The last time France went through five different prime ministers within two years was in the 1950s—nearly three-quarters of a century ago. That was under its chronically unstable Fourth Republic. Now under a different constitution (the Fifth Republic), designed in 1958 to secure stability, the country is on the brink of matching that unhappy record. François Bayrou, the current centrist prime minister, has scheduled a vote of confidence for September 8th over his unpopular deficit-reduction plans. Despite a last-ditch scramble for votes this week, a hostile parliament looks likely to bring his government down, and plunge France into yet more uncertainty. On September 2nd the yield on France’s ten-year bonds reached nearly 3.6%, its highest level for 14 years.