ExplainSpeaking | The economic mess at the heart of France’s protests
Weak growth, high debt, joblessness and a welfare state that is not working out for the young: France’s problems are many and solutions are not easy.
A protest in Paris on October 8. (AP)
7 min readOct 21, 2026 06:36 AM IST First published on: Oct 21, 2026 at 06:35 AM IST
Dear Readers,
France, Europe’s second largest economy and one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, is burning after violent protesters unleashed some of the worst episodes of vandalism in French history.
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