mr. macron. in leon he has won over the socialist mayor, for the support of the city factory workers is proving much more difficult. >> if it is between macron and marine le pen, i will vote for macron, but it will be a vote of necessity, not the one i really want. >> i think he will better try to get closer to people in general. by "people" i include older people, more conservative people, and workers. lucy: polls suggest marine le pen has the support of almost half the blue-collar vote in france, and is gaining among farmers and some public servants, too. but she is also battling claims that she misused eu money to pay policy staff. emmanuel macron's strategy lies in holding together two different political tides and with the centerleft and the center-right. critics say the glue in that formula has been mr. macron's personality and his deliberately vague ideas. this program tries to offer something to both sides. but will it be enough to keep them faithful and get them out to vote? with his cen

expanding his vote to blue—collar workers is key for mr macron.list mayor, but the support of the city's factory workers is proving much more difficult. translation: if it's between macron and marine le pen in the second round, i will vote for macron. but it would be a vote of necessity, not the one i really want. i think he will better try to get closer to people, in general. by "people", i include, of course, older people, more conservative people, and workers, blue workers. polls suggest marine le pen has the support of almost half the blue—collar vote in france, and is gaining among farmers, and some public servants, too. but she is also battling claims that she misused eu money to pay party staff. emmanuel macron‘s strategy lies in holding together two different political tides, the centre—left and the centre—right. critics say the glue in that formula has been mr macron‘s personality, and his deliberately vague ideas. this programme tries to offer something to both sides. but will it be enough to keep them faithful and get them out to vote?

marine le pen of the national front is forecast to clinch the first round in april but mr macron is considered the favourite to win a run—off vote. scientists in britain have created artificial embryos using two types of stem cells from mice, in what they say is a world first. the researchers at cambridge university say their artificial embryo could lead to better fertility treatments. now for the latest financial news with ben and world business report. is it a console or is it a mobile? nintendo‘s new device goes on sale around the world but can it convince gamers to switch? plus the gadgets google wants every home to have. we hear from the company's new hardware boss. welcome to world business report. i'm ben bland. in a minute we'll talk about the currency that's become more valuable than gold. we start injapan on a huge day for computer games giant nintendo. it starts selling its latest device — the switch. it's kind of hybrid machine — combining a home console and a mobile device in one. and it's safe it say it is a massive gamble for nintendo, which is trying to recapture its glory days

mr. macron.asically came out unscathed. >> the euro shot up, which is sort of what i looked at first. >> euro recovered late yesterday afternoon. >> clearly economics are front and center with such a plan to take france out of the euro. second biggest euro member. that would be massively difficult, i think, to propose. this is different than the uk leaving, the uk is not part of the euro. this is the common currency with the common european central bank. that sound bite gave a snapshot of the debate. >> if marine le pen won, there would be significant hurdles for her to take france out there. would be various other votes, but that would be the headline if she won. the thing to continue to watch is thee levse levels of polls, first or second, but these people are only 25%, 26%. so the second round is key. the polls do suggest mr. macron or mr. fillon would comfortably beat le pen in the second round. if you look at the division of the polls, it tells a similar story to other elections. paris, very

expanding his vote to blue collar workers is key for mr macron.etween macron and marine le pen in the second round i would vote for macron, but it would be a vote of necessity, not the vote i really want. i think he will better try to get closer to people in general. by "people", i include, of course, older people, more conservative people and workers who work. polls suggest marine le pen has the support of almost half the blue collar vote in france and is gaining among farmers and some public servants, too. but she‘s also battling claims that she misused eu money to pay party staff. emmanuel macron‘s strategy lies in holding together two different political tides. the centre—left and the centre—right. critics say the glue in that formula has been mr macron‘s personality and his deliberately vague ideas. this programme tries to offer something to both sides but will it be enough to keep them faithful and get them out to vote? with his centre—right rival francois fillon under investigation for embezzlement, this presidency could come down to a choi

mr macron is a strong pro—european, that his approach. mr schultz is a strong european as well.gainst the euro. they haven't as yet had an election this year. they might, we don't know. the east europeans are a different ball game too. it is quite difficult to see the way forward, with all these differences of opinion. one thing that seems to bring europe together right now is discussing brexit. curiously enough a lot of these populist movements might not win elections but they are dragging the debate on their side. as they did in holland. so we will see more eurosceptic elements being front and centre in a lot of these campaigns. the complexion of europe will change, even if they don't win... is it that whatever path they take, and it will not be our decision because apparently we won't be there, but whatever path europe takes is it in our interest, given that it is still our biggest market by a long way is it in our interest that it should succeed? but of course there is a tremendous disaster on the horizon, which is what happens to the euro. in the report that jean—claude jun

expanding his vote to blue—collar workers is key for mr macron. city's factory workers is proving much more difficult. translation: if it's between macron and marine le pen in the second round, i will vote for macron. but it would be a vote of necessity, not the one i really want. i think he will better try to get closer to people, in general. by "people", i include, of course, older people, more conservative people, and workers, blue workers. polls suggest marine le pen has the support of almost half the blue—collar vote in france, and is gaining among farmers, and some public servants, too. but she is also battling claims that she misused eu money to pay party staff. emmanuel macron‘s strategy lies in holding together two different political tides. the centre—left and the centre—right. critics say the glue in that formula has been mr macron‘s personality, and his deliberately vague ideas. this programme tries to offer something to both sides. but will it be enough to keep them faithful and get them out to vote? with his centre—right rival franco

round in april but mr macron is considered the favourite to win a run—off vote.cientists in britain have created artificial embryos using two types of stem cells from mice, in what they say is a world first. the researchers at cambridge university say their artificial embryo could lead to better fertility treatments. now it is time for our news review. what's making headlines around the world 7 first we have the new york times online reporting on us attorney generaljeff sessions stepping aside from investigations into alleged russian interference in the us election. the paper says he faces a "storm of criticism" over undisclosed meetings with the russian ambassador last year. shares in snap, the parent company of snapchat, soared more than 40% in their market debut. that's a story on the front page of the financial times. the paper says the company is now worth two and a half times its social media rival twitter. a unit of bitcoin is now worth more than an ounce of gold. forbes online reports on that story, saying that the price of the digital currency has been r

mr. macron. >> i am sorry, mrs. le pen. i can speak for myself. i am capable of stating my own opinion. >> what is your opinion? >> it has nothing to do with secularism because it is not cultural concerning the traps to defy the -- to divide the french people according to you. the trap your following in is you are defying society. >> i asked our editor whether macron and le pen are the ones to watch. >> it is a two-stage of fear. it's about getting into the second round. -- two-stage affair. who will emerge from the first around? if you believe the polls, a bit condition with if, you have macron and le pen, his rival for the final showdown. macron has positioned himself and he is centrist but he is not even at the head of a party. we have seen it across europe. traditional parties falling by the wayside with popular insurgencies. macron is not a populist in the and hee is center-right is on our way has try to rally people around the idea he is ofther the left or neither the right. he is trying to avoid the labels. at the same time, he is tried to

and i know you're for them, mr macron. —— burkinis.ountry into enemies of the republic. francois fillon was, for once, not the centre of attention. after weeks of media focus on his financial scandals, he may have been hoping for a presidential kind of reserve. but after all the surprises in the selection, it's not clear that's the kind of president france wants any more. in other news: devices from cabin baggage on flights from eight middle eastern and north african countries. the move includes laptops, tablets, cameras and electronic games — and will—affect nine aianes-l us media reports thatt‘tre—order- the iraqi prime minister, in iraq. after meeting mr trump, 'tnan'mspreueeessoe i165; 7, fee" '2' stay with us on bbc on nigeria's struggle to regain control and how boko haram has put hundreds of thousands at risk in the country's northeast. whee ere reee 212222 wehg the trophy itself was on the pedestal in the middle of the cabinet here. above all this was a triumph for the christian democrats this is bbc news. i'm mike embley. the

mr macron says "i want to free the energy of the able while protecting the weakest".ches politics at balliol college, oxford, and author of ‘how the french think‘. thank you so much forjoining us, good to have you with us. is its uprising, let‘s start with emmanuel macron. the kind of programme that he outlined today, does that answer the critics who say frankly he has been a man of no ideas so far? will he has put a little bit more meat on the bone but what strikes me most, of thin absence he has made today, is how artfully he has actually exploited the weakness of his main adversary francois fillon, because he placed a lot of emphasis as you mentioned on the need to moraes public life. so he is going to due use a ban, on having —— is going to introduce a ban on having relatives working in parliament. sol introduce a ban on having relatives working in parliament. so i think he is very astutely positioning himself so is very astutely positioning himself so that he can exploit the disadvantage at which the law finds himself in at the moment. would we be talking about h

mr. macron, who has become successful in a short amount of time. e will be split, i think. on the center-right, it could be dangerous, because those who do not support a president macron, if he wins, could be tempted to make an alliance with ms. le pen . there are huge differences between the right and the right of marine le pen. tom: let's leave it there. charles lichfield. coming up in our next hour, with speakers, chris rupkey. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ feet widehip is five and 10 feet long as speaker ryan gives $5 billion to placate republicans. director stops traffic in time in washington. there is possible coordination between the kremlin and the campaign of the president. as an aside, no wiretapping discovered. get five people together in pairs, and they talk brexit. the candidates debate. madame le pen defends project fear. this is "bloomberg surveillance ," live from our world headquarters in new york with and francine lacqua in london. what did you learn from the french people and the french? francine: i learned that the left was stronger tha

mr macron says he has a great deal of respect for the minister.he eurovision song contest to allow their nation's contestant to perform via satellite link. this year's host country ukraine has banned the russian singer yulia samoilova from the country, accusing her of illegally visiting crimea, which was annexed by russia three years ago. republican leaders have delayed their planned vote in the congress on donald trump's healthcare reforms, in a setback for the president. more than two dozen republican members of congress oppose the bill that will replace obamacare. laura bicker reports from washington. donald trump is done doing deals. after a frantic few days, his message to republicans — vote for change or there'll be no changes at all. this has forced the hand of the house speaker. for 7.5 years, we have been promising the american people that we will repeal and replace this broken law because it's collapsing and it's failing families, and tomorrow we're proceeding. but the votes are far from assured as different factions of the party can't a

marine le pen of the national front is forecast to clinch the first round in april but mr macron is considered the favourite to win a run—off vote. now it's time for a look back at the day in parliament. hello and welcome to thursday in parliament, our look at the best of the day in the commons and the lords. on this programme... after the drama of the week's government defeat in the house of lords on the brexit bill, peers win praise from some unlikely quarters, such as the snp. the people's aristocrats have spoken and their voice must be listened to. the farming minister rejects claims that food prices are increasing since the uk voted to leave the eu. we have seen a fall in food prices of 0.5% over the last year and a fall of 6% since 2014. and more tributes are paid to the father of the house, sir gerald kaufman, who died last weekend. he had an ability to sum up his views with a witty turn of phrase that could be as colourful and a memorable as his suits. but first... the leader of the commons, david lidington, has confirmed that the government will try to overturn wednesday night's defea

mr. macron. does he trust mr. macron? sylvie: he's very young.ne year ago he did not have even a party. but this might be also is strength. the french people are fed up with the way the old political party were functioning. so you have an alternative. you can vote for le pen against everything, including the euro, but many french want to stay in europe. the other way to express their discontent with the old-fashioned politicians might be to vote for emmanuelle. francine: how do you think macron will be able to change european policy? first of all, we have to do our homework. we would like to liberalize the labor market to work on vocational training, to work on education. this is one of the strengths of the manual macron, to push on toward digital research. first we begin with france and then we have a chance to be more credible and to boost investment at the european level and also to fix the eurozone. this would be the priorities for us. francine: how could you fix the eurozone? sylvie: sorry, i've not urgent question. prioritiesne of the you s

third in all the polls, but he is only four points behind, then today we get another story about mr macronpr ministry, they awarded a contract to a pr company without putting it out to tender. does that mean he is responsible? i don't know. we started this by saying two of the three, but it now looks like potentially three out of three have clouds over them. the politicians have a tendency towards financial corruption, ordered french investigators need something to do? if you ask people in france, there isa if you ask people in france, there is a general problem about party and campaignfinancing. if is a general problem about party and campaign financing. if you are in the game long enough, it seems to me, in france you are going to be prone to some kind of investigation. another thing i spotted today, just before we finish, is a picture that has appeared on the twitter feed of nigel farage. no words, just a picture. nigel farage was asked about marine le pen, whether he would support her in an election. he said at the time he thought she was quite brilliant as a performer but had a real p

addressing a news conference in paris, mr macron said his project would also seek to address the changingttle of his address. translation: we, in our project, have chosen first of all to look to the future. the transformation of the world of work, the transformation of our productive model, the digital transition — these are risk, but they are also brilliant opportunities. and so, at the heart of this project, there is the refusal to acknowledge defeat. i will not say, in this project, that we have already lost the battle over the nature of work. no, work is going to change and we will be part of that change. we will go with it and we will transform the balance of forces. i'm right in saying he is at the moment the only candidate in the french presidential election that is not under some kind of official investigation, is that right? of the front runners, yes. the front three. remarkable. he is the only one that is not facing charges. while he was there, they have been raiding his house this evening, as pa rt raiding his house this evening, as part of this investigation into the falsejobs

mr macron is a former economy minister, and currently leads rival marine le pen in the polls.d controversy last year when he took days to publicly acknowledge the prize and decided not to attend the award ceremony. dylan will be in stockholm to perform a concert. well, it seems to me that the song we wa nt well, it seems to me that the song we want to hear at the moment is blowing in the wind, i don't know if you have a favourite? like a rolling stone, in the context of today. but rolling where? michelle, plenty of people who campaigned for brexit will celebrating today. for others, their world has been turned upside down. and if you were looking for a metaphor for that, how about this? this is the monsterjam world finals in las vegas. it's the first time a monster truck driver has completed a front flip in the sport's history. i don't know which is more surprising, the fact that it did a front flip or the fact that there is a "monsterjam final". look out many people are there. the man in the driving seat is lee o'donnell, his nickname is the mad scientist. that is probably be

mr macron was president francois hollande's protege, rising through the ranks to economic minister. scribes as "neither left nor right". he is an economic liberal and pro—business, who has backed ending france's 35—hour week for younger workers. and currently ahead in the polls is marine le pen, the leader of the far—right front national. she's been the party leader since taking over from her father in 2011. her proposals included slashing legal immigration from 200,000 to 10,000 entries per year, deporting illegal immigrants, and holding a referendum on exiting the eu and euro. 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofield joins me now. many people thought francois fillon would be pulling out. he read out this declaration at the conference where he said he was not standing down. and in fact he was going back on the offensive, to accuse the people he says are behind a plot to bring him down or basically tampering with the judiciary. it was a strong counterblast by him. as the noose has got tighter and tighter around them, this morning, he learned that he is to be summoned on march the 15th

mr macron has promised to forbid nepotism in parliament and during his manifesto speech also spoke about of france's rigid labour market. translation: we in our project have chosen first of all to look to the future, the transformation of the world of work, the transformation of oui’ world of work, the transformation of our productive model, the digital transition... these are risks but they'll also brilliant opportunities. and so, at the heart of this project, there is the refusal to acknowledge defeat. i will not say in this project now we have already lost the battle over the nature of work. no. work is going to change and we will be part of that change. we will go with it and we will transform the balance of forces. our correspondent hugh schofield is in paris for us. after francois fillon yesterday saying he was staying in the race 110w saying he was staying in the race now marine le pen, how much trouble could she be in over this? not very much, we have to be frank. it will bea much, we have to be frank. it will be a side issue. this question of twitter, she did it 18 months ago or

mr macron has promised to ban nepotism in parliament, and during his manifesto speech also spoke about labour market. translation: we in our project have chosen first of all to look to the future, the transformation of the world of work, the transformation of our productive model, the digital transition... these are risks but they'll also brilliant opportunities. and so, at the heart of this project, there is the refusal to acknowledge defeat. i will not say in this project now we have already lost the battle over the nature of work. no. work is going to change and we will be part of that change. we will go with it and we will transform the balance of forces. 0ur paris correspondent hugh schofield has been following the developments from both candidates. the situation with marine le pen, is that just a distraction? the situation with marine le pen, is thatjust a distraction? yes, i don't kill or make a blindest bit of difference to the campaign, it might even help her. her supporters look at the european parliament as a total shower, so were the issue turns to their will say what is ne

mr. macron reacted. tom: here's the polls of the american confidence. the optimism of the 1990's, the bloomberg consumer comfort index. here is the challenge, the great recovery, you wonder where this will be in three months or six months given the legislation and distraction the president faces in 10. guy: i want to talk about ireland. -- about iron or. -- iron ore. barclays is talking about this significantlyng broken, taking us down in the short term to 70 and possibly dropping to 50. two things could be affected. formining sector, look stocks like rios sent out to react significantly. the other is the aussie dollar which moved south. a attention to that one. westminster, parliament returning to work after london's worst terror attack in a decade that left 4 people dead. prime minister may is expected to speak at 10:30. nejra: we heard from the police. they have made seven arrests. they know that the attacker was influenced by international terrorism. alone.lieve he acted we heard from michael fallon speaking on bbc radio. he said we have no specific

mr. macron we will get strengthen germany by the end of the year. we will get the pro-market stance.the day, the americans will continue defending open markets. matt: just finally, on banking, nk asu run the caixaba chairman -- i think i incorrectly labeled you ceo -- what do you expect from basel? at the g-20 meeting, it does not seem they will get an agreement soon. jordi: this is a very complex sets -- subject. we have gone through several years that have been fine. a cycle.e are in the new administration in the u.s. is indicating that. this implies that we pause on the cycle and we take stock. forink this will be good the economy, good for banks, and also good for businesses that demand loans. i think we should reach an agreement, and sort of a , and aion clarity standby on regulation. matt: the chairman of the caixabank. ♪ managing expectations. the dollar drops and treasury jumps after janet yellen announces a rate hike. another block. stopping donald trump's revised travel ban as he prepares for budget cuts. the dutch prime minister's liberals hold off a challenge by the anti-

face marine le pen. 0ur correspondent hugh schoffield is in paris where he gave us an update on mr macron'sh his proposals. he has appealed to moderates of the left and right. there are measures in here which are quite concrete, for example he wants to reform the pension system to bring the public sector pension system in line with the private pension system. a very controversial issue in france which for the last 20 years has been called for by the right but never happens. there were big demonstrations back in 1995 about this. that's a big reform which will please moderates on the right. 0n the left, there are measures to recruit more teachers, there is a major to make more universal the unemployment benefit system. these are ideas appealing to moderates of the left so that is no substance to his programme. i think he has pulled it off well and been very lucky because of the timing, coming right after the collapse in the polls of his main rival, opening up this boulevard for emmanuel macron to walk down and show the country his policies at a time when fuel and can only talk about his tradi

mr fillon‘s loyal supporters, if he were forced to stand down. the parties have a lot of work to do to draw back some of its more centrist voters who might have drifted towards macrongamble. the party tonight found itself somewhat hemmed in between two major problems, the first is that they're running out of time. they have to confirm their candidate by the end of next week. the other more fundamental problem is that mr fillon simply wouldn't 90, is that mr fillon simply wouldn't go, no matter how bad things got, over the past few weeks, he simply said he wouldn't stand down. that has forced the party's hand. that's something he repeated again tonight, before going into that meeting. it looks as if he's won that war. but the presidential race is still wide—open. lucy, again, thanks very much for the latest there in paris. as the chancellor, philip hammond, prepares for this week's budget, the bbc understands he's been told that the economy is predicted to grow by more than was previously thought since the eu referendum. the government's financial watchdog is expected to upgrade its forecasts, and the government is expected to borrow less, but as our economics edito

mr. macron?about dropping up but i don't think he has any intention to drop out. if you look at how the polls are showing, it is impossible to replace him. to have someone from his party. and he feels cheated. this was for him to win. so i really don't see him standing down. let's get to the bloomberg first word news. taylor: in the u.s., jeff writing off police money for sanctuary cities. the government has to certify that they are working to give information to authorities with undocumented immigrants. sessions says if they can't, they will cut off grants. and the next light on capitol hill could lead to a government shutdown. conservative republicans say they have yet to get their first big victory. next chance comes april 28 when government funding runs out. are for planned parenthood. this am is led to a government shutdown in 2015 and may put the government on path for another one. and two rate hikes may be the right amount on tightening this year. >> to the extent that i gained more confid

mr. macron, the center-left candidate has edged slightly ahead in the polls, 26 1/2 to 25%. >> in the firstn the first round. >> i have some friends that were saying a lot of people agree with what le pen is saying, but they're afraid of her. it's weird. yeah, it's true. it's true. then it's like they can't see it happening. >> i think also hathere's some interesting breaks in the polls. similarly to trump and brexit, macron and the mainstream candidates have supports in cities like paris, he will pandn rural areas. and le pen does well in the youth vote which is not the same with brexit and trump. that's a difference, and worrying long-time difference is where france is heading. >> you saw the kremlin had to come out and say the news that we're trying to influence fillon is fake news. it's everywhere. russian interference in french elections, relationships between fillon and putin and fake news from the kremlin. it's like deja vu all over again. i'm using french. >> exactly. very nice. >> you were using yogi berra. >> whilwhilst wolf was talking, will be speaking to the author of a book, t

macron. that could be difficult. mr fillon is still under investigation and is still something of a gamble.etween two major problems. the first is that they are simply running out of time. they have to confirm their presidential candidate by the end of next week and the other more fundamental problem is that mr fillon simply wouldn't go. no matter how bad things got over the past few weeks, he simply said he would not stand down. that has forced the party's hand. he repeated it again tonight before going into the meeting and it looks as though he has won that war but the presidential race is still wide open. the chinese government has declared its aim of making the skies ‘blue again‘ — by tackling the country's air pollution crisis. the authorities want to reduce reliance on coal, and invest billions in renewable energy. and they're targeting emissions from cars by encouraging the use of greener vehicles. as part of a bbc series on tackling air pollution, our china editor carrie gracie reports from beijing. everything in china is on a massive scale. the problems. and the solutions. cars are

macron is hoping that translates to votes for him. others are concerned if mr. fillon's troubles continue, his votes go to le pen. polls showed show macron beating le pen by 60% or more, but some say it's too early to tell. >> nancy, thank you. to continue that conversation, charles deibel from aviva investors, charles, good to see you. how do i play this french uncertainty heading into the elections? >> well, you have already seen a fair amount of movement in the bond market spreads. i think that perhaps if you really all that worried about the tail risks, simply buying some sovereign cds is a simple way to protect against the tail outcome, because they don't have a lot priced in. overall, to be honest, the markets are largely discounting a negative outcome in terms of a le pen victory because the probability seems low. >> so i shouldn't be positioning for a frexit? >> certainly not based on our estimation of events. not only because of the opinion polls, but likewise the number of hurdles, even if she were to win the presidency, given you have the general assem

possibly the french prime minister although he is dead allegations of corruption worth her against macron, who like mr is sort of a pretty boy without much legal experience. but what i think it's going to be. a more just be a battle of personalities, but a battle of ideologies. they support the euro, united states of europe, european army. the penn believes an independent. it could be if that's the runoff, the most important democratic election the west testing are many, many years. trained to give me a prediction. six months from now the european union more shaky than it is now because of those two elections? >> you know something, it even if le pen doesn't win outright, she will when because she will shift the center of gravity of the whole european debate in france. the european union is dying before our very eyes. the only question is how long will it take. stuart: nigel farage, utilitarian seat and have often been right. we appreciate you on the program. i've got to do with this real fast. it's fascinating. working longer may increase and improve your health. so we are told he lives. liz: a datab

macron. good morning to you, jean. let's start out with the broad picture here. macron'sis mr.nomic plan different to the one we currently have with president hollande? isn't there a danger this is just hollande 2.0? more well, he's much transformational as he says. he wants to change quite fundamentally the way the labor market works. he wants to shake up public services. he wants to put much for emphasis on skill. he has a radical plan for pension reform. that is not exactly continuity. guy: ok, you want to change a number of tacts in france. france is often perceived as a difficult place to do business because of the tax structure. do you think the changes being proposed will change international perspective of france? jean: yes. well, several tax plans are wor th noting. one is the tax on wealth. it will now exclude capital investment into the economy. that will be essentially, a tax on real estate wealth. second, the corporate income tax rate will go down to 25%, down from 33%. third, the tax on capital income simply a flat tax on capital income. quite significant changes.

mr fillon, but he will still be under intense pressure? well, he knows he is in a very difficult situation. his poll ratings have gone down, he is in third place behind emmanuel macronhout protest is banging saucepa ns wherever campaign without protest is banging saucepans wherever he goes. now the news that he is going to be summoned before the examining magistrate on march the 15th, just before the campaign starts, and probably be placed underformal campaign starts, and probably be placed under formal investigation. he is ina placed under formal investigation. he is in a very difficult situation. once again, he has chosen the path of fighting back. it was a convert if press conference in which he really la id into if press conference in which he really laid into the institutions of france as being behind his problems. that is a message fraught with possibilities for the future, because he is blaming institutions of france for turning on him. he knows his situation is tough, but not desperate. his support has not entirely collapsed. his base of support remains there. he is on about 17%. his idea, with the party behind him, is that by a stoic, stern, grave continuat