In the second quarter of 2024, France‘s public debt amounted to 3,228 billion euros, or 112% of GDP. These results, which far exceed the limits set by the European Union’s stability and growth pact, recently prompted the Commission to place France under excessive deficit procedure. However, the rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s have chosen not to lower France’s rating, serving as an assessment of the country’s capacity to repay its debt.
For around fifty years, France’s public finances have been in a chronic deficit situation. France’s debt increased sharply following the major subprime crises in 2008, and Covid-19 in 2020, while the resurgence of inflation which followed the health crisis was partly offset by costly measures to defend purchasing power.
France is not the only one to experience this rise in debt: Italy, Spain, the United States and even Japan have experienced the same trajectory.
This issue of Cahiers français aims to understand debt and the reasons which have led successive governments to resort to it more and more. It also raises central questions: What are the consequences of this debt? How deep is the debt? How to get out of debt?
Today, the situation in France divides economists. The question of the sustainability of the country’s debt is raised.
Dossier
1/ Understanding debt?
2/ The irresistible rise in French public debt since 1974
3/ French public debt compared to major OECD countries
4/ How is the debt financed?
5/ Debt to what extent?
6/ The high level of household and business debt in France
7/ How to get out of debt
Varia
Public policies: The National Forestry Office, a player in forest policy
Update on: Prevention of foreign interference in France
Interview : How to deal with flooding?
It was in… November 1954: The beginnings of the Algerian War
