president of the european central bank and has worked with every leading financial institution. he has been tasked with making the case for paris as a financial hub following brexit. is he making too difficult a cell and damaging ties with the uk —— sell. christian noyer in paris, welcome to hardtalk this is the fourth president that you are serving under in some senior capacity. emmanuel macron is a former banker. is he the right president at the right time for france? well, first, thank you very much for inviting me. i think yes, absolutely. for the first time for many years, we have a president who was elected with a clear political programme for deep economic reforms, and he has a clear mandate to make difficult reforms in the labour market, and the tax regime, to have something much more business friendly, and this is going to take place quite rapidly. sol friendly, and this is going to take place quite rapidly. so i think that comes exactly at the right moment, because we are now in, in europe in general, it in the eurozone, leaving the negative consequences the crisis. growth is picking up, and i think it is the appropriate time to raise the growth potential and try to size the benefits of a full recovery. we will talk about the reforms in france presently, but just underscoring the approach, the intention to make friends more competitive is so that it can compete, for instance, in trying to pick up in picking up some of the business from the city of london, post—brexit. why is paris best placed? i think there are several assets for paris, which are generally recognised by all the institutions i am talking to. the first one is probably that paris is the only big city comparable to london in size, with a range of active and activities, which means that there is a whole range of financial activities, big banks, and dealer and broker activities, but insurance asset management, financial technology, and there is no other comparable city in europe. that is interesting, though. you say all that, and that is your opinion, obviously. but when you look at what major financial institutions are doing, they don't necessarily back paris. japan's biggest bank has decided to set up its new based in amsterdam. barclays decided to set up its new based in amsterdam. ba rclays have decided to set up its new based in amsterdam. barclays have gone elsewhere. there is a lot of competition, is in there? that is absolutely true. one is to make a difference between the place where the financial institutions decide to put their legal entity, and the place where they would locate their activities. at a number of those which said that they would choose, 01’ which said that they would choose, or have chosen to have their legal entity, at least for the first two yea rs, entity, at least for the first two years, in, say frank little amsterdam, or dublin, they have told me they intend to concentrate sizeable activities in paris. —— frankfurt. so it is not because the hub or the legal entity will be somewhere that it will be a concentration of all activities there. so i think it is a bit misleading to just look at those news. by the way, mufg that you just mentioned as already had a bank in amsterdam. so they keep using their banking there. is this what you are being told. —— told? a lot of institutions are looking at frankfurt, and of course germany is the biggest economy in europe. many banks has said that frankfurt is going to be their main base. are you being told some indifferent behind—the—scenes? being told some indifferent behind-the-scenes? absolutely. -- something different. in paris, there isa something different. in paris, there is a talent pool. other cities are relatively small cities, and that includes transit. in franc that, for instance, the activities are concentrated in banking. but if you wa nt to concentrated in banking. but if you want to move a big number of staff, coming with families, spouses or partners, and want to find jobs in other activities, it is more difficult than in a big city like london or paris. who has specifically said this too? do you wa nt to specifically said this too? do you want to name some of the banks? -- said this to you. the majority of international banks, be they americans or europeans or sometimes japanese or asian in general, they tell me that, that they intend to put a sizeable part of their staff in paris. 0k. as it stands, the figure is like 30% of the european union's financial assets managed in the city of london, which is twice as much then london's nearest rival, paris. london is admired globally, and respected as your‘s financial centre. it does not necessarily mean that any business lost to the city of london post—brexit is going to go the way of frankfurt or paris. boris johnson, the british foreign secretary, said the real rivals of the city of london are going to be in hong kong, singapore, and new york. he has a point, doesn't he? first, i don't believe that london will disappear as a major financial centre. london will continue to have a very important role and activities, and that is a good thing. in particular, given the proximity and the facility to move between them london and paris, i see a lot of easiness in having teams working in london and teams working in paris. but more specifically to your question, if there are things that institutions have two move, and they will have to move some activities to the eu, it is because the rules will impose that those activities are done in the eu. —— to move. if they have to move to the eu, they cannot move to new york or to asian places. they need to move to asian places. they need to move to the eu or be given up. all the institutions say they want to continue servicing their clients, they do want to lose their capacity to service them. they don't want to lose the business related to it. so they will do what it is necessary to continue servicing the clients. so you just said that you don't agree that the city of london would necessarily suffer. so just broadening that point, do you think britain will suffer economically as a result of brexit? two first, to the question, the city of london will lose something. there has been over the last 20 years, the concentration of something. london was the dominant financial centre, but paris was an important financial centre. a lot was done in other cities, frankfurt and so on. so there will be some loss for the city of london, but not to the point that the city would be badly damaged. if the city would be badly damaged. if the city of london loses 15 or 20% of its activity, it will remain one of its activity, it will remain one of the biggest financial centres in the world. second, more generally, on that — it depends on agreement that can be reached or not reached on trade. i think the most difficult pa rt on trade. i think the most difficult part of the negotiations is indeed related to trade, manufacturing activities, agriculture and fisheries, and that will be difficult. that is the most important in my view for the future of the british economy. and there has been quite a controversy here in the uk. boris johnson, has been quite a controversy here in the uk. borisjohnson, the foreign secretary, and liam fox, the international trade secretary, perhaps not seeing eye to eye with philip hammond and amber rudd over theissue philip hammond and amber rudd over the issue of freedom of movement of people post—brexit. how does this i’ow people post—brexit. how does this row look from your side of the channel? well, i think the basic view of the eu 27 is that if you wa nt to view of the eu 27 is that if you want to continue to have full access to the market, be it for the long—term, orfor a to the market, be it for the long—term, or for a transition period, you need to, to follow all the major parts of the eu governance, and the eu governance of basically the capacity of its institutions to regulate the capacity —— to regulate, the capacity —— to regulate, the capacity to reconcile disputes, and powers that are in the eu rules, freedom for goods and services, and financial flows, and not freedom for goods and services, and financialflows, and not for freedom for goods and services, and financial flows, and not for people. after that, how it will be settled exactly will depend on the negotiations, of course. as the negotiations, of course. as the negotiations and the debate over brexit continue, as we have been discussing, other eu countries are trying to capitalise on the situation post—brexit. the french by minister eduard phillippe has said that france will use all its power to make paris the european financial capital. —— prime minister. but is this trying to capitalise on the spoils are little unsavoury? especially given the strong alliance with the uk. i think you have two - i understand your question, but you have two take two things into consideration. one is that historically london has not been the financial centre of the eu for decades and decades. —— to take things. the result of hybrid concentration in london is the result of the single market, which means that a single regulation and a single judicial system. means that a single regulation and a singlejudicialsystem. —— means that a single regulation and a single judicial system. —— high broker concentration. bizarrely, or toa broker concentration. bizarrely, or to a point, the grecian of the euro. -- -- the to a point, the grecian of the euro. —— —— the creation. we reached a state which is very different to 20 yea rs state which is very different to 20 years ago. having the ambition to come back to what we had 20 years ago, it is not aggressive in any way. coming back to a normal state of things. it is understandable that countries would be alive to the opportunities that brexit might provide to, you know, present a different — different opportunities for countries. but what i want to put to you is that the french seem to go farther. jeremy broun, who is now the envoy for the brexit operations of the city of london, in a leaked memo said this: the french are happy to see outcomes detrimental to the city of london, evenif detrimental to the city of london, even if paris is not the beneficiary. they are crystal clear in their underlying objective— the weakening of britain. france sees britain as anniversaries, not partners. what is your response about? this memo, whatever has been leaked, to me, is absolute nonsense. ifi leaked, to me, is absolute nonsense. if i may say so. with all due respect to whoever. he is reported to have this you, i don't know. i did not check myself. but i think the report, the presentation is really not that great at all. france is in the same position as the rest of the eu. the position is embedded ina common of the eu. the position is embedded in a common position. the chief negotiator is michel barnier. and he is the one who clearly said, and will say it what needs to be said from this site, from the eu. so there is no willingness to create problems for the city of london or the uk. but one is to recognise that we have, we have eight common concern, that is an enormous concern, that is an enormous concern, and that is financial stability. i mean, wejust went through — the world just went through — the world just went through an enormous financial crisis. we know it is absolutely key to have the capacity to regulate and supervise, with full capacity, and full powers, the financial sector, and a financial activities. and when you have financial stability concerns, you have to make, to take decisions as to what is best or worse in the different options that are offered to you, and only those responsible for the monetary area can do that. so it must be the eu institutions having this power. and i cannot imagine— if it was imaginable that the city of london was dealing with the euro, and would be regulated by eu institutions, where thejudge would be regulated by eu institutions, where the judge would be in the european court of justice, where the judge would be in the european court ofjustice, but the central bank, with full, 100% power, in the euro system, and the market regulator would be established in paris, with no powerful westminster, or the bank of england, orfor the uk regulator, then maybe we could have another system. but i do believe that this is, that this is imaginable. this is why we believe that... a rather large and so. the election ofa a rather large and so. the election of a medal in may, we are seeing france in a more assertive way than it was under francois lond. —— emmanuel macron. he wants to make it more market oriented. there is a great deal of opposition within fronted self from ordinary citizens. —— france itself. fronted self from ordinary citizens. -- france itself. the labour market reform, the first one to be implemented, is a perfect example of something which is processed quite smoothly and very well. there have been many discussions with the unions. there was no big opposition. cani unions. there was no big opposition. can ijust unions. there was no big opposition. can i just interrupted ? unions. there was no big opposition. can ijust interrupted? the cgt is saying it is getting ready for street protests for relaxing these labour laws, to make it easier to hire and fire workers. we will have to wait and see. at the moment, things are going smoothly. the discussions have gone through all of the topics. for a number of things, it was largely consensual. the parliament as well has an enormous majority, well beyond a simple party supporting president macron. but there is still... can ijust say, there is still... can ijust say, there is still protesting going on. 800,000 students upset about cuts to allowa nces. 800,000 students upset about cuts to allowances. civil servants, teachers, several sectors are opposed. well, you should not mix everything. there was no big demonstration at the moment. nothing happened in paris. no one is in the streets demonstrating. yes, there was some opposition expressed about some fiscal measures taken. the government has to make cuts in spending. they tried to find ways to do that as smoothly as possible. but it... the problem exists in all countries, in many countries. it... the problem exists in all countries, in many countrieslj it... the problem exists in all countries, in many countries. i want to come back to the series of reforms, we don't have time to go into all of them, they are to make france more competitive, but it is perceived in that way. for example, the french economic observatory had a study in july the french economic observatory had a study injuly saying the richest 10% in france gave the most from the overhaul from 10% in france gave the most from the overhaulfrom income 10% in france gave the most from the overhaul from income and 10% in france gave the most from the overhaulfrom income and property taxation. i cannot go into that com pletely taxation. i cannot go into that completely but that is one example, and also, the measures hit the poorest foremost. that is a quote. when you meet the press, you don't get that feeling there is such opposition at the moment. i have never seen opposition at the moment. i have never seen in opposition at the moment. i have never seen in many years so opposition at the moment. i have never seen in many years so much consensus to support the global economic reforms in the making. i think people are ready to understand that labour market reforms are aimed at reducing unemployment that we have not been able to reduce significantly over the last decade. it is something we have not tried until now. until the first reforms we re until now. until the first reforms were made. it is rather consensual. they address the problem of unemployment. but you have got a huge... sorry. the tax reforms. of course, the direct taxation would be the wealth tax, income tax. it is extremely concentrated in france. 0k... extremely concentrated in france. 0k. .. 6096 extremely concentrated in france. ok... 6096 of... we cannot extremely concentrated in france. 0k. .. 6096 of... we cannot go into the details of the taxation system. but one other example as to why perhaps it is not as smooth as you suggest. president macron has seen his approval ratings plummet by ten points to 5a%, the best declined when compared to predecessors, like francois lond and nicolas sarkozy. —— hollande. francois lond and nicolas sarkozy. -- hollande. i don't want to comment. i am -- hollande. i don't want to comment. iam not -- hollande. i don't want to comment. i am not a political and take. that was just an comment. i am not a political and take. that wasjust an example. but in general, the policy was widely supported. at least for the moment. the people so want to give a chance to be president and the government to be president and the government to make the economic reforms and move ahead. of course, you have to make cuts in expenditure, and it a lwa ys make cuts in expenditure, and it always creates opposition. i don't think it is significant. there is still the necessary support to make these reforms. it really addresses unemployment. but you are going to have,in unemployment. but you are going to have, in terms of the image of france, that its reputation is still a place that is difficult to do business. france was 29th in terms of this. the uk, seventh. injune, a report said a banker in france costs 54% more when all payroll charges are included. it takes you three yea rs are included. it takes you three years to fire someone in france compared to three months in switzerland and three days in the uk. you have still got a long way to go to convince people that somebody such as us tried to do this. what i can say is that it is misleading. —— such as you is trying to. it does not take three months. it takes 4—6 months. it is comp ruble to germany, the maximum in germany, or the uk. —— comp comparable. all of those reports i made... i am telling you... they are not... can i interrupt you to give you the source? it was the head of ubs france, who told a committee earlier this year. it is a recent statement. well, it was probably taken from reports done four years ago. before 2013, yes, the situation was really different. but in the meantime, we have made four incremental reforms on the labour market. i think we already have the situation which is not so different from germany. and with new reforms, we will move somewhere a twin germany and the uk. —— between. hopefully closer to the uk. it will be a different situation. it won't be that far away from the uk, perhaps ireland. it will have a more flexible labour market. christian noyer, in paris, thank you very much indeed for coming on hardtalk. thank you very much. hello. the area of low pressure that brought wednesday's rain is still close enough during thursday to produce showers across the uk, making it quite windy too. it is gradually edging its way north—eastwards. not quickly enough for many of us before it gets to scandinavia and our weather improves. plenty of showers from the word go across many parts of the uk. the north and west in particular. some of these will be heavy. the risk of a rumble of thunder and perhaps some hail too. a look at the picture. eight o'clock in the morning, showers scattered in south—west england. much of central and eastern england will be dry at this stage. some sunny spells around. but you will notice through england and wales it is a windy day, unseasonably for the time of year. gusty winds at that. plenty of showers in northern england and northern ireland, beginning to pull away actually. showers in scotland initially to the west. longer spells of rain in the northern isles. here we have easterly winds. brisk south—westerly gusts of wind in england and wales will be noticeable during the day. some sunny spells. showers fading in the afternoon, especially in england and wales. they linger on through the afternoon in scotland. slow—moving with lighter winds here. thundery downpours especially in eastern scotland into the afternoon. temperatures, high teens, low 20s. the first day of the women's british open golf at kingsbarn, not far from st andrews on thursday. we have the threat of some heavy showers moving through. some will fade thursday night into friday. could well see some spells of rain in ireland and scotland. edging southwards here for a time around the area of low pressure which hasn't quite yet got to scandinavia yet. the breeze is a notch down. more in the way of sunshine. feeling pleasant between showers. and in fact, for the bulk of the uk, the showers away from scotland will be few and far between. those temperatures, well, into the low 20s in east anglia and south—east england. though most of us still pegged back into the high teens. the big picture going into the weekend, a ridge of high pressure trying to come in. we will still see showers on saturday, perhaps for a time in north england, north wales, scotland, more numerous in those areas. temperatures in high teens, low 20s. after a chilly night on saturday, sunday delivers drier weather. though there is a weather system poised to come in from the west later in the day. a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to a viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: fixing faulty genes to eradicate inherited disease. a scientific breakthrough brings hope to millions around the world. venezuela prepares to instal a controversial new assembly. but the firm which helped organise the election says the results can't be trusted. we have to report that the turnout numbers on sunday, the 31st ofjuly, for the election of the assembly we re for the election of the assembly were tempered. president trump reluctantly approves new sanctions against russia. moscow says the move amounts to a "full—scale trade war". and prince philip's last official engagement at buckingham palace