The public sentiment surrounding the French political crisis is marked by significant frustration and skepticism towards the government's handling of economic issues, especially under Macron. A prevailing disdain for financial aid to Ukraine over domestic problems fuels calls for dramatic political reform. Many express deep disillusionment with current leadership, reflecting both despair and a longing for change amid ongoing turmoil and perceived ineffectiveness.

French Government

Ukrainian Government

European Union

According to the article, the French have been living with an unstable government and the risk of another election.
Apparently, this is not a catastrophe, but rather an element of the political system.

Any-Original-6113

The elections will continue until morale improves.

Known_Week_158

In a way, it's a problem all of the E3 are facing right this moment. Spiralling social spending with high borrowing costs in a time when higher defence spending is urgently needed. 

At least Germany has less than 100% debt to GDP ratio, us in the UK and France are in some pretty deep shit.

sisali

Surprise surprise no politician want to balance the budget.

ballthyrm

Social spending as % of GDP has to come back to what it was just 10 years ago (or even better, 20 years ago but everyone remember how Jospin’s socialist government was hell on earth for the working class /s). Otherwise the French are living beyond their means.

The boomer electorate has to start using their wealth to finance their retirement. If they wanted to enjoy higher pensions they should have made more working-age kids. They may have used their freedom at the fullest, it’s time to pay for the consequences of such freedom.

It might be unjust at the individual level but if individuals are not capable of miracles why would a government, a collection of individuals, be any different?

It applies to most other European countries but most of us took the decisions that had to be taken.

Reggio_Calabria

moule_a_cake

44bn Euro is nothing compared with Rachel Reeves's  61bn Pounds black hole. She is still siting comfortably on her throne dishing oit misery to the middle class, the pensioners and the market.

TeddyBoyce

It looks to be a case of "You can't remove me, I'm leaving." It's two days before the already planned left-wing manifestations,  the budget wouldn't have had any chance to pass anyway, and he probably the most impopular PM of the Vth Republic.

I don't think even he thinks he can win this vote (even considering he's pretty dumb) :

- The alliance with the religious right (through Retailleau) plus the economic reforms that put more strain on income from work than on income from capital is antagonizing the left.

- The far-right isn't happy with the pro-Ukraine stance, the immigration policy, the energy policy, ... Voting for confidence would be difficult to justify to their base. We could argue that the RN would vote for confidence to avoid new legislative elections (which Macron would probably call in case of no confidence) which would mean the far-right leader Marine Le Pen would lose her seat (she is ineligible because of embezzlement). However, her party would probably win a lot (unfortunately).

TrueRignak

I don't understand why risk it with the confidence vote if you are in a minority government?

In Spain PSOE knows they are also in a minority government, so they refuse to take any chances, and while I may find that scummy, it's what keeps them in power. That is not really a political master play it seems like common sense to me.

Edit: I'm also lol'ing are reading how not passing the budget is creating so much instability, we are still using 2023's budget and as with the confidence vote, PSOE knows they would lose any vote so instead of risking it they just extend the last year's one. Why can't the french PM do this?

mods4mods

French government faces risk of collapse?

Soft-Ingenuity2262

It's been the same damn headline since 1789

LAiglon144

France basically runs on these kinds of high drama disputes. They’re a national sport. It’ll be fine!

Embarrassed-Fault973

plutoisap

AkaAtarion

**European stock markets retreated on Tuesday morning, pulled down by French equities as traders monitored the potential for a no confidence vote in the government next month.**

France’s CAC 40 index plummeted more than 2% in early deals before paring losses to around 1.75%. The country’s three main opposition parties [said they would not back a surprise confidence vote](https://www.reuters.com/world/french-government-risks-collapse-with-budget-confidence-vote-september-2025-08-25/) called by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Monday for Sept. 8 over his budget plans.

Bayrou argues around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in budget cuts are needed to reduce the French deficit, which totaled 5.8% of GDP in 2024, with his proposals including freezing welfare and pension spending, as well as tax brackets, at 2025 levels.

Erik Nelson, head of G10 FX strategy at Wells Fargo, called the outlook for French assets “not great” — but said the outcome for Bayrou’s government was not a foregone conclusion.

“I think part of the issue here is that European equities, the euro itself, have been a very popular momentum trade throughout the year. What we’re seeing in the last couple of days has been a little bit of unwind.”

“I don’t know that Bayrou is definitely out. There’s still some uncertainty there. He’s got a lot of things he can offer the opposition,” Nelson continued, including that the French minister could back away from a contentious proposal to cut two public holidays.

“They’re walking a very fine line here, and ... given where market positioning is in European assets, there’s a lot of risks.”

# Fed drama

Broader European markets were also lower as global investors monitored U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest attempted intervention in the running of the Federal Reserve.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX were both down by around 0.5%.

Trump’s announcement on social media that he had fired [Federal Reserve](https://www.cnbc.com/federal-reserve/) Board Governor [Lisa Cook](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/trump-powell-cook-fed-mortgage-fraud.html) drove [Asia-Pacific markets](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/26/asia-stock-markets-today-live-updates-nikkei-225-asx-200-kospi-hang-seng-csi-300-sensex-nifty-50.html) and [U.S. futures](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/25/stock-market-today-live-updates.html) lower. Cook said in a Monday statement that Trump did not have the authority to remove her and that she “will not resign,” leaving a legal dispute a potential next step.

It follows months of pressure by Trump on the central bank to lower interest rates, including [repeated criticism of and threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell](https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/24/trump-powell-fed-visit.html).

dat_9600gt_user

European stock markets opened sharply lower on Tuesday, pulled down by French equities as traders monitored the potential for a no confidence vote in the government next month.

France’s CAC 40 index plummeted more than 2% in early deals after the country’s three main opposition parties [said they would not back a confidence vote](https://www.reuters.com/world/french-government-risks-collapse-with-budget-confidence-vote-september-2025-08-25/) called by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou for Sept. 8 over his budget plans.

Bayrou argues around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in budget cuts are needed to reduce the French deficit, which totaled 5.8% of GDP in 2024, with his proposals including freezing welfare and pension spending, as well as tax brackets, at 2025 levels.

Erik Nelson, head of G10 FX strategy at Wells Fargo, called the outlook for French assets “not great” — but said the outcome for Bayrou’s government was not a foregone conclusion.

“I think part of the issue here is that European equities, the euro itself, have been a very popular momentum trade throughout the year. What we’re seeing in the last couple of days has been a little bit of unwind.”

“I don’t know that Bayrou is definitely out. There’s still some uncertainty there. He’s got a lot of things he can offer the opposition,” Nelson continued, including that the French minister could back away from a contentious proposal to cut two public holidays.

“They’re walking a very fine line here, and as I mentioned earlier, given where market positioning in European assets, there’s a lot of risks.”

European stock futures were already pointing lower as global investors monitored U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest attempted intervention in the running of the Federal Reserve.

krazydude22

To put things into perspective, France spends about 666 billion euros on [healthcare](https://pharmaboardroom.com/articles/frances-healthcare-budget-passes-but-system-remains-in-critical-condition/) or about 23% of GDP and a further 410 billion euros or about [14% of GDP](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-lawmakers-weigh-political-risk-curbing-boomers-costly-pensions-2024-10-09/) on pension. The military budget by comparison is about [60 billion euros](https://breakingdefense.com/2025/07/france-to-raise-military-spending-to-75b-in-2027-three-years-earlier-than-planned/) or 2% of GDP.

TheoryOfDevolution

To be honest, the current government is unpopular but it's doing what it should

To balance the budget you need higher taxes on the rich AND spending cuts

This is what the new budget is about, letting inflation get more and more upper class people into the highest bracket, thus raising taxes on the rich, plus spending cuts

Should the government put more emphasis on more tax hikes? On more spending cuts? That's a matter of opinion

But the overall strategy of doing both of the necessary things is GOOOD

ale_93113

The unawareness in the comments of how bad things actually are in France here is astounding

'usual drama' 'France will survive' 'oh its just September'

No it's not business as usual, far from it

France has been in a deep political crisis since June/July 2024, and more recently also a serious budget crisis to make it worse

What's looming is the possibility of the right+far-right achieving majority and form a government

This would be the start of a France turning its back on the EU and do everything to disrupt it, a la Orban but with immensely more weight and dire consequences. Also giving up support to Ukraine, and becoming nice and lenient with Russia and Trump

After losing the UK, the EU would then lose France, so Germany would be the last remaining major pillar of the Union

This would likely mark the beginning of the end for the EU. Exactly what Russia, China, and the USA want

Russia's (and USA's) massive propaganda campaigns and support to far-right (even far-left) movements within France and Germany have been insanely intense for years and increasing, for a purpose that couldn't be more obvious

On the side of this, the movement planned for the 10th of September is not the average type, it's sprung out of nowhere, or rather social media 'accounts' and influencers, rather than Unions and political parties who for some decided to join but did not initiate it

\-&gt; it's the same pattern as the Yellow ~~Jackets~~ Vests movement, which was proven largely triggered by outside influence and had clear involvement of Russia in the shadows. even now several unions and political leaders can't tell who is behind the movement nor what the actual claims are, meaning the primary purpose is disruption for disruption

The goal is to pressure the government and trigger new flash elections, this time quite likely to bring the far-right alliance to power

Social media and Reddit in recent weeks have been flooded with influencing accounts to support that purpose masquerading candidly as a legit social movement

But the suspicions the movement is instrumentalized (ed: hijacked) are serious

nb: vocabulary edits

swiwwcheese

xExerionx

Bobob_UwU

TBH germany was excited about it's new super stable super able government.

And so far they only found austerity for everything, a way to hamfistedly get fresh money to prevent the collapse of our pension system before 2029 and within the year 100.000 well paying industry jobs have been silently cut by offering the people who had them a severance package and earlier retirement.

QuarkVsOdo

Collapse sounds like a strong word. I every time I hear that word about a European government, it usually refers to a coalition falling apart. 

It’s as if the maga republicans and the congressional republicans decided not to work together anymore. We wouldn’t call it a collapse of government, we’d just call it the collapse of a certain political party coalition.

But collapse gets more clicks I guess

Far_Appointment1042

Im French and I did notice any change. Just a normal day here.

Albrecht_Entrati

Meanwhile our current government is one month short of becoming the third longest serving government in history. 

How tables turn. 

I am both amused and confused. Not used to being on the other side of things and find it very destabilising. 

Please go back to the natural course of things where we Italians are the messy, unstable ones and France and Germany have an idea of what they do lol

Socmel_

Macron placed Bayrou as Prime Minister against the will of the people and the popular vote. It is not illegal: but it should have been.

Thus the entire government is illegitimate.

What did Bayrou do with his illegitimate power? Massive tax cuts to the ultra wealthy. 

MechanicSuspicious38

Salt_Respect7159

Better_Ad898

Someone take that Macron apology form meme and fill it with crayon squiggles.

-The_Blazer-

Guipel_

Why is the thumbnail showing what looks to be a photo of Milan?

are_wethere_yet

Which stock slid ? Cac40 is stagnant. FR40 too.

Is it just straight up disinformation or what am I missing?

Edit : it did go down during last week but nothing out of the ordinary when you look the progression through 6 months or a year

starloow

Time for Trappier to take over.

He is already the unofficial foreign, economy and defence minister of France.

Generic_Person_3833

It feels like every few years France is in some version of the same crisis. The government overspends, the deficit grows, politicians promise reform but then pull back the moment protests start. The cycle repeats and each time it gets harder to fix because debt piles higher. People outside France sometimes think it is just about lazy politics or bad budgeting, but the reality is France has a culture where the state is expected to take care of everything. From pensions to transport to energy the government has its hands everywhere. That model works fine in good times but the moment growth slows or interest rates rise the whole thing becomes shaky.

What makes the current situation worse is that global markets are less forgiving now. Investors want discipline and the EU is pushing for stricter budget rules. So France is squeezed between angry citizens who reject cuts and international pressure demanding cuts. It is a political trap with no easy exit. Macron came in talking about reform but every attempt has been met with strikes that shut down the country. At some point the choice is either accept permanent stagnation or actually force through painful changes. The scary part is that if the government keeps wobbling, extremist parties like Le Pen’s get stronger by selling a fantasy of national strength without real economic math.

 That is how a budget deficit turns into a political crisis. It is not just numbers on a spreadsheet, it is a question of whether the French system can evolve at all or if it collapses under the weight of its own contradictions. For me the lesson is clear. France cannot keep pretending it can spend endlessly and keep everyone happy. Either leaders act now and face anger or they delay and face something worse later.

UnlikelyOpposite7478

&gt;PARIS, Aug 26 (Reuters) - France found itself mired in yet another crisis on Tuesday, after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's gamble to win backing for his deeply unpopular debt-reduction plan backfired, plunging the country deeper into political and financial instability.

&gt;French markets tumbled after Bayrou jolted the political establishment out of its summer slumber on Monday with his unexpected move to seek a September 8 confidence vote on his debt-cutting plan. His proposal was roundly rejected by opposition parties, who said they would relish the opportunity to cut short his minority government's time in office.

ChangeUsername220

France is on the brink of a government collapse due to a confidence vote for the Prime Minister as economic instability mounts.

French Political Crisis

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

Parties Involved

What the people want