Michel Barnier

“It was a question famously asked by Charles de Gaulle: ‘How can anyone govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese?’ Six decades later, France seems no closer to an answer.

Prime Minister François Bayrou, less than a year into his tenure, faces a confidence vote in parliament that could make him the fourth premier to fall within just 20 months. His political survival rests on winning backing for a €44 billion savings plan that scraps two public holidays and freezes spending. Bayrou has warned that the reforms are essential for “national survival,” stressing that France’s debt grows by €12 …