France needs €54 billion in cuts. Will voters accept the pain? | DW News

France has unveiled a painful 2027 budget aimed at bringing its public finances under control, with the government seeking €54 billion in savings. Public debt has reached around €3.6 trillion -- 119% of GDP -- while borrowing costs are rising and investors are questioning whether Paris can rein in its deficit.
But Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces fierce political resistance. France has no stable parliamentary majority, his two predecessors were brought down over austerity plans, and students are protesting over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings.
Journalist Chris Bockman joins The Day from Toulouse to examine whether French voters accept the case for spending restraint, where the government can realistically make cuts, whether taxes will have to rise, and what happens if financial markets lose confidence in France.
The confrontation comes just months before France's 2027 presidential election, with Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon currently leading centrist candidates in recent polling.

00:00 France unveils tough 2027 budget
00:26 Student protests spread across the country
00:41 France faces deep budget pressure
01:43 Budget fight tests divided parliament
02:09 Interview Chris Bockman
02:29 Acceptance of budget cuts among French voters
06:33 Do the student protests extend beyond poor conditions in schools?
08:02 Impact of the increasingly violent nature of the protests on budget policies
09:13 What happens if investors conclude that France can't get its deficit under control?
10:28 France’s ability to take painful decisions before the presidential election in April 2027

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