Key facts
- France's public debt is nearly 120% of its economy, compared to Australia's 53%.
- French public spending is 58% of the economy, while Australia's is 40%.
- Fuel prices have risen 36% in France this year, three times the Australian increase.
Protests and violence in France over underfunded public services and cost-of-living pressures serve as a warning signal for Australia's own fiscal trajectory, economists said. Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across France on Saturday to protest underfunded schools, with grievances about insufficient teacher numbers and dilapidated infrastructure mingling with broader discontent about cost-of-living pressures. Luke Hartigan, a senior economics lecturer at the University of Sydney, noted that soaring energy costs were having a major impact, with fuel prices up 36% this year in France. He added that France's finances are buckling under its generous welfare state, with high public debt and stagnant economy creating a clash between citizens' demands and the country's fiscal position.