While Parliament is struggling to adopt the finance bill for 2026, French public debt reaches a new record. According to INSEE, it amounted to 3,482 billion euros in the third quarter, in an increasingly degraded budgetary context.
French public debt continues to rise and reaches an unprecedented level. According to figures published this Friday, December 19, by INSEE, it amounts to 3,482 billion euros in the third quarter. A historic record outside of periods of war or pandemic, while Parliament is struggling to pass the finance bill for 2026.
The debt rate now exceeds 117% of gross domestic product, compared to 115% last June. In three months, the debt has increased by 66 billion euros, confirming a trajectory considered worrying for public finances. Everything indicates that the situation could deteriorate further.
The public deficit could reach 5.4% this year
To stabilize the debt before considering a reduction, the public deficit should fall below the threshold of 3% of GDP. However, it should reach 5.4% this year, or a little more than 130 billion euros. The initial objective of reducing the deficit to 4.7% in 2026 now seems out of reach.
After the examination of the budget in the Senate, the forecast deficit even reached 5.3% of GDP. This morning, the expected failure of the joint committee opened the way for the adoption of a special law, pending a new budget in 2026. This exceptional system allows neither savings, nor increases in tax revenue, nor reduction in public spending. According to the OFCE, if a special law were applied throughout the year, the State could lose nearly 7 billion euros in additional tax revenue. The public deficit would then reach 5.5% of GDP, further accentuating the drift in public accounts.
