La République en Crise: When the Numbers Start Bleeding

PAID — Strikes, debt, and political gridlock: this EXPLAINER shows how France’s fiscal crisis collides with people power, and why the outcome will shape not just Paris, but the future of Europe.

The French credit downgrade comes at a bad time for the new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, and French president Emmanuel Macron. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/AP

Last week, we dissected the mechanics of France's impossible politics in the article: What’s Really Going On in France Right Now: Understanding the République in Crisis. The constitutional chicken of Article 49.3, the mathematical impossibility of coalition government, and the ancient legitimacy of la rue. But while we were watching this parliamentary theatre, something extraordinary was happening in the real world.