Good morning. French Prime Minister François Bayrou resigned today after parliament torpedoed his debt-cutting budget – more on that below, along with the end to the Murdoch succession battle and a look at the province that’s embracing hybrid work. But first:

• Leaked files show a Chinese company is exporting the Great Firewall’s censorship technology
• Alberta revises its order on books to be banned from schools
• Israel drops leaflets across Gaza City ordering evacuation

It’s curtains for yet another French government. Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a confidence vote in the National Assembly over his hugely unpopular austerity budget, and this morning, he submitted his resignation to President Emmanuel Macron. That leaves Macron in search of a fifth prime minister in just 20 months – though he’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who can actually confront France’s financial crisis. Public debt has climbed to around €3.3-trillion ($5.4-trillion), or 114 per cent of gross domestic product, and it’s rising by €5,000 a second. Everyone seems to agree that’s a problem. No one appears to have workable ideas for how to get spending under control.

Bayrou had proposed €44-billion in cuts, a freeze on welfare payments and ditching two public holidays, but knew there was zero chance his budget would get through parliament – he was already doling out invites to a farewell soirée, or “un moment convivial, ” before ministers even started yesterday’s vote. Bayrou will stay on until Macron appoints a new PM, which his office said should happen “in the coming days.” While we wait for that decision, let’s take a closer look at why France is in such a financial crunch and whether Macron can get a handle on the political turmoil.

Empty pockets: France hasn’t run a budget surplus in more than 50 years, while spending has repeatedly swelled – especially on bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis and at least €240-billion in pandemic aid since 2020. The European energy crisis, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, isn’t helping matters. Neither is the country’s aging population, since France drops nearly 15 per cent of its GDP on pensions each year.

And forget about hiking taxes: France already has the highest tax burden in the developed world, with the average worker surrendering more than 54 per cent of their income to the state in 2024. Bayrou’s plan to raise taxes prompted nearly as much nationwide anger as his pitch to scrap the holidays. It also ran counter to Macron’s business-friendly position: The President has cut taxes on corporations and the rich in a bid to spur economic investment. Meanwhile, France is poised to spend €75-billion next year on its debt-interest payments alone – more than the cost of health care, education or defence.

Assembly upheaval: Moments before yesterday’s confidence vote, Bayrou described France’s finances as “a silent, underground, invisible and unbearable hemorrhage.” (Yikes!) But it’ll be extremely hard to stop the bleeding. Macron’s centrist coalition, Ensemble pour la République, lost control of parliament last year after he rolled the dice on a snap election, and neither the left nor the far right could cobble together a majority.

The result has been 15 months of political deadlock on how to manage France’s public debt. The left opposes any cuts to social benefits and wants to raise taxes on the super rich. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally prefers slashing financial support to asylum-seekers and the European Union instead. And Macron’s centrists are looking to rein in the state welfare system – a move so colossally toxic that French police expect up to 100,000 people to protest and strike tomorrow, paralyzing the country with a demonstration called “Bloquons Tout,” or “Block Everything.”

What’s next? Probably not another snap election – recent polls suggest that would just lead to a similarly fractured parliament, although support for the National Rally has been climbing steadily. And while some lawmakers called for Macron himself to step down, that’s unlikely to happen. He’s repeatedly said he’ll serve out his term until 2027, and remains convinced he can help bring an end to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

In the meantime, spare a thought for the next prime minister, who must attempt to push through a 2026 budget that practically no one wants. Bayrou lasted a scant nine months on the job. The PM before that, Michel Barnier, was ousted after only three. Perhaps they poured out a pre-emptive drink for their successor at last night’s moment convivial.

A crowd of 50 feline enthusiasts spent their Sunday making friends on the Vancouver Cat Tour, a neighbourhood crawl that included visits with Chicken (who likes to wear fun shirts), Mochi (who lives on the same block as another Mochi) and Topper (described by his family as the “world’s tubbiest boy”). See more photos of the excursion here.

At home: Public servants across Canada are being called back to the office, but the B.C. government has chosen to embrace hybrid work instead.

Abroad: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed a “mighty hurricane” of air strikes on Gaza unless Hamas surrendered and freed the last of its hostages.