Solving France’s Intractable Debt Problem
Efforts to shrink its beloved safety net face legislative gridlock. Bloomberg Originals explores what may force change and what could be lost.
Photo Illustration: Christian Capestany
This year witnessed a French government embroiled in near-constant turmoil. The appointment of Sébastien Lecornu as its fifth prime minister in less than two years highlighted a prolonged period of instability that’s left President Emmanuel Macron unable to navigate a fractured parliament riven by rising populism.
At the heart of the crisis is France’s outsized debt, its beloved social safety net and what many see as the economic imperative in scaling it back. On this Bloomberg Originals weekly documentary, we lay out the political minefield faced by Macron, the grave stakes for the country’s economy and what might need to happen to break the deadlock.