and analysis. italy is set for its first far right leader since mussolini. the counties confirmed. over 40 dead, 1200 arrests in iran. the anger is triggered by the death of a 22-year-old kurdish woman arrested because her headscarf was loose.

the british pound hit its lowest against the dollar since 1870. reaction from the budget has spread panic in the stock markets. this is live from paris. thank you for being with us. italian prime minister far right coalition is leading the polls. she will be the first ever woman to get the job and it's also a date with destiny. she will become the first far right leader in italy since benito mussolini. she is in a far right coalition

that got 44% of votes cast. our europe editor has been watching it unfold. reporter: a landmark moment with giorgia meloni emerging as the likely first female prime minister in the country's history. very much in a position of strength when it comes to negotiating cabinet figures given the coalition partners both got under 10%. the parties campaigned on a triple front, god, country and family. the socially conservative platform is where there is a great deal of unity between

partners. there are differences on the other hand. how to deal with the cost-of-living crisis in italy. divisions on the international front where giorgia meloni is less on the same page as partners when it comes to vladimir putin. there are a lot of question marks. that is likely to reassure brussels where the election is being closely watched. we have seen hard right wing politicians hailing her victory, likely to see her as an ally. for the eu, there is a great deal of concern. the frch prime minister indicating france will be vigilant. a major concern is the future of

the recovery fund in italy, italy being the single biggest beneficiary meaning when giorgia meloni indicates she would like to renegotiate, it's a pretty big deal. >> the european union is waiting to see her true political identity, the first far right leader since mussolini. reporter: this is the heart of the european capital. people in brussels are hoping for more of the same as political change makes its way. >> we hope we have constructive cooperation with the new authorities. reporter: while the official reaction was muted, paris has been ls discrete th preside said he respected the outcome in the prime minister called for european values to be respected.

>> in europe, we have a certain number of values and will be attentive to ensure values are human rights. rights will be respected by everyone. reporter: eyebrows have not been raised by everyone in europe. in france, marine le pen was quick to welcome the news. she saluted on twitter. hungary's prime minister welcomed the outcome of the vote. he hopes to work with the like-minded and populist incoming administration to ease the current energy crisis. it was spain's top diplomat who was the most diplomat -- pessimistic. he said in certain times it always ends the same way. in catastrophe.

reporter: 40 people killed, 1200 arrested. the anger is driven by outrage over the death of a kurdish woman who died in the custody of morality police. she was arrested for allegedly breaching rul on headscarves. the unrest continues. let's bring in head of the middle east program. thank you for being with us. we have spoken often over the past 10 years about the situation in iran, we have seen things happen before and we are finding out precisely what happening. do we know the scale of what is happening right now in iran? reporter: no, thank you for

having me. it's difficult to determine how widespread this is, that remains to be seen. it is something that evolves over time. people showing courage. we have seen the protests going on much longer than anyone expected. anchor: 1200 rested. could these figures be higher? >> they could be. we have to take it with a pinch of salt. it's not easy to know how many people have died.

most likely it's a conservative estimate. anchor: the morality police. can you give us some insight and analysis? why do they exist? >> they exist becae the state claims to rule in the name of religion and righteousness. very few by the idea of righteousness. the morality police has been around for quite some time. it's a bit like the black lives matter movement in the united states, we know they behave in this way, it's a different thing to see and live footage just

exactly how bad it is. anchor: there is an ech the circumstances may be different, but 2009 when the sultan was shot dead at a demonstration. another death of another woman. >> for each generation some are sacrifice, use courage and retreat. a new generation comes in they

don't take it so we try again and again. anchor how much longer will the protests go on for? >> the problem is this is not a movement in the conventional sense. there is no leadership or predictability or set agenda. all of those things lacking makes it more difficult to ascertain how willing people are and how persistent they can be. that persistence is going to depend on how bad it will be. so far, it's been going on longer than anyone expected, we will just see how much longer they can hold out and when the state runs out of patience. anchor: head of the middle east program, always a pleasure to

speak to you. thank you so much. continue to watch the events as they unfold and we will be bringing you more analysis at the top of the program. next, the exodus from russia continues. during to fight in you and. the border between russia and georgia is at a standstill due to the volume of traffic crossing over. then either too young or toold arbeing call up. finland, turkey, kazakhstan. mongolia. before russia's invasion, vladimir putin amaed 19000

soldiers on the ukrainian border. more than 2000 people have been arrested and detained across russia for protests. this is from a source. demonstrations are among the first signs of open discontent. reporter: nearly 2000 kilometers from moscow. on sunday, thousands took to the streets of the capital. the demonstrations led to the detention of 100 people. weekend saw wide ranging protests against new government measures.

police were surrounded by groups of protesters chanting no. the public outrage has been fueled by the nature of the callouts. there have been reports as well as students. the outcry has led to a rare ration -- t speaker of the upper house of parliament publicly calling on governors to avoid errors moving forward. >> fierce reactions, rightly so. this is unacceptable. make sure partial mobilization is carried out without a single mistake. reporter: the mobilization is the first conscription since the second world war and according to some sources, the criminal plans to enlist million men.

anchor: 50 people, mostly children have been killed. a former pupil carried out the atrocity.. he was wearing a swastika t-shirt. time now for truth or fake. we have been looking at the likely election of italy's far right candidate. story circulating. tell us more. >> social media accounts have images claiming to show italians mobilizing against the eu.

we know that giorgia meloni is fiercely critical of the european union and has accused brussels of interfering in national politics. here is an example. this is a tweet that has been garnering a lot of attention, 740,000 views and 20,000 likes. the caption says italy belongs to the italian people. that is the scale of things we are dealing with. let's take a look at the video attached in question. what we can see here is a demonstrators gathering outside headquarters in rome, this man is climbing a ladder to retrieve and tear down the european union flag and by the end of the video

he replaces it with italy's flag. it's been called a gesture of defiance. by doing a reverse image search, not all is quite as it seems. that led us to a longer video published from an italian media account. if you take a closer look, this media matches them on we saw on twitter from nine years ago, and what this shows is protests from the neofascist party during demonstrations against austerity measures. not from the last few days. anchor: you have another italian story. tell us more about this one. >> just last week, giorgia meloni held a rally surrounded by supporters.

it was heavily filmed and broadcasted but there were theories photos have been retouched to show numbers were much higher than present. let's take a look. this is one with quite a bit of traction on twitter. we have this young man in blue taking a picture on his camera phone. this gentleman appearing a few rows back in some of the things. we can see this gentleman in the picture appears three times. it's clear these images have

been badly photoshopped, it's not clear who has created these, it's possible it was done by supporters but it's also possible it was made to discredit her and leave other -- it needs to be said neither of these were shared by her official camp, but she did release these photos are her official twitter, take a closer look at this. people are mocking the fact of what they call clown shoes, her feet look elongated and they are saying this is proof she edits photos. this is a more reasonably sized shot in the image was more clearly distorted. it's not clear why she posted the distorted extra. anchor: clown shoes.

thank you. the election was yesterday. giorgia meloni poised to win and she is on the verge of becoming the first far right leader since bonito mussolini. first ever female leader. the british pound has been in freefall over worries and concerns of the government's new tax-cut plan. it's caused distress. reporter: that's correct. the finance minister announced the plan as bond yields and costs skyrocketed.

the currency has fallen 8% since thursday and 20% since the start of the year. after hitting rock bottom at $1.03, the currency recovered some ground but still remains below $1.07. the bank of england said it would not hesitate to raise interest rates more to tame inflation. britain's largest mortgage lender has withdrawn the paying mortgage products from the market and others followed suit on concerns as turmoil in the funding markets. the current plunge has joined comparisons to britain's currency crises in the past which had a major impact on the real economy. we take a look at how they are reacting to the current situation. reporter: britons have been

voicing concern. many tourists are seeing the bright side. >> it's a big plus when you get more bang for your buck. >> people will be more influence to travel. reporter: the dive came after a 3% drop on friday with a new finance minister. tax cuts funded by the biggest increase in borrowing since 1972. a reckless move according to the opposition. >> not what anyone voted for. it's putting our economy in danger. reporter: the speed has drawn comparisons with crises like brexit.

the day after, the pound fell by eight sent hitting $1.14. another sharp devaluation after issues with the eu, predecessor to the single currency in 1992. the previous record low came in 1985 at $1.05. reporter: investors were jittery on wall street with the dollar index jumping 5% and a crucial space of time. the dow finished its fifth straight day of losses. here in france, the economy minister presented the budget

based on growth of 1%, weaker than this years. the government will borrow a record to finance the budget which include caps on household energy bills. the government promised an increase in january. the plan is likely to face opposition in parliament but the minister insisted strikes the right ounce. >> this is not a budget of austerity. this is a responsible budget in times of great uncertainty. reporter: giorgia meloni is poised to become the next prime minister.

households and businesses struggle with the cost-of-living prices. we take a closer look at the state of the economy. >> giorgia meloni is said to be the next prime minister. the brothers of italy party and champions reforms that will stop a significant influence on domestic policy. >> in europe they are a bit worried. what will happen, the fund will be over. italy will be able to defend its national interest. reporter: she had recently gone back on opposition, but she wants to renegotiate the terms of covid-19 funds. this, despite being the largest recipient.

skyhigh energy ics. the bank of italy raised growth forecasts, expecting gdp to increase. it remains to be seen whether post-covid both will be enough to take italy out of hot water. mounting public debt, 100 $.50 of gdp, the highest the number. to alleviate economic strain, the right-wing coalition of wanting to slash sales cuts on certain goods, but new governments must fisher markets leaving little scope for tax

cuts. reporter: finally, apple will make its iphone 14 in india as it looks to diversify supply chain away from china. they unveiled a new leup earlier this month, improved cameras, trade tensions have been causing headaches. anchor: thank you for bringing us the business. thanks for watching. more to come.

>> they observe, they contact us. they report, film, photograph. they are the voice of the voiceless. your eyes. the observers, and network of citizens working with france 24. footage, testimonials and broadcast weekly.

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ñl 09/26/22 09/26/22 [captiong made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> this is surely for many people a night of pride, not a payback, surely a night of memories. amy: italy's first far right leader since benito mussolini, giorgia meloni, has declared victory. her brothers of italy party is