We've all heard about the lavish French pensions pushing France toward a debt crisis, but France is not alone. Look at Italy, Austria, or Greece, they have similar levels of pension spending as a percentage of GDP.

We've all heard about the lavish French pensions pushing France toward a debt crisis, but France is not alone. Look at Italy, Austria, or Greece, they have similar levels of pension spending as a percentage of GDP. Demographics make it worse. In the not-too-distant future, just a few years from now, a large cohort of boomers will reach retirement age, pushing pension and healthcare spending much higher. No politicians dare state the obvious and tell their voters that pensions are unsustainable. It's pure math, current pension levels will overstretch budgets and the ability to issue more debt at reasonable rates in several European countries. The ECB will of course step in and monetize sovereign debt, devaluing the euro and making everyone in the Eurozone poorer. Pensions are just one of many Europe’s problems. If you own euro-denominated assets, hedge them. The euro will follow the Japanese yen's path and lose value.

— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) October 18, 2026