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Macron, Le Pen Move On To Second Round in French Presidential Election; Slavelike Conditions At Cattle Ranches in Amazon Rainforest; Afghan Defense Minister Resigns Ahead of U.S. Secretary of Defense Visit. 11:00a-12:00P ET
Aired April 24, 2017 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HANNAH VAUGHAN JONES, HOST: Cheers and celebration as French voters turned politics there on its head. In less than two weeks, one of these two
people will be France's new president. Everything you need to know about that from Paris next.
Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, HOST: Just think about what we can accomplish in the first 100 days of a Trump administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: North Korea, health care, taxes, NATO, all that and more as Trump's 100 days are nearly up. But how is he doing?
And then - millions murdered as Israel stands silent to remember the holocaust. we're live in Jerusalem.
Hello and welcome to Connect the World. I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones live for you in London sitting in for Becky Anderson for the next few days.
Now, In less than two weeks time, France will hold one of the most dramatic elections in its
history, one that completely bypasses the political establishment. The candidates are centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron, and the far right leader
Marine Le Pen who both came out top of Sunday's first round vote.
And while the candidates hold almost opposing views on everything, from immigration to
taxation, they both offer viewers one thing in common and that's change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): The challenge is to start a new political chapter and to act adjust justly and
effectively so that each person may find his or her place in France and in Europe.
MARINE LE PEN, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): This great debate will finally take place. The French must seize this historic
opportunity for the key issue of this election is rampant globalization that puts our civilization in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Well, Jim Bitterman is live in Paris with the very latest for us. Jim, they were the two front runners in this first round of voting, but I'm
wondering how the French people are responding to this perhaps unlikely duo.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think while the polls were right about how the election was going to come out yesterday, I think that a lot of French are still in shock this morning
that the choice that they now have before them on May 7th when they actually choose their president is going to be a choice between two
radically different people. They're going to be forced to decide which side of the equation they're on. There's a big difference between
these two candidates, one has an inward looking view, one has an outward looking view. There are divisions within the country from east to west,
from city to country. And they have just awakened a lot of sort of divisions within the country, and that's what President Hollande said today
just a little while ago when he said he's going to vote for Emmanuel Macron. He didn't recommend that other people do so, but he did say that
there would be dire consequences if someone like Marine Le Pen got elected.
So he's definitely showing his viewpoint.
Here's what some of the voters on the streets were telling us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm actually quite happy, because I voted Emmanuel Macron yesterday. And I think this is a big, great message for Europe,
this is a great message for around the world that populist are not winning.
UNIDENITIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm a bit disappointed. I would have preferred Melenchon to get through. He's stronger than Macron. And
Le Pen, she's not my thing.
UNIDENTIIFED FEMALE (through translator): My reaction is I think France is seriously
divided. And this is having a major impact. People don't know where they stand anymore and they voted for a big question mark.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BITTERMANN: In fact, that woman is right, the divisions that were apparent to her are exactly the kind of divisions that were apparent to her are
exactly the kind of divisions we're seeing all over the country today as the results of the election are analyzed - Hannah.
JONES: And, Jim, a lot of people talking about this as if it's already a done deal, but how reliable is the French vote historically going into the
second round?
BITTERMANN: Well, in fact the polls were right going into the first round. They came out about the way that was expected by the pollsters. This time
around what the polls are initially showing, and I emphasize that, is that Macron is substantially ahead of Le Pen. However, she started off early
this morning working hard, emphasizing issues like immigration, radical Islam, security, and issues like that, which she's going to harp on over
the next two weeks.
And it really remains a question whether she can make up this huge gap trailing behind Macron
or whether he's going to win handily two weeks from now. And it really remains a question whether she can make up this huge gap that - trailing
behind Macron or whether he's going to win handily two weeks from now.
A lot of people are predicting that he's got it in the bag as they say, but in fact, there's been so many unpredictable results I think in recent
elections, it's something that we can't draw a firm conclusion on right now.
A couple of weeks from now, as we get close to the election perhaps, but at the moment, the Front National is working hard to make sure that Macron is
not the next president of France, but a lot of people are working hard to make sure he is - Hannah.
JONES: Not quite wrapped up yet, Jim, but European leaders no doubt breathing something of a collective sigh of relief.
BITTERMANN: Absolutely. I think that all over the place markets were up today on the basis of the election results. I think because the fact is
these two are diametrically opposed on so many issues but especially on Europe. macron is very much a globalist, a believer in Europe, and Le Pen
said that she'll have a referendum on Europe within the first six months of taking office and she thinks that France should be out of Europe, a Frexit
is the kind of thing she's advocating - Hannah.
JONES: Jim Bitterman live for us in Paris. Thank you.
Well, investigators are certainly pleased with the first round of voting there in France. The euro hit a five-month high against the U.S. dollar no
thanks to a strong performance of course by the pro-Europe candidate Emmanuel Macron. And Nina Dos Santos is CNN Money's Europe editor has been
watching all the market for us.
Nina, welcome.
Explain for us why the markets are so buoyed by a successful Macron.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN MONEY: It's largely because they believe, Hannah, that he's going to be able to take the handbreak off the French economy.
This is an economy that despite the fact that it's the third biggest inside the EU, second biggest inside the single currency area it has a pretty
anemic growth, high issues with structural unemployment that stands at about 10 percent and just successive governments from the left and right
over the last generation or so, haven't managed to get a grip on these issues.
What they're hoping also that he's pro-Europe and also crucially pro-free trade. This is at a time when not just in places like France, all over the
world investors are getting increasingly nervous about countries becoming more isolationist after the Brexit vote, after some of
the messages that we've heard from the Trump administration.
If you look at the market reaction as we head towards the end of the trading day, take a look at that. Across France, the market's up around
about 4 percent, but other European countries also seeing their markets rise in tandem with that, notably Xetra Dax over in Germany. Germany is
going to the polls in September. And then we could well have an election in Italy between six and 12 months time and again there's anti-immigrant
isolationist parties doing well in the polls. So, again, this is being seen as a vote of confidence in Europe and also potentially in pro-business
and free trade policies.
JONES: What about the broader economic offering of these two candidates, Le Pen and Macron, are they on diametrically opposed ends of the spectrum?
SANTOS: Yes. Jim was saying they are, but for different reasons here. Now, if you take a look at Emmuel Macron, yes, he did spend a couple of
years as the economy minister under the left Francois Hollande government, but actually when you look at some of the things that he's proposing here,
they're actually rather center-right for France.
What he's proposing of here is, of course, to keep ties with Europe if not reinforce them, stay inside the single currency area, but he also wants to
cut corporation tax and bring that rate down quite a lot, but gradually here.
This is important because France's economy is very heavily swayed towards the public sector, it makes up 57, 58 percent of GDP. He wants to make the
labor market more flexible. You know, the 35-hour limit to working in France is sacrosanct for many people, but of course a lot of people aren't
able to get on the job market to actually start working, even if it's 35 hours a week or maybe more.
On the other hand, Marine Le Pen, yes, she's far right when it comes to issues like immigration but actually when it comes to the economy and
workers' rights, she's quite leftist if you look at that.
I mean, she wants a referendum on EU membership. She wants to reintroduce the franc, albeit in a new version. That could cause the country to
default. And she wants more protection for workers as well, including reinforcing as I said that 35-hour week.
So, they're opposed for different reasons here.
JONES: The voters have a lot to chew over, then, over the next couple of weeks before the second round.
Nina, thanks very much indeed.
It is a symbolic milestone, but an important one in U.S. presidential politics and the deadline for Donald Trump is now just five days away. He
wants the history books to look back kindly on his first 100 days in office, but he may have trouble getting congress to go along
with some of his biggest legislative priorities.
Not only is a possible government shutdown looming over a spending bill, but Mr. Trump is also trying to push through tax reform and a health care
overhaul.
But when it comes to other issues, though, there is a way for him to go it alone. Joe Johns has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:10:29] JOHN KELLY, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The president has been pretty straightforward about his desire and the need for a border
wall. He'll do the right thing for sure, but I would suspect he will be insistent on the funding.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The White House setting up a showdown with Congress just five days before a potential government shutdown, demanding
that a $1.4 billion down payment for President Trump's border wall be included in this week's must pass spending bill.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The Democrats do not support the wall. The burden to keep it open is on the Republicans. The wall is, in my
view, immoral, expensive, unwise.
JOHNS: Democrats scoffing at the demand as some Hill Republicans speculate whether the fight is worth the political capital.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: I think that's a fight worth having and a conversation and a debate worth having for 2018.
REP. PETE KING (R), NEW YORK: Once the government is up and running and stays up and running, then we have to fight this out over the next year.
JOHNS: President Trump insisting that American taxpayers need to foot the bill for the wall now, but eventually at a later date, Mexico will be
paying, a very different message than his campaign bluster.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people will not pay for the wall.
Mexico will pay for the wall, 100 percent.
JOHNS: Vice President Mike Pence ending his overseas trip a day early to help out on Capitol Hill. Despite the president's attempt to downplay the
importance of the 100-day mark, Trump's jam-packed schedule proving the administration thinks the milestone is significant. Officials telling CNN
the president is expected to sign a flurry of executive orders this week culminating with a major rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday to mark his
100th day in office.
REINCE PRIEBUS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: He is fulfilling his promises and doing it at breakneck speed.
JOHNS: White House officials are trying to prove the president is taking action, given the lack of legislative accomplishments.
MICK MULVANEY, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET DIRECTOR: We're talking about historic accomplishments by this administration in the first 100 days, but all
anybody wants to talk about is health care.
JOHNS: Despite the touted efforts to revive the battle to repeal Obamacare, officials now say there is no expectation of a vote before Friday.
PRIEBUS: It's a marathon, not a sprint. So we're hopeful for this week, but again, it's not something that has to happen in order to define our
success.
JOHNS: Trump's budget director also downplaying expectations for Wednesday's big announcement on tax reform.
MULVANEY: What you're going to see on Wednesday for the first time is here's what our principles are, here are some of the ideas we like, some of
the ideas we don't like.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: And Joe joins me now live from the White House with more.
Joe, we heard there that the Trump administration keen to tout the historic accomplishments over the last 100 days, but we should also mention that
he's got historically low approval rating across the board, not with his support base though.
JOHNS: Certainly not with his support base. At about 40 percent, the ABC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 44 percent NBC News polls, these are
historically low numbers compared with other presidents over, quite frankly, the past 70 years.
So that certainly is a problem for Donald Trump. On the other hand, one of the bright spots that he has pointed to this morning in one of his tweets
is that people who voted for him stick with him by a margin of something like 96 percent.
So those people who believed in Donald Trump during the election apparently continue to believe in him now, Hannah.
JONES: And as this 100-day milestone then looms, how does Donald Trump's legislative
accomplishments stack up against his predecessors?
JOHNS: He's not had a good run on keeping with the promises he made during the election. And quite frankly, that's one of his problems in the
polling. The president made a number of promises and many of those have yet to be seen, including repealing and
replacing Obamacare, for one.
His travel ban is stuck in the course. He hasn't even yet passed a tax cut, which was one of his primary and premiere promises on the campaign
trail. So there are a number of promises he made that he was not able to do. The administration does point to the fact that they got something done
that's very difficult. That would be getting a supreme court justice approved and on the court.
So that's a bright spot for them. The president says this 100-day standard is essentially unfair
in the first place, Hannah.
JONES: OK, Joe, we'll see what he can get done in five days. Thanks very much indeed. Joe Johns from the White House.
Now, America has been on the ground in Afghanistan for almost 16 years now. In that time, all six of its defense chiefs have been to the country
showing their support, including the man in the top left here, James Mattis, who stopped by earlier. He had gone to meet his
Afghan counterparts, but before he got to see him, the Afghan defense minister quit, because of this attack over the weekend, this attack in
which as many as 140 people lost their lives.
Well, Nick Paton Walsh is following all of this for us from Irbil in Iraq.
Nick, General Mattis speaking in a press conference not that long ago. What was his message to the Afghan people, the Afghan politicians in light
of course of this horrific attack?
[11:16:04] NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Obviously, the message from the Trump administration has been resolved and commitment
to assist the Afghan government and they're looking at a, quote, strategic review of U.S.
policy there. There aren't that many good options, frankly, and one of them which seemed to be sort of the enduring Obama administration idea is
how you would eventually get to calm things down in Afghanistan, was potentially talking to the Taliban.
But here are the conditions Jim Mattis put on that idea in Kabul today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MATTIS, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: If the Taliban wish to join the political process and work honestly for a positive future for the Afghan
people who have suffered long and hard, they need only to renounce violence and reject terrorism. That's a pretty low standard to join the
political process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: So that's pretty much the Trump administration killing off the idea of diplomacy certainly on the surface with the Taliban. They are currently
on the front foot gaining more territory than any time since 2001 and they have major al Qaeda affiliated members in their military hierarchy. So
let's face it, they simply aren't going to sit down at the table any time soon.
Well, the U.S. has already tried in terms of policy options, a troop surge of over 100,000 under Obama, that didn't really calm things down because
they had to leave eventually. So, the option really remaining is to bolster the numbers of trainers assisting the Afghan military.
But that military, too, Hannah, is in some degree of chaos. They have just lost their defense
minister. He resigned after the devastating loss of 140 Afghan soldiers, hard really to fathom that number. At a base near Mazarsharif (ph) in the
past 48 hours, Taliban appeared to have infiltrated that base disguised as military themselves, carrying out what is probably the greatest single loss
to the Afghan military and certainly as long as I can remember, and that has obviously caused not only the
defense minister to resign, but the army chief of staff too.
That will purely add to the political turmoil in Kabul that was pretty severely swirling around Afgahn president Ashraf Ghani. Very messy some
potentially ahead, a time in which the Taliban either controlling or contesting just about half the country - Hannah.
JONES: Nick, we appreciate it. Nick Paton Walsh reporting there on the situation in Afghanistan from Northern Iraq, thank you.
Still to come on Connect the World, rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea as regional leaders urging calm, but the American president is
keeping all options on the table.
Next, a live report from the Korean peninsula.
Also ahead, Israel is remembering those murdered in the holocaust. How the country is honoring the victims as it marks Holocaust Remembrance Day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:26:00] JONES: Live from London to all over the globe, welcome back to Connect the World.
And it was a weekend of diplomacy for U.S. President Donald Trump as tensions continue to rise between Pyongyang and Washington. Mr. Trump made
phone calls to the leaders of China and Japan.
The White House says Mr. Trump criticized North Korea's continued belligerence in his conversation with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping and
urged once again that all countries avoid behavior that could escalate tensions.
The Japanese Prime Miniser Shinzo Abe for his part praised President Trump for keeping all
options on the table, including military options.
On Sunday, two Japanese destroyers began drills with the U.S. carrier strike group in the western Pacific. Pyongyang has threatened to sink that
carrier, the USS Carl Vinson.
Well, meanwhile, an American citizen was detained at Pyongyang airport as he tried to leave
North Korea. Our Ivan Watson is monitoring developments and joins me now from Seoul.
Ivan, we'll talk about this U.S. citizen in a moment, but first I'm wondering how the South
Koreans are reacting to Donald Trump's baiting if you like of the North. Is it a help or a hindrance?
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the South Koreans are in this unusual position right now, Hannah, in that they just had their president impeached. She's in jail and they're having
elections in about two weeks' time. So the Koreans are very busy trying to figure out who they're going to vote for as the candidates are out stumping
and debating on television as well.
And there's concern, of course, Koreans used to living next to their North Korean rival and at
times enemy. There is the added concern of the unpredictability of the Trump administration which has
had problems dealing with its own message discipline and had some unpredictable behavior, so that's added an element that is very hard to
predict for South Koreans who have been accustomed to living next to a North Korean neighbor that is hell bent on developing and further
developing its nuclear weapons program and conducting further ballistic missile tests as well - Hannah.
JONES: The military threat.
Let's talk about this American citizen. Who is he? And what happened? Someone detained in North Korea as he was trying to leave.
WATSON: His name is Tony Kim. He's an academic. He had been teaching for several
weeks at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. And he was on his way out of the country on Saturday morning at Pyongyang International
Airport, Hannah, when the North Koreans detained him.
And we don't have any explanation or confirmation from the North Koreans about this. Most of the information has come from the Swedish embassy,
which represents U.S. interests in North Korea since Pyongyang and Washington do not have direct diplomatic relations.
But judging by what has happened to Americans in the past who have been detained by the North Koreans, he is in a very serious situation right now,
because the past track record has shown that Americans detained often on their way out from the airport are typically held for weeks if not months.
In fact, there are two other Americans who are currently in detention, a university student who was held in January of 2016. He's facing 15 years
of hard labor. And Kim Dong-chul, he's a Korean-American businessman who was held the previous year with a decade of hard labor as his sentence.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has commented on this on morning television
programs in the U.S. and she claims that the North Koreans are using this latest detainee, Tony Kim, as a bargaining chip. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UN: I think it's absolutely a bargaining chip. I think that's what their intentions are. Whether that's the case
or not is something totally different.
What we're dealing is with a leader who is flailing right now. And I think what he's trying to
do is show his citizens that he has muscle, whether it's through his rhetoric or whether it's through his actions, that's what he's trying to
do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:25:14] WATSON: the detention of another U.S. citizen clearly adds more complications to the Trump administration, which is already devoting a good
deal of time and diplomacy and energy towards its stalemate with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program and
its ballistic missiles program - Hannah.
JONES: Ivan, thanks very much indeed. Ivan Watson is live for us there in the South Korean capital.
North Korea have perhaps the most closed society on earth and many people feel trapped without being held behind bars.
Paula Hancock went to meet the North's first openly gay defector in South Korea. This is his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chang Young-jin (ph) didn't know he was gay. For over 30 years, he never once heard the word
homosexual in his native North Korea. It simply didn't exist.
He was trapped in a marriage his parents had arranged.
"From the first day of my marriage," he says, "there was trouble. I kept wondering what love was and felt sorry for my wife. I felt so guilty, like
I ruined her life."
Chang (ph) wrote a book about his experiences, handwritten as he doesn't know how to type or use a computer. He says he saw several doctors in
North Korea to find out what was wrong with him, adding he had to run out of one clinic when the doctor shouted at him for his feelings. He says he
knows he wasn't alone.
"When I was a military," he says, "there was a senior who had the same problem as me after he got married. He used to come and see me. Plus,
there was a man in my hometown who never got married and lived alone all his life. North Korean society treated these people as abnormal."
He says that he knows now he was in love with a childhood friend. He says they often held hands and shared a bed even as adults, not unusual in a
country he says where few know what homosexuality is.
"One day," he tells me, "this friend comes to see me. That night I left my wife's bed and got into his. My heart was beating so fast as he slept and
I couldn't figure out why I felt so hurt by him. I got up, went outside, and saw a wild goose flying over my head. I knew then I had to leave."
After failing to reach South Korea via China, Chang (ph) says he made the unusual and dangerous decision to cross the DMZ, the mine-ridden
demilitarized zone, a route only a handful of defectors have ever managed.
He first read about homosexuality in a root in a magazine in South Korea in 1998. At the age of 37 he finally knew why he felt different. He felt he
had an identity and was free.
But it's still not easy. Chang (ph) has no family here. They are all in the North. He has few friends and says he feels like a double alien, being
a defector and gay.
But he is an optimist telling me life begins at 60, and with his freedom and his writing, he knows he'll survive.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Up next on Connect the World, all the latest world news headlines. And then, France prepares for two weeks of furious campaigning as it gets
ready for an historic election.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(HEADLINES)
[11:32:15] JONES: That siren across Israel to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. The
sound itself brought the nation to a standstill for two minutes in honor, of course, of the 6 million Jewish victims of the holocaust.
Oren Liebermann joins me now live from Jerusalem. Oren, a hugely symbolic day. How exactly has it been observed throughout Israel?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a very solemn day, a very somber day. It begins actually a night before, so last night with
the lighting of six torches, one for each million Jewish victims of the holocaust and continues into today, a somber day and perhaps that most
powerful moment is that two-minute siren, two minutes of silence, you'll see it commemorated not only in Jerusalem but all across Israel where
everyone comes to a standstill. People who are outside, people stop their cars and step out of their cars. The light rail even stops here in
Jerusalem and people get out to pay their respects.
Now it will shift to other locations, the March of the Living, which is in Auschwitz as well as commemorations in D.C. And it's worth pointing out
that President Donald Trump is the keynote speaker for the event tomorrow for the Holocaust museum in Washington.
So, certainly the eyes of the Israelis will be watching what he says because his administration has had a few missteps on holocaust statements,
including the statement from the White House end of January which failed to mention Jews or anti-Semitism.
So, the commemorations continue on this most somber of days, Hannah.
JONES: And, Oren, on a completely different topic, there are reports today of a teenage boy making bomb threats in Israel. Tell us more.
LIEBERMANN: Well, this is a follow on to a wave of bomb threats that spread not only across the U.S., but around nearly a dozen other countries.
Authorities, including the FBI, had searched mostly in the U.S. until it was revealed just a couple of weeks ago that an 18-year-old from the
southern Israeli city of was detained here. Well, we've learned more. First, this past Friday he was charged in the U.S. with some 28 counts of
making threatening phone calls not only to Jewish community centers, but to other locations as well. Now he is about to be charged here as well. The
prosecutor's office saying they have hundreds of charges stemming from thousands of threatening phone calls they say he made, including one to an
American state senator in Delaware.
They say he threatened to extort that state senator over criticism of whoever was making the bomb threats, and they say that the suspect here
threatened to buy drugs illegally online and send them to his house.
They also say the suspect in this case threatened the plane of the Boston Celtics, causing an emergency security sweep as well as a number of other
phone calls.
So, this is a story that we saw focused in the U.S. The suspect now in custody. We expect him charged, especially after this statement from the
prosecutor's office. The attorney for the suspect, who has not been identified in Israel because when many of the offenses were committed he
was a minor, the attorney for the suspect says he suffers an inoperable malignant brain tumor that has affected his behavior. So, this is
certainly to remain a big story here as the case moves forward.
JONES: Thanks for updating us on everything. Oren Liebermann live in Jerusalem, thank you.
Now, of course we started that interview with Oren by marking Holocaust Remembrance Day. The holocaust, though, isn't the only crime against
humanity being marked today. Armenians are remember the mass killing of their people 102 years ago. A march was held on Sunday and a Turkish flag
was set on fire. The killings took place during World War I under Ottoman rule. Armenians call it a genocide, but Turkey rejects that term. It says
there were heavy losses on both sides.
Armenia says about 1.5 million people were killed, Turkey puts the number at 300,000.
France of course is heading towards a presidential election rarely seen in its history, one that will pit two outsiders against each other. The
National Front leader, Marine le Pen, will battle centrist newcomer Emmanuel Macron.
Le Pen wants to pull France out of the EU and out of NATO, cut immigration, and crack down on radical Islam.
Macron, though, is more moderate, touting pro-European policies, along with a pledge to cut corporate taxes and increase investment. Well, you could
call this a Paris match of an unprecedented nature. So, let's speak Olivier Royant, editor-in-chief of Paris Match magazine. Thanks very much
for joining us, sir.
This has been dubbed a political earthquake, but now that the mainstream politicians are now
backing Emmanuel Macron going into the second round, is it less of an earthquake and more of just a rumble?
OLIVIER ROYANT, PARIS MATCH: It's definitely historic moment in France for different
reasons. First, the man who is in position of securing the presidency of France was nobody a year ago. I mean, he has no party, he has no member of
parliament, and today he's almost reaching the presidency.
At the same time, Marine Le Pen whose party was .5 percent where her father started presidential politics in 1974 now went over 20 percent. So, it's a
major earthquake, both the government parties, the Socialist and the Republican, were expelled, were eliminated, and now you have this runoff.
This runoff is important. There is a - we can see that Macron is in a position of winning, is in a favorable position.
But at the same time, Marine Le Pen has the possibility of doubling the score of her father. Her father, in 2002, he made 20 percent in the second
round, now she has the possibility from what we've seen in the poll last week of reaching 40 percent.
So the runoff is in favor of Macron, but Marine - it's going to be a fight. And what we are seeing in France right now, with the electoral map reflects
the two faces of France. On the one hand, you have the big cities, big, large metro polls who voted for Macron, and on the other hand you have the
countryside, you have the small cities who voted for Le Pen. So you're going to have this runoff between two faces of the same country.
JONES: With that in mind, then, what does Emmanuel Macron have to do over the course of
the next two weeks? He's got to try and shore up some of the country side that would traditionally go for Marine Le Pen, and of course his party En
Marche, has only been in existence since September. So he's still got quite a lot of work to do in order to seal the deal here.
ROYANT: Yes. And what we can say is that the real runoff election will take place in six
weeks from now when the election will take place at the parliament.
As I was saying, Macron had no party a year ago when he created En Marche on April 6, 2016. He created a new party that didn't exist. And now we
have to see how his candidates will be able to fare against the traditional candidates from the Socialist or from the Republican in six weeks from
now.
On the other hand, CNN has been covering this drama in Champs-Elysees last Friday. I mean, the terrorism is - whatever -- whoever is the next
president of France, I mean, ISIS will be there, Daesh will be there are and terrorism will be there. So, will we see Macron didn't mention a lot
of terrorism yesterday? He will have to face reality in the days to come. And this will come in the debate on a TV debate between Le Pen and Macron.
Macron speaks to the insiders of the system. He is somebody who - the high school, the grade school (inaudible). He was a member of the minister. He
was a banker. Marine Le Pen wants to tell us that she speaks to the outsiders, so we really have a fight in the debate
between one insider and an outsider.
But there is also a general
[11:40:06] JONES: Olivier, what about turnout?
Sorry to interrupt you, Olivier, I just wanted to ask you about turnout, because we know that 70 - it was around 70 percent, or just under 70
percent in the first round, traditionally do turnout numbers go up when we get to the second round? And therefore is the French voting public reliable when it comes to the second round of voting?
ROYANT: I mean, traditionally for the Fifth Republic, I mean, the good turnout is around 80 percent, 81, 82 in 2007 it was 84. I mean, there was
a major move for Sarkozy. And it reflected in the participation. So we'll see.
So far definitely Macron managed to get the young votes, the younger voters, but Marine Le
Pen also did a good job at securing young voters who traditionally are not voting for the National Front.
JONES: OK, Olivier Royant, many thanks for joining us from Paris and thank you as
well for explaining the historical links between Marine Le Pen and here father of course who came
not too far away from success back in 2002. We appreciate it.
Now, still ahead this hour, we'll take you on a raid in Brazil where they're trying to free workers from some truly terrifying places. All the
details on that next.
And then the oldest female astronaut has just shattered another record in space. We'll hear from Peggy Whitson about her groundbreaking achievement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: Welcome back. You're watching Connect the World right here on CNN, the world's news leader where we're not only telling you about the world,
we're also trying to make it better. As part of our Freedom Project that's dedicated to ending modern day slavery, we're going to take you to Brazil
now where the government is trying to shut down branches where people are forced to work for extremely low pay and horrid slave-like conditions.
Shasta Darlington reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[11:45:27] SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Barreling down on their target, an eight car convoy speeds along the back roads of
Brazil's cattle country, only recently carved out of the vast Amazon rainforest.
This, one of just four mobile units cracking down on labor exploitation across the country.
We've got 25 kilometers ahead of a pretty rough road. We're looking for this ranch after they got tips.
On this day, they get sent in different directions, but the info is old. Workers have moved on and they come up empty handed. Andre Wagner in charge
of this latest operation in northern Tokantins states says exploitation is entrained in Brazil's lawless agriculture frontier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): You'll see someone working in the grading conditions with an exhausting work schedule eating one meal a day,
while they don't receive any form of salary or very small salary because their food and tools are discounted.
DARLINGTON: Days like this make it all worthwhile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Today we are leading to inspect a complaint we received 15 days ago. It's very recent, so there's a very high
chance that we'll still find the conditions described in the complaint.
DARLINGTON: In fact, the task force finds something that shocks even veteran inspectors, a family of seven workers who say they haven't received
any money for two years. Living literally like animals. Maria Dalva (Ph) shows us the hammocks slung in the coral where workers sleep. And the
outdoor spigot where they bathe.
"This is the bathroom where we wash clothes," she tells me, "and the bushes is where we relieve ourselves." Maria Dalva (Ph) does the cooking and
cleaning for workers on the ranch sharing a shack with her husband and toddler son.
"Nobody deserves this. This mud, only rats can sleep in a place like this. I can't sleep with all the noise the rats make."
Marcelo Gonsalvez Campos (Ph) one of the labor ministry inspectors on the team, interviews workers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is one of the worst cases I've seen. I've been an inspector for almost 20 years and this is really one of
the worst.
DARLINGTON: Luis Cardoza da Silva or say Luis is the patriarch of the family. He says they had to buy their own tools, and instead of paying
salary, he says the ranch owner paid them in food and accused them of owing him money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We always have hope that it will get better, we'll have a better life, but it just gets worse and then a
point comes that you can't leave because you owe money for the food he's given you, you have debt.
DARLINGTON: He tells me, he was afraid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He could do anything to us. He's a mean guy.
DARLINGTON: The ranch owner is nowhere to be found and doesn't answer his phone. That makes it hard for the task force to negotiate an immediate pay
out.
For them, the work is just beginning. They log hours of interviews and investigate assets. Evidence used to pressure for financial compensation,
which they say often ends up at about $2,000, but when the case is strong, it can be ten times that.
More than 50,000 workers have been rescued from what Brazil defines as slave like conditions since the mobile units were created in 1995.
Theo Luis now among them. But today, Wagner isn't completely satisfied.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's possible Mr. Luis won't return to his working conditions but it's also possible he will, given his age and
his limited professional qualifications, he will continue to be a potential victim of slave labor.
DARLINGTON: Theo Luis and his family pack up the few valuable items they can claim after two years of grinding work on the ranch and head to an
uncertain freedom back in the town they started in.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Anapoema (ph), Brazil.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[11:50:23] JONES: Just an incredible tale there and that is not the end of the story. Be sure to join us tomorrow and then you can find out how the
family we just saw is adjusting to that uncertain freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENITIFIED MALE: When I left there, my heart opened up. It was a pleasure to get back to my house with my family. So many things have
changed.
DARLINGTON: A house that Theo Luis (ph), nearly 70, rents in town for his youngest children, paid for with his government pension.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: We will have their story and more on the pursuit of those who steal people in the Amazon. That's coming up this Tuesday here on CNN.
And there is still much more to come on tonight's show here at CNN's Connect the World. So, stay right where you are and we'll be back after a
short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JONES: For your Parting Shots today, and it's been a great day for NASA as history unfolds at the International Space Station. The oldest female
astronaut has set a new record by clocking more time in space than any other American.
Today, Peggy Whitson's career total hit 535 days, that earned her a long- distance phone call from President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka.
Now, we know it's not easy living in zero gravity, but we didn't know this one tidbit that
Whitson shared with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEGGY WHITSON, ASTRONAUT: Water is such a precious resource up here that we also
are cleaning up our urine and making it drinkable, and it's really not as bad as it sounds.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well that's good. I'm glad to hear that. Better you than me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Yeah, news to us as well.
Before she shattered her latest record, Whitson shared more about her life in space with CNN's Rachel Crane.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You've broken just about every record for a U.S. female astronaut out there. So was that your goal, or is that just
sort of an added bonus to all of this?
WHITSON: It was really just an added bonus. I've been lucky enough, privileged enough, to be in some very unique times and was able to do some
very special things, conducting space walks, being the first commander, all of that was somewhat based on timing and opportunities. So, it's just a
real honor for me to be able to represent NASA.
CRANE: Each new record that you break, I mean, how does that make you feel?
WHITSON: Well, I guess I don't think about the records themselves too much, but it definitely -- when I do think about them, I think about all
the people that make it possible. There's an incredible number of people at NASA who make it possible.
[11:55:07] CRANE: An April 24, you will have broken another incredible record, you will have spent more days, cumulative days in space than any
other U.S. astronaut. What's the next record for you?
WHITSON: I'm not sure. I'm sure there's somebody out there keeping track, but I'm not sure what the next one will be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: Space ace. so cool, so infinite and you know what else is endless, fun. And that is exactly what you can find on Connect the World's Facebook
page, endless fun there at Facebook.com/CNNconnect. You can check it out for all our galactically good stuff.
That it's. Thanks a lot of joining us this hour. That was Connect the World. I'm Hannah Vaughan Jones in London. See you again same time, same
place tomorrow. Up next, all aboard the Quest Express.
END
