-- over 3 million people forced to flee the country. the mounting crisis takes center stage. french authorities investigate the death of an environmental activist. some say he was killed by police during demonstrations. francois hollande calls for compassion and the truth. those are the headlines here on "france 24."

first, to ukraine. they are counting votes in an election. leaders hailed the vote as a democratic milestone, despite the fact millions were unable to vote due to pro-russian separatists insurgencies. the results are trickling in. the parties of petro poroshenko and the prime minister are coming out on top. what can you tell us about the vote tally and what it means for the formation of the new government? >> 90% of the vote has been counted and there is a big surprise. contrary to what exit polls suggested on sunday evening, and contrary to prior to the election, it looks like the from party has come out on top. it has a narrow lead.

in third place, quite some way behind, a new party led i -- in western ukraine. behind them, the pro-russian's who have risen from the ashes and have gotten nearly 10% with their new formation, which is called opposition bloc. more radical ukrainian partners -- parties is comforting and surprising a result from this election. >> we have heard from the foreign minister. sergey lavrov says they will recognize the parliamentary poll. that is not the only vote they will respect.

>> it is one of the most important points established. we expect the elections will take place as was agreed and we will recognize the results. we expect the election will be free and that no one will try to disrupt it from the outside. >> that is rush upon -- that is russia's foreign minister. what sort of reactions are we >> the ukrainians do not understand why russia seems to -- whether this election should be recognized when it has been fully recognized as free and fair by the international observer mission, led by the ofce. an election is scheduled for november 2. the ukrainian prime minister he has said russians decision to

recognize the whole is not helpful for the peace process. an official said this is not an election because it is not happening in conditions normally considered -- that are necessary for proper democracy. it is under the barrel of a gun. there is not going to be an international observer team able to work there. when sergey lavrov said the elections or part of the original agreement for peace in that region with ukraine, that is not what ukraine had proposed. originally, they proposed local and regional elections be organized early in that region. under the supervision of kiev that is not what is happening. for kiev, or rushes decision -- russia's decision to recognize this -- >> thank you for the update.

a visa ban against ebola and australia. they are the first country to dive papers from travelers from affected countries. the united nations has criticized the u.s. quarantine policy, saying health care workers should not be subject to restrictions without scientific grounds. >> new ebola restrictions recommended by the center for disease control. measures aimed at creating a standard response for the spread of the virus. the cdc says those that have come in with the disease they must stay away from commercial transportation and public gatherings. traveling in west africa should not warrant quarantine conditions.

in new jersey, chris christie has come under fire for the treatment of a nurse who was forced to undergo quarantine after working in west africa. she showed no symptoms and was released on monday. [indiscernible] christie announced on friday that anyone traveling from any three states would be put into a mandatory warrant teen. the policy is criticized by the obama administration, who calls it an overreaction and could discourage health workers from flying to africa to help fight the epidemic. >> the only way we can eliminate the risk is to stop this outbreak in its tracks in west africa. >> secretary-general also

criticizing quarantine for people showing no symptoms. >> a calm has returned to a northern syrian town. fighters from the al qaeda linked group attacked a town triggering hours of crashes -- triggering hours of clashes that left people dead. in the three years of the civil war, close to 200,000 people have been killed. over 3 million others forced to flee the country. berlin hosts a conference on the syrian refugee crisis. the goal is to coordinate and improve the response to those who -- whose lives have been ravaged by war. >> a syrian becomes a refugee

every 15 seconds. there is no end in sight. these families are in a village across the border in turkey. they fled the violence in the syrian town of kobani. >> we left around 40 days ago. i cannot remember the exact date. i had shops and sheep. i had to leave them. i left my property and money out of fear. >> nearly 200,000 people have fled into turkey from kobani. they are the latest addition to a long refugee standing credit -- a long-standing refugee crisis areas their presence is an enormous burden for a country with a population of just four times that. 3.2 million syrian refugees, most of them officially

registered in a handful of neighboring countries. one group fighting for the cause of the refugees says the response has been lamentable. >> in the situation of the refugees, it is dramatic. the states must provide a lot more money to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. money is not enough. the number of syrians who have found refugee in europe is relatively low. the effort is nothing compared to the scale of the crisis. >> the full results of the parliamentary elections. they are not in. the political landscape is coming into focus. secularists are coming out on top. this is based on preliminary vote counts. several figures from the regime

will be returning to public office. we will have final results when they come in. a new grave has been discovered in mexico. test are underway to see if the remains belong to a group of 43 missing students. they were last seen after taking part in a protest. witnesses say they were taken into police custody. the disappearance has sparked anger as it has revealed an alliance between authorities and the mayor. the mayor and his wife are accused of ordering the student's objections. >> investigators trying to find out how an activist died during demonstrations against a project here in the southwest of france. prosecutors say the 21-year-old possibly died from explosion.

the family blames authorities. >> how to 21-year-old activist diane what was supposed to be a peaceful protest? -- die in what was supposed to be a peaceful protest? a local prosecutor announced the autopsy revealed he possibly died from an explosion. >> the corner can neither confirm nor deny that the wounds were caused by a stun grenade launched from where the police were entrenched. this is the dude -- this is the disputed area. anonymous demonstrators say they saw him get hit. >> there were several flash grenade explosions and my friend fell to the floor. the grenade got stuck between his bag and his shoulder. it exploded.

>> the police say they were attacked by a group of aggressive individuals, armed with molotov cocktails and explosives. his father said the protest -- he attended the protest like a tourist. >> he cared about the environment. at the same time, he was -- when he saw the violence starting, he possibly thought he should get involved. >> families -- his family decided to sue the authorities for involuntary manslaughter. >> the story is getting a lot of coverage in france. francois hollande the spoke on the matter. >> the first reaction is compassion. i called his father this morning to tell him --

we have to respect the family at this time. secondly, the government has to show the public justice is being done and to find out the truth. the truth about what has happened during this violence protest. the cause of the death, and this is something i will personally oversee. >> dallas francois hollande addressing journalists in paris. a trend that began in the u.s. clowns armed with weapons instead of balloons have popped up. france. over one dozen people have been arrested. police are taking all complaints seriously. >> first seen in the united states, the evil clown phenomenon cropped up in france earlier this month. car passengers had to fight for

their lives. >> they are armed with bats hammers, knives. they want to stop people, demand money. >> one clown has been given a six-month suspended sentence. another was arrested after beating up someone. >> these are serious attacks. they can traumatize young women young people. they can be a way for real criminals to act. >> the trend reflects a malay. >> the clown can be seen. he is ugly, a failure, someone to distrust. an evil clown can be seen as a person seeking revenge. >> we meet the man who has nurtured and suspended some of the biggest names in contemporary art for three

decades. if the walls of the gallery could talk, they would tell us about many. we will be asking about the market and the monumental artwork he has bought and sold. let's go meet our guest. just to start off, i would like to introduce my guest he is one of the most established gallerists. we were where your stand was. i wanted to ask you -- we are in the season of festivals, is it important to be present at such

a large form? i imagine your clients will have an import middle contact you over the phone. >> there are many centers of art. london, paris, new york. there is a new market -- hong kong. latin america, the middle east. they are looking for content ferreri -- they are looking for contemporary art. collectors would like to go to certain places where they have the chance to see a lot in a short time. this is important. it is important to be there, to be present to show your art, and to get the chance to meet the collectors and curators, museum directors. >> speaking of -- we spoke to

joseph. he told us how he buys art, falls in love with the pieces he invests in and how he is wary of trends. >> collecting is accumulating. people look at the california art scene a lot. it is trendy. it does not mean that it is not interesting. as you focus on a scene, you forget something that can be interesting and what i do is i try -- >> the recession has not affected the art market as bad as it has done, but can you buy according to taste or do you see collectors being strategic? >> you have every kind of collector in today's artworld.

it is a diverse market. collectors want masterpieces. some have a museum in mind. you have passionate collectors who learn about the new art scenes and younger artists and this is maybe more according to their budget. we never have seen such a diverse market. everybody has its place. the new markets are changing a lot. china and chinese collectors are learning fast. they want to introduce their own artists to their own collecting into the world, the western world, europe, america. we should not forget the middle east. some of the most incredible museums are built in abu dhabi.

france is very strong. also doing a contemporary program. contemporary art is the art of the moment. if you want to own the work, for an artist to live at the moment we have not seen this kind of diversity in taste and focus and motivation than ever before. >> you have been doing this for a wild. the weight -- you have been doing this for a while. do you work with a strategy or do you fall in love with a piece or an artist? >> i have seen the world changing tremendously. 30 years ago, the art world was in its ivory tower. it was elitist. it was small. it was intellectual. it was difficult to get into it. it moved from the ivory tower to the center of life. everybody wants to be surrounded.

if i speak to younger people today, contemporary art as part of their lives. we cannot exclude it anymore. this idea has constantly changed and evolved and you have to add to and adopt to the spirit of our time and what collectors expect. it is not only that we are doing exhibitions to sell art, we really want to make the art of the artist to -- to make it understandable especially the new gallery i opened. it is very large. we think of doing exhibitions for an audience. not only for a buying audience. of course, it is important. what is so exciting, we are able to create an atmosphere of an

exciting audience, which has come to enjoy the art, and also to nurture the artist by introducing them to important collectors, museum directors curators. >> you mentioned the space in a suburb of paris. this is a large space. paris was the second city you chose. to expand, you also chose paris. why was that? >> it is -- to artists and to an audience. you think about the great museums and the great artists who came to france to work here and make a career here. you are talking about new york. they took over. the artists wanting to move

there. berlin took its place. one idea which excited me at the time, paris led to europe. art and culture is part of it. >> this space is monumental. do you think that a space like this, where you are able to display for -- when you open the space, very large work. do you think it reflects a taste for larger work or installation work? is that what people are more into? >> people will say you never solve this mentality. -- you never saw this mentality. you go to the louvre or the great museums of the world and you see large format. it is not something new. it also always changes. 30 years ago, you did not see these kinds of massive sizes.

today, there are many museums that are built many large spaces. many collectors expand possibilities. it is more difficult and challenging. when we opened this, we wanted to do something where we give our artist a chance to work limitless. when you do exhibitions, you feel like the artist have to adapt their vision to our space. then, they can do whatever their dream is and whatever there size -- whatever their size demands. >> lawmakers are pushing for a new law that could see people collectors paying wealth tax on the artwork. this is a new thing for france. if it does go through, how do you think it will affect market?

>> it would be difficult. almost a disaster for the market. coming in to the debate every couple of years, since 20 years i am in france, paris. there's always the threat of this tax and then it is abolished. it will be the wrong signal. contemporary art does not need to create wealth in the first place. needs to create culture and to give art an important place in people's lives. to help younger artists to work on their dream. it is an important task. if the government cuts this task or makes it more difficult in terms of adding a text to it -- a tax to it, it is sending the wrong signal.

we have seen this coming and going. >> to finish off, talking about the future of art, you are known to be discerning when it comes to who you sell to. as a gallery owner, you are in control of supervising the destiny of a. you have the role of safeguarding certain pieces. what is at stake for you when you decide where pieces end up? >> we tried to place art. we find places for the art. the artists trust us to place them best. you think of the museum. we had an investment tool and we try to limit where we were selling the work to. we really prefer to work with the passionate collector who believes in what he is trying to

buy and in institutions. this is what artists value the most.

' experience: "global spirit," the first internal travel series, with fantastic conversations and film segments exploring the most urgent, existential, philosophical and spiritual issues of the 21st century. so, settle back, take a slow, deep breath, as we join our trusted guide and host, phil cousineau, on this fascinating episode of "global spirit," the first internal travel series.