Far-right parties gain popularity across Europe’s major economies

The political instability in France is spooking investors as Prime Minister Francois Bayrou faces a September 8 confidence vote on his ~$51 billion in budget cuts.

If he loses, he’ll be the fourth head of the country to fall in just a year and a half.

How did it start?
Geopolitical analysts note that President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 tax cuts initially increased foreign investment and reduced unemployment in the country.

However, since then, crises such as protests, COVID-19, and rising energy costs have ballooned deficits.

Today, France’s 10-year borrowing costs rival Italy’s, and ratings agencies are downgrading its outlook.

Its National Assembly is too fractured to agree on solutions: the left defends welfare and opposes public spending cuts, centrists want more defense spending, and the far-right blames immigration and EU payments.

Far-right Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party has held a steady lead, with youngster Jordan Bardella emerging as one of the country’s most popular politicians.

A big change is brewing
France’s struggle comes amid a wave of public support for populist and far-right parties in Europe. These parties are leading the polls in the UK, France and Germany—Europe’s three biggest economies—for the first time.

It signals a shift in the continent’s political landscape amid years of high immigration and inflation.