Emmanuel Macron's huge mistake that could dog him for rest of his life

There's been a bit of a debacle across "La Manche," Possums. Michel Barnier's short-lived stint as Prime Minister has come to a dramatic end, leaving Emmanuel Macron with quite the headache. Oh mon Dieu, what a disaster!

So, what happened? Well, Macron tried to outmaneuver his opponents by calling a snap parliamentary election in June, but, predictably, it all backfired. Instead of gaining support, he ended up without enough votes to form a majority government. A frustrating turn of events for him!

Barnier, the notorious EU Brexit negotiator who failed to outwit David Frost, was then appointed as Prime Minister of a minority government. But things quickly spiraled when Barnier couldn't get his budget passed through the Assembly and resorted to using a presidential decree to push it through without a vote. This did not go over well.

Opposition parties from both the right and left united in a vote of no confidence, and Barnier was ousted. This has dealt a significant blow to Macron, who was already a lame duck, and France is now facing a serious political crisis.

The country’s public finances are in dire straits, with national debt at 110% of GDP and a budget deficit shockingly at 6.1%—up from an earlier estimate of 4.4%. To put it simply, the deficit is about 30% worse than initially forecasted.

Translating this into layman's terms, the debt burden on each French citizen is massive. And on top of that, France has its financial obligations to the EU, not to mention being the second-largest economy in the bloc after Germany, which is also in crisis. To sum it up: France is in deep trouble.

France and Germany are both caught in a financial mess that echoes throughout Europe, including here in the UK. The EU is essentially bankrupt, meaning its member states are left to bear the financial fallout—this affects us too, whether we like it or not. If we were still members of that bloated and inefficient system, we’d be directly exposed to the debt burden. As it stands, we already carry a significant debt load due to our previous membership.

We have enough of our own issues with the current government here without the EU’s troubles adding to the mix. And yet, Two-Tier and the buffoon at the Foreign Office want to cozy up to them? As Frankie Howerd would say, "Not on your nelly!"

The sensible approach to our predicament should be to avoid mimicking the French model. France’s welfare system has been unsustainable for years, and no amount of cooking the books can hide the inevitable. Eventually, the debt bubble bursts, and the time comes to pay the piper.

Barnier was never going to get his budget through parliament. France’s obsession with welfare and social benefits is so ingrained that any attempts to raise taxes or cut costs were doomed from the start.

Anyone with half a brain (that’s "nous" in English, not French, Possums) would understand that a similar system here would be a non-starter. Our tax base must be strong enough to support extensive benefits, and that comes at a significant cost.

Since Labour took power in July, we’ve seen one fiscal disaster after another. They clearly don't understand basic arithmetic, have no grasp of incentive, and seem completely clueless when it comes to managing finances—except when it comes to spending them.

The French will survive this, of course, because history can be a great teacher. But it’s a shame that our leaders keep making the same mistakes over and over, expecting different results.

We’re the ones left paying the price, while the government and its cronies sit comfortably, warm and content this Christmas, as pensioners suffer. Meanwhile, these overindulgent politicians continue to squander what remains of a once-proud nation.