welcome back. you are watching "live from paris." a social conservative who wants to shake up the economy. ancoisis hollande -- fr stunning victory that ended the career of former president nicolas sarkozy. a terrorist attack designed to hit multiple sites thwarted. raids in strasburg. over 400 people have been arrested on terrorism offenses this year alone. the un security council,

hearing aboutia, an plight of syrians after impassioned plea by the un chief. his nickname was mr. nobody, but france's former llone minister francois fi effectively ended nicolas sarkozy's career. he will go up against alain the second round. julia kim takes a look at the policy differences between the two men.

fillon and alain juppé. they want to abolish wealth tax and increase the retirement age. fillon has taken his policies a step farther. admirer of margaret thatcher, he wants to cut at least half an million public-sector jobs, whereas alain juppé wants to scrap 200,000. fillon wants to set the working limit at 48 hours, the maximum authorized i.e. you law -- a uthorized by eu law. when it comes to foreign policy, the two candidates are worlds apart. the mp for paris is for the lifting of sanctions on moscow after it's annexing of crimea -- after its annexing of crimea. he wants to work with bashar

al-assad to defeat the islamic state group. condemns the bombardment of aleppo. juppe insists there will be no return to peace in syria with assad him power. -- assad in power. laura: thank you for joining us here on "france 24." why should voters choose friends were feeling -- choose friends what beyond -- choose francois fillon over juppe? >> france are struggling. fillion -- fillon is advocating a profound transformation, a radical transformation of the french society, to get back on the proper trajectory of growth and excellence. trya: didn't alain juppé to bring about those reforms himself in the 1990's, because he failed?

every french leader realizes there is a huge black -- backlash. there is ongoing protests. isthat's where fillon revolutionary. the difference between 1995, when there was very social policy, executed with alain policy, whichal we did not vote for, fillon has chosen to be very clear up front about the program. he's doing that in three years. to be clear to people on what they are voting for. he thinks that, if the democratic contract is clear be mandated by the people to execute the french transformation, which more and more people in france understand.

it's also different from 1995. people understand that we need to get retirement at 65 and not 62. laura: wouldn't this kind of agenda put off left-wing voters? the only credible alternative to marine le pen, once it goes to -- onen, will be left-wing voters feel more comfortable voting for juppe than fillon? >> with all due respect, we don't care. the leftas you say, wing is a total failure in the last five years. is highly probable that the final will be between francois and marine fillon le pen. fillon is capable of gathering a

wide majority who do not want the extreme views of marine le pen but know that it is time for a change. a lot of european countries have changed. and sweden and even italy. it's really time for france to get there. laura: does françois fillon have the charisma, the character, the populist appeal that is doing so well at the moment, as you see with president-elect trump, with the brexit? does françois fillon have what it takes to beat le pen? fillon is a very hybrid animal, because he has a lot of experience, yet he is part of the establishment. he is one of the rare ones who has really decided it is time to change the way we do politics in france.

like charles de gaulle changed the system in 1968. you have seen the result. the real impact on the people. people realize that francois realistic,ragmatic, just what is needed to be done. a lot of friends in europe have done it. it's time for us to do it. they have the majority of the people. laura: thank you very much indeed. >> thank you very much. laura: emmanuel macron, who launched his bid for the presidency just last week, has also commented on the on -- on fillon's victory. as economy minister earlier this year. here's what he had to say. >> the very deep uncertainties

that are structuring -- fracturing the political field. the only conclusion that can be drawn is the withdrawal of nicolas sarkozy. yesterday he spoke with a lot of dignity. we must salute that. he's withdrawn from this contest and, i also believe, from public life. government says a potential terrorist attack targeting multiple sites has been foiled. seven people, including a moroccan national have been arrested, following raids in strasburg and marseille. the interior minister said the arrests were the result of an eight-month investigation. reporter: the interior minister, bernard cazeneuve, said that attacks had been planned for months. >> a counterterrorism operation

led by the interior ministry under a traditional mandate took place on saturday night in marseille and strasburg. it enabled the arrest of seven french moroccan and afghan nationals, aged 29 to 37. among those, six were unknown to intelligence services and a moroccan national who did not live in france had been flagged by a partner country. reporter: two suspects were arrested in marseille, most of the others in strasburg. the minister gave new information on the target of the planned attacks -- gave no information on the target of the planned attacks. the famous christmas market will go ahead as planned, with security ramped up. bernard cazeneuve insisted the threat of terrorism had never been so high. >> the arrests on sunday but the total number of arrests of individuals linked with terrorist networks at 418 since

the start of 2016. an --er: france has been in an extended stay of emergency since -- state of emergency since january, 2015, after a string of terrorist attacks. they are given extended peppers. -- powers. last week, president francois hollande announced it would be extended for a fifth time, until the presidential elections in spring of next year. state groupslamic has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a mosque in the afghan capital, kabul. more than dozens injured. officials say the attacker entered the mosque shortly after midday, while worshipers were gathered for a short vigil to mark the end of the 40-day morning period for the death of imam hussein. security is tight in the city of

iraq, the site of the annual pilgrimage. some 20 million people are expected to take part this year. reporter: iraq, the site of the annual millions of black cld shia muslims walking through the iraqi city of karbala, in one of the world's largest human gatherings, crying and beating their chests, heads, and backs, here to commemorate the death of prophet muhammad's grandson, imam hussein. shiites from all over iraq as well as an estimated 3 million foreigners flock to karbala for this yearly pilgrimage. >> we came from lebanon. we are here in iraq to visit a bill of hussein -- visit a bdullah al hussein. the security and the army have all been great. they've taken really good care of us. reporter: this year's festival

took place in a tense security climate as shiites have historically been targeted by sunni insurgents during this period of mourning. the islamic state organization's recent unraveling in iraq and syria also sparked fears the group would turn to spectacular attacks against symbolic targets, prompting authorities to deploy over 24,000 soldiers and police to secure the area and escort faithfuls during their pilgrimage. >> the measures were solid. this year's security plan is very clear and precise. there were cars giving us lifts to and from karbala. no major while incidents were reported in karbala, a deadly suicide blast targeting a shiite mosque killed dozens on monday. laura: nearly one million people are living under siege in syria, a number that has almost doubled in the past six months.

council was told that civilians are being isolated, bombed, denied medical attention. syrian forces are advancing on the rebel held districts of aleppo, where around 250 thousand people have been living under heavy bombardment by regime forces. described what 's is like for people in that city -- what life is like ifor people in that city. >> there are targeting civilians. what's happening target -- constitutes war crimes. according to the information we have, hundreds of people, including many children, have been killed since last tuesday, in nonstop bombardments or artillery fire. that has left rescue teams unable to intervene, to pull the wounded out from the rubble. and recapturing aleppo would be a huge victory for the

syrian regime. civilians living in rebel held areas have paid a heavy price in recent months, with schools, hospitals, and entire neighborhoods bombed out by regime and russian warplanes. this is what the government offensive looks like in east aleppot. -- aleppo. tears over bodies, a heavy toll. some 240 people have died since last tuesday, when damascus and its allies started a concerted push to recapture east aleppo. the government airstrikes over the weekend were even more deadly and destructive than usual. the monitor cannot confirm reports by medics that chlorine gas was used, but says the strikes left the area without a functioning hospital. in the government-held west, state media say the rebels

retaliated by shelling schools. this woman screamed for her missing daughter. filmed classrooms, bombed, and the rights monitor confirmed the attack. aleppo is a city divided, in chaos, and likely to remain so for the time being. over the weekend, the syrian government rejected a u.n. plan rebelsuld allow aleppo's to -- on monday, the u.n.'s aid chief said almost one million syrians are living under siege. at the time of sunday's attack, one school was holding a piece event. instead -- a peace event. instead, education took a backseat to yet another emergency as the few hospitals still operational in aleppo worked overtime. laura: moving to the united

states where there is a long-standing tradition in politics. a former president does not publicly comment on the actions of his successor, however strongly he may disagree with what he's doing, but -- he may disagree with what he's doing. outgoing president barack obama says he will comment if he feels trump is tramping on certain values and ideals. besident obama: i want to andectful of the office give the president-elect and opportunity to put forth -- an opportunity to put forward his platforms and arguments here it if there are issues that have less to do with the specifics of some legislative proposal or battle, but go to court questions about our values -- core questions about our values thatdeals, and if i think

it's necessary or helpful for me , i willd those ideals examine it when it comes. laura: in india, rescuers are searching the wreckage of sunday's train crash in which in pride -- -- train crash uttar pradesh state. the cause of the trash -- track -- crash is not known. the infrastructure is aging. train accidents kill around 15,000 people every year. continuing his crusade to make the church more humane, pope francis has put in place a measure that will allow priests him and not just women -- not , not juststs bishops, to absorb women of abortion. lifeter: it once meant a of exile from the catholic

church that often only a bishop could lift. now pope francis has extended the church's power to forgive abortion to all catholic priests. the pope first introduced the measure as part of the church's year of mercy, which just ended on november 20. it's part of his vision of a more merciful church. >> technically everyone who is -- that in an abortion is the woman, nurses, dr., and whoever supports this matter -- the sin of abortion involves them all. thus the pardon of the sin of abortion equally covers everyone . it involves everyone who has played a part in the sin. the announcement was made in a document known as "an apostolic letter." those on the vatican beat say that the pope's position in no

way minimizes the gravity of the sin of abortion. >> it is the way the sin is looked at that changes. the pope says that, in the bible, god is so full of mercy that no priest, no law can be held up against a sinner if god decides to pardon them. reporter: since his papacy began hasarch, 2013, the pope sought to forge a more forgiving direction for the church, extending a welcoming hand toward groups that had previously found themselves at odd with t the catholicc establishment, such as gays and lesbians and divorcees. laura: starting in the u.k., where there is a lot of uncertainty still over brexit and what that will mean for the economy, theresa may conduct -- theresa may, the prime minister, seeking to reassure british business leaders. >> she told worried business

leavingthat leading -- the eu would be a transitional process, not a "cliff edge." her pro-business promises include lowering the tax rate, increasing funds for research and development. for the cbi's chief economist, the important thing is clarity. >> what we want to see is not talk around a smooth -- hard or soft brexit. it's really around having a smooth brexit. we need to see a smooth transition from one set of regulations into another. we don't want to end up stranded in the middle in some sort of no man's land, where we are not really sure what the rules of the game are. reporter: some businesses are not worried about the process. facebook has announced it will expand its presence in the u.k. by 50% when it's open -- when it opens its new headquarters in london. this comes a week after google

says it -- said it was injecting money into its headquarters and creating 3000 jobs by 2020. reporter: a big like for london from facebook. bringch giant is due to 500 job openings to the u.k. when it opens its new headquarters in the city next year. companies -- >> it's a place our engineers want to come and work at. it's a place we see this amazing ecosystem, not just of tech companies, but creative together, coming inspiring, fueling one another, and that's why we made the commitment. reporter: facebook's announcement comes despite jitters in the u.k. over the vote to leave the european union. the so-called brexit has not stopped other tech giants planning to expand their empires in london. the 500 new employees at facebook would join an existing team of 1000. google confirmed plans to open a massive new headquarters at london's king cross, which would

see an additional 3000 jobs created. after announcing 3500 jobs at its u.k. office, amazon says --kground -- plans to create amazon says it plans to create 2300 new jobs across the country. these have helped boast -- bolster the prime minister's reassurances in the wake of the brexit vote. theproposes to make corporate tax the lowest of the world's top 20 economies. all indices on wall street are trading higher. the s&p 500, nasdaq, and dow jones all hit record highs during the session. 0.75%.daq up by over the s&p 500 up by 0.66%. this is because oil prices hit three week on expectations that a deal to curb production would be reached by opec countries.

we saw a similar trend in europe, where markets closed in positive territory. this as the dollar strength slowed down a little bit and -- energykets drove stocks drove markets up. the trump rally is continuing on wall street on the assumption he will implement pro-business economic measures. the vice president of the federal reserve, stanley fischer, explained the u.s. economy could benefit from some new fiscal policies. he said that could easily burden the burdenould ease of the fed supporting the economy. >> some combination of improved infrastructure, better into -- better education, more encouragement for private investment, and more effective regulation, all likely have a role to play in promoting growth and productivity and faster growth of living standards. has causedrump

uncertainty with his protectionist take on international trade. this could open the door for china to step in as a free-trade hero in the pacific rim. in peru, at the meeting of the asia-pacific economic corporation, outgoing president obama defended his partnership, which could be threatened by trump's administration. president obama -- reporter: it could be an opportunity for china. barack obama defended the transpacific partnership agreement he brokered. as he prepares to hand the reins to donald trump. believe theama: i tpp is a plus for america's economy, american workers, american jobs. not moving forward would undermine our position across the region and our ability to shape the rules of global trade in a way that reflexive or interests and our values -- that reflects our interests and our values. reporter: trump ran on a

protectionist policy. the u.s.'snervous by hesitation have turned to china, which was excluded from the tpp. tosident xi jinping is happy step into the role, proposing his own trade agreements to rival the u.s.-backed partnership. >> we ought to continue deepening and expanding the cooperation in our region. we ought to build a common platform, establish common rules, and share the results of our development. attempts to exclude any of us are to be rejected. reporter: xi took the opportunity to push the beijing-backed regional comprehensive economic partnership, which at present exclude the americas. the u.s. congress has still not andfied the ppp -- tpp, republican leaders have blocked ratification until baltimore

takes office in january. -- until trump takes office in january. reporter: the german pilot union has called for a strike that will affect short and long haul flights for 24 hours while they are engaged in negotiations over salary. this will be the 14th strike in 2016. deciding whether to purchase -- whether the purchase of cigna by its rival, anthem, will be approved. it would create the largest insurance group in the united states. regulators believe it would stifle innovation and consumer choice. the french nuclear energy group clinched a multimillion dollar contract to supply and replace 12 water heaters. power nevada, arizona,

california, and texas. laura: taking a short break. back with headlines after this. qéac?c?h1

11/21/16 11/21/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] juan: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> vice president-elect pence, we thank youou for joining us he at "hamilton." we are the diverse america who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us. juan: that was the message from the cast of "hamilton" to incoming vice president mike pence and president-elect donald trump, who ran on a platform of