france holland is on here play the luckiest politician this week the unpopular french president largely unscathed following questioning by journalists over an alleged affair and the country's dire financial situation but critics still wonder if he knows how to deal with either crisis as are more f. international reports. so that they can just wave my girl this video clip mocks francois announced tax policies which are among the major reasons he's become the least popular president in france as more than history really could hold on to or to do much more together with belgium france's tax grab is the highest in the euro zone the one place where she where for. the last two hours french i was able to fill in your taxes where there are two thirds of the country's population of clear type so i don't write eighty percent of the president's criminal profiler so is misguided i don't inefficient gianluca is among those eighty percent and entrepreneur he was forced to close his business down after taxes became too big to bear a second if you're sick you know this is a vicious circle my business h

. >> it seems surprising a love affair in france will make headlines. francis hollande's alleged relationship with a younger actress has people wondering who exactly is the first lady of france. >> francis hollande wanted to use the news conference to relaunch his presidency, to lay out decisions for reviving the french economy and reclaim france's place on the world stage. at least that was the plan. >> translation: if france wishes to maintain its influence in the world, if it wants to carry weight in europe and keep control of its destiny, it must find some economic strength. >> above all, the president didn't want this news conference to be about his personal life. that was the subject of the very first question he had to answer. >> translation: everyone in his private life goes through difficult times. that's our case. there are painful moments. i have one principle, and that is private business is dealt with privately. it is neither the time nor the moment to do so. >> there has been speculation in the media about how questions on his personal life will be deflected

is valerie thrierweiler still the first lady of france. hollande says private matters should remain private and this is neither the time nor the place to answer these questions. however, he also said he will clarify her status before a planned visit to washington, d.c. next month. so that leads to a whole lot of drama. who is he going to take to the u.s. for the state visit? is it going to be the 49-year-old miss thrierweiler or the 41-year-old french actress julia gayet, the woman taken in secret photos at an apartment in paris, where the president was seen arriving as well in a helmet on the presidential scooter. >> the president goes on a scooter. can you imagine that in this country? >> he's a man of the people. >> michelle, thank you. stay on this story, will you? >>> we have some breaking news. we will check in with steve liesman. >> reporter: fed president richard fisher, a new voter this year, taking the unusual step of pledging his vote to continue supporting tapering this year. in a speech that he's giving today, he says quote, as soon as

hollande's long-time girlfriend and the first lady of france, valerie trierweiler, the journalist, was admitted to a hospital after learning of the affair. today, hollande faced the press and pleaded for privacy when he was asked who would accompany him to washington for a state dinner president obama and first lady michelle obama are holding next month. everybody in their personal lives can go through hardship, he said. this is not the place or the time to do this. he said, he will tell france, and presumably the obamas, who the first lady of his country is. soon. terry moran, abc news, london. >>> and right here next, fire starters. we're going to show you how quickly space heaters could set your home on fire. a simple thing to prevent it in this season of surging home fires, when we're back in two minutes. better you eat, the the better you feel. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals. made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll

france. francois hollande gets back to work. we will be asking what we can expect from his government. first, though, our top story this afternoon -- the iraqi prime minister has called for ofsident -- residents falluja to expel terrorists from the city. the riyal maliki called for people to act to avoid being subjected to the dangers of violent clashes. iran has offered help to i get in backing the al qaeda fighters who have taken over 2 anbar province cities over the course of the last week. yesterday the city of falluja came under heavy bombardment by government forces, thought to regain control. any residents have pleaded to nearby cities. at least 59 people have died. >> the latest scene of chaos in iraq, family seeking safer ground. on the road, weapons checked by security forces. >> we are from ramadi. we are going to kabbalah to get food and cooking gas. we are displaced. >> these residents have fled their homes amid airstrikes by the iraqi he army, trying to dislodge al qaeda militants in the restless anbar province. the fighters have been steadily gaining strength in the area

back in france, president hollande has other headaches to deal with.esters call that their day of anger, furious at the government policies. i cannot takes, anymore of these laws which dammann and destroy -- damage and destroy families. i am outraged the government is not listening. this man says they are taxing us everywhere and it has to stop. it has been two weeks since pictures emerged suggesting the president was having an affair with the actress. president hollande has insisted he is going to live alone as a bachelor. whoor his former partner was confined to hospital after the scandal broke, it now looks as if she is enjoying the public spotlight. in lee buchanan, bbc news -- emily buchanan, bbc news. tomorrow night, president obama will go before the nation to deliver his annual state of the union. it is an address that allows the commander-in-chief to outline his priorities for the year ahead and focus the country's attention. this year, he faces an uphill battle. low approval ratings and a divided congress. what can he get done? has gone to te

the president of france, francois hollande.y the president admitted that he is having problems in his personal life, which hard not to admit that, but he says he will not comment any further. president hollande is currently not married, but he is living with this woman. his partner of six years, whom everybody in france calls the first lady. they're like that over there. since he became president in 2012 they've both been living here at the president's palace in france. last week a tabloid magazine reported that president hollande is having an affair with this woman. hello. she is a movie star. the magazine showed pictures of what it claims was a secret overnight visit by the president to see his lover. we are not showing the pictures because we don't have access to them. when the first lady hearded news she reportedly collapsed in shock. she's been in a hospital since. meantime president hollande is suffering some of the lowest popularity in france's modern history. in other words, things are tough right now. the french presid

france. francois hollande gets back to work. we will be asking what we can expect from his government. first, though, our top story this afternoon -- the iraqi prime minister has called for ofsident -- residents falluja to expel terrorists from the city. the riyal maliki called for people to act to avoid being subjected to the dangers of violent clashes. iran has offered help to i get in backing the al qaeda fighters who have taken o

france. francois hollande faces the public. we will hear with the president has to say about 2014 and, his alleged affair. >> welcome back to on the move. here are companies on the move. sales jumped 10%. released andll be japan airlines is investigating preflight maintenance. the instinct comes after a fire on a jet spurred a grounding of the global feet. the ceo says that he is open to merger talks. he says that he will contemplate controls of the m bb eight business. combination the that led to the loss of 800 drops. the french president held his much anticipated news conference yesterday and laid out policies while remaining very vague on the difficult times in his private life. he promised to clear it out before his upcoming trip to the united states. >> precisely. we are not getting any details about the affair and i was there in this beautiful palace. a sea ofd velvet and journalists that were desperate to ask him about his private life. he was asked about the vision he has for france and the end of the speech had the qu

france is single. after the break, all the dirt we found out on president francois hollande breakup.neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪ did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. you stopped by the house? uh-huh. yea. alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. you leave the house in good shape? yea. yea, of course. ♪ [ sportscaster talking on tv ] last-second field go-- yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at&t digital life. personalized home security and automation. get professionally monitored security for just $29.99 a month. with limited availability in select markets. ♪ >>> breakups are tough

. >> reporter: officially the president of france, francois hollande is not married. but valerie trierweiler is known as the first lady. she has been his girlfriend for nine years, and she lives with him in the elysee palace. which is why this week, this paris tabloid splashed these photos on its pages, showing le president having what is alleged to be a secret tryst. that's apparently hollande concealed under the helmet, with visor down. the other woman is julie gayet, a glamorous french movie star. in washington, this would be a high octane scandal. but in france, extramarital affairs of state are, well, expected. when president francois mitterand died in 1996, his wife and mistress stood side-by-side at the grave. his illegitimate daughter stood with them. which is why, on the streets of paris, hollande's affair gets nothing more than a shrug. >> the guy has the right to do whatever he wants. >> reporter: but now, news that one person is not happy about the exposure of the affair, madame trierweiler. she has been hospitalized, doctors have ordered rest. it's just t

sure, he is the president of france, francois hollande, but really?otos showing hollande in a motorcycle helmet leaving the apartment of the actress. his girlfriend was admitted to the hospital after learning of the affair. the press asked who would accompany him to washington for a state dinner president obama and first lady michelle obama are holding next month? everybody in their personal lives can go through hardship, he said. this is not the place or time to do this. he said he will tell france and presumably the obamas who the first lady of his country is soon. terry moran, abc news, london. >> you've got to feel for his long-term girlfriend. she checked herself into the hospital after learning the news. her office said she was suffering from shock. she needed to rest. i'm sure that's just the start of the stuff she is dealing with. >> such a different attitude from americans. polls suggest that most french sympathize with mr. hollande and they don't believe he should be evaluated based on the women of his life. rather, he should be evaluated on

coming up, will france while Élan -- will franÇois hollande's trip to turkey be enough to smooth tensionsetween the countries? goiland says elections will smoothly this weekend. first, syrian peace talks in geneva are deadlocked over the decisive -- divisive issue of transferring power to a transitional government. both sides cannot agree on the future role of president bashar al-assad. ruling ono additional .llowing an aid envoy i am joined by a spokesperson for the world food program. elizabeth, how ready is the world food program ready -- to send supplies into syria? >> there are trucks on standby to develop -- deliver food to nutrition.ady to eat so, we are ready once all allows on the ground preceding. we have 500 bags of wheat flour, and enough to feed 2500 people for one month. areas are in need of food supply? program is concerned for people living in what we call hard-to-reach areas across the country, where they have no access to food assistance. people have not been reached by work food program assistance for months, and there are locations in rural damascus and this affects an

hollande announced today he and france's first lady are separating. here is nbc's duncan golestani. >> reporter: it is one of the presidential decisions that france has been waiting for. francois hollande has announced the end of his relationship with the first lady trierweiler two weeks after a tabloid reported he was having an affair with an actress. he called a french news agency to say i'm making it known that i put an end to my shared life with valerie trierweiler. two weeks ago, the magazine published photos of hollande apparently visiting his girlfriend on a motorcycle and staying the night. shortly there after, the first lady checked into a hospital for exhaustion, while hollande refused to confirm that trierweiler was still first lady. promising to clear up confusion before the state visit next month. >> she doesn't want to leave behind the role of first lady, in which she really has invested. >> reporter: the couple had been together for several years but never married. in relaxed france, that was okay. so too, it seems is even an affair. th

know it is a hard question, but how difficult is it to run a company and later company in france with hollanderesident? >> things are very difficult in france, no question. the economy is not performing as expected. as bigt of us, though, companies, we do a percent of our sales in france. we are global. we are able to compete with everybody else. >> but you are traded in france. is there an hollande discount? >> we have seen in 2013 a euro discount. that has gotten narrower. it is still there. we are quoted in new york, though. >> great to see you, chris. afi, the largest drugmaker. >> i think you should say merci. >> this is is what makes they do. kers comingt ma up. ♪ >> is 56 past the hour, which means we are on the market. we continue to see stocks hit their lows. the s&p 500 losing more than one percent as we look at trading. just at one percent at the moment. falling withre financials and materials leading the decline. 25 out of 30 members lower. the only stock keeping them from falling further are mcdonald's, at&t, and verizon. treasury prices are higher. manufacturing shrinks. this is

france. today, francois hollande sidestepped a simple question: who is the first lady?ips in paris discovered there's no simple answer. >> one french president, francois hollande, with a stagnant economy he hasn't been able to fix and with the lowest job approval rating in modern history-- in the low 20% range. one french first lady-- "first girlfriend," she's called here-- valerie trierweiler, has checked into the hospital because of the stress caused by hollande's alleged affair with one french actress julie guyet, who a paris gossip magazine reported was visited by hollande traveling to her apartment on a motor scooter incognito. in his first news conference, he was asked about the alleged affair, which he didn't deny. "everyone can face trials in their personal life," he said. "these are painful moments. but personal affairs should be treated privately." he did promise that valerie trierweiler's status-- she has often been at state functions with him-- would be resolved before a trip to washington next month. the saga has tested the french myth that interest in poli

france. he says he wants to tackle red tape. >> francois hollande seems to be in a charm offensive when it comes to business. speaking the south of france, he announced new measures to cut red tape for companies to one pledges to cut the time it takes to get it construction permit -- to get a construction permit to a maximum of five months. he says excessive rules and regulations cost the economy up to 80 billion euros per year. ofwhat is the point simplification? if we do what we plan to do faster and sooner, gaining time means gaining [indiscernible] >> france ocalan spoke into loose -- francois hollande spoke in toulouse. a mail order company wants to cut around 1200 jobs, which represents a third of its workforce. thousands of jobs are seen to be ros as itat mory duc tries to get back on its feet. we have more on this troubled company and the troubled sector. ducros went into receivership before christmas. four possible buyouts are on the table. even the most generous deal will see over 3000 job losses. redundancy pay will be on condition staff don't protest the decision. >> announcing a red

france's president francois hollande is facing hard-hitting questions from the press like who do we callour girlfriend or your mistres? the media circus began when a french newspaper accused him of having an affair with an actress. he called it a private matter. he may not be able to dodge the issue for long seeing as all eyes will be on his plus one at a white house state dinner next month. cnn's erin mclauf lan has more. >> reporter: french president francois hollande saw the question coming. after rumors of an affair with an actress surfaced in a french tabloid. is his partner, valerie, still the first lady of france? and will she join him for next month's state dinner at the white house? >> the french president did not deny officially that he might have had an affair with julie. he's just saying, well, i don't want a breach into my private life. >> reporter: the obamas extended the invitation to france's first couple, expressly welcoming not only hollande but his girlfriend. is it possible he might bring the other woman instead? the white house seemed loathe to weigh in on the matter

local time. 3:30, i'll be in paris listening to francois hollande, the president of france, fight fore and also be forced to answer questions about his personal life. allegation swirling regarding his affair with julie gayet. questions about what sort of relationship they had after a seven-page exposea. he is fighting for his political life as well. back to you. >> all eyes on that press conference later on. caroline hyde in paris. thank you very much indeed. >> that is it for "the pulse". keep it here on bloomberg tv. "surveillance" is up next live from new york. we'll see you tomorrow. ♪ >> this is "bloomberg surveillance." democrats and republicans agree on a spending bill and the gop relents on obamacare? the policing on the irs. jpmorgan reports earnings amid record profits. thefirst snapshot of american banking landscape and retail america reports on critical holiday shopping. the chief executive officers of high fashion will join us. they look forward to 20. good morning, this is "bloomberg surveillance." it is tuesday, january 14. joining me is scarlet fu and cristina alesci.

france. constitutionally there is no official role for that capacity. but hollande't want to talk about this at all. it was so clear. it was this big press conference that he had planned for some time now to address the biggest issues facing france. unemployment, economic stagnation. and everybody there seemed to not want to listen to this. they wanted to know what was going on with his alleged affair. the first question, after this -- i mean, this was a nearly three-hour long press conference. and when he finally went to questions from the press. first question was, what's going on with this? and he would not say anything. >> okay. michelle, thank you very much. >>> we're going to take you to breaking news in los angeles where police are giving more information regarding this morning raid on the home of justin bieber investigating a felony case of vandalism. let's listen in. >> was a circle warrant. >> mr. bieber has security that we contacted. mr. bieber was in the residence with various friends that apparently spent the night, and everybody including security was

. >> and fran president frances holland wife will be released released from the hospital today. >> andrthquake in puerto ri rico. no tsunami warnings have been issued. >> robert gates is firing back at critics. gates is standing firm, chiding the president for lacking passion on afghanistan, even as some fellow republicans are now taking him to task. cnn's jim acosta is live at the white house. jim. >> reporter: good morning, chris. robert gates kicked off a media blitz for hirst new book over the weekend. he's going to be signing books at the pentagon, doing talk show appearances all week long, all fr wearing a neck brace from a recent injury. no regrets from former defense secretary robert gates. >> it's an honest account. >> reporter: as critics pounce on his new memoir, "duty." gates said in an interview with "sunday morning" that while he admired the president, he believed mr. obama was only focused on getting out of afghanistan. >> it's one thing to tell the troops that you support them. it's another to work at making them believe that you believe as president that their sacrific

these are the issues that france and holland as leader needs to put his hands around her not doing. did i do agree on that he turned to him to speak about mentioning this the press conference next week. om. i agree with you that he knows this should not be a topic of indictment it's a book years and he hasn't anything illegal in manningham. fair. i'm not talking about them makes this town you'll be accused of trying to do. i think that they could use the appropriate word. which is really too clear to me he has made himself ridiculous nobody else made ridiculous i think that's what i mean he he he he is a native of course of the damage of any damage on the word. one white states but there's been precedent and talk about bill clinton so c'mon you know when to use it to get up and and it was america read because for that than what was the president is missing the scandal. the state house district one in the united states for years because it is two different dna over there. the french hearing before the imperium by definition the leaves a palace name is also true by definition makes it

oh, mais oui, who after holland was collected president became france's first lady even though again. apparently the first lady of france is the last person the president slept with. now to put that into by speblt-- perspective for a few months in 1998 our first lady would have been monica lewinsky. now-- now lewinsky fans here tonight. all right, now some would be satisfied with making the public accept one mistress but last week it was revealed that holland is depardon ewing it with french act ree-- actress yulie guyere ou est la bibliteque and remember, folks, holland looks like he could be ringing bells at notre dame. now-- the president of france lives in a palace surrounded by security. but this puppy will pew found the doggie door. >> pictured arriving at the door of this paris apartment, followed shortly by a helmeted man on the back of a motor scooter. the french president in a feeble disguise identified by his shoes. >> they are reporting the parent where holland personally spent time with his mistress is linked to the mafia. >> stephen: oh, dow not want to mix with the fre

you're going to see it happen in france with hollande.e bjp is wreck, wreck things and you're-- excuse me the congress wrecked them and bjb is coming again. stuart: we've got three years we can wait. three years is a long time. >> thanks, stuart. stuart: thanks, art. good luck. back to our theme of the day, tech rules, but content still king. netflix bringing back its original series, lilihammer for a third season and a new series based on the adventures of marco polo. and the last of the series of breaking bad. >> they're moving into high definition television, and content is lacking. they're going to broadcast an original series and they want to own the home market. look who tried to take them over, take over that market. hulu, and a number of people. these guys written off as dead four years ago as a dinosaur, they rule. stuart: liz, are you going to-- >> i'm interested in netflix as a replacement of show time and h.b.o., people ditching subscriptions there. the name of the game is content and it's so key for netflix, also, the gateway

france's president francois hollande's personal troubles not enough. t, money flowing into france, down 77%. here is, we keep saying it, our favorite recovering european, now resident in the united states of america, welcome back. >> thank you for having me. stuart: that is a huge drop in the amount of money flowing into france, down 77%. >> particularly big when you consider that investors are always slow to give up on a big economic power and no matter how in trouble france is it is a wealthy nation. would you want to invest? charles: absolutely not. look at goodyear tire. like the old movie, the mob scene, once you get in you can't get out and there's no freedom. >> the rhetoric from the president has been all along extremely anti capitalist, extremely anti capital. jack up taxes on capital immensely. and taking measures that taxes for foreigners investing in the u.s. would be much higher, they would have to pay social taxes for benefits they would never turn. stuart: didn't president francois hollande just make a big presentation where he said we ar

in france and similar parties in holland finland and other countries take up to twenty five percent of the vote which is of course a lot but then there remains of course minus seventy five percent of the road which is still with parties that are either outright pro european or that are more let's say pro european but critical with respect to what is happening in europe but anyway if you have twenty five percent of the vote voting against european union that would be a dramatic change in the way people feel about the european union and expressed. by your hands on economic aspect from belgium's new flemish alliance poncy thank you very much indeed for your time. this is also international and coming up later this hour the right swing voices in japan. looks at how national is calling for me to regain self-respect and break japan's presence out of the break. you cannot preemptively restrict your freedoms because of the fear of what something or how something might be used everything that has ever been developed has been used for bad purpose baseball bats which are fun for you know for. or

president francois hollande has broken off his nearly seven-year relationship with valerie trierweiler, meaning her days as france'se over. hollande's salacious love triangle made global headlines. his alleged infidelity to tree weiler with a new paramore, actress julie gayet. >> he believes that each person has the right to a private life. >> reporter: trierweiler now on the move, arriving in india on a private humanitarian trip, after a wild week that included a trip to the hospital for exhaustion. she gave a press conference in mumbai, saying she is doing well. and for people not to worry. and this weekend, she said goodbye to her staff at the palace, tweeting, "wall all of my gratitude goes to the extraordinary people. i will never forget the devotion or emotion at the time of leaving." hours before announcing the break-up, hollande gave an exclusive interview to "time" magazine reporter vivian walt. >> saturday morning, no one around, except for this one rather small physically president rattling around in his huge empty palace. >> reporter: as far gayet, she is keeping private. the details of her republic wit

hollande has been having an affair with a french actress. erin mclaughlinland has the story. >> reporter: the first lady of france, valerie tree vie letter, nine-yearer of president francois hollande, has been hospitalized since friday with exhaustion after allegations surfaced that he was an affair. the tabloid reported that hollande, allegedly shown here in a black helmet, would slip out of the palace where he lives and be driven on a motor scooter to and from gaia's apartment. he is threatening legal action against the magazine. >> there is a feeling of embarrassment, because it is not, of course, the dignity of the head of state to have his name and indeed his photograph to be involved in such a story. >> reporter: hollande is no stranger to having his private life in the public eye. he's never been married. he spends 30 years with his long-time common law wife. before leaving her in 2007. a relationship that began two years earlier while they were both with their former partners. it all plays out in an oh-so-french way where extra marital affairs of state aren't given a second thought. >> the personal life is just a love story. >> we don't rea

certainly germany and france, particularly now that francois hollande is talking about providing moreructure in france s so that's an easy experience, i think, for investors to look for, kind of counterparts the u.s. equivalent like a seeman's versus a ge. but for more speculative investors, actually where we think an even greater appreciation experience might be found is in the peripheral countries, the italys, the spains, even the portugal cans ott world that are starting to turn around and actually coming back in the case of, you know, portugal and certainly we've already seen it in ireland, coming back to the debt markets after just a couple of years ago having gone through a bailout. and so we think that's where we think we can find better opportunities, because valuations are cheaper than in the u.s., and the growth is just starting to come online. sandra: so i want to point to a couple of stocks the last time you were on this program, november 3 19th, and you had a -- 11th, and you had a couple winnerrings. hp and tal international. hp up 9%, tal didn't do so well, down 13%.i'd

public frustration over budget cuts soaring unemployment and high taxes under president hollande have made him france's most unpopular leader of modern times. now the paralympic winter games following on the heels of a sore two lympics will see russia's sled hockey team perform before a global audience for the first time artist i would say saw them shop in their skills on the ice. behind me is of the shy but a rena this is where the paralympics will hold their eyes a sledge hockey tournament now the women's olympic hockey teams will also be playing raiatea in this arena this is a seven thousand multi-polar poses see to a readout don't be surprised to hear the crowd chanting shy but the name means punk in russian the only question left to be on stood what's teams winning who received the olympic gold medal now here's some of the sportsmanship to expect at the winter olympics previous intense and fast just the way ice hockey should be. thankful. and for the first time since the introduction of the sports in the olympics the russian team will debut on the firm ground something that the russian coach hopes

. >>> france's president wanted to talk about his country's economy today, but reporters, well, they wanted to know more about francois hollande'seged affair with a french actress. france's first lady, well, for her, she has been in the hospital since the scandal broke last week. this was all his first time facing reporters since the allegations came out. here's how it went. >> translator: everybody in their personal lives can go through hardships. that is our case. these are painful moments. but i have one principle. that is that private affairs are dealt with in private. with respective intimacy of each other. therefore, this is not the place, nor the time, to do this. >> our jim bitterman is in paris. and jim, you know, i mean, he talks about privacy. and we know the french. they treasure their privacy. they also really don't get riled up about some of these things when it comes to sex scandals. why -- why is the french media in particular handling this differently? >> reporter: well, i think this time around, it's been a little bit -- a different kind of an aspect to it. one of the things is that it does raise the whole ques

hollande so long? >> we need to tank -- we need to take into account everything. 365 billionith euros. decrease,30 billion francell be the european average. in terms of business spending -- >> what about the reigning in of the welfare state? you are a socialist and francois hollande is a socialist resident. it is all about big state. now he is going to cut the amount of money. >> it is big state, for sure. what we need to look at is who is paying at the end of the day. than 50% of more their gdp. in france, it is 11%. it is less. we need to take into account all and not only look at who is paying for it. >> 50 billion euros will be reined back out of spending. where are those spending cuts going to come? he mentioned the health-care system yesterday. it cannot all come from health care. to assure them what would be the place of states in our life. we need to start with us. expensive without thinking about what could be the mission, the goals we need to reach. definitely. >> is three years long enough? >> we have already started. in 2013.d this year, there will be -15 billion euros. it is not new. it is just a re

collage of photos recently published in a dutch newspaper, a 2013 perspective of france's prime minister, francois hollande, and apparently none of them want anything to do with him. never, ever, ever getting back together, like ever. no love, so sad. but, alas, an investigation by the french version of "the huffington post" reveals there was never any snubbing at all. they report almost all of these images were, indeed, taken a split second before contact, francois hollande grasped the hand held out to him. as you can see here with iranian president rouhani. now with that mystery solved, we eagerly await for the "huffington post" investigation of tom brady getting iced. the second awesomest thing to come to us from you tube, and it's a stark reminder of the real world danger faced by our nation's delivery people. this is a u.p.s. man being faced around a fedex truck by a wild turkey. >> look at that! the turkey's chasing the fedex guy. >> oh, my god! [ laughing ] >> okay, so laugh it up, people, after a while, they had to feel bad for the guy and had to wonder what kind of people would point and laugh at

france are wondering who is the first lady. >> reporter: one french president, francois hollande, with a stagnant economy he hasn't been able toodern history, in the low 20% range. one french first lady, first girlfriend she's called here, valerie treiweiler, who has checked into a hospital because of hollande's french girlfriend julie gayet, who was traveling in cog nieto on a motor scooter. these were the issues that hollande faced during his news conference where the first question was about the alleged affair which he didn't deny. >> translator: everyone can face trials in their personal life, he said. these are painful moments, but personal affairs should be treated privately. he did promise that valerie treiweiler's status would be resolved before a trip to washington next month. the saga has tested the french myth that interest in politicians stop at the bedroom door, says american living in parks paris, danielle grall. >> they're all totally humiliated. >> reporter: humiliated. >> humiliated. the elite french. it's totally humiliating for them. they feel like they're linking in italy and it's not very funny. >> reporte

france as well. clearly got problems with competitivity. hollande trying to deal with that. aid in his new year's eve speech that france is going to reward companies that actually create jobs by letting them have lower labor taxes but france is clearly going to be one of the big theme s of 2014. they need to do a lot of work on becoming more competitive. >> elections coming up there too. going to be interesting. dade tweed joining us from berlin on the latest p.m.i. tripped. we're following rise of a pharmaceutical company that banks on a tiny crustacean for newt recents. that is coming up after the break. ♪ >> welcome back to "the pulse" live from bloomberg's london headquarters. it is now 9:42 in london. in today's global outlook, we focus on the environment beginning 2014. joining me is the director of a telefonica initiative that provides support for tech entrepreneurs in europe. tell us a little bit about the staff and environment as we head into 2014. just how buoyant it is. >> i think it is incredible. we're seeing continued momentum in growth and the birth over the di

yesterday france's president spoke out for the first time in response to revelations made by a tabloid that he's been having a relationship with an actress on the side. news of the affair sent hollande'se's first lady to the hospital. nerve their personal life goes through trials. these are painful moments. i don't know how painful they are for him. i have a principle that private affairs are dealt with in private. this is neither the place or time to do it do you think that would fly here in the country? >> eugene robinson was editing the post for years, he's had a deal with these, he's a pulitzer prize winning writer michelle kosinski covers europe. let's get the facts first. i always want to be where you're at, michelle. you're always in a great place. somewhere continental. explain how the french are able to deal with matters we would consider sticky, they say, c'est la vie? >> yeah, nice choice of words there, sticky. i think they like to say, they love to say these are personal matters this is private, they don't care, and they do take certain things in stride. things like public nudity. someone is photographed sun bathing topless. something like this is different. they will tel

french president hollande trumpeted a pro-business agenda of tax and spending cuts to revive the economy. even france guy. >> wait, they had -- >> we're talking about 90%. >> relative. even in france. even in france, they figured it out even in france, maybe the private sector is the way to go. >> on the front page of "the washington post," they have a picture of his love affair treatment. >> he's got a couple of things going on. he's distracting and a lot of money to play with. >> the first lady -- they're not even married, on is there really a first lady? >> you see, things are really good in washington when suddenly you're turning to france. >> he's not married to her. he's allowed to date other people, isn't he? >> the problem becomes is she is the first lady, and she has the office, and she as all the things that goes along with it. she's in the hospital right now. >> it's inskrutable for me. a lot of things in france are unscrutable. i love it there, but you can't understand it. >> enjoy it. >> just go with it. >> enjoy paris. >>> we're also going to talk about another cnbc exclusive interview,

hollande, president of france, pledges 30 billion euros worth of tax cuts in a bid to boost the economy i don't think so. remember beanie babies? their creator got 2 years probation for tax evasion and a 53 million dollar civil penalty for tax evasion. charles, i know you've got a lot to say about this? >> i do. i think this is a great poster case, child, if you will for the attack on capitalism and success in america. here is a guy that created something from nothing and made a lot of people happy and given so much money away to philanthropy. he had an account over in europe didn't tell his accountant about it and made money off it. penalize him 27 million in interest and then another 53 million in a civil penalty. i think the tax bell was less than 10 million. you want to talk about teaching someone a lesson. if some people are upset only two years probation and didn't go to prison, this is a man that's given money to kids and just millions and millions of dollars. >> that's why the sentence was so light. the judge specifically referenced. charles: shouldn't have been a sentence at al

hollande is not married, but he has been living recently with a journalist, who is considered to be france's first lady. president's secret love, splashed over the front page of a gossip magazine. francois hollande and his alleged lover. the weekly claimed that he frequently is seen in the streets of paris on a motorbike to spend time with the actors. >> it's a real passion that has turned their lives upside down and makes them take insane risks. >> the french leader seen here with his official girlfriend did not deny the rumors, but he attacked the magazine on violating his right to privacy. in france, publishing information on someone's private life is a criminal offense. for many, the president's personal life is nobody's business. >> i think he is a person like any other and has the right to privacy like anybody else. we don't know if it is a rumor or not. >> it is not an interesting topic. there are many more important issues in france. >> the french are known to be tolerant of their leaders infidelities. in the past, such rumors had little impact on popularity ratings. the of the bigge

they have never married, as all of france knows, long before francois hollande ran for president, his 23-year relationship with the mother of his four children whom, of course, he never married. 600 journalists showed up for the president's news conference on the economy yesterday. 600, jay carney, count them. and most of them were actually interested in the economy. but the recent revelation that the president was seeing another woman did come up. >> for those of you who didn't get all of that, what he said was everyone in his personal life can go through difficult periods. this is the case for us. these are painful moments, but i have one principle -- private matters should be dealt with privately. joining me now, msnbc's crystal ball and marcus mavery who was based in paris for several years. crystal, that's my motto. private matters should be dealt with privately. what a country, huh? talk about an advanced civilization. we are, i think, 300 years behind them on this. >> yeah. well, i disagree with part of that. >> i thought you might. you old fashioned married ladies. i thought y

treasury secretary jack lew is in france today meeting president francois hollande and the finance minister comes at a time of concern for the french economy. let's get back to hans nichols with the very latest. with ast stop is paris very clear message. lew to thefrom jack french. they need to implement balanced reforms to spur economic growth. you saw a little defensive posture this morning in a radio interview that the finance minister gave where he talked about the need for your for corporations to spur growth. he also said that what the french government is doing for competitiveness is unprecedented. not sure that will comport with jack lew's message. lose message go survey conflict in germany where he has already been harshly critical of germany's efforts to stimulate him and want the same time germany has economic figures on their side during their posting strong numbers. to portugal where he will be more conciliatory and encourage their reform efforts and what they have done for their rescue package. hans, thank you so much. let's continue the conversation on the state of the french