France is in flames. Is this a precursor of things to come all over Europe or a display of French exceptionalism? France is facing a polycrisis, a once-in-a-generation moment where various separate crises - political, demographic, economic and cultural - converge at the same time. Any one of these would be difficult to solve on their own, coming together they threaten to overwhelm the Macron government. Looking on, Marine Le Pen eyes up the Élysée.

France is a peculiar case. For many, it is a paradise: Europe’s earliest retirement age, generous pensions, reasonably cheap housing for the majority, brilliant transport infrastructure and a health service that works for the most part. It also has beautiful landscapes and historical towns, evidenced by the fact that France is the world’s most visited country. Despite this, enough French people have convinced themselvesthey live in a hellhole and the only solution is to tear it down.

Protesting is in the French DNA. These people gave the world the French Revolution- not the French Negotiation or the French Re-evaluation – which was the most consequential political upheaval of the past 300 years and it started in Paris. France is also a country on its fifth republic, the previous four having been swept away by events. What price a sixth republic under a President Le Pen?

For the past two decades, French economic growth has been stagnant, yet persistent inflation has driven up the cost of living, leaving many citizens just getting by and highly sensitive to price changes. A few years back, the widespread “Gilets Jaunes” (Yellow Vests) national protest movement was triggered by the threat of a small carbon tax on motor fuel.........

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