Overview

• France’s Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a confidence vote, bringing down his government over a 2026 austerity plan with €44 billion in cuts and controversial measures such as scrapping two public holidays.
• Protest organizers have called for nationwide actions on Sept. 10, and Fitch is due to update France’s AA- rating this week after warning in March about the lack of a credible medium‑term fiscal path.
• The confidence defeat underscores a splintered National Assembly, with left, center-right and far-right blocs trading demands that range from a left-led cohabitation to fresh legislative elections.
• In Argentina, after a heavy defeat in Buenos Aires province (roughly 47% to 33%), President Javier Milei reconvened a tight political table, kept his cabinet intact and reaffirmed a zero‑deficit program.
• Milei faces an imminent deadline this week to veto laws on pediatric emergency care (Garrahan), university funding and automatic ATN transfers to provinces, with governors warning that a veto on ATN would rupture federal dialogue.