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French President Emmanuel Macron Wins Reelection; Top U.S. Officials Meet Ukraine's President In Kyiv; Blinken: Biden To Nominate U.S. Ambassador To Ukraine. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired April 25, 2022 - 10:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:00:38]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Russia has sought as its principal aim to totally subjugate Ukraine to take away its sovereignty, to take away
its independence. That has failed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): America's top diplomat gives a blunt assessment of Russia's war so far and offers more help to Ukraine.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kharkiv is very close to a lot of the action. There are a lot of important supply routes for the
Russians to get more ammunition and weaponry to places like Izyum.
GIOKOS: As Russian forces continue to target civilian infrastructures. CNN's Clarissa Ward reports from Kharkiv.
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): We have so much to do, and the war in Ukraine is a reminder that we are going through
tragic times when France must speak out, show the clarity of its choices and build strength in all areas, and we will do so.
GIOKOS: French President Emmanuel Macron wins reelection and promises to continue his diplomatic efforts to help put an end to the war in Ukraine.
We have a live report from Paris.
Hello. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. Welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD. This hour much more on the re election of French president Emmanuel Macron.
First though, the U.S. starts to reestablish its diplomatic presence in Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd
Austin met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Sunday in Kyiv. The first such visit to Ukraine by top American diplomats since the start of
Russia's invasion.
And Blinken says more diplomats will arrive this week. He offered a blunt assessment of Vladimir Putin's war so far, saying the Russian president's
forces have failed to rob Ukraine of its independence. Now, both Blinken and Austin say despite all the pain and suffering Ukrainians have endured,
this is a wall of a country can win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLINKEN: We don't know how the rest of this war will unfold. But we do know that a sovereign independent Ukraine will be around a lot longer than
Vladimir Putin is on the scene. And our support for Ukraine going forward will continue. It will continue until we see final success.
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: In terms of their ability to win, the first step in winning is believing that you can win. And so, they
believe that we can win. We believe that we can win -- they can win if they have the right equipment, the right support, and we're going to do
everything we can, continue to do everything we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, war assessments aside, Russia is expanding its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. And official says Russia hit five train stations
today in central and western Ukraine. This video said to show the aftermath of one of those attacks. In the south, Ukraine's top human rights official
says the Kherson region is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. Villagers there are being shelled.
And a regional military chief warns Russian troops may be preparing to launch a fresh offensive northward from occupied Kherson son. My colleague,
Brianna Keilar spoke to the mayor of Kherson a short time ago about what expected offensive. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR IGOR KOLYKHAEV, KHERSON, UKRAINE (through translator): I am seeing in the last three days that there is a lot of move -- troop movement in the
city of Kherson. The Russian troops are changing their deployment and the deployment of their checkpoints. And there's also been quite an increase in
troops and also there's been quite a lot of daily and nightly movement of artillery and troops.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The Kremlin is reportedly threatening a referendum to turn Kherson into an independent republic. What do you expect
is going to happen and are people trying to get out because of this?
KOLYKHAEV: We must understand that Kherson has been occupied for 54 days and at the moment there is no safe passage from Kherson, there are no
humanitarian corridors.
[10:05:07]
KOLYKHAEV: People are organizing their own evacuation. They're trying to organize mini groups via the telegram channel. And they're organizing
evacuation to -- towards the Kryvyi Rih, Melitopol, Mykolaiv and then onto Zaporizhia and Dnipro. And that's by their own cars and their own groups.
But at the moment, there is no organized evacuation from Kherson. There is no safe passage. There are no humanitarian corridors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: The mayor went on to say that any Russian referendum to change who runs the Kherson region would be illegal under the Geneva Convention. CNN's
Scott McLean is in Lviv reporting on an attack on a train substation. Parts of what Ukrainian railways calls Russia's plan to systematically destroyed
railway infrastructure. Scott, and the reality here is these are key logistical routes to get people out to get -- to get goods in and out. Can
you give us an idea of the extent of damage here?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So, the head of the Ukrainian railway said that there were five sites that were hid in central
and western Ukraine. The timing of this, of course, is very interesting because U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Defense Secretary
Lloyd Austin left Ukraine via train in the early hours this morning, and it was just a few hours later that the air raid sirens went off here in the
Lviv region, we heard them.
And then we heard about the strikes against these train infrastructure sites. Again, five of them scattered throughout the country. Railway says
they were all within one hour of each other. So, we went out to one of those sites about an hour east of Lviv, the city of Lviv. It was in a very
small town shouldn't even say inside, just outside of a very small town in an area where there was sort of a train junction.
Now you saw that video that you played earlier showing that heavy smoke billowing, it is not clear at this stage of the game what exactly was hit.
We weren't allowed to go to that exact site on the ground. But what we were able to see from our vantage point was scattered all around the landscape
where remnants of what the police in the military told us were Russian rockets. charred bits of metal twisted, partially melted in many different
places with Russian cyrillic writing on them.
Now what they did not find they say at that site is a very large crater. So, they think that that rocket was shot down by the Ukrainian anti-
aircraft system or the Ukrainian air defense system. It's possible that there was more than one strike, but we don't know at this stage of the
game. I spoke to one woman in that area who's actually working at a train office right next to the tracks. She said about 15 minutes after she sat
down at her desk, she heard the missile go overhead.
She said it was so, so loud, it shook the windows. She thought she -- wasn't sure if she was going to survive. And she thought given where she
is, not in a major city, not near any military installation, she was frankly shocked that there would be a strike anywhere near where she was
working. Eleni?
GIOKOS: All right. Scott McLean, thank you very much for that update. Appreciate it. I want to take you now to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv
where top U.S. officials met in person with Ukraine's president. CNN's Matt Rivers is standing by live. Matt, and it's interesting to hear Scott's
reporting that as soon as it became public news, that there were U.S. diplomats, that is where we saw attacks hitting places like Lviv.
But this was such an important meeting and of course, kept under wraps until the very last minute.
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question. And we don't know exactly whether the Russians would have gone ahead with a
missile attack like this, regardless of whether the -- there were U.S. officials here or not. The message though clearly not lost on the Kremlin.
The idea that these meetings become public even though it was kind of an open secret that they were happening here and then they launched these
missiles.
As for the meeting itself, Ukrainian officials thanking the senior level U.S. delegation coming here committing to more heavy weaponry being sent
here to Ukraine with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, saying that he believes that Ukraine can win this war, this as there was no respite from
Russian shelling on orthodox Easter Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: Orthodox Easter Sunday in a country at war, a holiday defined by its celebration of life this year, shrouded by death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Our people live in the time of war under bombing and shelling with tears, grief and sorrow, but we need a
raise of hope.
[10:10:00]
RIVERS: Some of those raise are ways to fight back at least if President Zelenskyy gets his way, telling reporters that getting more and more heavy
weapons from the U.S. would be a top issue at a meeting with U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin. This as
Russian shells rained down across the country over the weekend, including in Odessa, here a video of what Ukraine called a Russian missile hitting an
apartment building killing eight according to authorities, an infant and her mother among them.
Inside that building a camera captured the strikes horrific impact. And in the town of Horenka, northwest of Kyiv, there is utter destruction. Russian
shells, shattered homes and lives. There is nothing left here but pain in an eerie silence.
RIVERS (on camera): Ukraine is of course pushing for all of these new weapons to try and avoid other towns ending up like this one. So, look
here, this playground now littered with bullet holes, the remnants of Ukrainian fighting position to my left and to my right, there's a sign
warning of all the landmines that are now in this area. It's going to be a long time before children can use this playground once again.
RIVERS (voice over): The Secretaries of State and Defense are not the only U.S. officials interested in the future of Ukraine. We met up with two
members of the U.S. Congress. Representatives Tim Walberg and Victoria Spartz who toured the damage. Spartz, the first Ukrainian-born member of
Congress.
REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-IN): Watching it breaks my heart but I actually (INAUDIBLE) through hell but seen it it's important and it's important for
us to share this with American people.
RIVERS: Ukrainian officials told us they repelled the Russian drive toward Kyiv right here back in March. A powerful sign of resistance against an
unwanted invader. The two Republicans will head back to Washington soon with an urgent call to send whatever Ukraine needs and fast.
REP. TIM WALBERG (R-MI): They're brave. They're committed. Just put something in their hand that matches the efforts here. And they could win
it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIVERS: And Eleni, one announcement that came out of that meeting with the Secretary of State Antony Blinken announcing that the U.S. will return
diplomats here to Kyiv in the coming weeks. A pretty clear message that the U.S. here to help the Ukrainians however they can.
GIOKOS: All right. Matt Rivers, really good to see you. Thank you so much. Ukraine's second largest city Kharkiv is under heavy bombardment by Russian
forces. The city's mayor says dozens of schools and hospitals have been targeted. CNN's Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward shows us
what was left of an administrative building after it was decimated by Russian strikes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARD: I want to take you around so you can get a feel for the full scale of the damage that was done here when two massive missiles landed in and
around this building last month. You can see just out what's left of the window there that is Freedom Square. And this city has been getting
pulverized day in day out just today. We have heard a pretty much constant stream of bombardment since about 4:30 in the morning, often it goes on all
night.
And the mayor here says that 25 percent of the buildings in this city have been hit during strikes. 25 percent. Just try to get your head around the
enormity of that figure. 67 schools have been hit. Look at this. This was once a palatial grand staircase now completely destroyed. According to
authorities, only 10 people were killed here, which is extraordinary, although I've just been talking with one of the soldiers who's in charge of
looking after this space and he says they believe there are many more dead under the rubble.
I'm going to show you what some of that rubble looks like over here. People were rescued as well. But going back to those statistics that the mayor
gave us, 67 schools, 54 kindergartens, 16 hospitals, that's just here in the city of Kharkiv. You can see the defenses that they had tried to
implement to protect themselves from attack. But obviously, sandbags, no match for this. I don't know if you could hear that as well.
Some bombardment again, in the distance and you can see outside the scale of the devastation, cars completely scorched. There's actually an office
over there to the side that we can't get into easily from this point, which we saw yesterday, where an entire car has literally been thrown into an
office by the force of that blast.
[10:15:04]
WARD: And what people here fear in this city is that Kharkiv could be the next Mariupol, because of the amount of bombardment and the real
intensification that we've seen of that bombardment especially in the last week. Now, I just want cameraman Scottie McWhinney and producer Brent
Swails to be a little careful here. But I do want to show you this. Because it gives you a real feeling for just the enormity of that blast. I mean,
absolutely astonishing. It literally took out six storeys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right. Incredible reporting there by Clarissa Ward. Schools, kindergartens, logistical hubs, indiscriminate targeting that we're seeing
across major cities in Ukraine. Now this war is going to continue to be a crucial foreign policy issue for the French president. Ahead on the show,
what Mr. Macron's reelection means for France and for Europe as a whole.
Plus, we'll be speaking to the Danish Foreign Minister about the push for a sixth round of E.U. sanctions against Russia and Denmark's pledged to send
more military aid to Ukraine. Stay with us.
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GIOKOS: More now on the visit to Ukraine by the U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State. Antony Blinken praised Ukraine's president at the meeting in
Kyiv. Blinken saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy has displayed extraordinary courage, leadership and success. One sign of that, the return of an
American diplomatic presence in Ukraine. And the nomination of a new U.S. Ambassador. Kylie Atwood joins us now live from the U.S. State Department.
Clear commitment coming through from the U.S. What more do we know about this new ambassador? And also importantly, the fact that there's been a
commitment for more U.S. diplomats to arrive in Ukraine this week.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So the Secretary of State told his Ukrainian partners in that visit over the weekend that U.S.
diplomats are going to start going back into the country this week. Now, this is of course, the Biden administration doubling down on their
commitment to support Ukraine. The Ukrainians have said they want U.S. diplomats and other diplomats from around the world to come back into the
country.
But what this isn't, is the resumption of facilities, of the operations at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv which was closed down earlier this year, when the
Ukraine war was expected to break out. Now it's clear that the Biden administration doesn't feel that the security situation on the ground is
steady enough to send diplomats back into Kyiv. But what they're going to do is have these diplomats take day trips into Lviv.
That's a city on the western side of Ukraine and then according to a senior State department they will then start moving into other areas in the
country and then eventually into Kyiv.
[10:20:06]
ATWOOD: We don't have a timeline for that but it will probably be hinged on the security situation on the ground. And then the other thing, as you
noted is that Secretary Blinken told the Ukrainians that the Biden administration is going to nominate Bridget Brink, the current U.S.
Ambassador to Slovakia to be the ambassador to Ukraine. Now that is a position that has been vacant for more than a year now.
Of course, there has been a serving U.S. diplomat, a top diplomat of Charge d'affaires in that post, but there hasn't been a U.S. Ambassador that's
been confirmed by the Senate. And so that is what the Biden administration is planning to do. President Biden put out a statement this morning saying
that his intention is to nominate Bridget Brink.
GIOKOS: All right. Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for that update. Denmark is among several European nations pushing for its sixth sanction package
against Russia. That's including oil and gas. The country is also pledging more military aid to Ukraine. Denmark's foreign minister saying "Russia
with its brutal invasion of Ukraine has created the biggest security crisis on European soil since World War II.
It is absolutely crucial that Denmark stands with our allies in NATO to safeguard our common security and safety."
And Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod us now live from Copenhagen. Minister, really good to have you with us. Thank you so very much. And, you
know, just adding on to your comments already about this very important security crisis that is playing out. You are now embarking on the largest
deployment of military that we've seen in decades out of Denmark. Could you give me an idea of -- in terms of the manpower and equipment that you're
deploying?
JEPPE KOFOD, FOREIGN MINISTER OF DENMARK: Yes. First of all, it's good to be with you. Listen, what we have done is to commit and also delivered huge
number of military supply to Ukraine itself. I think per capita, we are among the nations that are providing the most, because it's very important
that we help the Ukrainian to defend their own country and to also to make the cost for Russia for the Russian aggression as high as possible also on
the battlefield.
So, that's what we're doing. And we will continue to do that. We also reinforcing our NATO contribution. We are sending almost thousand army
people to Latvia and to the Baltic states to ensure that we have credible deterrence from the NATO side and Denmark contribute to that. So we are on
all parameters, very engaged in encountering this aggression that we see from Russia and Putin, Russia has to be stopped as soon as possible.
GIOKOS: Minister, you also have a referendum coming up that is going to hopefully overturn what you call the opt out from E.U. defense policies.
How is that going to change your contribution to NATO and also in terms of your defenses that you'll be contributing to the E.U.?
KOFOD: Well, part of that agreement we make bipartisan in Denmark is that we will increase our defense spending to two percent of GDP. So that's an
annual increase of two to three billion U.S. dollars. And we want to be fully part of the common security and defense cooperation in the European
Union. Because we are in a situation after the Russian aggression against Ukraine that each and every country has to ask himself, what can we do to
stand up for our security and our values?
And for Denmark, it means that we will have a referendum and the government's recommendation to the Danish population is clear, we need to
get rid of our opt out on defense cooperation, because we need to strengthen the Western institutions, NATO, E.U. to counter what we see of
Russia of today.
GIOKOS: You've also congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his second term. He's won. How important is it for Denmark? Is it for Europe? Would you say for
leadership continuity at this time in France?
KOFOD: Well, first of all, congratulations to Macron. It's a historical result, we have to go 20 years back to see a French president being
reelected. And it is important that the unity and cooperation among European states but also transatlantic is strong. And we are united. We --
increasingly also our sanctions against Russia. We increasing our aid of weapons to Ukraine and we also politically isolate Russia, confront Russia
wherever we can.
Whether it's in the U.N. or other places. So, having a leadership there in France is important and we know Macron and the government and they have
been also with us standing united confronting Russian aggression. And that is really, really good for Europe
[10:25:08]
GIOKOS: So, you know, you're talking about sanctions. And this is going to be quite important to talking about the sixth round of sanctions. You
mentioned oil and gas. We know European countries are dragging their feet when it comes to gas, because it just as absolute vital commodity. You also
rely on Russian gas, but you've made a pledge, you do have gas fields in the northern seas that you're able to tap into.
And you're able to reignite those. But, you know, this is about a timeline that many say, is just going to take far too long. In the meantime,
Europeans are paying right for Russian gas and oil, what kind of timeframe are you looking at?
KOFOD: Well, on a very short timeframe, we are doing contingency planning. So, we are ready to deal with any situation with Russia. And we have to in
Europe as soon as possible to get out of our important dependence on Washington gas, oil, coal and the plan for that we are working with our
European partners with to ensure that to happen because, of course, we would not be part of supporting the Russian economy by buying the energy.
So, it is really, really crucial for Europe and Denmark is in the forefront. We also have to invest heavily in renewable. We have abandoned
sea -- wind power in the North Sea also that we can harvest is true. We are on the short term reopening some gas fields that were closed, in order to
secure that we will have a gas -- not Putin's gas, but a gas from Europe. And we are also looking with our partners, the U.S. and others to have gas
supplies to Europe so we can deal with any situation. So we aim situation - -
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: But Minister, I want us to be realistic here. I want us to be realistic here. Because all of these, you know, renewable energy projects,
we're talking about 2030 being the timeline or 2025, you know, at the earliest of trying to get more electricity capacity onto the grid. These
are not going to happen tomorrow. You know, do we have to wait that long for Europe to not be reliant on oil and gas? Is there no other alternative
would you say?
KOFOD: No, we have to work as fast as possible. And you're right. What -- Europe is astrometric relation to import of Russian energy, some countries
are very exposed to that. So, what we need is European solidarity. We need European cooperation so we can get out of this dependency in Russian gas as
soon as possible. And Denmark is pushing for that. Also, if it's going to happen fast, because we think that all sanctions should be on the table
because we make we need to impose the cost to Russia as high as possible.
So we can stop the war in Ukraine, we can stop Putin's aggression. And Europe here, it has to stand up for that.
GIOKOS: OK. Let's talk about the sixth round of sanctions. You know, you're pushing for this, give me a sense of what you want to see on the table
right now. And do you think that it's going to help push Putin to the negotiating table? Or is it going to further aggravate him?
KOFOD: Well, I mean, every parameter, we have to make it as costly as possible for Putin and Russia. So, we can stop the war and the aggression
against Ukraine. So, sanctions is one element and we are -- you are rightly, we are discussing the six package now. Everything is on the table
from the Danish side, we are ready to the most (INAUDIBLE) that we can agree upon. Weapons supply to Ukraine. So, we make it very costly on the
battlefield for Russia.
So, the equation from Russia will change. And, of course, also continuing global support to isolate Russia politically and also with our partners,
not only in Europe and transatlantic, but also in the rest of the world. That is really what we have to do and we need to scale up, we need to speed
up that process so we can stop Putin.
GIOKOS: Thank you very much, Minister. Great to have you on the show. Now as a major NATO ally, the results of the French presidential election may
heavily influenced the group's reaction to the war in Ukraine.
Ahead, the most pressing issues domestic and foreign for France's newly reelected president.
Plus, we'll take a look back at Mr. Macron's first term as president. How he is promising to govern differently this time around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:48]
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi and you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Just hours after Emmanuel Macron was reelected as the
president of France, he and his allies are waging a new fight to secure a majority in Parliament. Sunday's runoff election puts it Mr. Macron
considered centrist against far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen. It's the second time the two of them have faced one another in a runoff.
As a staunch supporter of the European Union. Mr. Macron's reelection has significance far beyond France's borders. Let's bring in our Paris
Correspondent Melissa Bell who's following this for us. Was a comfortable margin but Marine Le Pen has historic numbers. And she even though conceded
defeat said that this is historic win for her. Now it's all about Parliament, isn't it?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Which is true. We've got those legislative elections coming up next month, Eleni. And more than
that, as you suggest that party that Marine Le Pen has so successfully brought into the French mainstream really did achieve a remarkable score.
Although she did not win, just over five million votes, divided her from President Macron.
So, while he may become the next French president getting that second term that no other French president had achieved in 20 years, it is nonetheless
remarkable what she's managed to do. Now, part of that is because she's sort of the course of the last few years to detoxify her party from the
image it had under her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen but more importantly, perhaps the lady has fought remarkably successful campaign.
Really tapping into that anger felt by so many people here in France. You'll remember the yellow vest protests of a couple of years ago and
fighting on a platform of trying to bring the cost of living down and give the French the means to make ends meet at the end of the month. One of the
big questions is how Emmanuel Macron, a popular of -- a president so popular abroad could have proven over the last few years as divisive as he
has in France.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELL (voice over): Young, bold, ambitious.
MACRON: We had the dawn of an extraordinary renaissance.
BELL: When Emmanuel Macron became the president of France in 2017, he promised a fresh direction for the country. Pro business and staunchly pro
European. Within months, he was mired in challenges that would dog his presidency. The first was one of his own making. Sparked by a tax on diesel
that particularly affected poor rural drivers. Tens of thousands of French protesters took to the streets.
JEROME RODRIGUES, LEADING YELLOW VESTS PROTESTER (through translator): French people don't have the means to buy an electric vehicle. And if you
want it, it's the straw that broke the camel's back.
BELL: The yellow vest movement became one of the most significant French protests in decades. Although Macron eventually rode back on the diesel
tax.
MACRON: I will not give anything to those who want destruction and disorder because the Republic is both public order and the free expression of
opinions.
BELL: As protests faded, the unexpected struck, COVID-19.
MACRON: We are at war declared Macron. Shutting down France in one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe.
[10:35:02]
DJILLALI ANNANE, HEAD OF INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, RAYMOND POINCARE HOSPITAL: So, first wave, people were really angry because of neglected and the need
for full lockdown and the number of fatal cases.
BELL: Despite a slow rollout for European vaccines Macron doubled down on vaccinations to get France out of lockdowns mandating health policies to
push people to get jabbed.
Protests from a vocal minority erupted in response, even as demand for vaccines skyrocketed almost overnight. But it's been internationally where
Macron has had some of his most important moments, all marked by his distinctive style.
NATHALIE LOISEAU, MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: He speaks his mind. He speaks loud when you cannot use the same old diplomatic words. And he's
done it quite often. It's blunt. It's disruptive. But then people listen.
BELL: There was his troubled bromance with Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've had really a very good relationship, very special.
BELL: His push for a more united sovereign Europe free from a reliance on U.S. geopolitical muscle, then France's betrayal by the United States over
submarines for Australia. One of the biggest setbacks to the centuries old Paris-Washington relationship. And Macron was desperate push to avert and
then end Europe's latest war.
Looking ahead, Macron has been eyeing a controversial reform of France's generous pension system in a second term. Massive industrial investment, as
well as the European Union autonomous in energy, strategy and technology. It's perhaps little surprise that for France's youngest and perhaps most
Eurocentric president, his most ambitious plans for the future lie with Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BELL: Which is why, Eleni, there was an almost audible sigh of relief from France's European partners. Macron's next battle though, those legislative
elections next month.
GIOKOS: Right. Melissa bell in Paris, thank you so very much. Great to see you. We are going to a very short break. We'll be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: This week we're launching our new series, Mission Ahead to introduce you to the innovator's tackling our world's biggest challenges by
taking on big bold missions in science. Today. We look at sleep. We all want more of it so of course and CNN's Rachel Crane visits one tech startup
that might finally have the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Imagine being able to fall asleep anywhere you want. Anytime you want. Ziv Peremen
says he can do both. But this 33-year-old hasn't been PhD in neuro cognitive science and has spent years studying how our brains work. He
knows some of us aren't so lucky.
[10:40:07]
ZIV PEREMEN, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, X-TRODES: There are so many people that suffer for post sleeping and even more suffer from poor quality of sleep
because of snoring partner or having a newborn that wake up every three hours.
CRANE: I have (INAUDIBLE) those things.
Technology probably can't help me there. But what it can do is help you better understand sleep behaviors, how long you sleep and how much you toss
and turn. Beyond that, you'll probably need something more sophisticated than a store-bought tracker.
PEREMEN: Today, our amazing solution for measuring sleep in wetness level. All kinds of watches, mattresses, but when you would like to measure all
the aspects of sleep. Here we have a gap.
CRANE: In Peremen things, this device could fill that gap. A band aid like sleep tracker fitted with dozens of tiny sensors, the pickup electrical
activity in the body while you sleep, sending the data straight to a smart device data like muscle activity, eye movement and even brainwaves. The
kind of information you normally only get at a clinic. This you can use at home by yourself for a 10th of the cost of a professional sleep study,
Peremen says.
The tracker is 10 years in the making and the reason pyramid co founded his Israeli-based startup X-Trodes in 2020.
Even with growing interest in sleep is medical grade testing of your sleep still a relatively niche market?
PEREMEN: We start to understand that sleep is a goldmine for understanding our health.
CRANE: A better data could also help medical researchers and not just ones who study sleep, Peremen says.
PEREMEN: We can identify both sleep disorder but also sleep patterns that relate it to other disorders.
CRANE: But for many of the new sleep gadgets on the market, accuracy remains hard to prove, say experts.
REBECCA ROBBINS, SLEEP SCIENTIST, INSTRUCTOR IN MEDICINE, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: Because it is truly complex to determine that staging of sleep,
that movement in and out of the various stages. So, the best way for companies to do that would be to partner with scientists to make sure that
their algorithms are scoring sleep correctly and are giving information back to their consumers that is accurate.
CRANE: Peremen says his technology is currently being tested by independent researchers for validation. It still needs FDA approval, but if that goes
well, this tracker could be on the market by 2023.
PEREMEN: A lot of our activity now is provides a system for all kinds of researchers to find new patterns during sleep.
CRANE: In the long run that can help us all snooze.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Fascinating. The real breakthrough hive will be to get children to sleep through the night. OK. So, moving on. Novak Djokovic is still one of
the most famous names in the world of tennis. A real superstar though, he hasn't been shining too brightly as of late. His last game was in the
Serbia Open final. Serbia is of course his home country. And the fans expected big things and I will let will sports Amanda Davies tell you just
what happened. Amanda it is of course -- yes.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Really. It's really --
GIOKOS: Sad news for Novak.
DAVIES: It's not been the start of the year that he would have wanted at all. You know, of course starting off in Australia and being sent home from
the defense of his Australian Open crown because of his refusal to be vaccinated and his amount of playing time is still being massively reduced.
Because of that -- because of the restrictions from him traveling around the world. He was welcomed with open arms as you'd expect at home in
Belgrade.
He made it to the final which is progress to what we've seen from him on court so far this year, but he was beaten in three sets, really fell apart.
Ran out of steam in the deciding set. Losing it six-love to Andre Rublev from Russia. So, back to the drawing board for Novak Djokovic on a tough
task ahead heading into the French Open at Roland Garros.
GIOKOS: Yes. Painful loss. Well, thank you, Amanda. We'll be back with sports after the short break. Stay with us.
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(WORLD SPORT)
END e to Andre Rublev from Russia. So, back to the drawing board for Novak Djokovic on a tough task ahead heading into the French Open at Roland
Garros.
GIOKOS: Yes. Painful loss. Well, thank you, Amanda. We'll be back with sports after the short break. Stay with us.
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(WORLD SPORT)
END
END
