France, historically, has been a country filled with corruption, revolutions, rise and fall of kings, and a place of the arts. Recently France has been facing a major problem, their politicians and economy. But how did France get to the point of having four new prime ministers in twelve months, an out of control spending deficit, and a parliament that doesn’t have a majority to control that spending?
Well it all goes back to the last time France was able to balance its budget, 1973. After WW2 France experienced high economic growth for 30 years, those years were called “Trente Glorieuses” or the “Thirty Glorious Years.” Because France’s economy was doing great the government was able to collect lots of tax revenue from its people and so France profited more than what it spent. But, ever since 1973 the spending deficit has only risen.
France knew they had to manage their spending better so in 2017, president Emmanuel Macron using his previous knowledge of being an economist minister was able to significantly reduce government spending making their situation a little bit better. All was well until everyone’s favorite year when everything shut down, 2020.
Covid-19 not only hurt local businesses, but also entire countries and France was one of them. France’s government was forced to increase their spending to make sure that their people were healthy, businesses wouldn’t shut down, and consumer spending stayed low. To see the numbers, before covid France debt was 98% of their GDP which jumped up to 114%. As a result, France raised their taxes. Taxes from personal income result in 43.8% of their GDP, the most in Europe.
France isn’t technically in a financial crisis unless they are spending more than what they have. But France is spending more than they have. This might not make sense because how does a country spend more than what they have and not be considered in financial ruin? Well investors who trust that a government is able to pay back a loan will loan out money at interest. Then once it’s time to pay they’ll do the same process again. This only works if the bond investors trust the way the government is spending money.
Unfortunately France’s lower house of parliament was dissolved in 2024 by Marcon. Because of this, bond investors are nervous about loaning out their money because there is a higher chance of the government not spending their fund responsibly therefore not paying those bound investors back. Not only is the lower house of parliament in shambles, but France has gotten 4 new prime ministers within the last 12 months which is extremely unusual for such a key figure to be changed so often in a country as big as France. Michel Barnier was appointed on September 5, 2024, and was ousted after losing a vote of no confidence in December. François Bayrou was appointed in December 2024. In September 2025, Bayrou lost a confidence vote that he started, forcing himself to resign. The next prime minister was Sébastien Lecornu. He was appointed in September 2025, following Bayrou’s resignation and resigned after just a month. Now Marco, the president, is searching for a new prime minister.
France isn’t doomed to fall and is definitely able to bounce back from this catastrophe. They are a significant county in terms of trading in Europe. France will need to get their act together in who they appoint and of parliament or else they won’t be able to push through. I sincerely hope that their government finds a way out so that their people won’t suffer just like how they found a way during covid.
Sources:
CORBET, SYLVIE, and SAMUEL PETREQUIN. “Macron Dissolves the French Parliament and Calls a Snap Election after Defeat in EU Vote.” AP News, 9 June 2024, apnews.com/article/france-european-election-national-rally-marine-lepen-b132616d24de829660d8dbe0659e50fd.
LEICESTER, JOHN, and SAMUEL PETREQUIN. “France’s PM Sébastien Lecornu Resigns as Political Crisis Deepens.” AP News, 6 Oct. 2025, apnews.com/article/france-prime-minister-resign-lecornu-2faa9292442e104feef4e239df92d08f.
Mchugh, David. “France’s Finances Are in Turmoil. Here’s How It Came to This.” AP News, 10 Sept. 2025, apnews.com/article/france-politics-economy-debt-taxes-72483f02abece038b1888cf43cb652ee.
Politico. “The French Political Crisis That Keeps Getting Worse.” POLITICO, 8 Oct. 2025, www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2025/10/08/the-french-political-crisis-that-keeps-getting-worse-00599112.
