Bonjour et bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I'm Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent. If you haven't yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter.

Seven years after Emmanuel Macron swept to power on a wave of pro-business reforms, banker-friendly tax breaks and bold European ambitions, the proverbial years of plenty are giving way to years of famine. Prime Minister Michel Barnier has announced a budget for 2025 that aims to deliver €60.6 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes targeting big companies, the wealthy and energy - all to try to rein in a deficit that's still expected to be above 3% until 2029. It's going to be a tough slog.