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Here are the five things you need to know today:
FRANCE. Macron asks for one more attempt at government.
UNITED STATES. With lax regulation, OpenAI builds its own bubble.
BRAZIL. ARGENTINA. As Trump warms to Lula, Milei is left hanging.
VENEZUELA. A diplomatic channel with Washington is cut, for now.
SYRIA. A new parliament confronts old problems.
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FRANCE. Une fois de plus
Macron asks for one more attempt at government.
Emmanuel Macron tasked Sebastien Lecornu to come up with a “stability plan” by Wednesday evening after the prime minister resigned Monday. Lecornu’s cabinet broke up hours after being formed following disputes on its membership.
INTELLIGENCE. Lecornu lasted just 27 days as prime minister, 26 of which were without a cabinet. To Liz Truss’s 45-day iceberg, his premiership lasted little more than a delicate sprig of frisée. Rather than seeking to replant this bitter harvest, Macron is likely stalling for time. Yet another meeting of the same people from the centre right and left will be unlikely to form a stable government. Either Macron will need to call a parliamentary election or face his own.
FOR BUSINESS. Lecornu’s resignation tanked markets. Not only does the current parliament look unsustainable, but so does the Fifth Republic, which was designed by Charles de Gaulle to forestall this exact scenario. The reappearance of former finance minister Bruno Le Maire in Lecornu’s cabinet precipitated the crisis, and Le Maire has now offered not to join the next one, but an entirely fresh team will now be needed to both satisfy the Assembly and the markets.
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UNITED STATES. Buy now, pay later
With lax regulation, OpenAI builds its own bubble.
Shares in Advanced Micro Devices soared 38% after it announced a chip-supply deal for OpenAI, with its customer getting the option to buy up to 10% of AMD for 1 cent per share. The S&P500, gold and bitcoin all closed at fresh records.
INTELLIGENCE. The AMD deal is a less explicit form of vendor financing than
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