On November 5, 2026, France witnessed the latest round of protests and violent rioting in a wave of civil unrest that has been going on since mid - September. As well as protests which started peacefully but gradually became more violent, strikes involving hundreds of thousands demanding higher wages, improved living conditions, and opposing austerity policies disrupted business activity in many cities. This is now a broad based movement which draws support from diverse groups including high school and university students, unions, farmers, and 'gilets jaunes' activists.
Authorities estimated between 500,000 to 700,000 people turned out to protest nationwide with 40,000 to 80,000 more taking to the streets in Paris. The government called up 70,000 police and gendarmes to maintain order and enforce security measures amid concerns about potential unrest following violent demonstrations with looting, vandalism and arson earlier in October.
Key demands of the protesters included a minimum wage increase—the first since 2012—opposition to soaring fuel prices, and rejection of austerity budgets. According to General Secretary Marylise Léon of CFDT, the movement seeks dignified working conditions amid financial pressure on the population, as half reportedly struggle economically.
The aim of some of the more extremist protest groups is to bring down the government and force an early general election. Ironically the main support for this comes from far left groups even though the civil unrest has made victory for right wing Marine Le Pen and her National Rally Party even more likely now that Paris is burning,
However France is in its current mess because of Emmanuel Macron whose time in office has been punctuated by outbreaks of civil disorder. Who could have predicted that his decade-long presidency would end with his country in flames, and with a financial crisis looming? Yet the policies Macron pursued earlier in his tenure nonetheless led him here. The austerity imposed by his government bred more violence, while cuts in public investment deterred private investors.
Looking at the presidential candidates in France today ahead of the election next April, it is difficult to see how the country will end up with a government that succeeds in doing all of the following: bringing the budget deficit under control; avoiding social unrest; complying with European rules; and staying in the eurozone. What many European politicians don’t understand is the relationship between debt, the EU's unsustainable financial relationship with China and membership of the eurozone. Put simply: you can’t default on your debt and expect to keep the euro. Debt serves as collateral for the money the banking system gets from the ECB. If a country defaults on its debt, the banking system inevitably freezes up.
Given these fundamentals, how might a eurozone crisis actually play out? One option is that Le Pen wins and on becoming fully aware of the state of French finances decides to impose austerity once in the Élysée. Her popularity ratings would soon slump, and would likely not recover. You might think this is totally irrational, but we saw this pattern repeat itself over and over again during ptevious eurozone crises.
France and other members of the Eurozone only need fiscal integration due to a) the debt-based nature of the Euro (which it has in common with all modern fiat currencies) and b) democracy, which rewards politicians willing to bribe voters with consumption spending paid by deficits. The latter is so entrenched it's no longer discussed. Even politicians who self-describe as "fiscally conservative"seem to assume deficit spending is some kind of law of nature, which illustrates the profound corruption in voters' expectations that will ultimately lay waste to Europe's main economies.
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