France's financial crisis pushes its government to the brink

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report – France's Financial Crisis Pushes its Government to the Brink

Date: September 9, 2025
Host: Sarah Rogers (BBC World Service/MPR)
Main Theme:
This episode provides a roundup of the morning’s top global economic and business news, focusing especially on France’s escalating debt crisis, its political fallout, and key market movements worldwide.

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France's Debt Crisis and Political Turmoil

• [00:55] – Main Segment Starts
  • France is facing a severe financial crisis. This has triggered the anticipated ousting of Prime Minister Francois Byrou, after his unsuccessful attempt to pass a $50 billion public spending cut through parliament.
  • Byrou’s defeat comes during a confidence vote, underscoring deep fiscal and political divisions.

Key Points:

• [01:25] – Historical Context from French Parliament:

  • “La France hasn’t balanced the books in 51 years. Throughout the past 51 years, each year spending increases, the deficit grows and the debt mounts up.” – [French Parliament speaker, 01:25]
  • The government deficit continues to rise, with public debt reportedly at nearly $4 trillion.

• [01:44] – Leadership Instability:

  • President Emmanuel Macron must now search for his fifth prime minister in just two years.
  • Ongoing instability is intensifying market and public anxiety.

• [01:58] – Expert Commentary:

  • Katya Adler, BBC Political Editor in Paris:
    • “Deep disagreements over debt is what brought down the French government on Monday. President Macron has favored big business in an effort to boost growth. The political left say it’s now time to tax the super rich.”
    • Macron faces pressure to deliver a debt-reducing budget by year-end, before planned national strikes.
    • European allies and financial markets require reassurance as France teeters on further instability.

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Quick Global Market Updates

• [02:30] – Global Market Roundup
  • Argentina: Main share index plunged 13%. Triggered by the defeat of President Javier Milei in a key provincial election.
  • UK Mining: Anglo American shares soared 7% after announcing a $50 billion merger with Canadian firm Tech Resources, forming a copper industry superpower.
  • Media Ownership: The saga of the Murdoch family concludes with Lachlan Murdoch securing control; siblings expected to receive $1.1 billion each.
    • Katie Silver (BBC): “This really brings a close to years of tensions…inspiring the hit TV show Succession on HBO.” [03:13]

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Spotlight: Gold Market Goes Digital

• [03:53] – Record Gold Prices & Digital Trading Pilot
  • Gold hit a record high of $3,600/oz on speculation of US Federal Reserve rate cuts.
  • London’s gold market (worth $900B) set to pilot digital gold ownership—enabling investors to trade fractional shares of physical gold.
  • Mike Oswin, project lead at World Gold Council, explains initiative.

Interview Highlights:

• [04:27] – Gold Digitalization Explained:

  • “We’ll have the physical gold in a trust structure, co-owned and operated by core participants like banks and trading houses…You’ll be able to transfer that for investment or financial collateral without moving the physical gold.” – Mike Oswin [04:27]
  • Potential to revolutionize wholesale gold trading; enables cross-border transactions with greater ease.

• [05:10] – Gold’s Tangibility:

  • Rogers asks if digital gold negates the appeal of physical ownership.
    • “Wholesale digital gold is going to be fully backed by London good delivery gold.” – Mike Oswin [05:15]

• [06:19] – Future of Gold Prices:

  • “The number of the largest banks have put out their forecast for the gold price and looking at those, I would say there is a significant bias towards more upside for gold.” – Mike Oswin [06:19]
  • Geopolitical and economic uncertainty fuels further investment in gold.

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Corporate and Legal News

• [06:40] – Italian Tax Settlement
  • John Elkann (chair of Ferrari & Stellantis) and siblings to pay $215 million, and undergo community service, settling a high-profile inheritance tax dispute in Italy.
  • Their lawyer: Settlement is “a way to bring this painful affair to a swift and definitive close.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “La France hasn’t balanced the books in 51 years…We spend more than our annual resources and often much more.” – French Parliament speaker [01:25]
• "Macron has favored big business...the political left say it's now time to tax the super rich." – Katya Adler [01:58]
• "Wholesale digital gold is going to be fully backed by London good delivery gold." – Mike Oswin [05:15]
• On Murdoch family saga: "This really brings a close to years of tensions...inspiring the hit TV show Succession.” – Katie Silver [03:13]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:55 – Headline: France’s debt crisis and government upheaval
• 01:25 – French Parliament’s historical context on debt
• 01:58 – Katya Adler on French political tensions
• 02:30 – Global market update (Argentina, Anglo American, Murdoch family)
• 03:53 – Gold price highs and London market digitalization
• 04:27 – 06:39 – Mike Oswin interview (World Gold Council)
• 06:40 – Ferrari/Stellantis inheritance tax settlement

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Summary

This episode captures the dramatic political and financial turbulence in France as efforts to curb runaway debt topple yet another government, with massive implications for European markets. Listeners also receive quickfire updates on dramatic market swings in Argentina and the UK; the end of media mogul drama in the Murdoch family; and an exclusive look into the future of gold trading as it goes digital in London. Finally, a high-profile Italian tax saga closes with a multimillion-dollar settlement. The tone remains brisk, informative, and global in perspective—ideal for starting the business day with speed and substance.

Transcript

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[Sarah Rogers]

On wicks France's financial crisis pushes its government to the brink. Live from the uk, this is the Marketplace Morning report from the BBC World Service. I'm Sarah Rogers. Good morning. France's attempt to get a grip on its debt problem is expected to oust another prime minister this morning. Francois Byrou wanted to cut public spending by $50 billion, but failed to win enough support. Here's how it played out in Parliament at a confidence vote.

[Odoo Sponsor]

La France France hasn't balanced the books in 51 years. Throughout the past 51 years, each year spending increases, the deficit grows and the debt mounts up. Each year we spend more than our annual resources and often much more.

[Sarah Rogers]

Francis Bairu While the French government says that the public debt stood at under $4 trillion, President Emmanuel Macron must now look for a new prime minister, the fifth in just two years. The BBC's Katya Adler is in par and can tell us more.

[BBC Reporter]

Deep disagreements over debt is what brought down the French government on Monday. President Macron has favored big business in an effort to boost growth. The political left say it's now time to tax the super rich. President Macron needs to reassure wary European allies and financial markets that he'll find a way of getting a debt reducing budget passed by Parliament by the end of the year and before strikes planned for Wednesday and later this month in France. Feed mounting calls for his resignation.

[Sarah Rogers]

Catch it, Adler there. Okay, let's do the numbers. Argentina's main share index plunged by nearly 13%, its biggest daily drop in five years. It's after President Javier Milei was defeated in a crucial provincial election. And shares of London listed mining giant Anglo American jumped 7% after it agreed a $50 billion deal to merge with Canadian rival Tech Resources. Anglo Tech will create one of the world's largest copper producers. Now the succession battle at Rupert Murdoch's media empire has ended, with eldest son Lachlan securing control. In return, his three eldest siblings are expected to receive around $1.1 billion. The BBC's Katie Silver has more.

[Katie Silver]

This really brings a close to years of tensions, long battle even, for example, inspiring the hit TV show Succession on hbo. And now it seems we have an end. So under this agreement, Lachlan Murdoch will control a new trust. His elder siblings, Prima Cloud, Elizabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch, they'll cease to be beneficiaries of any trust that has shares in Fox or News Corp. Wall Street Journal, the Times are among a slew of publications in terms of reaction so far. Analysts we've been speaking with say that if you're a shareholder, this would be good news and that this is basically a mutual resolution of the legal proceedings of something that has been going on for years.

[Sarah Rogers]

Katie Silver there now. As gold continues to hit record highs, London's bullion market is preparing to go digital. The precious metal topped $3,600 an ounce over predictions the US Fed will cut interest rates. But a pilot from the World Gold Council is set to launch later this year to shake up London's $900 billion market, allowing investors to own fractional shares of physical gold digitally. Mike Oswin, the man behind it, joins me on Marketplace. Hi, Mike.

[Mike Oswin]

Hi, Sarah.

[Sarah Rogers]

What is it that you're trying to do here?

[Mike Oswin]

So we'll have the physical gold that will be in a trust structure and that will be co owned and operated by what we call the core participants. So imagine banks and trading houses, the digital representation, the pooled gold interests will represent a fractional amount of that gold. And you will be able to transfer that for purposes as of investment, financial collateral, but without moving the physical gold, without that having to go between vaults or between locations. So that's really the benefit here of the digitalization. In the London market, it is the largest wholesale market, trading around $140 billion a day.

[Sarah Rogers]

Isn't what attracts people to gold its physical nature really Good question.

[Mike Oswin]

You do have the allocated market, which is direct ownership of a specific gold. You also then have the unallocated market, which that's more of a contractual claim to a quantity of gold. What wholesale digital gold is going to do is give you the benefit of both wholesale digital gold is going to be fully backed by London good delivery.

[Sarah Rogers]

Gold and what impact do you think it's going to have?

[Mike Oswin]

We really do see the pilot as the beginning of the implementation of wholesale digital gold. So we have looked at how this will kind of passport into other jurisdictions. This is really looking initially at financial markets and to give gold as a financial asset the mobility that it needs.

[Sarah Rogers]

And where do you see gold prices going? Are people going to continue to turn to it as a so called safe investment? Especially with the situation at the moment where there are worries about the independence of the Fed in the US the.

[Mike Oswin]

Drivers around geopolitical pro economic don't seem to be going away anytime soon. The number of the largest banks have put out their forecast for the gold price and looking at those, I would say there is a significant bias towards more upside for gold.

[Sarah Rogers]

Okay Mike, thanks ever so much for joining us on Marketplace.

[Mike Oswin]

Thank you Sarah.

[Sarah Rogers]

Now the chair of Ferrari and Stellantis will do a year of community service and along with his two siblings paid $215 million to settle a dispute over inheritance tax in Italy relating to the estate of John Elkin's grandmother who died in 2019. Mr. Elkin lawyer said the agreement did not include an admission of liability but was, quote, a way to bring this painful affair to a swift and definitive close in the UK I'm Sarah Rogers with the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

[BBC Reporter]

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