France is staring down a significant crisis with its public debt reaching about €3.6 trillion, tight budget decisions looming, and noticeable political turbulence in the streets, suggesting a potential collapse is imminent.
In response to ongoing riots, some politicians are suggesting debt cancellations. However, Glenn Beck observes a troubling parallel with the prelude to Greece’s disastrous financial collapse in 2009.
About a year after a police officer fatally shot a 15-year-old boy, triggering widespread riots, the new administration opened the books and revealed that the previous government had misrepresented the budget — projecting a deficit that turned out to be more than double what they claimed.
“Lending to Greece dried up, and chaos erupted with a general strike just before Parliament voted on their first bailout on May 5, 2010,” Beck recounted.
During this turmoil, political groups emerged, including a neo-Nazi party called Golden Dawn and a coalition of various leftist factions. Among them was Alexis Tsipras, who became prime minister after pledging to reject the bailout terms. In a surprising twist, he held a referendum where 61% voted against the bailout, yet he went ahead and accepted a third bailout with even stricter conditions.
“This seems to be a consistent trend,” Beck noted regarding the leftist approach to governance.
Ultimately, Greece went through three bailouts totaling €289 billion, marking the largest financial rescue in history, yet its economy suffered a 25% contraction, with unemployment hitting 27% and over 40% for youth. Many young people felt the need to leave the country.
The only thing keeping Greece afloat today, Beck argues, is Germany’s financial backing.
But France’s situation, Beck posits, is considerably more dire than Greece’s was. “Greece had a debt of about €300 billion. France, on the other hand, is burdened with €3.6 trillion — that’s more than ten times Greece’s debt,” he stated.
Moreover, there’s no one ready to rescue France this time.
According to Beck, the United States is in no position to help, being $40 trillion in debt itself. “For decades, if a country faced troubles, they turned to us for help. But now, a lifeguard who cannot swim is just another drowned body,” he remarked.
He questions what occurs when the world cannot find assistance — when it involves not just one small nation that misreported its finances, but multiple larger countries that, despite accurately reflecting their situations, continue excessive spending without accountability.
“The outcome would mirror Athens’s predicament, but without a savior,” he suggests.
Beck goes on to assert that France might be a “dress rehearsal” for potential crises in the United States, especially considering America’s own debt issues and the rising influence of a Marxist-Islam coalition, attributing a sense of looming disaster.
However, he pointed out a silver lining: “Seeds don’t automatically result in harvests.” Greece eventually rebounded — in 2019, the populace voted out the Marxist government.
“We, however, don’t have the luxury of time or external funds to assist us,” he concludes.
For further insights, check out the video above.
