What next for Barnier as he takes over as French PM
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00:00Outgoing French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal hands over to his successor Michel Barnier.
00:07Now the veteran Conservatives' first order of business will be to form a new government.
00:12No easy task given the Centre writes a lack of a majority in a deeply divided parliament
00:17with opposition parties in an unforgiving mood.
00:21Once the new government is signed off by President Macron, the convention is for the new Premier
00:26to give a general policy speech to parliament and then ask parliament for a vote of confidence
00:31based on that plan.
00:33But Barnier is under no obligation to do that.
00:36In which case the opposition could table a motion of no confidence, which would need
00:40a majority, 289 votes, to censor Barnier.
00:45The left-wing NFP does not have enough seats to do that on its own, nor does the far-right
00:50National Rally.
00:51They have said they will not block Barnier for now, but the new Prime Minister will need
00:56to keep them on side, as they've indicated they could do so later if a range of demands
01:01are not met.
01:03If Barnier makes it past that hurdle, the next major challenge will be to draft a plan
01:08for the 2025 budget, which must be handed over to lawmakers by October 1st before it's
01:13voted on.
01:15France is under pressure to get its finances in order, with a budget deficit this year
01:20already running billions of euros over target.
01:23If opposition parties are not satisfied with Barnier's budget, his government would be
01:27under threat once again from a vote of no confidence.