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00:00The 1st of October looms large for France's new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier.
00:05It's the deadline for submitting a draft 2025 budget,
00:08a tight turnaround for a particularly challenging task.
00:12With the country under pressure from the European Commission to lower its deficit,
00:16Barnier faces a fiscal tightrope.
00:18We need to strike the right balance between restoring public services and preserving growth,
00:23so it is a difficult path to tread, especially in a short time period.
00:29His predecessor, Bruno Le Maire,
00:31left behind a budget blueprint with over 15 billion euros in savings.
00:36Although he has promised a new era,
00:38Barnier has said he is not prepared to repeal the highly unpopular pension reform,
00:42signed into law by the President last year,
00:45which raised the state's pension age from 62 to 64.
00:50This law was passed in very difficult conditions.
00:53It required debates.
00:55Is it the one I would have voted for?
00:57Probably at the end of the road.
00:59But is it the one I would have proposed?
01:01Maybe there were other ideas.
01:03In any case, I will open the debate on improving this law for the most vulnerable people.
01:09If Barnier manages to form a government,
01:11the next step is getting the backing required to achieve his goals,
01:15as France's oldest Prime Minister takes the reins.
01:19If he gets the budget through Parliament,
01:21Barnier has listed his priorities as education,
01:24immigration policy and purchasing power.