>> it is 9:00 p.m. you're watching live from paris. these are top stories on france 24. following talks with the chinese president xi jinping in moscow president vladimir putin vladimir putin hails bilateral ties with beijing saying together they have unlimited possibilities. after his government survived two known confidence president macron seeks to calm anger over his pension reform plans. tomorrow he will give a televised interview. the former u.s. president donald trump could face imminent

charges and arrest in york for allegedly paying hush money to the porn actor stormy daniels. ♪ good evening. we begin in moscow where the russian president vladimir putin is continuing to host the visiting chinese president xi jinping. this visit is a major boost for putin coming as it does days after an international arrest warrant was issued for him over russia's actions in ukraine. the chinese leader said his talks with president putin had been open and friendly and he reiterated china's mutual position on ukraine -- neutral position on ukraine and reiterated calls for dialogue. beijing has put forward a 12

point paper that seeks to de-escalate the conflict and lead to a cease-fire. the west says the planet short on detail. with listen to what both leaders had to say in moscow. >> i propose a toast to the health of our friend,our chinese president mr. xi jinping. to the health of all members of the chinese delegation leading china's comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation and the prosperity and well-being of russian and chinese people up. >> the two sides should coordinate closely to promote new and greater practical cooperation. >> a little earlier i spoke to our international affairs editor and i asked her what president putin had obtained from president xi jinping during the visit so far. >> the photo opportunity itself will be extremely useful for

putin particularly for his domestic audience. here is one of the two most important world leaders visiting him. red carpet, friendly looking photos. that is not to be ignored particularly after only last week we saw vladimir putin being -- an international arrest warrant on war crimes being put out from international criminal court. here is clear evidence he is not an international price everywhere even though there are 123 countries he cannot visit. that is something. it is true so far we have heard nothing about china possibly supplying weaponry. useful weaponry to russia. nothing has come out on that shared we don't know what have been -- what might have been agreed privately. that is something the west has been looking at closely. there be any announcement of clear supplies of weapons from the chinese? the other thing interesting to note was in the press

opportunity afterwards, putin talked as though there was a done deal on something called the power of siberia pipeline. this is a pipeline for gas which would reboot gas which would have been going to europe and send it to asia via mongolia. this is an idea that has been around for a long time but there is a sudden urgency for russia. russia would very much like china to be its new biggest customer now it is not selling gas to europe. it was hoped -- putin hoped this would be confirmed at this meeting. during the meeting xi jinping stayed silent at the press conference afterwards and in the joint declaration there was a lot of talk they would be looking at it closely. putin clearly tried to suggest it was a done deal.

it does not appear to be a done deal. china has enormous leverage at the moment. russia is in a weaker position and china can make more and more demands on any future pipeline on any future supplies. the photo opportunity was useful . weapons it does not look like you got anything certainly compared to zelenskyy today. the pipeline is interesting shared it is possible later this year there will be an announcement on that. >> what do you get the impression is of china's overall thinking during this visit? >> the chinese are engaged in difficult balancing act because from the outset they have never condemned this invasion. they have suggested at times nato's expansion to the east was something of a provocation. and xi jinping has continued to engage with putin throughout this. officially they say they are neutral. they do not want for example to

damage number one their own economy. should they cross certain redlines they will incur secondary sanctions for example from the european union which is their biggest trading partner. their number one priority is their own economy. that said, they are buying huge amounts of russian oil at good prices because in this relationship china clearly has the upper hand. in return they are able to sell some of their tech. they are selling a lot of conductors to russia which is very useful to russia and good business for china. there are a number of things they are trying to balance out. we have seen xi jinping and china be active in terms of brokering peace recently to everybody's surprise. they managed to secure the reestablishment of double medic relations between iran and saudi arabia.

-- diplomatic relations between iran and saudi arabia. we have this peace plan. it looks unlikely to be of any use to zelenskyy who wants a full withdrawal of russian troops. we are seeing them try to manage all sorts of different roles on the world stage and russia, china and increasingly other countries are interested in this idea of standing up to u.s. dominance around the world and creating some sort of access. we are seeing iran included. putin's only significant other visit since the invasion has been iran. putin is likely to visit china. that was another plus from this relationship between the two of them share the chinese president invited to him to a forum on the bill and road initiative later this year. it is likely putin will attend. >> our international editor speaking to us earlier on. it's cross to washington and

speak to our correspondent there. how is this visit by the chinese president to moscow being viewed in d.c.? >> washington is watching this meeting closely but they were quick to undermine this meeting and to dismiss it. when t white house has been asked over the past couple of days about how they see this -- between president shooting pain and putin, one official, john kirby, called it a marriage of convenience rather than a marriage of affection. they are basically saying these two leaders are leaders who are getting together because of their dislike of the u.s.'s leadership in the world and because of their dislike of the

international rules-based order. the way john kirby put it, he said president xi jinping would like to challenge u.s. leadership around the world. it is seen as this battle between washington and beijing. he looks at president putin as a potential ally in that effort. when it comes to president putin, washington is saying basically china is moscow's only lifeline. lifeline on the battlefield in this ukraine war but also a lifeline when it comes to energy, when it comes to the economy as russia faces all those sanctions from the unitive nations -- united states and europeans. they are in this not because they have similar values or interests but because they see each other as their best partner right now. washington adding this shows

these two leaders and these two countries are increasingly isolated in a world that has in part rallied around the u.s. and the european allies to support ukraine. >> and of course china has this 12 point peace plan is going to present -- it has presented to the ukrainians. waiting to hear back from them on it. what does washington make of that initiative? >> they are very concerned and they don't ally believe china's attempt at securg a peace al. the white house saying if president xi jinping wants to be a constructive player in a peace deal, china should be pricing president putin to withdraw should be pressing president putin to withdraw his troops from ukraine kid that would be the first and most important part. what the white house is saying is this 12 point plan with the

cease-fire, a cease fire right now would freeze the situation. washington says it frees the situation in a place where russia is still on ukrainian sovereign territory and therefore this plan has no legs because it violates the sovereignty of the ukrainian territory. so when you ask the white house, when you ask the state department, the whole administration is on the same page. they are basically dismissing this as a sort of attempt by president xi jinping tthe others saying is s are hearingbout a sy need to do that.hi cnese need tm the ukrainians, from the

ukrainian side and of course once again, this message we have been hearing from washington for the past year is that nothing about ukraine without any peace deal them out of what it lookskrainians and president zelenskyy is dead in the water for them. >> us the latest. vement of president macron just survived a no-confidence. it is with regards to plan reforms of the french pension system to the law is lit.

right police on standby. people wearing masks to protect themselves presumably from tear gas if indeed any tear gas has been fired i don't know that for sure. that is the scene. looks like things have taken a turn for the worse with more violence there this evening. there have been violent protests across france on numerous occasions in

>> i want the president to calm the country. we are in a major political and social crisis. >> it is vital to rebuild our relationship with the french people, talk to them and explain why we had to do this. >> regardless of what the president plans to say, trade unions have already announced further strikes and protests on thursday.

>> after nearly two years in captivity, a french journalist made an emotional homecoming and was greeted upon arrival near paris by his family and the president. the 40 eight-year-old thank the authorities in niger and for the president to help secure his release. >> stepping back onto french soil, a free man. after 700 and 11 days held hostage. olivia dubois hurried to greet his half-sister and father who were waiting a french president emmanuel macron to welcome him. thereby his friends waited their return. >> this is giving me goosebumps. everything you might expect. we are very moved. we cannot wait to give him a hug. >> a day earlier the french journalist spoke from niger's capital saying he was tired but in good health.

>> it is incredible to be here, to be free. i want to thank niger and its know-how in managing the delicate situation answer france d all who contribute it to making today possible. >> he was captured on april 8, 2021 in northern malley by an al qaeda affiliated jihadist group should have been working there since 2015 and was trying to interview a local jihadist commander. his family and colleagues kept up a local public awareness campaign mobilizing regular we across france including on martinique. his aunt and report campaign expressed relief. >> we are relieved to see him in good health and free. >> i cried a lot this morning. i am happy. it is incredible. >> once out of camera shot olivia dubois reunited with his partner and two children. >> for the past few days the

former u.s. president trump has been calling on his supporters to protest against what he said was his looming arrest. that arrest could happen today because a court in manhattan is currently mulling charges against the 70 six rd regarding his alleged payment of hush money to the adult film star stormy daniels. trump has suggested there could be a repeat of the kind of violence seen on the sixth of january 2021 when the u.s. capitol came under attack. our reporter is in new york with the latest. >> police in new york city are preparing for rest in case former u.s. president donald trumphis tuesday. there are barricades outde the manhattan criminal court where trump could be charged and an increased presence outside trump tower. every member of the new york city police department including plainclothes detectives had been told to wear their fu uniform this tuesday. all police are on standby for mobilization. the potential indictment is

centered around whether or not he covered up a 130,000 dollar payment from his then lawyer michael: two stormy daniels to prevent her from speaking out about her legit affair with trump. trump could become the first u.s. president to be tried in a criminal case. this investigation is being led by the manhattan district attorney. it is one of several legal challenges facing trumpcare is not been any unrest so far in new york despite the fact that trump urged his supporters to protest in social media post saturday. that call made law-enforcement concerned supporters might engage in violence similar to the attack on the u.s. capitol. new yorkers have had mixed reactions to the news of trump's impending arrest paired some of them told me it was about time he was arrested. others said even if he faces a criminal trial he will probably get away with it as he always does. on the whole trump is not well-liked in manhattan but if you go out to long island or staten island he has a strong

fan base. one supporter i spoke to told me if he is arrested it will only add to his notoriety and strengthen his base. trump is of course running for reelection in 2024. >> reporting from new york. let's get a check of what is happening in the world of business. i'm joined by peter o'brien. let's begin with some rest bite from the banking sector. it has been a turbulent couple of weeks. >> many banking stocks this tuesday have been surging after moves by the u.s. federal reserve and other central banks to ease concerns about the state of the sector. that is after a scary 10 days involving the collapse of several midsize lenders particularly silicon valley bank and the rescue of credit suisse by ubs and the swiss government. several major central banks have taken steps to improve access to liquidity. now all eyes are on the fed to see whether it has a balance didn't -- as abandoned or

maintained its rate hikes on wednesday. janet yellen said the sector is stabilizing and the government is ready to intervene again if necessary. >> the fed facility and discount window lending are working as intended to provide liquidity to the banking system. aggregate deposit outflows from regional banks have stabilized. as you know, 11 banks including the very largest and some regional banks announced $30 billion in deposits into first republic inc. last week. this support represents a vote of confidence in our banking system. >> there is bound to be upset stomachs in san francisco where first republic bank is headquartered and their stock is doing somersaults jumping by more than a third this tuesday

and after being pummeled on monday almost having in value that day. banking giants j.p. morgan chase is spearheading a rescue plan for the bank attempting to raise new capital while a takeover may also be in the works. the fallout from ubs's emergency acquisition of credit suisse into news. the swiss government granted ubs a guarantee of 9 billion swiss francs, about the same in euros to assume potential losses in the central bank is providing a liquidity guarantee of up to 100 billion swiss francs shared that is a lot of public money. thousands of people could lose their jobs following the state backed takeover with unions demanding a rescue package. >> the most obvious thing is there should not be any bonuses for the management and top management for these companies paired that should be common -- for these companies paired that

you become indecency. we also need to ensure a social plan and a good follow-up for people who will be impacted by job losses. this is what we are asking for today. >> gold has been trading at record highs in some currencies this week. in the u.s. it hit more than $2000 an ounce. this tuesday it has dipped back down. analysts think of the upward trend should continue with the wobble in the banking sector and the longer term, the war in ukraine. our correspondent has the story. >> business is booming in this gold shop in northern france. given the current economic climate more and more prospective clients have been dropping in. >> i wanted to come here to asked some questions because gold is obviously a safe haven. >> for investors seeking stability in uncertain times

gold is always a solid option. as banks collapse in financial markets weather the storm gold prices have shot up over the past months as people trade in their dollars for gold bars and coins. >> there you have the 50 pesos coin. right now it is worth 2329 euros. >> for this other client, now is the time to cash in. >> i am not a professional or anything. the value goes up and down. i bought last year in march. it went way up. it retreated a little. and of the past five or six months i has been back on a steady course. >> gold prices have increased over the past six months. on monday gold traded at record highs in some currencies. in the u.s. it neared all-time peaks above $2000 per ounce. since then it has retreated back slightly. analysts still expect the upward trend to continue. >> in venezuela the oil minister

has resigned after prosecutors opened a corruption investigation into the state oil company which has seen at least six high-level officials detained to it as a shock because he was essential to the government's efforts to evade sanctions and is a close ally to president nicolas maduro. reuters reported an hour ago the oil company had accumulated 20 billion euros in unpaid bills. this is what maduro had to say about the resignation. >> the minister was made known through social networks and sent me his resignation of the po of minister of oil. his willingness to provide all the information he handles.

support the group of bandits and mafioso. >> no wonder they have lunch that corruption investigation. >> thank you very much for that. peter o'brien with the business news. thank you so much to you. i will be back in couple of minutes. stay with us on france 24. ♪ >> welcome to the special history episode of french connections plus. >> we are going to deep dive into what was dubbed the beautiful era. straddling the end of the 19th century in the beginning of the 20th. >> it was a time of peace and prosperity, technological progress, bubbling creativity and hope the future.

>> it was also aoment of deep societal change tt set the foundations of modern-day france. >> join us as we time travel back. >> french connections plus. presented by genie godula and florence villeminot. >> the history of our world is forever changing. the flow of information is constantly increasing. we cover all subjects. we verify. we commit. on the ground, in all circumstances to anticipate the future by understanding the present. we are with you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. france 24, an alternative look at the news. ♪

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