fillon.s was jacques chirac‘s party. they have beenin jacques chirac‘s party. they have been in power since 1958. this is not just been been in power since 1958. this is notjust been viewed as an electoral blow? the right has disappeared and thatis blow? the right has disappeared and that is the republican party. so now we have two unknown entities. emmanuel macron is young. his editor and 40 this year. he does not have a party. so it is a complete renewal of the political class, really, that we go to see in the next two months. and marine le pen, caused a we know her. —— he is going to turn 40. this was a link that she inherited from her father. she was a link that she inherited from herfather. she cherished it was a link that she inherited from her father. she cherished it and made it more mainstream. but she presents herself as an angry citizen. this is historical. what is this mean for french mps? we have a lot of them saying this might be at the presidential level, but i am going to carr

you have been very generous to francois fillon tonight. to the former europe minister from your party the other night and he was similarly charitable to francois fillon, there must be a lot of soul—searching deep down in your party because this was there for the taking? yes, but the point is, if we begin to quarrel too much, i think we will lose also the third round. ifi we will lose also the third round. if i have a piece of advice to give to pierre who is a friend of mine, i would say keep cool because we need absolutely to unite and to really run for the third round in the best position. it doesn't mean that of course pierre asks fillon to resign. who will lead the party into these elections? i think there will be a kind of team because fillon i think is no more in a position to lead the party as such. but there are many others who tried to act let's say, if each region, to force the victory in the third round. 50 if each region, to force the victory in the third round. sol if each region, to force the victory in the third round. 50 i t

francois fillon met with the president, nicolas sarkozy.heir relationship has been a little bit frosty. this meeting took place behind closed doors. sarkozy was the big loser of that primary but he still has a very loyal voting base. met with himjuppe yesterday. >> they have also had a frosty relationship since primary because alain juppe lost to francois fillon in the primary and then at the height of penelope gave -- gate there were calls for him to come back. all of that is behind them. it was a little frosty. we talk a lot on the phone. we have known each other for a long time, haven't we. too long to count. >> right after that conservative primary francois fillon was seeing -- seen as basically being a shoe in. the penelope scandal complicated a lot of things for him including his relationship with the media. >> check out this report. >>>> in a scandal plagued campaign, francois fillon has prioritized one particular line of defense. blame the media. >> i am the target of a merciless biased attack seven days a week 24 hours a day. is th

francois fillon winning this election injanuary.we thought he would stand down. but he wouldn't go and he was stubborn and till the end. would another conservative candidate have done better against emmanuel macron? that seems like a pretty loose indoor smoke from the mayor, if they are going to get their supporters out to support emmanuel macron, they are going to have to do a betterjob —— that seems like a pretty loose endorsement from the mayor. if this is going to be about turnout, the second round, they will need more enthusiasm. we had a socialist senator and another support of runs while philon and they said the same thing. —— another supporter of francois fillon. they are saying that emmanuel macron is aborting like he has already won, but there are many people who do not support him -- are many people who do not support him —— is celebrating like he has already won. you will be watching it closely, of course. in other news: and a short time ago, the united states imposed sanctions on syrian government officials in response

marine le pen, francois fillon, emmanuel macron and jean—luc melenchon. 0ne francois fillon, emmanueluc melenchon. one of the key factors in this election, i think, is going to be to see how much tactical voting goes on. because there will be some people, but how many we don't know, who are tempted to vote for marine le pen but will in fact vote for francois fillon, in order to keep out emmanuel macron. at the other end of the spectrum there will be people who want to vote forjean—luc melenchon but will say no, we will vote for emmanuel macron in order to prevent marine le pen and francois fillon going through. it's an points out that this election will hinge. we have our correspondence out and about at all of the headquarters of the main candidates this evening. let's go around the country and visit some of them. first in the calais region. what kind of day have you had there, catty adler? ican i can tell you it's pretty full linear but pretty full outside as well. a lot of the party faithful queueing and shouting their support for marine le pen outside the gate. here there is a lot

fillon -- macron is more centrist, fillon more center right.re and we did quite a bit with ipsos, at the timeand it could have changed, a huge amount was what is the pe for france.e, what is thee >> how do we see ourselves. are we optimistic about the future? to we see the glass half empty or half full? do we have hope for greatness of france? do we believe europe is the best way to be strong again? it's like something -- >> rose: are the arguments made in his first run? >> all the campaigns, every five years, all the campaigns they are around unemployment and economics. >> rose: and the role of the state in the economy. >> yes. but what makes this one very different, i think, and those who have been the to france recently, i guess they would agree, is that people are still under shock by both the immigration, the wavef migrants from syria, et cetera, and by the terrorist attack, and that's why i insist on the cultural identity threat. >> rose: thank you all. thank you, charlie. >> rose: we'll be right back with steve ballmer, former c.e.o. of

my bet would be it's tightening in favor of fillon.ll see who the two are getting to the final. >> in terms of the fact there's four candidates, all close together within 20%, and, of course, only one of them from the two traditional parties here in france. give us historical perspective about how shaken up french politics is at the moment? >> it's shaken up because we have two establishment parties, the republican party represented by mr. fillon, and the socialist party. the socialist party represented by mr. macron. without risk of being, let's say, making a mistake, the soeshlgti socialist party is dead. 7%. so far away from the other contenders. it's dead. the question is can mr. fillon who has been involved in corruption affairs, can he save the republican party? just imagine fillon is out, socialist is out, and we have le pen, melenchon, the two extremes. it's the fear in the diplomatic and financial markets. >> right. >> but mr. macron is very peculiar. people start realizing that macron is mr. hollande number two. used to be hi

fillon. he is going to get what he deserves. have you convinced anyone to vote for francois fillon today? >> i guess i hope. it's a bit tough in this part of paris to convince some people. we try and we hope so. >> he is polling neck and neck who the far left candidate has recently surged in the polls. his campaigners are targeting the same metro stop. fillon supporters are hoping voters will overlook scandals. there is one candidate who is loving the current situation. far left candidate jean-luc melenchon. has seen an incredible surge in opinion polls. just a few weeks ago he was a distant fifth and he could very well make it to the palace. down yesterdays to understand more about the search. -- surge. >> jean-luc melenchon drawing a huge crowd here. of long-standing supporters, new converts and those considering switching to the cause in the wake of his bounce in the polls. >> i have never voted before. only one who i think speaks honestly. he doesn't have my vote yet. in the pollsuation i am starting to reconsider. i hope he

macron and fillon want to stay in.a stronger eu and fillon wants more control of france's borders. the other major issue for the business world — labour reform, and france's famous 35—hour working week. melenchon wants to cut the working week even further, to just four days. at the other end of the spectrum, fillon wants to scrap the 35—hour limit altogether and make it easier to hire and fire. douglas webber is a professor of political science at insead. he joins us from paris. i have to start by asking you, after last night's shooting, what is the mood light in paris this morning?” think the mood is rather sombre and of course people are asking what impact ifany of course people are asking what impact if any disc attack last night will have on the election result on sunday. the financial markets are nervous, they really don't know which way this election is going to go and the different outcomes could have a very different impact on the euro, couldn't they? that is quite correct, you have described very neatly and ve

but what about francois fillon? could this be an opportunity for him even though we hate to say that in a moment of sadness? >> it's definitely something that could help him. he has been appealing to marine le pen's voters. he has kind of like the same proposals to increase security or against terrorists. for example, just like marine le pen, he wants to close mosques that are deemed as radicalized. he wants to expel foreigners who are suspected of terrorism. so they have platforms of ideas very, very close that could help him for people who were hesitating between macron and him, but who don't want to vote for marine le pen, they might go for fillon. because emanuel macron at 39 is deemed by many inexperienced and too young for this kind of problem. >> that's interesting. because fillon suspended a campaign event. and macron said we should be doing the opposite. now we're expecting marine le pen to speak any moment now. what does it say about how the individual candidates are responding to this sort of terrorism th

gatheredis fillon together a crowd of some 5000 people. just a few days ago, benoit gathered auc melenchon crowd of 17,000 people. he has been rising in the polls consistently, he's been the big surprise element of this election. he could make it into the second round. rally, francois fillon's i asked a few people some questions about jean-luc melenchon's rise. >> i don't think jean-luc melenchon is realistic in his program. ago, jean-luc 17% in theas at polls. he only did 10%. i think he's overestimated. >> people are crazy. there is a big difference between fillon and jean-luc melenchon. >> that woman might think people are crazy, but a lot of people are bracing themselves for a runoff between jean-luc melenchon and marine le pen in round two. francois hollande is concerned about this scenario. he said this campaign smells bad. >> it has been an unprecedented campaign. huge number of undecided voters. jean-luc melenchon could decide yhe election -- def pre-election addictions. -- pre-election predictions. --he was writing this wave he en

macron has been stalling in the polls as has francois fillon. >> he also held a rally last night.is campaign has been plagued by scandals causing him to tumble in the polls. hot back saying he is the victim of a conspiracy. our reporter was there yesterday. he asked some supporters about this question. >> francois fillon has been accused of adopting donald trump style tactics in terms of criticizing the media. a paper has come out with a series of revelations about his and fake job at the national assembly. i think in my opinion this is propaganda. >> what do you think of this newspaper? >> they are doing their job. he is doing his job. >> he was treated very poorly by the need to -- the media. when i was organizing demonstrations against gay marriage i was also mistreated. they called me a homophobe. which serves the globalization agenda is against his right-wing policy. not a lot of love among francois fillon supporters for the media. >> you might have recognized the last woman in that report. in 2013 she became a very prominent campaigner against same-sex marriage in france. it

macron and fillon want to stay in, macron wants a stronger eu, but fillon is more eurosceptic and wantss. the other major issue for the business world — labour reform, and france's famous 35—hour working week. melenchon wants to cut the working week even further, to just 4 days. at the other end of the spectrum, fillon wants to scrap the 35—hour limit altogether and make it easier to hire and fire. tomasz michalski is associate professor of economics at hec paris business school. hejoined us, great to have you on the programme. let me start with this, it is hard to believe in any poll nowadays, they have it awfully wrong in the last few occasions, but if marine le pen and jean—luc melenchon managed to get through to the run—off on may seven, that scenario, and correct me if i'm wrong, could possibly be a killer scenario for the euro and for the markets. that's to some extent true, however there is also another concern, what will be the parliamentary majority, which is going to happen at the election is going to happen at the election is going to happen at the election is going to follow

macron and fillon want to stay in — macron wants a stronger eu, but fillon is more eurosceptic and wantsm, and france's famous 35—hour working week. melenchon wants to cut the working week even further, to just 4 days. at the other end of the spectrum, fillon wants to scrap the 35—hour limit altogether and make it easier to hire and fire. we will be going live to paris coming up in about 12 minutes, talking more about this. stay tuned for that. don't forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter — i'm @bbcaaron. and aaron will be joining and aaron will bejoining me and aaron will be joining me later as we look at the international reaction around the world in our newspaper review. time to hear from a couple of our correspondence. —— correspondents. the moments after the shooting were chaotic — with reports of more gunfire being heard. those reports turned out to be false, but this clip from our europe editor katya adler shows just how unnerving a situation like this is. banging. shots are being fired. is it gunshots? no, no, no. it's not a gunshot. entrez, entrez! e

the conservative fillon says he will now support mr macron.ys he will now support mr macron. translationzlj conservative fillon says he will now support mr macron. translation: i do not say this with joy in my heart but abstention is not in my genes. especially when an extremist party is approaching power. i can assure you that extremism can only bring hardship and division. there is no other choice but to vote against the far right. in bastille square in paris, some left—wing protesters faced off against the police. these demonstrators were angered by the results of this vote. they, and the rest of the country, will have their final say in two weeks time. james reynolds, bbc news, paris. as we've been hearing, marine le pen says the survival of france is at stake in the election. her front nationale party has only ever reached the second round of a presidential race once before, while emmanuel macron‘s party was set up just 12 months ago. our france correspondent lucy williamson looks now at the changing face of french politics. one country,

is there a hidden vote like francois fillon seems to think? he seems to think he'll benefit at the last minute of this hidden vote. people who have not said they would vote for him but would in the end. i asked a political expert that this morning. >> francois fillon communicates a lot. and to mobilize the right-wing voters who have been extremely upset by the fillon campaign. you remember for two months fillon was under accusation of nepotism, eventually corruption. so the big question for that election is to know if the right-wing is going to save francois fillon. it could be that will happen, because that election was for them a few months ago. it's like if we don't need to have the leak shelection, it's he was the winner of the presidential election. the big question is to know how much right-wing voters truly seek that. in the polls it's difficult to answer the question because normally the right-wing voter is educated, well integrated, responding to online polls. so we can't see why these people would hide their vote for francois fillon,

we're going to cross to francois so long -- fillon. mr. fillon: i

francois fillon, -- jean-luc melenchon and -- [applause] you all for having applauded all of them now. this is exactly what you should have done, what you are doing, it looks like what we should be doing. those who supported those candidates are very disappointed, they are very disappointed themselves and i should like to thank -- and francois fillon for having already said they will vote for round andsecond called upon their voters to do so as well. since april 2016 many of you have been with me. you have created with me my movement. year we can entirely change the french political situation. the deep-seated age old feeling that has always pushed our people forward, the commitment in the country, the collective interest over division, this is what has won tonight. the tremendous energy and determination that thousands of of -- inshown in order order for this to come true. you showed that having hope for the country is not a dream. it is a true manifestation of a deep-seated will. tonight, my dear friends, i owe that to you. now.up to you to carry on this determined struggle. never gi

>> i think fillon's program economically is the best. he goes into 100 billion euros of cuts in spending. public spending. where macron, has a good program, too but not so far. 60 billion euros of public spending. then after that you have -- i know fillon is -- i mean has been in power for five years. people know him. there's been some kind of affairs, but macron is quite an international guy. speaks very good english. so, i think the two candidates will be two good presidents for france. >> you don't think the scandal that francois fillon embroiled in will be a problem? >> we have to be careful. he's been in politics for 36 years without any problem. so, just two months before the election he's got some problems. we've got to be careful is it true? you know, there's no proof of anything. so we have to -- he's got to fight. he's got to prove everything is clear. of course we call that affairs, and well -- if he's elected, he will have the legitimacy and power of the election. >> do you have a pronognostic f the election? >> i don't, eith

francois fillon is the talk about, he might being a catalyst.t sort of majority is the consensus of the conservative victory? if that's what most believe. simon: based on the current policy, it could be more than 100%, even still come away with 70%. mark: seven weeks in, minus a day to go. simon kennedy, bloomberg brexit editor. europeanok at where equities are heading as we move to the close. just a matter of minutes away. this is bloomberg. ♪ with xfinity x1... family time is awesome! show me the radio disney music awards. just say it and see it with the x1 voice remote. and you can catch up on all the rdma buzz... with artist interviews... past performances... and more! available now on xfinity on demand. xfinity the future of awesome. and to find out how to catch exclusive videos featuring rdma host jordan fisher. and the ardy goes to... watch disney channel presents the 2017 rdmas. april 30th on disney channel. mark: live from london in your, this is the european stocks are finishing the friday session higher. there is little movement ahead

and you have "france 24" -- francois fillon striking a trump-like tone talking about how it's a battleeedom and security using the term us versus them, them being the radical islamist, the jihaddist waging battle against france. talking about as well, totalitarianism, islamic totalism. i said trump like and that's not my opinion. donald trump used that exact same term, radical islam and he had blamed barack obama for shying away from saying it like it is. and this is sort of the message that the right of the spectrum is trying to sort of portray right now, that tellez too much political correctness. i'll just mention that macron has sort of had a much more centrist message as you might expect but he's trying to put the emphasis on not spreading panic. he says this is just what the so-called terrorists want. they want to destabilize france. they want to throw the country off balance on the eve of what's been a very uncertain election. what he's saying is at the end of the day, you have to look to the root causes. you need better intelligence. that is the way to address this problem. >>

francois fillon and marine le pen we re francois fillon and marine le pen were quite quick to cancel party as president francois hollande, he has cancelled a visit to young apprentices in the paris region tomorrow morning, saying this is out of respect to the victims of the attack on the champs—elysees. however, he is still planning to go down to toulouse, a socialist heartland, and deliver a final campaign speech on friday evening. we are seeing how this is putting candidates in a difficult position. they have been expressing their condolences and sympathy for the victims. but at the same time, this is, as we know, an absolutely key election for france. absolutely. but in terms of... france has had a lot of these attacks comparatively. it has been under a state of emergency since the attack on the bataclan. when it comes to issues on the campaign trail, was security as high as the concerns about that's an interesting one. the economy has been a dominant campaign issue but we have had quite a lot of talk about security in various degrees from the different candidates. francois fillon

forhere are only 19% francois fillon, the rights -- the right-wing candidate. that is all marine le pen can pick up and that is was going to be enough. illon willikely f support macron. >> it looks as though, it looks unlikely that she will win. perhapsshe be able to go up to how he will go about governing in terms of parliament revote? a weakness for her as well. neither of them have a party, neither can count on the majority. he at least might be -- might be able to get together some sort of government coalition. no party is going to support her. a major weakness, the fact that she does not have a parliamentary majority. at the end of the day she will need the french national assembly behind her. >> what is incredible is that emmanuel macron, can you tell me he was going to be his prime minister? nobody knows. >> a lot of people around and as we see the movement, a lot of american missiles in there. -- >> former defense minister. the guy fighting to be prime minister if he wins? and he should win. is if heoing to happen does not get a job or does not get what

francois fillon, benoit hamon, jean—luc melenchon among others.mage, our image. i know how those who supported them may be disappointed. i thank benoit hamon and francois fillon for asking that they should vote on my candidacy in they should vote on my candidacy in the second round. to all of those who have supported me since april, 2016, by creating en marche and making it something alive, i would like to tell the nest: in the space ofa like to tell the nest: in the space of a year, we have changed the face of a year, we have changed the face of political life in france. emmanuel macron. marine le pen has described the result is historic, calling herself the candidate of the french people and she said the time has come for what she said was the real alternative. translation: fellow citizens, you have protected me “— fellow citizens, you have protected me —— projected me into the second round of the presidential election and i'm aware of the honour you are giving me. and i'm humble and grateful. i would like to express to you french patriots, how

francois fillon said, the republican candidate francois fillon said that "the fight against terrorism the absolute priority of the next president and of course we are theing at marine le pen, far right wing candidate who will give a press conference in about one hour from now, and she already reacted on twitter and on tv last night. saying that we should not be naive, and we should not leave our children in a country that cannot protect itself. connan in paris. plenty of coverage coming from you over the next few days. of the coverage of the french presidential election, the first round. tune into bloomberg. 8:00 p.m. paris time, 7:00 p.m. in london. that is 2:00 p.m. in new york. joining us now to discuss what is about to happen, william hobbs, head of investment strategy europe at barclays investment management. it is too close to call, isn't it, so therefore, how do investors deal with it? william: good question. you have seen incredible momentum from jean-luc melenchon in the polls. i think it is a, people were happy to argue that although marine le pen would get through to the se

francois fillon is on i9.8% pen on 2i.7%.c melenchon, the far left candidate on i9.2%. the real sorry story of the evening is the socialist party. look at that. down there at barely 7%. the same party as the serving president, president francois hollande, who was not able to stand. the most unpopular president by some margin. with these margins, we can assume that macron and marine le pen will be fighting in the second round, a week on sunday. they are not conceding, not just yet. week on sunday. they are not conceding, notjust yet. i can also introduce you to the editor of the right leading cause magazine. let me just ask you, since you have been waiting. we talk to you a few days ago about what people would make in this election. what will they make of the final result now that marine le pen is into the second round? we have known that marine le pen would be into the second round of the elections. it is not a surprise for anyone. her party has not won the last two elections. the european elections or she has been in the lan

>> what about french voters in the united states, francois fillon is the favorite followed by marine le pen. talking to french experts in new york city about who they plan to vote for. >> the candidates and france's presidential election are not -- french wine dealer has been living in the u.s. for three years but has experience has not changed his political convictions. he is supporting the far right candidate marine le pen. >> we have been trying to write in the left and it is time to try something else. >> originally he was a police officer in france. he doesn't see anything paradoxical about immigrant voting for an anti-immigrant cam anti-immigrant candidate. >> i think there are some openly racist people, but i don't think racism is the solution. you can't blame the other. >> most tend to vote for traditional right-wing candidates. he is canvassing for conservative francois fillon at the entrance of a french bank. >> i think he is the only one of -- only one capable of reforming france. candidates also seem to have energized here in new york. the french diplomat is an organizer

fillon would be a similar story. fillon would be a similar story. on what happens in the u.s.nd what happens in the u.k. with sterling, what happens in japan with the yen. orh, look at a le pen and melenchon second round where they look like they may win. clearly, i think that would lead to people taking money out of the euro, i think. guy: how much is priced in for italy? we haveitaly, i think buried our heads in the sand and we decided to forget about it. it is all going to get sorted eventually. i think italy -- what is the 400 pound gorilla? that is a big gorilla in the background, but honestly, i'm very surprised and a little bit concerned about the way france is kind of working out in the last few days, week or two. janjuah, senior client advisor at nomura. he is not done yet. matt and i will go to bloomberg daybreak: americas radio, dab digital radio. i will take bob ollanta the ride as well. nejra cehic coming up. what is going on? nejra: these are some of the biggest movers. first off revenue, adjusted operating profit beating estimates. we have seen the shares rise t

of course, i am a supporter of francois fillon.he is ready, he has the only plan for these major issues. the first round on sunday. thank you very much for being with us today. the republicans candidate, francois fillon, could come back after this attack, in his campaign, and how a new opportunity to get voter support in the first round. mark: thank you, caroline connan in paris. for coverage of the first round, do tune into bloomberg on sunday night. atance decides" beginning 8:00 p.m. paris time, 7:00 p.m. in london. next, the weeks big brexit news dominated by theresa may calling a snap general election. we get the thoughts of a former cbi chief and trade minister. ♪ mark: welcome to our weekly brexit show, live from european headquarters in london. i am mark barton. frexit news this week dominated by one story, prime minister theresa may and the surprise general election three years before it was due. pma: i have just chaired a meeting of the cabinet, where we agreed the government should call a general election, to be held on

he has to win. —— francois fillon.injune. —— win the second. this is an opportunity for the jihadist to try to keep this new vote hostage of terror attacks. we must leave it there. i wish we had more time. the campaigning begins again in earnest tomorrow morning because there are two weeks of campaigning still to come. there will also be a televised debate in the midst of it when macron faces off against le pen. we will watch it closely, but that is the main picture. macron faces off against le pen. thank you. breaking news regarding an acid attack at a nightclub in east london which happened on the 17th of april. police are saying that arthur collins, the 25—year—old boyfriend of tv star ferne mccann has been charged with that incident. 1a cou nts charged with that incident. 1a counts of charged with that incident. 1a cou nts of attem pts charged with that incident. 1a counts of attempts to do bodily harm and one count of throwing corrosive fluid on a person to cause gbh. that is coming from scotland yard. it happened

amazing that francois fillon has hung on so long.t it was older people in britain who wanted to come out of europe, here it is younger people who are voting for marine le pen who has the anti—europe agenda. who are voting for marine le pen who has the anti-europe agenda. and older people want to stay in the eurozone. it is because they are the people who have the most savings in the country and they are worried about that. the young people are protesting by voting for marine le pen. they are not all voting from marine le pen. the students are voting for the left. but we have 25% unemployment for young people. these people are voting for the national front. taking that into account, if you put marine le pen in the second poke round, all the polls was a she loses. you say she can win. when i use my modelling which allowed me to predict trump, i also get marine le pen losing. however, what is very new today is the fact that in order to implement what has been chord the republican front, people have to do vote against for the challenger.

he refused and publicly slammed francois fillon for wasting the right's chances. with an unprecedented -- with a .eek to go on tuesday, nicholas sarkozy reiterated his support for his former prime minister. >> our very own catherine nicholson is following the socialist candidate's campaign here in paris now. he is not doing very well in the polls, but that does not seem to have stopped him from pulling out all the stops where you are, hasn't? >> absolutely. i'm sure you can see behind me, this looks and sounds more like a music festival than a political rally, but a political rally it certainly is. organizers say around 30,000 to this placeup our viewers will remember from many other political rallies, those marches, demonstrations of all different sorts. aside from the musicians, the crowds came to see and hear some includingheavyweights the lady who oversaw the introduction of the gay marriage legalization here in france, and also the former head of the socialist party. acknowledgedhave their candidate is not the favorite. one said francois's apathy is the worst

, has been dogged fillon francios fillon he could actually make something of a comeback because of theterrorist attack on thursday night. harry. >> sreenivasan: malcolm, let's talk a little bit about that. how has the climate changed in the past few days since the attack? >> reporter: as far as the latest opinion polls are concerned, those put emmanuel macron in the lead and marine le pen in the second place at the moment. but, those opinion polls were taken before the shooting, and so there are some experts who do believe that the shooting could seriously have an and the person who is likely to benefit most is going to be marine le pen. >> sreenivasan: something you mentioned in the expees even some of the folks that you talked to in the story point out, there is a little bit of strategy as a voter going in because this is just a first round. they might actually vote in ray different way than who their candidate is that they're supporting just to try to vote against somebody who they dislike strongly. >> reporter: the french system is very different from the united states one, and the

. show that normal life can carry on -- francois fillon.e talked about suspending his campaign. i mean, it is now really only one more day of campaigning a nyway only one more day of campaigning anyway in this election campaign, because saturday, the day before the election, is a day when no campaigning is allowed. so, in practice, the campaign for the first round is almost over anyway and i think it is hard to see that they will postpone the actual voting on sunday and i think the logic would beindeed sunday and i think the logic would be indeed that france should carry on and show that they are not going to be frightened away from this hugely important democratic exercise that they are now on the point of conducting. and in terms of the timing of this, i mean, how coincidental that this was the presidential debate taking place this evening? i don't pick we know the answer to that by treaty surely no coincidence that this attack has happened just a couple of days before, you know, the first round of the presidential elections, a major demo

is fillon the candidate for big business? >> not at all.d his program with 40 billion euros in decrease in taxes is good for them. the vast majority of entrepreneurs who are involved in economic life in europe are supporting fillon. matt: thanks very much, caroline in paris for us on that election news. here are some highlights for your day ahead. a debate today on the e.u. brexit negotiating priority, ahead of the summit with donald trump tomorrow. meets theesident xi and we getf finland the minutes of last month's fed policy meeting at 7:00 p.m. u.k. time. with yetnorth korea another missile. we assessed the international response and the risk. this is bloomberg. ♪ . . matt: another missile launched. north korea conducts listed missiles test drawing condemnation from neighboring countries ahead of the face-to-face meeting between presidents trump and xi. the richmond fed resident resigned over his role in the 2012 leak of confidential information. and wrench hopeful face-off. candidates covered everything from the nation's debt to ethics.

thanks for that, it is a video of the french presidential candidate francois fillon being flour bombedrasbourg ahead of the upcoming presidential elections. francois fillon, a formerfavourite to win, is being investigated over allegations he gave fake jobs to his wife. the man who through the flour was taken away by security, but not before having his pro— francois fillon shirt ripped off. back to events in florida, the historic meeting taking place right 110w. historic meeting taking place right now. the community is keeping an eye on the meeting. we met up with an 80—year—old chinese american immigrant who voted for trump. her us born granddaughter did not. here is how they learn to get along. iam i am isabella, i'm 22, iam isabella, i'm 22, i'm chinese—american, and this is my grandmother. maureen sie and her granddaughter there. popeye, and offbeat film, opens next week it. the movie which isa opens next week it. the movie which is a singaporean director's first feature has been much anticipated here despite being given a surprise aduu here despite being given a surprise adult rati

the conservative francois fillon and jean—luc melenchon both on 19%.om france, is by our europe editor katya adler. one presidential election, two rival visions for france. fresh—faced emmanuel macron tops poll projections, promising fairer government, neither right nor left wing. a pro—eu centrist, confident of success. translation: i hope that in a fortnight, i will become your president. i want to become the president of all the people of france. the president of the patriots, in the face of the threats from the nationalists. a president able to protect, to transform and to build. emmanuel macron now goes through to the second and final round of france's vote for president. against... far—right marine le pen, anti—immigration, anti—globalisation and anti—eu. her presidential plan was to make france for the french. translation: the time has come to get rid of all the arrogant people who wanted to dictate to the population what they should do. i am the candidate for the people. ever since polls closed this evening, this crowd has waited to see the wom

alan -- he and francois fillon rennes against each other in the primary in november. you can see them shaking hands. these are images taken by gary schimmel bauer. innovative -- it is a bit of a frosty handshake. but he got support from the former president nicolas sarkozy. he gave it in a video posted on twitter. >> he has the experience. thatill and the program will allow france to move on from the disastrous five years we have just been through. and avoid the risk of extremism. >> that wraps it up for today. thanks so much for that look. in what isinterested happening in this campaign, check out our election compass. this is a tool developed by france 24 in partnership with vox pop labs. this shows how your views compare with the french presidential candidates and it can lead to surprising results. time for our business news with stephen carroll. you're going to start with the markets. we are still seeing reaction to the announcement of the snap election in the u.k. >> sterling is still hovering around six-month high again. one pound worth just over one dollar and

fillon in the runoff. matt: obviously burgundy is very important.aroline connan on, joining us from paris. the war in syria and the fight against the islamic state will top the agenda at the meeting of g7 foreign ministers in italy today. day gathering presents an opportunity for rex tillerson to ease strains with his allies there just 10 days after acrimonious nato talks in brussels. joining us now, james hertling intn dubai. how our colleagues likely to receive him, considering the last time they met and what has gone on over the last week in syria? >> you know, if we didn't have the syrian missile attacks, we'd be pretty clear that the flight -- the talks would be over that desire to have european nations contribute more to defense spending. since the syrian missile attacks, which were applauded by the european allies, and since tillerson seems to be finding his footing and his voice, it will probably be a more normal looking, diplomatic how well that what we saw -- diplomatic powwow that what we saw last week. guy: we will come back and talk abo

francois fillon — this is a matter of fact — francois fillon was not at the head of the polls, he wasething that's wrong and they are picked up on it by the polling commission... if they were wrong on that one, well, perhaps they might wish to apologise, or present some facts that would support the point of view. but the russian government has nothing to do with that. the difficulty is that both these two organisations, who are — who have — the information they are releasing appears to be things that either support the conservative candidate, or the far—right candidate, the front national of marine le pen, and damage emmanuel macron. for example, it was down to sputnik that there were stories that came out suggesting that he had a gay relationship outside his marriage. he actually had to come out and say "that's not true". well, what would you say if, in the view of the upcoming british election, those two outlets support theresa may and the conservatives? on the candidates in the french election, who is it that you want? would you like marine le pen to win the french election? we wou

fillon got 24% in the first round.l be a lot of by default, not out of conviction and i think that's what makes the election different from past elections. it is unprecedented we have to candidates who are not backed by a. additional party bash by a traditional party. are a lot ofre people looking for his policies and what that means. we kind of know he's pro-european, but also talking about a possible debate on europe. as i said, he doesn't have a party backing him. he has nobody in parliament right now. he will gain a few seats, and it is unlikely he will get a majority. he will have to go run with other parties. this is very new. he said it yesterday that he will start forging alliances. it is important, the electorate is aware of the fact that he doesn't have a majority in parliament and won't have one. francine: what does this mean for brexit negotiations? and doespro-european, not want a were sealed for the u.k., but he wants to make sure that if you leave the european union, you can't have a deal that's as good

fillon last d to sunday but she's got a new slogan. choose france. and in her speech, she said she would protect french jobs and keep france safe. >> the election of mr. macron will mean france will increasingly be swamped from immigrants. this election therefore, asks the french people on mass immigration. mass immigration stop or more. >> stop brought back several how to supporters brought back chants of "this is our home." >> this is our very last chance to see france re-establish our greatness and save our judeo christian civilization. >> nice is symbolic for her party because it is where 86 people were killed in a terrific attack last july but some voters resent her tactics. >> i think it's appalling to try and benefit from such attacks when she says with me, nothing like this would have never appened. >> when it comes to security, i'm not afraid. you have to get by. marine la pen does not impress me. i won't vote for her. >> le pen is also calling voters across the country who opted for ar lest candidate on april 23. he gained around 20% of the

melenchon is practically at the same level as fillon. he has gained six points in one week.s left behind him the theme or mealy—mouthed official socialist candidate. he is coming from the far left. he is garnering a number of people who want basically to stick it to the man. the same voters who would vote for marine le pen. the voters who voted for trump. the voters who voted for trump. the voters who voted for trump. the voters who voted for brexit. he is an extremely good speaker. he is a former literature teacher, about 16 centuries ago, a socialist senators in the 805 and 905. he has firmly positioned himself in the space left va ca nt by positioned himself in the space left vacant by the french communist party when the ussr disappeared. he suddenly sounds new and interesting and different from the others. some yea rs and different from the others. some years ago, i spent a day with him in the calais region. marine le pen was in the same market as him. i noticed that when it comes to economics, they stand next to each other. that is the great truth of the populist leader

he is ahead of far right leader marine le pen and other main candidates francois fillon. le pen has been addressing crowds around paris. the national front leader promises to hold a referendum on france's number should in the eu, and she aims to restore french identity that she claims is under threat from mass immigration. for more, let's bring in our reporter in paris. thanks for joining us on the line. right-wing populist leader marine le pen has been speaking at a rally. how is she getting her supporters ready for this week? reporter: that's right, sarah, the european union is enemy number one. marine le pen is getting the crowd swelled up, saying the first thing she will do as president is reinstate the borders. she is attacking fillon and macron for their record on unemployment and says the european union is the problem. she has linked immigration to the attacks that have happened here in paris the last few years. sarah: emmanuel macron also held a rally this evening. what is his message, and who is he aiming at? reporter: macron's meeting was totally packed. his mes

this video of french presidential candidate francois fillon being flour—bombed is making the rounds one was doused with flour as he campaigned in strasbourg for the upcoming presidential elections in just over two weeks time. fillon, a former favourite to win, is being investigated for allegations that he gave fake jobs to his wife. the man who threw the flour was taken away by security, but not before having his pro—fillon shirt ripped off. let's go back to us—chinese relations. america's chinese community is closely watching president's xi's visit to the us. we met up with 82—year—old chinese—american immigrant maureen see who voted for trump but her us—born granddaughter didn't. here's how they learned to get along. pop aye, an off—beat and very funny sundance screenwriter award winning film, opens next week in singapore. the movie, which is singaporean kirsten tan's debut feature, has been much anticipated here in singapore, despite being given a surprise adult rating by the singaporean authorities. pop aye follows a downtrodden architect and his long—lost elephant as they take a r

but fillon, the guy that likes mark thatcher. he is strong on security. they believe he may get a boost as well. but certainly, it's a key issue ever since we saw that first attack on dollarly hebdo in 2015 and bataclan. it's atop of the lest of minds. >> thank you, michelle. live on the ground in paris for us. we have a potential government shutdown over the markets. >> that comes to a head next friday. oil coming to $50 bucks a barrel in a month. we see mixed reaction from investors. despite all that, the stockmarket has been relevant testifily steady, just about 2 % away from all time highs. so, are we whistling past the graveyard, tim seymour? >> i think we could be. you think about the connection we have over in greece. we were getting a headline about some guy that might be a prime minister. that's critical to the european union as france is. when you think about it, mcc did a great job of laying it out. if you get those two centerrists to be the front runner for the second round, does the communist who has almost 20% of the vote suddenly join the m

running her close, quite extraordinary, because francois fillon has been dogged by allegations throughout the campaign. he has hung on. for recent days and weeks he has shown himself to be quite resilient in the polls. here he is voting in paris today, the former prime minister still in with a very good shout indeed. he will run marine le pen close. so the far left candidate also, jean—luc melenchon. quite an extraordinary campaign, hayley has been around for a long time. aligned with the communist party. run his campaign, i think last week he was in dijon.

the second, fillon was quick to endorse macron. le pen did not win first round, she only came in. it's worth that jean luke m-luk melenchon has not endorsed le pen. how has she going to go through the second round? she's calling on all patriots. she's also labeling macron as the heir to the unpopular president francois hollande and she's framed on unbridled globalization which she said is threatening french civilization. all in all, her task is tough. highlighted by how quickly we saw severe protests breakout against it here's the videos in paris. those who did not vote for marine le pen. the bottom line, as you've already pointed out, though, markets polls all point to a strong macron victory on the 6th of may. >> so, wilfred, what's the path from here? do the two campaign? all of the stories this morning are focusing on the fact that these two are going to paint very different pictures of france and of the eu. and it's going to be a major decision. what do we watch from here? >> reporter: absolutely. and, yes, they do campaign fr