00:14A new prime minister is unlikely to bring an end to the political rollercoaster here in France.
00:19Earlier on Wednesday, Le Connu struck a surprisingly optimistic tone despite ongoing turmoil.
00:24He says a deal could be reached on the 2026 budget after last-ditch consultations with political leaders, including the Conservatives and centre-right parties.
00:35But file-right leader Marine Le Pen has hit back.
00:37She's refused to join the talks and doubled down, saying she'll censure everything.
00:42Let's take a listen to what Le Connu had to say earlier.
00:47The pathway forward is possible.
00:49It will be difficult, but I told the President that the perspectives for dissolving Parliament is becoming more and more remote,
00:56and the situation will allow us to name a prime minister in the next 48 hours.
01:02Let's cross live now to the Elysee Palace.
01:05France 24's Antonia Kerrigan is standing by for us there.
01:09Antonia, we just heard Le Connu tell the French people in a televised interview that his mission is over.
01:17So what does he have to show for these last 48 hours of flash talks that he had?
01:25Well, firstly, I think it's important to point out that the mission he was given after resigning,
01:31of spending 48 hours looking for a solution for what should happen next,
01:35that mission is already very irregular.
01:39Crucially, he said that when asked if his mission had been successful, he said not completely.
01:46He said that the necessary work had been done in these last 48 hours of talks for the President to appoint a new prime minister in the next 48 hours.
01:56He acknowledged that still no one has a majority in the National Assembly,
02:00but there was a majority around one thing, and that is no absolute majority for the dissolution of Parliament.
02:08The vast majority of MPs don't think it's the right time.
02:12He also, in the end, essentially washed his hands of the situation.
02:17He said that it is, regardless, now down to the President, it is not for him to tell the President who to appoint or not appoint.
02:25It is not for him to direct the President, but that the work had been done,
02:29that we were now at the last metres before agreement, that compromises were needed from the different political groups.
02:37We were down to the last metres, and that it is now down to the President.
02:41He remained completely loyal to the President throughout the meeting,
02:45but the overall message was that if it fails now, it is not down to him, but the President.
02:53Well, all eyes are on Emmanuel Macron now.
02:55Where does this all leave him?
02:57Well, of course, the France unbowed party are calling for him to be kicked out,
03:06and the odd dissident voice in the centrist bloc as well.
04:29Thank you so much for bringing us up to speed.
04:30Antonia Kerrigan reporting live there from the Elysee Palace.
04:34Well, the fallout from all this political turmoil may not only be France's problem, but Europe's too.
04:40The country is the Eurozone's second largest economy and is critical to the continent's defence and security.
04:46This is a time when Europe battles with war and trade challenges.
04:50Well, let's bring in Quentin Peel.
04:52He's the Financial Times' former foreign editor.
04:55Quentin, thank you so much for joining us on the programme.
04:58So as I was mentioning there, France is Europe's second largest economy.
05:02And we saw on Monday, when Le Corneau resigned, that French stocks and government bonds fell in the aftermath of his resignation.
05:11The euro was itself weakened against the dollar.
05:13Is France's political term more likely to lead to a sustained weakness with the euro?
05:18Well, it's certainly being regarded with considerable horror, I think, both in Brussels and in Berlin and other capitals of the European Union.
05:28To have a French government that's too strong is sometimes resented in Europe.
05:33But to have one that is this weak and this confused is a real problem.
05:39It certainly does undermine the European economy as a whole.
05:44The sight of France actually having to pay higher interest rates in the capital markets than both Italy and Greece, notoriously financially far more spendthrift, is really shocking.
06:00And that's certainly true in Berlin.
06:01So I think that they would actually, they want stability and they certainly don't want Emmanuel Macron to suddenly decide that he's going to go because they are horrified at the prospect of Madame Le Pen or the Rassemblement National stepping in and becoming either the government or indeed opening the way to the future presidency.
06:24Well, we're going to touch on that scenario if Macron resigns, excuse me, and if Marine Le Pen somehow gets into power.
06:35All of this turmoil really does beg the question, though, that how does a divided nation internally lead externally?
06:43Obviously, Europe is dealing with a number of challenges, like I said before, war and trade challenges.
06:49Talk to us about whether France's domestic fragility weakens Europe's collective posture as it faces all these challenges now.
07:00Well, both on Ukraine, but also on trade policy, all of those areas, it's very difficult to work with a French government that actually hasn't got a clear position.
07:14Now, it would be wrong to exaggerate, I think, because President Macron has, in fact, established a pretty clear line.
07:24This desire he has for Europe to have what he calls strategic autonomy, spending much more on defence, being much more forthright in defending Ukraine and taking a pretty strong attitude also to express its independence from the Atlantic Alliance or greater independence from a US that is no longer so supportive of NATO.
07:52So, from that point of view, I think that the Macron strategic vision is still a reality.
08:00Certainly, that's the way it's seen in Brussels.
08:03But on the shorter term sort of tactical movements in the European Union, on issues like the trade deal with South America, the so-called Macron-sur trade deal, which France is very unhappy with, a weak France will not be able to block that any longer, I think.
08:21So, you have a real dilemma, though, in Brussels, that they don't want to do anything to weaken Macron, but at the same time, they really want to have a much more coherent French government.
08:35Well, you laid out the options of having snap elections or Macron himself resigning.
08:43In that case, the far right is expected to make major gains if we go back to the polls here in France.
08:48What kind of impact do you think that will have, having a strong far right in France?
08:54What kind of impact will that have on the European stage?
08:56I think it would make life extremely difficult because, certainly, if it was Madame Le Pen or, indeed, Jordan Bardella, who was representing France in Brussels,
09:08it would be a far more nationalistic French government and attitude towards European policies,
09:15and I think a much more difficult government for the rest of Europe to work with.
09:20So, one would certainly, there would be real worries about whether France would still remain as loyal an ally to Ukraine
09:29against the Russian invasion there as it has been under President Macron.
09:36Well, Quentin, last question to you because we are running out of time.
09:39What should Macron do next?
09:41What is your advice to him?
09:42How does he increase his credibility as a strategic leader in the continent?
09:48What do you think he should do?
09:51It's so difficult to say or, indeed, to predict, but the openings are what?
09:56That maybe he finally has to look to a prime minister from the left, and that might mean abandoning his – or at least watering down his pension reforms
10:06and having a budget that would be more free spending.
10:14And that, I think, would be a real problem in the financial markets.
10:17So, he's between a rock and a hard place.
10:20He really has got a difficult one to call.
10:23Indeed.
10:24Quentin, thank you so much for joining us on the programme.
Be the first to comment