This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor.

Joseph Sternberg, member of the editorial board of the Wall Street, generally writes political economic column. He's in London.

Watching Paris and the melodrama of the French governments. I've lost count.

Six or seven, maybe five. French governments, all with the direction of the president of France,

the twice elected Macron, Emmanuel Macron. And then, Joe, a very good evening to you.

What I understand now is these governments keep falling for reasons having to do with the budget

and being accepted by a legislature that has genuine communists in it.

But Macron is at the center of this.

And your new column in the Wall Street Journal identifies a motive for him

that is the first time I've come across a motive that I didn't have to memorize

because I can't remember pension reform.

What is driving Mr. McCrone to continue what appears to be humiliation

of having to put up prime ministers who get rejected, then another one, then another one.

Why is he doing this? Good evening to you.

Hey, John. Well, so, I mean, the short answer here is that French politics is becoming about one big thing,

and that big thing is to avoid having to call an election for anything because

everyone has an increasing conviction that Marine Le Pen and the insurgent right-wing

National Rally Party will win it. So I think this is important to keep in mind because there's

been a lot of talk in the news really over the past year about a crisis in Paris, including within the past week or so. And this is usually discussed in terms of the budget. So I mean, if you pick up a lot of newspapers or magazines or see anything about France and the media at the moment, you'll

be under the impression that there is a budget crisis, the National Assembly, their legislature,

is proving to be incapable of passing a budget, and this is creating all kinds of economic

problems, what have you.

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