Detecting language using up to the first 30 seconds. Use `--language` to specify the language Detected language: English [00:00.000 --> 00:05.840] Earlier, we spoke to Lambert Mende, Information Minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo. [00:05.840 --> 00:10.800] I asked him why he believes that it's opposition leader Etienne Cicchetti supporters who are [00:10.800 --> 00:18.800] behind the attack. We know that these guys are organized in the gang in Paris, which is not [00:18.800 --> 00:25.760] the first aggression they are perpetrating there. They have already attacked two officers of our [00:25.760 --> 00:34.080] police who were in Paris for treatment. They have attacked a lot of officials, ministers, [00:34.080 --> 00:41.440] and even musicians, artists going in Paris. They have attacked twice the embassy of Congo in Paris, [00:41.440 --> 00:48.960] and sometimes they have been arrested and taken in in the office of the police for being ratified [00:48.960 --> 00:57.280] and interrogated, but immediately released. So this move of our partners in Paris should have been [00:57.280 --> 01:03.680] sounding us an encouragement for them, though we are not interested in landing in controversy [01:03.680 --> 01:10.000] with our friends in Paris. We hope that something can be done to stop this gang. [01:10.000 --> 01:17.520] We are well-datified. Those are followers of Mr. Cicchetti in alliance with some people who [01:17.520 --> 01:21.920] were working with the late Mobutu like Mr. Nbanda. We know them very well. [01:22.960 --> 01:26.240] Well, we should just add there that there haven't been any arrests of opposition [01:26.240 --> 01:30.480] supporter Etienne Cicchetti's supporters in relation to that attack. [01:32.560 --> 01:37.200] In other news, it's a happy birthday to the euro this Sunday as it celebrates 10 years since its [01:37.200 --> 01:42.640] creation, but for some there's little to toast as Europe continues to try and fight the eurozone [01:42.640 --> 01:48.720] debt crisis and the rest of the world waits with bated breath to see how it'll impact on their economies. [01:51.600 --> 01:57.200] 2002 and enthusiasm over Europe's newly founded single currency was running high. [01:58.240 --> 02:03.680] Ten years later, and the situation couldn't be more different. The debt crisis has rocked the [02:03.680 --> 02:08.960] continent, leaving European leaders struggling to prevent the eurozone's fragmentation. [02:08.960 --> 02:13.440] Some have blamed the design flow in the euro's implementation. [02:13.440 --> 02:18.240] Obviously, we only had the monetary side. We didn't have the budgetary or fiscal aspects, [02:18.240 --> 02:22.560] and we didn't have the politics to go with it. People who put their money together should also [02:22.560 --> 02:27.280] put political decisions about that money together too. I think that's what's behind the thinking [02:27.280 --> 02:33.840] when people say the euro was half-baked. Eurozone states have run up massive debts. [02:33.840 --> 02:39.120] It's meant to rise in Euroscepticism, and some believe the worst could still be yet to come. [02:39.920 --> 02:46.560] I don't think Europe has hit bottom yet because no bank has gone bankrupt, and [02:47.920 --> 02:53.280] not even Greece has declared bankruptcy. However, investors have found the political [02:53.280 --> 02:59.680] response to the debt crisis muddled at best. 16 summits in two years have done little to help. [02:59.680 --> 03:05.120] They said we agree where there was no agreement, and they said there was a solution where there was [03:05.120 --> 03:13.200] none. Little by little, they've lost credibility. If 2011 has been a bad year for the euro, [03:13.200 --> 03:18.400] it seems 2012 may just decide if the single currency will survive or not. [03:18.400 --> 03:24.000] With yet another summit at the end of next month, amid even more bankruptcy fears for Italy and Spain. [03:24.000 --> 03:30.960] Iran says it's test-fired a new medium-range missile on Sunday. It comes during the final [03:30.960 --> 03:36.720] part of a 10-day naval drill in the Gulf, close to the Strait of Omer, a key oil route. [03:36.720 --> 03:41.120] Tehran's threatened to close the passageway after the U.S. placed sanctions on it because [03:41.120 --> 03:48.640] of its nuclear program. And Iran's currency, the Riyal, slipped to a record low on Sunday, [03:48.640 --> 03:54.080] a day after the U.S. imposed extra sanctions, targeting its central bank and financial sector. [03:55.680 --> 04:00.480] To Syria now, an Arab League monitors appear to be in conflict over whether it saw government [04:00.480 --> 04:05.280] snipers in Derra. In a video released by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, [04:05.280 --> 04:10.160] one of the observers there said he'd seen them with his own eyes. And yet the head of the mission [04:10.160 --> 04:18.960] later said their remark was just hypothetical and that the observer didn't see anything. [04:18.960 --> 04:24.080] In this amateur footage, snipers appear to be in position to fire from a rooftop in the city of [04:24.080 --> 04:29.920] Derra. They're thought to be loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Gunshots can be heard [04:29.920 --> 04:36.560] in the distance and close by. The footage cannot be verified, but it purports to have been filmed [04:36.560 --> 04:42.320] on Saturday during a visit to the city by Arab League observers. In another amateur video, [04:42.320 --> 04:50.320] one of the observers claims to have seen snipers himself. From the al-Miriya side, snipers, [04:50.320 --> 04:55.200] we saw them with our own eyes. We call on the authorities to remove them immediately [04:55.200 --> 05:00.400] and we will contact the Arab League immediately. If they do not comply within 24 hours, [05:00.400 --> 05:06.160] there will be other procedures. But the head of the mission must [05:06.160 --> 05:12.560] offer al-Dabi told the BBC that the observer had pledged to take action if snipers were spotted, [05:12.560 --> 05:18.400] not that any snipers had been identified. The seeming contradiction reinforces fears of Syrian [05:18.400 --> 05:23.920] opposition figures about al-Dabi's suitability in leading a mission to investigate human rights [05:23.920 --> 05:29.760] abuses in Syria. He held security positions under Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, [05:29.760 --> 05:33.920] who is wanted on international charges of committing genocide in Darfur. [05:33.920 --> 05:39.680] Protesters have criticized al-Dabi's response to the violence, which has continued despite [05:39.680 --> 05:45.840] the observers' presence. This amateur footage appears to show security forces in homes, [05:45.840 --> 05:51.520] kicking an unarmed protester, then hitting him with the butt of a gun before rounding him up, [05:51.520 --> 05:57.600] along with other young men. In Idlib, crowds gathered at a funeral. They chant their defiance [05:57.600 --> 06:03.440] of President Bashar al-Assad, saying they will bow only to God and that the President is the enemy [06:03.440 --> 06:09.600] of God. In two days' time, Americans will start voting for who they want as their Republican [06:09.600 --> 06:13.840] or presidential candidate. The race kicks off in the Midwestern state of Iowa, [06:13.840 --> 06:17.840] where front-runner Mitt Romney is trying to woo voters with his plans on immigration. [06:20.560 --> 06:23.920] Immigration has become one of the main issues in the Iowa caucus. [06:24.560 --> 06:28.480] The state's Hispanic population has almost doubled over the last decade, [06:28.480 --> 06:33.920] making up five percent of its residents. The growth concentrated in some counties and towns [06:33.920 --> 06:39.280] were Mexicans and Central American immigrants working meatpacking plants, factories and farms. [06:40.560 --> 06:44.160] If my country was in good shape, I wouldn't have come, but things are really tough there. [06:45.520 --> 06:50.000] But some people in this conservative state see the immigration surge as a threat [06:50.000 --> 06:55.520] at a time when jobs are scarce. The Tea Party movement opposed the DREAM Act, [06:55.520 --> 06:59.200] which would allow children brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents [06:59.200 --> 07:03.680] to earn citizenship by graduating from college or serving in the military. [07:03.680 --> 07:10.000] And then the people who are illegal can go back home, then they can decide if they want to come [07:10.000 --> 07:15.120] here illegally, get in line and come through and do the hard things that it takes to become an American [07:15.120 --> 07:20.960] citizen. Front-runner Mitt Romney said he would veto the DREAM Act and take measures to stop new [07:20.960 --> 07:28.320] waves of illegal immigration at the border, a call e-code by his rivals. We will shut down [07:28.320 --> 07:34.000] and secure the border with Mexico. We will put the boots on the ground, the aviation assets in place. [07:34.000 --> 07:39.680] That border will be safe and it will be secure. In recent decades, the U.S. has experienced one of [07:39.680 --> 07:46.080] its largest waves of immigration, with an estimated 11 million undocumented aliens living in the country. [07:46.080 --> 07:53.360] And a motorcyclist has died on the first day of the Dakar rally. Competitors from 50 countries [07:53.360 --> 07:59.200] around the world are taking part in the two-week 9,000-kilometer race that will run through Argentina, [07:59.200 --> 08:03.920] Chile and Peru. But it's just been announced that Argentinian bike rider, [08:03.920 --> 08:09.280] Jorge Matinez Borreiro, has been killed. It was the first time he was taking part in the event. [08:09.280 --> 08:19.280] That's all we have time for. We're back in 20 minutes. [08:27.040 --> 08:33.280] Hello and welcome to a special New Year's edition of The World This Week, The World This Year, [08:33.280 --> 08:38.080] you might want to call it. I'm Paul Sobigal and we're joined by a distinguished panel today, [08:38.080 --> 08:44.880] Christopher Dickey of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, Aud Barron, editor-in-chief of Le Plus [08:44.880 --> 08:49.440] Nouvelle Hops, which is, again... Which is a participative section on the internet of the [08:49.440 --> 08:54.560] Nouvelle Hopsaveta, so citizens and experts can write about news. All right, one of the leading [08:54.560 --> 09:00.480] French News Weekly magazine's citizen journalist website or... Yeah, it's a website. [09:00.480 --> 09:06.320] It's a website as well. And Patrick Smith of the Africa Report, published monthly. Yep. [09:06.320 --> 09:10.320] With a brand new edition in the shops telling you all you need to know about what's going to go on in [09:10.320 --> 09:16.560] 2012. And Steven Erlinger, Paris Bureau Chief for The New York Times. There's an edition every day. [09:18.000 --> 09:26.560] Updated several times today. Exactly, endlessly. Okay. Last week we saw how the Arab Spring [09:26.560 --> 09:33.200] blossoms pretty much spontaneously. Now comes the hard part. Nations like Egypt and Tunisia find [09:33.200 --> 09:41.120] themselves having to pick leaders for leaderless revolutions. Now everywhere there's been elections. [09:41.120 --> 09:47.920] The big winners, Steven Erlinger, have been... Well, the big winners have been the Islamists. [09:47.920 --> 09:53.760] And that's not a bad thing, frankly. But it's not necessarily a good thing because there are lots [09:53.760 --> 09:58.560] of different kinds of Islamists and they believe lots of different kinds of things. The Muslim [09:58.560 --> 10:05.440] Brotherhood, it seems to me, others may disagree was the inevitable beneficiary because it was [10:05.440 --> 10:11.760] always seen as the opposition. It was repressed by these old regimes, but it was very organized. [10:11.760 --> 10:17.280] Had a lot of money, some of it from the outside. It did a lot of charity work. It was in the [10:17.280 --> 10:24.400] villages with the people. So they're recognizable. That would make sense. The big question for Egypt, [10:24.400 --> 10:29.280] for example, is what kind of deal has the army struck with the Muslim Brotherhood? [10:29.280 --> 10:34.640] Will the Muslim Brotherhood split? Blah, blah, blah, blah. I mean, this will have to see. But by itself, [10:34.640 --> 10:41.360] you know, the general support for the Islamists makes perfect sense and should not be a great [10:41.360 --> 10:47.680] concern, I don't think. Patrick Smith? Well, it's certainly the case that the Islamists have taken [10:47.680 --> 10:55.360] over the spirit of the revolution, which appeared to be a very secular and non-theocratic spirit [10:55.360 --> 11:01.760] when it started. I think it's going to be very, very difficult to predict how it's going to pan [11:01.760 --> 11:09.600] out. I think the feeling that events in Egypt may parallel those in Turkey where you have this [11:09.600 --> 11:15.920] contest between the military and the Islamists, and somehow they find there's an accommodation. [11:15.920 --> 11:21.840] I think that could be possible. I think what's particularly striking in Egypt and certainly [11:21.840 --> 11:27.360] the first round that we've seen so far is that the brothers who have been active in Egypt for 80 [11:27.360 --> 11:36.320] years, they got 35, 36 percent, and the Salafists, the extremely conservative Islamist group, got over [11:36.320 --> 11:42.480] 20 percent. This is Egypt. It's going to be the only country in which groups like the Salafists [11:42.480 --> 11:48.720] have a seat in parliament. They have opted for parliamentary politics, so it's an entirely new [11:49.680 --> 11:58.800] political tactic for them to compete for votes like that. In Egypt, we saw Salafists' posters [11:58.800 --> 12:05.200] where women were represented by flowers, or in at least one case, by the candidate's husband. [12:06.400 --> 12:11.520] How is this going to play out though in a nation that's used to 14 million western [12:11.520 --> 12:14.640] tourists a year, Christopher? Well, it's not going to be good for tourism. [12:14.640 --> 12:17.760] I think we can say with some confidence tourism is going to suffer, is suffering, [12:17.760 --> 12:23.040] and is going to suffer in Egypt. But I think as we look forward, it's important to realize [12:23.040 --> 12:28.640] that we are at a whole new stage in Arab history because of the demographics of the Arab world, [12:28.640 --> 12:33.680] because of the connectivity of the Arab world now. I mean, when I first started going there 25 [12:33.680 --> 12:38.000] years ago, you could barely get a landline to make a telephone call. Now, everybody has cell [12:38.000 --> 12:43.200] phones, everybody has satellite television, a lot of people are on the internet, and the majority [12:43.200 --> 12:49.280] of the population is under 25 years old. A lot of in Yemen, the majority is under 18. [12:50.000 --> 12:55.840] So this is a whole different dynamic going ahead. And I think the one thing that is predictable [12:55.840 --> 13:02.960] is that it's going to be completely unpredictable. I was in Tahrir Square in 2010 as Mubarak was [13:02.960 --> 13:08.080] coming down, and having lived in Egypt for six years, over the years, I was surprised three [13:08.080 --> 13:13.840] or four times a day something would happen that I simply could not have imagined happening before. [13:13.840 --> 13:18.640] And I think that's going to continue. The economy, I mean, is also going to be a huge issue. [13:20.400 --> 13:26.480] Which I think is going to be a moderating force on whichever coalition dominates Egyptian politics. [13:26.480 --> 13:31.280] They simply have to change the way business is done. And some of the prescriptions, particularly [13:31.280 --> 13:36.800] the Salafist prescriptions, just wouldn't make sense in a modern world. And I think that's [13:36.800 --> 13:42.960] where you're going to see a huge pressure for compromise on the brothers to make deals with [13:42.960 --> 13:47.920] perhaps some secularist forces or less religious forces simply to get the economy moving. Because [13:47.920 --> 13:52.400] this is going to be the first time they're really going to be put to the test electorally. [13:52.400 --> 13:58.000] You might also see someone like Amr Moussa, who's basically a secularist becoming president of [13:58.000 --> 14:01.920] Egypt. I mean, former head of the Arab League. Yeah, I mean, I'm not sure that's a good thing [14:01.920 --> 14:07.600] particularly, but it again would be a moderating force, particularly for the outside world, [14:07.600 --> 14:13.360] to feel that there was somebody there that they had some idea who they were and what they thought. [14:14.560 --> 14:21.200] We're talking about the youth here. And you have, it seems, are they contradictory on the one hand [14:21.200 --> 14:27.520] conservative religious values? And on the other hand, this sort of generation-wide ethos of going [14:27.520 --> 14:32.640] on social networking sites, even to find soulmates? Well, when you look on the social networks and [14:32.640 --> 14:39.920] on the internet, you mainly see the youth. So you only hear, well, you hear mainly the same voice [14:39.920 --> 14:44.640] and they want to know freedom and liberty and they want to the right for democracy. [14:44.640 --> 14:50.160] And one of the big stakes for next year is will the movement will continue on the internet, [14:50.160 --> 14:56.320] especially when you see a country like Syria, where the information is difficult to access. [14:56.320 --> 15:01.360] And some hackers really help the people to communicate and to communicate with each other [15:01.360 --> 15:06.160] and with the Western world. And we just have to hope that those hackers, first, they won't have [15:06.160 --> 15:10.720] any problem. And then they will continue because they've been doing this for months and months. [15:10.720 --> 15:16.800] And maybe after a while, they will get tired and they will stop. And I met one of them last week [15:16.800 --> 15:21.120] and he was saying that at the beginning, there were thousands because they were very excited. [15:21.120 --> 15:26.800] And now there are only a few dozens and maybe after, you know, month after month, [15:26.800 --> 15:30.560] the movement will decline. Do you sense revolution fatigue, prosperity? [15:31.280 --> 15:36.160] Yeah, outside in the outside world, yes, people are like, oh, no, not another story about Arab [15:36.160 --> 15:40.240] revolutions or when Syria ever going to end. Of course, people are very cynical and they get [15:40.240 --> 15:44.560] tired very fast. I don't think there's revolution fatigue in these countries. I think there's a [15:44.560 --> 15:49.360] lot of disappointment that things haven't been delivered more quickly. But I think that just [15:49.360 --> 15:53.600] reflecting on what Patrick said, we really are going to see some interesting things happen as [15:53.600 --> 15:58.800] the Islamists, for instance, are given the responsibility of governing. I don't think they [15:58.800 --> 16:03.280] can do it. I think we actually are going to see it would be a good guess that we will see the [16:03.280 --> 16:07.760] beginning of the end of the Islamic trend over the next couple of years because they're not going [16:07.760 --> 16:12.480] to be able to deliver. And we're going to have this chaotic situation and the outside world will [16:12.480 --> 16:18.160] get tired of it. But I think the fact that people, especially young people, are living in a dynamic [16:18.160 --> 16:25.520] environment now where things can change is just amazing. I mean, for decades, for two, three [16:25.520 --> 16:31.520] generations in the Arab world, nothing really changed. I want to get back to one point that [16:31.520 --> 16:36.480] Patrick was mentioning earlier, which is Turkey. Now there's competing foreign influences tugging [16:36.480 --> 16:40.960] at one another in places like Egypt. There's the Gulf States where there's lots of conservative [16:40.960 --> 16:45.280] Muslims from Egypt who've gone to find work. There's the US, which plows a lot of aid into [16:45.280 --> 16:51.520] the country, mostly military. And then there's the growing star places like Turkey, whose prime [16:51.520 --> 16:57.840] minister got a rock star welcome when he visited Egypt a few months back. That's all the more [16:57.840 --> 17:02.480] remarkable, Patrick, that Turkey was once home to the old colonizers, the Ottoman Empire. [17:02.480 --> 17:09.920] Yeah. It's history repeating itself with a very different take. Urdogan's had a brilliant year. [17:09.920 --> 17:16.160] So has Qatar. I think those have been a part of the internal beneficiaries of the Arab Spring, [17:16.160 --> 17:20.000] have clearly been Islamist and the external beneficiaries, if you like, have been Turkey [17:20.000 --> 17:26.000] and Qatar. They both moved very quickly to back the winners. Turkey's case was really interesting [17:26.000 --> 17:31.520] because Urdogan had won the Muammar Gaddafi Human Rights Prize a year ago, and then suddenly he [17:31.520 --> 17:36.320] discovered that Muammar Gaddafi was a really bad guy and needed overthrowing. So what happens [17:36.320 --> 17:42.960] vis-à-vis his neighbour, Syria? He's going to be one of the deciders. There's no question about that. [17:43.600 --> 17:50.960] Turkey's influence in the region, I think, has been enhanced. It's very much in keeping with the [17:50.960 --> 17:56.560] move within the Arab League. I mean, for the first time in its history, the Arab League has [17:56.560 --> 18:03.600] sanctioned a member at that level, not only supported the bombing against Gaddafi initially, [18:03.600 --> 18:08.080] but then moved against Syria, which regards itself as a cornerstone of the Arab League. [18:08.080 --> 18:14.400] And Urdogan is right up with them. And I think it's really going to enhance Turkey's status as a [18:14.400 --> 18:19.840] model also, not just as a sort of political actor, but as a model we can have in Islamic State [18:19.840 --> 18:24.560] that produces economic growth. And I think that that's the real challenge to all the governments [18:24.560 --> 18:28.480] in the region. Is that going to be possible elsewhere? One final point on this before we move [18:28.480 --> 18:35.440] on. Stephen Erlinger, we'll talk about the West's waning influence in these places. We're seeing the [18:35.440 --> 18:41.280] final pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq. We're seeing further along the start of the drawdown in [18:41.280 --> 18:46.080] Afghanistan. Are we being too hard on the United States when they do that? After all, [18:46.080 --> 18:51.680] they're rolling with the punches, as it were. Well, yeah, and also, frankly, they have a lot of [18:51.680 --> 19:00.000] interest in the Pacific, which everyone forgets, and China is a big issue. And they need to look [19:00.000 --> 19:06.720] a little harder at what China's up to, and they have friends and allies. But I think the Americans [19:06.720 --> 19:14.160] aren't going to go away. Don't mistake it. I think what's fascinating, though, is you have [19:14.160 --> 19:21.200] different models in the Arab world that have died. One was Arab nationalism, Nasserism. Then you had [19:21.200 --> 19:27.440] this military model, which they tried to turn into a sort of dynasty. And now you're going to have [19:27.440 --> 19:33.680] some kind of vaguely Islamist model. I'm not sure that's going to work any better. There's a lot [19:33.680 --> 19:39.040] of chaos and confusion. The stakes are extremely high, not just for the United States, but for the [19:39.040 --> 19:45.680] king of Jordan, the king of Morocco, the Saudis. I mean, things are in play, and that means the [19:45.680 --> 19:52.720] United States is going to play a role. Turkey alone is not the answer. Well, it's amazing to watch [19:52.720 --> 19:56.560] the confusion of the United States, as a matter of fact, as it looks at this. I mean, we forget, [19:56.560 --> 20:04.160] as I pointed out in an essay that's in the issues to 2012, that dictators are very convenient. [20:04.960 --> 20:09.440] There was just one go-to guy in any country. Either he was a royal or he was a general. [20:09.440 --> 20:13.760] You went to him, things got decided, they got done, or they didn't get done, but you only had to talk [20:13.760 --> 20:18.640] to one guy. Who do you talk to now in Egypt? The Americans still act as if you can just talk to [20:18.640 --> 20:25.040] the military, but you can't. They literally do not know who to talk to now. And that is a scary [20:25.040 --> 20:29.360] position if you are the Secretary of State or the President of the United States, and you're [20:29.360 --> 20:33.040] looking at one of your most important allies in one of the most volatile regions in the world. [20:33.840 --> 20:37.120] But that's the way it is. It is what it is at this point. [20:37.120 --> 20:41.520] All right. Who do you talk to in those countries? Who do you talk to back in the United States? [20:41.520 --> 20:47.840] An election year is beginning in a nation more than ever polarized between right and left, [20:47.840 --> 20:54.240] and where we've seen suspicions of those in the high halls of power take on new forms. [20:54.960 --> 20:59.920] If the start of the year began with everybody here in France trying to understand what the Tea [20:59.920 --> 21:06.720] Party, the Tea Party is, now comes Occupy Wall Street and its affiliated franchises in several [21:06.720 --> 21:10.880] cities. Christopher Dickey, for our viewers who are not in the United States, is this just college [21:10.880 --> 21:16.400] kids? What's going on? No, no, it's a much bigger cross-section of the population. It is, in its [21:16.400 --> 21:21.600] way, Occupy Wall Street is the left-wing equivalent of the Tea Party on the right. It's an expression [21:21.600 --> 21:27.600] of fear and anger and a desire to see something change, although in both cases it isn't really [21:27.600 --> 21:33.280] clear what people want to change. Well, what's clear is they don't know what they know what [21:33.280 --> 21:36.880] they don't want. They know what they don't like and don't want, absolutely. So that's first a good [21:36.880 --> 21:40.960] point. And what's very interesting about this movement is how it's spread all around the world, [21:40.960 --> 21:46.000] because you had on the one side the Indian Nets in Spain and on the other side you had Occupy [21:46.000 --> 21:50.800] Wall Street. And all the movement, you know, they just merged together and you had all those [21:50.800 --> 21:56.880] demonstrations all around the world. And after you need, when a movement has succeeded or not, [21:56.880 --> 22:03.280] and when you observe in the U.S., Occupy Wall Street is still very active, whereas when you [22:03.280 --> 22:07.600] look at in Europe, you know, the movement, well, there are some movements, there are a few [22:07.600 --> 22:13.840] demonstrations, but they don't have the media behind them. And that's one of their weakness. [22:13.840 --> 22:19.040] And in the U.S., the media came because of the movement to express the reason of the movement. [22:19.040 --> 22:23.600] And then they came back because you had some movie stars, some actors, some singers who came. [22:23.600 --> 22:30.320] So the media came for the people aspect of the movement, where in Europe the stars don't want [22:30.320 --> 22:34.720] to be involved. Patrick Smith, I've heard it said that in the case in the U.K., with the [22:34.720 --> 22:40.160] Occupy St. Paul's, I believe it was, people became quickly disenchanted when they started [22:40.160 --> 22:46.240] to organize stuff a little too much. I think one of the points is, as everyone says, [22:46.240 --> 22:52.480] we know what we don't want. That's the sort of clarion call. But they also set up a tent with [22:52.480 --> 22:57.280] a library in it. And a friend of mine said, any movement that sets up a tent with a library in [22:57.280 --> 23:02.000] it to find out what we do want, he's going to get his backing. And I can see the point. [23:02.000 --> 23:07.440] I think it's more diffuse now. And they had this confrontation with the religious authorities [23:07.440 --> 23:14.560] in London. And in fact, one of the clerics had to resign as a result of this. [23:14.560 --> 23:20.800] So I think popular support is still quite high because it does ring all the right bells. They [23:20.800 --> 23:27.360] can skepticism about politicians, their hypocrisy, their corruption, skepticism about the bankers [23:27.360 --> 23:33.120] who've caused this crisis. We've talked about youth unemployment. It's all put in a bag. The [23:33.120 --> 23:39.520] problem is it's all too simplistic. And there isn't now a counter-movement to say what we do [23:39.520 --> 23:45.920] want. But the mantra is change. And that worked pretty well for Obama, I think, in 2008. [23:45.920 --> 23:51.520] All right. So this is diffuse anger. Does it help or hurts Barack Obama as he bids for re-election? [23:53.200 --> 23:57.520] I don't think it actually hurts him terribly. I'm not sure how much it helps him. I mean, [23:57.520 --> 24:05.440] I think what you have is a generalized response to fear, to economic fear. I mean, fear that, [24:06.320 --> 24:13.360] you know, the credit crisis is going to get worse. We see it. Unemployment is getting worse. [24:13.360 --> 24:20.160] It's beginning to pick up a bit in the United States, unlike in Europe. American stimulus [24:20.160 --> 24:25.360] is finally kicking in. I mean, American presidents try to time these things properly. [24:26.000 --> 24:32.160] We'll see if Obama times it right. But the economy will define whether he's re-elected as much as [24:32.160 --> 24:37.280] the Republican candidate will. I mean, it now looks on the Republican side that you're not going to get [24:37.280 --> 24:44.960] a Tea Party candidate. You'll probably get Romney or or get Gingrich. I think probably at this point [24:44.960 --> 24:52.000] Romney is more of a danger to Obama than Gingrich. But it's early. It's hard to know. But I think [24:52.000 --> 25:00.080] Obama is very vulnerable because the magic is gone. People are upset. They think he's smart. [25:00.640 --> 25:02.800] But they don't think he's been very effective. [25:02.800 --> 25:08.800] Chris, for Dickie, is there the fear that people won't turn out to vote for Barack Obama? [25:09.360 --> 25:12.880] I'm sure that they're not going to turn out the way they did last time around. I mean, [25:12.880 --> 25:18.400] he when Steve says the magic is gone, he puts his finger exactly on the problem that Obama has, [25:18.400 --> 25:23.760] not just that the economy is difficult, but he was able to mobilize people who normally don't go out [25:23.760 --> 25:29.200] and vote. And they would get on Facebook. They would use all the social media. And what's really [25:29.200 --> 25:36.400] interesting is that his campaign was denied was designed so that you would get on these social [25:36.400 --> 25:41.680] media and then you would be directed to take concrete actions. These are the addresses of [25:41.680 --> 25:46.320] doors you should knock on in your neighborhood. This is the amount of money you should raise. It [25:46.320 --> 25:51.120] was an incredible machine getting him elected. I don't think it's going to work nearly as well [25:51.120 --> 25:55.520] this time around. How he reinvents a huge amount of money. Don't forget. And how he [25:55.520 --> 26:00.640] reinvents himself and what his opponent does. We'll pick up on that point when we return for [26:00.640 --> 26:26.640] this New Year's edition of the world this week. [28:30.800 --> 28:36.640] in style from London to New York to right here in Paris. We've got all the party pictures for you. [28:39.600 --> 28:45.120] It's a happy 10th birthday to the euro, but with the debt crisis rocking the euro zone to its core [28:45.120 --> 28:48.640] plus the threat of recession, many say there's little to celebrate. [28:51.360 --> 28:56.880] And the head of the Senate in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been attacked here in Paris. [28:56.880 --> 28:59.920] He's been hospitalized after being sat upon at a train station. [29:03.120 --> 29:06.800] So those are the latest headlines. Welcome to front Spankats. I'm Louise Hannah. [29:07.600 --> 29:11.600] Millions of people around the world have been welcoming in the New Year with fireworks, [29:11.600 --> 29:18.880] parties and even a few celebrities in New York. Pop diva Lady Gaga and Michael Bloomberg hit the [29:18.880 --> 29:25.200] switch, sending the city's famous crystal ball on its countdown drop. London paid homage to the [29:25.200 --> 29:30.560] 2012 Olympics that it will host, kicking off its fireworks display with a recording of the moment [29:30.560 --> 29:36.720] it learned it would host the games. While here in Paris, revelers popped champagne corks at midnight [29:36.720 --> 29:42.160] along the famed Champs Elysees, all got themselves to a rooftop where they could see the Eiffel Tower [29:42.160 --> 29:50.960] shimmer in pink, golden whites. Another world news, the government of Democratic Republic of Congo [29:50.960 --> 29:57.120] has accused opposition supporters of attacking the president of the Senate in Paris on Saturday night. [29:57.120 --> 30:22.400] Leon Kongo Wadondo was set upon at the time of his visit to the United States.