Fench PM's 'fight for survival not looking good' as no-confidence vote nears

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00:00The French Prime Minister is poised to lose a confidence vote in Parliament.

00:04François Bayrou effectively placed his job on the line when he announced the measure

00:08as he seeks to shave 44 billion euros from public spending from next year's budget.

00:14Opposition parties from the left and the far right have indicated they won't be voting for the government,

00:20indicating that Bayrou's days in the job are numbered and France will be staring a political crisis in the face.

00:26Clovis Gasly is standing by at the National Assembly where that vote is due to take place in a few hours from now

00:32and we can go across to him now.

00:34Clovis, good afternoon. Any chances by who survives this?

00:40It's a very clear fight for survival for François Bayrou and it's not looking good.

00:44He's been on the media offensive in recent days trying to convince political parties that they should back him

00:50but all the opposition have said that they won't vote for François Bayrou.

00:57In this vote of confidence, François Bayrou, the French Prime Minister, set to lose.

01:03He thought that the socialists and the French far right would not vote against him

01:08but that's not going to happen.

01:11Today, François Bayrou will be making a speech at 3 o'clock French time

01:15that you'll be able to follow on France 24

01:17and he's surely going to be trying to defend what he achieved as Prime Minister

01:23to say that there's an urgent need to reduce public deficits,

01:27make savings in all spheres of public affairs.

01:31François Bayrou will then possibly answer a few questions

01:35because you have all the parliamentary groups set to come here and speak their mind,

01:40one of their representatives each time expressing the group's position

01:45and François Bayrou possibly going to answer.

01:49Then later, there will be this vote of no confidence and Delano tonight.

01:53We should know if François Bayrou stays Prime Minister, of course.

01:58It's not looking good.

02:00It's not looking good, Clovis.

02:02At the same time, Emmanuel Macron has a tough job of what to do next.

02:06Do we know who he's likely to pick, by who he's actually voted out?

02:14It's difficult to say, but the French president has got his back against the wall.

02:19He's urged to act quickly if he needs to find a new Prime Minister.

02:24Remember last time when he ultimately named Michel Barnier?

02:27It took weeks.

02:28This time, he can't afford to do the same.

02:31He needs to show decisiveness.

02:32He can't appear as weak as not having a plan because ever since François Bayrou said

02:37that he was suggesting putting forward this vote of no confidence,

02:41it became very clear that he would lose and therefore that France would have a new Prime Minister.

02:46So, in the meantime, Emmanuel Macron has been consulting, talking to allies,

02:50talking to opponents through his entourage.

02:54In other words, trying to find someone capable of being the next Prime Minister.

02:59A capable candidate, meaning someone who can pass laws, pass a budget.

03:05We're looking at an alliance possibly with most of the left wing,

03:09the Greens, the Socialists, the Communists, and the ruling Centrist bloc,

03:13and possibly with the help of some right wing figures.

03:17Well, they could all back a candidate.

03:20The Socialists are adamant it has to be someone from their ranks,

03:23or at least from the left wing ranks, but not from the far left.

03:28France unbounded Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the French far right national rally of Marine Le Pen

03:34have both already stated that they won't back a Prime Minister who's from that alliance, if you will.

03:43What they want are new snap elections, new snap parliamentary elections.

03:48And the French far right and the French far left also saying that they want President Macron to resign

03:55and therefore have new, fresh presidential elections.

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