Sep 9, 2026 · 23 min · 14 segments
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It's been almost two years to the day since we last looked at its economy, and within that time, what was already a country going through some dramatic changes has clearly become even more turbulent.
Within just that time since our last update, they have been through five different prime ministers, a clear sign of deep political uncertainty.
Now there are a variety of factors contributing to the minister's musical chairs and some fringe issues to go beyond purely economics, but at the heart of this all is the simple fact that the French economy is stuck between several rocks and several hard places.
The economy has not seen sustained growth for almost two decades now, which by itself is not ideal, but it's also not inherently devastating.
France has historically prided itself on its egalitarian culture, strong social safety net, robust workers rights and overall very high standard of living.
Most countries in the world by comparison would be blessed to freeze at this level of prosperity.
The problem really is that this isn't sustainable stagnation.
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It's been almost two years to the day since we last looked at its economy, and within that time, what was already a country going through some dramatic changes has clearly become even more turbulent.
Within just that time since our last update, they have been through five different prime ministers, a clear sign of deep political uncertainty.
Now there are a variety of factors contributing to the minister's musical chairs and some fringe issues to go beyond purely economics, but at the heart of this all is the simple fact that the French economy is stuck between several rocks and several hard places.
The economy has not seen sustained growth for almost two decades now, which by itself is not ideal, but it's also not inherently devastating.
France has historically prided itself on its egalitarian culture, strong social safety net, robust workers rights and overall very high standard of living.
Most countries in the world by comparison would be blessed to freeze at this level of prosperity.
The problem really is that this isn't sustainable stagnation.
