. >> french president francois hollande's first-round parliamentary victory has put him on course to secure a solid majority. that could make it easier to create deals with germany to resolve the ongoing eurozone debt crisis. >> they have promised to radically change the nation for a writ -- nation's direction. >> it is a key shift in european politics at a time of economic and financial crisis. hollande believes more needs to be done to stimulate growth and that puts in at odds for german calls for austerity. >> francois hollande's socialists are poised to claim a parliamentary majority. >> i think the french people wanted to give francois hollande a signal of confidence. >> voter fatigue has set in under what many called it and under-inspired campaign. voter participation was under 60%. >> we have been talking about politics for too long, nearly a year. the campaign was very long. now i think the french want to talk about other things. >> there has definitely been a lack of participation by the french. i hope they will come back for the second round. >> nicolas sarkozy's conservati

french president francois hollande's socialist party looks to win a majority in the country's parliament, along with its green party allies after the elections this weekend. results in the first round of parliamentary contests show strong support for his party, which needs a first hold on parliament to push through a reform package. there will be a second round of voting next week. our correspondent in paris, christian fraser, has the details. >> it wasn't an overwhelming triumph for francois hollande last night. i think the low turnout paid to that, but pretty satisfactory nonetheless. final figures from the interior minister show his party was on 29% ahead of the nicolas sarkozy of 27%. when you put them together, they have around 46% of the vote. that will give them enough seats in the parliament to have the majority they need, the working majority to push through this ambitious tax and spend program that francois hollande has set out. >> and it's been perceived in europe that his election, the voting power of french has significantly changed the debate and moved it away from pushing

overnight, president francois hollande's socialist party got a voter mandate, winning an absolute majority in parliament. that's like controlling the house, the senate and the presidency. and hollande plans to use it. he has promised french voters the moon. this really isn't, everyone, about taking a side on the spending versus austerity as a national policy debate because the reality of it is is some of hollande's promises are simply extreme. like cutting the country's retirement age from 62 back to 60. that ties for the low nest europe, even though the french live longer than almost all other europeans. things like boosting the minimum wage when it's already an outlier. right now, minimum wage is $7,000 a month. and they do work fewer hours in france. and the new french president recently said this on tv -- >> translation? i do not like the rich. some people might say, i want to live in france. who wants to be number one? work fewer hours, get paid more, retire earlier. that's the way a civilized country should be. maybe so. except it doesn't add up. someone has to pay for it. the millio

and let's not forget that francois hollande and his former wife settle and well before it's of president mitterrand and if you look at their careers over the last twenty years i have no doubt that this is not the case in france for damages that we have been saying all are pushing for a growth pact which would include measures such as creating jobs now that of course doesn't mean spending how realistic are these plans. well in excel in that so to like i said it's for your first question does an excellent idea i think if he really means it that would be very positive for the people of france and which are going to example the rest of the european union but again and i doubt it i think in the first months maybe the first year he will take some steps in that direction but slowly he will start using you've been union as an excuse for just keeping the austerity plan going and for the growth plan being some minor think i don't really i don't really trust the man in this is you know on and on now we've been saying and starting protests across debt stricken e.u. countries over the weekend with pr

in syria now of course and not all leaders in europe seem to agree with the french president francois hollande or also earlier in the week did mention that france supports military intervention in the middle eastern country and of course that is something that russia is adamantly against and that was one of the matters discussed by putin on his last leg of the european tour which took him to paris now of course there is no agreement on the issue of syria among the european leaders among other issues which were also discussed or mentioned it during. a meeting with the french president of course was the issue of missile defense now russia's russia's adamant that the plans for creation of the missile defense shield in eastern europe a plan much hailed by nato and the united states as being very much needed by countries to counteract the pose a possible strikes from the likes of iran and north korea. these lands of worry very much has been adamant in its demands that nato and its allies. guarantees that this missile shield will not be used against russia. in the past we've often been promised it w

and that's why the legislative elections this weekend are a key moment for francois hollande. if his socialist party can win the majority, then he gets the mandate to bring in his reform program. there's another battle going on as well, between the far right and the far left. the leaders of those parties go head to heads in the northern industrial town, and christian fraser is there. >> on the scarred landscape surrounding the town are the ghosts of a golden age, the industry that replaced the coal mines is zrapping. this factory employing over 200 people, closed five years ago. jobs went to eastern europe, and half of those made redundant are still unemployed. if you want an image of the economic despair that has fell to this part of northern france, then here it is. it's a story of corruption, mismanagement, perhaps in the charred remains and the broken glass is also the reflection of what damage globalization and foreign competition can wreak in a small town such as this one. it's election territory for the far right, nowhere in france did marie le pen perform better in the

socialists have won a majority of seats in the country's parliament election results give president francois hollande the power to pass his promised growth boosting measures alliance pledge to raise taxes for the country's highest earners instead of cutting budgets to tackle europe's financial crisis it's the first time socialists have taken control of parliament in ten years. by palestinian civilians have been injured in an israeli air strike in a small factory in the south of the gaza strip a second attack was carried out in the city of gaza targeting a hamas military training center earlier in the day border skirmishes broke out between israel israeli and palestinian soldiers but there were no injuries. a later on we asked former u.s. senator chris dodd whether he sees another iraq scenario unfolding in libya here's a preview. who's running the place today i mean in a sense that's the the dangers in all of these things here you know the devil you know the devil you don't know kind of situation so clearly it was so repressive what was occurring there and libya may have to go through a period here w

. >> france's elections confirm to the -- confirmed the allies to the new president francois hollande. >> that means hollande moved quickly to implement reforms he promised in his election campaign earlier this year. the socialist reform agenda includes reprising -- increasing taxes on corporations and hiring more teachers or schools. aung san suu kyi has attended a meeting in oslo. >> and the rock singer bono is also attending. he is due to present her with an amnesty international work in dublin on wednesday. >> and the games for the european soccer championship are under way. >> we have some other stories from around the world. >> chinese astronauts have entered the laboratory for the first time. the space ship docked with the lab earlier. this is another step toward china's first space station, which it expects to build by 2020. >> israeli soldiers have shot dead he dove militants in a change of fire -- to the militants in an exchange of fire. and israeli construction worker was killed building a fence near the border. >> hospital workers say at least 52 people have been killed an

they have had a couple of meetings with francois hollande and chancellor merkel.rancois hollande came to office with a different approach to the eurozone crisis. the franc-german relationship in the past although difficult was nicolas sarkozy was key to what was happening in europe and the decisions the europeans made in this crisis. do you expect francois hollande and merkel to have the same relationship? will they work this out? what will this mean for the meetings will see today and next week? >> thank you. i happen to be pretty optimistic because my argument is that the franco-german engine works best for europe if it disputes. we have seen -- it was very bad for europe. it was bad not only because they took various wrong decisions which derailed the crisis but essentially when you have too big symbiosis, it did not give honor should to the smaller countries and the smaller countries need the struggle to fight and the deliberation process coming together to find the space and the place in the european compromise. this has been largely overlooked and -- what yo

meanwhile, the election of francois hollande has deprived merkel of a key ally in her drive for austerity. on thursday, she appeared to agree with cameron that year was already made up of two camps. >> i think those countries which have a common currency must intensify their cooperation, just as we're doing with the physical contact. just as we will have to do in future with more steps of that kind. always remembering the currency is a common bond. >> one of the -- we are one of the leading enthusiasts of the single market. but we have our own borders. we will keep our own borders. >> in other words, deepen the union within the eurozone while those outside maintain their own policies and borders. hardly what the founders of the european project had in mind. >> for more, we spoke to our political correspondent. he told us more about angela merkel's ideas. >> what the chancellor is talking about and policy coordination of fiscal policies. she did talk about a joint budgetary policy within europe. she raised that in her talk earlier today. and she said that responsibilities will have to be t

a journalist and the current common law partnerp francois hollande. valerie took to twitter. support hollande publicly said he was upset by this. the tweet's still up there. the press has taken to calling her the rottweiler valerie carried out a two-year secret affair with hollande. we do love the french though. >>> tonight, jack osbourne, the prime-time exclusive. the shocking discovery he has ms. plus, dr. sanjay gupta gives jack advice for fighting the disease. also, witness for the defense jerry sandusky could learn his fate at any moment. i'll talk to the man would tells the story you haven't heard yet till now. and trayvon martin's killer tells his story in his own words. >> he said, you got a problem now. and then he was here. and he punched me in the face. >> george zimmerman's attorney just met with him in jail. now mark o'meara talks to him exclusively. and only in america. the shocking video. taunting a grandmother. i'll tell you what i think should happen to them. this is "piers morgan tonight." good evening. sandusky's fate in the hands of 12 people. we'll bring

a journalist and the current common law partnerp francois hollande. valerie took to twitter. de publicly said he was upset by this. the tweet's still up there. the press has taken to calling her the rottweiler. vall valerie carried out a two-year secret affair with hollande. we do love the french though. "a.c. 360" starts now. >>> erin, thanks very much. good evening. we begin with breaking news. attorneys are in chambers right now in the jerry sandusky child rape case and jurors are deliberating. a bombshell dropped today. new accusations from yet another alleged victim. this time, it is jerry sandusky's own adopted son. matt sandusky is his name. he said through his attorney late today that jerry sandusky sexually abused him and that he was prepared to testify for the prosecution during the trial. now, he was not called to the stand. we're going to get into why in just a minute because that's of course the question everybody wants to know the answer to. first, a bit of background. he went to live with the sanduskies as a foster child. he was later adopted. he had denied ever

a journalist and the current common law partnerp francois hollande. valerie took to twitter. r support hollande publicly said he was upset by this. the tweet's still up there. the press has taken to calling her the rottweiler valerie carried out a two-year secret

a journalist and the current common law partnerp francois hollande. valerie took to twitter.

. -- francois hollande. >> who would have thought even a week ago growth would be on the agenda? >> the four leaders also supported a tax on financial transactions, but the leaders of france, spain, and italy wanted more progress towards ideas of a banking union and the german chancellor resisted wider commitments. >> accountability and oversight go hand-in-hand. not just for me, but for all the taxpayers of europe. >> the rather awkward departure is perhaps best summed up. yes, the leaders agreed on a financial transactions tax and a growth package, but the big questions are what would happen if spain or italy really got into trouble? those issues have been left for another day. this meeting was the head of calls for complete monetary union. at the moment, the four leaders can only agree on the smaller issues. bbc news. >> it is no secret that germany and greece have not had the easiest time coexisting in the eurozone lately. today, it was a rivalry on the football field. it was the quarter final match in the euro 2012. germany came out on top with a score of 4-2. >> this was a

the french president francois hollande's socialist allies look set to merge with a majority. he will likely push through his tax reforms. election saw a surge in support for a far-right group that wants to ditch the euro. the french love affair with friends of hollande still burns brightly. >> very much so. the french team will take. on the take. but last night the color was red. when you have the socialists, the green, a hard left altogether, they have a big enough majority to ensure that front of hollande can push through this tax-and-spend policy that he has set out, the growth strategy. this is the front page of the left-wing newspaper. he . . content.looks they have control of the lower house, the national assembly, for the first time in 10 years. >> is he having to rely on the far left and the green? what influence will they have on his policies? but there's a second round next week. it's difficult as this moment to say what the exact tally will be. i don't think it's a problem for him working with the greens if that's the case. he may get a majority among the socialist

the french are keen to move to switzerland following the election of the new french president, francois hollandehe has announced plans to raise the maximum income tax rate to 75% and also increase inheritance and capital gains taxes. pierre's phone has not stopped ringing. switzerland appeals to rich foreigners on account of its low taxes and zero inheritance tax. he has recently welcomed 50 new residents from france. >> we have entrepreneurs, doctors, artists, and a well- known actor. they all have a sizable fortune and want to live in the countryside, but with some links to big cities, and, of course, they value discretion. >> as we discover for ourselves, the new arrivals were reluctant to talk to us, but it does seem to be booming. frenchmen recently bought this building, and local boutiques are reporting an increase in business thanks to new customers across the border. >> i noticed it as a businessman. i am happy to see any new customers, especially when they have money to spend. >> the same trend is evident in the swiss city of geneva, but on a far larger scale, of course. geneva has alwa

when you saw this coalescing of president obama, francois hollande and david camera almost ganging up on angela merkel who is the one with political cloud to -- clout to convince them the market plan was serious. and the prime minister when he has his bilateral with angela merkel will be stressing to her the need for movement and not mere words, because i think the view is unless and until germany is prepared to put up money to underwrite euro bonds, it is unlikely the market is going to be convinced pivotal players like germany are serious about solving the problem. obviously the u.k. is not in the euro zone around how far prime minister can as it were lecture the chancellor as to what she should be doing with german money. >> well, let's stay now with this news and let's join aaron with the business news. aaron, i mean, it sounds like president obama, sounds like he's saying get your act together and mario dragic is also saying he is fed up with what's happening. >> you took the words out of my mouth. we're not expecting any changes. what we will be watching and listening to closely

. >> francois hollande with the new first lady. they agree on just about everything she says, except her tweeting. one month into office this has placed the new president is hugely embarrassing position. best of luck, a worthy candidate to serve the people selflessly for many years. the problem is, she is running against the president's next partner. he has been expelled from the socialist party. such is the property now surrounded this week, he has predicted to win in a landslide in something that was cited as a second round vote. with one fell swoop the first lady has torpedoed the campaign against the socialist hierarchy, not to mention a very public breach of trust between her and the president. in the early stages of the election, she was conspicuous by her absence. it became such an issue, it resulted in this very public call. there was another symbolic gesture the night he celebrated the victory, a kiss on the cheek. the french paper says he was seen asking her to kiss him on the lips. not only has this complicated political

i wonder whether the dynamic in the eurozone has changed very much with the election of francois hollande. you look at these things very closely. do you think the hollande factor is a big one? >> it is. before, it was always merkel and sarkozy. now, all the sudden, it is four government leaders. monti and hollande, and there's more emphasis on growth. the pressure on merkel has clearly increased. >> the banking union, there is talk of that. there's also talk of eurobonds. which of these massive initiatives is most likely to happen? >> both a bank union and a common eurobond. it will take a couple of years. possibly even a decade before we get it. the german government will say next week, in the end, these elements should be part of a new eurozone economy. >> thank you for joining me on gmt. 20 years ago in the brazilian city inrio, the earth summit marked a new drive for the way we care for our planet. the u.n.'s conference on sustainable development draws to a close today. how much have things changed in those 20 years? >> brazil is famous for many things, including, sadly, its slums, li

first lady has shocked the country's political establishment with a tweet seen as a dig against francois hollande's x partner. >> they agree on just about everything she says, except her tweeting. just one month into office, as her untimely intervention that has placed the new president in a hugely embarrassing situation. best of luck -- a worthy candidate has served selflessly for many years. the problem is it is the president's x partner who was expelled for refusing to stand her -- to stand aside. now he is predicted to win in a landslide in the second round vote. with one fell swoop, the first lady has torpedoed the campaign and put herself against the socialist hierarchy and a public break of trust between her and the president. in the early stages of the presidential campaign, she was conspicuous by her absence. it became such an issue that the press her resulted in its and -- in this very public photograph. there was a public gesture -- a kiss on the cheek -- the french papers say she was seen asking mr. hollande to kiss her on the lips. this has raised no end of questions about the first co

bloodshed is dominating russian president putin's talks with angela merkel in berlin and president francois hollande in paris. they will be trying to persuade him to put more pressure on damascus. no sign of russian support so far. that leaves the increasingly forlorn peace mission of kofi annan. after talks in syria produced no breakthrough as the bloody stalemate continues. but there has been one important sign of change. sunni merchants have closed up shop in protest of the massacre, in damascus. reinforces tried to make them reopen, by breaking locks. -- reinforcers tried to make them reopen, by breaking the locks. it is a devastating civil war. >> now to pakistan, where the disaster management chief has admitted to the bbc that floods are likely again in just a matter of weeks because of a lack of proper preventive measures. hundreds were killed, millions affected by last year's rainfall, prompting a huge international aid efforts. these pictures just show some of that level of devastation. now a report from a province in southern pakistan, one of the worst affected areas. >> pakistan's still b

french president francois hollande visited rome thursday and held talks with prime minister mario monti. he expressed his hope greece would respect its promise of financial reconstruction and stay in the eurozone. hollande proposed a french version of measures to resolve the debt crisis to european council president her man von rompuy, they include being economic growth and finances and deepening unity by harmonizing fiscal policies. people around the world will be standing by sunday for updates on the outcome of greece's vote, politicians, economists and investors. ai awe chie da joiuchida joins site of the story. >> they'll be by their phones, preparing to hold an emergency teleconference immediately following the results of the greek re-election. european diplomatic source says the talk will be held at around 10:00 p.m. greek time when they find out which party won. the source adds the teleconference has yet to be finalized as it would be needed only if the radical left coalition party wins a majority. if the leftist party triumphs it's possible greece may exit from the eurozone, tha

francois hollande benefitted from this disconsent.aments in france, and they gave the socialist party a majority in the parliamentt which strengthen s the mandate of francois hollande and he said in the campaign, austerity is good, but growth is better. we cannot only tighten our belts. we need a growth component to the way we solve and address this economic problem, this budget crisis in the eurozone, suzanne. >> what is ma making him so different from the other european leaders? >> well, compared to angel la merkel for instance, she has a leader who has promise d the french people that he is going to make sure that the jobs are going to be added and secure jobs like teachers for instance and going to preserve this french way of life or this european way of life and you can retire early and take more holiday and you don't have to work as many hours a week, and this is not in jeopardy. that is the message he was sending. that said, suzanne, the reality now is going to hit. these budgets are in deficit. they do need austerity measures

. >> after talks with burmese opposition leader aung san suu kyi, a french president francois hollandes his government will do everything possible to support the democratic transition under way in burma. hollande also said he was prepared to welcome burma's reformist president. >> foreign ministers from the european union have agreed to start accession talks with montenegro. they are warned that the former yugoslav state has stepped up its efforts to fight organized crime and corruption, but the decision still has to be endorsed by eu leaders at this week's summit. >> 30 people have been killed and more than 100 are missing after a landslide in eastern uganda. authorities say there's little hope of finding survivors. two villages on the slopes of the mountain were buried by the mudslide which was triggered by days of heavy rain. >> tropical storm debby continues to drench the u.s. state of florida. torrential downpours and high winds have triggered a flood warnings along the gulf coast. debby promises to bring more of the same in the coming days as it moves slowly on an expected path a

francois pawlenty was pushing hard for a growth path and was successful -- francois pawlenty -- francois hollande will call for more austerity measures spiritual call for reform, and she demands a political union, fiscal union for the euro. the french government -- hollande sees it the other way around. he demands more solidarity, which is exactly the opposite of what the german government is asking for. >> a sign of just how hard the eurozone crisis is hitting spain, the government has announced further cuts to health care for citizens just after announcing more cuts for medical care for undocumented migrants. this on top of numbers out today showing spain's recession deepening in the second quarter. spanish 10-year bond yields aren't notching 27%, forcing greece, ireland, and portugal to call for sovereign bailout. spanish prime minister has for more help from his eurozone partners. >> the spanish prime minister did not mince words in his speech to parliament. he warned that funding spain's debt would be unsustainable at current borrowing costs. >> we cannot keep finding ourselves for a long ti

what happens next is that president putin travels to paris to meet with francois hollande.e has also been hoping, much more vehement, hoping to persuade president putin to come on line for political action against the assad regime. i would not give that a chance after what we have seen today. >> thank you. >> ireland has said yes in the referendum on the european union's fiscal pact. counting is still underway, but early results showed the majority of voters back the new treaty and the budget rules. the yes camp had been worried by the low turnout, run 50%. ireland received a bailout in 2010 and is the only eu country putting the budget pact up to a referendum. for more on the referendum, let's go live to a correspondent in doublet. not much of a surprise and the results that we are hearing about. the no camp was saying that there was not a choice, that people were being scared into saying yes. >> people were concerned about the possibility of not being able to access the new european bailout funds from the esm which is supposed to go into operation in july of this year. be

exit polls suggest president francois hollande socialists have won an absolute majority in the french parliament if the results of the second round of the voting are confirmed it would mean a whole lot has gotten enough support to fulfill his pledge of economic growth instead of belt tightening but the new international consultant and a former deputy speaker of the belgian parliament says he doubts a lot will deliver on his promises. people oriented to call it socialist if you will and get austerity policies exactly what european union needs but will this country in france i doubt it if it's true teaches any lesson the socialist party of france never says the election of the president who truly. has gone has taken up the neoliberal policies privatizing i think in the first two months maybe the first year he will take some tepid steps in that direction but slowly he will start using european union as an excuse for just keeping the austerity plan going and for the growth plan to be something minor think the european central bank the i.m.f. are near liberal institutions and basically wha

already signed it the yes vote will give added power to an unpopular treaty france's new president francois hollande has talked about trying to renegotiate the pact and germany's angela merkel despite having written the treaty can't get her own parliament to ratify it richard boyd baratz of the united left alliance sees a bleak future because of all of the gambling debts and banks and speculators of import on to the books of the state and that this would mean permanent austerity billions worth of cuts every year for at least a decade or more in order to meet the treaty targets and that we believe will do damage to the economy which is already very traumatized for ireland it seems more damaging austerity is up ahead here in dublin every taste is bristling with referendum haste is there no posters call the fiscal pact the bankers treaty the all stare at sea pact but the yes campaign has won the day with its message of stability. prepared to cede silver and sea in exchange stuff financial back up but even that's not guaranteed in a beleaguered you're right they know it's me marty. declan ganley a found

chancellor, angela merkel in per berlin, followed by a visit to meet the new french president, francois hollande. the counting of votes are underway in the irish republic following thursday's referendum on whether or not to support the european fiscal treaty. voter turnout was low, and ireland rejected previous e.u. treaties. some sources say they are confident this time of a yes vote. aaron has just slid in alongside me, and china, not good. >> these are worrying numbers. they're very important. they're forward-looking numbers. i'm talking about p.m.i. they sound boring, but they're not. >> it's always. >> has it really? i see sarcasm. p.m.i., the purchasing managers index. they sit at the top of the supply chain for all sectors. they make the advanced bookings, advanced orders for all the raw materials. if these guys are pessimistic or in the doldrums, that's seen through. we're seeing a sharp slowdown in growth in basically the world's largest exporters, its fact hises. >> and presumably the eurozone crisis is playing a part in that. in the u.s., what about them? >> yesterday we had the revis

the cooling of debt and wants to strengthen the powers of the you while france's president, francois hollande, wants to share the burden of debt without the addition power. a brief time ago, i spoke to our europe editor at the summit to help make sense of it all. and the people are saying they have met here 19 or 20 times since the crisis began, and there is certainly a lot of tension. the focus is on italy and spain because of their high borrowing costs, and indeed, the spanish prime minister came out and said there are now some spanish institutions that can no longer finance themselves, but when the leaders arrived, it was clear to see the visions of the french president saying we must show solidarity with these countries, help them with their debt. on the other hand, there were other people was message to spain and italy was -- there is no such thing as a free lunch. but central to all of this, of course, is germany. pressure very much on angela merkel, and she has said there is no point in sharing or pulling debt. what needs to happen first is for european tight control of national budget

killed at the hands of the so-called militants have you looked at that body count now as far as francois hollande and putin are concerned they both of stress that they are looking at a diplomatic solution that this is still the ideal and to solving the crisis. in syria however it has to be pointed out that there are differences say they're approach a law in saying that more sanctions are necessary to put pressure on the assad regime will putin saying that this is ineffective citing past examples for example in iraq or libya he was questioning security level at this point today. allowed here naval academy a professor says he's been forced to leave his job after an interview with r.t. over the persecution of ethnic russians in baltic countries our correspondent alexei he met with him to find out how and why it happened. i can accept this policy of treachery to my friends from the russian minority we stood shoulder to shoulder to make independent now they're being treated like garbage. in february this teacher at the leaders novel academy spoke to our team for months on the europe is looking for a n