France is facing crisis after crisis. Here's what's happening
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Riot police stand near a burning vehicle during a demonstration in Paris on Oct. 13. Photo: Djoudi Hamani/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
France is grappling with a barrage of crises right now, including destructive fires in Paris, hackers rattling supermarkets, widespread student protests and a significant national debt.
Why it matters: The chaos in France comes as the country faces pressures also affecting the U.S. — rising costs from the Iran war and a ballooning national deficit ahead of an election.
Here's what to know.
Massive fires in Paris
On Wednesday, a fire broke out in central Paris near Austerlitz train station, according to Bloomberg.
- Plumes of smoke rose into the sky and were visible across the French capital.
- The fire burned about 1,000 square meters of roofing, per Le Monde.
The fire happened two days after another fire destroyed a historic food market in Paris's Marais neighborhood, known for its high-end boutiques and designer shops.
- The Oct. 12 fire destroyed Paris' oldest covered food market, dating to 1615.
Cyberattack spoils supermarket food
In a cyberattack earlier this week, a group of hackers gained control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, causing fires and spoiled food nationwide, according to multiple reports.
- Per CNN, the hackers remotely accessed the refrigeration equipment and turned on defrost cycles, ruining food stored in freezers and refrigerators.
- About 700 supermarkets threw out the food and restocked their shelves, per AP.
- France's finance minister Roland Lescure said the attack didn't threaten France's overall food supply but "touches the heart of our food security."
- ″It was a wake-up call for everyone."
What we're watching: Investigators are hunting down the hackers.
- The motive remains unknown as no group has publicly claimed responsibility.
Students are protesting in the streets
Tens of thousands of students are marching in the streets of France, including near popular Paris attractions, to protest against school funding and classroom conditions, Axios' Rebecca Falconer writes.
- The protests, which began last month, caught the attention of riot police, who fired tear gas near Les Invalides in Paris and in the city of Nantes.
- France's Interior Ministry said about 161,500 students, teachers, parents, and union members protested nationwide on Tuesday, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Roughly 41,500 protested in Paris alone, per AP.
Debt crisis rattles France
All of this is happening as France grapples with a massive debt crisis, drawing comparisons to the debt issues that plagued the European Union in the 2010s, according to Axios' Emily Peck.
- Yields on government debt have risen across the U.S. and Europe, but France has been hit particularly hard, Peck writes.
- Experts worry this financial distress will spread from France to the rest of Europe.
By the numbers: France had a projected 2026 budget deficit of 5.4% of GDP.
- France's public debt soared to more than €3.5 trillion this year.
The bottom line: France faces widespread pressure to spend more on public services as its debt soars and borrowing costs raise alarms about the country's finances.
- The protests show rising tensions, as demonstrators call for more funding for schools despite pressure for the nation to control the budget deficit.
