France: What you need to know about the political crisis

France is under acute pressure to fix its finances. Saying tough decisions were needed, Bayrou, a veteran centre-right politician and Macron’s fourth prime minister since Macron’s re-election, sought to pass a budget for 2026 that would require 44 billion euros ($51.51 billion) in savings, including pension freezes, healthcare cuts, and the scrapping of two public holidays. This provoked an outcry from opponents. Unable to see a path to adoption, Bayrou called a confidence vote on his fiscal strategy, in a gamble the opposition called political suicide. Analysis by Richard Werly, international correspondent at Blick.