Another prime minister gone in France: How a budget deficit became a political crisis

From the show

Reading time 1 min

French PM François Bayrou submitted his resignation on Tuesday after losing a confidence vote in parliament. He had gambled on a budget demanding over €40 billion in savings. The plan would have frozen welfare benefits, cut civil-service jobs and scrapped two public holidays. President Emmanuel Macron then named Sébastien Lecornu, a longtime ally, as France's new prime minister to pick up the mantle of trying to pass a budget through a divided parliament. So where does the country's economy stand now? Charles Pellegrin discusses this and more with Alexandra Roulet, associate professor of economics at INSEAD.