The contents of this article are written with authoritative information and personal opinions. The source of the document has been marked at the end of the article, please be aware of it.
On September 10, a large-scale demonstration called "Blockade of France" broke out in several cities in FranceIn protests against the draft budget proposed by former Prime Minister Beru, the plan attempts to reduce public spending by 43.8 billion euros.
According to statistics from the French Ministry of the Interior, a total of more than 170,000 people across the country participated in the protest called "Chackdown France" that day, while the French Federation claimed that 250,000 people participated.
Photo | Large-scale demonstrations of "blocking France" occurred in many cities in France
The demonstrations evolved into violent conflicts in some areas.The police arrested 473 people on the same day, of which 203 were arrested in Paris alone. Thirteen police officers were injured while on duty, and a restaurant and a building in central Paris were burned down during the protests.
Photo | Large-scale demonstrations of "blocking France" occurred in many cities in France
Just the day before the protests broke out,President Macron just appointed former Defense Minister Sebastian Le Kern as the new prime minister, succeeding Belu, who resigned for failing to pass the National Assembly's vote of confidence.
Can the new prime minister's appointment save Macron's political crisis and what impact will it have on China-France relations?
Photo | French New Prime Minister Bastian Le Cornie
The direct fuse of this crisis wasBelu proposed in July this year.
In order to deal with France's serious debt problems, the draft plans to cut fiscal expenditure by 43.8 billion euros, including changing two public holidays to working days and reducing the increase in medical insurance expenditure by half.
Beru warned in a speech on the National Assembly on September 8 that the French government has been "addicted to borrowing" over the past 50 years and has regarded fiscal overspending as "common".
Photo | Former French Prime Minister Bellu
He admitted that France had to take these austerity measures in order to maintain a high welfare system and meet the needs of safety and public health expenditures.
However, these plans have caused great controversy and were widely opposed by the public. In the vote of trust, Beiru finally received 194 votes in favor and 364 votes against it. He failed to pass the vote of trust and had to resign from his position as prime minister.
Photo | Former French Prime Minister Beiru will submit his resignation to President Macron on behalf of the government
This is the sixth prime minister to step down since Macron took office in 2017, and the third prime minister to resign in more than a year.
French politics has once again fallen into violent shocks.
The financial situation facing France is indeed shocking. It is estimated that the proportion of French public debt in GDP has climbed to around 114%.
Belur himself once said that by 2026, the largest expenditure project of the government budget will not be education, but interest on public debt.
Data released by the French Audit Court in May this year showed that France's social security system deficit in 2024 reached 15.3 billion euros, and is expected to expand to 22.1 billion euros in 2025.
This dilemma stems in part from France's high welfare system.
Photo | Former French Prime Minister Beiru announced French government's 2026 fiscal budget plan
In 2022, France's social welfare expenditure was 848.9 billion euros, accounting for 32.2% of GDP.
At the same time, France's tax burden level remains the highest among developed countries in the world, with tax and social security contributions accounting for as high as 48.0% of GDP, ranking first in the EU.
After accepting Belu's resignation, Macron quickly appointed Le Kern as the new prime minister.
Photo | French New Prime Minister Le Cornie
Le Kearney's political resume is quite specialHe joined the French right-wing party People's Movement Alliance (now the predecessor of the Republican Party) at the age of 16, and in 2017 he joined the Republic Forward Movement founded by Macron (now the predecessor of the Baath Party).
Relying on his unique background in military police reserve school officials, Le Kearney successfully took office as the Minister of Defense in 2022. He is the core promoter of France's military reform and one of the main makers of the Military Planning Law 2024-2030.
The political situation in which Le Kearney took over is extremely complicated.
Photo | French Prime Minister's Office holds a power transfer ceremony
He not only needs to solve the 2026 budget issue that led to Beiru's resignation, but also deal with the possible impeachment process against Macron. Melanxiong, the leader of the "indomitable French" party, has publicly claimed that he would initiate impeachment proceedings against Macron in September.
Le Kearney maintained a constructive interaction with China during his tenure as Minister of Defense.
In June 2023, at the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore, Le Kearney held in-depth talks with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, and then promoted the establishment of a theater-level dialogue mechanism between the two armies of China and France.
Photo | French New Prime Minister Le Cornie visits the military base of the United Nations temporary forces in Lebanon
In May this year, during the invitation of Minister Dong Jun to visit France, Le Kern once again made a clear statement that the French and Chinese armies should become the pillars for maintaining security and stability in Eurasia.
This position is rare in the Western camp, and is in sharp contrast to the frequent hype of China's threat theory by defense ministers such as Britain and the United States.
Analysts believe that even if Le Kerny's policy toward China may be fine-tuned after becoming Prime Minister,It is basically certain that we will not follow the confrontation between the United States and Europe. Considering the current political situation in France, the Macron government is likely to adjust its strategy to China, and China-France relations are expected to usher in a turning point.
Photo | French New Prime Minister Le Cornie
Macron is now facing a situation that is almost unsolvable.
Recent polls showed that only about 15% of French respondents were confident in Macron's rule, setting a new low since Macron's first term.about 64% of respondents asked Macron to resign, setting a new high.
Photo | French President Macron
The people's distrust of the current president and the ruling party coalition has reached an unprecedented height, which also leads to the people's challenges and doubts no matter who serves as prime minister and organizes the government today.
Insiders in the Elysee Palace, the French presidential palace lament that they are doing multiple-choice questions every day, but every option is wrong.
Before Macron, the French people chose the right-wing Republican Sarkozy and the left-wing Socialist Hollande in the presidential election. After the traditional left and right parties did not deliver satisfactory ruling achievements, the people chose the "centric" Macron.
Photo | Former French President Hollande
Now, Macron's approval rating has been fallingHow to choose the 2027 presidential election has become a difficult problem facing French society and the people.
France's dilemma also reflects the current European dilemma to a certain extent.
Germany, the number one "engine" of the EU economy, also had problems with the unsustainable welfare system. German Chancellor Mertz recently publicly stated that Germany's economic capacity can no longer sustain the current social security system.
Photo | German Chancellor Merz
In addition, the far-right populist forces have risen in the political arenas of many European countries such as Germany, Austria, Italy, andThe trend of European political fragmentation has intensified.
If the far-right populist forces continue to expand, it may lead to a deadlock in the EU's decision-making mechanism and shake the process of European integration.
A commentary article in the British "Guardian" pointed out that French political parties will not always advance reform through compromise. The reform plans proposed by the ruling party will always be obstructed by opposition parties and other interest groups. This lack of political compromise makes substantive reforms difficult to promote.
Photo | Simtye Melle, Vice Chairman of the Bundestag Caucus of Social Democratic Party of Germany
Le Kearney faces far more than this street protest.
He needs to push the 2026 budget to be passed in a split parliament, while also responding to the threat of impeachment from the far-left party "Indomitable France" against Macron.
The storm in Paris is far from over, but rather, it may be the beginning of a deeper political crisis in France.
Reference:
1. "170,000 people in France hold a protest march on "blocking France" and there will be a general strike afterwards" 2025-09-11 13:13 | Source: Interface News
2. "On the first day of taking office, the whole country was in chaos. Can the 39-year-old French new prime minister bear the heavy burden? 》2025-09-11 17:27 | Source: Shangguan News
3. "The turmoil in France escalates, high debt pressure triggers the governance crisis" 2025-09-11 19:21 | Source: Global Network
4. "Marke Round's headache is not over" 2025-09-11 13:33 | Source: Global Network
![[Zhiyin Hubei] Hospitality Shandong debuts at the Cultural Tourism Expo Qilu's charm meets the vibrant Jiangcheng](https://img.todayinfo.info/images/20250912/68c42dd1a9d09.jpg)
