Once hailed as a “democratic revolution,” Emmanuel Macron’s France is now on political and economic quicksand. With seven prime ministers since 2017, record debt at 114% of GDP, and public spending at 57%, the French welfare state is bursting—but hollow in the middle. Macron’s gamble to dissolve parliament in 2024 created a three-way stalemate, while decades of subsidies and rigid labor laws have slowed growth. Protests rage, rural France feels abandoned, and Parisians demand change. So what happens next?
