France is once again without a government: Michel Barnier fails as prime minister after just…

“Interest rates would rise. The financial markets are worried about France. They don’t know which way our country is headed. … France’s attractiveness would decline. In recent years, since 2015, France has become more attractive to foreign investors. … But since the dissolution of parliament, investors have been asking themselves: should they invest elsewhere? Should they wait and see if France remains hospitable? Some projects have already been cancelled, others have been scaled back or postponed. The fall of the Barnier government would only fuel this spiral of mistrust.”

“The appointment of a new prime minister and a new government would significantly curb Marine Le Pen’s party’s influence. Right now, everyone realises that the future of the government lies in her hands, since it can only stay in power thanks to her goodwill. She is playing this card well by raising the stakes. If a new government is appointed in the near future, whether on a joint (undoubtedly more left-wing) basis or as a ‘technical’ government, her influence would be severely limited, if not reduced to zero.”

“Rather, the entire political elite must ask itself whether it has grasped the seriousness of the situation. France is sitting on Europe’s highest mountain of debt and needs to make cutbacks in order to preserve some budgetary leeway and not gamble away the dented confidence of rating agencies and bond markets. There has been no shortage of warning shots. And one thing is also clear: in the coming months, France’s ability to act will be even more limited than it already is. This is bad news for Europe, which should actually be worrying about other things in view of the geopolitical challenges.”

South Korea’s political crisis leads many papers this morning as President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law before the country’s parliament rejected the move. It caused a night of chaos and fear for South Korea and now the president is facing calls for his resignation and calls for impeachment.

The tabloids continue their coverage of the Gregg Wallace scandal as more allegations come to light. The papers report the latest allegations that Wallace groped contestants on MasterChef.

The October Budget has ongoing coverage as the papers speculate on a potential U-turn.

Pictures of the royal family – mostly Princess Kate, make many of the front pages as she returned to royal duties last night following her cancer treatment.

The main opposition Democratic Party called on Yoon to resign or face impeachment over the declaration of martial law. “Even if martial law is lifted, he cannot escape charges of treason. It was made clear to the entire nation that President Yoon can no longer lead the country normally. He should resign,”