The Freud ensemble of random matrices is the unitary invariant ensemble corresponding to the weight $\exp(-n |x|^β)$, $β>0$, on the real line. We consider the local behaviour of eigenvalues near zero, which exhibits a transition in $β$. If $β\ge 1$, it is described by the standard sine process. Below the critical value $β=1$, it is described by a process depending on the value of $β$, and we determine the first two terms of the large gap probability in it. This so called weak confinement range $0<β<1$ corresponds to the Freud weight with the indeterminate moment problem. We also find the multiplicative constant in the asymptotic expansion of the Freud multiple integral for $β\ge 1$.