Welcome to the Euro Intelligence Podcast. I'm Wolfgang Munchau and with me are Susanna Muncheng and Jack Smith.

It is our last podcast of the year and today we would like to talk about the two largest countries of the EU, France and Germany,

countries that have both fallen onto economic hard times.

Zazana, since the last time you spoke, France, as a new prime minister, is this going to

make a change?

Is he going to lift the country out of recession?

There was a very bad forecast we heard this week.

Mood is not good.

What's going to happen?

Yeah, we have now a new prime minister of Francois Barreux.

It was not the first choice for Emmanuel Macron, but he sort of imposed himself as a prime

minister based on the assumption that he was the one around in politics before Macron even

came on the scene. So the idea that he could actually enlarge

the majority because of his connections and his reputation towards the far right, but also

towards the left, that still has to be proved to be true. And so far, when we hear what the

parties say when they came out of the consultation in the last two days is not that

encouraging in the sense that they still have no idea where by who is heading towards.

There seems to be no concrete talk about the idea that the left seems to be very keen on

to find an agreement of no censorship, which

means the government and the parties in opposition and the assembly would agree on that the

government can continue if it doesn't impose and push the budget or its legislation through

without the vote of the assembly that in return,

...