❌

Normal view

France’s dilemma: protesters demand spending as markets require fiscal restraint

10 October 2026 at 00:00

Waves of protests expose debt crisis faced by French government, but political wrangling is stalling an escape plan. Is there a way out?

Eight years have passed since rising fuel prices brought the gilets jaunes (yellow vest) demonstrators to the streets of France, prompting the first big crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s time in the Γ‰lysΓ©e Palace.

As the French president contemplates his exit next year, turmoil has again gripped the streets in the form of student protests, but this time the financial markets are unhappy too.

Continue reading...

Β© Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

Β© Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

Β© Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

❌