Good morning from Paris.

In a televised address last night, French President Emmanuel Macron attempted to bear almost no responsibility for the situation. He accused the far right and the far left of creating an “anti-republican front” and sowing “chaos” in bringing down his government.

The centrist politician stressed that creating disorder is the only project that unites far-right and far-left, Théo Bourgery-Gonse reports.

“And this with the complicity of the rest of the New Popular Front”, Macron said, referring to the broad left-wing electoral alliance, including the centre-left Socialist Party (S&D).

Targeting socialists, too, contradicts his ambition to create a multi-party government of “general interest”, as he said on Thursday. 

One could say Macron bites the hands that will feed him as French media quoted presidential sources as saying that today, Macron will meet leaders from his party, socialists, and right-wing Republicans. The French leader is expected to name a prime minister “in the coming days.”

As France struggles to resolve the deadlock, talks are taking place in Uruguay about another topic that has Paris on fire: the Mercosur trade deal. 

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is in Uruguay to discuss “final political compromises” to conclude negotiations of the trade deal, which France fiercely opposes. 

Last but not least, Europe’s eyes are also on Sunday's upcoming second round of Romania’s presidential elections. Far-right pro-Russian Călin Georgescu leads the latest poll, while Romanians gathered last night in Bucharest to back pro-EU candidate Elena Lasconi.

An internal European People's Party (EPP) document seen by Euractiv’s Nicoletta Ionta outlines plans for legislative and budgetary changes to the EU’s Border and Coast Guard Agency alongside a proposal for the long-awaited new return regulation.

In other news, a top Commission official has said the executive is developing a new “doctrine” to strengthen the EU’s economic security amid rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US.

Meanwhile, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told the European Parliament's security and defence subcommittee that he wants to present concrete plans for the continent's military readiness.

Lastly, MEPs have started a blame game since the rejection of the resolution on smoke-free environments on 28 November, as the S&D group accuses the conservative and the far-right parties of holding anti-smoking efforts "hostage" and the EPP takes aim at the left-wing parties. 

ROME

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini strongly criticised the European Union's plan to ban the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by 2035, calling it economic suicide that would only help China. Read more.

Pastorella’s plan to reunite Italian liberals. Italy's liberal parties fell short of winning a single seat to help the liberal Renew group in the European Parliament in June's European elections but now show signs of wanting to unite, with Azione vice-president Giulia Pastorella leading the charge and seemingly determined to reunite the liberal camp. Read more.

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MADRID

Sánchez, centre-right, failed to reach a deal on ‘solidarity sharing’ of migrant minors. The government of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the centre-right Partido Popular failed on Thursday to reach an agreement for the country's regions to take in hundreds of unaccompanied migrant minors under a solidarity quota scheme. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal busts one of Europe’s largest cocaine labs. Portugal's Judicial Police have dismantled what they describe as "one of the largest" industrial laboratories for  extracting, processing and packaging cocaine in Europe during an operation in the Oeste (West) region, arresting seven people and seizing around 1,500 kilos of drugs. Read more.

STOCKHOLM

The Swedish government on Thursday ordered several agencies to monitor the travel patterns of refugees to ensure asylum protection is not abused by those who may no longer be in need of protection. Read more.

WARSAW

Tusk, Metsola prepare EU presidency ahead of Trump’s return. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk underlined the importance of Poland's strength for Europe on Thursday as the two discussed Poland's upcoming EU presidency. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Slovak MEPs divided over EU-Mercosur deal. The EU-Mercosur trade deal, which has polarised member states and European institutions, is also dividing Slovak MEPs, both within the government and the liberal party at home, with some warning of its potential negative impact on farmers and a possible influx of low-quality food. Read more.

BUCHAREST

Romanians will head to the polls on Sunday for the final round of the presidential election to decide between controversial far-right pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu and pro-European Elena Lasconi, who has a chance of becoming the country's first female president. Read more.

• EU: Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in its telecommunications composition convenes to discuss future digital infrastructure, cybersecurity agency (ENISA), and more;
• Commission President Ursula von der Leyen participates in Mercosur Leaders’ Meeting, in Uruguay.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor-Braçe]