France on the brink: how a budget deficit became a political crisis

With the government facing defeat in a confidence vote, the nation’s economic problems will still need to tackled

France is stuck in economic limbo, without a budget and soon, possibly, without a government. The prime minister, François Bayrou, has called for parliament to hold a confidence vote on 8 September and, now that parties of the left and far right have pledged to bring down the government, on paper he doesn’t have the numbers to win.

On Tuesday, the Socialist party (PS) added its voice to the dissenters, allying it with the Greens and the far-right National Rally.

In an effort to head off a no vote, the finance minister, Eric Lombard, has stated publicly that asking the global lender of last resort, the International Monetary Fund, to intervene “is a risk that is in front of us”.

Without the Socialists, Bayrou’s centre-right administration cannot survive. And there is widespread agreement among economists that Bayrou’s fall will trigger further speculation about the health of the economy and the public finances.