In the grand theatre of global capitalism, where the stage is often set by the most powerful, a familiar play is unfolding in France.
This play echoes a production recently staged across the Atlantic.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou has unveiled a budget plan for 2026 that, in its stark choices and priorities, bears an uncanny resemblance to the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Far from marking the twilight of neoliberalism, as some optimistically surmised, these policies confirm its enduring, indeed escalating, grip on advanced capitalist societies.
They demonstrate a brutal consistency in its application: austerity for the many, largesse for the few, and an unwavering commitment to military might.
Confronted with a flagging economy, ballooning budget deficits, and debt levels that hover precariously, Bayrou’s government has laid out a fiscal blueprint designed to restore public finances.
The proposals are sweeping and, for many, chilling.
They include the elimination of thousands of civil service jobs, the shuttering of what are deemed “unproductive” national agencies, severe cuts to prescription drug subsidies, a €5 billion reduction in healthcare expenditure, and a freeze on pensions and virtually all other government benefits at 2025 levels.
These are not minor adjustments; they represent a fundamental reshaping of the social contract, dismantling decades of hard-won welfare provisions.
But the government’s zeal for deficit reduction extends beyond mere fiscal pruning.
In a move that has ignited widespread indignation, the budget plan controversially proposes abolishing two statutory holidays: Easter Monday and, more significantly, May 8, known as Victory Day, a pivotal commemoration of the Allied triumph over Nazi Germany.
The official rationale? These cuts, the government unconvincingly claims, will magically generate billions in additional state revenues through increased economic activity.
It is a logic that strains credulity, suggesting that national remembrance and leisure are mere obstacles to economic growth, easily sacrificed on the altar of budget balancing.
Bayrou has even hinted that other holidays might face the axe, a chilling prospect for a nation that values its social calendar.
The proposed budget aims for a substantial €43.8 billion ($50.88 billion) deficit reduction in 2026, with the goal of bringing the public deficit down from its current 5.8 percent of GDP to 4.6 percent, and eventually to 2.9 percent by 2029.
Bayrou, in a dramatic address to parliament, invoked the specter of Greece’s debt crisis from over a decade ago, warning that France was at “the last stop before the cliff, before we are crushed by the debt.”
It’s a familiar refrain, one that has become the neoliberal mantra across Europe.
France’s public debt, currently at 114 percent of GDP, is indeed the third largest in Europe.
Yet, the cynical manipulation of the Greek tragedy to justify draconian austerity measures remains a powerful, if intellectually dishonest, tool. Greece, whose public debt-to-GDP ratio climbed to 118 percent in 2009, was subjected to three massive bailouts totaling nearly €310 billion, coupled with what can only be described as sadistic fiscal policies.
These measures decimated its economy, sent unemployment soaring to 28 percent, and tragically, led to an alarming rise in suicide rates.
Today, Greece’s economy remains trapped in an outmoded growth model, and its debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 146 percent – yet it is now deemed “sustainable” by markets and Europe’s financial masters.
Such is the twisted logic of neoliberal financial capitalism, a system inherently prone to crisis, yet always banking on state rescues, while simultaneously tightening its grip on the real economy, serving only a privileged few.
The true obscenity of the French budget plan, however, lies in its dual nature: while gutting the social safety net, it simultaneously fattens the defense budget.
This is not a coincidence; it is a calculated choice.
The proposed cuts to social provisions, even the assault on a historically significant holiday like Victory Day, are made precisely to create fiscal headroom for increased military spending.
President Emmanuel Macron, on July 13, declared that France would significantly boost military expenditure due to “growing regional uncertainties,” with Russia conveniently cast as the primary threat to European security.
Macron went so far as to make the truly outrageous claim that Europe faces a greater threat now than at any point since the end of World War II.
Consequently, Bayrou’s budget plan allocates an additional €3.5 billion to the 2026 defense budget and another €3 billion for 2027.
Bayrou himself has sanctified the defense budget, declaring it “sacrosanct” and immune from cuts.
This nexus between neoliberal economics and militarism is no accident.
Most NATO countries are now scrambling to boost their military spending, largely driven by a desire to appease Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to disengage from the alliance over perceived “unfair shares.”
In doing so, European governments become willing accomplices in the militaristic adventures of the United States, whose strategic gaze has now firmly shifted from Russia to China as the paramount threat to its global supremacy.
The notion that Russia harbors strategic aims to militarily attack Europe is as ludicrous as it is nonsensical – a question of “to what end?” that European leaders conveniently ignore.
However, unlike the often-pliant political landscape of the United States, France’s multi-party system presents a formidable obstacle to Bayrou’s ambitious, and deeply unpopular, budget.
Leading a minority government, Bayrou faces a united front of opposition from both the left and the far right.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the firebrand leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise, has already called for Bayrou’s resignation.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally, has gone further, threatening to topple the government if it fails to roll back the spending plan.
Intriguingly, both the left and the far right in France perceive this budget plan as nothing less than a class war.
Le Pen, surprisingly adopting a working-class perspective, took to social media to declare, “This government prefers to attack the French people, workers and pensioners, rather than hunt waste.”
The government also faces the very real threat of backlash from the country’s powerful trade unions.
It is highly improbable that the majority of French citizens will quietly swallow cuts to their social safety net while military spending receives a substantial boost.
Lest we forget, the immediate past offers a potent precedent.
Michel Barnier, the previous French prime minister, was forced to resign in December 2024, a mere three months into his term.
His government’s plans to slash the state budget faced relentless opposition from left-wing lawmakers and unions.
Ultimately, the government collapsed after Barnier attempted to bypass parliamentary approval for a crucial social security bill.
In a rare display of cross-aisle cooperation, left and far-right lawmakers united to pass a vote of no confidence.
Given the deeply entrenched political landscape and the historical propensity for rebellion among the French populace, it is highly likely that François Bayrou’s government will meet a similar fate.
Should that occur, it would mark yet another significant victory in the ongoing, arduous struggle of the ever-rebellious French people against the relentless cruelty of neoliberalism.
