New Delhi, Sept. 12 -- France's finances and politics are in turmoil. President Emmanuel Macron has just appointed a new prime minister - the fourth person to hold the job in the past 12 months. The deficit is out of control. Borrowing costs are rising. And parliament can't muster a majority to tackle spending.

It's a serious comedown for a major industrial power that has the second-largest economy in Europe.

Here's how France found itself in this state of affairs:

First the pandemic, then an energy crisis

France last balanced its budget in 1973, and maintained a generous welfare state with strong worker protections. That worked for years so long as solid economic growth swept tax revenue into government coffers and kept deficits from...