Concerns about the risk that the second largest economy in the Eurozone could become unmanageable and unleash a new wave of turmoil on others in Europe are evident from the analyses and comments in the world press after the fall of the French government. France is without a budget and without a prime minister, in a political crisis on the eve of the most important event for it – the opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was rebuilt after the fire.
French lawmakers have voted a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet, triggering new political turmoil that leaves France without a clear path to adopting a new budget and threatens to shake financial markets even more, writes the American newspaper “The New York Times”. The center-right Barnier is the most obvious victim of polarized politics in France, the publication comments, writes BTA.
One thing was clear before the vote of no confidence: he risks unleashing a new wave of disasters in one of the leading economies in Europe, writes the newspaper. This risks ushering in a “new period of instability,” the Union of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which represents the majority of French companies, told the New York Times.
“If France is left without a budget, it would open the door to a debt crisis whose consequences would seriously affect the economy,” the organization added.
Yesterday’s vote shows how the second-largest economy in the eurozone risks becoming ungovernable, the Wall Street Journal wrote, adding that the growing fragmentation and polarization of France’s political ranks are testing the foundations of its democracy. The publication also recalls the last time a government in France was overthrown in this way – in 1962, when the country had to deal with the consequences of the Algerian war of independence and the assassination of then-President Charles de Gaulle.
“Europe is again on the brink of financial Armageddon,” the British newspaper The Telegraph wrote in its headline.
The publication comments that, according to many sources close to the head of state, he should appoint his sixth prime minister in the last seven years by this weekend at the latest, given the opening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral on Sunday evening, which will be attended by more than 50 leaders from around the world.
“It would be extremely embarrassing and revealing for France not to have a prime minister during such an important diplomatic weekend,” one of the sources told the British publication.
How they rejoiced when chaos descended on Britain after the Brexit vote, comments Jeremy Warner from the Telegraph. “Now things have turned around and once again the eurozone, and France in particular, is in the crosshairs. Britain, on the contrary, looks like an island of stability and relative sanity,” the journalist also believes.
The French newspaper Le Monde draws attention to the fact that the situation on the markets is now tense, and France is preparing for strikes in the public sector because of the threat of layoffs that will lead to the closure of schools and affect air and rail transport.
France is in a deep political crisis, comments the German magazine Der Spiegel.
Forming a government will likely be difficult again, the weekly adds, specifying that Macron’s alternative is to appoint a government of experts that will take office without a political program.
The magazine refers to the situation in Germany, where the ruling coalition also collapsed due to a problem with the draft budget for next year. The other option that Der Spiegel allows is to propose a budget only for the beginning of the year through emergency legislation. The new government will then have to try to push a regular budget through parliament, but since parliament is highly fragmented, this will also likely be very difficult. Then another vote of no confidence will be inevitable, writes the German magazine.
The European publication Politico writes that the growing political and economic crisis in France risks causing shock waves throughout the eurozone.
The political turmoil could hardly come at a worse time for Europe, which is in dire need of leadership to address a range of challenges, from the return of Donald Trump to the conflict in Ukraine and a potential trade war with China. Germany, the other half of the engine that drives the continent, is ill-prepared to take the driving seat as it grapples with its own political problems and a faltering economy.