France’s public debt has reached a record 3.4 trillion euros, equal to 115.6 % of the country’s gross domestic product. Official data from the statistics bureau INSEE show that the debt rose by nearly 80 billion euros in the second quarter of the year. This surge has placed pressure on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who is confronting protests and political turmoil.
The French debt‑to‑GDP ratio is now the third‑highest in the European Union, after Greece and Italy, and is close to twice the 60 % limit permitted under EU rules. Lecornu, appointed by President Emmanuel Macron this month, has yet to form a new government and must present a budget proposal to parliament by mid‑October, with a vote scheduled for the end of the year. His task is complicated by the power dynamics in the National Assembly, where the Macron‑friendly bloc is in the minority. Lecornu has described himself as “the weakest prime minister of the Fifth Republic,” referring to the system established in 1958 under Charles de Gaulle.
His predecessor, François Bayrou, had proposed measures to save 44 billion euros and curb France’s annual deficit, which is currently the EU’s highest. Lecornu, however, has vowed to break from the past and defuse the political crisis. He has promised to abolish lifelong privileges for former prime ministers and to scrap two public holidays, though experts view these steps as largely cosmetic. Unions have announced fresh demonstrations for 2 October, following hundreds of thousands of protesters across France last week, with anger largely directed at Macron.
Economists attribute France’s widening deficits to accelerated spending aimed at mitigating the impact of the Covid crisis and offsetting inflationary pressures, as well as unfunded tax cuts. Mathieu Plane, deputy analysis and forecasting director at the OFCE, described the deficit as “not only a crisis deficit, but also structural,” and suggested that Lecornu should devise a multi‑year plan to stabilise the budget without harming the economy. International investors are demanding a higher risk premium for French sovereign debt, increasing the country’s financing costs. This month, US ratings agency Fitch downgraded France’s ability to repay its debts, warning that the debt mountain will keep rising until 2027 unless urgent action is taken. François Ecalle, president of Fipeco, a public‑finance site, recommended spending cuts and tax hikes, including for the well‑to‑do, stating, “It is necessary, if only for social and political reasons, to tax the rich a bit more.”
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