Demonstrators. In february, a divorced father spent a couple of days in the crane of a town to demand the right to see his son. Many french dads have since followed suit. They feel they dont have the sight rights as mothers several hon of them have staged protests on high buildings over recent months. This medieval town has seen its share but its been occupied by frustrated father like patrick and frederick. [speaking in french] we have no other alternative but to scream out our love for our children. Were climbing this tower to send a message. Both men belong to the as far as movement, a group thats growing fast in france. Its made up of divorced men who lost custody of their sons and daughters. Patrick is only allowed to see his son, 9yearold aleso for two weekends a month. He says thats much too little. When im feeling really terrible, i look at photos like this one and my heart beats faster. Then i know i have to fight for him. My son is my life. Hes a part of me. I cant imagine life without him. Hes the only person who brings me happiness and joy. When his wife left him, patrick had to sell the family home. He had a nervous breakdown and had to give up his job as a bus driver. Seeing his son so seldom added to his woes. Alleseo goes to school near his fathers home but the boys mother has forbidden him from having lunch at his dads place. Im perfectly capable of looking after my son. I always find something for us to do together. My exwife cant dispute that. My shower my son with love. And the people around me see that i treat alleseo very lovingly. Patricks relationship with his exwife has been poisoned by anger and disappointment. He no longer wants to negotiate with her directly. Patrick is now seeking a joint custodian cuddle agreement through the courts. That would mean alleseo would leave with both mother and father on alternating weeks. In 2002, france became the first european country to legalize the cuddle mother designed to put them on a more equal footing but many women are against this. Parisbased lawyer represents mothers who are fighting joint cuddle rulings. Custodial rulings. Moving back and forth between the parents is an additional burden, especially when the parents are fighting and when each of them has begun a new life. Thats too much for a child. Patrick and his friends dispute those arguments. Theyre convince that regular contacts with both parents is essential for children. But french judges usually disagree. In 80 of case, they grant the mother full custody, both patricks and fredericks cases were dismissed. When a couple separates, many people the mother is the best to take care of the child. The judges are people and they have prejudices. In addition, the judges have no time to examine each case thoroughly. So they tend to stick to the traditional model. Mothers and as far as are given equal terms of custody in belgium. Children are the rule there rather than the exception. In france today, as far as are expected to pay greater roles in child rearing. As far as have changed. There are much stronger presence in their lives now. They push and carry carry the babies around in slings. Patrick and frederick say children become unhappy when separated from their as far as. Their banner reads our children need as far as as much as their mothers. To get their message control, the across, the men are resorting to expose to the elements on a tower. Good news for greece. The country will receive new loans from the socalled international lenders. For three years, the loans have helped greece avoid bankruptcy, but conditions are tough. Greece has to slash tens of thousands of jobs in the public sector, for example. Several hon state workers have already had to go. Greeks are suffering under the austerity measures with one in four already unemployed. Citizens are disappointed in both e. U. And greece. So some are taking matters into their own hands. Its chaotic in the Production Managers office. Two years ago, Construction Material supplies went bust. Employees lost their jobs practically overnight. Workers like marcus join the ranks of the unemployed. Im still angry at my former the government. It hasnt done anything for the last two years to help us. Not a penny of support. We cant expect help from our employers or politicians. So its time for us to take things into our own hands. Back then, the huge factory produced mortar and plaster. Construction materials are all over the balkans. Then came the crisis and the end of the road. But the workers didnt want to throw in the towel. 30 of the companys 80 former employees have continued operation in this part of the factory. They think their Company Still has a future. Theyve begun producing household detenchts and detergents and soaps. They built the bottlefilling machines themselves. But all their hard work has yet to pay off. I have three children. My oldest has to begin his military service next week. Our financial situation is dire. Sometimes my parents or my wifes parents help us out. And my wife, fortunately, still has a job. Thats how we survive. Marcus spends his afternoons on the telephone, tirelessly seeking to sell con assignments of soap through a network of people who sympathize with the workers situations. Promises of solidarity have come in from all over the world. But because the workers are illegally occupying the factory, investors wont touch the project. The workers cant sell their products officially. At the moment, weve only made a profit with one order. We cant fulfill our dreams with that but its enough to keep production up and running. We have to achieve legal status as a company soon, though. Then we could hire more from our former colleagues and increase production levels. We would also like to branch out into new products too. Until then, the factory workers have to bring their products to customers directly. Residents have been very supportive. This womans pension her dramatically and he exchanges the soaps she buys for food. Were supporting them as much as we can. They need us. Then, we barter with each other and the detergents are natural products. The waterfront promenade. Greeks close ranks in the midst of the crisis. Anding a knost owe is joining sol days. And the government forced the station to shut down and laid off 430 staff. But employees are continuing to broadcast over the internet. Like the factory workers, the reporters see themselves as the vanguard of a new movement. Weve become a symbol for the resistance movement. Society is supporting us in a major way because we set an example that you can take your destiny into your own hands. Thats why weve invited everyone to come to this building to talk to us from learn from us. Our motorcycles are microphones are open to everyone. The next morning, the workers are headed to a crouse. Courthouse. Its court of appeals is a ruling on a suit they brought against their former boss. Each is owed in unpaid wages. In an earlier decision, a Court Sentenced the employer to two and a half years on probation for delaying bankruptcy proceedings. The hearing doesnt take long. The workers still dont receive any compensation and the judges even reduce the former employers sentence. Our lawyer said she had even worst problems than we had. Two years ago, she left us all in the dark and we havent seen any money since then. They say shes even worse off than we are. Everybody is against us. The employers and the government. And if the Justice System doesnt protect us anymore either, i dont know where this will all end. The factory workers are outraged. But theyre also determined to continue working in their company, now, more than ever. Vladimir putin has been russian president for a year now in his third term of office. This time, he will be in power for even longer than before, thanks to a change in the constitution that putin and his party member pushed through and the latter was temporary restored as president. Its this behavior that pursuits opponents criticized. Putins opponents criticized. But Police Arrested hundreds of demonstrators on very flimsy grounds. June 6, a review of a man in custody. 10 of the 12 accused have already spent a year in jail. The proceedings are closed to the public. Some of the accused face up to 10 years in prison. The charges include encouraging social unrest and violent resistance to state authority. Reporters are also barred from the room. Relatives and supporters wait outside the court but no one here is hopeful. Release political prisoners, says this sign. Both the media and state police film the vigil. Natalias son is one of the prisoners inside. She only became a political activist after nick lie was arrested. Shes 26 and was studying cell low and law at university. My friend say that when the door opened he saw me. I waved. But i couldnt see him. Protestors have to keep their distance from the court. Group protest actions must have permits. Theyre innocent and the real provocateurs are Walking Around free. One policeman silently takes note and then leaves without a word. The feeling of constant surveillance is a means of intimidation. The demonstration against Vladimir Putin and his third president ial term of office began on may 6, 2012. The confrontations werent long and coming. 13,000 members of the Russian Special forces were on hand. Many of them flown in from distant provinces. Violent clashes were followed by arrests. And investigating Committee Said the demonstrators were provoked by the police. Investigators, journals, and human rights activists have looked at countless hours of footage from the protests. This one was key to nikolays arrest. Dmitry works for a russian news web z. He gathered all video and photographs to help the lawyers with their defense. He also has one for nicolay. He can see how the policemen strikes him with a club. Nikolay only raises his arms to protect his head. What happened in detail isnt completely clear but this is what theyre basing the charges on. Other images show nikolay trying to defuse the situation. There are pictures of nikolay trying to stop. Natalia also believes her son is innocent. She tells us she feels like shes back in the days of the show trials under stalin. Once a week, she brings her son vegetables and medicines in jail. The prison has an ominous reputation. This is a nightmare that i never imagined in my wildest dreams. You keep hoping youll wake up. Nikolay now has gallbladder and liver problems. He got high Blood Pressure there. He has an allergy and suffers from headaches all the time. The charges against nikolay are also still baseless. The policeman here allegedly injured was never found. Everywhere in moscow, parents are fighting for their sons. One of them is victor, his son was arrested in his apartment weeks after the demonstration had taken place. Victor searched for him all over moscow for an entire day and eventually found him at police headquarters. With the help of footage from the internet the father has shown in exact detail where his son was on that day. He only watched the events from the sidelines. No one saw him doing anything involving violence. And then these four policemen suddenly show up and force him to his knees. He was first arrested and then released for lack of evidence. The second arrest came weeks later. Then, one of the investigating officers made his father a proposal. He says victor, your son is facing eight to 10 years in prison. But if you help us and he admits his guilty, he will guess guilt, he will get two or three years. I said would you want to go to prison for two or three years for no reason . He just turned red and left. Victor lived in the small apartment with his son, his wife died not long ago. His son, he says, bitterly, supposedly called for the government to be overthrown. He stutters so strongly that he can say his sons name. His neighbors have collected around 15,000 euros to pay his bail. Thats a lot of money in an area like this. His son is 32. Many people carried his picture at the demonstrations that took place on june 12. This is our city, cries victor. For the first time, music teacher natalia is taking part in a demonstration. Today there, are only a couple of thousand people on the streets, a fraction of the number who took part in the protest last may which ended with so many behind bars. The uniforms are the same though. Briefly, it looks like there might be a confrontation. The Security Forces have set up lines too deep. The one in back is drawn up in front of the kremlin. But today, everything remains peaceful. Their sons were arrested here over a year ago. The event has changed their lives. But this makes me feel that people are with us, supporting us. Nikolay would be happy. Natalias son is one of the first to enter the glass cage at the beginning of the trial. He soon followed by victors son. Two young men who could soon disappear for years behind the walls of a russian prison. Independent reporters are not allowed in the courtroom. The rare images of the proceedings are supplied by the court, even the lawyers fear a political show trial. Im an engineer. So im used to logical reasonable processes. And whats going on in our Justice System nowadays no longer has anything to do with that. The scales and the sword. Many observers doubt that real justice will be served here. Acquittals are the exception in the criminal courts of russia. It takes the vacation season like now for the vast majority of europeans to realize that the e. U. Is not so bad after all. The agreement allows the e. U. Citizens to travel across the continent without undergoing passport controls. Those who live near a border benefit every day. In the border region between austria and slovakia, thousands of commuters cross the border at least twice a day. Over two decades ago, this would have been impossible because the two countries were separated by the iron curtain. Today, slovakia has left the country behind. Helen y has fled the high prices in slovakia. Every day, she leaves her country for austria. It takes her 10 minutes to drive from work from the center of the slovakia capital to a tiny town. She can afford a house here. Overall, helena has the feeling that her euros go farther in austria. A lot of slovaks have moved here. This town is very attractive for us slovaks because its so close to our city. They have work there but cant afford a apartment much less a house. Property and apartments are very expensive. That has brought growth, a spot once called the edge of europe. Locals joke that before 1989, even the crows were turned back at the iron curtain. Today, its experiencing a building boom. Hundreds of slovaks are putting up houses. The municipalities now home to 1,800 austrians and 700 slovaks. The locals are feeling outnumbered. Nothing against the people, but i think its too much. We live out in the country but now the town is growing. Whether we like it or not. But some residents like this woman are pleased with the situation. Hes profited in the growth of population. The town has nearly doubled in recent years from 1992 to 2013. For me, its no problem. Take the morning paper. I started out with 160 scribers and now i have subscribers and now i have 450. Its tripled. The changes are visible everywhere. The local kindergarten is burst at the seams. This is where the language barriers are being torn down. Some of my colleagues have taken a slovak language course in order to understand the children. Or at the beginning, we communicate using gestures. But the bigger kids help us. We can get them to come and interrupt if necessary. More and more young slovaks are joining them and now the municipality is investing in a big new kindergarten. Businesses are already seeing benefits, a huge Shopping Mall has been built in the countryside because many slovaks have found it cheaper to come here to shop for growers groceries. The difference amounts to about 30 . Its not just the price, its not just that its cheaper. The quality here is different. Its better. Their city, minutes away is being viewed as eastern europes boomtown. The region is experiencing rapid growth and so are its prices. A modest apartment in the highrise block sells for 130,000 euros. In this neighborhood, the price is over 200,000. Double what it was 10 years ago. This family is ready to move. They received a building permit. Soon, their small son will be growing up in austria. You can actually get into the city faster from asomughaa. Not so many people drive to work in the center. There are a lot of advantages. Its much more prosperous than the rest of the country. People here earn well above the national average. Service sector firms like Computer Companies are pushing up wages to glact tick highlights. Galactic highlights. According to figures from the euros, it is doing better than prague or vienna. It is a lot like the rest of slovakia. We see that as a huge demand for property over the border. Helena is hoping for friendly relations with her austrian neighbors. She believes that the influx of her fellow slovaks will help change her city to part of the pulsating heart of europe. And that report brings us to the end of this edition of european journal. Well be back next week with more interesting stories from all over europe. So make sure you tune in. You can, of course, also watch all our reports online. The dress address is bye for now. [captioned by the National Captioning Institute www. Ncicap. Org]