00:00 Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne was with President Emmanuel Macron at last week's memorial for Jacques Delors,
00:05 but also one of the men tipped to replace her, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces.
00:11 Over the weekend, the Prime Minister was tight-lipped about rumours of her impending departure.
00:16 Since Emmanuel Macron's New Year's message, speculation has been growing.
00:20 These past few months, we've been far from the impotent force everyone said that we would be,
00:27 and I would like to thank the Prime Minister for that.
00:30 Some have interpreted that as a sign the President would soon be parting ways with Elizabeth Borne.
00:34 But she has been written off numerous times over her 20 months in office,
00:40 and each time, the government has supported her.
00:42 She's a very courageous Prime Minister. Every day I see her selflessness and sense of public duty.
00:48 There is a lot to be said for stability in this time of great disorder.
00:52 People in Borne's inner circle are fighting her corner.
00:56 One says he has to keep her. Her record speaks for itself,
01:00 adding that the government's majority has held firm.
01:03 A reference to the uproar over the immigration law that infiltrated even her own cabinet.
01:08 Borne is one of the battlers of Emmanuel Macron's second term.
01:13 She has used the controversial Article 49(3) 23 times to push legislation through without
01:19 a parliamentary vote. But sources close to the President say he has lost faith in her.
01:25 Emmanuel Macron is considering his options,
01:28 and it's unlikely Elizabeth Borne figures in those plans.
01:31 As one adviser says, it's all about Macron and only him.
01:36 What he is looking for is an associate, nothing more.
01:39 Food for thought for any eventual replacement.
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