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Isa Soares Tonight

Manhattan Manhunt Intensifies; Earthquake Off Northern California Coast; Macron Accuses Far-Right and Left in Anti-Republican Front. Emmanuel Macron Addresses Nation After Government Collapse; Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Hits Northern California Coast; Syrian Rebels Enter the Strategic City of Hama. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 05, 2024 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00]

ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, and a very warm welcome, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, we are expecting to hear from French

President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to address the nation any moment now. I think he's been -- about to speak. Can we bring that up?

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT, FRANCE (through translator): The assembly -- National Assembly, they voted to reject the budget and the censure of the

government of Michel Barnier. And now, the Prime Minister gave his resignation and his government, I want to thank Michel Barnier for the work

that he did for our country, for his devotion and for his work.

And he and his ministers said that they were up to the moment, and some other people were not. The 9th of June, I talked to you to announce the

dissolution of the National Assembly. And this, Michel, was because of unavoidable events, because the European elections had given to the

Rassemblement National, the extremes were at the head, and then several political responsible people went about.

However, I want to recognize that this decision wasn't understood. Many people criticized me, and people continue to continue to criticize me, and

I know it's my responsibility. However, nobody can say that by doing that, I didn't give the word back to you. You took your own responsibility by

voting massively in the elections, the general elections in June and July last year, and the votes and the different parts of the parliament, so, we

didn't have a majority in the National Assembly.

No party, no coalition was possible. So, nobody could have a majority, and this situation meant that we have a new political organization. It's

unprecedented. And so, during the Summer, I consulted very widely to find the political forces to see if they could work together and then to choose

a Prime Minister who would not be censured on his or her appointment.

And that's why I chose Michel Barnier. He's responsible with it, has a lot of experience, and he was in the opposition because he was capable of

bringing a wide majority in the assembly and the assembly and from this Republican right and to this center and the different forces. I left the

Prime Minister govern the parliament to legislate, and yesterday, the government was censured.

And this despite the concessions made by Michel Barnier to all the parliamentary groups, he was censured and it's unprecedented for -- since

60 years, because the extreme right and the extreme left united together in an anti-Republican front. And because the forces which govern the --

France, I know that some people are tempted by the irresponsibility of this situation.

It's more comfortable. But I've always assumed all my responsibilities, good things and sometimes the mistakes I could make, I will never assume

the responsibility of other people and those parliamentarians who knew what they were doing to bring down the budget, and France and -- a few days ago.

So, the deputies of the Rassemblement National, they decided to vote this motion of censure, which is against their program. They insulted their own

voters and they chose simply disorder. And it's the only project that brings them together. And with the complicity of the new popular front, so,

not to make something, but to do -- to undo something and to create disorder.

And why is it -- why did they act like that? It's -- I don't think -- they don't think about you, your difficulties at the end of the month, your

projects. Let's be honest, they think about one thing, to the presidential election, to prepare it, to provoke it, to bring it on more quickly. And

it's cynical if it's necessary. And there's a sense of chaos.

But having done this, they do not remind you the reality of our constitution. There cannot be new elections, general elections before six

months, and because of these conditions, the assembly has the duty to do what it was done by -- you elected for the service of France and the French

people.

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And then, nobody can allow to be -- to wait to be useful. The world and Europe is moving forward, and we need a government -- we need a government

that can decide and make decisions, and the mandate that you democratically gave to me, and that's a mandate for five years. And I will fulfill it

right until the end of my term, and I need to look after the good functioning of our system, the independence of our country and the

protection of you all.

And I do that from the beginning, and I'm with you through the social crisis, the epidemic, the COVID-19 and the return of war and so many

inflation and so many other challenges. And so, from today, it's a new era that starts. We must all work for France, and we must build new compromises

because the planet is going for -- the challenges are numerous and we must be ambitious for France.

We cannot allow ourselves, the divisions or an immobile behavior, and I would like in the coming days to have a new Prime Minister, I will task him

to form a new government, to bring all the political forces together around an arc, around -- so, and they need to commit not to censure the

government, the Prime Minister will have to consult to form a close government in your service and the priority will be the budget.

A special law will be lodged before mid-December to the parliament, and this temporary law will do, and our constitution allows for this. So, we

have the continuity of public services and the life of the country. And for 2025, according to the choice of 2024, and I count on a majority being

available in parliament so that we can work, companies can work, our commitments are respected so the mayors can continue to work.

And I thank them for their devotion to the nation. And then at the beginning of the year, this government will prepare a new budget. It's

necessary to protect the French who have the automatic tax rises with inflation, because it's necessary to protect them. And we need the budget

at the beginning of the year so that we can invest.

And this was forecast for our -- the army, for justice, for the force of earth, and also to help farmers in difficulty, and to support new

Caledonia. You know this, I could not -- I cannot present myself again in 2027, and that's what's important, it's not my personal ambition, it's the

ambition of our country.

And that's what counts for you and for us. We have before us 30 months until the end of the mandate that you entrusted me with, 30 months for the

-- so, the government to act, act to make France a country stronger and fairer, to innovate, to produce, to invest in technological and ecological

transition, to educate our young people, to protect.

And we have wars in Europe and the Middle East, and so, we need to prepare the armies, and we need to work for peace, have a stronger France and a

stronger Europe, more independent. And perhaps, where there will be new conflicts, and we need to resist all the pressures. Yes, there are 30

months in front of us, they must be 30 months of action which are useful for the country.

And to do that, the government should be -- look at reality and not the fantasy, and the future of France must be done with more taxes or more --

as if -- also -- but to avoid divisions and abandonment, we need a government that brings people together to act concretely in the next 30

months for the future of our country, our children.

Look, in front of the whole world, we are going to have the opening of Notre Dame de Paris, the Cathedral will be given back to the Parisian

people, to us all, to the Catholics of the whole world, and this construction site, which we believed was impossible. Remember, all of us,

the -- that evening in April 2019, we did it.

We also succeeded with the Olympic and Paralympic games because there was determination because each woman, each man worked very hard.

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They were responsible, all the civil servants, the volunteers, everybody played an essential role for a greater cause for everybody. That's a proof

that we know what we can do. We can make the impossible come true, and the whole world, and twice this year, the world admires us and it's the same

thing that we need to do for our nation now, to have a clear direction, school, health, security, work progress, climate, Europe.

And we need clear acts of it, the government must take on the service of the country, a parliament which can create, compromise and to assume its

responsibilities. So, where there is fragility, we need to rebuild, where there is an insult and perhaps, we need wisdom, where there is division, we

need to bring people together.

Where there is anxiety, we need to have hope. We did it. We will show the whole world that we are capable, we're going to do it for our country and

for our republic. So, long live the republic! Long live France.

SOARES: You all have been listening there to French President Emmanuel Macron addressing the French people. It is 10 past 8:00 in the evening

there in France, prime time address, and it follows on, of course from that vote. Yesterday's vote of non-confidence -- no-confidence against his Prime

Minister Michel Barnier. That happened roughly at this time yesterday, and what we heard from President Macron really trying to explain what happened,

the political chaos that France is facing to the French people.

And he said, "the reason that Michel Barnier was toppled, the reason that France is where it's at because the extreme right, he says, and the extreme

left allied together in an anti-Republican front. And he went on to explain why they did that, and he said, presidential election. That sense of chaos

that they are creating is because they are eyeing up the next presidential election.

And to try and bring it on, he said more quickly. But he made his position very clear. He said, "I will fulfill my mandate to the end of my term", and

that, from what you heard there, it's 13 months, so, he's not going anywhere. But clearly, the message to the French people is that he will

name a Prime Minister in the coming days, who that Prime Minister will be and how that will be received, of course, is the question given the

divisions, the huge divisions in parliament in France.

Let's get more from our correspondent. I want to bring in Jim Bittermann in Paris and Rym Momtaz who is the editor-in-chief of Carnegie Europe's Blog

"Strategic Europe". And Jim, let me start with you. What stood out to you? I mean, addressing clearly the French people, trying to explain himself to

the French people. Do you think the French people would buy that?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, I think it may be taken a little bit condescendingly. I mean, I think

there was a sort of a professorial tour -- tone to it, a parental tone to it, which some people may approve of, but I think there may be some push-

back on that.

One of the things I think that stood out was that he made it clear that the 2024 budget, he's expecting the parliament to use this clause in the

constitution to -- so that the parliament approves the 2024 budget. And he said he's going to be sending a bill to the parliament to do that, so that

the 2024 budget will carry on.

This will give at least some confidence to the financial markets and eliminate a little bit of the chaos, the political chaos that's here. And I

think he wanted to be pretty reassuring. But at the same time, he was very critical of the people who brought the government down, being the extreme

right and extreme left, and basically saying that he was going to make that clear to the French people that he -- you know, that he had named -- he had

consulted before he named Michel Barnier as the Prime Minister with the various parties, and that he had thought that he had found a Prime Minister

that was going to be acceptable to all.

And that, of course, is going to be the problem now going forward to find someone new to replace Michel Barnier.

SOARES: And do we have a sense, Jim, of who he could be looking at here?

BITTERMANN: Well, one of the names that's been mentioned is the person that he had lunch with today, which is -- who is Francois Bayrou, who's

been a long-time politician, 72 years old. He's been on the political scene here for a long time, ran for President three times.

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He's also seen as a very -- as a centrist character. He gets along with both the left and the right. So, it could be somebody like that. I think

it's going to have to be somebody like that in order to placate the two sides here because we've got -- you know, the people on the right, I was

watching earlier leading up to the speech tonight, watching some of the right-wing and the left-wing commentators and what they're saying.

They're basically arguing for their own axes to be gored. They want to have somebody from their own party-grouping to be named as the Prime Minister.

And I think it's pretty clear from what the President had to say, that that's not going to happen. He's going to have to try to find somebody that

can work with both sides.

SOARES: And so, Rym, I mean, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that we're here in the first place, Rym, because, I mean, you know, you and I

spoke about this during -- in June when the elections were held, right? It clearly caught everyone by surprise when they were called. Many may say

where we are now, perhaps that was ill judged on his part.

And we knew that would lead to a period of instability, uncertainty. So, really how does he get out of this? Because like Jim was saying, Michel

Barnier, you know, he was given the green light, so-to-speak by members of the left. And yet he's been pushed out. So, who would -- who would be the

person that could appease both sides if anyone here?

RYM MOMTAZ, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF CARNEGIE EUROPE'S BLOG STRATEGIC EUROPE: Good to be with you, Isa. I think you're right to start by bringing up what

he did, what he triggered in June which was this dissolution of parliament, a new parliamentary elections. And actually, I think what was interesting

about this speech is that at the top, he clearly came as close as Macron probably will get to basically recognizing that maybe that dissolution of

parliament wasn't the best political move.

I also thought it was interesting how clearly this is the clearest response from him on this issue, this request by the far-right and the far-left for

him to resign, him saying very clearly he's staying here for the next 30 months. Now, who could help him stay in power for the next 30 months? Is

the big question.

Some people are putting a lot of money on him, finally building a center- left coalition --

SOARES: Yes --

MOMTAZ: And trying to break the stranglehold that the far-right and Marine Le Pen have had and had on the Barnier government. Will that be possible? I

think it's early in the process, but there have clearly been conversations in that direction.

SOARES: Well, with the parliament as it is clearly-split, he certainly needs a friend that is -- that is for sure. He spoke about a new era with

new compromises. I wonder, just speak to, really, the feeling here because, you know, the French people went to the polls, they voted and still we're

seeing this political uncertainty. What is the mood in France?

MOMTAZ: I think the overwhelming mood is people are sick and tired of this political class from top to bottom. I think people think that this

political class is very immature, clearly, they can't do what all the other parliamentary systems in Europe can do, which is to build compromises,

build coalition contracts.

And, you know, everyone is to blame in this, whether it's the President's party or other parties and opposition parties. If Macron decides to try to

give it a go with the center-left, they're going to butt-head over whether they can overturn his pension reform. He is very attached to his pension

reform. He considers it as being super important to keep trying, to keep the country's finances on a recovery road, even though right now they're

not really on a recovery road.

And the left clearly wants to overturn his pension reform. So, that's going to be the first biggest obstacle for example, and let's see if both of

them, Emmanuel Macron, his party on the one hand and the left, Greens on the other, can actually show how compromise can be built.

SOARES: Let's see if this new era of compromises works out politically for him. He said he will name Prime Minister in the coming days. Rym Momtaz,

Jim Bittermann, really appreciate you being -- both being with us for this breaking news. Thank you to you both. I want to leave this breaking news

because we have more breaking news to bring you.

And a strong earthquake has just been measured off the northern coast of California. Officials say it has a preliminary magnitude of 7.0, and right

now, there is a tsunami warning in effect for parts of California as well as U.S. state of Oregon. That is according to the National Tsunami Warning

Center.

So, this just coming in to us in the last few minutes. A strong earthquake has been measured off the northern coast of California. A magnitude of 7.0

right now as you can imagine, given its location, there is a warning, tsunami warning, I should say, for in effect, for parts of California.

We'll stay on top of this breaking news as soon as we have more, of course, we will bring that to you.

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Let's take a break, we'll regroup after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: I want to turn now to the Middle East, where opposition forces in Syria are making major gains in a stunning setback to the regime of

President Bashar al Assad. Rebels have entered the key city of Hama, forcing really the key -- the Syrian army, you can see there to withdraw.

And this new video I want to show you, shows the insurgents in Hama fleeing what they call, quote, "wrongfully-detained prisoners."

Hama, which is along the main route to Damascus is both strategic alley as well as symbolically, I should say, important. And its capture marks the

second major gain for the rebels in a matter of days. Last week, if you remember, they seized -- they seized Aleppo, that's Syria's second largest

city, reigniting the country's civil war.

Earlier today, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres expressed his concerns about the re-emerging conflict. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: I emphasize the urgent need for immediate humanitarian access to all civilians in need, and

the return to the U.N.-facilitated political process to end the bloodshed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more on all of this, our Ben Wedeman is following all the developments. And, Ben, I mean, this is all happening very fast indeed,

they're lightning speed. First, Aleppo, then Hama, potentially, as we were looking at the map just now, Homs could be next, Ben, I mean, how

significant would that be?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Homs is really the critical piece in this puzzle. If the rebels take Homs, I think the regime

of Bashar al Assad will be perhaps doomed. That is the city. It's just 40 kilometers south of Hama, and that is the city where you drive there from

Damascus on the M5 highway, and then you take the highway west to the Mediterranean, and that's where you get to the Alawites heartland, the

towns of Tartus and Lattakia or Latakia as it is in English.

And if the rebels take that, they've basically cut the area controlled by the regime in half. They've already shrunk it significantly. But certainly,

it's questionable how much longer the regime of Bashar al Assad can stay in power if it loses the city of Homs. Now, it's still early. There is a

critical bridge called the Al-Rastan Bridge over a very deep gorge.

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And apparently, we are seeing reports that the Russian Air Force is bombing that bridge. If the bridge is taken out, it may delay any sort of advance

by the rebels in the direction of Homs. Nonetheless, what we've seen until now is dramatic advances by the rebels, and what seems to be somewhat

lukewarm support from the traditional backers for the government in Damascus.

In fact, Dmitry Peskov, the chief spokesman for the Kremlin was asked today about Syria, and he came up with a statement, I'll read it to you, he said

that "Moscow is monitoring the situation and remains in constant dialogue with Damascus, and will decide on military aid depending how the situation

evolves." Well, the house is on fire and they're talking about -- thinking about helping --

SOARES: Yes --

WEDEMAN: Their friends in Damascus. If they don't act quickly, it may be too late.

SOARES: Yes, it doesn't bode well for Bashar al Assad when you hear comments like that, that your friends don't come to the rescue. But speak

to the -- I imagine, Ben, that the civilians will be fleeing right as we saw -- if I can just ask Sarah(ph), so, can you bring the map up again? If

we look at the map, you were talking, Homs would be next.

And we've seen Aleppo, Hama, Homs, I mean, where civilians, they will see this, too. They would probably guess that, you know, what rebels are doing.

Do we have a sense of the impact this is having on the ground in terms of civilian -- the movement of civilian population here, Ben?

WEDEMAN: Well, according to the World Food Program, 280,000 people have been displaced as a result of this rebel advance that goes back to

Wednesday before last. But at the same time, what we're seeing is that many people -- and we're talking about millions who have been displaced from

their homes since 2011 are now going back.

I mean, so, we're having sort of movement in both ways. And what's significant about the events of since Wednesday before last is that, there

has been relatively little fighting despite the gains made by the rebels. And what we're seeing, and of course, I have to stress, I'm in Rome, I'm

not anywhere near --

SOARES: Yes --

WEDEMAN: Syria. But what we're seeing on social media is that, there seems to be quite a large amount of relief being expressed by many people in

Syria, that this very unpopular regime seems to be on the defensive and rapidly losing ground. It's important to keep in mind that on the one hand,

there is not a lot of love for Bashar al Assad.

On the other, there are minorities, Christian and Muslim minorities that are afraid of this opposition that has a history going back to the days of

ISIS and al Qaeda, which, of course, they no longer say they are affiliated with them. There's vivid memories of some of the atrocities visited upon

those minorities during the darkest days of the Syrian civil war.

SOARES: And it's a story we'll, of course, continue monitoring tomorrow in fact, on this show. I will be speaking to David Cardin, the U.N.'s deputy

Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syrian Crisis, who has just left in the last 24 hours or so, Syria. Ben appreciate you being with us. Thank you

very much, Ben Wedeman there for us.

I want to return now to the breaking news we brought you in the last few moments. A strong earthquake has just been measured off the northern coast

of California, officials say it has a preliminary magnitude of 7.0. And right now, the concern is tsunami. There's a tsunami warning in effect for

parts of California as well as the U.S. state of Oregon.

That is according to the National Tsunami Warning Center. Let's get the very latest from our Chad Myers who joins us from the CNN Weather Center.

Chad, just bring us up-to-date with the very latest that you're hearing now.

CHAD MYERS, METEOROLOGIST: What we're seeing at least from the United States Geological Survey is that this is a very shallow quake, and shallow

quakes can move the bottom of the ocean quite significantly compared to an earthquake that's 200 kilometers deep. You have a lot of buffering before

it gets to the surface of the ocean, the ocean bottom.

But when you have the earthquake very close to the bottom of the ocean, then you're going to move that land very quickly, a lot like we saw in

Banda Aceh. So, this is a 7.0. It isn't the Banda Aceh quake, but this is a significant inundation tsunami warning for the people here of northern

California and southern Oregon.

We do know that there was shaking on land here, especially near Fort Bragg. Here's a -- that would be about -- there's Eureka there, but we get all the

way down a little farther to the south. This is where we're actually seeing about 19,000 customers without power. So, not only did it shake in the

ocean, but it did of course, shake on land.

So, yes, we do have that yellow warning for damage, but so far the green warning for any fatalities. That's the good news. Which means probably less

than ten and in many times just zero when you get through that green. Doesn't mean it's exactly because these things can change, because it is

considered a strong earthquake. 7.0 is in a very strong category here and there are somewhere in the neighborhood of about 15 of these worldwide

throughout the year. So, not a rare event, but one per month, maybe something like that.

So, yes, we're going to get aftershocks and they could also cause small tsunamis at best. But this could get all the way down towards San

Francisco, along this ring of fire. This is the Cascadia subduction zone. We expect and we always knew that there were potential for big earthquakes

with tsunamis in this subduction zone. It's all a part of the ring of fire, all a part of the Pacific Ocean. The shaking also happening on land today,

not just under the ocean, but that ocean movement causes the water movement causes the waves to move on shore.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: I know you'll stay across this breaking news for us. Chad Myers, appreciate it as always. Thanks, Chad

MYERS: Yes.

SOARES: Still to come tonight, the search for a killer. The police manhunt for the person that gunned down a top health insurance executive on a New

York City street intensifies. We'll bring you the very latest after this. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: And we have new images this hour of someone police are calling a person of interest in the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO. CNN has

geolocated these photos released by the NYPD to a hostel on the Upper West Side of New York City. Sources say police searched a hostel in that area as

part of their investigation.

[14:35:00]

And CNN has obtained this video, what appears to be the man fitting description of the gunman incident talking to the phone minutes before the

murder apologies. We do not have the video. We'll try to get that to you. And we'll of course -- oh, here we go. We told you we had it. Now, we can

see the shooter is still at large, more than 30 hours after Brian Thompson was shot to death and what detectives describe as a premeditated pre-

planned and targeted attack.

So, let's get more on the very latest on this. I want to bring in CNN Law Enforcement Reporter Mark Morales. Mark, good to see you. So, we now have

these images, these new images, police calling person of interest. What more are you learning? What's the very latest on the manhunt?

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, Isa, this really signifies two things here, that this investigation is not only

intensifying, but that it's closing in. And these images are very significant in that regard, because now that we actually see what this

person of interest looks like, now this photo can be disseminated. Now, investigators can turn around and they can actually see whether or not this

is the person that they're looking for, or if it's somebody that they can rule out entirely.

Now, this really sort of brings everything to a turning point because now they can actually redouble their efforts. And now, they're going to start

getting even more tips than they've been getting before, because that's what's happened since the release of the photos.

Detectives and investigators have just gotten even more tips from people saying that they have might have seen them or might have heard -- or might

have seen this person. So, that's what these photos typically do in these situations.

Now, as far as the investigation intensifying, what we're having -- what we're noticing now is that investigators were able to recover a water

bottle that was left along the escape trail by the person who was believed to be the shooter. A fingerprint was recovered taken from that water

bottle, but it was smudged. And the significance of the smudging means that it's not as easy to connect that to a possible fingerprint.

But as we've said, this is all part of the investigative process because investigators are not only backtracking to see how the shooter got to that

location, but they're also seeing the whereabouts as to where he left from there. So, they're really trying to build out every single piece of this to

decide where he was going, where he went after, and through that, determine exactly who he is.

SOARES: Mark Morales, appreciate the very latest. Thanks, Mark. We are going to take a short break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:00]

SOARES: We return to breaking news that we brought you in the last 10 minutes or so. A strong earthquake has just been measured off the Northern

Coast of California. Officials say it has a preliminary magnitude of 7.0. Right now, as you can imagine, there is a tsunami warning in effect for

parts of California as well as the U.S. State of Oregon. And that covers nearly 5 million people under that warning as Chad Meyer was saying in the

last few minutes or so.

Of course, as we're looking at these aerial images from Northern California Coast, just sent into us in the last few minutes, this seven-quake --

magnitude quake could create, of course, dangerous waves. And that is why we're keeping a close eye. As Chad Myers was saying this could come within

the hour.

FEMA administrator has been briefly been told on this earthquake in Northern California that has prompted, of course, these tsunami warnings.

They're monitoring the situation. But the epicenter of the quake, about 50 miles southwest of Eureka, California, over the Pacific Ocean.

And so, right now, close attention to the -- that coastal -- the entire coastal area and the impact that has. We are keeping a close eye on this,

as it's just happened the last few minutes to see what impact this has in those coastal areas. The threat, of course, is of a tsunami. We'll stay

across this for you soon. As we have more, we'll bring that to you. These aerial images coming in. Busy, busy highway there. People being informed

just in the last few minutes as this story broke.

I want to turn to our top story this hour, and that's French President Emmanuel Macron is accusing the French, far-right and hard-left, of uniting

in what he called in the last few minutes anti-Republican front, an address to the nation just moments ago. President Macron said he will name a new

prime minister within the coming days. And this moment comes as this country plunges deeper into political instability.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier has resigned after losing to a no-confidence vote. President Macron has asked Barnier and his government to stay on in a

caretaker capacity until, of course, a new prime minister has been appointed.

My next guest is a member of President Macron's political party. Joining us now from Paris is French MP Eleonore Caroit. Eleonore, I really appreciate

you being with us on the show. A very good evening to you. No announcement of a prime minister -- of a new prime minister, but we had French President

Emmanuel Macron explaining himself to the French people and kind of scolding the opposition. Does this help him at all?

ELEONORE CAROIT, FRENCH MP, RENAISSANCE PARTY: Yes. Well, President Macron appeared in an address to the nation that was really clear, and he had a

plan. A plan for the budget, which is the main priority right now, but also a plan to move forward in a France that has never been as divided as it is

today. To be reminded that we have 11 political parties that are represented at the National Assembly, and there is an absolute need to make

compromise.

So, he was right to remember, to remind everyone that the reason we're here is because there was a censorship that was voted both by the left and by

the far-right.

SOARES: And he talked about -- I mean, we know we have a divided parliament, three main blocs or so, but how then does he thread this

needle? Because France could just be going around in circles here. No majority budget not being approved. How does he get out of this? I mean, he

spoke about a new era with new compromises. Is your party -- is President Macron prepared to make compromises here?

CAROIT: Absolutely. And we've made a lot of compromises in the past weeks. Our party had a different view on the budget than the one that was

presented by Michel Barnier. And yet, we accepted it and we were ready to vote it. And we absolutely not voted for the no-confidence motion.

So, that shows a willingness to move forward, to accept compromises, which was not the case in different parties. So, the main actors here of the

disorder and the chaos are obviously the far-right and the left, the bloc of the left. But within that bloc, there are parties that have said that

they're wishing to participate in a government, to be more reasonable looking forward. So, I think we need to have some hope that we will manage

to find a way.

SOARES: Yes, more than hope. I mean, in terms of compromises, I remember covering the French election and I remember writing down on my notes and I

looked through them today, talking about period of instability and maneuvering. At the time, there was a lot of talk in terms of who will he

name? Would he take someone from the -- from more from the left? Will he go the right? And in fact, he picked Barnier, who got the green light, I

believe, he said at the beginning and then pushed him out.

[14:45:00]

So, who would he -- who would be the person that would appease both sides?

CAROIT: I think the lessons we have to learn from what happened yesterday is that the National Rally, the far-right party, is not reliable and never

will be. I personally have always fought against them and their ideas because I think they're extremely bad for France. But for whoever had a

doubt about it, now it is clear they voted the no-confidence motion just to create chaos and to perhaps lead a path to Marine Le Pen in her seek for

the presidential election.

So, we know that we can't count on them, for whomever was still hoping to count on them. So, the only way forward now is to work with every single

party that is part of this bloc, of this (INAUDIBLE) that was created specifically to block the national rally and that now should show more of a

reasonable attitude than it had yesterday.

SOARES: Look, there may be bad for France, but you had elections in June, which your president called, to many people surprised and people voted,

right? So, it is a full function democracy and people voted. And I wonder - - and our correspondent was saying that people are angry that you're still in this political deadlock months. I mean, you could be going down this

road again. What -- do you worry about the image that this has portrayed. The impact on the economic markets, the fact that President-Elect Macron is

coming? Do you worry about that at all at this juncture?

CAROIT: I fully understand your question, but think about it this way. Imagine the U.S. has always had two main parties fighting against each

other. We always have one that is in power and the other one in opposition. That's what we've had. We've always had a clear majority and a clear

opposition. Well, two years ago, we had an assembly with 11 different political groups. And that's a huge change. That's a change of mentality,

even a change of system.

So, it takes a bit of time to get used to it, granted. We're learning the hard way, granted. But we will learn because there is simply no other

choice. You can call on new elections before 10 months, and this means we need to deal with the assembly as it is.

SOARES: Yes, I think it's clear that all sides need to reach a compromise here. Otherwise, you'll just go -- end up going round in circles in this

political deadlock. Really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thanks very much, Eleanore.

CAROIT: Thank you.

SOARES: We are going to -- you're very welcome. We're going to take a short break. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:00]

SOARES: I want to return now to our breaking news. A strong earthquake has just been measured off the Northern Coast of California. Officials say it

has a preliminary magnitude of 7.0. So, quite substantial. Right now, the concern is over a tsunami. There is a tsunami warning in effect for parts

of California as well as the U.S. State of Oregon. And that covers, just for perspective, about 5 million people. 5 million people right now under

warning, tsunami warning.

There's video coming in, aerial footage coming in, just from -- in the last few moments of the Northern Chicago Coast. Susan -- California -- pardons,

Susan Hough is a U.S. geological survey seismologist, and she joins me now.

And, Susan, we're looking at these aerial images. This -- I mean, this is a significant quake, 7.0. Just your initial reaction as we look at these

images, tsunami warning in effect, that is the big concern at this hour, I imagine.

SUSAN HOUGH, SEISMOLOGIST, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: So, this is one of the most active earthquake zones in California. The offshore of Cape Mendocino

is where the San Andreas Fault ends and it transitions to what we call a triple junction where three tectonic plates come together. It's

complicated. It produces a lot of moderately large earthquakes and now, we've had the most recent magnitude 7.

If this one was offshore by a good 80 kilometers or so, it was south of the major population centers in Eureka and Arcata. So, that will help, that

will focus the strongest shaking offshore instead of on land. The tsunami warnings -- and people should follow the appropriate tsunami warning

centers. That zone does not generally produce earthquakes that are what we call tsunamigenic. You have tsunamis when the seafloor moves vertically,

like with a big subduction zone and the C4 moves up or down.

This earthquake had a lateral motion from everything we can see. And at magnitude 7, it's not generally, excuse me, the type of earthquake that we

expect to generate a significant tsunami.

SOARES: And as you're talking, Susan, we're looking at some aerial footage coming from the Northern California Coast. We're seeing cars parking up

goodness knows why. What kind of advice would you -- what would authorities, I should say, how will they be preparing for this?

HOUGH: So, I'm not seeing the footage that you're seeing, and it's not -- the USGS doesn't monitor the damage and effects. Any -- magnitude 7, that

would have been a strong jolt. Anybody that was driving would have felt it. It would disrupt your driving. It is possible to have a modest tsunami if

there's undersea slumping, for example. You can get a local tsunami. So, I don't mean to suggest there's zero risk.

You know, for an earthquake like this, the accounts are indicating damaging levels of shaking in some areas enough to damage chimneys, knock things off

of shelves, that sort of thing. There's always a concern for aftershocks for something this large. And that region has at times produced sequences

of events where you get, you know, maybe more than one moderately large earthquake.

So, anytime you have earthquake activity, you need to be on your toes. That more activity becomes more statistically likely.

SOARES: And I was speaking to our Chad Myers, our meteorologist today, and he said, you know, that should -- if it's a tsunami warning within the next

hour or so. Do we have a sense, Susan, of time limit or when that tsunami warning may pass? What time scale are we looking at here?

HOUGH: Yes, I would assume that there would -- and again, there are the tsunami warning centers that people are hopefully tuning into. I don't have

that URL off the top of my head. I would assume it would be known fairly quickly that whether there's any continuing danger or if there's an all

clear.

SOARES: And as you go ahead --

HOUGH: So, I'm just looking at --

SOARES: Go ahead, go ahead.

HOUGH: Oh, I'm just looking at the footage with boats, but I'm not sure.

SOARES: Yes, and we're seeing Northern California. We're seeing images coming in right now. Just to regroup for those of you just joining, nearly

5 million people in the U.S. West Coast under tsunami warning after magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

And, Susan, I mean, the depth of the earthquake clearly matters. What kind of advice for those people listening into us, what kind of advice would you

be giving those in that coast? What would you be telling them?

[14:55:00]

HOUGH: Well, so, it was a shallow event. And so, you know, magnitude 7, that's good size. It's possible that you might have -- well, we expect to

have aftershocks, you know, smaller events. People can expect to feel aftershocks.

Yes, I'm not sure what -- why the cars are backed up like that. It's actually possible -- excuse me, it's possible that was road damage. And

that could be disrupting traffic. So, I think the bigger risk, given what we've seen in the past, it wouldn't be a tsunami. It would be for damage

from the 7. It was big enough to damage roads. And then, for subsequent earthquakes, you know, people in that region need to be aware that there is

now a higher likelihood that they'll feel more shaking and it could be from additional strong events.

SOARES: And we're just getting updates, the Bay Area at Rapid Transit and now, it's experiencing disruptions due to the earthquake. State and local

officials are already responding to that. We've also had the last few minutes of San Francisco Zoo has been closed, of course, because that

warning has been put into effect.

Susan Hough, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you, Susan.

That does it for us for tonight. Do stay right here. Newsroom with Jim Sciutto will have much more on this breaking news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00]

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