to the mass market. the only problem is he has made many promises before and no such car is yet forthcoming with the cheapest around 40,000 euros in france. in china the manufacturing sector surged to the highest level of production in more than a decade in february. it is a sign the country's economy is starting to rebound from growth stifling pandemic restrictions. >> after three years of pandemic disruption production lines are bustling along in chinese factories. in february the country saw its highest level of manufacturing activity in a decade. officials and analysts agree it is an early sign of recovery for china's economy which grew just 3% last year. >> as we continue to optimize our pandemic control policies and the package for stabilizing the economies rolled out, the chinese economy will continue to rebound.

local governments will see better fiscal conditions. >> china's manufacturing purchasing managers index or pmi rose to 52 point six in february compared with 50.1 last month. the pmi reading above 50 represents growth while one below indicates contraction. one analyst told france 24 china was able to see such a jump i activity thanks to relatively >>his means there was a lot of room for expansionary policy to stimulate quickly demand. without creating inflationary pressures. as soon as supply constraints were released this economy would be able to have strong acceleration very fast. >> while increased factory output is a promising sign the chinese economy is not out of the woods yet. the country is still dealing with a property market crisis

and a fall in global demand for exports. >> it is not such a rosy picture in the u.s. and europe. manufacturing continues to contract in the u.s. although there are some signs it is starting to stabilize. in germany europe's largest economy prices keep rising with inflation reaching 9.3% in february meeting expectations. with prices rising faster than expected in france and spain we cannot say inflation has reached the peak inflation yet. if you look at the markets wall street has closed down with the s&p 500 slipping by around half a percent and the nasdaq down about two thirds of a percent. in europe european indices closed earlier in the red largely. down almost half a percent. the dax and frankfurt forfeit fifth -- 4/10 of a percent.

in a surprise announcement lebanon central bank has said it was start selling u.s. dollars in cash at 70,000 lebanese pounds per dollar. the bank had pegged to the pound at 15,000 to the greenback one month ago. for three years lebanon has been in the grip of a severe economic crisis whi has plunged hundreds of thousands of people into perty. some supermarkets and restaurants have started listing prices in dollars. in the past month crypto company by nancy has seen $6 billion withdrawn in its ust token. a so-called stable coin pegged to the dollar. this is a drop of more than a third of the ust coins and existence. it follows a crackdown on the company which issues the token by the securities and exchange commission in the u.s. two weeks ago the sec wrapped the knuckles of the firm for not registering finance ust as a security while new york's chief

regulator ordered them to stop making the token. many of them are simply ust's. >> thank you very much indeed. great to see you. let's turn to what is true and not. waiting for us at the big board. good evening to you. plastic rice being made to be sold in africa. this sounds disturbing if it is true. tell us. >> we had france 24 and the france 24 observers were sent these videos for verification. the first coming to us from an internet user in the democratic republic of congo. we have seen this video being shared across the internet in a few different linkages. swahili, english, french. they are alerting africans to stay vigilant due to rice coming out of asia possibly being contaminated. this user, they have said eat

organic pit be careful of rice imported from asia especially those in ken shasta. if we look at the video what we see is rice being mixed in a large open flame pot and there is a black substance, a black powder being mixed in with it. it is extracted a few times but it is consistently put in with the black powder over the flame before being moved aside. if we look at the second video, the second video perpetuates this plastic rice factory claims. this video had over one million views online and in this video what we can see is plastic, literal plastic being fed into a machine of sorts. it comes out not only as a plastic film but later on in the video it makes an appearance in these flakes that looked very much like rice. they are picked up and put into a white sack similar to huge bags of rice we have seen in the shops. that is what we are dealing

with. i did find this video circulating on other corners of the internet. i found it on dailymotion and it an appearance on tiktok did those are the claims we are dealing with today. >> there were some pretty visual elements. how you disprove these videos? >> by doing a reverse image search this video took me to this one here. the same video we sell at the black substance and powder on this youtube channel uploaded by a user called indian food blogs. this account had over three and half million subscribers so that was the first indication what we were looking at like the something edible. the caption of the video is captioned puffed rice but it has a further caption in the hindi script. when we search those characters this is what the translation comes to. it is a very well-known spiced

seasoned puffed rice snack very popular in india. once we found this it was easy to find other videos like the one we saw of it being prepared an instructional way with the use of rock salt to scorch the puffed rice and puppet up further ready for eating. when it came to the second video it was a little harder to identify this one. the best clue came from the other instance where we had seen it on dailymotion where it is titled from six years ago. while we were unable to verify the exact origin of the specific video what we do know is it is not recent and it has appeared on the internet at least six years ago. we had to look at other clues to verify its veracity. this is a screenshot of the same video we saw earlier. what we can see is a chinese character on the white sack in the flakes went into. this character translates to propyl which is a derivative of the probably propylene widely

used in a range of industries. also saw the white sex look like huge bags of flakes falling in. also in chama it is -- in china it is common to store plastic in these bags. what we see is the same character used in the stock photo where plastic is stored in bags that look very similar so it is popular this is not a plastic rice factory. it may just be a plastic manufacturing factory. more so here, the machine in the video does look strikingly similar to this one which is a machine used to recycle plastic granules and create per propylene. >> this is not a new hoax. >> know, mark. it is not a new hoax at all. back in 2017 this hoax of plastic rice was an extreme

repopulate. and we had france 24 were one of the first to debunk this on the internet. 2017 it is dated. as well as other media publications as well. these videos surged online. we had a multitude of videos in 2017 all available on our website. these videos were popular in african countries at the time. the gambia, burkina faso, ivory coast, ghana. the level of fake news around plastic rice reached such heights at the time gone as food and drug authority carried out a mass investigation to dispel these claims. what we are looking at if we are seeing old information coming back to life and this is the revival in the online sphere. >> plastic rice does not exist. i wonder who was at the root of that hoax. thank you very much indeed. thank you again. and thanks to you all for

watching. more to come live from paris. >> they were known for their cuisine and saying hello with a kiss. >> the only work 35 hours per week when they are not on strike that is. how true are these cliches about france? every week florence tears apart stereotypes. join us for insight into french culture and current events to understand what makes the french so unique. >> french connections presented by florence on france 24 and france 24.com. ♪

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03/01/23 03/01/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> human rights. because they have black hair, they don't have green or blue eyes.