Emmanuel Macron to speak after French government collapses

Today’s agenda: Bitcoin hits $100,000; South Korea’s political crisis; UnitedHealth executive shot dead; Syria’s dronemaking rebels; and HTSI’s guide on the world’s best food markets

Good morning. France has been plunged into political turmoil — again. Michel Barnier has been ousted after just three months as prime minister, the shortest French premiership since the Fifth Republic was founded in 1958. President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation later today. Here’s what to know.

How did this happen? Barnier’s fall comes down to a contentious 2025 budget, which included €60bn in tax increases and spending cuts to reduce France’s deficit. In a bid to push through part of those plans, Barnier used a constitutional article that allows the government to pass laws without parliamentary approval, but only if it can survive a no-confidence vote. Yesterday, Marine Le Pen’s far-right party teamed up with a leftist bloc to approve a motion of no confidence, toppling Barnier’s minority government.

What’s next? Macron now has to select another prime minister, a task made difficult by a raucous parliament divided into three blocs, none of which is close to having a governing majority. A year-end deadline to pass next year’s budget is looming, putting pressure on him to move quickly. A prolonged deadlock could unnerve financial markets — French borrowing costs soared last week over fears that Barnier’s budget gambit would fail. Here’s more on Macron’s difficult choices.

Apart from the French president’s televised speech this evening, here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: The EU, France, Germany, Italy, UK have their construction purchasing managers’ indices, while Germany also has data on industrial orders. The US reports its trade balance.

• Opec: The oil cartel is expected to extend production cuts when it meets today.

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

• OSCE: The two-day Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ministerial council meeting begins in Ta’ Qali, Malta.

Five more top stories

1. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has surged above $100,000 for the first time as investors bet on greater political and regulatory support from Donald Trump. The president-elect has previously vowed to make the US “the bitcoin superpower of the world”, nominating several crypto enthusiasts to top roles. Since his November election victory, the price of bitcoin has climbed more than 40 per cent.

2. South Korea’s ruling party has said it will try to stop the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol as opposition lawmakers start to probe the military’s role in his attempt to impose martial law. Earlier, Yoon accepted the resignation of defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has been accused by members of his own party of being behind the failed plot. We have the latest from Seoul.

3. A senior executive at UnitedHealth Group was fatally shot in Manhattan ahead of the company’s investor event yesterday. A manhunt is under way for the individual suspected of killing Brian Thompson, who had been the chief executive of the group’s insurance division since 2021. Here’s more on what officials have called a “brazen, targeted attack”.

4. Donald Trump has discussed replacing Pete Hegseth, his controversial nominee for US defence secretary, with candidates including Florida governor Ron DeSantis, according to people close to the talks. Support for the Fox News host’s confirmation among Senate Republicans has ebbed away in recent days with the emergence of increasingly damning sexual misconduct allegations.

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

5. Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up xAI has pledged to expand its Colossus supercomputer tenfold to incorporate more than 1mn graphics processing units. Built in just three months this year, Colossus is believed to be the world’s largest supercomputer and is used to train Musk’s chatbot Grok, which is less advanced and has fewer users than ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Read the full story.

Join our webinar next Tuesday, where industry leaders and FT experts discuss the role of AI in the transition to net zero. Register here for free.

News in-depth

Just five years ago, Syria’s jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was fighting to survive after years of attacks by the Russian-backed Assad regime. Now, in its stronghold of Idlib province, HTS boasts a military academy, centralised command, rapidly deployable specialist units and even a local weapons manufacturing industry. Here’s how the Islamist rebel group became a disciplined force making drones and guided missiles.

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

• Ørsted’s woes: Today’s Big Read explores how the Danish group, once seen as a model for how oil and gas giants could go green, has been blown off course.

Chart of the day

Investors and advisers are preparing for a new era of consolidation among smaller US lenders that could help them fend off Wall Street giants. Deals had slowed to a trickle under Joe Biden, stymied by regulators that took a critical view to corporate tie-ups. As of late September, 507 bank mergers had been completed during his presidency, down 44 per cent from Donald Trump’s first term.

Take a break from the news

From Copenhagen’s glass-walled Torvehallerne to Madrid’s century-old Mercado de San Miguel, FT writers and editors have selected the world’s best food markets in this HTSI guide.