>> you are watching "france 24." it's time now for 60 minutes live around the world. i'm genie godulula in paris. thesese are the headlines. donald trump andnd the former u. president barack obama are putting in crucial c closing arguments before tomorrow's mid-term elections in the u.s. washington has reimposed all sanctions against iran t that we lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal.

and french prime minister is in new caledonia today one day after the pacific territory voted to remain part of france. also coming up this hour in business, the eight countries granted exemptions from u.s. sanctions on iran and what the mpact will be on the iranian population. and macron kicks off a week of events marking 100 years since the end of world war i. more on that coming up but first our top story live from paris. genie: the high stakes mid-term elections in the u.s. are now just one day away. for many people that vote will be a referendum on president donald trump and his two years in office. both trump and his predecessor

barack obama have been putting in their closing arguments ahead f the polls. president barack obama: while they're trying to distract you with all this stuff they're robbing you blind. like look, look, caravan, caravan. then they're giving tax cuts to their billionaire friends. ook, look, look. whatever the thing is scary. and then they're sabotaging your healthcare. you can't fall for it. president trump: this is one of the most important elections of our lifetime, a very important election. i wouldn't say it's as important as 2016, but it's right up there. it's right up there. it really is. it's become so incredible. and there is electricity in the ir like i haven't seen since

the 2016 big victory we all had together. genie: the economy in the u.s. shows things look pretty good. employment is up, jobs are being created across the country. is donald trump the one to thank or is it still obama's economy with the current u.s. president taking credit? our correspondent found out more in the midwestern state of ohio. reporter: three manufacturing companies in ohio packaging, glass, and steel -- all three doing well especially over the last two years. the reasons they give for thehe upturn, though, differ. mary and jared design rdboard boxes for manufacturing companies. their business is recruiting and expanding. employment in ohio is at its highest since the state started tracking those numbebers in 199 >> people in washington are heerleaders for manufacturing. i think righght now w with the economy and the strength of the

dollar that the u.s. is one of the top leading in manufacturing right now. and i think jobs are comingg bak here. rerter: and they are, especially in small and medium sized businesses. ohio is adding jobs quicker than the rest of the country. at the glass company, 25 new jobs were created over the last two years. this business is manufacturing and distributing and he says taxes have been reduced by 10% during the trump administration. not every company puts the figure quite as high, but tax breaks have given the manufacturing industry new confidence. >> pretrumump with the obama administration, you know, we at a fairly ng but sluggish pace -- 2% -- that kind of thing. we are seeing a lot of new construction which affects the glass business. reporter: across town cincinnati

gasket. >> it's a good clue for how things are going. we probably ship, what, 50 packages a day u.p.s. and you can see the pile there. reporter: larry's compapa has grgrn, too. hehe thahanks the president for particular policy. >> it looks like e he probably the e thing that's worked the quickest was the aluminunum and the ststeel tariffs. i mean, there is such a direct from what the president did and what has hapappened to us already. reporter: larry concurs the u.s. econonomy is booming and ohio m be even more so. unemployment here is a stetey 4.6%. as a key center r of u.s.teel production ohio has benefited from the trump tariffs. that picture may not be replicated elsewhere in the country. genie: election day isn't until tomorrow in the u.s. but early voting in the state of texas has

already surpassed that state's entire turnout for the last mid-term elections in 2014. this year's midterms are setting records not only for number of voters but also when it comes to money. reporter: with an expected cost of $5.2 b billion, ththe 2018 electition will be the most expensive mid-term race in u.s. history. every election, campaign spending hits new highs. in the two decades since 1998, it's more than tripled. according to the nonpartisan center for responsive politics, this year's wave of spending is a blue one. democrats running for both house and senate have raised twice as much as republicans from individual donors and have seen a surge in support from small donors who give less than $200. this year's democratic poster boy for individual donations is texas senate candidate beto

o'rourke. he smashed records over the summer raising $38 million in just three months, all from individual donations. that's three times more than o'rourke's opponent senator ted cruz, who raised over $12 million in the same period. >> this election. reporter: the contest between the two men is the most expensive senate race in history by both money raised and money spent. unlike cruz, o'rourke says he is not taking money from corporate political action committees or pacs. able to donate up to $5,000 to candidates, pacs are a key source of funding for both democrats and republicans. then there are super pacs, which are completely free from spending limits. they don't donate to candidates or parties but campaign in their support often with televised ads like this one fundeded from top democratic donor michael bloomberg. this year super pacs have raised over $1.3 billion. more money doesn't always mean

more votes. still, democrats are hoping the greenwave of democratic spending will lead to a bluewave at the ballot box. genie: one of the key issues in this campaign is immigration. with donald trump making much of a caravan of central american migrants heading toward the u.s. border, the first migrants in that caravan have now reached mexico city. more than 1,000 of them and many fleeing gang violence and poverty at home have now found temporary shelter at a sports stadium. >> we were heading to the unitid states to fulfill our american dream. we will do this whatever the circumstances. we have faith in god. we come from a country with poverty and criminality. we are not afraid of anything. not anymore. >> i would stay in mexico if i could get the necessary paperwork. that is the only way i can stay

in mexico -- with proper papers and permission. if not, my idea would be then to go to the united states. if something is done for us here, then perhaps we will take a different decision. genie: that comes as the u.s. has officially reimposed sanctionons on iran that had be lifted with ththe 2015 nuclear deal. that is set to directly affect companies from other nations doing business with iran. the new sanctions particularly hurt iran's oil industry, a crucial source of hard currency for its struggling economy. iran's national currency has plummeted over the past year, sending prices for everything from mobile phones to medicine skyrocketing. our tehran correspondent reports. reporter: they're going to make them tougher. a lot of iranians started feeling the pain months ago when u.s. president donald trump announced he is pulling out of the nuclear deal and announced plans for new sanctions. ever since then the price, the

value of the iranian currency has been reduced by almost 70%. there's been scarcity, inflatation, prices have triple in things like eggs, diapers, real estate, rental properties. and keep in mind, it's not the wealthy and the rich and the powerful and the elite that are suffering.g. those individuals in the iranian community usually have access to the u.s. dolollar, and with the plummeting value of the iranian currency if you have access to the u.s. dollar like the wealthy and rich do here in iran you are in pretty good shape. who is suffering i is the middl class, the working class, people with very little savings who depend on a meager salary to make ends meet. and perhaps the most troubling impact is to medical supplies, humanitarian goods, medidicine. the u.s. treasury says that medicine, , humanitarian g goode exempt f from sanctions,s, but there's a lot of indication that

companies outside of iran are so afraid of being penalized by the u.s. and, of course, because of the banking restrictions no one is trading in medical goods and medicine with iran as well. so for a lot of people in iran it's more than pain. it's life and death. reporter: donald trump's strategy here seems to be putting pressure on the people. they will in turn put pressure on their governments to change. ow likely is that to work? reporter: unlikely based on what we've seen in the past. first of all, there is no evidence at this point that the iranian people are on the verge of a mass, antigovernment uprising. history has shown when the u.s. has applied pressure, iran has been defiant. that's one of the hallmarks of the islamic revolution, to defy the u.s. just look back at the past few years.

it was under heavy u.s. sanctions, international sanctions, that iran made the most advancements on its nuclear program. it was under sanctions, four, fave, six years ago that iran increased its activity in the region in places like iraq and syria. in contrast, look what happened when iran got some respect from the u.s. and the international community during the negotiations for the nuclear deal, when they sat down as equals. that's when iran agreed to curb its nuclear program, agreed to the toughest inspection regime in the u.n. and the u.n.n. watc dogs. the history shows they don't back down to u.s. pressure. genie: now the french prime minister devoured philippe is in new caledonia today one day after the pacific territory vote today remain part of france. close to 57% of voters rejected independence for new caledonia. that is a win for france but not quite as big a victory as it had

hoped. prime minister philippe in new caledonia which will remain [ch. the prime minister arrived a day after a referendum on independence saw a whopping 80% turnout and a decision to remain a french territory. the head of government met with political forces on both sides of the independence vote and aimed to continue dialogue on the future of the island. on sunday 56.4% of voters said no to independence about 10% less than the final polls predicted. supporters of independence were mainly indigenous inhabitants of new caledonia. many saw the relatively slim margin between "yes" and "no" voters as an encouraging sign. >> it may seem weird to some people, but for us this is also a victory. there's been a huge "yes" vote in some parts of the country and even in the capital.

it's a huge step forward. >> although partsans of a new french caledonia can rest easy for now, the relieff may be shot lived. that which led to sunday's referendum also allowed for the preparation of a second or even third independence referendum by 2022. a handful of cars were burned and several stone throwing incidents reported to local authorities in the aftermath but the vote itself was held peacefully and french authorities congratulated new caledonians on holding the referendum in "a spirit of dialogue and responsibility." genie: in 1918 on the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th month the world put an end to the first world war. the conflict killed close to 40 million people in just four years. commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of end of world w w i are already under way around europe. the e french president macron i heading up a a w week of eventst

willll end in a massive ceremon here in paris next sunday, november 11. more than 60 leaders from around the world will be here for that peace celebration. take a look at our top stories this hour on "france 24." donald trump and the former u.s. president barack obama put in their competing closing ararguments ahead of tomorrow's crucial mid-term elections in the u.s. washington meanwhile reimposed all sanctions against iran that were lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal. well, iran is affecting the business world as well and to tell us a bit more about that we have a guest on the set. u.s. sanctions on iran have come into force. what effect is it having from an economic standpoint? >> of course a massive effect. we've been building up to this moment since may, 2018, when u.s. president donald trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear

deal. so now the series of punitive measures the is u.s. is putting on iran hitting the financial sector and of course its oil sector. the u.s. is in a bit of a tight spot. it can't drive iran's oil exports completely to zero because it runs the risk of spiking prices and hurting the average american. so, unexpectedly the trump administration is granting temporary waivers to eight countries including turkey, china, japan, india, and south korea. iran meanwhile has said that the sanctions amount to a war situation, ratcheting up global tensions. the iranian president has also vowed to ignore the u.s. sanctions. let's take a listen to that. >> we've been selling our oil and we'll continue to sell it under any circumstances. we have the power to do that. they say that iran bypasses the sanctions. yes, we announce it proudly. we bypass your illegal and oppressive sanctions. your sanctions are wrong and

oppressive and are against international regulations. genie: donald trump pulled out of the nuclear deal several weeks ago. what effect has it had on iran's oil exports? >> they've dropped by 39% since april, a huge effect really. iran hit peaks in the month of april selling over 8.2 million barrels per day of oil. since then it is down to only 1.3 million barrels per day in october. and analysts expect the sanctions to only deepen. of course as the iranian people bear the brunt of the sanctions, we have more about the impacts inside the country. reporter: u.s. sanctions against tehran have already started to bite. in the past year iran's currency has lost over 70% of its value against the dollar. this means people's purchasing power has plunged. in the month of october shoppers had to pay 50% more for food than a year ago.

>> we are in the bazaar. there was a man here today who did not have money to buy lotion for his baby because the situation is getting worse and the people are very poor. it is a very bad situation. reporter: many people are already struggling to afford the necessities, such as food and medicine. the iranian government has implemented a food basket program reminiscent of the one used during iran's war with iraq in the 1980's when both food and fuel were rationed. sam is the manager at an advertising firm and has been forced to sack six of his 30 staff and reduce salaries. >> young people between the ages of 25 to 35. they've studied. they're excited about what they want to do in the future. now hope is being taken away from them. reporter: there are thousands who remain defiant and this weekend saw huge anti-american

protests. >> america can't do a damn thing economically and people have gathered here to say that. death to america no matter what. reporter: these sanctions target iran's oil sector which account for more than 40% of the country's revenues. there is little doubt iran and its people will be hit hard. genie: let's turn to the markets to see how they're reacting. asia markets this morning were trending downwards despite china's president ping vowing to open up chinese markets to international trade. over in europe markets mostly unconcerned by all the sanctions saber rattling and are in positive territory. the ftse 100 was up by 0.25%. the dax and kakembo not far behind at -- the diamondbacks and calk not far behind. >> what about the european union in all of this? it tried to protect trade with iran. >> it absolutely did. it reissued a statement this morning saying they were opposed to the sanctions.

the e.u. foreign policy chief said back in september they wanted to set up an s.p.v. or special purpose vehicle to enable the e.u. to continue trade with iran. but now the sanctions have arrived and this vehicle is nowhere to be seen. diplomats said early on monday it wouldn't be ready in time. one of the snags is thatat no country seems too willing to host it. and potentially open themselves up to an economic backlash from the u.s. genie: this has even reached the internet world. last week we saw a meme war starting between the u.s. and iran. >> it was quite an interesting diplomatic event let's say. on friday president donald trump tweeted out a "game of thrones" reference saying s sanctions ar coming. and a general in the islamic revolutionary guard came out with a meme of his own on instagram responding, i will stand against you. before this all got too out of hand hbo issued a stern rebuke. the network said in a statement it didn't want its trademark to

be exploited for political purposes. genie: thanks for that and the look at business news t today. now it's time for our press eview. we have a look now at what the papers have been saying. let's start with the ongoing protests in iran. as the u.s. sanctions come into effect once again today. >> the donald trump administration has reinstated those sanctions that were removed under the 2015 nuclear accord. the u.s. calling it the toughest sanctions against iran. they've already gone into effect targeting oil exports, shipping, banks, affecting not just iran of course but all the countries dealing with iran still like many european countries. now we've been looking at the iranian press on the front page of iran daily. they are actually looking at commemorations yesterday because it was the 39th anniversary of the u.s. embassy takeover and people had gathered in the streets for that. but they were also protesting these new sanctions in front of the u.s. embassy in tehran as

you see on the front page of tehran times. the # down with u.s.a. is actually a slogan resurfaced but it was first shared during the 1979 revolution. the president now saying the country faces a "war situation." there have been military air drills and so forth. i'd like to show you a little cartoon as well from london based pan-arab paper showing all these tensions have the ingredients for really dangerous, possibly explosive situation here. you have sanctions on the left of the image around the ayatolla hoe mainy on the suicide belt is the anger of the iranian people. all of these crucial elements for what could be very, very explosive. genie: all of this comes one day before the mid-term elections in the united states. the momentum is building up ahead of that vote which is a truly high stakes vote this time around. it's been seen by many as a verdict on trump's presidency if you like, a referendum. >> that's right.

many people are saying it is an informal referendum on people's -- it could be the culmination of anger toward donald trump. let's show you a couple front pages. the "usa today" headlining on this, "state races during the mid toirms will weigh on u.s. congress" the paper says not just for the rest of donald trump's mandate but it could define the national political landscape over the next decade, possibly even beyond. and they're not even being hyperbolic about this. this is what "usa today" truly believes. the french paper says trump is confronting america's verdict, seeing this language again "verdict" sort of a conclusion on his presidency. and as proof of how important this race is, these races are, not just to the u.s. but to the international community, the editors of the british daily "the guardian" are calling for a "blue wave" to constrain donald trump and counter his campaigns of hate. trump consistently seeks to be the president of some of the

united states but not all of them. democratic control of the senate could help clip his wings the paper says. genie: the mid-terms are also shaping up to diversify u.s. politics. >> that is a kind of counter arpgment to the mid-terms according to the british paper "the times" and the mid-terms could produce the first female black governor in georgia, with stacy abrams who has gotten some pretty heavy power endorsements from the obamas and oprah winfrey. florida could get its first black governor. the gubernatorial candidate in vermont, if she wins she would be the first openly transgender candidate to win. there is a somali migrant who could be the first muslim elected to congress for her district in minnesota. the paper saying they would, all these people are giving representations to an america that i quote looks less and less like the core base of donald trump. core support base. on that note, there will be a new crop of politically activated young americans voting for the first time including

this group, genie. i'm sure you recognize them. many of them survivors from the marjorie thurman douglas high school massacre earlier this year. they became student activists and captured public attention with their summer long campaign calling for gun reform. genie: also this week the jury selection is getting under way for the trial of joaquin "el chapo" guzman considered one of the most dangerous criminals in modern history. >> we've looked at the mexican papers for this. his trial will take place in the u.s., extradited to the u.s. from mexico after his capture. the alleged narco trafficer faces federal court. his lawyer's strategy according to the mexican daily is to present a man whose danger has been exaggerated by the press using testimony from witnesses they say are more interested in pleasing the pros cukes. they say he was not the leader of the cartel in response to the most serious charge he is facing running a criminal enterprise and, basically, the paper says

he defense tried to divide the jury enough not to get a unanimous verdict. genie: to wrap up the striker for liverpool has been honored in his home country of egypt with a statue but it doesn't really look like him. >> in fact, it doesn't look like him at all. so much so that "the sun" the british tabloid says he has been iven the cristiano ronaldo treatment in reference to the bust that was also mocked online. it features an unnaturally large head and very small body. his curly hair and weird facial expression kind of makes him look like a hobbit, at least i think so. it has been mocked online. you can imagine twitter users are not kind with things like this, this user comparing him to one of the kidnappers from "home alone" and the resemblance is uncanny. i think all of our reactions could be summed up by the meme of this little girl, very, very

confused expression. genie: maybe they could mass market it as a garden gnome. thank you for that. with that, a look at what's happening in the papers. if you want a closer look don't forget to check out our website

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