'There were reports of tensions between Michel Barnier and Emmanuel Macron'

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00:00Yes, that's right. There were reports of tensions between Michel Barnier and Emmanuel Macron

00:07in the lead-up to tonight's announcement of the new French government line-up. We even

00:13had reports that at one point Michel Barnier reportedly threatened to resign. Now, those

00:19tensions were, of course, resolved afterwards. And, of course, these tensions all centre

00:24around the make-up of this new government. Michel Barnier, of course, hailing from the

00:30right-wing Republican Party, Emmanuel Macron coming from his centrist bloc. There were

00:37also controversies surrounding the nomination of certain ministers, Bruno Retailleau being

00:44one of those controversies. Many people in Emmanuel Macron's centrist bloc are saying

00:50that Bruno Retailleau, who is a Republican senator, is far too conservative of a figure

00:59to head such an important ministry as that of the Interior Ministry. Of course, the Interior

01:03Ministry oversees the police, it oversees domestic security. Immigration is high on

01:09the agenda here in France. Many figures within Emmanuel Macron's own movement are suggesting

01:16that perhaps a more unifying figure could have been envisioned. We also saw controversy

01:22surrounding the potential nomination of Laurence Garnier as family's minister. Now, she was

01:28eventually rejected by Emmanuel Macron in that final list. That's because she also stirred

01:38up a lot of controversy, having voted against same-sex marriage and also having voted against

01:46the inscription of the right to abortion within the French constitution. So, a lot

01:52of tensions between the French Prime Minister and the French President, it would seem, in

01:57the run-up to tonight's government make-up, that new cabinet being announced tonight.

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