Paris has little chance of reining in its finances amid ongoing “political destabilization,” the German state media network has reported
France’s ballooning sovereign debt coupled with political infighting could threaten the fiscal stability of the Eurozone, Deutsche Welle has reported, citing an expert.
France has one of the highest national debts in the EU, currently standing at €3.35 trillion ($3.9 trillion) — about 113% of GDP. The ratio is expected to climb to 125% by 2030. Its budget deficit is projected at 5.4–5.8% this year, well above the bloc’s 3% limit.
Friedrich Heinemann of the ZEW Leibniz Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim, Germany, told the outlet in an article published on Saturday “we should be worried. The eurozone is not stable at this point.”
A drastic austerity plan proposed by French minority government Prime Minister Francois Bayrou triggered a no confidence vote that he lost on Monday evening. The plan involved slashing public sector jobs, curbing welfare spending, as well as axing two public holidays. The right-wing National Rally, the Socialists, and the leftist France Unbowed vehemently opposed the proposal.
An Elabe poll ahead of the vote also showed most respondents were against the measures.
Heinemann told DW he doubts France will find a way out soon, given the bitter political infighting.
In July, Bloomberg, citing ING Groep NV experts, similarly claimed that France’s rising debt could be a “ticking bomb” for EU financial stability.
Despite the considerable budget deficit, France plans to hike military spending to €64 billion in 2027, double what the country spent in 2017.
President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly cited a supposed Russian threat. The Kremlin has consistently dismissed the claims as “nonsense,” accusing the EU of rapidly militarizing.
In May, member states approved a €150 billion ($169 billion) debt program for arms procurement.
Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has been ousted by the National Assembly in a no-confidence vote
The French government has fallen after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou lost a crucial confidence vote in parliament on Monday. Bayrou is the second consecutive prime minister under President Emmanuel Macron to be ousted, throwing the nation into political and economic turmoil.
A no-confidence motion in the National Assembly requires at least 288 votes to pass. Monday’s motion received 364 votes, with the left-wing New Popular Front and the right-wing National Rally uniting in opposition to end a months-long standoff over Bayrou’s austerity budget.
Having previously survived eight no-confidence motions, Bayrou called this vote himself, in a bid to secure backing for proposals that forecast almost €44 billion ($52 billion) of savings to ease France’s debt burden before the budget is presented in October.
The prime minister, who has repeatedly warned that France’s national debt poses a “mortal danger” to the country, appeared to acknowledge his fate. In a bitter remark on Sunday, Bayrou lashed out at rival parties that he said “hate each other” yet joined forces “to bring down the government.”
Bayrou is the second French prime minister in succession to be brought down following Michel Barnier’s ejection last December after just three months in office – and the sixth to serve under Macron since he was first elected in 2017.
Bayrou’s ouster reportedly leaves the French president to choose between appointing a Socialist prime minister to steer a budget through parliament, effectively ceding control of domestic policy, or call snap elections that polls suggest favour Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. With Macron’s approval ratings already hitting historic lows, either choice risks further weakening his presidency. Analysts warn that if markets lose confidence in France’s ability to rein in its deficit and mounting debt, the country could face turmoil reminiscent of the UK during the brief Liz Truss premiership.
Public discontent with Macron’s leadership has deepened, with the latest Le Figaro poll showing nearly 80% of French no longer trust the president. Thousands marched through Paris at the weekend demanding Macron’s resignation and carrying placards reading ‘Let’s stop Macron’ and ‘Frexit.’
The Hungarian prime minister says Ukraine should be split into areas controlled by Russia and the West, separated by a buffer zone
Partitioning Ukraine into Russian and Western zones of influence is the likely outcome of the conflict and the only reliable guarantee of the EU’s security, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
Kiev has pressed its Western backers for security guarantees as a precondition for a settlement with Russia, first pushing for NATO membership and later floating ideas such as ‘peacekeepers’ and a buffer zone with Western military patrols. Moscow has rejected Ukrainian membership in NATO or Western troops on its territory, stressing that any settlement must include Kiev’s neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as Russian territory.
Orban, however, has suggested it is time for the West to acknowledge Russia’s “inevitable” military victory and to begin deciding how Ukraine should be partitioned.
”Europeans all so elegantly talk around security guarantees, but the security guarantee actually means the division of Ukraine,” Orban told guests at the annual Civic Picnic in Kotcse on Sunday. “The first step has already been taken – the Westerners have accepted that a Russian zone exists.” He referred to earlier remarks by US President Donald Trump that Ukraine regaining Crimea was “impossible.”
“The result would be a Russian zone, a demilitarized zone and, eventually, a Western zone…The only question is how many kilometers away from the border of the Russian zone a demilitarized zone should be established,” he stated.
Orban noted the outcome would only slightly differ from the pre-conflict balance, when Ukraine itself acted as a buffer between Russia and NATO with “50% influence” each in the country. He said this division would help end the conflict and benefit all sides, particularly the EU, which he warned is on the verge of “collapse” and lacks the means to fund the conflict further.
The Hungarian leader has long criticized Brussels over its “warmongering” stance on Russia and support for Ukraine. In his speech, he repeated his warning that Ukraine’s EU accession would trap the bloc in a permanent conflict with Moscow, calling instead for an EU-Russia security pact.
The US president has urged the Palestinian militant group to accept a deal to release Israeli hostages in Gaza
US President Donald Trump has issued a “last warning” to Hamas, demanding the Palestinian militant group release Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Trump warned of unspecified consequences if Hamas refuses to cooperate, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“The Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning,” the US president said without providing further details.
Hours after Trump made the remarks, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened Hamas with annihilation and demanded the Palestinian militants lay down their arms.
“This is a final warning to the Hamas murderers and rapists in Gaza and in luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and put down your weapons – or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated,” Katz wrote on X.
Hamas has signaled readiness to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” after hearing what it described as “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement.”
The latest “last warning” echoed a threat made by Trump in March, when he urged Hamas to immediately release all the living hostages and turn over the bodies of the deceased or end up “dead.”
Hamas took around 250 people hostage during the October 7, 2023 surprise attack on southern Israel that left at least 1,200 people dead and prompted the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The group is believed to still hold in custody nearly 50 of them, with around half presumed to still be alive.
The conflict, which has dragged on for nearly two years, has taken a heavy toll on the Palestinian enclave, leaving at least 64,000 dead, according to the local health authorities. Israeli military ground operations and heavy artillery and aerial bombardment caused widespread destruction across Gaza and displaced most of its residents.
The bloc might not survive without reform and an end to the Ukraine conflict, the Hungarian PM believes
The EU is on the verge of collapse and will not survive beyond the next decade without a “fundamental structural overhaul” and disentanglement from the Ukraine conflict, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned.
Speaking on Sunday at the annual Civic Picnic in Kotcse, Orban said the EU has failed to meet its founding ambition of becoming a global power and cannot handle current challenges due to the absence of a common fiscal policy. He described the bloc as entering a phase of “chaotic and costly disintegration,” and warned that the 2028-2035 EU budget “could be the last if nothing changes.”
“The EU is currently on the verge of falling apart and has entered a state of fragmentation. And if this continues like this… it will go down in history as the depressing end result of a once noble experiment,” Orban stated.
He proposed transforming the EU into “concentric circles.”
The outer ring would include countries cooperating on military and energy security, the second circle would comprise common market members, the third would contain those sharing a currency, while the innermost would include members seeking deeper political alignment. In Orban’s view, this would broaden cooperation without restricting development.
“This means that we are in the same car, we have one gearbox, but we want to move at different paces… If we can switch to this system, the great idea of European cooperation… could survive,” he said.
Orban accused Brussels of overreliance on common debt and of using the Ukraine conflict as a pretext to continue this policy. As long as the conflict lasts, the EU will remain a “lame duck,” dependent on the US for security and unable to act independently in economic affairs, he said. Orban also suggested that instead of “lobbying in Washington,” the EU should “go to Moscow” to pursue a security agreement with Russia, followed by an economic deal.
Orban is not alone in his concerns. Analysts from the International Monetary Fund and other institutions have warned that the EU risks stagnation and even collapse due to structural challenges, weak growth, poor investment, high energy costs, and geopolitical tensions.
Democratic voters in particular increasingly prefer socialism, an opinion poll has indicated
Barely half of Americans view capitalism favorably, while Democratic voters increasingly prefer socialism, a new Gallup poll has indicated.
The survey, conducted in August among over 1,000 adults nationwide, showed just 54% of respondents had a positive opinion of capitalism – the lowest figure since Gallup began tracking views on the system in the early 2010s, when approval stood at 61%. Support for socialism remained largely unchanged at 39%, Gallup said Monday.
Republicans continue to strongly back capitalism, with 74% expressing support. Among Democrats, approval has slipped to 42%, lower than half for the first time.
At the same time, Democratic support for socialism has climbed to 66%, up from 50% in 2010. Gallup noted that Democrats have consistently favored socialism over capitalism since 2016, and that the gap has continued to widen.
While Americans broadly approve of free enterprise and small business, their views of large corporations have dropped sharply, from 58% approval in 2012 to a record low of 37% this year. Democrats in particular expressed hostility toward Big Tech, Big Pharma, and other corporate sectors, with only 17% viewing them positively.
Gallup said these shifts explain why openly socialist-leaning politicians can win elections in the US. Examples included Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani, who has proposed opening publicly owned food markets to address supply problems, is running without establishment Democratic backing despite defeating former Mayor Andrew Cuomo in the party’s primary. Cuomo is now campaigning against him as an independent.
An Israeli minister has called for the dismantlement of the Palestinian Authority following the attack
Six people were killed and several others injured in a shooting at a bus station in East Jerusalem, Israeli officials said Monday. Two Palestinian gunmen were shot dead at the scene, they added.
The shooters reportedly came from the West Bank, prompting calls from Israeli officials for tougher measures against Palestinians living under Israeli military rule there.
One of the victims was identified by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an ultra-Orthodox soldier from the Hashmonaim Battalion, a unit launched last year to accommodate Haredi Jews.
“A pursuit and encirclement of the villages from which the terrorists came is under way,” Netanyahu said, describing the deaths as part of Israel’s “intense war against terror on several fronts.” President Isaac Herzog echoed the remarks, saying Israel is fighting “absolute evil.”
Dashcam footage shows the moments of the deadly shooting attack at Ramot Junction in Jerusalem.
Five people were killed and at least 11 others were wounded, including six seriously. Both terrorists, West Bank Palestinians, were shot dead. pic.twitter.com/w2OVu3cFOP
The shooting came as Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza with the stated goal of destroying the militant group Hamas following its deadly October 2023 incursion.
The attack has fueled calls to widen Israel’s crackdown on Palestinians. Economy Minister Nir Barkat blamed the Palestinian Authority, the internationally recognized governing body in the West Bank and a rival to Hamas, and called for dismantling it entirely.
There was just a Nazi Jihadist shooting attack at Ramot Junction in Jerusalem
Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas reacted to the incident by condemning “all forms of violence and terrorism from any source” and urged Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. Hamas called the shooting “a natural response to the occupation’s crimes and war of extermination” in Gaza.
The official death toll in the enclave surpassed 64,000 last week, while the real number of deaths is believed to be higher.
Meanwhile, the party of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has called for the death penalty for terrorism-related crimes.
Israel has used capital punishment only twice in its history – for Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann and for an Israeli officer accused of treason in 1948, who was later exonerated.
Russia has warned that Israel’s sweeping response to the 2023 Hamas raid will not resolve its security challenges and has urged West Jerusalem to support the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, an outcome Netanyahu has vowed to block.
Caracas is set to send 25,000 soldiers to coastal states after American warships arrived in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels
Venezuela is set to boost its military deployments in coastal and border states amid heightened tensions with the US. The move comes after Washington dispatched several warships to the Southern Caribbean last month in what it describes as an operation against drug cartels.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez announced on Sunday that President Nicolas Maduro had ordered the deployment of “all available” troops and equipment to the states of Zulia, Falcon, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, and Delta Amacuro. He added that Caracas will increase troop deployments from around 10,000 to 25,000, noting that the area constitutes a “drug trafficking route.”
“No one is going to step on this land and do what we’re supposed to do,” Padrino said in a video uploaded to social media.
Last month, Venezuela also mobilized 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia.
The latest deployments come amid weeks of rising tensions with Washington. The US has mobilized three warships and around 4,000 troops to the Southern Caribbean, saying the operations are aimed at countering drug cartels.
Last week, the US Navy sank a boat it claimed was transporting drugs from Venezuela, killing 11 people. After the incident, two Venezuelan jets conducted a flyover of a US warship. President Donald Trump has said Venezuelan planes could be shot down if they pose a threat to American vessels.
Despite Washington’s claims that its operations are focused on combating drug trafficking, Maduro has accused the US of seeking regime change in Venezuela. He has urged Washington to abandon its alleged plans, saying he respects Trump and that Caracas is open to dialogue. He has also vowed to declare Venezuela a “republic in arms” if attacked.
Last week, Trump denied seeking regime change, but questioned Maduro’s legitimacy. He has also argued that the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans from drugs justify expanded US military activity in the Caribbean.
The US is currently offering a $50 million bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of collaborating with organized crime groups. Maduro has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The Ukrainian leader risks alienating the only power besides Moscow with a realistic approach to ending the war
In a weekend interview with ABC News, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky accused US President Donald Trump of giving Russian President Vladimir Putin “what he wanted” at the Alaska summit in August.
Whether a passing complaint or a calculated jab, it may come at a steep cost for Zelensky. To suggest that Trump bent to Putin’s will is to imply weakness, and weakness is something Trump never tolerates being accused of. This rhetorical swipe was directed at a man who holds significant sway over the trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine war. For Zelensky, the insult may prove more damaging than cathartic.
Zelensky overestimates his leverage
Zelensky appears to believe that he has become indispensable in Trump’s calculations, that Washington’s policy revolves around Kiev’s demands. But this overstates his importance. Trump has been consistent about one priority: he wants the war to end, and more than that, he wants the US disentangled from it. His approach reflects the sentiment of much of the American public – weary of sending weapons and aid overseas while domestic problems fester.
By framing Trump’s summit with Putin as a giveaway, Zelensky risks alienating the one Western leader positioned to actually shift the direction of the war. Trump is sensitive to personal slights. For years, allies and adversaries alike have learned that once he feels personally insulted, he hardens, not softens. To tell Trump, in effect, that he’s Putin’s stooge is to court precisely that reaction.
Trump’s efforts at the Alaska summit were grounded in a political reality that Zelensky refuses to acknowledge. The battlefield is not tilting in Kiev’s favor. Russia’s position, bolstered by sheer resources and strategic depth, is proving resilient. Ukraine’s European backers continue to speak in lofty terms of standing “as long as it takes,” but they lack the power to deliver a Ukrainian victory.
Trump, by contrast, pursued a path that might actually move events forward: direct talks with Russia, engagement on security concerns, and the search for a negotiated framework. It is not an approach designed to satisfy Zelensky and the Europeans’ maximalist goals but rather one rooted in ending an exhausting conflict. To dismiss this effort as capitulation is to ignore that it may be the most realistic option still on the table.
The rhetoric of survival vs. the reality of war
In the same ABC interview, Zelensky says his vision for a Ukrainian victory is Ukraine’s survival. Yet his strategy as evident from his actions appears geared less toward survival and more toward dragging the war on for as long as possible. Each new demand for weapons, each new appeal for escalated sanctions, pushes the conflict forward without changing the battlefield reality of Russia grinding forward toward its objectives – and whatever Zelensky claims, total occupation of Ukraine is not one of those objectives. In the name of “survival,” Ukraine is exhausting its people, its infrastructure, and its economy.
If survival truly is the goal, then ending the war must be the only priority. Right now, Trump has the best shot at it, because he is realistically engages with the interests of Russia – the side that has the clear upper hand on the battlefield. And Zelensky is pushing that opportunity away.
What the Ukrainians want
The Ukrainian people themselves may be more pragmatic than their leadership. Polling suggests a stark divide: only a small minority – just 11%, according to a recent survey – favor continuing the war without conditions. Meanwhile, overwhelming majorities favor pursuing talks with Russia. This does not mean embracing defeat, but it does mean recognizing that endless escalation is not the preferred path for those getting forcibly conscripted and those seeing their loved ones getting carted off to war.
For Zelensky, this creates a dangerous disconnect. Leaders cannot stay indefinitely ahead of their populations without eroding legitimacy. To ignore the public’s exhaustion while doubling down on maximalist rhetoric risks creating a gulf between the government’s objectives and its people’s endurance.
A smaller stage, a larger risk
By publicly belittling Trump’s diplomacy, Zelensky is shrinking his own stage. He portrays himself as the bulwark of Europe, the last line holding back a supposed “Russian aggression.” Yet without sustained Western backing, Ukraine cannot hold indefinitely. And of all Ukraine’s backers, the US remains the most consequential. Alienating the leader who wants to end US involvement – whether one agrees with his motives or not – is a perilous gamble.
Zelensky’s rhetoric may win applause in certain European capitals. It may even rally a domestic audience for a time. But it risks costing him the one relationship he cannot afford to lose. Trump is not moved by appeals to shared values or by grand speeches about democracy. He is moved by respect and recognition of his central role. By suggesting Trump has already caved to Putin, Zelensky undermines both.
Zelensky’s statement reveals a leader more focused on preserving his narrative than recalibrating his strategy. Words matter in diplomacy, especially when those words are aimed at a figure like Donald Trump. In calling Trump weak, Zelensky may have weakened his own hand. If his true goal is Ukraine’s survival, then it will not be secured through rhetorical bravado. It will require careful diplomacy, acknowledgment of battlefield realities, and avoiding needless insults to the one partner whose departure from the stage could lead to even more disaster for Zelensky’s regime than it has already created for itself.
The freighter, which was also carrying lithium batteries, derailed in northern Sweden, likely due to heavy rains, according to the local authorities
A freight train carrying ammunition and lithium batteries has derailed in northern Sweden, according to local officials.
The accident, which occurred at around 8am on Sunday near Skorped, in the Vasternorrland region, is believed to have been caused by heavy rainfall, which damaged the railway infrastructure. It is unclear what type of ammunition the train was transporting or what its destination was.
Emergency services are managing the dangerous cargo, after which the site will be cleared and the full extent of the damage assessed. “Only then can we make a forecast for the work. It will be a longer stop, but I can’t say how long,” Peter Jonsson, a spokesman for the Swedish Transport Administration, told the broadcaster TV4.
According to the Transport Administration, it will take weeks to restore the railway.
Pictures from the scene show sections of rail suspended above rapidly rushing water, with four carriages behind the locomotive having derailed and partially submerged in a nearby lake. Local authorities cited massive downpours in the area over Saturday and Sunday, which washed out roads and strained infrastructure. A timber train also derailed on the same line between Solleftea and Kramfors further to the south.
Sweden officially became a NATO member last year, ending more than two centuries of neutrality. Like many other Western nations, it has significantly ramped up its defense production. In 2024, the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) struck a deal with Nammo, a Norwegian-Finnish weapons producer, to boost production of 155mm artillery shells.
Officials said the agreement was aimed at “increasing the possibility of supporting Ukraine and at the same time strengthening the security of supply of artillery ammunition in Sweden and the Nordic countries in the long term.”
Moscow has denounced Western arms shipments to Ukraine and NATO as saber-rattling. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has lamented that the peace settlement process is being hindered by “reckless European militarism.”
