Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: It is time to go out to the beautiful and
Speaker 2: rather warm Axon Province in southern France. There is an
Speaker 2: economic conference underway. This is conference taking place in the backdrop,
Speaker 2: of course a key Sunday vote, a legislative vote is
Speaker 2: an election. And we head to the conference. Now, former
Speaker 2: EU Commissioner for Brexit Michelle Barnier joins Avari and Carolyne
Speaker 2: Conan take it away, and I'm very happy to.
Speaker 1: Be joined by Michelle Vanier from this economy confernce in
Speaker 1: excellent province, former EU Commissioner of course and a negotiator
Speaker 1: for Brexit. Good after the Michell Vannier first, one question
Speaker 1: on the UK. We had this as stunding victory of
Speaker 1: the Labor Party with Q Sarmer. Do you think this
Speaker 1: is the result of the bad consequences eight years of Brexit?
Speaker 3: Be first to congratulated guest Armor the lib Dems also
Speaker 3: after the great victory. To be fair, I don't think
Speaker 3: that all the current difficulties of the UK, social difficulty
Speaker 3: and employment intation and the change linked thanks to the
Speaker 3: British people to these difficulties. I don't think that all
Speaker 3: these difficulties are linked to the Brexit, But at one
Speaker 3: point I'm sure of is that all the difficulties are
Speaker 3: more serious because of the Brexit, because it was a nonsense.
Speaker 3: Had a great illusion, to repeat the title of my book,
Speaker 3: for the contemptory party to think that they will be
Speaker 3: a stronger outside of the biggest free market, which is
Speaker 3: free the unique the single market that the.
Speaker 1: You we know, the National Valley and many parties across
Speaker 1: Surob have now gone down this idea of Frexit since Brexit,
Speaker 1: but still in your book the great Illusion, you actually
Speaker 1: mentioned warning to France about these problems of the government
Speaker 1: being out of touch with the population, the problem of immigration,
Speaker 1: the cost of living. Do you think what we're living
Speaker 1: right now in France has the same roots as the
Speaker 1: brexst vote.
Speaker 3: My answer is yes, and the reason why I called
Speaker 3: my first chapter in my book the Diary of the
Speaker 3: Breakfast Negotiation the warning. And I always try to respect
Speaker 3: the UK people and my counterparty this negotiation have lots
Speaker 3: of admiration for the UK people for a long time,
Speaker 3: and I will not change, but I work a lot
Speaker 3: on the roots. The reason why fifty two percent of
Speaker 3: the British people vote against Europe eight years ago. And
Speaker 3: when you look at the reason that the roots, you
Speaker 3: can see many regions or UK, but it's talk about
Speaker 3: now but the same the same moods as we can
Speaker 3: What is is oot in France now in many regions, unemployment,
Speaker 3: bad public services. You look in front and you look
Speaker 3: at four curbs which are parallel, the curb of the
Speaker 3: vote for the right, for the far right, for the
Speaker 3: National Valley, the curb of unemployment, the curb of distance
Speaker 3: of your house and the railway station and the route
Speaker 3: under the curb of your house to a doctor. And
Speaker 3: these four curbs are paralleled. So we have to tackle,
Speaker 3: we have to address, We have to understand what is
Speaker 3: in France, the popular feeling, the social anger, the same
Speaker 3: moods are as in the UK eight years ago.
Speaker 1: What do you think possible victory, because that's still possible
Speaker 1: of the far right on Sunday, what do you think
Speaker 1: that would mean for the image of France approad, for
Speaker 1: investors who want to put their money into France today.
Speaker 3: First award it remains for a few hours, two days
Speaker 3: to draw the French lesson of the Brexit and not
Speaker 3: to do the same mistake as the UK eight years before.
Speaker 3: So I think that we can avoid such a result
Speaker 3: and find a way to build a new majority in
Speaker 3: the past, even it will be difficult to refund. I
Speaker 3: think that the program of the far right is incredible,
Speaker 3: is a poution anti business and populist program. So it's
Speaker 3: the reason why I proposed firm little this program.
Speaker 1: The alternative today is a handful where possibly some technical
Speaker 1: figures forming a wide coalition. Do you believe that's possible
Speaker 1: in France? And would you actually be willing to be
Speaker 1: part of this, to be part of a new wide
Speaker 1: coalition that includes the moderates from the left and from
Speaker 1: the right, And I remind of yours that you are
Speaker 1: moderate Republicans.
Speaker 3: Yes, but it's not useful to personalize the discussion. For
Speaker 3: the moment, we have to vote. Let the people vote.
Speaker 3: In France, they are free, they are chuldren and the
Speaker 3: vote will be important. And I don't know what will
Speaker 3: be this vote, And on Sunday night we will see
Speaker 3: exactly how many groups, how many members of the parliament
Speaker 3: in each group, and if it's possible to build something
Speaker 3: different from the far right, I don't know yet. But
Speaker 3: it's difficult to speak about the coalition before knowing the
Speaker 3: exact result of the directions.
Speaker 1: But if President my won't cause you next week and
Speaker 1: offers you the job as prime minister to be taken.
Speaker 3: Once against, it's not useful to personal life. It's too
Speaker 3: soon and we have to respect the vote of the
Speaker 3: people first of all, the right sense. Let the people
Speaker 3: vote on Sunday.
Speaker 1: Jordan Badelad, the National Rally president, has said he would
Speaker 1: refuse to become prime minister if he doesn't have an
Speaker 1: outright majority. Marion Lafin, however, has been saying that she
Speaker 1: will try and grab those fifteen twenty law makers missing
Speaker 1: if she's just a few seats away. Do you think
Speaker 1: some of them moderate Republicans in your camp who might
Speaker 1: be elected on Sunday will actually join this possible national
Speaker 1: value Republican governor.
Speaker 3: I don't think so. I don't think she got the
Speaker 3: people our party want to leave. Has already left with
Speaker 3: mister Curt a few weeks ago to join our right.
Speaker 3: It's not my line, it's not our line, and all
Speaker 3: the other members will be elected as hope large nabor
Speaker 3: of members, perhaps fifty or fifty five will be all
Speaker 3: elected against the fun right. So don't ask them to
Speaker 3: join us.
Speaker 1: Do you think there will be, no matter who wins
Speaker 1: on Sunday, a sort of clash showdown with the EU
Speaker 1: later down the one in the fall when we got
Speaker 1: the budget on his SCOO goals and on.
Speaker 3: The budget, depending on what we'll be elected, what will
Speaker 3: be the majority? I think if we speak about a
Speaker 3: new alternative majority in France, my goal, my wish at
Speaker 3: conviction is that the people who will have to work
Speaker 3: together must be on the European line. It is the
Speaker 3: blue line, the red line for us.
Speaker 1: Finally, how big are the chance is that in a
Speaker 1: few months or in a few years from now will
Speaker 1: have Donald Trump in the US man in THEE ten
Speaker 1: in France, two populist governments on both sides of the advantage.
Speaker 3: The worst is never sure, So we will see in
Speaker 3: France next Sunday. I think it's still possible to avoid
Speaker 3: the far right power to keep the European line and
Speaker 3: the reasonable light for France keeping his role in Europe.
Speaker 3: And we will see for the US. But anyway, what
Speaker 3: would happen in the US, what will be the next president?
Speaker 3: That's very clear. What we are not ready to do
Speaker 3: for ourselves and Europeans, nobody will do for us.
Speaker 1: Michelle Vannie, thank you very much for joining us from
Speaker 1: X on communs. One of the rare political figures present
Speaker 1: here in x at this economic conference, because none of
Speaker 1: the ministers from Macro's government is actually.
Speaker 3: Here these days.
Speaker 1: Interesting, Carolyn conn and thank you so much.
Speaker 3: We appreciate that.
Speaker 1: Carolyn Connan with Michelle Money, a former
Speaker 2: EU Commissioner in charge of the Brexit negotiations.