France is caught between two powerful forces: protesters demanding that the government protect public services and social benefits and a bond market that can’t stomach the idea of France’s deficit getting any larger.

But the fight over France’s budget is also reviving a longstanding debate at the heart of the euro zone: How much control does a country really have over its economic future when it shares a currency with its neighbors? On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s John Stepek joins host Sarah Holder to discuss the competing forces shaping France’s financial future — and what’s at stake for the rest of Europe.

Read more:

• A Turning Point for France Looks a Long Way Off
• A French Accident Waiting to Happen
• French Bond Risk Falls Most Since 2020 as Downgrade Avoided

Further Listening: 

• French Bond Markets and AI Neoclouds Feel The Pressure
  

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Host: Sarah Holder; Guest: John Stepek; Produced by Julia Press and Naomi Shavin; Edited by Tracey Samuelson; Engineering by Emma Munger.