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Emmanuel Macron Pulled Off Sunday's Runoff Election; U.S. Diplomats Met with President Zelenskyy; Emmanuel Macron Will Face More Challenges Ahead; French Youth Not Satisfied with Election Result; Tech Startup Studies How We Can Sleep Smarter. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 25, 2022 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour live in Paris where, for the first time in 20 years, a French president has won reelection.

Emmanuel Macron pulled in 59 percent of the vote, compared to his ultra-right nationalist challenger Marine Le Pen who got 41 percent. And that is the closest to far-right candidate as ever come to winning the French presidency.

Mr. Macron is facing a slew of economic challenges, including soaring energy prices. In his victory speech, he acknowledged the discontent that drove voters to the far-right, and he vowed to make changes in his second term. Mr. Macron is also facing an apathetic French public, and we're still waiting for final numbers. But it does look like more than 20 percent of the voters didn't cast ballot this go around. And that would be the highest abstention rate for a French runoff election in 20 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): It will be up to us to work together to achieve this unity, which will enable us to live more happily in France, and meet the challenges that await us. The years to come will certainly not be quiet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So, Le Pen last night was quick to come after the vote was clear. She didn't exactly concede but she acknowledged he had won. She celebrated her party's much-improved showing since the last vote. Which indeed it was. And she said and she claimed they're well positioned for June's parliamentary elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARINE LE PEN, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): This result constitutes where our French leaders as well our European leaders the sign of a great defiance from the French people towards them. Which they can't ignore. And that of a widely shared aspiration for a big change.

The French have shown tonight their wish for a counter power that is strong against that of Emmanuel Macron's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Our other top story this hour, the trip by two top officials to Ukraine where they met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That was on Sunday. Ukraine's government has released this video of the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin being greeted by Mr. Zelenskyy. And they are the highest level of U.S. officials to visit Ukraine since Russia's invasion began.

They spoke a short time ago in Poland after returning from Kyiv. Blinken said Russia is trying to, quote, "brutalized parts of Ukraine still."

And for more on all of this, let's bring in Isa Soares in Lviv. That's in Ukraine, just across the Polish border. Isa?

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christiane, we have heard from both the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as you said, the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin who spoke in the last hour or so, having met of course President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. They met at the presidential palace.

So, a meeting that we were told productive and engaging. A meeting that lasted about three hours. Speaking to the press from Poland just across the border Secretary Blinken said that Russia continues to try to subjects -- continues to subjugate parts of the country and also brutalize parts of the country.

He also praised the courage, immense courage of Ukrainian civilians, as well as the troops in Ukraine. Calling them, his words were, magnificent. And really praising them for pushing back against Russian aggression. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Massive pressure against Russia. Solidarity with more than 30 countries engage in these efforts is having real results. And we're seeing that when it comes to Russia's war aims, Russia is failing. Ukraine is succeeding.

The bottom line is this. 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's on the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Stronger words there from Antony Blinken. We also heard from Lloyd Austin who said, look, the secret to winning is believing that you can win. And Ukrainians believe they can win. And we believe that they can win. And we want Russia, he said, to be weakened. In terms of deliverables here in this meeting, because if you remember

on Saturday President Zelenskyy said I hope my guest don't show up empty handed, to which president -- to which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today, we never come empty handed.

This is what we know. U.S. diplomats will start returning to Ukraine as of this week. They'll start making it day-to-day trips to where I am in Lviv. We know that President Biden is expected to announce an ambassador to Ukraine. That's going to be Bridget Brink who is the current ambassador to Slovakia.

[03:05:04]

Of course, Ukraine hasn't had an ambassador here since 2009. In terms of military aid and military support, Biden's intention, we're being told, is to provide $713 million of additional military port -- support, and that would not only be for Ukraine, but also 15 allied partners in east Ukraine -- in east Europe, as well as the Balkans.

Of that 713 million, about 322 million will go directly to Ukraine. And that really will help Ukraine transition from its Soviet arms to more advance arms and weaponry and air defense in line with NATO.

So, very strong words coming from U.S. officials. The highest-ranking officials to visit Ukraine since the war began. And some six -- in some 60 days or so, an important optics as well, but deliverables here given what we've seen here in the last few days as that offensive from Russia as they push further in the east and the south, Christiane.

AMANPOUR: Isa, thank you. And as you mentioned, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a very clear strategic goal public, he said we were going to do enough to help them win this fight and to lay the groundwork for tomorrow. And Antony Blinken weighed in saying and to do everything to lay the groundwork for negotiations if there is a negotiation.

SOARES: Yes.

AMANPOUR: And Isa, we've been speaking to many of the French officials, supporters of Emmanuel Macron in his victory who believe that the cause of democracy is served if they give Ukraine enough to win this fight and to force Putin to the negotiating table.

And we will have more now on Macron's victory in this historic election overnight.

So, as we said, 59 percent for Macron, 41 percent for his far-right challenger marine Le Pen. It was a pretty big showing for her but he did pull it off.

Let's bring in senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann who joins us from Paris here with a little bit of the pulse of the voters. Jim?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christiane, the voters are going to work this morning. It's another day, it's not an election day so they are on their way to their offices around town. And we're just on a cafe here, and I thought I would go through a little bit of things that I know you've been through the newspapers here this morning. But there are a couple of things that I spotted in Le Parisien that were kind of interesting.

A spot poll that was taken after last night's election. And in that spot poll they discovered that about 20 percent of the French were disappointed with the results of the election. Twenty percent are relieved, and 18 people said they're angry. And an unbelievable 77 percent believe that there is going to be trouble for Mr. Macron in the coming months.

But there's one number I think that maybe we should point to too, and that's 44. That's Mr. Macron's age. We talked a lot about the fact that he is the first president in 20 years to get reelected. But in fact, the other presidents that were reelected in France were Francois Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac were much older when they were reelected.

In fact, Mitterrand were suffering from cancer. We didn't know that. His final term was pretty much lackluster. And the same with Jacques Chirac. Chirac left office with a 19 percent approval rating, not very high.

So, Mr. Macron is in a much better position to really command this country, and come in with some ideas that just because of his age, Christiane.

AMANPOUR: And, Jim, one can't avoid the context that many people say here, at least his allies, that actually the war in Ukraine and his leadership and the stakes were so high that actually it did help propel him to this victory.

BITTERMANN: Well, I think that's absolutely right. I think the French believe that they like to have a vision of the -- a world vision. And not a lot of other countries have that. The United States may have a world vision, but you don't see the same sort of thing from Germany or Italy.

Basically, in fact, the French are proud of the idea that they have a world leader for a president. And I think that Mr. Macron kind of demo created that. Christiane?

AMANPOUR: Jim, thank you. And just to repeat, President Biden, he has congratulated President Macron as well. You know, France being our oldest ally, a key partner in addressing global challenges. And he said he continues to looking forward to working with President Macron, not just on Ukraine but on supporting the global democracy movement. That he really has made a mission of his presidency there in the United States.

[03:10:03]

So, let's talk more about Macron's victory and what it means. Joining me in Paris Sylvie Kauffman. She is the editorial director at Le Monde, one of the main newspapers here. Welcome to the program, Sylvie. We've talked about the stakes. And

just your initial reaction to his victory and the spread of the margin.

SYLVIE KAUFFMAN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, LE MONDE: Yes. It's a, I think we can call it another French product because this is very clear and sound victory. You know, he managed to pull it off. It was difficult and it was not a done deal at all. Fifty-eight, 59 percent is really, you know, quite a good margin, I think.

And yet, it's -- there's no triumphant mood. It's a kind of sobering victory. So, I think, you know, he knows that there are many, many challenges ahead. And we know French -- French people and the French voters know that it's not going to be an easy second term.

AMANPOUR: So, Jim was repeating -- reporting some of the, sort of, you know, initial polls that have come out, Le Parisien has done a little bit of sondage as you say. About 70 -- 17 -- sorry -- percent say that they are still pretty angry. And that these next weeks, you know, as he gets his next cabinet together as he fights the legislative election and probably lays out his mission for the next five years is going to be crucial. How he lays it out, what he chooses to focus on.

KAUFFMAN: Yes. So, you know, there's no doubt about it, this is a divided country. This is a polarized country. And I think this is something in the United State you are quite familiar with, this mood of the country and of the society. Macron's first term was really marked by crisis. It was crisis after crisis. We had the Yellow Vest. We had COVID-19. We had the war the Ukraine for everybody which had a big impact here too because of energy prices and so on.

There were strikes. You know? So, it has been a difficult first term. And the French society I think is really wounded in a way. It's a fragile condition. So, everybody is aware of this. There's anger, there's frustration. And Macron's speech, I think last night was a show that he was aware of this. He knows.

I don't think he's under much illusion about the political crisis. You know, we also have a very fragile political system which he had to --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Save, basically.

KAUFFMAN: -- dynamite. No, no, I think he overthrew our mainstream political system --

AMANPOUR: That's right.

KAUFFMAN: -- five years ago, but he hasn't helped to rebuild it.

AMANPOUR: Right.

KAUFFMAN: And that's one of his tasks ahead. This political system has to be rebuilt, the mainstream political parties have gone, have collapsed. You know, the socialist party, the center-right party, they are completely gone. And the far-right is now kind of the new mainstream.

AMANPOUR: And we haven't talk about the far-left either.

KAUFFMAN: Absolutely.

AMANPOUR: Because, you know, I don't know whether there are many of the abstentions, but in the first round, nearly -- well, around 55 percent of the vote that's the majority, --

KAUFFMAN: Yes.

AMANPOUR: -- went for the two extremes. I want to ask you something because you talked about divisive politics and France is very fragile. And yet, maybe not. I mean, people were worried that Le Pen would pull off a Brexit or a Trump.

KAUFFMAN: Yes.

AMANPOUR: So that kind of explosion in mainstream politics. But in France did not do that.

KAUFFMAN: Yes. Yes. There are some strong lines in France. And the European, the attachment to the European Union is one of those lines. And that's quite discomforting in a way. It's a fundamental --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: belief by the people.

KAUFFMAN: -- belief in France, yes, that the European Union has to be strengthened. And that's why Marine Le Pen had to soften her tone --

AMANPOUR: Yes.

KAUFFMAN: -- and have more moderate views on, you know, she didn't advocate Brexit. She didn't advocate leaving the Euro zone. So that's one thing. Another thing is, despite its fragility and its frustration, so if you look at the behavior of the French people during the COVID-19 crisis, you know, we had very strict lockdown --

AMANPOUR: Yes.

KAUFFMAN: -- and everybody laugh about these forms we had to fill and everything. People just respected it. They are no riots here. We love riots. There are no riots about --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Unlike in the United States.

KAUFFMAN: -- about lockdown, about vaccines, you know, mandatory vaccines. So, you know, that's another interesting thing about the French society that there is this tradition of protesting, and it is true that there is frustration. The cost-of-living issue is a real issue. And that's why Marine Le Pen I think scored so high.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

KAUFFMAN: Much more because of this than because of any addition to her far-right beliefs.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

[03:14:58]

KAUFFMAN: I don't think there's so much sympathy for this. But it is still a society which is holding.

AMANPOUR: And where she, let's face it, far-right did a really, really strong showing, stronger than ever.

KAUFFMAN: It is, it is but I -- yes. It is a fact, and it is a worrisome fact, and I think Emmanuel Macron is aware of this. But, you know, we'll have to see with the figures, when we find figures whether this is really a vote for the far-right --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Or against --

KAUFFMAN: -- or just a protest vote.

AMANPOUR: Very interesting. Sylvie Kauffman, thank you so much indeed.

KAUFFMAN: My pleasure.

AMANPOUR: And now we're going to have breaking news coverage which continues, but we're going to take a break first.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: So, there were some protests last night, angry over the French election results and how it all turned up. This was in Paris and some other cities. Some even shot fireworks at police, who then responded with tear gas.

President Emmanuel Macron, easily defeated the far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Sunday's runoff and he did actually acknowledge that there were divisions in the country. And he knew that some people didn't vote for him, but against her.

[03:20:04]

In addition, voter turnout was low, suggesting that many were unsatisfied with both candidates. Nevertheless, there were celebrations, and of course relief in France by many, many people after Mr. Macron's runoff victory, he secured 59 percent of the vote. And he is now the first French president to win reelection in the last 20 years. The numbers give him a second term, but not necessarily a knockout

win. His opponent got 41 percent of the vote, and as we've been saying, it is the closest a far-right candidate has ever got to winning the French presidency.

Now Megan Clement is a French journalist, and she is the editor of the women's right newsletter called Impact. And she's joining me from here to talk about this.

Let's first talk about the election result and kind of what we've been just saying. There were some people, I mean, I hate to make a huge big deal about a little bit of protest. But some of the, you know, the after polling shows that there is still a high dissatisfaction level. And Macron did acknowledge that in his victory speech last night. How do you see that playing out?

MEGAN CLEMENT, FRENCH JOURNALIST: Well, I think it's interesting that he did mention it. Because this was sort of a rare act of humility, I think it's fair to say from the president who has this reputation of arrogance.

So, I think it does show that there is a vein of anger in this country. We have always a paradox in France, people are very angry often we see it in the streets, but essentially the country functions. And Macron has maintained a pretty good personal popularity, while at the same time inspiring a lot of anger. So that paradox is just going to continue for the next five years.

AMANPOUR: OK. Just talk to us about that, because that is something that a lot of people look out, and some of our colleagues at the FT, Simon Kuper has written a lot about this. He lists all the successes of the Macron years, whether it's in the unemployment rate, the reform in certain other aspects.

His, you know, clear management of not just the COVID pandemic, but also the war in Ukraine, all these big crises that not, you know, that have hit his presidency. And yet, perennially, the French feel dissatisfied. Do you think that's just as it is and it always be like that?

CLEMENT: It's hard to know if it will always be that way. I think there is a way in this country of holding your government to account often.

AMANPOUR: Right.

CLEMENT: And often on the streets. I don't know that that's necessarily a bad thing. But I think this is something that Macron is going to have to grapple with. There is anger. We've seen it with the gilet jaunes, we will see more of it, I think. And that's just going to be one of the many challenges that he has.

AMANPOUR: So, remembering that the gilet jaunes protests I think started with a promise that Macron had laid out in his first campaign of raising fuel taxes to be environmental, I mean, to try to bring down the carbon pollution and all the rest of it. What does that mean given that, you know, everybody raises the gilets jaunes now to a program where he says he wants to concentrate on the environment, he wants to meet young people's desires for a greener safer, you know, planet.

CLEMENT: I think the problem with what happened with the gilet jaune is Macron did not really realize how that fuel price ride was going to affect the poorest in France. We do have a cost-of-living crisis here. So, I think there is possibility for him to act for the environment but it has to be understanding that it's going to hit some people harder enough than others and make sure that that is built in to his policy.

AMANPOUR: Yes. And that's what we spoke to Clement Beaune whose his Europe minister and he said the same thing, to continue our policies but to make sure that there protections for those who can at least, you know, who can at least withstand it.

Given the fact, you know, it's a cliche, but you are a women's magazine, you talk about gender issues. Marine Le Pen the first serious female can't. Well, I know (Inaudible) were at rail, but she came very close as a far-right candidate to winning. What would that have meant for this country and for gender issues?

CLEMENT: I think it would've been a disaster. Marine Le Pen wanted to ban head scarf in the street in a country where Muslim women are really at the forefront of problems with Islamophobia. I mean, 75 percent of acts of Islamophobia in France are against Muslim women. So, we're already in a very difficult environment. So, I think she would have been the first female president but I do not think it would've been a good thing for women in this country --

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: So, let's talk about Muslim women, because she thinks she's tapping in to some nationwide Islamophobia. And although she didn't make immigration a huge front and center part because she didn't really need to, she tapped into cost of living and she was trying to soften her image. Nonetheless, her immigration policies were incredibly harsh, and to an extent, the criticism of President Macron and the others is that the right has determined the debate on immigration, and forced everybody towards that very hardline.

[03:25:02]

Do you think that will continue, is that an important issue going forward, immigration?

CLEMENT: I think it's going to be interesting, because the first term of Macron he was really always had the far-right looking over his shoulder for his reelection campaign. He's not going to be reelected this time.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

CLEMENT: So, he really can't govern, I think more freely. So, it remains to be seen what his real kind of feelings and policies are on this issue.

AMANPOUR: And what about, again, young people and bringing them in. I guess everybody just really almost can't believe the fact that nearly 60 percent, 55 or so percent voted for the extremes, including the young people plus the abstention right. And we'll have to see how that breaks down and who was staying at home or spoiling their ballots.

How does one bring the young people on site who feel as we just heard from our guest that there's a little bit of democracy fatigue that nothing seems to work for them. At least that's what they think.

CLEMENT: Yes, I think young people in this country have seen not much has changed for a long time. I think one thing that Macron could do to reach out is to pursue a very serious environmental program. We see consistently that climate change is one of the most important issues to young people.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

CLEMENT: So, I think that's going to be indispensable. But I do think young people in this country are quite jaded after watching two elections in a row where you have the center right versus the far- right and not much -- not much choice.

AMANPOUR: And yet his reforms on the employment did make it much easier to hire young people and others, right? And brought down the unemployment rate.

CLEMENT: Yes, but I think young people are still thinking about their retirement, and that's looking pretty sketchy at the moment. You know, pension reform is one thing that Macron absolutely has to do this term.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

CLEMENT: It looks like the next generations are not going to have the same comfortable retirement that the previous generations had. And there's a sense of general -- generational injustice there, I think.

AMANPOUR: Really interesting. Megan Clement, thank you so much indeed for being with us.

CLEMENT: Thank you for having me.

AMANPOUR: Now America's top diplomat has met with Ukraine's president on Sunday. Antony Blinken's harsh assessment of Russia's war on Ukraine when we return and the visit of the secretary of defense as well.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. We're here, I'm Christiane Amanpour live in Paris, covering the aftermath of the French election. U.S. secretary of the state and the defense secretary have held talks in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That was on Sunday. They have become the first and the highest-level U.S. officials to travel to Ukraine since the conflict began. Now, the meeting was initially scheduled for 90 minutes, but we hear it lasted about three hours.

During a news conference last hour in neighboring Poland, Antony Blinken gave a stinging review of Russia's brutal campaign in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Russia continues to try to brutalize parts of the country. And the death and destruction that we continue to see is horrific. But Ukrainians are standing up, they're standing strong, and they're doing that with the support that we have coordinated from literally around the world.

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)

AMANPOUR (on camera): And Blinken said they are committed to maintaining Ukraine's independence and sovereignty.

Meantime, a Ukrainian military official says that Russian troops are forming an offensive strike formation from the Kherson region as Moscow refocuses its efforts to try and take eastern and southern Ukraine. To that end, Russia also is launching new attacks on the besieged city of Mariupol.

And Ukraine's deputy prime minister says that they are trying to open a humanitarian corridor today after being unable to do so on Sunday.

And indeed, the U.S. secretary of defense said that they are committed to helping Ukraine to -- quote -- "win this fight," adding that they want to do everything to help Ukraine while they tried to also lay the groundwork for any negotiation with Russian should one take place.

Now, here in Paris, Emmanuel Macron in France has been a key -- a key leader of the coalition against the war in Ukraine, and he is celebrating today a comfortable reelection victory. He has secured 59% of the vote in Sunday's runoff, and he has become the first French president in 20 years to win reelection.

Mr. Macron's victory has supporters of a strong united Europe breathing a sigh of relief. Now, though, he must govern France with the knowledge that 41% of voters supported his far-right opponent, Marine Le Pen. Both candidates touched on that reality in their remarks after the polls closed on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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, build and strengthen all areas, and we will do so.

We will also need, my friends, to be kind and respectful, because our country is full of so many doubts, so many divisions, so we will need to be strong, but no one will be left behind.

MARINE LE PEN, FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): The five years which are beginning this evening will do nothing to dispel the contempt of Macron has held (ph). More than ever, I will pursue my commitment to France and to French with the determination and the will that you know that I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR (on camera): Now, as international support came in, so it did too from the U.S. president, Joe Biden, who praised the election victory of Emmanuel Macron, calling him one of America's oldest and most steadfast allies and saying he look forward to continuing to working with Macron on the war in Ukraine and on the democracy project worldwide.

Joining me now here to discuss is Daniele Obono. She is a member of the French National Assembly, and she is also former spokesperson for La France Insoumise. That is the party of the far-left candidate Jean- Luc Melenchon.

Daniele, welcome to the program. I think the name of that party is quite significant given how much Jean-Luc Melenchon, who is considered far-left, won in the first round.

[03:35:00]

AMANPOUR: So, how do you translate the name of your party in English?

DANIELE OBONO, MEMBER, FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: Well, we could say French untamed.

AMANPOUR: Untamed.

OBONO: Untamed or rebellious.

AMANPOUR: Rebellious.

OBONO: We are not far-left because there were far-left candidates during the first round. We are the left, the actual left. We rebuild the left. Thanks to this campaign we call popular union in gathering all those people who believe in progress, who believe in equality in France.

AMANPOUR: Except that you are far-left of the traditional socialist leftist party, the mainstream. So, one of the things that many people were quite amazed by is that Melenchon, your candidate, came within --

OBONO: Right.

AMANPOUR: -- a couple of percentage points --

OBONO: Yeah.

AMANPOUR: -- of actually being Le Pen and facing Macron in the runoff. Why do you think he wasn't able to cobble together a coalition with other members of the left and the greens and the others to actually do that?

OBONO: I think we managed pretty well. When you consider that we have the entire system against us, considering that Emmanuel Macron had been helping the far-right actually getting to the second run, he said that his best opponent was Marine Le Pen, because he knew facing Marine Le Pen would help him win the second round of the election.

And so, we beat all the hoax. Nobody expected us to get such a result. And now, that's the third round of the presidential election. We said it. We are monitoring to get together with the green, with the communist, and we will manage to get this alliance.

We are the third block on the political landscape now and the idea is to get Jean-Luc Melenchon elected prime minister, because the majority of the people don't want Emmanuel Macron to have the majority at the parliamentary election.

AMANPOUR: Okay. So, that's interesting. Tell me about the parliamentary election. You are running.

OBONO: Yeah.

AMANPOUR: You are already currently a member and you're running for your reelection. You say you want Jean-Luc Melenchon. Marine Le Pen says she is going to rally her national front, national rally party, which is far-right, to be the opposition in parliament.

OBONO: The thing is we proved during the past five years that we were the opposition. Marine Le Pen was elected at the national assembly. She was invisible. She didn't do anything. She didn't oppose any of the anti-social, anti-democratic policy that Mr. Macron elected.

And even though we were a small group, we proved to millions of people, and I think that's the reason why so many people voted for Jean-Luc Melenchon, because we were vocal about our opposition. We were also able to show that we have a lot of platforms that connected with the need of the people.

And now, we are in the process, as I said, to get together with other forces in order to get majority. I think that people realize that we need to have a strong parliamentary branch in a system that is very unbalanced. The fifth republic system (ph) is putting the president like a presidential monarch and French people don't like monarchy that much.

So, we want to prove that it's possible and we proved it with a small group. And now, it is possible actually to prevent Mr. Macron to actually hold power if we have a majority in the national assembly.

AMANPOUR: And how do you think that will help people? Will it be like gridlock if you have, you know, too such opposed visions, or what is Melenchon's aim if his party does get, you know, a big enough victory in the assembly in order for him to be prime minister?

OBONO: Well, we aim to actually implement our platform, which was about facing the cost of living and getting the necessary policies in order to face climate change, for instance. Those are the issues that people are really sensitive, especially the youth, very sensitive about.

So, we will be able actually to block rising prices. We will actually be able to get pension at 60. The majority of the people in France are in a favor to get back to the retirement --

AMANPOUR: Age.

OBONO: -- age at 60. And Mr. Macron wants to push it to 65, which means that a lot of people won't get any pension because they will be already dead. Twenty-five percent of the poorest people are dead by the time they are supposed to get retirement.

So, there are many things that we could actually do if we get this majority and we will be able actually to strengthen our country, which is very divided. There's been a lot of resistance. There's still a lot of anger against Macron's policies.

[03:40:00]

OBONO: And we need to reunite this country. I think our platform will help reunite the country.

AMANPOUR: And reuniting is really an important thing, which he has also made his mission. We'll see. Daniele Obono, member of the National Assembly, thank you so much for joining us.

OBONO: Thank you.

AMANPOUR: And our breaking news coverage continues after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (on camera): Hello, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church at CNN Center. This week, we are launching our new series "Mission Ahead" to introduce you to the innovators tackling our world's biggest challenges by taking on big, bold missions in science. And today, we look at sleep. We will want more of it, of course, and CNN's Rachel Crane visit a tech startup that might finally have the answer.

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RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine being able to fall asleep anywhere you want, any time you want. Ziv Pereman says he can do both. But this 33-year-old has a PhD and (INAUDIBLE) of science and spent years studying how our brains work. He knows some of us aren't so lucky. ZIV PEREMAN, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, X-TRODES: There are so many that suffer for poor 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 (on camera): I (INAUDIBLE) those things.

(LAUGHTER)

CRANE (voice-over): 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 (INAUDIBLE) tracker.

PEREMAN: Today, (INAUDIBLE) amazing solution for measuring sleep in (INAUDIBLE) level. All kind of watches (ph), mattresses.

[03:45:00]

PEREMAN: But when you would like to measure all the aspects of sleep, here you have a gap.

CRANE (voice-over): And Pereman thinks this device could fill that gap. A band-aid-like sleep tracker fitted with dozens of tiny sensors. They

pick up 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 (INAUDIBLE), Pereman says. The tracker is 10 years in the making and the reason Pereman co-founded in (INAUDIBLE) start of X-Trodes in 2020.

CRANE (on camera): Even with growing interest in sleep, is medical grade testing of your sleep is still a relatively niche market?

PEREMAN: We start to understand that sleep is a gold mine for understanding our health.

CRANE (voice-over): A better data could also help medical researchers. And not just ones who study sleep, Pereman says.

PEREMAN: We can identify both sleep disorder but also sleep patterns that are related to other disorders.

CRANE (voice-over): But for many of the new sleep gadgets on the market, accuracy remains hard to prove, say experts.

REBECCA ROBBINS, SLEEP SCIENTIST: 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 (voice-over): Pereman 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 in the market by 2023.

PEREMAN: Part of our activity now is to provide the system for all kind of researcher to find a new pattern during sleep.

CRANE (voice-over): In the long run, that can help us all snooze just a bit longer.

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CHURCH: The White House COVID-19 response coordinator is once again speaking out against a court decision lifting the federal mask mandate on public transit. Many airlines and ridesharing services made masks optional after a federal judge strike down the mandate last week.

Dr. Ashish Jha says the CDC should have been allowed to complete its review on masking before the judge's ruling, and he shared his views with CNN. Take a listen.

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ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Cases are rising, and they said we need a 15-day time period to assess whether that is going to lead to a big spike in hospitalizations and deaths. Any time you have a new variant, you want to know how it's going to play out. That's what the CDC scientists asked for. That was the basis for asking for that extension. I thought that was very reasonable. I wish we had been able to carry through all that.

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CHURCH: Meantime, in Shanghai, 51 COVID-related deaths were reported on Sunday. According to the government, that raises the city's total death toll to 138 during the current outbreak in China.

And in Beijing's Chaoyang District, mass COVID testing starts today, potentially affecting more than three million people. The announcement came after 11 cases were detected in Chaoyang within 24 hours.

The rush to contain the outbreak comes as fears grow across China that more stringent measures could be in store as the country sticks with a stringent zero-COVID policy.

Let's take a look at some other stories from around the world. U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel in the coming months. That is according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett after the two leaders spoke on Sunday.

The announcement comes amid renewed clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem. No official date is scheduled for the trip just yet. It will be Mr. Biden's first visit to Israel as president. He previously visited in 2010 and 2016 as vice president. Search and rescue crews in Lebanon are looking for survivors after a migrant boat capsized Saturday near Tripoli. Navy officials say the boat was overloaded with about 60 people. At least six of them drowned and 45 were rescued.

Some of those survivors say the coastguard targeted their boat, but the navy says the boats driver tried to evade authorities before striking a coastguard boat causing the accident.

And here in the U.S., a retired fire chief has died while helping with a massive wildfire in Nebraska. Officials say the 66-year-old was acting as a spotter when the flames and smoke overcame his vehicle. So-called road 7025 has burned an estimated 50,000 acres. That is more than 20,000 hectares.

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CHURCH: The state's governor has called up more than two dozen National Guard members to help with several fires.

The crew of the first all-private mission to the International Space Station is on their way back home. They left the space station on their SpaceX Dragon capsule just a few hours ago. The return process is autonomous.

So, the four crew members, who reportedly paid $55 million a seat, will be able to enjoy the departing views. The mission was supposed to be 10 days aboard the international space station, but it was extended for five days due to weather.

And after the break, we head back to Paris to rejoin Christiane Amanpour. She will share her thoughts on French President Emmanuel Macron's historic win.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The 2022 French presidential election is now over with celebrations for President Emmanuel Macron after he secured a reelection victory. We look back at the historic campaign.

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UNKNOWN (through translator): I think it's important to do one's duty as a citizen. The future of democracy is at stake. I don't want to fall into a farce. I think it's important to go and do your duty as a citizen, even if you don't necessarily agree with all of the candidates. We can and must block certain candidates.

UNKNOWN (through translator): France gave us everything. It's so lucky to have such a president in this period, someone on that level who made such sacrifices.

UNKNOWN (through translator): I won't be voting in this round, especially not for Macron.

LE PEN (through translator): We are going to form an opposition which is going to continue to defend and protect the cost of living, for example. More than ever, I will pursue my commitment to France and to French with the determination and the will that you know that I have.

MACRON (through translator): This year, this day, the 24th of April, a majority of us have voted to put their trust in me, the next president

of France for the next five years.

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(APPLAUSE)

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CHURCH: And thank you so much for watching. I'm Rosemary Church. More "CNN Newsroom" is just ahead after the short break. Stay with us.

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