>> you are watching france 24. these are the headlines. emmanuel macron says a woman's right to choose an abortion will be enshrined in law. he says this is to avoid any repeat of the controversy that has played out in the united states. protests grow over a newborn law that means any business with 20% funding from abroad would have to announce itself as a foreign agent. some say there will veto the

bill as it threatens it and eu entry bid. as an eu entry bid. germany is cautious of a probe ukraine group sabotaging the nord stream pipeline. u.s. intelligence says that kyiv was not involved. they are focusing on a boat with people with fake passports. this. . is live from paris -- this is live from paris. ♪ thank you for being with us. emmanuel macron announced the international women's -- on this international women stay that the right to abortion will be set in stone into the french constitution. in a speech dedicated to a pioneer representative rights in

french, macron said that the constitution will be submitted to parliament. the psident is trying to avoid any further politicalization on the issue. this is following the u.s. supreme court overturning women's right to choose. mark: i want to strengthen and >> this message -- >> i want to strengthen this message to enshrined the freedom for women to choose abortion and be a solemn guarantee that nothing can ever limit or abolish this right because it will have become irreversible. >> president macron with his announcement earlier. let us bring in a spokesperson for dare to be feminist. what do you think about this announcement from the french president? what do you think about his words? >> we have been demanding that abortion rights gets into the

constitution. we think it is a victory. it is a feminist demand. we want to write to abortion to be in the right to be in the constitution -- we want the right of abortion to be in the constitution. it gives more rights because the governnt will have a service and provided for the freedom of abortion and then implicates that the government will have less need to provide the service. it will be less powerful than just the right for abortion in the constitution. >> is this a massive issue? most liberal thinking people would say it is right that a woman has the right to choose. it is her body. it has nothing to do with a man! >> in france, it is not a very

feminist society. they say feminists exaggerate but 80% of french people agree it is a right that the woman can choose what they want to do with their body. they should not be forced to be pregnant. >> with that, i think anybody who is right thinking say that is the case. we saw in the united states because it was not enshrined in the constitution, the supreme court which is politicized leaning towards the republicans and of course it was a political issue were able to overturn that right. to knowledge that president macron's was in the correct and the right thing in what he is trying to do? >> yes, this is a demand he has been demanding for years. whenever the right is in power, they try to attack this right. even in the united states, the

majority of people are for abortion rights. because of the supreme court that is politicized, they are attacking this right. it is a good move. we hope it would signal to all countries that it should be enshrined. it takes a small crisis, it takes the right to attack this fundamental but very fragile right. >> that is fundamental and a fragile right, we agree on that one completely. it is talk about other issues regarding france and feminism -- let us talk about other issues regarding france and feminism. in terms of changing how women are treated and how seriously women are taken, if you could see the number of female leaders in business, it could be better? it could be more? >> we were trying to talk about this today. if you look at the national

assembly, if you look at the number of mayors, if you look at the top 15 universities, most of the power is mostly men. women are minority. there ar instances where the decision can affect us. in equality is very persistent in france. we see this in all levels. not just for people who make the decisions but also in violence against women is quite prevalent and our society is a bit less progressive than some issues. an issue is we live in a country where the interior minister is a man accused of rape. we need a bit more progress on all fronts. >> i think most people would

agree with you on that one. violence against women is one thing that needs to be crackdown upon. we will look at that in other countries. thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate your time. we will have more on international news as we got to the program between now and beyond midnight paris time. thank you for joining us. next, thousands of people staged a second straight day of protest in the georgian capital, rallying against a foreign agent's law which signals an authoritarian shift that could harm georgia's chances with a closer tie with europe. the legislation requires an organization receiving more than 20% of their funding from oversea to register as foreign agents who face substantial fines. our correspondent is joining us live. tell us more about why people are against this law?

they are out on the streets demonstrating for a second day. >> we are speaking, the police is repressing demonstration which was mostly peaceful. the people who are against this is because they understand that it is made exactly four make sure that georgia would split with the west and european past that it has chosen. three decades ago. the law is shaped for that and this is what they do not want because most of the georgians do not want to go back to the russian interference. say fear that this would be passed because they think it is a attempt by russia because this

was 10 years ago, there is a very powerful tool to repress the population. to make the media and civic society to not speak about anymore criticize best about anymore criticism -- about any criticism of the government. >> they are urging protests to continue? saying that he stands with the georgian people and at georgian president says she is against this law. that may not be enough to stop it? >> absolutely, tonight we have two or three times more people than yesterday at the demonstration and despite the important mobilization, the gornment decided to reess again the peaceful rally. we are seeing and facing a

situation with a kind of federation between the tradition which is more and more mobilizing moving and the government that is trying to pass the bill. in the coming days. despite the west is against it, because the west is against it, they maneuver, they use the law to make sure that the west would say no to georgia. especially under west and of the status with the eu that has to be decided this year. >> thank you as ever. great to see you. keeping an eye on all developments and to remind people, two days of demonstrations against this law. volodymyr zelenskyy showing his support for the protesters, calling for democratic success in georgia and u.s. calling on

protests to continue and the president of georgia saying that she is against it. it is not enough to stop this. the department can veto what the president says. nato warning that buck moved -- backmut could fall to the russians. russia claims to have taken the east of the town, is not the first time we have heard claims from a mercenary group. russian leadership on the ground says it wants to fight on is russia sustaining heavy casualties each day. >> surviving the bombardment has been an unfriending and deal -- unending ordeal. transporting people to hospitals. >> [speaking non-engilish

language] >> russian efforts have focused on the small town, despite western assertions the town has no strategic value, russia sees it as a big step towards the ultimate goal. on wednesday the head of a mercenary group said they controlled the eastern flank. >> [speaking non-english language] >> the area has already been under russian occupation with the latest success claims unbind viable -- unverifiable. >> [speaking non-english language] the mood in stockholm

is one of us and is him. jens stoltenberg told defense ministers he expected russia to throw more troops into battle. he could not see bakhmut falling to the enemy, they said it will not be a turning point in the war. >> defense ministers have agreed to speed up supplies to ukraine. there will be one billion euro incentive that states it the block to supply kyiv. there are questions over how this could practically be done. two prominent ministers seem to hold different opinions. >> we are at a seismic moment. it is absolutely mandatory that

we move towards an economy and defense industry. we need to do whatever it takes to supply ukraine with ammunitions. >> i will not adopt the term war economy. european union and germany are not a war. we are not supporting everything towards the ammunition, switching our industry to a war economy, i will not go along with that demand. >> next, germany's defense ministry has urged caution over a pro ukraine group is involved in the nord stream gas pipelines in the baltic sea last september. german and american media report that investigators were able to reconstruct how the pipeline was sabotaged on the night of september the 26th, 2022.

boris said he read the report with great interest but warned against drawing hasty conclusions. >> it is an unsolved mystery that is fueling public speculation. attack on the nord stream gas pipelines which connected russia to western europe? on tuesday, the new york times published a report suggesting a pro-ukrainian group was to blame. in response to the article, ukraine denied involvement. >> for me, it is strange. it is has nothing with us and i think the investigation of official authorities will describe every detail. it is like a compliment for our special forces. but this is not our activity. >> german federal prosecutors have said we are still investigating -- they are so invested in a ship which they

believed transported the explosives used to sabotage the pipelines. another piece of the puzzle, the attack was allegedly carried out by five men and a woman using fake passports. according to several german media outlets. while theories are spreading, the eu has warned against jumping to any conclusions. >> i'm not afraid of any truth. we are talking about for the time being, speculations. investigations on the exact circumstances are still ongoing. >> t two pipes transporting russian gas into the eu orchestrate on the 26th of september, turning up global tensions another few notches. both pipelines were closed at the time of the attack which came months after russia's invasion of ukraine. >> tens of thousands of protesters in greece over the train crash that killed 57

people. the passenger train running between two places crashed on head-on with a freight train december the 28th. the transport minister resigned in the wake of the disaster. >> thousands gathered in athens to protest against systemic failings which led to 57 deaths in greece's worst ever train disaster. tensions between police and protesters mounted as petrol bombs were hurled. the collision between a passenger train and an oncoming freight train has triggered anger across the country with many bulimic government neglect. >> you feel angry because they did nothing for all of us. the public transport is a mess, basically. all of those people are here to support and show that something must be done.

>> strikes which begun earlier in the day it brought greece's transport system to a standstill as workers across several sectors walked out to express their discontent. it is the latest in a series of demonstrations, some of which turned violent since the crash in fairbury 28th. on sunday, greece's prime minister apologized for any responsibility that the govern ment had. so did the presentation director who took over after the last one resigned last week. >> the responsibility of the government has been assumed the system will not restart only under improved conditions. >> the government blamed human error, the stationmaster is facing charges of manslaughter. the prime minister faces electives -- elections this summer has agreed to subject

himself to an inquiry. >> the day of action over a spill over into the second consecutive day. eight major unions invited against reforms, we can predict very clearly that there is more to come. >> uncollected, petrol pumps running dry, and most transport services disrupted. >> my train was canceled again. there is a lot of uncertainty. it is tricky. >> for the second consecutive day and strike has been taking place at refineries, bringing oil shipments across france to a halt. >> we need to bring the country to a standstill to get what we want. it is the only way. >> i'm 60 years old, i have been working for more than 43 years. i cannot work another two or four years. >> the disruptions, as protesters across france once again say no to the plan to

raise the national retirement age from 60 to --6 62 to 64. opponents say the plan is a political choice, and at reducing taxes on the wealthy, one that penalizes women and the working poor. so far the government has shown no signs of backing down. >> we are aware that this effort does not win a majority. the support of a majority of the french people. we are convinced that the alternatives in raising taxes and increasing the debt and lowering the pinches of retirees would not win support either. >> the bill is being debated in the french senate wehere its proponents are hoping to have it passed into law by mid-march. >> we are watching all developments on the situation

regarding the strikes in france. it is concerning the central reforms of the pension system and at the heart of that is raising the retirement age from 6062 to 64. the eu president is due to arrive in washington as she shows green subsidies. >> it has upended u.s. eu relations, since the united states passed its sweeping inflation reduction act which offers nearly $370 billion worth of incentives for companies that produce or manufacture clean technology. the eu initially criticized the bill as protectionist and it has since outlined his own clean technology industrial plan. it is far from being put into practice. businesses are warning that brussels is losing ground in this race. they are hoping to pave the way

to more cooperation with washington and carving out more exceptions so that parts made the eu could also benefit from the subsidies. she has argued that allies should be working together, not competing in winnable energy. she toured a factory that recycles lithium-ion batteries in canada. she wanted to recycle items like lithium. >> we see that china produces 98% of europe's supplies of rare earth. europe needs to de-risk dependency. this of course is immediately the reason why europe seeks to work together with trusted partners. >> adding urgency, volkswagen is looking to cash out on the aid that has been issued by the

u.s. and the w could hit -- volkswagen could hit pause for plans for a factory in eastern europe and instead opt for a factory in the united states. the american carmaker tesla has already announced similar plans. others could follow suit, costing jobs and pay if the eu does not offer similar conditions. wall street struggle for direction a day after the head of the u.s. federal reserve said interest rates would remain higher for longer than expected. that makes close with the nasdaq up .4 percent. private employers added more jobs than expected, another sign that the american labor market has yet to feel the real effects. fairly muted close, the dacs outperforming in frankfurt, and he does closed 2% higher even after they cut dividends and

warned it could face the first annual operating loss in over three decades as a direct result of its failed partnership with the wrapper -- rapper kanye west. as we mark women's day, we look at affordable health care, an issue that disproportionally affects women in the workplace. in the uk the cost of living crisis has increased the order on caregivers who often give up their careers as a result. >> as the united kingdom teaches on the brink of recession, and the cost of living crisis shows no sign of letting up, millions in the country are feeling the crunch. not least those with young children. luis is a mother of two and has taken what she considers a step back in her career in order to be able to afford childcare. >> i was a charity shop manager for 12 years until very recently

last week. i have now switched to a cleaning job at the minute which is not a job i have chosen. it offered more flexibility and it pays little bit more. i feel like i put my career on hold since i have had children. based on the cost of childcare, basically. >> the average price for full-time total care for a child under two was more than 14,000 pounds last year, merely -- nearly 16,000 euros. that makes britain's childcare among the most expensive in the world. taking up 30% of the income of a couple with two young children only behind switzerland and new zealand. the government has spent money on helping with the cost of childcare but many say that they need to be doing more. >> parents cannot work without good quality and affordable childcare like they cannot work without a functioning transrt system.

we have to see the government invested this in order to get more women back into the workplace. >> with a general election expected next year the opposition labor party refused childcare as a key battleground. pledging to transform the sector including fully funded breakfast clubs for every primary school in england. >> access to affordable childcare is one part of this battle. the world economic forum saying it is going to take 132 years to achieve parity on a global scale. >> it was good for the you and saying that it would take three centuries earlier this week. childcare is massive, implement cannot get back into the workplace you lose not just a worker but so much talent as well. some of the most talented people i work with, including you, or female! supporting them is really important. wake up everybody! let us make it happen! kate, thank you.

kate, with the business, thank you. thank you for watching. more to come, live from paris. ♪ >> revisiting the fight, the president of the association of peruvian women subjected to forced sterilization in the 90's. >> we have been fighting for more than years and we will continue until we get the truth, justice, and compensation. >> she listens. these are the results of all of the medical exams i had because of not -- because i have not been well since my tubes have been tied. >> we need to be respected. you are not alone. >> she does not give up. >> now is the time to apologize. >> watch her quest for justice in revisited on france 24 and france24.com.

>> ♪ [speaking non-english language] >> the world is ever-changing, the news does not wait. that is why at france 24 we are always there to make sense of all the events, 24 hours a day, no matter what, france 24 is with you everywhere. all the time. ♪

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03/08/23 03/08/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we are here -- amy: millions are taking to the streets today across the world on international women's day, celebrating half the planet's population. even as many continue to face

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