France’s dilemma: protesters demand spending as markets require fiscal restraint

Waves of protests expose debt crisis faced by French government, but political wrangling is stalling an escape plan. Is there a way out?

Eight years have passed since rising fuel prices brought the gilets jaunes (yellow vest) demonstrators to the streets of France, prompting the first big crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s time in the Élysée Palace.

As the French president contemplates his exit next year, turmoil has again gripped the streets in the form of student protests, but this time the financial markets are unhappy too.