every time francois hollande speaks, his popularity rating falls. he has had an appalling year in 2013. one wonders whether he will have an even worse one in 2014 you get the impression from the new year's wishes that he is almost in denial. taxes were too high, public spending had to come down, that they had to do something about jobs. and therefore, it was almost like a party political broadcast . and yet he is the president putting forward these policies that are so unpopular -- go ahead. >> one of the things that has been seized upon precisely from those new year's wishes were what the socialist party is at great pains to say is not a u-turn, where he seems to be suggesting cooperation pact with businesses from a fresh start. the socialist party has been very clear in the last few days that this is not in fact a change from what they were aiming to do before. , in fact, i was possibly being a little bit unfair on those new year's wishes, because the one thing that kind of was new was this responsibility act that he talked about. the problem is i

francois hollande. alleged affair.nch economy expected to dominate his press conference today. mario monti joins us in just minutes. >> google buys nest, the hermostat maker. good morning to our viewers in europe. good evening to nose in asia. a warm welcome to those just waking up in the united states. i'm guy johnson. >> i'm francine lacqua. this is "the pulse" from our european headquarters in london. >> what have we got for you at this hour? america.bile for >> and detroit's top five will get you inside access to the hottest vehicles being unveiled in motor city. >> we begin with our top corporate story. next labs have found a home. they were snapped up by google paying a cool $3.2 billion. >> ryan, what is nest and why would google want it? we interviewed the founder a couple times and they look pretty cool. >> i guess the question is what is worth $3 billion? the internet of things. they have the smart smoke detectivor that has wi-fi. not only can you monitor by listening to the very loud alarm that it is equippe

his release helped francois hollande and 2013 on a high note. our international editor has more. >> it has been a rough year for francois hollande, marked by abysmal approval ratings. this at least is one happy ending. it is actually the third hostage release in the last few weeks. in mid-november a french hostage gave his captors the slip in nigeria and in late october, four french hostages kidnapped by al qaeda were freed. however, the french president didn't note in his address that six french captives are being held around the world, the majority of them in syria. >> that is our international affairs editor. the government of south sudan has confirmed that it has lost the key town of -- a key town that was seized in the latest clash with militias of former vice president machar. it could be bad news for the peace talks that were set to start soon in ethiopia. the fighting has been brutal in south sudan after it -- dissented began two weeks ago, leaving 1000 dead and pushing 180,000 from their homes. talksected imminently, aimed at bringing p

franÇois hollande has already veto, but there are others that remain to be opened.e are political issues such as the armenian issue, and other political matters. there are issues regarding membership that need to be resolved. >> given the current crisis in turkey, does the international community's view hold much play with the turkish government? are they listening to at the international community is saying, in particular europe? honest, i think yes. until recently, general sentiment was pessimistic, feeling that the prime minister would not listen to any critical voices, particular from the european union, but that was not the case at all. if you remember the visit to istanbul, the prime minister visited brussels. andeturned from the summit decided to put the recent draft law on the judiciary. they did not cite the european union as a prime reason, but many suspect the european union was a prime driver of the that madelity is -- the draft law hold for the time being. that shows the european union does have some clout. >> given the turkish government has been very

. >> el el presidente de francia, franÇois hollande, no tuvo mÁs remedio que hablar de su supuesta infidelidadue cada cual puede tener problemas en su vida personal una revista publicÓ fotos del el presidente de francia, franÇois hollande, visitando a su acompaÑante. >> pero a quien se le ocurre haber visitado a la amante. >> porque si eres presidente de francia nadie va a pensar que voy a estar en una moto. >> pero si eres presidente de francia tienes que saber que van haber personas siguiendote. >> las autoridades allanaron la mansiÓn de justin bieber en busca de evidencia ante las acusaciones de lanzÓ huevos contra de casa de un vecino causando daÑos calculados en 20 mil dÓlares, saben que estaban buscando videos de las cÁmaras de seguridad de la noche, pero hablaron con el cantante, sin embargo, uno de los amigos de Él fue arrestado por posesiÓn de droga. >> lo que no me pregunto como pueden hacer 20 mil dÓlares daÑos de huevas. >> al regresar, llueven crÍticas contra de pÁgina en espaÑol para inscribirse en la reforma de salud. >> verÁn un el accidente de un conductor que estaba mandando

francois hollande was accused of having an affair. was admitted to the hospital after the affair became public. francois hollande says his -- has not commented on his possible affair with actress gayet, but she is suing "closer" magazine. we have some good news, sports. the bundesliga is back after their break. there have been plenty of goals and one or two upsets. november failed to win a game in the first half of the season but banished that ghost with a 4-0 win over half a time. meanwhile, another disappointing day for dortmund. --- oldsberg fought back. friedberg beat leverkusen. and hanover picked up a win over wolfsburg. hanover-berlin and frankfurt aay now and beyern picked up 2-0 victory. no surprises. has gone for 32 in the league. --re is how they dealt with th >> a new year, but buyer munich is dominating. munich is- dominating. the defending champions .eapplied the pressure fending off a barrage of shots before being called for handball. the referee pointed to the spot. mueller easily converted, 2-0 for bayern. >> from foo

of course, you can tweet me @juliecharterlycnbc2. >>> francois hollande has been battering away inevitable questions about an alleged affair with the actress julia sheate. hollande has hoped the event would be a chance to detail just how he intends to turn around the economy, stimulate business and reduce taxation while boosting employment. instead, of course, the focus could perhaps be dominated by personal matters with the first lady remaining in hospital after being admitted on friday following the magazine report of an affair. >>> now, phillipe fector joins us in paris. and here in the studio we have nicholas burrough. phillipe, what we heard in the speech from francois hollande is a huge shift in strategy. he wants to restrain spending, see less taxes, he wants a responsibility pact with businesses. how much of this can he actually achieve? >> well, you happen, in the mid '90s has done the same thing. after two years as president, they change their economic policy. and that's probably what we would have this afternoon. the point is how to -- how to regain some momentum in the french e

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 biggest cap -- biggest scandals was in 1994 when the former president had a secret daughter born to his mistress, something that was w

french president francois hollande is flying to turkey today for a landmark visit, the first and 22 years by a french president. the talks, which will be hosted by turkish president abdullah gull are expected to focus on bilateral tiles, turkey's eu bid and the crisis in neighboring syria. however, the visit comes at a critical time when relations with the eu have become tense amid growing concerns about the independence of the judiciary and respect for the rule of law. that is following the government's response to a major corruption scandal. meanwhile, the french mayident's former partner no longer be the french first lady but it has not stopped her from making a humanitarian trip to india. resident hollande confirm the relationship was over following allegations he was having an affair with an actress but the first lady decided to go ahead to a preplanned trip to mumbai which was planned months ago and funded mostly by part -- private companies. bikhram, she gave a discovered a short while ago. did she talk about the split? >> that was the question on everyone's mind. she did initially

. >> that is unless you are francois hollande. according to polls, he is the most unpopular president in france's history and is reported to be having a secret affair with a popular actress. >> earlier today, the magazine took the story off its website after the actress threatened legal action, but magazine sales will not be affected. >> the president's secret love -- this magazine claims these images show francois hollande at the apartment of his secret lover. his face isn't scared, but in its seven-page spread, the magazine claims to have spotted the president's bodyguard at the same residence shortly after the helmeted figure arrived. the actress at the center of the allegations is an established film and tv star who appeared in a commercial for mr. hollande. she has not commented on the allegations, but she has threatened legal action, as has the president, who has lashed out at the media for invading his privacy. he is not married, but he does have an official partner. despite his angry response, he has not denied the reports

up, trying times for francois hollande. the french president holds a major press conference tomorrow to lay out his plans for economic reform. the question is, will his private life get in the way? ♪ ." welcome back to "the pulse we are live on bloomberg tv and also streaming on bloomberg.com, your tablet, phone and any windows phone as well. >> president francois hollande has his hands full at the moment. it is a bit of an understatement. not only does he have his private life splashed all over the newspapers but he is due to hold a major press conference tomorrow outlining his plans to revive the french economy. business leaders want action. will hollande deliver? , theng us now to discuss chief eurozone market economist at bnp. i guess what is happening with hollande's private life not what he needs right now. the challenge is significant. >> that is true. it is an unwelcome distraction. i would imagine it is a very difficult time. opinion polls suggest the approval rating for this president is at rock bottom, a record l

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

the chief investment officer coming up, francois hollande is in the hot seat. there are allegations of an affair as he prepares to deliver his 2014 agenda later today. we'll have it reviewed next. we are about 18 minutes into the market and we will study how they are faring. we are seeing a bit of a selloff and it is valuations. we had a slow start to the year and this is the point your debts is the picture of the tax, the ftse. -- the dax in the ftse. >> welcome back. these are some companies on the move. the all cash deal is subject to a review. rejecting the communications takeover offer. the biggest acquisitions since 2008. the local officer -- the local er is rejected. they should be out of the office by 6:00 p.m. on friday. wall street firms are working to improve conditions. francois hollande will deliver his 2014 agenda and the french president faces approval waiting and allegations of an affair. we have what to expect from hollande's speech today. if we leave the economics, what people want to know our about his private life. >> this is the toughest we

. >> today francois holland sidestepped a simple question, who is the first lady. >> the president hollandwould be sorted out by the time he visits washington. which gives him less than a month to decide who will be his first lady. >> oh, you know, he is like make it like the bachelor, have a rose ceremony in the white house rose garden, will it be the current first lady, his new second first lady or more likely will this alpha dog get dry humping. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: so francois holland for being the best inbreeder, you, sir, are my-- we'll be right.ck. >> stephen: welcome back, everybody, my guest tonight is the editor from "new york" magazine, his new book is you will cad the loudest voice in the room. either the book is about me or i wasn't in the room. please welcome gabriel sherman. thank you for coming on. >> good to be here. >> stephen: all right, couldn't be bothered it wear a tie, keeping it casual. okay, you're a contributing editor to "new york" magazine and your work has also appeared in the new york times, obviously you've established your conservative credentia

francois hollande did his best to a -- did his best to avoid the issue. atay was not on the agenda all. this was a speech really addressing foreign diplomats, the foreign envoys here in france. it basically outlined what france's ambitions are, what the foreign-policy ambitions are. it was a very unapologetic speech. earlier we saw it has been a full year since the molly intervention. that has been a military operation the french president has not been able to hold up as a relative success in the sense that there has been new national elections, you have managed to .epel the extremists there seems to be a semblance of normality being restored to the country. central african public -- african republic is a far different beast. he basically said france had no choice. he had a moral obligation. he had the rwandan jessop -- rwandan genocide on the back of his mind. he said there was a human catastrophe that was looming and impending. if france had done nothing he would've had that on his conscience. he said it is not there alone, it is hoping to get support.

as for this new francois hollande, the financial times does not really buy it.hey say that given a chance to really change, to have his old press, that this conference confirmed his reputation as a wavering leader, someone who attempts to please everyone, rather than a man of action. harsh world -- harsh words, disappointment internationally. >> the foreign press may have been hoping for something more salacious. as we heard, france has put the focus on what the press conference was originally about, the economy. political substance of his speech was twofold. cut a role charges to and -- to encourage employers to hire with a 15 billion euro cut in spending. butnteresting proposition, not enough to kickstart the economy. >> he is full of hot air. of socialist doctrine behind his words. as verified by the last 18 or 20 months. >> some on his side think that he has given too much away already. >> as he said himself, he is suggesting an acceleration of the austerity policy. is counting ont public disaffection with politics in local elections. the problem is is calle

-- from president francois hollande's rumored affair. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is continuing his diplomatic push on syria. he met with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov today. talksre pushing for peace to take place between the government and opposition later this month in geneva. john kerry just gave a press conference at the u.s. embassy in paris alongside the russian foreign minister. >> we talked today about the possibility of trying to encourage a cease-fire, maybe a localized cease-fire beginning with aleppo. both of us have agreed to try to work to see if that could be achieved. has alreadyon agreed that if the assad regime were willing to declare that, they would live up to that. they are prepared to do that. we also discussed the possibility of prisoner exchanges. we have discussed that with the opposition. the opposition has declared that they are prepared to put together lists, they are prepared to entertain such an exchange. begins,e the conference we are going to try to send signals to all sides in syria on th

also coming up in the program, french president francois hollande is across the pond visiting with richrime minister david cameron. the two leaders are discussing a host of issues. we will walk you through what is expected. an australian authorities green light a project to dump dredged sediment near the great barrier reef. scientists warn that the plan could have detrimental effects on the wildlife. that, we had to geneva where syrian peace talks are wrapping up this friday. the two warring factions walking away from the negotiations with little to show for it. the key will remains for president bashar al-assad and both sides are sticking to their positions. john joined us. they ended with nothing concrete. this was largely expected. the mediator is still frustrated there was no agreement on humanitarian access. i was workingheem over the weekend to gain access to the deceased city of homs. unfortunately, that access has not occurred. he is very disappointed. negotiationsoing between the government and in syria toorces try to get convoys to go in and the people who are the seats in the

. -- a frenchident president franÇois holland is threatening legal action.they printed seven pages of the president with a french actress. he has not denied the story but called it a deplorable invasion of privacy. >> this is a story about the ,rench president, scooter rides and an actress. this was the president today and his entourage crushing the street near the palace. a french magazine alleges that he made similar short journeys to this apartment, just 200 meters from his office. on the back of a scooter and disguised by a helmet. julie said to be meeting actress and one of his prominent supporters. she had described him as humble and a good listener. the magazine says that this was the secret life of the president. over the revelations about this apartment, the palace says that he greatly deplores the invasion of his privacy to which he has a right along with any other french citizen. what they did not do was to deny the story. >> i think that politicians have a right to have a private life. click the president is just a human being as everyone and he

. >> 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 redundancy schem

francois hollande before being reunited with loved ones.speaking of his days in captivity, he said people should being held.se still >> it is nothing in comparison to other hostages who were held longer and those who are still being held. i spare a thought for those who are still hostages and i also realize what others went through. >> france's leader paid tribute to the 42-year-old. >> i want to salute the bravery, the clearheadedness, and the self-sacrifice that father georges, who will tell you himself -- that he had to stay faithful to his beliefs and his religion in order to survive his capture. express, in the name of all french people, our joy to have him back and our admiration for him. >> he was kidnapped in mid- november by a group of gunmen in northern cameroon and taken across the border to nigeria here he was held for 48 days before being released on tuesday . the radical islamist movement boko haram claimed responsibility for the abduction . each time french hostages are freed, there is speculation about whether a ransom was p

that is what president francois hollande went through today in paris. he would not confirm the allegation that he had a relationship with a french banker, but said he was going through a difficult time in his private life. gavin hewitt reports. french president in crisis drew hundreds of journalists to the daily say palace for a long -- elysee palace. there can scarcely have been a more difficult moment. his partner is in hospital in shock after a magazine suggested he had a new girlfriend. the first question asked him to clarify his private life. >> everyone goes through challenges in their private lives. this is a difficult moment for me. dealte matters should be with privately. this is not the place and not the time to do it. >> that was it. he did not intend to say more about it. he did say that his partner was resting, and that he would clarify the situation before a planned visit to america next month, when she would have traveled as france's first lady. france finds itself in the extraordinary position of not knowing whether it has a first lady o

why has it taken francois hollande so long? we need to tank -- we need to take into account everything. 365 billionith euros. decrease,30 billion france will 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?

sure, he is the president of france, francois hollande, but really? tos 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

new report surfacing today that francois hollande's affair lasted two years.ley and lori. lori: got to love the french. two years. ashley: it is the french, what can you say? lori: searching for a home on line? websites make it easier to look through listings and do neighborhood research without leaving the comfort of your home. ashley: with mortgage lending hitting another rough patch how much does that impact the digital real-estate business? for more we are joined by the ceo of truelibya. thanks for being here in person. a lot of people use these sites but when we see housing data weakened does that impact the business? >> still fairly early on in the cyclical nature common coming from such a low in 2008-2009 housing market still growing although it will not be growing as much as it did in 2013 so still growing nicely. the position we are in the market, $24 billion market, and significant amount of that has been offline coming online common coming to mobile devices where consumers are so still a tailwind in the shift on line and off line and the housing mar

and what has it been for francois hollande? 84% of the french people claim that the story is not going to change their view on the french president. 13% say it will affect their view of francois. and 3% still believe that it's going to improve their view on francois hollande. still on the political ground it will make things perhaps a little different for hollande due to hold a press conference tomorrow to outline his economy policy and hopes to make the country more business-friendly a. hollande is expected to announce flexibilities in exchange for job creation, so that was supposed to be the top story for him this week, but after what happened just before the weekend, and obviously the questions at the press conference and the headlines after the conference are more likely to be focused on the mistress gates that was all over the press this week. >> mistress gates, given the hassle he gets over his performance of the economy, you have to wonder which questions he would prefer right now, stephane. thank you for chatting with u

france's president francois hollande's personal troubles not enough.nt, 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 a

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

president francois hollande told a french news agency a.f.p.e wanted to make it known he put an end to his seven-year relationship with valerie trierweiler. and so ends more than two weeks of feeferred speculation since hollande's alleged affair with actress julie gayet blew up from the gossip magazines to an international scandal. it sent trierweiler to the hospital to be treated for stress. to the french, it wasn't so much about what he did but how he did it. being caught popping over to his alleged girlfriend's house on a motor scooter not only raised questions about a lack of discretion but a lack of judgment, not least about his personal security. when questioned about the alleged affair, hollande said... "everyone can face trials in their personal life. these are painful moments," he said, "but personal affairs should be treated privately." perhaps the public would be more forgiving about his private life if francie's economy weren't in such a shambles, wracked with crippling unemployment. he already had the lowest approval rating in mode

president francois hollande has broken off his nearly seven-year relationship with valerie trierweilerdays as france's first lady are 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. t

hollande spent 30 years with the mother of his four children before being kicked out for his liaison with his girlfriend. these trysts are nothing new in france. at the 1996 funeral of francoismer first lady and his mistress stood together with mitterand's illegitimate daughter. this whole affair obviously making headlines in france, but people will there are more concerned about what hollande is going to do to fix the troubled economy and less worried about his rendezvous. jake? >> we should note former french president nicholas colas sarkoz issues as well. a french num criticized him for laving his time and attention with his girlfriend saying he forgot he should have a romance with france, not with himself and his paramour. what about the white house now organizing a potentially awkward dinner party? what's the protocol? let's bring in "washington post" contributor and legendary hostess sally quinn. great to see you. if you're francois hollande, do you bring your girlfriend or do you bring your mistress or just see who you're -- >> i would come alone. >> come alone. >> definitely. >> that's the statement. >> then there's not much of a story. the story is he came alone and

francois hollande is a far cry from the nation's last socialist president. amesake, or franÇois mitterrand, a leader in control of every word spoken by anyone in his administration from every act in action that flowed from the palace, had in any respects perfect pitch when it came to the sense of how our president should rule, where to pull every lever to achieve maximum impact. even as the power of his office was slipping away from the fast charles ded by gaulle, mitterrand did his best to slow the process. one afternoon, the foreign minister had concluded a particularly sensitive diplomatic negotiation and was exiting the foreign ministry in haste, running the goblet of a scrum of french and western journalists. i was there for cbs, and i thrust my microphone in front of him and asked him a question in english, to achieve replied reflectively in his impeccable english, and then he disappeared before my french counterpart .ould interrogate him in french each evening at the palace, mitterrand would convene a group of his ministers and counselors to watch data

and francois hollande are holding a summit at in oxford air base today.ver eu reform, the two may agree on one thing, drones. here to discuss the dense -- the defense plan is a defense analyst. good morning to you. in effect, these are the only two countries in europe that have capabilities to build advanced fighters. >> that is correct. >> the next step is logical, to build drones. the french have traditionally gone their own way. these two countries should cooperate. >> it makes perfect commercial sense. that -- the suspicion actually, the french favor being good at protecting their own industries. it will favor its own industry over the u.k. thevalue-added of uav's is the 2 and 3 providers, electronics they go into these platforms that the likes of bae and dassault make. there is a suspicion that the french will protect those value-added areas. >> a little further up the road. when you look at the potential that could be here. if europe does not get together, it is going to struggle with the israelis and the united states. >> it makes a lot of sense. t

when francois hollande himself comes out and says he is considering legal action, that is another. fact -- it is essentially the statement today which has brought this to the front pages across france and i think pretty soon, elsewhere in the world. >> and -- >> it is not a complete shocker in the sense that there were rumors of this. , so whether this is true or not, if we just leave it to one side this is going to have an impact on his reputation. this is a president that already is not popular. this would implications for the business community. >> it is very difficult to say what the impact is -- would be on his popularity. thingsnt countries take in different ways. i think there is a sort of puritan and stressed -- interest in politicians' private lives. that doesn't necessarily mean it will make a more popular. i -- less popular, sorry. i suspect the french will shrug it off. the things people do care about our jobs and purchasing power and pensions and that sort of thing. it is true that it makes for a bit of a rocky start to 2014 at a time when hollande is low in the polls.

are so many serious stories that are of interest, the story of francois hollande on a scooter in the middle of paris has to be treated with irony. of gossipd 20 years stories, and we wanted to give our readers something also the end of the day. >> in a press survey on sunday, 77% of the public work in favor of respecting the resident's privacy -- president's ramsey -- privacy. rks the year ma anniversary of the start of world war i. thousands of men lost their lives on the battlefields of northern france and belgium. operation war diary is underway. thomas waterhouse explains. more --not explain the a more ghastly 48 hours than the last. i'veored in one of these thousand 500 boxes, diary entry for the vast collection of documents from tight, drawn or illustrated, most handwritten. >> i can find lots of stories about lots of individual people. what they did, where they went. what they were training in. >> the diaries have been housed in the vaults of the national archives building for nearly five decades. the originals are getting a little frayed at the edges. a half million people ar

now, this is a private issue between francois hollande, his partners and if francois hollande decides to start legal action, he has a lot of chances to win this case. but it's raising another issue. you can see the president traveling at night on a scooter sneaking out of the palace. this is raising questions about his security. he's traveling on his scooter with only a driver and the security of this one location. but based on the picture in this magazine, that's not a private issue any more. it is a security threat to the french president and we can also argue that there is another thing, he is not driving a french scooter. what about french people buying french? i guess the french industry minister will not be happy with this choice. >> that is the real scandal here. i agree with you, stephane. well done for pulling out the most important piece of that story. let's hope he's using our key products. >>> still to come on the show, numbers are starting to dwindle. we'll speak to the opposition leader in kiev about the ongoing fight to break away from russia. fifteen minutes could save

-turn by french president francois hollande he's worked long and hard to bring in new taxes but now he's backpedaled promising businesses will save thirty billion euros as artie's more if an option on our reports are lands lackluster approach to dragging france from its economic mix as certainly made him rather unpopular indeed. i think so just like this why did not go this video clip mocks francois loans tax policies which are among the major reasons he's become the least popular president in france as more than history you know you couldn't hold all timo talk too much more together with belgium that france's tax grab is the highest in the eurozone you don't want to do but see it was way ahead of. the last two hours french i had to fill her top says more than two thirds of the country's population is clear cut so i don't write eighty per cent look the president's economic policy is misguided i don't inefficient gianluca is among those eighty percent and entrepreneur he was foolish to close his business down after taxes became too big to bear to sell second if you're sick this is a vicio

he is meeting with the french resident francois hollande and his finance minister. >> are international correspondent joins us now with the very latest. what is lou here to tell europe? >> he's going to be the bad cop first for france and germany and in a good cop in portugal to reward them, to encourage them for continuing with their reform programs. francine, younce, see the french finance minister taking a defensive tone. he talks about all the unprecedented attempts france's doing to encourage competitiveness. he talks about what you need to do in france in terms of getting the private sector to stimulate the economy. i am not certain that is going to comport with jack lew's view of the world. he wants more reforms for france and for germany he wants more spending. with hise meeting counterpart in germany in berlin. there will be a little bit of hectoring from lou and there the be some updates on what new coalition will do. how much spending and what is the minimum wage law going to do to spur growth? that some the day french workers have taken their management team hostage which is

i am also very excited about david cameron bringing francois hollande to a pub.e that will be a first for the president. in the meantime, here are some companies "on the move." microsoft is said to be preparing satya nadella to be chief executive. he has been with the company for more than a decade and leads the enterprising cloud divisions. my caps off is said to be replacing founder bill gates as chairman. zynga shares surged as much as 24% in extended trading yesterday. this after the game maker said it is cutting 15% of staff and spending more than $500 million on the u.k.-based mobile developer natural motion. the company's chief executive defected to microsoft last year, focusing on games for mobile devices. volkswagen is said to be trying to hire a former dimer board member -- daimler board member to take charge of their truck business and has offered him a substantial budget to bring in new people. eterana 25-year daimler v and a candidate for ceo. the world's largest maker of luxury goods reported a very strong set of fourth-quarter sales. lvmh saw a reb

. >>> en francia, el presidente francois holland hizo oficial la ruptura de su pareja, la separaciónlles gallet. >>v> amos al departamento de estado que pidió a los atletas no utilizar el uniforme de estados unidos fuera de las competencias de los juegos olímpicos de sochi, en rusia, la advertencia es por las amenazas terroristas al lugar. >>> la cancillería de ecuador considera grave la intención e evitar la extradición de dos banqueros en estados unidos . >>>c ientos de personas piden que cese la violencia en mnex . >>> hay preocupación en méxico por la influenza y la posibilidad de muerte por el virus del ah1n1. >>> este domingo en al punto vamos a hablar con uno de los hombres más ricos del mundo y por qué ha regalado 28 millones de dólares. >>> veremos qué pasó en los últimos segundos de vida del mexicano edgar tamayo . >>> Él cerro sus ojos y comenzó la aplicación del medicamento . >>> también si le darían amnistía a edward snowden. >>> hablamos con la persona más poderosa de méxico. >>> primero hay que crear mejores empleos en méxico. >>> y con nosotros uno de los dos candidat

francois hollande is ahead of the game, having a pint with even cameron.e the sporting dimension. this is the daily telegraph. cap potato britain might as well stay in bed by 2013. according to some research by u.k. active, the average person in the u.k. by 2030 will use only 25% more energy in a day than if that person had stayed in bed all day. i don't know whether this is supposed to incentivize us to exercise or make a throw in the towel and say, i was a stay in bed all day. i guess some of our viewers are in bed now. do with an information what you will. you might feel like staying there. rational people are in bed right now. this is a study by u.k. active trying to increase activity levels. gentlemen, thank you very much. you got carried away again. "countdown" continues in the next hour. ♪ >> long search may be over. satya nadella maybe microsoft's new chief executive and bill gates could be out as chairman. fourth-quarter earnings are hit by lower international sales growth and higher holiday shipping cost while google's topline gets a boost from h

moment when private life enters into public space opinion might change so it's important for francois hollande that this affair doesn't drag on that it doesn't take up the headlines for a long time. hollande's office has called the allegation a breach of privacy, doesn't seem to be affecting the opinion of much of the french public. >> his private life has not changed my opinion of him politically in any case. you need to know how to disassociate the man in the public from the human being. >> no, because my opinion is very negative on who he is and what he does. but that for me is his personal business and what matters to me is what he does to france. after that his private life, what does it matter? >> what does matter parissian pundits say is his record on the economy not his record in the bedroom. >> you wanted to impress the french by the fact that he was a moral man, a man of dignity, simplicity and moral ri rigor. now sudden the french are discovering that he is a regular man. >> his partner valerie is in hospital, needs rest, ash-har quara beingsishi, al jazeera. >> william, welcome. >>