With the nation being highly in-debt, French politicians are finding it hard to come together in parliament to settle a budget. Their indifference with President Emmanuel Macron has made it difficult to pass any legislation.
The past year has seen France constantly in the news, from leading Europe in the nuclear race to its stance on Palestine. Despite its efforts to support other nations, the government appears to be doing quite the opposite within its own borders.
The last thing one would expect from a nation of such economic power is to go through five prime ministers in just two years – yet here we are.
Macron has also started to experience a steep decline in public confidence with growing calls for his resignation from political opponents.
A brief history
This crisis goes all the way back to June 2024 when Macron called for a snap legislative election to regain control following his party’s poor performance in the European Parliament elections.
However, this ended up backfiring as the elections resulted in a hung parliament, with a clear division among three main blocs. This includes Macron’s centrist coalition, the far-right National Rally, and the leftist New Popular Front. All failed to secure a clear majority, affecting any legislation that had hopes of being passed.
This major fragmentation led to a series of minority governments being formed and the revolving door of prime ministers that followed.
France’s economic state
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, France’s financial future is at stake with the involvement of the 2026 budget.
The nation currently faces a high public debt burden that exceeds 116% of its GDP, and a deficit that is at a projected 5% of its GDP. This means that approving a budget for the next year is vital for France to stabilize and ensure its economy doesn’t crash.
The lack of any stable leadership has left the nation at a legislative standstill, making it impossible for parliament to settle on a budget. This has already resulted in market jitters with economic growth being projected too drastically slow down.
On top of this, the European Union’s deficit target requires member states to keep their deficit below 3% of GDP, a threshold France currently exceeds by two percentage points. If France fails to meet this target, it risks triggering the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP), the EU’s corrective framework for maintaining economic stability.
This would require the French government to submit a credible plan with a defined timeframe to reduce its deficit. Failure to comply with this plan and the EU’s fiscal rules can end up with increases scrutiny, formal warning and even restrictions on EU funding.
Such an event would suppress France’s overall development marked by financial pressure.