The root of the latest expected government collapse was Macron's stunning decision to dissolve the National Assembly in June 2024.

France's finances and politics are in turmoil. President Emmanuel Macron has just appointed his fourth prime minister in 12 months, the deficit is out of control, borrowing costs are rising and parliament can’t muster a majority to tackle spending.

Francois Bayrou resigned as France’s prime minister Tuesday, putting the onus on President Emmanuel Macron to quickly name a new premier who can stabilize the country’s urgent fiscal situation.

President Bola Tinubu has stated that his lunch meeting with his French counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron, at the Elysee Palace was productive. Naija News reports that Tinubu visited Macron as part of activities during his working vacation.

France is now in the throes of a spiraling political crisis. The National Assembly lacks a clear governing majority and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) seems ever closer to finally winning power.

Just 194 lawmakers of the 577-seat National Assembly voted in favor of Francois Bayrou, who has since resigned as prime minister.

The president is pinning his hopes on what looks like a very unlikely centrist alliance to slash public spending, when all others have failed.

When once it was Italy on the naughty step for breaching EU fiscal rules, it is now France facing punishment from Brussels. Italy aims to leave the European Commission-overseen procedure by 2027. France only entered it in July last year.

It was a question famously asked by France’s wartime leader and former President Charles de Gaulle. “How can anyone govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese?” More than 60 years on, the answer appears to be no one.