What began as anger against school infrastructure and teacher shortages in a suburb of Paris has ballooned into nationwide violent protests that seem to threaten President Emmanuel Macron, if not the French state itself.How worrying are these protests? Do they suggest France is a deeply troubled country? What does the future look like? What impact have the protests had on Macron’s image and standing? How much will they boost Marine Le Pen’s electoral prospects?I interviewed Gilles Verniers and Mohan Kumar to get the answers. The former is a renowned scholar from the Centre for International Studies at Sciences Po in Paris, while the latter is India’s former Ambassador to France.