Key events
Welcome to the Conversation
After weeks of protests and a weekend of riots in which a town hall was set ablaze, ۲,۰۰۰-plus shops were looted, ۲,۳۰۰ people were arrested and ۱,۰۰۰ police injured, the repercussions for France – for its society and its economy – continue. Allegations of police brutality surfaced, and the violent protests unnerved investors, resulting in a debt sell-off, with borrowing costs rising higher than for Greece. All of this ahead of a hotly contested presidential election that’s now just six months away.
The French government’s escalating financial problems were covered by the Guardian’s Europe correspondent Jon Henley who wrote: “France’s national debt, at ۱۱۹% of GDP, is at its highest level since ۱۹۴۶. Its budget deficit, at ۵.۱%, is also among the highest in the EU. There is just no money in the bank to ease the cost of living squeeze that brought ۵۵۰,۰۰۰ people on to the streets on Saturday.”
Columnist Paul Taylor commented that “Last weekend’s violence has increased the likelihood of a law-and-order backlash among voters that could propel (Marine) Le Pen into the Élysée Palace. But if the financial situation worsens and the campaign turns on who can save the economy, she may yet lose out to a candidate who is firm on security and more orthodox on fiscal policy.”
And the Guardian’s editorial noted that “In an increasingly febrile atmosphere, France is heading towards a seismic reckoning in May. Alarmingly, the civil strife witnessed at the weekend may only be a foretaste of what is to come.”
What are your views on the riots, their causes and their aftermath? Are they paving a path to the presidency for Le Pen? In his final months in charge, can embattled incumbent Emmanuel Macron meaningfully address the situation in which France finds herself?
France-based Guardian Europe columnists Rokhaya Diallo and Alexander Hurst will be live here at ۱۵۰۰BST on Friday ۲۳ October to answer your questions on what happened, why, and where France goes from here.
Comments will open at ۰۹۰۰BST on Friday, but you can send your questions by email now to conversations@theguardian.com
