The French government has collapsed again after Prime Minister François Bayrou lost a vote of confidence in parliament on Monday night.

We've been here before of course, but the latest French political crisis feels even more fraught with President Emmanuel Macron running out of options and numerous strikes and opposition movements lined up for the days ahead.

What happens now? What happens in France when there's no government? What will happen to Macron himself? We'll try to answer all these questions over the next 25 minutes or so, but let's start with a look at what happened on Monday night.

Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield have easily survived a no confidence vote to be here with us to bring us all the latest news and analysis. Ben McPartland is your host.

Essential reading:

• OPINION: France may muddle through the latest crisis, but the reckoning is coming
• Bloquons Tout: Transport disruption in France on September 10th
• What happens next after French government ousted?
• 'Relief for the people': France reacts to government collapse
• What does a French Prime Minister actually do?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Be warned, France’s strike calendar for September is quickly filling up as various unions announce industrial action that could impact, well, pretty much all aspects of life in France. We’ll look at just how much disruption and political discord lie ahead over the next few weeks in France.

And remember this could be the last Talking France episode with Francois Bayrou as Prime Minister. We’ll explore whether France has simply become ungovernable these days.

We’ll also find about one French town that has slapped a ban on people buying up property to be used as a second home. Could this be the star of a nationwide trend?

And speaking of homes, a story on The Local France has gone viral in recent weeks about a French town selling homes for just one euro. But surely there’s a catch? We’ll find out.

And the big exposé this week is to reveal which of France’s smelly cheeses is the king of stench, the most pungent of them all. The competition is tough but we’ll name the winner.

Im Ben McPartland and with me this week will be the team from The Local France, Emma Pearson, Gen Mansfield and John Lichfield.

Essential reading:

• KEY DATES: Strikes planned in France in September 2025
• How to challenge your 2025 French property tax bills
• LISTED: New flights to and from France in autumn and winter 2025
• Phone ban and sex education: The changes in French schools from September 2025
• Brittany town bans second homes amid housing shortage
• 5 things you need to know about France's one euro homes
• VERDICT: What is the smelliest French cheese of all?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So summer's almost over, but it's been an eventful one in France. We'll bring you up to date with what's been happening. But the thrust of this week's episode and the reason we've started the new series a week earlier than planned is that France has, once again, been plunged into, yep you can guess what I'm going to say next: a new political crisis.

The country is facing "great danger" says the PM Francois Bayrou, but is the country listening to him? We'll get all the news and analysis on the latest turmoil to hit Emmanuel Macron's government and find out what's going to happen next.

And one of the big subjects our team has been covering in recent weeks has been a major change to France's citizenship rules that has left a lot of readers anxious.

We'll explain all.

They say never change a winning team, so for this new series I've decided to stick with the same line up that has made Talking France THE podcast to listen to if you're interested in France... With me once again will be Editor Emma Pearson, journalist Gen Mansfield and French politics guru John Lichfield. Ben McPartland is your host.

Thanks for joining us for a new series of Talking France.

We hope you all had a fantastic summer wherever you were.

As a reminder, just in case you might have forgotten during the heatwaves, this is a podcast produced by the team at The Local France, thanks to our paying members, so if you like what you listen to, please sign up via The Local.fr and help keep Talking France going.

Essential reading:

• OPINION: PM Bayrou is doomed, but will his fall wake up France?
• 'Illogical, bizarre and ageist': Readers react to French citizenship changes
• Analysis: Has France really made it impossible for retirees to get citizenship?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.