France’s economy minister has warned that the country could be forced to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as political instability deepens and concerns mount over its spiralling debt.
Eric Lombard’s stark comments come as Prime Minister François Bayrou prepares to face a confidence vote in parliament next month — a gamble many observers say will almost certainly topple President Emmanuel Macron’s fragile minority government. With opposition parties from the far-left France Unbowed to Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally pledging to vote against the government, even Bayrou’s allies have branded his move “suicidal.”
The crisis hits as France struggles under a record €3.3 trillion debt burden, with this year’s deficit projected at 5.4% of GDP. Investors reacted sharply: Paris’s stock market fell 1.73% in early trading, while French banks — heavily exposed to government debt — suffered even steeper losses. The country’s 10-year bond yield climbed above 3.5%, surpassing Italy’s for the first time in decades.
“I bet that within a fortnight, our debt will be costing more than Italy’s,” Lombard said, adding that while the government “hopes to and must avoid” IMF intervention, the risk could not be ignored. Analysts have compared the situation to Britain’s 1970s financial crisis, when the UK was forced to turn to the IMF for emergency support.
Bayrou has announced plans for €43.8 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes, including abolishing two public holidays and reducing healthcare spending. But the measures have provoked fierce opposition across the political spectrum, leaving the budget in limbo. Socialist MP Boris Vallaud described Bayrou’s confidence vote as “in effect an offer of resignation,” while even members of Macron’s coalition spoke of the prime minister as “already history.”
Le Pen has demanded snap parliamentary elections, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon of France Unbowed called on Macron himself to resign, triggering an early presidential vote.
Meanwhile, unrest is brewing beyond parliament. Far-right groups have joined unions and left-wing activists in promoting a nationwide protest movement under the slogan “let’s block everything,” planned for September 10. Organisers are circulating plans for roadblocks, strikes and “citizens’ resistance networks” on social media platforms such as Telegram.
For Macron, who once styled himself the “Mozart of finance,” the political and economic storm marks a dramatic reversal. Seven years after his election, France now faces the prospect of a government collapse, deep public anger, and — in the worst-case scenario — an international bailout to steady its economy.
