FirstFT: Emmanuel Macron to talk after French authorities collapses

In the present day’s agenda: Bitcoin hits $100,000; South Korea’s political disaster; UnitedHealth government shot lifeless; Syria’s dronemaking rebels; and HTSI’s information on the world’s finest meals markets

Good morning. France has been plunged into political turmoil — once more. Michel Barnier has been ousted after simply three months as prime minister, the shortest French premiership for the reason that Fifth Republic was based in 1958. President Emmanuel Macron will tackle the nation later at this time. Right here’s what to know.

How did this occur? Barnier’s fall comes right down to a contentious 2025 finances, which included €60bn in tax will increase and spending cuts to scale back France’s deficit. In a bid to push by a part of these plans, Barnier used a constitutional article that enables the federal government to move legal guidelines with out parliamentary approval, however provided that it will probably survive a no-confidence vote. Yesterday, Marine Le Pen’s far-right get together teamed up with a leftist bloc to approve a movement of no confidence, toppling Barnier’s minority authorities.

What’s subsequent? Macron now has to pick one other prime minister, a process made troublesome by a raucous parliament divided into three blocs, none of which is near having a governing majority. A year-end deadline to move subsequent yr’s finances is looming, placing strain on him to maneuver rapidly. A protracted impasse might unnerve monetary markets — French borrowing prices soared final week over fears that Barnier’s finances gambit would fail. Right here’s extra on Macron’s troublesome decisions.

Aside from the French president’s televised speech this night, right here’s what else we’re preserving tabs on at this time:

• Financial information: The EU, France, Germany, Italy, UK have their building buying managers’ indices, whereas Germany additionally has information on industrial orders. The US studies its commerce steadiness.

• Opec: The oil cartel is predicted to prolong manufacturing cuts when it meets at this time.

• UK politics: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will set out a “plan for change” to reform Whitehall and persuade disgruntled voters he’s making progress.

• OSCE: The 2-day Group for Safety and Co-operation in Europe ministerial council assembly begins in Ta’ Qali, Malta.

5 extra high tales

1. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has surged above $100,000 for the primary time as traders guess on larger political and regulatory assist from Donald Trump. The president-elect has beforehand vowed to make the US “the bitcoin superpower of the world”, nominating a number of crypto lovers to high roles. Since his November election victory, the value of bitcoin has climbed greater than 40 per cent.

2. South Korea’s ruling get together has mentioned it’ll attempt to cease the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol as opposition lawmakers begin to probe the army’s function in his try and impose martial regulation. Earlier, Yoon accepted the resignation of defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has been accused by members of his personal get together of being behind the failed plot. We now have the newest from Seoul.

3. A senior government at UnitedHealth Group was fatally shot in Manhattan forward of the corporate’s investor occasion yesterday. A manhunt is beneath approach for the person suspected of killing Brian Thompson, who had been the chief government of the group’s insurance coverage division since 2021. Right here’s extra on what officers have referred to as a “brazen, targeted attack”.

4. Donald Trump has mentioned changing Pete Hegseth, his controversial nominee for US defence secretary, with candidates together with Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in keeping with individuals near the talks. Assist for the Fox Information host’s affirmation amongst Senate Republicans has ebbed away in current days with the emergence of more and more damning sexual misconduct allegations.

• Trump’s UK envoy: Warren Stephens, Trump’s decide for the Court docket of St James’s, is a billionaire historical past buff and former Clinton backer.

5. Elon Musk’s synthetic intelligence start-up xAI has pledged to broaden its Colossus supercomputer tenfold to include greater than 1mn graphics processing items. In-built simply three months this yr, Colossus is believed to be the world’s largest supercomputer and is used to coach Musk’s chatbot Grok, which is much less superior and has fewer customers than ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Learn the complete story.

Be a part of our webinar subsequent Tuesday, the place business leaders and FT specialists talk about the function of AI within the transition to web zero. Register right here free of charge.

Information in-depth

Simply 5 years in the past, Syria’s jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was combating to outlive after years of assaults by the Russian-backed Assad regime. Now, in its stronghold of Idlib province, HTS boasts a army academy, centralised command, quickly deployable specialist items and even an area weapons manufacturing business. Right here’s how the Islamist insurgent group turned a disciplined power making drones and guided missiles.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Issues of effectivity: These prizing effectivity in authorities above all else ought to keep in mind that some inefficiencies are important to democracy, writes writer Guru Madhavan.

• Inexperienced management: Previous a long time have proven the US will not be a dependable associate in world local weather coverage. Now, solely China can lead on the problem, writes Adam Tooze.

• Tit-for-tat rivalry: With its speedy retaliation to Washington’s newest tech sanctions, China has signalled a brand new willingness to confront the US.

• Ørsted’s woes: In the present day’s Large Learn explores how the Danish group, as soon as seen as a mannequin for the way oil and gasoline giants might go inexperienced, has been blown off beam.

Chart of the day

Traders and advisers are getting ready for a new period of consolidation amongst smaller US lenders that would assist them fend off Wall Road giants. Offers had slowed to a trickle beneath Joe Biden, stymied by regulators that took a crucial view to company tie-ups. As of late September, 507 financial institution mergers had been accomplished throughout his presidency, down 44 per cent from Donald Trump’s first time period.

Take a break from the information

From Copenhagen’s glass-walled Torvehallerne to Madrid’s century-old Mercado de San Miguel, FT writers and editors have chosen the world’s finest meals markets on this HTSI information.