and france.t is recommended that austerity policies should be eased in favor of more public investments. the government is working on its own plans to boost growth. they include tinkering with france's notoriously strong protection of workers. government staff can only be fired in france in very limited circumstances. strictrs claimed the rules are preventing them from hiring new staff. new working papers are being discussed by the government. they could see more changes coming down the line. of the moste high-profile factory closures in france in recent memory. 2013orkers were let go in due to economic difficulties. two years later, the firings were not justified and it is a situation the government is trying to change. a working paper is making the rounds of the mineral -- ministry of finance to make it easier to fire staff. there are real and serious causes to fire someone and it would event us from being dragged before the labor board. employees can be shown the door if the company faces bank

markus: it is earnings season here in france. playmaker airbus -- planemaker airbus has posted a healthy looking at profit, $2.7 billion ash -- 2.7 billion euros. 6% last airbus grew by year, hitting 64 billion euros. underlining an out before cast, the planemaker said it would ramp up production of its a330 jet. just a few years back, they reduced the production pace of the jet as they predicted slower demand. around 16,000 people in the u.k. the chief executive has weighed in on britain's breakfast debate. he expects britain's competitiveness to take a hit in the u.k. votes to leave the european union -- britain's brexit debate. he expects britain's competitiveness to take a hit in u.k.ou -- a hit if the votes to leave the european union. >> what that could mean for our competitiveness -- from a pure business perspective, a brexit would not increase our competitiveness. markus: it was an upbeat start to the year for the french jobs market. the number of job seekers dropped in january by nearly 28,000. the jobless total remains

that's a big difference between the united states and france. in general, in france, the constitution is changed much more casually. it has indications down the line for how the law is viewed and interpreted. this may be a more fundamental change in france than it is in the united states. the act in the united states had certain provisions that had to be reviewed periodically. some of those have already had their sunset and have been reviewed, but we know that they can be challenged again in legislative session if something happens that awakens people to the possibility that things can be implemented in a way that was different. these are all major factors that have to be taken in mind. catherine: and, if i'm correct, i believe that some parts of the original patriot act were transformed into regular laws, to put it in layman's terms. how much of the original patriot act is still in place in the u.s. today? it.ery much of there were some provisions that were deemed to be excessive. there were others that were very controversial at the time that

let's start here in france, where m.p.'s are voting on a very controversial bill to amend the constitution in the wake of the terrorist attacks last november. >> that's right, after several hours of tense debate, m.p.'s voted in favor of article two yesterday. now this is a controversial measure which will allow authorities to strip french citizens of their french citizenship if they are convicted of terrorism. it was a very close vote of 162 votes in favor, 148 against. now the government won by 14 votes, and according to, it was a humiliation for the government. keep in mind, this is the right-wing paper, not a huge fan of the socialist government, but according to them, it was a humiliation because the government was hoping for more support. what's interesting is the government amended article two right before the vote was passed. initially it was supposed to be about dual citizens, and now the measure is going to include all french citizens. jamie: the day before, they voted in favor of article one, which would enshrine

u're watching "france 24 first, our top story. the u.n., syria envoy has met with syria's foreign minister on the -- in crucial talks on the dire need for humanitarian aid in the besieged part of the country. the international community condemns bombardment in syria. the u.s. is at least 50 people were killed during a missile strike. the foreign ministry has blamed moscow. they have categorically denied the accusations. as our correspondent reports. a blatant violation of international law. that is what the u.n. called monday's airstrikes on civilian buildings in syria that killed dozens, including children. ,n the rebel stronghold of azaz and aes hit a hospital school. province -- in this province, the hospital run by the french ngo doctors without borders was reduced to rubble. it was on bartered by foreign missiles a few minutes apart. rescuers scrambled to pull out survivors from the debris. attacks on hospitals are a breach of the geneva convention. inis considered a war crime the international criminal court. doctors without

france's second largest city. the oldest city in france, it sits right by the mediterranean.sly good. yet it's a victim of bad reputation, bad history. marseille. as it turns out. exactly the kind of place i like. >> but this is a buddy picture, isn't it? eric is the chef of the three-star le berardin of new york. and my friend this causes him some problems. he i like it remind him as a reputation to protect. i do not. >> you've never been here? >> no. >> how is this possible? >> 50 miles. >> you grew up 100 miles from here. what prevented you from coming to this beautiful city, because it's clearly beautiful. >> it's a fantastic city. it's beautiful. i agree with you. but it has the reputation of being a dangerous city. >> you live in new york. [ laughter ] >> i should point out that every single frenchman says i'm shooting in france and they say oh, really, where? and i say marseille and their face drops. and they say, this is not france. >> they say this is not france. >> this is low-impact show. >> it means i'm not paddling up-river. it means i get a flush toilet. eating

this is "france 24." i'm genie godula. these are the headlines print today in libya marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the revolution that brought down more market update. we will take a closer look at the growing grip of the islamic state group on the country. former french president nicolas sarkozy is placed under formal investigation for it illegal campaign funding. that is a new blow to his hopes of getting back into the presidential palace next year. both the u.s. and taiwan confirm reports that china has sent missiles to one of the disputed islands it controls in the south china sea. that has sent tensions to a new level as barack obama is urging restraint. hour -- in up this business, a crisis in croissant. we will be telling you why more french bakers are turning to frozen pastries to make their lives easier. cityhe pope wraps up his -- his trip to mexico in a city considered by many to be the most dangerous in the world. "france 24," live from paris. five years ago this week, a revolution began in libya t

business on france 24 with stephen carroll. there is a protest to do with uber, but not the kind that we have been used to. stephen carroll that's right. normally we are used to protests against the ridesharing companies, but this time it is drivers who have taken to the streets in paris, protesting changes to the regulations that govern the industry. they say new rules will put people out of work. uber says up to 10,000 drivers are affected by the changes come as mark thompson explains. >> one week after taxi drivers caused chaos, companies like uber are staging their own counter demonstrations. they are causing -- they are calling the silent protests a period of mourning. spotchecks will increase, and drivers without reservations will be forced to return to the garage between each fair. this could put thousands of drivers out of work. >> for a company like ours, if we do not have access to a platform that represents 70% of our business, it is certain death. >> the move comes after taxi companies held talks with french prime m

in central france. in a area called auvergne, and he grew in his early years in a chateau there called chavaniac. the town has since changed its name to chavaniac lafayette. and in france someone who has any kind of relationship through marriage can have the name of a famous person to their own name. rather nice. lafayette never knew his father. his father was killed in battle against the british at age two. and he was raised by his very plain but wise grandmother. at chavaniac. his own mother was much happier living in the luxembourg palace in paris. which, of course, after the kings moved out it was turned over for nobility to live there, and as you probably know now is the french senate. and of course, the park is still there. it is a great place to visit and get the french flavor. which i certainly enjoy. and he was treated like a prince. as a young lad. and he knew very early what the story of his family was. that he came from the blood of knights, course through his blood system. he was an early c

the long-running scandal is well-known in france as bygmalion.ompanyn is a pr suspected of financing his bid in 2012. there was a huge overspend, leading to his party exceeding the legal spending limit. team hid 18arkozy's million of spending between bygmalion and ump. director of communications is the only one known to have participated in the fraud. ump at the time has not been called before the judge. sarkozy has denied any knowledge. bygmalion of the name a long time after the presidential campaign. reporter: a total of 13 people have been charged from bygmalion abuse ofd, confidence, or misuse of financing. a sad return to the paris state. eagles of death metal are playing for survivors of the bataclan. band members and fans have been speaking out ahead of the gig. three months on, the eagles of death metal are trying to overcome the trauma of their european tour. paris, aperforming in show front man jesse hughes will allow them to move on. >> there is a lot going into this. it is intense for everybody. that is kind of what it is supposed to

your rendezvous with the world right here on "france 24." >> you are watching "france 24." these are the headlines. tens of thousands of syrians stranded on the border with turkey as the government backed offensive in a left continues -- alleppo continues. more miracle survivors in taiwan. an eight-year-old girl and her aunt are pulled out of the rubble 60 hours after the earthquake hit. final campaigning is underway in new hampshire in the last day before voting kicks off. uber, france-- issues a new report on controversial companies and says they must pay their fair share. we will have the details for you. areions across china celebrating the year of the monkey as the lunar new year gets underway. first, our top stories from paris. ♪ >> we will start in syria where a government push to retake the largest government city has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. they are running from bombs from russian planes that are backing the government offensive. thousands of people are stranded on the border with turkey. eight agencies are saying the situation is becom

unions in france already preparing for a fight. youhey basically say, if want us to higher, help us to fire. we are certain they are going to fire. we just don't know if they are going to hire. has been concern voiced over the rigidity of labor laws in france. the government is eager to push the reforms provided it gets its side.nions on a bill is expected to be discussed by the cabinet in early march. >> we will take a look at the stock markets next. over in the united states we are seeing shares trading to the downside after a three-day winning streak. oil prices remain in focus, and they're having trouble to halt gains we saw earlier in the session. that is putting some pressure on energy shares, that those energy shares are seeing previous gains fizzle out as well. walmart is among the laggards. before that, let's just show you the picture here in europe at the end of the trading day. as you can see right there, it was a negative close in london. the london markets was not weighed down by minors. tech shares helped in paris. le

raul castro is the first leader from his country to visit france in 21 years. he and francois hollande are currently at a state dinner. we follow the visit and criticism that human rights issues have not been brought up adequately by french officials. reporter: there has been very little mention of that, katherine, but there will be some people who will be keenly critical of the fact that so little was said. according to doctors without borders, cuba is on a list of 169 down the list in terms of its record on press freedoms and since the beginning of the process in the end of 20 14 between a van washington, reporters without borders says things have gotten worse for journalists on the island, that there have been more arrests and arbitrary detentions and that far from improving, things are going from bad to worse. no mention of that today. francois hollande talking business with his counterparts of these historical, ideological ties between cuba and at the dinner going on at the palace behind me right now. a motley crew of people who have been invited. a number

that is france 24.com. time for a quick break.next up, it's the pandemic that has touched millions--aids. 30 years after the first confirmed cases appeared, where are we now? and what's working in hiv prevention? find out in a scial rept from p and viewchange.org. announcer: "viewchange" is about people making real progress in tackling the world's toughest issues. can a story change the world? see for yourself in "viewchange: hiv prevention-- looking back and moving forward." debra: i'm debra messing, ambassador for psi. it's been 30 years since the cenrs for disease control confirmed the first cases of hiv in the united states. since

welcome back to "france 24." civilians killed in air strikes in syria that obstruct hospitals and a school. the united states has condemned the bombing, locals blaming them on russia. a final claim of innocence olmert,the jail ehud the first former israeli prime minister to serve prison time. and making their case for a new case in europe in britain. the british prime minister meeting francois hollande in paris ahead of a key eu summit. first, russia is being blamed for airstrikes that have hit at least three hospitals and a school in a northern syria. at least 50 people have died in the strikes. witnesses saying that the bombings came as russian warplanes backed up syrian troops. government forces are intensifying their push towards aleppo. the strikes have drawn condemnation from the united states. scrambledrescuers frantically at rubble on monday. they are survivors of the wreckage of what was once a hospital with 30 beds. french charity doctors without borders had been supporting the facility with supplies an

in france, not such a great day. is down moreace than 20% after they announced a restructuring plan was taking longer than they had imagined. claire: a fierce debate in france over changes to the country's strict labor laws. stephen: it is extremely -- extremely difficult and expensive to fire employees. it particularly presents -- some to companies companies will share workers. nicolas: he is not worried because his permanent contract allows him to work for different employers. for me is thate i am employed year-round and i do not have to look for work. nicolas: it pays salaries to 70 employees. checking out the next assignment. a managerial position with the kind of flexibility that suits the factory owner. >> this is the means i can have quality employees without having to commit to a full-time contract. >> the employer can end the employee's assignment at any time. the regular changes an assignment are something she was wary of but she adjusted. >> i was afraid of being lost in the mix of jobs and companies, not

let's come back to france. in two weeks, trade unions and the business world will renegotiate the rules of france's generous unemployment benefits. flo: the government is hinting at the fact that it wants to make some controversial changes. the government is considering gradually reducing unemployment benefits, essentially the longer that you are unemployed the less unemployment benefits you get because that might be surprising to many other countries. in france, when you are unemployed come you get a fixed rate of unemployment during the period that you are unemployed, which can last two years. trade unions do not want the government to touch the current system. let's take a look at this front page -- are they going to touch our unemployment benefits? you can see the prime minister, the economy minister, and labor minister looking pretty threatening. you can see a very eager economy essentially saying what if we just got rid of unemployment benefits altogether? that way people would not sign up at unemployment

france's foreign minister lawrence fabi and -- laurent fabius steps down. and a vote against the political establishment in the united states. seesew hampshire primary bernie sanders and donald trump --eat their rivals in fashion. emma: french lawmakers have voted for the chance to strip convicted terrorists of their french nationality. to changeversial bill the constitution comes in the wake of the terror attacks in paris. the prospect of threatening citizenship has revealed deep divisions in the ruling socialist party, but it passed through the assembly with 317 votes for to 199 against. the legislation needs to clear several hurdles before it becomes law. prime minister manuel valls spoke after the vote. the us andter valls: we has given its verdict, and even though this is only the first -- the assembly has given its verdict. even though this is only the first step -- a law and a planned reform that once again aims to protect france and our fellow citizens. emma: a little earlier, i spoke bell,ance 24's" melissa who had been following the developments.

you are watching live from paris on "france 24." crunching the numbers -- which jobs can help you find a mate. minot takes villa us through the day's papers in "press review." iranian leaders expect a high turnout rate this friday in the most important election since the islamic revolution in 1979. -- vote pits reformists and for many, this election is a referendum on president rouhani's efforts to get sanctions relief after a decade of embargoes. mark thompson has the latest. which could help define the iranian president's future, the candidates chosen for the new parliament are likely to affect rouhani's chances for a free election next year. the former vice president says the government is ready to react. however the country votes. >> is what our people want that matters. to the ballotn boxes is what counts. if we get the majority, we can operate. if our friends when, we can help them strengthen their agenda. elections pits reformists against conservatives who have dominated both institutions. is hoping to curb their influence an

her sentiments are being noticed far from france. she has drawn attention -- and praise -- from others -- like sarah palin, who calls le pen a political crush, full of "courage and common sense on a continent that needs both." le pen's popularity, while relatively small here in paris, is hard to ignore in other regions, where supporters say it's not just her tough talk, but her undeniable charisma, that has their movement gaining momentum. critics in the capital city call her rise concerning. >> we have spectacular results in favor is hard to ignore in other of the far right which is radically anti-islam, anti-muslim, and anti-so-called immigrants, which is her word scott: one political analyst says her success would have been on a manageable -- unimaginable a few years ago. >>the rising voice of the right is creating a new wave of discontent over borders and she is writing that wave -- riding that wave. >> the politicians are complicit or blinded by the reality because of the political correctness. some associations are standing as

"reporters" on "france 24" and france24.com. ."nie: welcome to "france 24 these are the headlines. the u.n. is hoping to raise for this$8 billion year alone to help close caught in the conflict. the negotiations on syria have been put on pause two days after they began. russia ofccused torpedoing the peace efforts. choreographer benjamin millepied the paris opera ballet. that on the way. theill start first with conference for syria that is on in london today. the event is hoping to raise billions of dollars in funding to help those worst affected by the syrian civil war. pridgeon, norway, and germany have already pledged to combine britain, norway, and germany have already pledged to combine billions of dollars. in five years, this refugee camp has turned into one of jordan's biggest cities, home to 80,000 refugees. since the war began, 4.6 million syrians have fled their country. most children are out of school. adults are unemployed. >> i hope jordan will get enough funding at the london conference. i hope the financial aid will help create jobs for the syrian refugees, because l

from brussels into france too carry out these deadl deadly at. shared database of information a list of suspects, both intelligence agencies working closer together, and for it not just to be limited to both brussels and france but for these requirements to also be extended across the whole of the continent also to make sure that anybody who poses a real threat to any eu or schengen state is under the radar of the intelligence services across europe. >> neave barker in brussels, thank you. >>> the u.k. has approved a scient's request. critics say it crosses too many ethical boundaries and could be leading to so-called designer babies. phil lavelle has more. >> this is where the story is about, the human embryo where the scientists should genetically modify these but it is a ethical mine field and the argument about it all is about to get much louder here in the u.k. because permission has now been granted. this organization the frances ickrick institute has now said yes, the scientists needed that license to go ahead and perform what's called gen

the young people of france, enlisting to fight terror.anish town that has a beef with pork. one of the most explosivsu

both france and cuba stand to gain from the warming ties. a firsting cube up european economic partner, francois hollande. investigations -- negotiations are pretty far along. the deal includes partial debt forgiveness and reinvestment in cuba. >> i think that is an to learn more about the cuban reality and relations between the two countries. upparis also hopes to shore the presence of french companies in cuba, with about 100 80 million euros in annual trade. france is in the top 10 of the island's partners, and first part cube has announced a series of infrastructure projects accounting for more than $15 billion in key sectors such as construction, energy, agriculture, and tourism. ties withs stronger cuba as an opportunity to expand its influence in latin america. , france, andba latin america, something similar cuba in the european union. >> cuba also needs its source of income as its major ally and financial backer, venezuela, was deeper into crisis. the cut -- the country puzzle public debt is about 33% of gdp, of which 80% is late int

next, we'll talalwith a young, rising political star in france sharyl: in france, there is a rising rock star of the political right. a 26-year old with a political pedigree that some might call extreme. but for marion le pen, the issues of migrants and terrorism have combined to ignite a career and d re than a little controversy.y. scott thuman has our story. scott: don't let the adoring fans, swarms of cameras, and photogenic smile fool you. you're looking at one of france's -- or more accurately europe's -- most controversial figures. and no topic has made marion rechal-le pen more t tked about than immigration. marion: there are security consequences. radical islam has emerged. terrorism is one of the more radical drifts. it's just the beginning. in this situation, our partieses are lead to come to power, i we are lead to completely change the migration policy implemented by the european elites. scott: the power she spoke of when sitting down to talk with us in paris is the rising right in france and a party called the national front. she believes france should slow, if not, stop all

it's very much alienating the young muslim inside paris and elsewhere across france.ight be a cost that will have to be born and carefully watched by the authorities and the executive and the president. >> and david, by coincidence the band that was playing on the night of the attacks, the eagles of death metal will be performing in paris again. and one of the band members had some pretty strong words to say about i guess security in france. >> reporter: that's right. this is jesse hughes who was on stage when the gunmen entered the theater on november 13th, the night of november 13th. now it's quite a brave thing for him to do, and also amongst the audience there will be a large number of the survivors of that attack. so it's an act of courage and defiance, but he has been accounting his feelings of that night in a very emotional interview which he gave only yesterday. >> gun control kind of doesn't have anything to do with it, but if you want to bring it up, i'll ask you did your french officials stop anyone from dying? i don't think so. i think the only thing that

peter: talking about the rest of europe, let's go to france. let's see what's happening there at the moment. >> for decades, germany and france worked together as the driving force behind european unity. france is concerned about germany's economic clout but dung the financial crisis, paris supported berlin's demands for drastic austerity measures. at the summit a year ago, merkel and french president hollande worked together to bring peace to ukraine. the french prime minister said recently his country will not take in more than the 30,000 refugees it has already promised to help. that appears to be a direct challenge to chancellor merkel's policy of working toward an equitable distribution of refugees among e.u. countries. are relations between france and germany cooling off? if so, what will that mean for europe? peter: you're shaking your head vehemently. constanze: i'm shaking my head because that was a very rcastic rendition of "le marseilles," which wouldn't please our french friends. peter: one newspaper called this a stab in the back.

france has 3500 soldiers deployed. they have four other countries in the region. despite the heavy french presence on the ground, violence has intensified. jihadist have struck western interests. hotelsdliest attacks hit popular with westerners. 20 people were killed at the radisson in november. the u.n. has been a target. a terror still killed peacekeepers in northern molly. proof that local forces have failed to eliminate the jihadist threat. molly: let's get a check of the headlines. round two of reform talks after hours of negotiations. david cameron and eu leaders are looking for a deal to keep the u.k. in the block. they are struggling to stand united in the face of the migrant crisis. new limits on asylum applications while brussels calls for another emergency summit. there is uncertainty in uganda concerning the presidential poll. the main opposition candidate has been taken into police custody. teargas has been fired at his supporters. withe going to start off possible facelift for a french labor law. -- >> the proposed reforms have not been made public.

molly: welcome to the "france 24 " newsroom. i am molly hall. coming up, a controversial debate gets underway in french parliament. the government looks to strip french nationals of their citizenship in terrorist cases. fresh off a near split vote in iowa, hillary clinton and bernie mostrs battle over who is progressive. a u.n. human rights panel says julian assange should be free. the u.k. rejects the panel findings. are shelling out record amounts of money to advertise during this weekend's super bowl in the united states. we will have all the figures in business. florence villeminot will be here on why lovers of the french language are seeing red. molly: we begin in france, where a controversial debate is underway and parliament that concerns the government's plans to strip nationals of their french citizenship in terrorism cases. palace wants to make changes to the constitution that would permanently add emergency members brought in the wake of the november 13 attacks. it has prompted a huge debate as many say it discriminates against by nat

scott: you're seeing that here now in france? >> yeah, clearly. clearly. scott: and while such reaction would have been expected among some nations, in france, this type of talk has long been taboo. >> if i wanted to make a sarcastic joke, i would say that racism is the new black, basically. basic racist tendencies and ago saying that, you would have been sacked from the government just the very same day. today, you become prime minister. scott: harsher laws similar to the patriot act, stricter border checks, and the ubiquitous show of weaponry, proof that this is a new paris. with mosques under more watchful eyes and the glares from behind plate glass by now leery parisians make many wonder if this city will ever return to its storybook setting. >> i think it will return to normal but it will take time. scott: but paris is probably always going to be a target? >> probably, probably. scott: and the attacks in paris may have just been a dress rehearsal. reports quoting intelligence officials, 2015 was nothing and the terrorists are moving toward a european

you are watching "france 24." a pause in the violence. diplomats agree to a temporary cease-fire due to take a week -- take effect in a week. russia is considering an aerial bombardment. secure your borders. the eu gives greece three months to meet its demands. on zika.n to detect theed mosquito-borne virus in a matter of five hours. good evening. five years on and more than one quarter of a million deaths later, united a's, russia, and other nations have agreed on aiming to cease hostility in syria and bring humanitarian aid to people may in need. as the talks in munich wrapped up, a temporary truce could begin within a week. cease-fire,anted a but moscow had been aiming for it to take effect on march 1. a week from now is considered a compromise. more on what this deal could mean for but seized countries. for ad the hopes cease-fire, there were steps towards providing concrete relief for the communities. kerry, there is no time to lose. >> we believe we have made progress on both the hand terrien -- on both the humanitarian front and th