Writing on dlacalle.com, Daniel Lacalle argues that France's riots, in which the government counted 550,000 protesters, 1,200 arrests and 150 injured police on Saturday 17 October, reflect decades of big government, high taxes and debt. He cites public spending at 57.2% of GDP in 2025, a tax burden of 45.3% of GDP in 2024, public debt at 119% of GDP in Q2 2026 and a deficit of 5.1% of GDP in 2025. Government expenditure reached 49.5% of GDP across the EU and 49.8% in the euro area in 2025, while the IMF expects euro-area growth of 1.1% in 2026 versus 2.3% for the United States. He also points to pension entitlements of 347% of GDP in Germany and 500% in Spain, which Eurostat describes as almost entirely unfunded, and argues that the welfare model is borrowing against the future.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Original headline: The State Does Not Create Wealth ; It Consumes It : Europe Socialist Model Hits The Wall
Read the original on zerohedge.com ↗
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EUR/USD
• NeutralRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/22/2026 | 1.12168 |
| Change that session | -0.14% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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