lucy williamson has more on the far-left candidate who is making a surprising run. cy: jean-luc melenchon has been enjoying a different kind of political party, the kind that comes with a big group of people. and a sense of celebration. once seen as a protest vote, the communist-backed candidate has surged to within a couple points of the presidential favorites, with his lively way of speaking and anti-elitist slogan, "chuck them out." mr. mÉlenchon: this campaign is more than a campaign. it is huge mobilization. it rings in a new dawn. lucy: mr. mÉlenchon wants to pull france out of eu treaties, ramp up public spending, and introduce at cap rate of desktop rate of -- introduce a top tax of 90%. this man has not voted for anyone for a decade. >> i am a worker and most workers vote for the right or far right. it is not in their interests. lucy: camille says she is 80% sure of voting for him and her friends are leaning towards him, too. >> all my friends are for mÉlenchon. all of them. i think there is a big change among people my age. the trump election made me realiz

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. an unlikely place to start a political fightback against the republicans, but that's exactly what democrats hope to do on tuesday. rajini vaidya nathan reports from georgia's sixth district. we need some more democrats in washington, trump is a disaster. who do you think should win the seat? a republican candidate. for the very first time i'm voting democrat. all chant: flip the sys! the sixth congressional district in georgia's been in republican hands for decades, but democrats think this man can win it back. let's win this on april 18th... jon 0ssoff is a political adviser turned documentary maker and he has raised more than $8 million in a race that has been dubbed the ‘make trump furious' campaign. more than anything i think it would be a win for the thousands of grassroots volunteers who are getting involved in this community, many of whom have never been involved in politics before who see this is a moment where we need to stand up and make a statement about the kind of politic

lucy williamson reports from paris.n the lull before france's presidential vote, those out campaigning today weren't supporting politicians. this rally was for the police. black balloons for those killed in the line of duty. pink for the family they leave behind. their message, the police need protecting too. i am a wife of policeman and i am very, very angry because i love him and i don't want that someone come here and kill him like that. one of the balloons was for xavierjugele, attacked on the champs—elysee on thursday night by a lone gunmen with an automatic weapon targeting policemen in the heart of paris. xavier was on duty near the bataclan during the 2015 paris attacks and went back for a concert when the hall reopened one year on, where he spoke to a bbc reporter. that's why we are here with my friend to celebrate life and to say no to terrorism. the police union say their members need protecting from everyday risks too. exhaustion, overwork and stress. the state of emergency following a string of attacks here

our france correspondent lucy williamson looks now, at the changing face of french politics.rate, two very different faces. france has chosen change but of what sort? emmanuel macron was once called the champagne bubble, with no previous experience and no established party, he would, critics said, pop very quickly. instead, he brought in those disillusioned with france's traditional parties, his liberal, pro—europe policy is attracting voters from both right and left. but voters from right and left also chose marine le pen who is wanting everything emmanuel macron does not. leave the euro, slash immigration and clamp down on free trade. her support has been the steadiest in this election, daily changing from months ago. so why was this result so hard to call? william and his sister helen had no idea who they would vote for today, even as they walked to their local polling station. they were not alone, almost a quarter of the electorate were thought to be unsure who they would support. i will still vote but i don't know who for. i hesitated between four. i need to choose one.

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.gation into the avoidable deaths of babies was told by regulators a decade ago that its maternity services needed to improve. the health care commission told the shrewsbury and telford trust that its monitoring of babies' heart rates during labour wasn't good enough and that its training of staff was inadequate. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. she was very dependent on me. my life went round a clock. i had to give her medication at certain times, make sure herfeed was running ok. i was more of a nurse and a carer than a mum. abbey was born in 2004 with brain injuries, including severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy. staff at the royal shrewsbury hospital failed to promptly deliver her, despite foetal heart traces indicating abbey was in distress. the errors led to abbey dying aged just 17 months. her heart rate went down, down and down. they didn't intervene. obviously they tried to move me to see if they could find a trace. there wasn't anything there. if they

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.all the sport now, here's olly foster at the bbc sport centre. chelsea have reached the fa cup final. the premier league leaders beat their title rivals, tottenham, 11—2 in a thrilling semi—final. they'll face arsenal or manchester city, who play each other tomorrow. patrick gearey reports from wembley. chelsea v tottenham, a rivalry that can split families. they've grown close of late, not in affection, but in competition, tussling for both league and cup and, amid it all, a reminderthat some things sit above football. inside, a moment of unity for ugo, the tottenham coach and former england defender who died yesterday. then wembley re—divided. four minutes in, up stepped willian who jilted spurs for chelsea, a fittingly polarising goal—scorer. as they have in the league, tottenham came back at chelsea, christian eriksen the maker, harry kane the taker, tottenham's own folk hero. in such a contest, easy to be rash. heung—min son started what he couldn't stop. penalty. cue the reappear

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.e mediterranean over the easter weekend. greg dawson reports. it has become a familiar sight in recent years — a lifeline thrown to a rubber dinghy in the mediterranean. squeezed together are 58 migrants who have set sail from libya. in this case they're taken on board a spanish coastguard boat. these people are just some of the reported 8,300 pulled from europe's waters over the easter weekend. on monday, a german rescue ship docked at a port in sicily carrying more than 1,000 people found in unseaworthy boats 30 kilometres adrift from the libyan coast. altogether we have 998 people who are male. we have 183 who are female. eight of them are pregnant. a28 persons are under 18 years of age. tighter controls and an eu deal has stemmed the numbers of migrants crossing from turkey to europe. but italy is seeing an increasing number of arrivals travelling from libya. it is believed the sudden surge is down to traffickers taking advantage of good weather in the mediterranean, but the journe

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.han government has declared tomorrow a day of national mourning after the deaths of more than 140 soldiers, killed in a taliban attack. it happened at a military base in the north of the country with the militants apparently disguised as soldiers. our south asia correspondent justin rowlatt reports. it was during afternoon prayers that two suicide bombers blasted open the entrance to this army base in the north of afghanistan. at least eight other fighters dressed in afghan army uniforms used heavy machine—guns to attack the dining area of the base and the mosque. the taliban has claimed responsibility and issued this picture of the men it claims were behind it. one was captured, the rest are now dead. afghan troops have been pouring in to secure the area today. the battle lasted for five hours and today dozens of injured soldiers were being treated in a local hospital. the attack took the troops by surprise and the battle that followed lasted for five hours. translation: when i came o

on monday, lucy williamson reported from paris following the first round of voting for france's new presidenta new face in politics. in two weeks, he could be the new president of france. last night, emmanuel macron arrived for his victory speech with his wife, brigitte. 2a years older than him, she was once his drama teacher. but one comment made there, and not infrequently elsewhere in the coverage, annoyed margaret vandecasteele, who wondered... "why was it felt necessary to mention that the french election winner emmanuel macron had a wife who was 2a years older than him?" richard spooner agreed, calling the reference ageist, sexist and certainly unacceptable. going through to the run—off with mr macron is... well, this is how europe editor katya adler described her on sunday night. far—right marine le pen, anti—immigration, anti—globalisation and anti—eu. her presidential plan? france for the french. that first epithet caught the attention of james williams, who e—mailed... that's another question we may well return to newswatch. but, in the meantime, one last comment about the bbc‘s cov

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. they will return to the top flight of english football for the first time since 1983. 0ur correspondent andy swiss has the story. a day for the so—called seagulls to make some noise, and when you have waited 3a years, who could blame them? in that time, brighton have tumbled to the brink of oblivion but when they sealed a 2—1win, their remarkable rise was complete. at the final whistle, the fans flooded onto the pitch for an impromptu promotion party, in golfing the players and in lewes dunks‘ case, removing pretty much all of his clothes. celebrations on the set, for the fans, the premier league finally awaits. more money, better players, the whole thing is fantastic, best day ever. we have been waiting 34 years and finally we are here now. unbelievable. it is the best day of my life, apart from my wife and kids. in 1983 brighton also reached the fa cup final and might have won it. but after that last blast this, they lost a replay to manchester united and went into freefall. in 1997

lucy williamson reports from paris.ily they leave behind. their message, the police need protecting as well. one of the balloons was for xavierjugele, targeted by a gunman on the champs elysees this week. xavierjugele was on duty at the bataclan during the 2015 paris attacks and went back for a concert when the hall —— paris attacks and went back for a concert when the hall reopened one year on where he spoke to a bbc reporter. that is why we are here with my friend to celebrate life. to say no to terrorism. the police union says their members need protection from everyday risks as well. exhaustion, overwork and stress. the state of emergency following a string of attacks here has taken its toll. boosting police numbers has been an issue for the presidential campaigns. but this election has gone beyond questions of security, the economy or immigration. it has opened up a debate about the meaning of french values and how to define being french. all the more surprising then that the number of people expected to abstain fr

lucy williamson reports from paris.sidential vote, those out campaigning today weren't supporting politicians. this rally was for the police. black balloons for those killed in the line of duty.

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.ance. it will seem extraordinary to people that a man like this, in and out of prison all his life, was not on a terror watch list and couldn't be stopped. well, because he was not identified as a jihadist. he was identified as a jihadist. he was identified as a criminal, someone who wanted to kill policemen. he was out of prison after 12 years. this isa out of prison after 12 years. this is a big issue not only for france, but for the whole of europe. what we do with our prison system, which has become, over the last decades, the major incubatorfor become, over the last decades, the major incubator forjihadism. become, over the last decades, the major incubator for jihadism. you have those petty criminals who go to jailand have those petty criminals who go to jail and then you have those jihadists who tell the guys, you know, the reason you're injail is not because you did anything really bad, because the whole european society is racist, islamphobe or whatever. the only way to be red

our france correspondent lucy williamson looks now, at the changing face of french politics. chosen change but of what sort? emmanuel macron was once called the champagne bubble, with no previous experience and no established party, he would, critics said, pop very quickly. vive la france! instead, he brought in those disillusioned with france's traditional parties. his liberal, pro—europe policy is attracting voters from both right and left. but voters from right and left also chose marine le pen, who wants everything emmanuel macron does not: leave the euro, slash immigration, and clamp down on free trade. her support has been the steadiest in this election, barely changing from months ago. so why was this result so hard to call? william and his sister helene had no idea who they would vote for today, even as they walked to their local polling station. they were not alone, almost a quarter of the electorate were thought to be unsure who they would support. i will still vote but i don't know who for. i am hesitating between four. it's really hard i need to choose one, i can'

lucy williamson reports.vote, those out campaigning today weren't supporting politicians. this rally was for the police. black balloons for those killed in the line of duty. pink for the family they leave behind.

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.e karin giannone is also in paris and is assessing the mood of voters ahead of sunday's vote. todayis today is the day political silence, politicians have gone quiet and it isa politicians have gone quiet and it is a chance for them to catch their breath after months of relentless campaigning. it is a normal seen on this street market in paris. an affluent this street market in paris. an afflu e nt area this street market in paris. an affluent area of the capital. the background is anything but normal, front is under a state of emergency and there was a terror attack on thursday night which left a policeman dead. how much is all that weighing on voters minds as they prepared to cast their ballots tomorrow? translation: the attack hasn't changed anything for me. we have already taken it into account. it's more of the same. translation: i have had the same idea about voting since childhood, same as my parents, we have never changed. i'm absolutely certain. everyone is voting. translation

to be tight, a lot of police leave has been cancelled and that is putting pressure on them as lucy williamsoneren't supporting politicians, this rally was for the police. black balloons for those killed in the line of duty, pink for the family left behind. their message, the police need protecting too. one of the balloons was for a policeman targeted by a gunman this week. he was on duty in 2015 paris attacks and went back for a concert when the hall reopened one year on when he spoke to the bbc reporter. we are here with my friends to celebrate life and say no to terrorism. the police union say members need protecting from everyday risk, exhaustion, overwork and stress. the state of emergency following the attacks has taken its toll, boosting police numbers has been an issue for the president to campaigns. this election has gone beyond questions of security, the economy or immigration. it has opened up a debate about the meaning of french values and how to define being french. all the more surprising that the number of people expected to abstain from voting tomorrow as high. people who decid

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. when can we see the results coming through?re tomorrow night at 6:30pm. we will have the first projections. they are not exit polls, they are projections. from those results, they will formulate an idea of who has gone through to the second round. given that it is so the second round. given that it is so tight, it is possible that that projection will start to change for the evening. it will be a rolling story and, secondly if it is as close as the polls suggest. and there'll be live coverage of the results of the first round of voting in the french presidential election. that's tomorrow at 6:30pm, in france decides, here on bbc news. and there's full coverage on our website, and via the mobile app. the afghan government has declared tomorrow a day of national mourning, after the deaths of more than 140 soldiers, killed in a taliban attack. it happened at a military base in the north of the country, with the militants apparently disguised as soldiers. 0ur south asia correspondent justin rowlatt reports. it was during afternoon

here's our paris correspondent lucy williamson. two years ago, he was a new face in politics. could be the new president of france. last night, emmanuel macron arrived for his victory speech with his wife, brigitte. 2a years older than him, she was once his drama teacher. his youth and energy are part of the package. hard to imagine he used to be economy minister and once worked at rothschild investment bank. his style, start up, rather than stuffy, even if his policies themselves appeal more to bankers than blue—collar france. his rival has already begun campaigning, targeting voters she calls forgotten france. saying her anti—immigration platform is designed to put them first. herfather, jean marie who stepped down as party leader six years ago, has called the holocaust a detail of the second world war. marine le pen has tried to rid the party of its stigma and present a softer image of herself as a mother, concerned to protect france. we could say that marine le pen is a strict mother figure. she has a motherly attitude towards macron, for instance. he is more like the rebe

lucy williamson is in paris for us. this is a race that seems to have got closer by the week? yes.ose four candidates span a remarkable range of political views. you've got the far left candidate, the far right candidate, the liberal new, emmanuel macron running his first ever election campaign. they are all seen as political outsiders and the only representative from france's traditional parties of government is the conservative francois fillon. they are divided on any issue you ca re they are divided on any issue you care to mention. europe, austerity, immigration. they are fiercely divided. tonight they will line up with the rest of the candidates and be interviewed one by one on national television. they will be held to account that those policies. analysts say more than a quarter of the vote in france is still undecided. many people are not sure if they are even going to vote at all. analysts say france is in uncharted territory, the result is impossible to call. thank you. one of the most high profile figures in american tv news, bill 0'reilly, has lost his job after being ac

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. my my colleague richard fraser is in paris.isions. and i began by asking about the suburbs in paris and how the state of emergency had affected life in the suburbs. the state of emergency was supposed to bea state of emergency was supposed to be a short period, but it has lasted too long, and the consequences of what we call the suburbs of paris has been that the police could do what ever they want to do. we assisted too many scenes where police came early in the morning without any need ofjudge assessment, and they entered in houses, they arrested people in front of children sometimes, and we have many people traumatised, and we know that the results of all these, i don't only word in english, but the result is very weak. there was a lot of money and people, policemen, on that... it is a catch-22 situation, because it is a threat. the questionnaires, how do you get intelligence from the local community if they are not coming forward with it? and maybe it is a problem of police brutality, maybe thatis problem of police brutalit

on monday, lucy williamson reported from paris following the first round of voting for france's new presidentma teacher. but one comment made there, and not infrequently elsewhere in the coverage, annoyed margaret, who wondered: richard spooner agreed, calling the reference ageist, sexist and certainly unacceptable. going through to the run—off with mr macron is... well, this is how europe editor katya adler described her on sunday night. far—right marine le pen, anti—immigration, anti—globalisation and anti—eu. her presidential plan? france for the french. that first epithet caught the attention of james williams, who e—mailed: that's another question we may well return to on newswatch. but, in the meantime, one last comment about the bbc‘s coverage of the french election from john trueman. this weekend marks 100 days of donald trump's presidency. and it's certainly been a busy and controversial start to his term in office. bbc news marked the anniversary this week with a number of reports and programmes, including a panorama special confronted byjeremy paxman. and this raised again among vi

here's our paris correspondent, lucy williamson. two years ago, he was a new face in politics. he could be the new president of france. last night, emmanuel macron arrived for his victory speech with his wife, brigitte. 2a years older than him, she was once his drama teacher. his youth and energy are part of the package. hard to imagine he used to be economy minister and once worked at rothschild's investment bank. his style, start up, rather than stuffy, even if his policies themselves appeal more to bankers than blue—collar france. his rival has already begun campaigning, targeting voters she calls "forgotten france". saying her anti—immigration platform is designed to put them first. herfather, jean—marie, who stepped down as party leader six years ago, has called the holocaust "a detail of the second world war." marine le pen has tried to rid the party of its stigma and present a softer image of herself as a mother, concerned to protect france. we could say that marine le pen is a strict mother figure. she has a motherly attitude towards macron, for instance. he is more lik