PM pick Barnier seen as 'Macron-compatible'

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00:00Well, let's cross live now to the Elysee Palace.

00:03That's the seat of President Macron.

00:05Our reporter Claire Pacala is there for us.

00:08So, Claire, it has been weeks of deadlock.

00:11We do now finally have white smoke.

00:13We have the name of Michel Barnier.

00:16Tell us why you think the president has gone for him.

00:22Well, to some extent, at least, Michel Barnier

00:25is seen as being Macron compatible.

00:28He's a right-wing politician from the Les Républicains party.

00:31He's not an extreme.

00:33He's not on the far right.

00:35And it's seen unlikely that he would try to totally unpick

00:39seven years worth of reforms and policies that Emmanuel Macron

00:42has put in place since he became president.

00:45Crucially as well, it was seen that Michel Barnier was the most likely,

00:49although it's not a guarantee,

00:51but the most likely to get the support of Parliament,

00:54because that really is the question.

00:56He needs the support of Parliament,

00:57because if he doesn't get it,

00:58well, then members of Parliament can simply vote to overthrow him

01:02in a vote of no confidence.

01:04The question is, though,

01:06who exactly in Parliament will support Michel Barnier?

01:10He'll have his Les Républicains, the right party.

01:12He'll have centrists from Emmanuel Macron's party,

01:15although they've already made a statement.

01:17The Renaissance Party has made a statement saying

01:19they won't be writing Michel Barnier a blank check.

01:22But of course, to some extent,

01:24he's going to have to rely on the far right party of Marine Le Pen.

01:28And if Michel Barnier finds himself relying on that party,

01:33well, is that really a desirable situation for him?

01:36Because while Marine Le Pen's party could give support initially,

01:40that support could be taken away quickly

01:43at any point throughout his tenure as prime minister.

01:46And it is worth, Claire, dwelling a little bit or analysing

01:50a little bit the reaction from the left today.

01:53As I said at the beginning of the programme,

01:55it was that left wing bloc, the New Popular Front,

01:58that won the most seats in Parliament after the elections in July.

02:03But we do not have a politician from the left for prime minister.

02:08As you say, he's a figure who's more likely to work with the national rally.

02:12And Jean-Luc Mélenchon already saying, look, he feels the election has been stolen.

02:18Certainly, Jean-Luc Mélenchon is an influential voice.

02:21It's worth noting that that left wing bloc, the New Popular Front,

02:24that was cobbled together hastily just after Emmanuel Macron announced

02:29that he was holding snap parliamentary elections before the summer.

02:32That New Popular Front spans a pretty wide part of the political spectrum

02:37from the far left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, all the way up the Greens,

02:41the communists, the socialists as well.

02:43So it remains to be seen.

02:45Michel Barnier may at times find himself trying to reach out

02:48to the more centrist socialist politicians

02:51if he can't get the support from the far right on certain policies.

02:54Certainly, Michel Barnier is going to try to build bridges,

02:58build coalitions, make friends wherever he can.

03:01He is known as being a tough negotiator.

03:03He drove a hard bargain.

03:05That's certainly how he's seen in the UK.

03:07Drove a hard bargain in those Brexit negotiations

03:09when he was the top leader of the EU.

03:12But can he drive that kind of a hard bargain?

03:14Can he get the support of France's very divided parliament?

03:18Well, that's what we'll be looking at now

03:20in the next few weeks and months to come.

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