France burns as Macron looks like a leader who has lost control

Protests spread beyond schools

The demonstrations began with a secondary school protest in Créteil, southeast of Paris, over a shortage of teachers. They later drew well over half a million people, including students, workers and members of the resurgent gilets jaunes.

Trade unionists and others joined as concerns broadened to the cost of living, fuel prices and a wider sense of insecurity. The unrest echoes disorder in 1958, 1968 and 2005, which weakened the authority of governments at the time.

The account reports serious injuries among young protesters, which it attributes to police weapons. A 14-year-old suffered a shattered jaw and lost teeth after a tear gas grenade struck him, while a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a stun grenade.

Government faces criticism

The government sent riot police to confront protesters rather than meeting their representatives, listening to grievances and offering concessions, the account argues. It says the authorities’ response was marked by counterproductive brutality.

It also describes President Emmanuel Macron as having lost control of events and confidence at home and among international investors. With a hung parliament struggling to pass a budget, his administration faces mounting difficulty advancing policy.

Debt fuels political deadlock

France’s public debt, sluggish economy and difficulty reducing state spending are central to a second challenge: financial-market concern about the state’s stability. The account says France has seen the largest rise in bond yields and a steep fall in the value of its government bonds, known as OATs.

It says investors consider debt issued by LVMH more likely to be repaid than French government bonds. Meanwhile, protesters are demanding more spending on subsidies and schools, while the government and parliament are unable to bring spending to sustainable levels.

The article likens the risk to the Eurozone debt crisis that affected Greece, Italy and Spain about fifteen years ago. It ends mid-sentence before stating the eventual consequence of the decline in OAT values.