France's new PM deadlock: New names emerge but still no nomination
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00:00Claire, let's talk then about names for Prime Minister because we understand that the President
00:08is sounding out his shortlist today and is trying to work out who actually might get
00:14the support of Parliament.
00:18That's right, the French President Emmanuel Macron is testing the waters, he's speaking
00:23we understand by telephone mostly today with the leaders, the heavyweights across the political
00:29spectrum in the French Parliament trying to work out who on his shortlist of candidates
00:35to be the next French Prime Minister would get the support of Parliament because if Emmanuel
00:41Macron were to name someone who doesn't have the support of Parliament, well that person
00:45would be voted out by members of Parliament before he or she had even begun the job and
00:52Emmanuel Macron doesn't want that.
00:53He would like to name someone who would be able to get the support of Parliament.
00:56We've had a lot of focus today on Xavier Bertrand, he's a key figure in the right of
01:01French politics but from what we understand the far right, the Marine Le Pen's party,
01:06has said they will not support a Bertrand government so that would make it very difficult
01:11for him to get the support of Parliament that he needs to survive a possible no-confidence
01:16vote.
01:17We're also hearing of course talk of Bernard Cazeneuve, former socialist Prime Minister
01:21but he left the socialist party several years ago.
01:24It's unclear how much support he would get from the left wing, we know the far left,
01:29the La France Insoumise party have said they would not support a government run by Bernard
01:34Cazeneuve.
01:35That leaves Thierry Baudet, his name emerged just yesterday on Monday, totally unknown
01:40to the French public.
01:42He at the moment runs a council which advises the government on social, environmental and
01:47economic policy.
01:49He would be a technocratic choice, not affiliated to any political parties.
01:53That could be seen as a strength or it could be seen as a weakness because of course whoever
01:57becomes the next French Prime Minister is going to need to do some serious politics
02:02to unite what is a very divided House of Parliament in France.
02:06And Claire, it is worth reiterating that the clock is really ticking to find a Prime Minister
02:11isn't it because there's the deadline to get next year's budget looked at and now we've
02:17had the economy minister as well, Bruno Le Maire, warning that action needs to be taken
02:22on the deficit too.
02:26Certainly we heard from Bruno Le Maire, he has come out, of course he's the outgoing
02:30minister because he and the rest of the government have been asked to stay on as kind of caretakers
02:36over the summer waiting for Emmanuel Macron to name the next Prime Minister and then that
02:40next set of ministers will be named afterwards.
02:43Bruno Le Maire saying that 16 billion euros worth of savings, cuts to the budget, need
02:49to be made now to redress the situation.
02:52We understand that France's public deficit could go up to 5.6% of GDP which is higher
02:58than had been expected.
03:01Bruno Le Maire says he will tell whoever becomes the next Prime Minister that he wants those
03:06and he believes those kinds of savings need to be made.
03:10Action needs to be taken quickly.
03:12Those savings need to be made but it depends really on whoever the next Prime Minister
03:16is, what kind of action, what kind of measures they take up but what's clear is they're going
03:20to have to move really, really fast because the next budget for 2025 is scheduled to be
03:26debated on in the National Assembly, in the lower house of parliament in October but it's
03:31pretty hard to draw up a draft budget when the political situation here in France is
03:37still completely in limbo.
03:40Claire Paquelin, outside the Elysee Palace, good to talk to you.
03:43Thanks very much.