Prime Minister Francois Bayrou was forced from office on Monday when the French  Parliament voted 364-194 against him. He was brought down by an unholy alliance of left-wing socialists and right-wing populists who united to reject his budget reforms, which included eliminating two of the country’s many public holidays.

Bayrou didn’t go quietly. In a 40-minute speech he warned France was in a “life-threatening condition” that risked “enslaving our youth” to growing public debt. “You can get rid of the government, but you can’t get rid of reality,” he told deputies. Indeed, the reality is that an eye-popping 57% of France’s GDP is channeled into its welfare state, including the most generous pensions in the world.

He also warned of soak the rich tax schemes:

“Our British neighbors decided to tax foreigners who were exempt from taxation. Those foreigners moved away, and the immediate consequence was an explosion in property prices in Milan.” He noted property prices in Milan have soared 49% since Italy introduced a flat-tax system for investments in 2017.

Unfortunately, the French seem to be addicted to socialism.