france has no desire to be embroiled in u.s. domestic politics, but our positions on the agreement is clear. on north korea, we share u.s. concern with recent developments france has long been european leader on sanctions against the dprk. we were instrumental in passing the latest package oeu measures. more pressure is necessary for any future negotiation to be meaningful. the question, though, is, do sanctions come too late? and how far is china willing to go? the third thing i have on my mind is how well we cooperate with the u.s. on nato and european security. france is a responsible nato alliance. we fully understand the u.s. insistence in burden sharing and we are on a clear path toward reaching the 2% gdp in the expenses, and believe me, our 2% are not half a quarter percentage. they are a war fighting percentage. although not all of us is in nato, it is all contributes to nato citer, -- nato security, whether in the south, or the north atlantic, where our navy cooperateds with the u.s. to confront that'ses 'on this we st

the leaders of france, germany and the u.k. have reiterated both their urgent recommendation to stick to the gcpoa and their willingness to address iran's ballistic missile program and regional activities. we need the gcpoa. scrubbing out would be a gift to iran's hard liners and a first step towards future wars. but we should also be extremely serious about the destabilizing ballistic and regional activities. we are working on it. the issue is now in congress. france has no desire to be embroiled in u.s. domestic politics, but our position on the agreement is clear. on north korea, we share u.s. concern with recent developments. france has long been the european leader on sanctions against the dprk. we were instrumental in passing the latest package of eu measures. more pressure is necessary for any future negotiation to be meaningful. the question though is do sanctions come too late, and how far is china willing to go. the third thing i have on my mind is how well we cooperate with the u.s. on nato and european security more

france has no desire to be embroiled in u.s. democrat stom politics but our position on the agreement is clear. on north korea, we share u.s. concern with recent developments. france has long been the european leader on sanctions against the dprk. we were instrumental in passing the latest package of eu measures. more pressure is necessary for any future -- to be meaningful. the question though is do sanctions come too late? and how far is china willing to go? the third thing i have on my mind is how with we cooperate with the u.s. and nato and u.n. security more broadly. france is a responsible nato ally. we fully understand the u.s. insistence on burden sharing, and we are on a clear path toward reaching 2% gdp in defense expenses. and believe me, our 2% are not headquarters percentage. they are a war fighting percentage. although, not all our effort is in nato, it all contributes to nato's security, whether in desal or up in the north atlantic where our navy cooperates with the u.s. to confront threats. beyond this, we strong

open, flexible entrepreneurial france.french national assembly is rich in tradition. it is also now dominated by a new breed of mp — macronists — mostly successful professionals from business and public service drawn to the banner of reform. jean—baptiste djebbari is a pilot, who was an executive in a private jet business. he abandoned the cockpit for a seat in parliament, after being persuaded by the macron vision. i met the president i think two and a half years back now, it was injanuary, 2015. and i thought he was different from the politicians i got to know at the time. a lot more careful and responsive than the other politicians. i kept that in mind. and later in december, i read the political platform. injanuary i decided to run. i got nominated in may, and here i am so. but you are a pilot, i mean, you do not know anything about politics. i mean, i did also part of my career in the ministry for transport, so i know the administration, i know how it works, i know also its limits. and because i am an entrepreneur, so

and france. beyond this, we strongly believe that europe must do more to defend themselves and it spirits, the french president recently decided to launch a europe initiative called a europe intervention initiative. they have also been key to the cooperation of the tractor corporation and the defense fund and i'll be happy to expand on it further. i would like to conclude with a slightly more global outlook, if i may. france has just concluded, as you just mentioned, the strategic review of security environment and the request of the french president. we faced growing security challenges in multiple areas around the world. this challenge calls for new thinking on how to best assure our current security which is why we launched new strategic review this assessment will serve as the basis for the multi- year defense programming that we will establish for the next five years. what i would like to give you on some of its findings. the only thing i can say. [inaudible] the risk we identify now in our

i know this is france raised its less than the pentagon's laundry bill, but in france, this is a significant 5% increase. i would like to conclude with this -- don't underestimate those single-digit billions. from what i have seen, when you invest in the french military, you really get a bang for your buck. thank you for your attention. i am ready for your questions. >> [applause] >> madam minister, we got a lot of bang out of our buck for that. my colleagues, i am stealing the phrase "more tank thank think." we put a lot of think in. i would like to pose a few questions. we have a fantastic audience that i know has additional questions from that very rich offering you just provided us. i would like to start with your fire in the middle east. in some ways, we are about to be the victim of our success. --the anti-isis coalition the victories in iraq, now moving towards other places, we have two challenges as i see them. clearly, we still have foreign fighters that are being squeezed. hey have to go somewhere. you have expressed strong comments about the french citizens that are foreign fighte

as we sit here, fronts is being polarised. —— france.s, do you think, france is fighting the same old battles at it will be the same old battles at it will be the same results? this is a democracy and it is also a way of democracy which france producers because there isa which france producers because there is a reluctance for reform. how do you overcome that? we hope that if we produce properly, the public opinion will say ok, that happen. the message is, france is back. erich bonnet is back also. thank you for inviting me. we moved two days ago. this is rand new four-year? -- brand. his office has been in london for the past two years but he has decided to move back to paris. still unpacking. partly, it is about worries over brexit but mostly driven by an enthusiasm for macron economic policy. he plans to lower corporate tax to 25% within the next five years... and when you were here? 3396. five years... and when you were here? 33%. 1896 in five years... and when you were here? 3396. 1896 in the uk, 2096 in the coming years. more inter

time fors france 24, 60 minutes live around the world. these are the headlines, spain waiting to see if the catalonia president will follow through on his promise to declare indedependence. it could happen this evening in barcelona where he will address the regional parliament. wildfires in california wine country forced 20,000 people to flee with hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed and 10 people killed. as africa's first female president plans to step aside library at a likes a new leader, 20 candidates in the running to replace the president also, france racing for its biggest strike over the president's plan to eliminate 120,000 public jobs . more coming up in business. a frightening new report from greenpeace says france's nuclear reactors not as prepared as they should be in case of a terror attack. first, our tip -- our top story live from paris. ♪ >> police in spain have closed off a park surrounding the regional government in catalonia , ahead of what could be a declaration of unilateral independence from their tonight. the

this city in east central france is often under rated once the heart of france's silk trade today leon and its suburbs are home to many companies in the pharmaceutical metal and electrical industries. sophie d.v.d. lives and works here her first novel is about a young unemployed journalist who's struggling to survive. i wanted to write a book about contemporary society in difficult economic times a theme that hasn't been handled much in literature it's something that affects not only the lower classes but also the middle classes especially during this kind of vacuum between the end of someone studies and the time they get a real job. this state of limbo can our last a decade and. many young people in france are unemployed or underemployed a quarter of university graduates don't have a steady job a year after finishing their degrees. sophie deviously knows the feeling she's experienced first hand the battles with authorities the poorly paid jobs and the endless waiting. to do it consumes your life that's what's so hard and the longer it lasts the harder it becomes with me it was over pr

we had talked about france already.ing on, that everybody will be watching the catalan president later as he makes his speech to parliament. will he declare independence for the region of catalonia? that independence for the region of catalonia ? that is independence for the region of catalonia? that is a big story happening later on today in spain. there is a lot going on in france and in stateside as well. and michelle fleury has the details about what's ahead on wall street today. the war on coal is over, that is what the head of the environmental protection agency told a gathering on monday. the boss of the u pa is expected to sign a withdrawal from the clean power plant. former president barack 0bama centrepiece legislation designed to fight climate change. finance ministers and central bankers from around the globe are headed to washington for the annual meeting of the international monetary fund and the world bank. the imf is publishing its twice yearly world economic 0utlook. it is currently predicting global gr

research researcher in france. recent survey conducted by the vienna based action see four fundamental right found that a large majority of european muslims feel deeply connected to the country's even and trust the institutions inspired widespread discrimination for example with respect to france it was shown that muslims born and raised there feel a deep connection to their country given that what would it take for european muslims to one day be fully accepted as peaceful citizens by the film in. all we did never be enough despite how hard they try to assimilate and prove their religions so professor ramadan she says would it ever be enough and why why do you think that there is this disconnect between how european muslims feel often feel in their countries and citizens and the way their fellow citizens see them that that's the point and i think that what you just showed this is a critical message we need to be quite clear on this what is said by the political and the media coverage of the muslims of the european

it's a mandatory snack for every visitor to france a nice warm. but the signature pastry of the gong could end up half baked these days as butter one of the key ingredients has become expensive across europe and france alone the price has risen sixty percent of the past year putting consumers producers and even politicians in a bind. their classic butter rich french pastries the power chocolate and the chris song both are made daily bakery in paris where owner stefan keeps an eye on business the rising price of butter puts live on a difficult spot does he cut the amount of butter in france's most revered pastries or does he raise prices because you can't pass on the extra costs it's just not possible people want to buy a panel chocolate every day it's going to become a luxury product. makers across france and other parts of europe are facing the same dilemma consumers are already taking a hit paying more for butter at the supermarket in france there have even been supply shortages high prices are difficult to swallow for countries like france wher

parties in france 20 years ago.olland for the labor party. these are the working class left wing voters who finds an appeal. i think politicians have played ip into it and they intelligently lashed onto that because they feel they can say i speak for you. >> i think you would appreciate my point, it sounds eerily familiar to what we have now. >> they want to blame the other for other reasons. i don't see that -- are there issues that needs to be addressed? yes, there are issues to be addressed not because someone took your job or someone else denies you the opportunity. that's the part that i adodon't like. i don't consider those legitimate grievances that needs to be debated. >> i am with you there, when a political program leaves behind the economic agenda of all colors and ethnicity and all classes. i think if there was a broader debate, people say you know it is not the immigrants talking your job that's a problem, it is not the black folks moving in is a problem, that's an escape. the politicians are leading th

france is in deep crisis.nce is taking over undersecretary of peacekeeping forces in the united nations. france tried to put a resolution through the united nations security council to get more money for france in niger come in chad, in mali. amy: horace campbell, and mark fancher, we have to leave it there. we will post part two online at democracynow.org. >> this week, "global 3000" focuses on democracy. democracy, it seems, is on the decline. just last year, 67 countries saw setbacks to their citizens' civil liberties and political rights. the biggest threats to a democratic system are autocrats and populists. populists insist they speak for the people. only they, they say, know what is truly right and wrong. they meet tricky questions with

the result is that airbus could be hit with fines in the billions in britain and france and that could have a severe economic impact on the company in germany authorities are investigating the sale of fifteen euro fighter jets to austria here too they're also believed to be irregularities but in germany there's been no indictment against the company only individual employees their ball handling we desperately need a corporate criminal law where companies are threatened by serious punishment this is long been the case in britain and france we're thirty years behind and this is perhaps the consequence of the german age a network of interconnected german companies who protect each other and it's not ok . global companies like airbus and siemens a particularly susceptible to corruption especially in situations where the local customs are more blurred. and is now needs to demonstrate full cooperation with the authorities. house of cards has been a cash cow for the video on demand king netflix or the show was full of the board moral characters it doesn't reflect well if the actors behaving l

we will keep a close eye on how things pan out in france.an easy ride for france at all. while we talk about changes in employment... automation is rapidly changing the employment market. one study by pricewaterhousecoopers suggests more than a third ofjobs in the us could be at risk over the next 20 years. so how can people and countries prepare? the world bank is set to roll out a new initiative to encourage more investment in human capital and education. it's boss has been speaking with michelle fleury about the urgent need to prepare people for the future workplace. automation and technology is going to eliminate so many low skilled jobs. in developing and developed countries? in both developing and developed countries. the one thing you know for sure you'll need in whatever the economy looks like in the future is people who can learn, who are able to adapt to new situations, who are able to learn new things, and right now many countries in the world do not have a workforce that is capable of that. it's time that we move on. what is the

he spoke to france 24. take a listen. it is much more limited than we would need to be fully effective in stoppining the violence in the country. we have asked the security council to increrease the number of troops. we are workiking with other countries and art nurse to see if we can improve training and equipment and mobility and the capacity to be more effective in actions on the ground against violations of human rights. we guarantee a better situation area. michelle: the accusation run the u.n., pointing fingers at the syrian government. they are responsible for the deadly chemical attract -- attack. this was on the north of a all caps or an airstrike. russia has locked a bill saying it is full of inconsistent sees. you may find the halloween images -- following images disturbing. >> dozens of civilians were killed. the u.n. investigative panel has can term the incident to be the responsibility of the syrian regime. they leveled the accusations and september. >> forces used chemical weapons against civilians in oppos

france is in deep crisis.nce is taking over undersecretary of peacekeeping forces in the united nations. france tried to put a resolution through the united nations security council to get more money for france in niger come in chad, in mali. amy: horace campbell, and mark fancher, we have to leave it there. we will post part two online at democracynow.org. for the holiday season. announcer: "julie taboulie's lebanese kitchen" is made possible by... ♪ do your thing, man: do your thing ♪ ♪ syracuse, do your thing ♪ do your thing, do your thing ♪ ♪ syracuse, do your thing

so yes actually concerned about the agreements between france and germany that leave the rest of us out in the cold that is why i want the northern league win the elections and succumbs of power in italy so that we won't be obediently following france and germany orders with market on and medical american decisions on behalf of all twenty seven e.u. member states we're seeing how our last few governments voiced no protests but all the decisions in europe were made by france and germany alone the northern league would never allowed it if we win just like berlusconi who was head of government had the courage to say no when the situation calls for it we're at we're going to take a break right now and when we're back we'll continue discussing tough issues until he has to deal with such as day influx of refugees and devastating anti-rational sanctions stay with us. russia gate continues unabated without any hard facts to back it up will catalonia take the next step and declare independence also will trump be called a deal breaker when it comes to iraq. to. put themselves on the line. to

meanwhile greenpeace activists have exposed a major security failing at a power station in france but story come on to the break. what politicians do something to. put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president i'm sure. some want to be rich. but you'd like to be close to see what you before three of them or the people. interested always in the water using. their. welcome back greenpeace activists have exposed a major security filing in from self to breaking into a nuclear power station and setting off fireworks. was. some spectacular pictures there of more on this we can now cross live to charlotte do bensky artie's correspondent who's in paris why the loss here means so what the intentions behind this stand. well the fifteen greenpeace activists gained access to this nuclear power station in the eastern part of france early on thursday morning they say to highlight security concerns about nuclear power stations across france now what happened as you saw there the fifteen activists gained access to the site climbing a fence and then were able

so yes actually concerned about the agreements between france and germany that leave the rest of us out in the cold that is why i want the northern league win the elections and succumbs of power in italy so that we won't be obediently following france and germany orders with the market on and medical or making decisions on behalf of all twenty seven e.u. member states seeing how our last few governments voiced no protests that all the decisions in europe were made by france and germany alone the northern league would never allowed it if we win just like berlusconi who was head of government had the courage to say no when the situation calls for it we're right we're going to take a short break right now and when we're back we'll continue discussing tough issues until he has to deal with such as day influx of refugees and devastating anti-rational sanctions stay with us. wrong. just don't. get. shape out just. to add to it and it. equals betrayal. when so many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground the one. sex drugs or financial survival. when customers go b

saying france the brother of the french algerian he went on a nine day shooting spree in southern france in march twenty twelve. has gone on trial here in paris today this is an extremely sensitive case three jewish children were among muhammad meryl's victims. including gabrielle sandra who was just three years old abdel cadet marat will be jailed for life if he's found guilty of helping his brother arrogant kay has the story. nmsiis been waiting for this moment for years. this is the mother of one of the soldiers assassinated by mohammed merah in twenty twelve. here she arrived at the french court house where meraz brother will stand trial. wned it is very difficult. i hope that light will be shed truth in the straw. for our children so they may rest in peace and so that justice may be served. that's what i expect to see today. report from. the trial will shed light on the role abdel qader mera played in his brother's crimes. he is accused of having consciously facilitated the twenty twelve attacks in helping his brothers still the scooter he used in the shootings. the attack sent shoc

france is a victim of. as you know police in france do a good job as such as the army this guy for instance to east. wasted for lots of crimes but to lead and to fight not as a police level but at the government level because i think that they don't understand we are in a while you know there is and against while your condos and flowers are not enough we have to take strong measures for instance we have to control our border we have to expel every. community in france and we have to send back to the country each and every. that is linked to terrorism so as you see we have lots of to do to prevent. well citizens do that kind of attacks well or if you could just hold the line there what would do is just to have a quick recap about all those incidents that happened in moscow and come back to you in a moment well as we've been seeing before that france also saw the deadly attack on sunday the islamic state claims that was behind a knife attack that killed two women of moscow's main train station then minutes la

in france, huge benefits in france without paying any taxes to the french treasury >> fair trade or financial protectionism? >> it has nothing to do with protectionism. it has to do with equity with fairness. with fair taxation of all the activities we want google, facebook and amazon to be in france and europe, but we want google, amazon and apple paying due taxes in europe. because we cannot explain to companies, to our people that google and amazon can be in europe without paying fair taxes to europe. >> the americans -- [ applause ] the americans may have a trick up their sleeve. a lot of money is trapped offshore congress is deciding on tax reform in the next few weeks and months if that money is repatriated, doesn't that take away this honey pot that regulators have been going after >>. >> i don't want to criticize tax reform within the eyes i'm trying to introduce an important tax reform in france and i can tell you that it is not an easy task because when you want to introduce tax reforms, you are changing not only the tax system, you are also changing the culture. for insta

here's frances lawson. she's in for lisa argen. hi, frances. >> hi, chris.no clouds around bait arthe bay area. here's how it plays out. sunny and blue all afternoon, and it's going to be a warm evening as well. inland highs will hit the mid-80s and even by 5:00, it will still be in the low 80s. around the bay look for mid-70s for this evening as well, and at the coast things will stay in the 60s by 5:00. it will be clear tonight and very windy to gusty conditions expected, especially in the north and east bay. i'll have those details as well as a red flag warning, coming up. >> frances, thank you. >>> in developing news, parts of the south are being lashed with heavy wind and rain this morning, but it could have been a lot worse. hurricane nate was downgraded to a tropical depression. however, it is still packing a punch, especially in low-lying areas. abc's maggie rulli joinsoinsoini from mobile, alabama. >> reporter: good morning to you. it's sunny in mobile, alabama rather than when we were hit with storm surge. nate has now moved on and the worst of the

i know this is france raised its less than the pentagon's laundry bill, but in france, this is a significant 5% increase. i would like to conclude with this -- don't underestimate those single-digit billions. from what i have seen, when you invest in the french military, you really get a bang for your buck. thank you for your attention. i am ready for your questions. >> [applause] >> madam minister, we got a lot of bang out of our buck for that. my colleagues, i am stealing the phrase "more tank thank think." we put a lot of think in. i would like to pose a few questions. we have a fantastic audience that i know has additional questions from that very rich offering you just provided us. i would like to start with your fire in the middle east. in some ways, we are about to be the victim of our success. --the anti-isis coalition the victories in iraq, now moving towards other places, we have two challenges as i see them. clearly, we still have foreign fighters that are being squeezed. hey have to go somewhere. you have expressed strong comments about the french citizens that are foreign fighte

so yes actually concerned about the agreements between france and germany that leave the rest of us out in the cold that is why i want the northern league win the elections and to come to power in italy so that we won't be obediently following france and germany orders with my coat on and medical american decisions on behalf of all twenty seven e.u. member states seeing how our last few governments voiced no protests that all the decisions in europe were made by france and germany alone the northern league would never allowed it if we win just like berlusconi who was head of government had the courage to say no when the situation calls for it all right we're going to take a short break right now and when we're back we'll continue discussing tough issues italy has to deal with such as day influx of refugees and devastating anti-rational sanctions stay with us. about your sudden passing i've only just learned. in taking your last. year at all new it would i tell you i'm sorry. me i could so i write these last words in hopes to put to rest these things that i never got off my chest. i

>> he will fly to france, and from there, to munich. the checks on direct flights from greece to germany are getting tougher, but flights coming from france or italy aren't checked as often. >> what does law enforcement know about this? we enquire with europol, but they won't give an interview on camera. they send a written statement. the use of legal documents for purposes of smuggling migrants is known to europol. original documents are in high demand with illegal migrants. europol mentioned a growing business trend but doesn't cite any exact figures. we head off to the netherlands. on a facebook forum, we've contacted a syrian, who made it into europe by plane on a real passport. he's a syrian chemist in his early thirties. it took him over a year to reach western europe. his brother was granted refugee status, but he was denied entry for lack of a visa. so he turned to a smuggler. the route took him from syria through turkey to greece and then to athens airport. >> the smuggler looked at me and picked out some photos on his laptop t

france is in deep crisis.nce is s taking over undersrsecretary o of peacekeepg forceses in the united nations. france tried to put a resolution through the united nations security council to get more money for france in niger come in chad, in mali. amy: horace campbell, and mark fancher, we have to leave it there. we will post part two online at democracynow.org. ic ) ( synthesized music )

directives are adopted only with france and germany's approval there is even an acronym for solving european countries like portugal italy greece and spain. as. the minutes of abbreviation evidently german companies need an ability and satellites like northern european countries and the baltic states but the idea that we have here in italy we believe that enough is enough. these trade and bank agreements before this and it's all crazy is just as crazy as the attempts to interfere in what's happening outside the european union. here in strasbourg there is not a word about seven hundred people getting hurt as a result of the barcelona referendum in this building everybody is silent in europe shaped by france and germany as ideas with their unchecked a mission to expand a europe like that has no future. so but don't you think that it's only fair that the two countries that are the strongest ones in europe that have the strongest economies are taking the lead and are giving themselves to right to make decisions . well it's really remains europe's second biggest manufacturing power the c

many schools all over france are affected by tuesday's public sector strike. detentions are just like them our high school is directly impacted because a quarter of the funding has been taken away which means that we'll have for less for the students we can't just accept it and go to school we have to do something motivate people to go and demonstrate because it's our duty in fact. it's not only schools though for the first time in a decade all nine unions for percent think five point four million public workers have united taking aim at president in mind when mccall and his plans to shake up france's famously inflexible labor code. organizational sunday all the unions are calling their members out to protest we are more effective for the united than when we're divided the views of the c.g. union has sent tens of thousands of workers into the streets to protest against planned reforms like making hiring and firing easier mccall says moves like these will fight france's chronic high unemployment but the unions are furious about his plans to x. one hundred twent

more not on that secession referendum in catalonia catalans across the border in france are watching the situation closely that are nearly half a million in the southwest region popping you know is the second biggest catalan city after barcelona natasha battle reports. it's prime time at a radio france's only catalan news station for more than thirty years it's been broadcasting to the southwest and peppino region where a third of people speak the language the radio is a way of keeping that culture alive. where a region where our language is under threat three centers it was banned to slowly it's coming back especially in schools so our radio is helping this by developing the language and maintaining our catalan identity rolling vineyards and sweeping mediterranean beaches define this part of france known as northern catalonia southern catalonia is a few kilometers away just across the span. border peyronie's separate the two but people are united by their catalan roots traditions and pride it certainly feels very unique kerridge feels very different from other parts of france there

some people saying that this action was completely irresponsible when france has been subjected to a number of terrorist attacks over the last few years and then other people questioning the security at this site saying that even the bosses e.d.f. some people calling that he should be sacked and that there is a huge concern over the security of their sites now this. because france is one of the most nuclearized countries in the world seventy five percent of french elektra's city is generated from nuclear power plants this is a main source of energy here in the country and the country has fifty eight react it's piece of highlighted a severe lack of security at a very important site that could be at risk of the terrorists are actually future. ok let's bring in a guest now to discuss this story more debt to speak to journalist and environmental campaigner all of a tickle good evening to you oliver what point do you think if any greenpeace is actually made with this stunt. well. the first thing i think is that it's a point that they've made several times in the last few years recently th

that france correspondent do bensky thank you. meanwhile police in canada are treating the ramming and stabbing of a fellow officer as terror related after finding an eyesore flag in the attackers car the thirty year old driver has been apprehended a manhunt followed the ramming of the officer who was stabbed several times though his injuries aren't life threatening the driver was stopped later but fled in a truck and hit at least four pedestrians in a high speed police chase through the center of the city well no there so been reported though the condition of the victims is as yet unknown. got to learn is independence referendum is well underway but has been marred by numerous scenes of violence over four hundred sixty people have now been injured in clashes with military police according to barcelona's mina. was. was i thank i was that was. the so it was living in paris and this is not the first people that disorder to see her in the attic or your bike helmets so disappointing from their early hours of the morning it seems to be

greece has... ..even france itself. france doesn't meet the rules, at the moment, on the deficit.. so you say, but we'll have to wait and see, what we? no. i mean we have taken strong commitments. we are proposing a new budget for next year. and already, all the signals are here that we will meet the commitments of maastricht by the end of the year. so we've discussed that. let us talk about migration. again, mr macron, in his recent grand visionary speech, talked about a totally beefed up eu border force, a centralised asylum office, speeding up a pan—european asylum policy. again, my question is, does he not look at what happens on the ground? does he not hear about what the hungarians are saying and the poles are saying about their attitude to taking more refugees and asylum seekers? they are talking about control of external borders. they are precisely talking about harmonising asylum policy. the question that... but poland has refused to take any refugees. according to the eu, an agreement signed a couple of years ago, they were supposed to take their share of 120,000 refugee

president macron wants to bring change to every corner of france.hone is a country town deep in the auvergne. here they grow tobacco, right now the harvest is in full swing. the cigarette industry has been a big employer in rhone, but not any more. uk based imperial tobacco hasjust closed its factory here, 239jobs gone and production moved to poland, where costs are lower. the redundant staff don't see macron‘s reforms working for them. in the french parliament, emmanuel macron‘s party has a big majority. despite the strikes and the slide in the polls, the president's team is pushing on. we are starting with tough measures because we found a budget which was really a huge problem for our country, so we had to take tough decisions. better to take them now than not to take them at all. so this change is real and it's going to be maybe brutal? no, it's not brutal, it's dynamic. his opponents accuse the new president of governing for the rich. in his drive to change france, mr macron will have to overcome a fierce current of resistance. stephen sackur,