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France Wakes Up To Aftermath Of Violent Protests; Albanian PM Refuses To Quit As Violent Protests Enter Sixth Day; Ukraine Hits Key Oil Terminal In Large-Scale Attack On Russia; Egypt Pledges Full Support for Saudi Arabia Against Houthis; U.S. Wants Israel To "Crack Down" On Settler Violence In West Bank; Four Dead And 39 In Hospital After Canada Military Base Fire; Pope Addresses Crowd In Vatican After Cancer Surgery. Japan's Mission to the Moons of Mars. Aired 1-1:45a ET

Aired October 19, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:37]

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello from Hong Kong. I'm Will Ripley and this is CNN Newsroom. Daylight in Paris, a city reeling from violence gets its first look at the destruction from Saturday's riots. President Emmanuel Macron calls for action, but who's listening?

Ukraine strikes back, launching a powerful new attack on Russia's energy infrastructure, angering President Trump.

And mission to Mars, Japan about to embark on a bold new endeavor to solve the mysteries of the Martian moons.

We begin this hour with French President Emmanuel Macron speaking to the nation. There was a weekend of mass demonstrations and rioting. It left windows shattered, stores looted and public buildings burned across the country.

More than half a million people participated in the anti-government protests on Saturday, the vast majority of them peacefully. Mr. Macron says the majority have legitimate grievances about things like the rising cost of living brought on by the U.S. war with Iran. But he says what he calls seditious elements from far left factions carried out the violence, and he says they will be prosecuted.

People cheered in Limoges as the historic City Hall collapsed. Rioters set it on fire. Here's what the mayor there had to say in response to these apocalyptic scenes.

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GUILLAUME GUERIN, LIMOGES MAYOR (through translator): What I want today is for the government to realize that the reason City hall burned down is that we were unable to keep the rioters contained to the boulevards simply because we lack the means to do so. That is unacceptable. I expect a firm response from the government, a shift in policy and above all, a specific plan for Limoges, along with the millions in funding that will be required to rebuild City hall and Restore Public Services.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: CNN's Melissa Bell is on the ground as Paris wakes up and begins to assess the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A walk with the dog in Paris shows the now and then of widespread protests in France, demonstrations that were largely peaceful but on Saturday night became century (ph). The interior minister said that more than half a million people took part in nationwide protests over rising costs, complaints of government inaction and poor school conditions that at times turned quickly destructive.

Rioters smashed storefronts, set fires and attacked public buildings, leaving the nation in shock. French President Emmanuel Macron blamed far left groups and criminals for the unrest and vowed to take action.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Those who destroyed property must pay. Those who looted must reimburse the damage. Those who sought to bring down the republic will be held accountable.

BELL (voice-over): President Macron held an emergency meeting with his ministers on Sunday, with more talks planned on Monday with French mayors to address public safety and the grievances raised by protesters. Meanwhile, a massive cleanup operation is underway.

In Paris, a task force was announced to support damaged businesses. French authorities say that looters ransacked hundreds of stores and supermarkets across the country.

Even the statue of Marianne in the Place de la Republique is covered in graffiti, and its base is damaged after protesters scaled the iconic French symbol the previous day as clashes with police raged around it. Some people say that parts of the French capital look like a war zone and are still stunned by the destruction.

MARGAU EUDE, PARIS RESIDENT (through translator): I support the mobilization. I was working yesterday. I couldn't come to protest, but I didn't think it would escalate like this because it's the troublemakers who came. And it breaks my heart because it delegitimizes the movement.

BELL (voice-over): But Paris isn't the only place reeling from the riots. In Limoges, authorities say that masked rioters torched the historic town hall, a landmark that survived two world wars but not Saturday's chaos. And in Marseille, residents are picking up the pieces after a night of rampant looting and vandalism.

[01:05:00] FARIDA, MARSEILLE RESIDENT (through translator): It's heartbreaking seeing our city like this. If every protest ends with all the shop windows smashed and stores trashed, this simply can't go on.

BELL (voice-over): On Sunday, there were still some skirmishes in Paris. But as the smoke clears, the underlying issues that sparked these turbulent protests will likely be key factors in next year's presidential poll. A race where Macron isn't running after reaching his two term limitations, and one where both the far right and the far left are gaining ground. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

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RIPLEY: And it's not just happening in France. Anger is boiling over across Europe. There's this wave of discontent sweeping through many cities and towns. In Albania's capital, student led anti-government protests turned violent for a sixth straight day. The Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, is refusing to resign. Protesters set fire to government buildings. They've been throwing Molotov cocktails and throwing rocks and bricks at police.

Rama has warned that the protests only hurt Albania's chance of joining the European Union. Largely peaceful protests began earlier this summer against a luxury coastal development backed by U.S. President Donald Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner. But the movement shifted last week as students upset over high educational and living costs joined in.

And in Italy, chaos erupted in the streets of Milan for a second day of protests over the rising cost of living. Police fired tear gas and they used water cannons to try to contain several hundred people. They broke shop windows. They began looting stores. The Italian prime minister has condemned the violence and called for a government meeting on Monday to discuss a response.

Earlier, I spoke with CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas about the root causes of the unrest in France and beyond.

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DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: In the last two years, there have been five education ministers. So the claims that school age students are making, that university students are making, that they have been left behind by the Macron presidency, are absolutely legitimate. The youth are the future of France. And the youth feel like they have no future.

They have anxiety over the future of AI and the prospects in the employment, but they feel like they're not being listened to and that those that are thriving in society, in the wealthier sectors are moving ahead and a whole generation is being left behind. This started with school age students, but they've been joined in this particular movement, as we've seen elsewhere in Europe, by university students, teachers, trade unions and workers who all feel the same.

We're at a crossroads in France and what these protests reveal are very deep political and social fractures and, and the street is the place to express their discontent here. And as we move into the next election, those parties that listen to these young people will likely do well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Ukraine has launched one of its biggest drone attacks this year on Russia, hitting a key oil terminal in the city of St. Petersburg. This weekend the strikes come as tensions grow between Ukraine and the US. Ukraine's actions are in defiance of pressure from President Trump to stop targeting energy infrastructure even as Russia has continued to hit Ukrainian energy sites.

In a Truth Social post, President Trump slammed the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for hitting Russian refineries, and he claimed Zelenskyy doesn't want to end this war. Mr. Trump also defended his decision to waive sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel sales just days before they were set to begin.

In that same post, President Trump wrote, I am in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine and don't want to do anything that will drive foolishly Russia away from the bargaining table. Here's what Zelenskyy said about the importance of U.S. support for Ukraine.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can Ukraine win this war without the United States, President Zelenskyy?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Very difficult. If it's without the United States support, it's very difficult. But if United States will support Putin, I mean, it's unbelievable. It's tragedy. It's historic mistake and big tragedy.

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RIPLEY: Earlier I spoke about this with Angela Stent. She's a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and she's the author of "Putin's World." I began by asking her if Russia appears to be winning the war in Ukraine.

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ANGELA STENT, SENIOR FELLOW, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Unfortunately, it's been much more difficult for Ukraine in the past few weeks. The Russians have really been hitting them with lots more ballistic missiles day and night, no reprieve. And now, of course, with the lifting of sanctions, with the purchase of their diesel, which will fill their coffers with money to continue pursuing this war, the tide seems to be turning in favor of Russia.

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Although it's, you know, it's still not in a position to win, but I think it feels emboldened now. RIPLEY: You've also said that Trump is laying the groundwork to blame Zelenskyy if Republicans do badly in the U.S. midterms. How?

STENT: Because he understands that high deal prices, high gas prices have turned a lot of potential voters against him. And the reason for that, of course, is the Iran war. The Russia-Ukraine war has very little to do with it. But he needs a scapegoat.

And so he says, if only Zelenskyy would stop hitting Russian oil refineries, then there'd be more oil on the international market and prices would go down. In fact, it would make an infinitesimal difference. But I think it's very convenient to blame Zelenskyy for this, particularly since Trump has never really liked Zelenskyy, and I think he still blames him for not giving him more information in his first term about the corruption of what he considered the corruption of the Biden family and of Hunter Biden.

RIPLEY: And what is Ukraine supposed to do when they're defending themselves from Russian attacks? And even running out now of Patriot defense missiles, leaving Kyiv and other cities defenseless against ballistic missiles?

STENT: Well, this is all they can do. They don't have any more Patriot batteries from the United States. These have been used up in the Iran war. The U.S. has now stopped sharing Star Shield with them, which is the Internet service that enables them to launch their own drones.

And even the Starlink, which they use for other purposes, has now been slowed down. So they really have no choice. If they don't hit the Russian oil refineries, the Russians will just keep pounding them and they'll be defenseless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Egypt says it's ready to provide Saudi Arabia the support it needs to defend its security and stability as hostilities escalate with Yemen's Iran aligned Houthis. Egypt's National Defense Council declared the country's complete solidarity with its Gulf ally. Egypt's president requested an emergency parliament session to authorize its military to help defend the kingdom if asked, and discussions are due to continue on Monday.

Cairo said it would also ramp up diplomatic efforts in an effort to reduce tensions across the region.

The U.S. is calling on Israel to do more to crack down on settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the Trump administration is disturbed by these images of an attack on a veteran Washington Post photojournalist. And also a group of Palestinians. CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann has more on the escalating violence.

And we do want to warn you that some of the images you're about to see, people may find them very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, we're seeing a series of brazen attacks across the occupied West Bank. Part of this is for months now, we have seen increasing settler violence, and then it's also the beginning of the annual olive harvest. And that in and of itself brings a surge in settler violence. We saw it last year, and it looks like we're seeing it again.

And the Trump administration here is clearly taking notice. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Israel to crack down on settler violence. That's something we haven't seen Israel do now over the course of recent months. And we saw that here not only on Friday in an attack on veteran American Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine, but also on Saturday in a settler attack against European diplomats who were trying to visit the Christian town of Taybeh, not far away from where the attack happened on Friday.

So let's walk through both of these. On Friday, Heidi Levine was accompanying a group of Palestinians for the annual olive harvest, and that's when settlers attacked them. Levine, who was hospitalized after the attack, says she was thrown to the ground, beaten, and that the settlers stole her cameras and her passport. She was clearly wearing a vest and a helmet that identified her as press, and yet the attack continued.

She was rushed to a Ramallah hospital by the Palestine Red Crescent Society and then she was taken to a hospital in Israel where she is recovering. She underwent surgery on her hand because of that attack. The Washington Post issued a statement saying, we are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow through from authorities.

Yet one day later, we see another settler attack near the village of Taybeh, that Christian village, on a group of European diplomats, French, Belgian and Polish, condemnation from across Israel, that is Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, the Israeli military, Israel police all condemned the attack on European diplomats.

Many of them also condemned the attack on Heidi Levine. All but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who tried to cast out on both of these attacks, saying that there has to be evidence that despite the fact that we have video and pictures of both of the attacks and the aftermath, why would Netanyahu be doing this?

[01:15:09]

Well, he's in a tight race for reelection and it appears he's trying to appeal to his right-wing voter base and make sure he doesn't upset them. With only days to go even, it seems if that upsets the Trump administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Thanks to Oren Liebermann for that. This is CNN Newsroom live from Hong Kong, and we are following two major stories out of Canada at this hour. That's that tragedy at a military base, a huge fire, people killed and injured. What we're learning about that.

Plus a major referendum in Alberta. The vote set to get underway just hours from now.

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RIPLEY: So we now know at least four service members are dead in this really large fire that broke out at a very sensitive location, one of Canada's busiest military bases. As a matter of fact, dozens have been seriously injured there. Officials say they're still investigating the cause of this. We are hearing from Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who says that the fire stemmed from what he described as a serious incident without providing any more details.

The prime minister added that the incident is one of the nation's worst armed forces tragedies during peacetime and pledged to stand by the families of those who died.

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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Those we lost, those who were injured were training to defend Canada, to serve Canada, and now Canada serves them. We will be there for their families for as long as they need. We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery. And we will stand by the women and men of our armed forces as they bear the weight of this loss. They will not carry it alone.

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RIPLEY: The timing here is also crucial because the tragedy in Alberta comes just ahead of this major referendum asking whether that province should separate from the rest of the country. This is a non-binding referendum happening on Monday. So the voting gets underway in a matter of hours. They will ask people there if they want to remain part of Canada or start the legal process to hold a vote on separating.

And it's the first time that this oil rich province has actually posed the question to the public. Now, the latest opinion polls consistently show that most Albertans want to stay. Roughly a quarter of them say they do support secession. The separatists are arguing that federal power and energy policies have really stifled the province's economy.

Now earlier I had a great conversation with the Hub's Alberta bureau chief, Falice Chin, and she gave some insight as to her view on the ground about the driving forces behind this referendum.

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FALICE CHIN, ALBERTA BUREAU CHIEF, THE HUB: We know that among the 20 to 25 percent of people who say they want to vote for the option of exploring the possibility of separate, because you have to remember this is not an outright vote for separation, that a significant number of them don't actually want to form a new country. They just want to send a message to Ottawa and create the leverage necessary for this provincial government to get a better deal.

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RIPLEY: We are live in Hong Kong and this is CNN Newsroom. On the other side of this break, we're going to update you on the Pope's health. You know, he just had surgery for lung cancer and pretty much hours after getting out of the hospital, he's there addressing the crowd at St. Peter's Square. So we'll tell you what he had to say during Sunday's Angelus prayer.

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RIPLEY: Pope Leo made his first major public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery. In fact, he from the time he announced that he had lung cancer to the surgery to then being back, it was about seven days. The 71 year old pontiff led the Angelus prayer from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square on Sunday. CNN's Christopher Lamb was in the crowd and has more.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear from Pope Leo for the first time since his lung cancer surgery and diagnosis. The Pope's spoke with a strong and clear voice. He wished the crowd a happy Sunday and he reflected that the recent experience of being in hospital had made him feel closer to those who suffer and are sick. The Pope also emphasized that he is slowly planning to get back to work.

POLE LEO XIV, LEADER OF CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Now that I have overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God's help and your prayers.

LAMB: Now, the news of Pope Leo's lung cancer diagnosis has come as a huge shock to people inside the Vatican. It's not clear how things are going to pan out in the short term for him in terms of all the events and schedules that he has in his calendar. Of course, the big question is can he make this trip to Latin America, scheduled from the 6th to the 17th of November.

The surgeon who operated on him says there's no clinical reason why he can't. However, the trip has not been officially confirmed yet post operation, so there's a lot of questions over that trip, which would include going to Peru, a country of course Leo knows so well, having served there for many years.

But the itinerary of the trip is to go to some high altitude places in the country, so it remains to be seen whether that trip will definitely take place. But on Sunday, Pope Leo making his first major public appearance since his hospitalization. The Pope pleasing the crowd, offering them his blessing. And he's going to continue his recovery for the coming days. Christopher Lam, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE) [01:30:05]

RIPLEY: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong.

I've been looking forward to this next segment, guys.

So Japan is set to launch this major new space mission. It's a mission that will try to solve the mysteries of the moons of Mars. And we've got a special guest, live to tell us all about it.

[01:30:23]

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RIPLEY: So there's this Japanese space mission that's preparing to head to Mars. It's called the Martian Moons Exploration. And as the name implies, they'll be surveying the two moons of the Red Planet, Phobos and Deimos. And the journey to get there is expected to take about ten months.

When they arrive, the plan is to collect soil samples from Phobos that scientists hope will explain the origin of the two moons, which has been a mystery, apparently for many, many years.

Japan is hoping that this will be the first time that a spacecraft travels to the Mars system and brings a sample back to earth.

Very cool stuff.

So joining me now is Sarah Treadwell, a NASA solar system ambassador, also known as Space Case Sarah.

So Sarah, the mysteries of the Martian moons, for those who are unaware of what the mystery is, can you tell us why it's a mystery and whether this mission could settle the -- what the true origin is of the moons of Mars?

SARAH TREADWELL, NASA SOLAR SYSTEM AMBASSADOR: Yes. So we've sent a lot of things to check out Mars, but we haven't done much with checking out the moons. And the moons have kind of been called the -- like last, I don't know, mountains to climb in the -- in the inner solar systems.

So we are -- we're looking forward to having something get there and kind of get a good close look at it and help us determine the mystery really is -- are they asteroids that are trapped by Mars' gravitational pull?

Or were they created by perhaps a large impact that happened on Mars? And they're like remnants left over from that impact, which is how many scientists think our moon was formed.

So it really will give us a lot of interesting clues into the development of the early solar system, potentially.

RIPLEY: And how could this mission help scientists understand whether Mars once supported life?

TREADWELL: Yes, that's a great question. We are very, very certain that Mars once had water on it. And like I said, if perhaps Mars was impacted by something and the moons were formed by the impact. And there's that, you know, remnants of ancient Mars on there, that could inform us if maybe there was something on Mars.

But then also there's this bigger question of how did water get to Mars? Or how did water get to earth?

And if it was from asteroids, which if the moons are asteroids, then we would also maybe kind of get some insight into how did all these organic compounds, the water, this stuff come into the solar system.

So there's a lot of kind of big questions happening here. And really it's a lot of -- we're going to find out when we get there.

RIPLEY: Do you think that one of the moons, Phobos, could eventually serve as like a staging point for human exploration of Mars?

TREADWELL: Yes, I saw something about that. And I'm not super informed on what that might look like. I do know that they are planning on sending a little rover down first to kind of scout for this touchdown on Phobos to get a sample.

I think that will be very informative as well as to how useful Phobos might be to the Artemis missions.

But again, we're kind of going into this uncharted territory. Nobody's gone to these moons before, and they're very -- I can see them on the screen right now -- they're very bizarre.

They're really, really close to Mars. So they -- they're kind of tricky to land on. So it's going to be -- it's going to be a very audacious mission. And I'm really curious to see what's going to come from it in terms of how useful it will be for Artemis.

RIPLEY: What's going to be the trickiest part of getting there? Communicating, you know, with mission control while there, and then actually collecting a sample and bringing it back?

TREADWELL: I think honestly, the trickiest part is that they're orbiting very close to Mars. And Mars doesn't have a ton of gravitational pull, but it still is significantly stronger than these moons.

So you're dealing with trying to land little things on -- little, very, very small moons. They're very small, too. And not accidentally getting pulled into Mars. So I think that's going to be probably the hardest thing.

And then returning samples, period. There's just a whole network of different things that has to happen.

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TREADWELL: You know, a whole domino effect of the right things that have to -- have to happen at the right time.

And so I think there's -- there's a lot of things that are going to have to be tackled to make this successful mission.

But Japan has done it before. They have returned samples from asteroids before. So I think they have a really good track record to get this done.

RIPLEY: Well, Sarah Treadwell, very interesting. You know, if we had more time, I' like to know well, what could you find in a sample that could give you clues about whether there was life? What else could you look for?

But unfortunately, were out of time, so well have to leave it there. And I hope people can find your work online and they can learn more about this mission.

And I'm sure we'll be checking back in with you in the coming days to hear how this mystery of the Martian moons with Space Case Sarah turns out.

Anyway, thanks very much for your time.

Thanks to all of you at home for watching.

This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong.

I'm Will Ripley.

"WORLD SPORT" is coming up next.

And then we will have more news at the top of the hour. Have a great day.

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