Hello from the FT newsroom,

Emmanuel Macron is used to political turbulence, whether it’s turning over prime ministers or confronting street protests. This week the pressure on his minority government escalated to a new extreme. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, many of them students, marched on cities across France to protest against the lamentable state of schools — a complaint that has been simmering for years.

The government, however, cannot turn to its usual method of calming protests — taking out the cheque book. France needs to tighten its belt: it is suffering from a brutal sovereign bond sell-off, which has taken borrowing costs to their highest level in almost a quarter of a century.

The turbulence on the streets and in the markets is happening in the run-up to next year’s presidential election, in which the far right’s Marine Le Pen is the frontrunner. This is a story to watch.

I’m off to Paris on Monday and I’ll report back on what I find next week.

1. After a year of timorous efforts to out-Farage Nigel Farage, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has decided to go her own way. Our UK chief political commentator Robert Shrimsley examines Badenoch’s punchy plan to reunite the right.

2. Across the world, parenthood is on the wane. Camilla Cavendish explains how social contagion can help explain falling birth rates — and offers a way out of the demographic trap. (Free to read)

3. Our new series examines China’s breakneck build-out of AI infrastructure as it seeks to become the pre-eminent tech superpower. In the first of three instalments, we explore Inner Mongolia’s vast new computing hubs.

4. Hedge funds’ insatiable demand for financing has made them irresistible clients for lenders. But as banks lean into the trading boom, they have inextricably bound their fates with their biggest clients.

5. Here’s a question: “If you are a man who cares about climate change, are you a bit of a dweeb?” Our columnist Pilita Clark explores the gender differences in how people think about global warming.

6. Hyperliquid Labs is one of the hottest names in crypto. But its products, described by some as “the most dangerous” in the industry, are raising the heat in Singapore, a city-state averse to risk where Hyperliquid has made its home. (Free to read)

Thanks for reading,

Roula