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00:00It's been two weeks since Michel Barnier was named France's new prime minister.
00:04The country is still waiting for a new government to be named.
00:06Tackling France's budget crisis is set to be a major challenge,
00:09with members from Barnier's own party saying tax hikes would be out of the question.
00:14We can now go across to Clovis Casali, standing by outside the Élysée Palace,
00:20or the Matignon, the prime minister's residence.
00:23Clovis, good afternoon.
00:24The prime minister is due to hold final consultations this afternoon.
00:28Who exactly is Michel Barnier meeting with?
00:59What's important here is the balance of power in the next government.
01:03Every party trying to get the best deal.
01:06And remember, yesterday, these meetings with Attal, the former prime minister,
01:11and Barnier, the new prime minister, for instance,
01:14these meetings were cancelled over tensions, over friction.
01:19Matignon and the Élysée are now saying that a government could be announced today.
01:25Nothing's for sure, of course, but these meetings will be crucial
01:28in order to get that final list of ministers.
01:33If Michel Barnier and the parties manage to get some kind of agreement,
01:37Michel Barnier tips to then head to the Élysée Palace,
01:40meet with the French president.
01:41But again, nothing's for sure.
01:44An announcement could be made today, possibly tomorrow.
01:47Clovis, we know that Michel Barnier's prime ministership
01:51is being propped up by the far right.
01:55Given that the far right, as a single party,
01:58has the highest number of seats after recent parliamentary polls,
02:02could we potentially see a far-right minister named in this government,
02:06even though Marine Le Pen says she wants nothing to do with this current government?
02:13Short answer, no.
02:14President Macron and the prime minister, Michel Barnier, share the same view.
02:19They refuse to govern with what they see as extremist parties.
02:23That means the National Rally, the French far right,
02:26but also the radical left, France En Barde, of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
02:31But in order to survive a vote of no confidence at the National Assembly,
02:37Michel Barnier knows perfectly well that he needs some kind of support
02:41from the National Rally, from the French far right,
02:44very powerful in Parliament.
02:47Therefore, he is likely to try to appease them, if you will,
02:51please them with laws on security, maybe on immigration.
02:56In the past, Michel Barnier had a very tough, strong stance on immigration.
03:01So that could be a way to at least please the National Rally.
03:06And then another big point, what about the left?
03:09Emmanuel Macron, the French president,
03:11wants to have some kind of national unity,
03:16or at least get some left-wing figures in government.
03:19Problem is, no one wants to go.
03:21No one wants to join this government on the left side.
03:24It means certainly not the left wing,
03:27the radical left of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, or even the socialists.
03:30And it does seem that Métignon and Michel Barnier
03:32are struggling to recruit any kind of left-wing figures
03:36for the next government.