time for a quick check the headlines. on monday, rebels captured the regional capital. >> the cease fire itself was not something agreed, something the if the opening government unilaterally declared when they appeared to be on the back foot.

the cease fire is something that has been called for for months with a growing pressure from the u.s., since the biden administration came to power, to try and bring both sides to the table. nobody was interested in a cease-fire. now the government is talking about it, the tplf are not. anchor: a congressional committee in washington has met to discuss. the family of a prominent critic of the palestinian authority is demanding and impartial an international investigation. the family has rejected a report by a special committee to investigate his death. he died hours after being arrested by palestinian security officers. palestinians have been protesting.

it is one of 20 properties threatened with demolition after an israeli court ruled they don't have proper permits. there being torn down to make way for a park. germany has finished withdrawing troops from afghanistan. they were stationed since the beginning of nato. germany's contingent was the second-biggest after the united states which is also withdrawing its troops. those were the headlines. the news continues on al jazeera after inside story.

host: collections dealt a setback. what will this made for next year's presidential race and is the political map? hello and welcome to the program. this week's regional election were supposed to bolster the election of victory for the nation's top two candidates. neither the party won a single region. that will likely prove challenging after five years of being in office and without a

regional victory to show for it. he will face competition from a center-right candidate who comfortably warm another region. the results suggest next year's race may be more wide open. the main disappointment was in a southern stronghold. >> i am more than ever to determined to rehabilitate politics, to give it back its usefulness and efficiency to the benefit of the french, because the presidential election appears more than ever to be the election that will allow us to have a change in politics and policies. i am calling on the french from tomorrow to build together the alternative that france needs. host: let's take a closer look.

the centrist republic has failed to win any region in its first regional election. the party was not established the last time the vote was held. exit polls suggest conservatives kept seven regions in the left is in control of five. all of the incumbents won victories. that includes a conservative who is poised as the center-right best choice. voter turnout was at record lows. rates are estimated at more than 65% is a majority of younung voters failed to show up. >> i did not vote. i cannot find what i was looking for.

i was deceived. i did not want to vote for the right. reporter: pointing the finger at french people, but it would better to see the political class. people feel they are not heard. >> i think it is a lesson that needs to be drawn for those in charge of humanity. they have to stop being out of touch with reality and treating french people as children. stop assuming french people are not intelligent. host: let's bring in our guests. in paris, a sociologist. in the u.k., a senior lecturer in politics. in france, a senior research

fellow at the global policy institute. a warm welcome to you all. let me start with you, there has been -- yet, here you have parties performing badly in these regional elections. to what did you attribute this performance? >> i can attribute the performance to the fact that the candidate did not control any regions. we have seen in the selection that there has been a premium to the incumbents. the traditional right, the left socialists.

it is the same map as a few years ago. that was a problem for the national front. they did not have any implementation at this level. but, there is another factor. most reports are quite happy with the way regions are run. transport, education. after covid, they said the situation was managed pretty well. host: that low turnout. it was clearly a very low turnout.

credit also be down to the fact there is a disconnect between the french electorate and political system? >> there is a disconnect. people have decided to act politically. many people don't know exactly what the regions are doing. nine in 10 of young people at stand. most people who voted are older. young people are not affiliated, but it does not mean young

people are disinterested in politics. there are many ways to express, as we have seen in france. it can be outside traditional politics. host: local elections dome our -- don't matter. is any of what is happening today? >> i would add there is a poor turnout, explained by the fact -- let's not forget the way the

pandemic was dealt with was quite hectic. the fact that the young people won't vote is not so much to do [indiscernible] the way the elections are dealt with in france is in part with the way younger generations are related to organization, they use facebook, they use instagram and want to know about what is

going on the street. they go on instagram. they asking those people to go to a place to file all kinds of forms in order to ask someone to vote for them is completely disconnected. host: there is a disconnect. the republic on the move had pledged to revolutionize and rejuvenate french politics and you have this very disappointing performance. why do you think the president's party has failed to convert five years in power at the national lover -- level into grassroots support? >> the noise in 2017 and after his election with regard to

democracy, with regard to certain progressive elements. he's backtracked massively and has become a typical politician. yet a number is -- another establishment politician. i think it was obvious. it's worth remembering 2017 many people believed in him because -- the people who are voting were not young people. they were not people he was supposed to be appealing to. it was older people. these may turn around throughout his presidency and that has not helped at all. the fact he has tried to move to the right on a lot of issues and distrust, people are put off at

the moment. islamophobia, cancel culture, so on and so forth. host: it's interesting that you say he has been trying to move to the right because the far-right leader has been accused of moving away from the far-right. she has been accused of trying to be too soft within her party. how do you explain the far-right ? they are expected to win three if not five. what went wrong? >> it is difficult to extrapolate.

[indiscernible] she thought she had attained credibility. trying to become center-right on some issues. [indiscernible] left wing on the economy. some of his party accuses him for the fact she is not managed to increase the share of the vote. in many respects, she is hitting a glass ceiling. people have not been too pleased.

the debate in 2017. the presidential debate. she was blown off by macron. people don't think she is that competent. at the same time, you have people on the right. chances to be elected at the national and regional level. many of the issues, we saw the speech was not about victory, it was a presidential speech. for me, the campaign was similar.

thus supposed to -- protectionist. at the same time very populist. he is very tough on immigration. the three i's. he has the same program. host: let me ask about -- strategy of detoxification. she softened her aunt i.e. you stance, anti-immigration stance.

could we see her leadership be contested within the far-right movement? >> i would not be sure that there could be anyone to replace her from the far-right. host: there has been talk of the tv commentator. >> i was about to say. it's a joke if i may say so. there is nothing serious about what he says or does as a commentator. there is a long run between commentator and someone who can run a country, just as we are discovering, there's a long road between being a banker and becoming the president of our -- of france. host: a tv show host could become president of the american example had shown. >> precisely, we learned lessons

from the past and present. the u.s. are not france, we are being told again and again, although i would not agree on all issues about the u.s. being so different from france, but about this one, the fact that someone who is on tv could become president, i will trust very much that people will not take seriously -- especially, not that there is no racism in rents, of course there is. the fact that the far-right is rising from one election to the other for the past 40 years is proof of that. nevertheless, i would say a lot of people would not consider italy, brazil, that someone who has never been at the center and being someone who has been

running responsibilities to be able to run a country. i would say so far it is very unlikely that she would gain anything more than she has already done. she was explicit this would be her last campaign, she is very arrogant and takes for granted the fact that people who want to vote for her party, she personalizes a lot the election and at the same time, one should keep in mind that this last election was very much about ideological attacks. about framing people that are not supposed to be loyal to the republic, which has nothing to do with the way regions are run. host: moving away from the

performance of the far-right and president. we saw a strong boost for the mainstream party of the right and left. the french daily describing it as the revenge of the parties of the old world. . the socialists were considered dead. how do you think they were able to come back? with this in ideological victory? >> no, i don't think so, and i don't think they came back from the dead. i'm not even sure -- they are the old world. i don't think they have managed to re-create themselves, to offer something. i think what is fascinating is they are occupied a small section of the french electorate.

security, immigration, islamophobia. all of these things that appeal to a certain number of people but only so many people. they have really managed to get 15% of registered voters. they only appeal to a small section of the electorate. what we are seeing, two thirds of the population abstaining. i think that shows us there is a demand for different kinds of politics. politics that are not the old world, not the far-right. giving to the french people in terms of public discussion has been around issues of the far-right. i think people are tired of it. they are seen through that. day-to-day issues are not down to immigration, islam, there

down to other things. they want proper alternatives. host: what are the alternatives? the french are not interested in traditional parties, what are the alternatives? >> don't see many alternatives. i agree to a certain extent people are not really obsessed with the issues that have been bandied. unfortunately, the campaign is starting now. the agenda has been set back in 2002. all of these issues, you have

the news channel which tends to promote this climate of insecurity, immigration, islam. it is beginning to tire some people, but it seems to be paying off. because everything has to take a position to that. you have to show some credibility on the issue. it's going to dominate the campaign. we have seen the president not that bothered, far more to the left. you have to pay lip service.

[indiscernible] identity has never been his thing. therefore, he would like the election to be on the issues. unfortunately, the agenda has been set. unfortunately, it is only taken up by the people on the right, by the republic. host: everyone is predicting they will do quite well. i want your final thought on this. what lessons will be drawn from the regional election. >> it will be different because

there are many more issues that will be raised across the campaign. the other thing we are underestimating is the left-wing coalitions that can be coming out of the election. those that did not go voting are expecting something different. [indiscernible] the fact that he presents himself as the next runner from the right in the presidential election is mainly wishful thinking. he needs more than this in order to be -- to drain electorate towards his candidacy. i think we should look at the way issues such as structural inequalities like climate change, the way it impacts

everyday life. it will be more than we think at the center of the presidential election. taking for granted it will be about security and immigration. depends on the people in france that the elections are not about the far-right, what they are saying and dog barking all the time. host: thank you for the interesting discussion. you can watch this program again anytime by visiting our website. for further discussion, go to facebook,. twitter.

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- hey, i'm valerie june. coming up reel south . [valerie] in a musical genre dominated by male performers, this woman was determined to have her voice heard. - when i think think about alice gerrard, i think about somebody who's lived her life following her love. - [valerie] and she made many sacrifices along the way. [somber violin] ♪ bear me away ♪ on the breeze of the morning - [valerie] hear "you gave me a song", up nt on el south. - [annouer] jor funding for reel south.