nicolas sarkozy losing out the socialist candidate francois hollande in the first round of the french presidential election such a face off in a second stage nothing like. the last point challenger secures more than twenty eight percent of the vote so with nicolas sarkozy becoming the first incumbent leader to fail to take the lead in the first round of the presidential race in over fifty years join me for more in a few moments. popping happy pills to forget the horrors of war new concern for u.s. soldiers over dependence on sedatives and antidepressants. and syrian rebels refuse to dance to a foreign tube system military intervention is no way to resolve the deadly conflict.

on air and online twenty four hours a day you're watching r.t. . because sarkozy and the socialist challenger francois hollande will go head to head in the second round of the french presidential election in two weeks time their final results from the first round show a long one twenty eight point six percent of the vote in sarkozy's twenty seven percent is a first time french president seeking reelection has failed to win the first round for more than half a century a correspondent reports from paris. neck and neck second of all certainly is what we're going to see i mean the results coming out of the first trial does show what the polls have been saying throughout the campaign you have a lot coming out for us and cycle is a coming second but now the big question is the people who have voted for the other parties who are they going to vote for in the second round and there have been exit polls after the president first run of the presidential race and we see that about

fifty three percent of will vote for francois law that's according to the v.a. polls but that doesn't mean though that. for example has already secured a look at voters or that socialist candidate all on her secure job was voters and then there are the voters of sent centrist afonso biden he's the fifth in this first round and his voters are half and half but who they are going to vote for so the two candidates will have to have a stronger campaign indeed to win that those voters from the other candidates nicolas sarkozy he's not just a popular i mean some people have declared him the most unpopular president in modern french history now his cave in as a reformist president he wanted to do a lot of changes in france however we see a france now that has become poorer and if people are saying that it's becoming less about the people and more about capitalism or institutions as why there's a lot of feeling of anti-globalization or are anti capitalism also the unemployment rate right now is still around ten percent said the deficits of france still has

not gone down it is predicted by some economists to be the potential center of the next day of the crisis of the euro so again his presidency is it marred by one crisis after another at the top what sort of french people are jobs and the economy and these of course have not been addressed so he is very very unpopular at this point the left hands god above all what the polls have been predicted of more than eighteen percent and this actually shows us some are saying shift in the ideology to sentiments of the french people there are those who say that this is all there is and also an element of a protest vote voting for her because you don't see a choice in the center of the mainstream candidates so well for some exercise. said that it has to be acknowledged that the support base that she got in terms of the numbers does also show that this could be a vote of support for the apart from that she has been a putting forward a very nationalist anti euro add to your big ration platform that she has been easy since the very start of her campaign the french came out eighty percent of them

voted but the mood is still it's not enthusiastic they have come out to vote but they are still very very pessimistic very disillusioned with the the candidates that they have at the moment the they are still saying that they don't see the solutions that should be presented to solve the problems of the french people and what's interesting is that the french say first crowd is about voting for the candidate you like the most and the second round will be about a compromise sort of a compromise because you'll be voting for a candidate that you least dislike so it's going to be very interesting how they're they will be casting their ballots it the basic selections. and the press of political science at paris and western of s.t. so that the sarkozy has a recipe for this country. stands for. as a person he was extremely arrogant he was perceived as the president of the rich precisely at a time when there's a crisis and also. he doesn't have

a very clear political line he says one thing one day the opposite the next they're also incompetent because you know. very much about the crisis the president to wherever he is and it's likely to be a long we'll have to face the markets and we have to face a very tough situation. if there's a crisis in france which looks a bit like the crisis in greece they would be demonstrations and then being such a big one to me within europe that would make a big difference from my point of view they don't understand that there's a systemic crisis and immigration is one part of this systemic crisis but immigration doesn't cause the economic crisis it had become such a problem because people want to simplify everything and therefore there is a war to blaming a group of immigrants. well whoever inherits apparently said paris also inheritor

country with severe economic difficulties record unemployment and social division later this hour we'll talk to a member of the french socialist party and a man has a pretty. preview but brown's win here today is significantly poorer than it was five years ago but she's probably lost her influence in the world with for example the failure of the union for the mediterranean she's lost much of her influence in europe and the best example of this is how bank of america all the panic of the sarkozy have agreed on a draft european treaty which is very favorable to german interest and i'm very i'm favorable to be addressed to the rest of europe of europe france is mostly very divided we parroted today. but also on the way here in our table rolling over the opposition find out west africa symbol read a few government went ahead with its tune of formula one. there's

been a recording crease in the use of antidepressants and other prescribed pills among us soldiers it's seen as a way to help service personnel survive or there's concern it's many a sticking plaster the deep psychological damage suffered by soldiers not is going to count as a story. a record number of american troops are on antidepressants according to the u.s. army surgeon general more than one hundred ten thousand active duty servicemen and women are taking prescribe narcotics senate daves and anti-anxiety drugs that's an eight fold increase since two thousand and five michael brown served as a marine in iraq up until two thousand and six he started taking antidepressants after he returned from war when i was i mean i i couldn't make a rational thought if my brain was. cluttered with cards that was.

when my. greatest importance. i mean i couldn't be able to make a decision on whether. the person carrying the bag and in front of me. pointing it at me or whether or not where. just very well. michael says while in iraq he could see about a third of his fellow servicemen taking psychotropic pills to get through the day. some suggest the current increase in suicides and homicides in the u.s. military is not a coincidence although the link with the use of drugs has been proven in court only in a handful of cases american soldier david lawrence was charged with murdering a detainee he was guarding in afghanistan his sentence was reduced to ten years it was proved that the psychotropic medication that he was prescribed made his mental condition worse the fact that our military is saying oh if you just take these

pills you'll be fine and go on back out there and give these people gardens this is crazy and now we're seeing this terrible combination and reaction of these these medications next scene and and a lot of the soldiers self medicate with alcohol and those don't mix military official see no reason to panic saying the use of psychiatric drugs is comparable to civilian use if you are a civilian. spoke to a psychiatrist and said i have trouble sleeping and i have anxiety problems and i have post-traumatic stress disorder. they wouldn't give you a gun and send you out you know to face danger i mean you're even supposed to drive if you're taking some of these medications michael says when he complained of depression he was given drugs before he even had the chance to talk to a doctor. want to consider.

how to first and foremost. everything else second that prior to the iraq war soldiers could not go into combat on psychiatric drugs but the stress of combat took its toll. in order to keep the ranks for maybe less impressed the u.s. army started getting out more pills but what seemed like an easy solution has become a problem all of its own i'm going to check our reporting from our party. remember that there are more stories not dates waiting few on our website r.t. dot com it's a look at what you can find there right now saying that prayers tens of thousands of orthodox believers gather in central moscow show support for their faith following recent attacks on churches and christian medics. also watch the first episode of the summonses you show i thought website that's the next additional

program there tomorrow here on. the wiki leaks with every cute treason. in bahrain opposition activists are venting anger at the government which took decisive measures to make sure something's formula one grand prix race went ahead security forces crackdown on protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets were going straight as books sold roads into the racetrack burning tires of garbage they say the government held the event i suppose. to make the nation unified one person was found dead on site they are taking part in a mass protest that was one of them dispersed every single year of august dozens killed a middle east expert tariq ali says the gulf states friendship with america is its wrongdoings are punished. demonstrations and anger displayed on the eve of this event clearly security was at

a very high level western police and security officials had been called into open a former senior scotland police chief john yates warned that live rounds of ammunition would be used interesting way to defend democracy in the west affectively is slow police. spit in cross-stitch to get rid of this so ruler because he's one of theirs i mean you know just compare what is going on in bahrain to other parts of the arab world where the west sees governments as their opponents and there will be a cupboard the way the west reacts and this just shows up the blatant hypocrisy in relation to be human rights and be use of human rights for human rights march to get their own way it strategically bahrain is of key importance for the united states and its allies and so we have here in the arab world a group test display of double standards yet again. while they're still ahead in

a program setting sail reports for the ongoing join. russia china find out what the big guns are. a few minutes and what kind of challenges future potential astronauts meet their way to becoming space time yes. the u.n. is beefing up its observer mission to syria as a balance there continues unabated political leaders of the rebellion against a mask calling for military intervention something many people on the ground refuse to accept. reports. almost everyone in syria these days is in opposition to something ready to lash out at opponents at any moment and seventy six year old my feet mohammad is an opposition to that he says syrians are so worked up about politics that it's become difficult to make people smile but he

found the way. i like dancing in the streets and i like the reaction it produces in people i feel free this way even he can stay away from politics when i ask him about his biggest concern is ask syria should not dance to somebody else's tune. we don't need any countries meddling in our affairs no need to hear. about the prospect of a leap year style intervention seems ever less likely than militarized the position and their supporters are still asking for arms. and they are all gone from unknown and the presidents of other countries is that they support us and now because we the rebels wants to get armed. all the rebels may have caused all the media attention the syrian opposition speaks with many voices it's often

faulted for being disorganized and fragmented but there is a surprising unity when it comes to the issue of military intervention. this is a position activists he was detained and mistreated by the security services and while he is calling on bashar assad to leave serious political scene he says the armed groups should do the same. like him abdul aziz is not afraid to go public refusing to use he just returned back from moscow where the opposition delegation tried to persuade the russian authorities to put more pressure on their side regime he says not all power is mediating the syrian crisis are really helping you know all the world. we are supporting. well you know some of the states supported. and some

are trying to throw some sort of pressure. that comes. and it's pretty good not succeeded. grew dark where. people were sore for much. of the country. and we all know what it always worked with lead beer and iraq just across the border in forty democracies are not held in high regard here even among the opposition wealthy rents remain highly polarized across political lines so most of them agree that the solution to their current crisis should be worked out within the country even for the opposition delgo they know it's still better than the ones that now hong neighboring countries. artsy damascus syria

let's take a look now at some other news in brief around the world this hour. fighting erupted on the border between saddam assassins dollars the south's troops are pulling out and distributed border town in the south sudanese officials say up to four hundred of the soldiers were killed during the battle both countries of accuse each other of attacking for oil facilities in the area which were badly damaged long function south sudan became independent from the north last year for a long running civil war which to me that's. the colombian military says it seized more than two tons of cocaine in the western part of the country it happened during a raid on a drug trade which is believed to belong to the far colombia's largest rebel group distribution of cocaine is the rebels' largest source of income financing it turned him against the colombian government has been raging for more than fifty years. and this brave is set to give his final day of evidence to a norwegian court on the killings he carried out the austrian like he's already

admitted slaughtering all seventy seven victims in oslo bombing and shootings on a nearby island but he's not guilty on friday gave chilling details of the gun rampage in which he systematically shot calls and young people depending on whether or not he was found sane he faces either prison commitment from psychiatric institution. you have delayed making a one decision profit off oil in or from iran some other countries are concerned that would ban which going to come into force in july would hurt their economies but locals now push the decision back until the end of may the u.s. and its european allies are stepping up ascensions on iran based on fears that country might try to develop nuclear weapons. russia and china are holding their first joint naval exercises both sides stress the war games

near the korean peninsula not being against anyone marty is the lisa boesky is on deck to explain what political waters are still in beijing also into what's. i'm standing on board the russian destroyer admiral vinogradov and we are now in the chinese port of king it took us nearly a week to reach the starting point for the joint russian chinese menu were scald mabel corp two thousand and twelve the russian convoy consists of four big warships armed with conventional weapons three destroyers and the flagship missile cruiser but basically what we are going to see here in the next few days is an exercise in coop ration between russian and chinese mabel forces for the first time work for key areas anti-terrorist missions protection of marine lines of communication guarding of civilian vessels and joint supply operations they have the sizes are the type building on what's good forces have been each doing and the past couple of years in the gulf of aden to counter piracy chinese and russian warships ever

supported civilian convoys oakley coast of somalia and now they'll be learning to make it a joint effort most of the chinese ships we've seen here in the harbor look brand new for instance right across the pier you can see the guided missile destroyer harbin which will take part in the joint exercises in the yellow sea both sides stress that the war games are not directed against any particular country or military blog but there's in the creasing concern and both more. about the u.s. naval build up in the asia pacific and that's not to mention japanese and south korean naval forces to close allies with the us we've seen signs of japanese and south korea on our way to china with our convoy it was frequently followed by nato reconnaissance planes destroyers and submarines hundreds of sailors will take part of both sides supported by planes and helicopters. now it's

a dream for many young people to one day become an astronaut and russia's space agency is now open for new applicants for hopefuls and to prove that their mind will be able to withstand the challenges the teasing office can offer like to see if he's got what it takes. this isn't an ordinary session at the gym these men are trying to prove they have what it takes to become cosmonauts russia's space agency is now recruiting and we need to have several of ones one of them health at a crime if one of them but of course. just. as there was all these difficulties all africans have to go through a tough filtering system involving tests and exercises some are new some have been around since the very start like the thank you. two that's one of my all of says for him doing a g.'s on that centrifuge was the most difficult he's been training for two years

now and is set to officially become a cosmonaut after passing one final state exam. and i laughed when i was a kid i used to think cosmonaut is like a robot who has to be able to run and jump twenty four seventh's or like chuck norris and bruce willis combined or even james bond and superman but it's all much more serious in real life. we. thank. god for. jokes aside and survival in the world in this training is one of the toughest test for three days the crew lived in the woods using nothing but the equipment from the ship but still how hard can it all be. this is one of the first test in the first stages of the selection process that all candidates have to go through all basically it's a coordination pair so it shows how the mind the mind of

a candidate is able to control the body and we screen for jumping tests so what about removing a typical. four point six out of ten. but the real challenge stoolie ahead. i was expecting this would be my problem but it turned out it was the damn treadmill cool. you know let's look at. the. central perk requirement.

or am going to. and are going to. sleep i want to take to get off to they just didn't let me to get to said i have to go through these i think to look cool finally after the speech hamster run from hell. becoming a space. or g. store sitting. for the faint hearted tide to take a trip down money lane that daniel how the markets opened in moscow not good i'm afraid continuing last week's falls let's check the figures straight away the my six has dropped whole four percent in the first hour of trade oil prices on helping

energy stocks oil is pulling is with us economic growth tempers demand for crude so we've got light sweet at the moment still on the one zero four brant covering on the one nineteen. one into the red off the chinese manufacturing data the heinz thing is also extending losses this euro is losing value against the dollar but it regained some ground from the ruble on friday off and on certain weak news from italy and spain and the maker of kalashnikov rifles on the way to exit bankruptcy despite being the world's leading producer of small or big factory has racked up six hundred million dollars of that as of twenty ten but it's now finished the first stage of recovery. the more the with two current gen more those which went through a very deep hole for just rushing through the bankruptcy case and for a creation of a new company which took all good yes it's just sold that it's similar such as we

used to use marshall designed all the factory force for single product very must production sold now market demands many more products with much less williams so if you just offer about something we need to change your math what will work. to finalize our two billion rummel investment problem within three years carrier of today we'll have the opening bell from the european markets next they'll go down all thanks for that more later. and that be back with headlines in a few moments followed by an interview with a member of the french socialist party stay with us for.

sure is that so much of him and the huge musician on the mark when we part best sanction of israel movement where does it stand on the question of a two state solution of the palestine israel conflict. that there are killing innocents here or was it a call this of course and that's never answered. mamma song the most cost me guys. i think of it every day. i still have a flashlight from the memories. last so much so a long time ago the series trying to tell me. i was so sure. i was ashamed that

i didn't. i was ashamed that i had. to go are my go play come alive. in the mine. where i would be out of our forwards. and out believe what i was going on once or i think . that i was a good soldier. but now most older on the other side and i think i'm just it's good . to. just say. it's just.

old. it's technology innovation it's all the least of melanin still around russia we've got the future. download the official t.m.p. cation q i phone or i pod touch from the i choose apps to. see life on the go. video on demand teens money for old cards and r.s.s. feeds now in.