anchor: hello andelcome to "france 24." the headlines this hour. a police operation underway in vienna. austria's interior ministry said an incident near a synagogue this evening is believed to be an act of terror. urs before the campaign officially draws to a close, donald trump and joe biden make a last-ditch appeal to voters ahead of the election tomorrow. after the midterm resource in france paid honor to the teacher beheaded last month for showing students cartons of the prophet

muhammad. ♪ ♪ we begin with a developing story out of vienna. several people, including a police officer, have been injured. this after an incident broke out near a synagogue in the austrian capital. according to media reports, one attacker has been killed, and another could be on the run. police have called on the public to avoid open spaces and public transport. our correspondent is standing by in vienna. anthony, what do we know? anthony: it is still an ongoing situation, as you say. i'm in vienna's ninth district, bordering the first district, and i can still hear police sirens. i've spoken to a police

spokesperson at -- and an interior ministry spokesperson. they both speak of an ongoing major operation. as you say we do know that according to the police there have been several injuries. there are reports that there may one death, but the police are not confirming this. there e med reports that an attacker may have be killed. we know as well that this operation is a major ongoing police operation, centered around an area right by the danube canal in the first district of vienna, near or next to, or in the vicinity of, a synagogue. what we don't know at this stage and what has not been confirmed by the pice or the interior ministry, despite the fact that the interior minister is speaking of the presumption that this is a terrorist attack -- what has not been confirmed is th this is an attack dirtly

on that synagogue. as iay, this is an ongoing situation. people are being urged to avoid the entire first district. that is the core central district of vienna. we are hearing as well that public transport has been stopped in that entire area. we know as well that people are being urged to stay indoors, to avoid open spaces, because we are hearing reports that there is a possibility that an attacker or more than one attacker may still be on the run and may constitute a danger to people at least in that area. anchor: according to austria's interior minister, who is speaking on public broadcast, some people are believed to have been killed in that incident. anthony, i want to talk about -- police have told people to avoid

public spaces. even that a lockdown is going to be implemented to prevent the spread of covid-19, how many people would have been out there? anthony: the area in which this operation is ongoing, as i say, is right in the center of vienna. among other things, of course, it started in the early evening, first of all, when people would have been out and about anyway, especially in a central neighborhood like that. second of all, yes, there is a covid lockdown that is due to come into effect at midnight here in vienna, following which bars, cafes, andestauran are set to be closed for a moh. the places in at central area would have been quite full of pele. in fact, i was dring along the canal, on the others of that canal, as the police operation got underway. iaw a number of police vehicles speeding by, even one

stopping, a police officer putting on a bullet-proof vest. i can tell you that as i drove past there othe other of the canal i could see there were large numbers of people out and about. cafes and restaurants even in other parts of vienna were full in part probably because of the impending lockdown. it is also unasonablyarm here. every warm temperatures for this time of year. so people were also even sitting outside on the terraces, many of which are kept open longer anyway to cope with the corona situation, to try to keep things going that way. basically, this operation occurred in a very busy part of the younger. quite a few narrow streets down there. it is a core part of vienna, so you have a bunch of narrow streets down there in addition to the more open space where we have seen also on social media

footage of that police operation unfolding. it is dotte with cafes, restaurants, fast food restaurants, and the like. it would have been a lot of people around at the time when this police operation began. of course, as things got underway, we see footage of that square, that public area empty and very fast. as i say as well, police have's -- have urged everybody to stay away from that area because the operation is still ongoing. anchor: anthony, we will be checking in with you throughout the show. thank you very much. in other news, a general election campaign is drawing to a close in the united states. the u.s. president held five rallies in four states. the biden camp focused on ohio and the battleground state of pennsylvania. the election is seen as a referendum on donald trump's handling of coronavirus.

she has dismissed virtually all polls, which suggest he will be out of a job. the democratic hopeful joe biden hopes he will bring an end to divisiveness in america. mr. biden: tomorrow, we have an opportunity for an end to a presidency that has divided this nation. tomorrow, we can put an end to a president who has failed to protect this nation. tomorrow, we can put an end to a president who has fan the flames of hate all across this country. and my message is simple -- the power to change the country is in your hands. i don't care how much donald trump tries. there is nothing he is going to do to stop the people of this nation from voting. pres. trump: tomorrow, we are going to win this state and we are going to win four more years in our great white house. th your vote, we will continue to cut taxes, cut regulations,

support our great police, support our fantastic military. anchor: winning florida is critical for donald trump. both he and joe biden have been in the state to galvanize support. the state has seen a massive voter turnout so far. as our reporter found out, florida is as divided as ever. reporter: on miami's ocean drive, people take a relaxing stroll, but the election remains in all minds. florida is a battleground state and joe biden's supporters dream of victory in this republican stronghold. >> i do have friends who are voting for trump and i just try to listen to them. there is really no -- i cannot fight with them. they are my friends. it is just a matter of listening to the other side, taking them seriously, not just calling them bad or stupid. reporter: early voting is breaking records due to coronavirus. the democrats know each vote

will count to beat president trump. >> a lot of people don't know that they need to check their ballots to make sure it has been received and counted. there is a lot of ballots that have been received but have been rejected. our job is to go out to those voters and give them an opportunity to fix their voting, to make sure it counts. reporter: florida is a must-win state for donald trump, so he has returned to miami for a late-night rally. thousands have gathered to hear him call biden a communist. pres. trump: look at all the press at this side. fake news following us. reporter: by attending the rally, his diehard supporters are violating the midnight curfew set to curb this spread of covid-19. >> i will be here as late as i have to. >> to support our president, we will do anything we need to do. >> if they tell me to wear a mask, i will tell them to shove it. pretty simple.

it is a full sense of my value said, what i believe life to be, and my natural freedoms. reporter: president trump has been heavily criticized for his handling of the pandemic and for organizing such large-scale rallies. many say it has increased the number of covid-19 cases across the country. and you are here, one thing you is that social distancing is far from respected and not everyone is wearing face masks. anchor: steve schully reporting there from florida. for more, we go across to gina, senior lecturer in the department of government at the university of essex. thank you for joining us here on "france 24." lots of uncertainty going into this election. even the number of early votes cast as well as the high number of people who voted by mail, do you have a prediction for tuesday night? >> it is not likely that we will have an answer.

with a landslide victory for biden, donald trump would have no way. but the fact is that even though it is expected that biden will receive the majority of the vote, donald trump is unlikely to acknowledge that tomorrow night. so we will likely see the election be undecided for at least a few days. until he concedes or a decision is made by the electoral college in december, technically the election is not over. anchor: there have been reports donald trump could claim victory even before the magic number of 270 votes is reached. if he does that, how many -- what options does joe biden have? >> well, donald trump is quite likely to claim victory without any certain victory. what will happen in that case is that joe biden will certainly

not concede. that means that when the states are actually finished counting all their votes, each state will turn in its official count, and that will take a few extra days. the largest concern is that trump's declaration of victory will be believed by his supporters, and even though states will deny it and come back with results against trump, the concern is that this could cause a lot of civil unrest. obviously, if trump actually does win, then the civil unrest is less likely. but in either case, the people who believe their candidate lost will believe it happened unjustly, and this is the real concern -- getting people to believe in a just decision is complicated at this point.

anchor: donald trump campaign in the state of georgia. that state has not been blue in a number of years, decades potentially. why is he campaigning in georgia? is he scared the democrats can in fact put the state to blue? >> he is absolutely terrified that democrats can flip the state of georgia. texas as well. these are states that have not been blue since clinton. the very fact that he is campaigning in georgia shows how grave the concern is. if he loses georgia, it is a landslide in biden's favor. the fact that is a possibility is something he never anticipated. anchor: when donald trump won the election back in 2016, the republican leadership said they would keep him in check. they have not kept him in check during his four years in office. if for arguments sake donald trump loses this election, what

is the future of the republican party the united states? >> that is a really good question that i think a lot of people have to consider. he has really done a number on the republican party, we would say, in that many of the years they have essentially -- anchor: we seem to be having technical problems with the connection with gina at the university of essex, unfortunately. moving on next, over 50,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in france. the number of hospitalizations linked to covid-19 are above 25,000 for the first time since early may. it has yet to provide results,

the vaccine test. small businesses are wondering how they will make ends meet. independent shops fear losing businesses to international chains such as amazon. reporter: standing by small and medium businesses, the french economy minister said the government will do everything it can to support shop owners during the lockdown, including by helping them sell their products online. >> [speaking french] reporter: new lockdown measures which took effect friday have sparked anger among small business owners, who have denounced unfair competition by large supermarket chains. in order to level the playing

field, the prime minister said sunday supermarkets would have to close all items selling non-essential goods, such as books, clothes, and toys. >> [speaking french] reporter: despite the measures, many small business owners still worry they won't able to get through another log down. >> [speaking french] reporter: in a potential lifeline to small businesses, the prospect of opening some shops as early as november 12 if the sanitary situation allows it. the economy minister said this could only happen during certain conditions, by having customers make an appointment before heading to the store. anchor: several european countries including germany and france implement unpopular

lockdowns to limit the spread of covid-19. israel is slowly restarting its economy again. the lockdown was intended as a circuit breaker and turned out to be very effective, surprising even the country's scientists. reporter: you can feel the smile through their masks. people across israel are finally getting to start school two months late. >> i am really happy for them. i'm really excited. reporter: and for you. >> yes. a few hours alone. [laughter] reporter: they areeturning this week. there are new rules, including compulsory masks. this lockdown was imposed in september, when infection rates here were the highest in the world. it has reduced israel's numbers to 9000 -- from 9000 cases a day to less than 900. >> we were surprised.

it worked more effectively and faster than the first lockdown. reporter: and the difference? it is that masks were compulsory this time around. >> you can actually impose a lockdown that will be less restrictive, yet even more effective, if you limit those activities that are really the drivers of the pandemic. these are the activities that happen enclosed places. and if you enforce as much as possible wearing masks, with an emphasis on doing that in close places. reporter: after the health department proved ineffective, israel is mobilizing its military to track and trace, and to monitor if people are obeying quarantine. >> this number is the number of infected added today. reporter: it includes arab

communities like this one in tiber in israel's north, where infections were high. despite all these efforts, according to a recent poll, the majority of israelis believe a third lockdown is inevitable. anchor: children and france went back to school this monday after the midterm holidays. a minute of silence was held the slain teacher killed last month for showing students cartoons of the prophet mohammed. french foreign minister attended a tribute at the school. reporter: a minute silence at 11:00 a.m. in classrooms across france. as peoples went back to school on monday, many are still struggling to understand why a teacher was killed. >> [speaking french]

reporter: tough questions about core french values were asked at this school. >> [speaking french] reporter: teachers are trying their best to reassure pupils, who are also going through a difficult time. for them, this moment of reflection is important. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french]

reporter: before the tribute, teachers write out a letter addressing the profession from a politician in the 19th century, setting out their role in mentoring citizens. >> [speaking french] reporter: mondays tribute will be followed by more discussions with pupils about secularism and freedom of expression in the coming weeks. anchor: now the islamic state group has claimed responsibility for an attack on kabul university, which claimed the lives of at least 22 people. they stormed the palaces and detonated explosives. i witnesses described horrific scenes in the aftermath of the attack. security personnel meanwhile took hours to clear the area and declare their operation was complete. the opposition in the ivory coast say they will form a

transition government ahead of official results from last week's presidential election. the incumbent president is close to declaring a landslide victory, though opponents say his run for a third term in office was illegal. reporter: the opposition have just declared a national transitional council, and they say they will form an interi government within the next few hours. they have the aim of holding free, fair, and transparent elections. this is huge news. here on "france 24." spokeonse earlier on with a spokesperson for the government, who said this declaration of a transitional council from the opposition is illegal, unconstitutional, and proof of their failed attempt to boycott the electoral process here. all of this controversy essentially stems from a stand

for the third term in office, something the opposition considers unconstitutional. the ivorian constitution sets a two-term limit on the residency. anchor: a reminder of our top stories here. at least operation underway in vienna. reports of at least one person dead and several injuries after an incident near a synagogue. austria's inteor ministry says the incident is believed to be an act of terror. hours before the campaign officially draws to a close, donald trump and joe biden make a last ditch appeal to voters ahead of election day tomorrow. and after the midterm, schools in france pay tribute to the 47-year-old teacher beheaded last month for showing students cartoons of the prophet mohammed. time makes for business news on the program. good evening, kate. you are starting out with the

closing bell on wall street. analyst: a lot to kick off the month of november. u.s. stocks mitigated some of the worst losses from last week's selloff. the dow jones dropped nearly 400 points. the s&p was up. the nasdaq close to a flat line but still up at the closing bell. manufacturing activity across the u.s. picked up in the month of october. investors are in something of a holding pattern as the u.s. election day kicks off. we may not have results of the presidential race for several days, so wall street and the rest of the world will be waiting. i thought that president trump's pro-business stance could boost the markets, at least in the short term, if he is reelected. what investors don't want is a long, protracted, drawnout dispute over the results. that would be a lot of market to literally -- market volatility, if that is the result.

also efforts to reach another round of stimulus to help american families and businesses to struggle to deal with the pandemic. earlier, we saw european indexes closing higher. gains of about 2.5% in paris, frankfurt, and milan. 1% in london. strong activity in the euro zone. stocks really turning their attention to washington and bracing for results. anchor: clearly, the election and everybody's minds now. in addition to the presintial, congressiol race voters in california will weigh the future of the gig economy. analyst: they will be voting on what is called proposition 22, which is to uphold or perhaps overturn a law that was passed last year, which requires that gig economy workers be treated as employees. if this referendum is improved, it would exempt major platforms from that law. what this really comes down to is the employment status of drivers and delivery workers. are they employees of uber, left

-- lyft, or are they self employed independent contractors question mark should they be guaranteed a minimum wage, paid time off, and ntributions to health insurance? or should they be treated as independent and self-employed? these questions are being asked across the globe. this california referendum could set a precedent not just for the half-million gig economy workers in that state, but for millions across the united states. there have been protests on both sides of this issue. even workers themselves sometimes divided. most argue ty should receive the same benefits and protections as full-time workers. others say they likehe flexibility of being able to juggle different occupations or gigs, and they're worried about losing their jobs. the apps themselves argue it would be too expensive for them to take on millions of new employees. they say they may have to cut back their services altogether if this referendum is not past.

it is one of the most expensive ballot measures in california's history. over $2 trillion spent on lobbying from both sides. anchor: we are going to take a quick break. more coming up. this is "france 24." ♪ ♪

11/02/20 11/02/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! in the final weekend of the election season, police in north carolina pepper sprayed voters heading to the polls during a get-out-the-vote rally in the city of graham. at least eight people were arrested, including rally organizer revrend greg drumwr