The French government’s attempt to bring the country’s spiralling debt under control has sparked a political crisis that has toppled a series of prime ministers and left Europe’s second-largest economy teetering on the brink.

At a time when the “very sovereignty and freedom of France and Europe are at stake”, the country is “paralysed by chaos, impotence and debt”, veteran political commentator Nicolas Baverez told the BBC.

How bad is the debt crisis?
The French economy “appears strong at first glance”, said The New York Times. Prior to Donald Trump’s tariff war, “growth was slow but steady and employment was picking up”. But “behind the scenes, outsize government spending and falling tax receipts” has “strained finances”.

France now has the highest consolidated national debt in Europe, at around €3.4 trillion, according to the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. Its debt-to-GDP ratio – 113% – is surpassed in the EU only by Greece and Italy, which were at the heart of the European debt crisis a decade ago.

How did the debt get so high?
France has long been among the most “spendthrift” countries in the EU relative to its economic output, said CNN. Social welfare such as pensions and unemployment benefits represent the largest chunk of expenditure, but the state also funds some “unusual benefits”, such as financial support to families employing a nanny for children under six.

Combined with huge public spending to soften the blow of the Covid pandemic and the energy crisis sparked by the Ukraine war, and with the rising cost of government borrowing, these commitments have fuelled a massive increase in debt over the past two decades: from 60% of GDP at the start of the 2000s to a projected 125% by 2030.

What will happen next?
France is still not at “immediate risk” of an economic crash, said Le Monde. The possibility of an intervention by the International Monetary Fund, which has been touted by some even within the government, seems “highly improbable”.

The best-case scenario is that “the country’s inherent strengths – its  wealth, infrastructure, institutional resilience – will see it through” what may prove to be a temporary storm, said the BBC. “But there is another scenario: that it emerges permanently weakened, prey to extremists of left and right, a new sick man of Europe.”

“If the normal rules of politics applied in Scotland, the SNP would be sure-fire losers at next year’s Holyrood election,” said Chris Musson in The Scottish Sun. Public services “are on their knees” and polls suggest the majority of Scots “take a dim view” of how the ruling party is handling things. Yet it has kicked off its party conference in Aberdeen around 14 points ahead of its nearest rivals. 

‘On course for victory ’
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” said Alex Massie in The Times. A year ago, voters across Scotland “rose up against the nationalists” in the general election, in which the SNP lost 39 seats and a third of its voters. Now, polls suggest the party is “on course to win a fifth consecutive election victory” in the Scottish parliament. That’s not down to the SNP: voters simply “dislike Labour (and the Tories) even more”. Polls suggest Labour will “do well to beat Reform into second place”.

The SNP has “endured everything a government would normally dread”, from a police fraud investigation and rows over gender law reform to the “worst drug-death rate in Europe”, said Sky News. But it “retains something its opponents lack, which is a loyal, unshakeable base”. For many, voting SNP is “an expression of identity as much as policy”. Meanwhile, “the unionist vote is fragmented” and “every vote for Nigel Farage chips away” at it further.

‘Stop digging, get delivering’
The SNP “still faces significant challenges”, said The Guardian. The party might credit First Minister John Swinney with differentiating himself from Westminster as a “pro-immigration and a progressive tax reformer”, but the May election is likely to prove a “bruising” contest.

Swinney’s team will need to be “careful about pushing independence too hard”, as it is not necessarily a priority for voters, said the BBC. What really matters to the electorate is the cost of living, public services and the NHS. An ally of the first minister summed it up as, “stop digging, get delivering”.

A shepherd leads his flock down Poland’s Tatra Mountains during the autumn “redyk”, a centuries-old highlander festival marking the end of the sheep grazing season.

Dominika Zarzycka / SOPA Images / Shutterstock

To bank on Britain for year-round sunshine might be foolish but it’s still a good bet for a magical autumn getaway: think wet walks and frosty mornings, and ice cream by the sea while wearing three jumpers... Our favourite getaway spots across the UK combine culture and comfort.

Glencoe, Scottish Highlands
A trip to the Scottish Highlands is characterised by “three Ws”, said Condé Nast Traveller: “walking, wildlife, and whisky”. And expect “pristine nature and wild, rugged vistas”. The pretty village of Glencoe, on the banks of Loch Leven, is only a 30-minute drive from Fort William, in the footfalls of Ben Nevis. 

St Ives, Cornwall
“Autumn is the best time to experience Cornwall,” said The Independent. “Honeypot” coastal towns like St Ives come into their own in “shoulder season”: you can still feel the “lively bustle" of the high streets and harbourfronts but there’s a calmness that’s a million miles from the “mid-August bedlam”.

Tenby, Pembrokeshire
Tenby’s quaint, cobbled streets “rival those in Italy or the French Riviera”, said Wales Online. The multicoloured, Balamory-style seafront houses (pictured above) make it the “coastal jewel” of British seaside towns. In autumn, the town is in its element and the “unpredictable” Welsh weather may offer bursts of unseasonal sunshine.

Belfast, Northern Ireland
If you’re looking for a city break with “atmospheric spots for admiring autumn foliage”, Belfast is just the ticket, said The Times. At the weekend, St George’s Market has “local bites and crafts”, plus live music. It is also well worth exploring the grand estates of Stormont, Barnett Demesne and Belfast Castle.

Give Donald Trump the credit
Oli Dugmore in The New Statesman
As Donald Trump’s second term “winds on”, it’s become “harder to categorise“ him as pure “villain”, writes Oli Dugmore. “The worst person you know didn’t just make a great point, he ended the slaughter of the Gazans and brought the hostages home.” It seems that “the singular nature of Trump’s key relationships in Israel and the Arab world” was decisive in securing the peace deal and, if it lasts, “he should be given the credit”.

Anti-British and anti-success! Misguided Labour lefties are running the UK into the ground
Esther McVey in the Daily Express
The Union Jacks on lampposts nationwide are “a two-fingered salute to this anti-British, anti-success Labour government”, writes Tory MP and former cabinet minister Esther McVey. We’re “being governed by misguided left-wing extremists who are running our economy and global reputation into the ground”. The “inexplicable collapse of the Chinese spy case” shows how they can “be bullied by a foreign power” for “a few pieces of silver”. It’s “utterly depressing that the UK has sunk so low”.

The young are revolting against trigger warnings… by reading on anyway
Ella Whelan in The Telegraph
New research suggests that trigger warnings actually “entice” young people “to look where they supposedly shouldn’t”, writes Ella Whelan. “Marketed as a means to protect the vulnerable”, such warnings “were born out of a cultural narrative” that feelings of “anxiety, fear, stress, distress” should be “utterly eradicated from our daily lives” for our own emotional safety. “It’s heartening” that the young “seem to be rejecting such a lame characterisation of their resilience”.