>> welcome to live from paris. world news and analysis from "france 24." these are the headlines. a suicide car bomb attacks french troops in central mali. wounding soldiers and civilians. we have analysis of the situation coming up. ethiopia holton election. the president calling it free and fair but no mention of the military situation i in itigray. the far right in france --

materialize in regional and local elections. explaining this among the under 35's. deals are being done to squeeze out the remaining far-right threat. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. a suicide car bomber has attacked french troops in central mali. this word coming from military sources impairs. soldiers and civilians have been wounded in the war torn west african conference. for issues happening there. the french soldiers that were traveling in a vehicle were on a reconnaissance mission to secure the area around a nearby forward operating base.

the latest attack comes in the wake by the -- of the announcement of a withdrawal of 5000 military personnel france has based in the region as part of the operation, the ongoing operation against islamist terrorism. let's get an analysis of the situation. we're joined by a general, specialist in international affairs and a man with a really seasoned eye. thanks for being with us. the circumstances, of course, very difficult with a suicide car bomb attack in mali. the full story not yet known but does it suggest to you that the situation, that the troops are o facing is beginning to evolve for the worst? >> i don't think it's evolving for the were spirit i think the jihadists are putting pressure. it is start of a new operation.

bases will move. it was a forward operation base. it is not a permanent base. they were securing the base. and they were using a car bomb attack, a suicide bomb, where they wounded a french soldier and civilians, even a child that was wounded. so, they are using extreme means, because they know that it is very difficult to attack directly french troops >> is there a sense among these extremists that they have in some way one given that now emmanuel macron is talking about changing the operation? >> i think they have won something with the government of mali, because they know without the french forces, the malian forces are not able to win. they do not know what will be the future of the next

operation. currently, they are putting pressure in order for the government of mali to discuss with them. but the aim of the future operation will still be to fight against jihadists and terrists. they don't know exactly what will be the next operation. that is why currently they are putting pressure on french forces and on the forces -- >> the military junta in mali said it is willing to talk with the islamists. >> that is exactly the word of president macron. we can talk with rtain people that are only separatists but we cannot talk with people, for example, from mali or from daesh. because these people are not aiming to change mali. they are aiming to change the world. and that is where we are fighting them. >> but, nonetheless, with the change going on, with the fact that the troop commitments will be reduced, is it not sending a message that this is their time to strike? >> yes, but it is mainly

sending a message to the country saying this is your role to play now. we are helping you but you are fighting. you can't ask us to free a zone and then provided to the jihadists when we are not here. this is the job you have to do. this is really aiming at the mali government, because in niger it is very different. in for kina fatso it is in between. in chad the problem is less important -- in burkina faso it is in between. the problem is very important in mali. the government has changed perhaps four times. malian government you have to make your choice. >> two military coups in nine months. when this kind of story happens, what goes through your mind? you know how the military

handles these things but as a person, what goes through your mind? >> the disorder is doing their job. there is always a risk when there is fighting in this area. and they are doing their job and probably they try to, there was another attack with bomb like that where the pilot react very quickly and escaped from bomber. this time it was not possible. i'm very happy that the people were only wounded. and are not severely wounded. >> that seems like the stage to be the best possible news we can get. >> exactly. >> as ever, thank you, sir, for joining us. to get your take on the situation. thank you. the renowned expert. thank you so very much, indeed. we are waiting for all developments on that situation in mali. we will bring them to you as soon as we get them.

next, ethiopians heading to the polls this monday. in what's described is a prime minister is the nation's first attempt at free and fair elections. the vote's been postponed several times due to the covid-19 pandemic, and security and logistical challenges. 37 million people are expected to cast a vote. >> ethiopians are finally heading to the polls after legislative and regional elections were postponed last year because of the pandemic. it's the first big test for prime minister abe accomack who has been will waging a crackdown in the tigray region. desire for stability and security. >> i want my country to be peeful and have a good leader, a civil servant who distributes things fairly. i want the citizens to be equal and have tir rights respected, the right to work and to live. >> you know the security

situation of the country right now. i need to ensure that the one i vote for will bring calm to the country. >> the government has been waging a war against a regional force for the past seven months. the violence there risks overshadowing the election. it's also meant the vote in tigray has been postponed indefinitely. citing logistical issues, 20% of constituencies have been unable to organize ballots. some regions postponing the vote until september. opposition parties have chosen to boycott and protests. abe who was appointed prime minister in 2018 and won the nobel peace prize for his efrts to reduce ethnic division is facing growing international criticism over the atrocities and bloodshed in tigray. he is betting on the polls to restore his reputation. he's called it the nation's

first attempt at free and fair elections. to secure a popular mandate, his prosperity party needs to win a majority of the 547 seats up for grabs in the parliament. while more than 40 parties have fielded candidates, abe's party is the favorite to win a majority and form the next government. >> next, nicole --- set to be reelected as prime minister of armenia. he has been under pressure since the war with azerbaijan. with a huge loss of territory. 6.5 6,500 people were killed. the vote is seen as a choice between him and his main rival who led armenia betand is close

to vladimir putin. many have cast their ballots to prevent a return of old elites. the sentiment echoed on the streets of the capital. >> winning 53.92% of the votes in the snap election, the civil contract party has held onto party. only 49% cast ballots. >> i want to once again express my gratitude and admiration to all the citizens of the republic of armenia. because, after going to cruel challenges, we have become united again. and now the time has come to restor sociaand national unity. >> the former president's

armenia lines took 21.4% of the vote. he questioned the results credibility on sunday. he's a native of the central concern of the region. his win comes in the wake of months of protests calling for his resignation after signing of a peace deal to end the conflict with our suppression. -- over azerbaijan. under the agreement, azerbaijan regained control of territory it had lost in the 1990's. in november last year, he said the deal was extreme the painful for himut necessary under the circumstances so as to prevent further losses of territory and fatalities. lester's conflicts drew in russia and turkey. who along with pressure the united states and the euroan union jostled for influence i the region. >> the first round of voting in the regional elections in france

didn't produce the protected gains for the far-right. all they stood to gain was the region of provence, around nice. the green candidate, you can see the results there, in our graph ic. the green candidate has agreed to drop out to help the republican candidate beat the rn content or. -- dcontender. >> a political storm in the lands of blue skies. monday saw the left wing candidate drop out of the second round of elections for p rovence. he had placed a distant third. in first place, the far right national rally party. trailed closely by the center-right party. he initially resisted calls to withdraw, infuriating his

allies in the socialist and communist parties as well as his own green party. >> the strategy is known as the " republican front," an alliance between conservatives and the left that block the far-right in runoff elections. it made its most significant appearance in the 2002 french presidential race. there jean marie le pen founder of the national front came in a surprise second in the first round. in the run-up the left rally to conservative incumbent jacques chirac who trounced le pen by 65% margin. leadership of the national front would pass to his daughter who would make it to 2017's presidential runoff. she lost to emmanuel macron but

only by a 32% margin. in both local and national elections, the republican front has been losing impact since the 2000's. macron has tacked right, a bit to draw in national rally voters that is made him unpopular with left-wing voters. leaving many to wonder if the republican front can hold for the next presidential elections in 2022. >> we are watching all developments in the run-up to next weekend's crucial second round voting. india gave out a record 8.3 million vaccine doses this month under a federal campaign to inoculate all adults for free after weeks of criticism that a chaotic rollout had worsened to the second wave that killed hundreds of thousands of people. experts have said india needs to administer 10 million doses a day to achieve its aim of inoculating 950 million adults by december. so far, india has fully

vaccinated for fewer than 5% with two doses. >> free jabs for adult. india launched a new vaccine drive in a bid to -- as experts warn the easing of restrictions and the slow pace of inoculations could lead to a third wave. currently only 4% of the population is fully vaccinated. >> people are behaving as if nothing happened unless -- the country, the people are vaccinated over 1 billion people g, there is no way we can ever think of the pandemic coming to an end or these waves not happening. >> states will receive their doses for free from the federal government instead of negotiating with manufacturers. the move came india marks international -- modi hailing

the practices protective properties against covid-19, comments that can prove to be counterproductive. many indians skeptical about getting vaccinated. while authorities are struggling to reach rural populations. record 7.5 million doses were administered monday. a rate that needs to be celerated to 10 million a day if the government wants to meet its target of vaccinating almost 1.1 billion adults by the end of the year. >> time to turn to business. who better to join us then -- a new program unveiled by the world bank designed to boost vaccination across africa. >> it is unveiled a partnership with the african union, backing a plan to deploy vaccine for up to 400 million people across the continent intended to help the union meet its target of vaccinating 60% of the african population by next year. we are joined by the world

bank's managing director of operations speaking to us from washington. let's get right to it. can you explain to us concretely hois this program going to work? >> well, it's going to work through a partnership with the african union. wh the african union has done, they have a contract with johnson & johnson for 400 million vaccines, single shot vaccines. so, this would allow to vaccinated about 30% of the african population. what is needed is financing. as here we are coming into, we are partnering together so that the financing is available. and they can actually buy the vaccines, in addition for financing, the acquisition of vaccines, the world bank is also going to provide financial support for the actual deployment and the delivery of the vaccines.

we have made good progress. we have actually been financing vaccination campaigns in about 50 countries. towo thirds in africa. so the financing is already available. today we had a very successful meeting with over two finance ministers across africa with the african union to actually advance this plan. and we want to do that very quickly. >> to be clear, this is in addition to the covax initiative in place right now, complementary to that initiative. do you have a sense of what countries will be prioritized as part of this initiative? >> first of all, covax will finance and deliver, 27% of the african population. but the african union has set up a target of 60%.

financed and that is where we the way the distribution of the vaccine is done is based on population. the african union has develop a key that depending on the population the doses are determined. it is population weighted. >> a last question for you. why is there such a shortage of vaccines in global south in developing countries, when compared to higher income countries? how do we combat this? >> i think the world bank has been critical of the fact that africa has been left out. we do not think that is acceptable. it is a global pandemic, a global challenge, and it needs to be solved globally and every country should have access to it. the fact is that particularly

western countries have been prioritizing their own populations, and that has come at a coast of africa. and that needs to be corrected. that is the reason why we are strongly supportive of the efforts in africa to actually advance the purchase through the african union. we are very pleased to partner with them. >> thanks again for taking the time to join us. >> thank you very much. >> let's take a looking out some of the day's trading action. wall street with solid gains to kick off the week, a rebound after last week's selloff with the fed is prepared to consider a hike in interest rates. the dow jones up 1.7%. gains on the tech heavy nasdaq, up 0.8%. major european indices finishing the day in positive territory. shares in paris up around a half percent. gains in london and frankfurt

and paris. >> thank you very much, indeed. taht initiative sound like it could do a lot of good across africa. great to see the lights of the world bank getting involved in that. thank you very much indeed. time to turn our eye to focus on the situation in belarus. just over a month since aircraft was basically hijacked. so the authorities could sees a dissident journalist. don't forget that was a passenger aircraft. it is part of the ongoing situation where there have been street protests going on for many weeks. the e.u. has been talking about further sanctions against the president lukashenko and his regime. >> in warsaw in an undisclosed location, this police defectors grows through pictures of some of his former colleagues work.

>> we had order to hurt protesters so badly that someone would not be physically capable of protesting the next day. they would not be able to go outside. >> he got out. but many police officers full supporty the dtatorship, he says. while others feel trapped. >> they have got a file on every police commander. detailing crimes he allegedly committed. that's how the authorities keep them under control. if you do not follow orders, you go to jail. >> this justice system is currently holding over 400 political prisoners. among them the journalists -- he looks bruised in this force confession video. and a man who tried to cut his throat in court.

he survived. a week earlier, a teenage protester killed himself just after being questioned by police. these recent events have galvanize the thousands of belarusians who fled to neighboring countries. here, some of those now living in poland are protesting at the border with their homeland. >> this action is to get the european union to introduce sanctions against lukashenko. economic sanctions. >> they set up a camp. >> we cannot wait any longer. we want urgent measures now because the situation is already awful. they are slowly suffocating us. people are dying one by one, people are being tortured. >> joiniing the student protesters are a would be political heavyweights, a former ambassador and minister who defected and is now one of the

leading figures of the opposition in exile. >> there should be an important and clear signal to belarusian society that the european union does not only make statements expressing solidarity, but also takes concrete steps. >> and he has concrete ideas about what those steps should be. >> they should stop trading in oil and petroleum. that sector is full of dirty ney. and and all trade with the po tash producer which is run by the godfather of the sun, one of lukashenko's friend. there are severe repressions. all strike leaders were fired and many jailed. >> meanwhile, the city of berlin provided extra security for the opposition leader who fears for her safety all the more since -- one was pulled off the same flight she had been on days earlier.

the candidates seen by many as a real winner of last august presidential election in belarus still tours europe making as many public appearances as possible to rally support. >> i just need all the help i can get. however brazen that may sound. >> she also favor sanctions. >> economic sanctions are what will hit the regime hardest. the propagandists try to spread a message that sanctions will just make people suffer. but the people are already suffering. people are rotting in prisons and are afraid to live. >> here is another haven for belarusian political exiles. one of them is now a researcher at this think tank. he doesn't believe the e.u. can appleffective sanctions. >> the more sanctions you apply the strong pressure's influence over the country gets. if that is the aim of sanctions, why not just tell putin belarus

is yours? if the e.u. has other aims they should be thinking about how to put pressure on russia. >> he fled belarus 13 years ago persecuted. though he doesn't expect action against the regime to work today he does see change on the horizon. >> the system will change. it is unavoidable because society has changed and businesses change. either lukashenko tries to retain his influence or he sh ares power with someone else or he will be ousted, whether by revolution or a palace coup. >> that, of course, could take a few years. whilst last august, many young belarusians had dared to believe lukashenko would be gone within days. >> in eastern europe with that focus feature. you're watching live from paris. ♪

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06/21/21 06/21/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> this march is defy the coup d'état. this leadership is taking advantages of the circumstances the election is but a fraud. since sisters have come to ask for their votes to be respected. amy: thousands march in lima, peru, as fears grow the daughter of peru's former dictator wi