Some people in France were upset to learn this week that their political chaos was being laughed at… by the Italians.
In less than two years France has gone through five prime ministers, a political feat unsurpassed even in Rome's times of post-war political turbulence.
And now, the French parliament – reconfigured after the president's decision to hold a snap election in July 2024 – is struggling to produce a majority capable of passing a budget.
Add to this a general strike on Thursday called by unions opposed to previous budget proposals. The strike saw a third of the country's teachers walk out and most pharmacies shut, with many underground lines in Paris shut too.
Newspapers in Rome and Turin exhibited a distinct gioia maligna (malicious joy) in recounting recent events. There was the humiliation of the recently departed Prime Minister François Bayrou, the warnings of spiralling debt and the prospect of the French economy needing to be bailed out by the IMF.
