NEWSLETTER: French protests, budget stress more than just déjà vu
- France is broke and the usual trick of throwing money at protesters no longer works.
- Schools are literally infested with rats while the government faces a 50-year streak of deficit spending.
- Bond yields are spiking as investors lose faith in the French government's ability to balance the books.
- The chaos is handing a golden ticket to political extremists, with Marine Le Pen eyeing the presidency.
Brief Summary
France is once again burning, but this isn't just another routine day of Parisian civil unrest. While the country has a long history of buying off dissent with tax dollars, the state coffers are now effectively empty. Macron’s government is trapped between crumbling infrastructure—where vermin-infested classrooms are the norm—and a terrifying debt crisis that has the bond markets sweating.
Why This Matters
When the world's seventh-largest economy starts teetering on the edge of a debt spiral, the ripple effects don't stop at the French border. If France’s creditworthiness continues to crater, it creates a massive headache for the global financial system and puts upward pressure on borrowing costs everywhere. Plus, the surge of political extremism in a key NATO ally signals a broader shift in Western stability that could reshape trade, defense, and the future of the European Union.