World News: France Debt Soars to 119% of GDP
- Details
- Category: Haute This Issue
- Published on Monday, 05 October 2026 08:35
- Written by Olivier Longhi
As the Government prepares to present its Finance Bill in a context of indebtedness unequalled since 1946, the questions that have led to this slippage that has become uncontrollable are now being asked. An attempt at explanation.
The amount is such that it would almost make you dizzy if it did not lose its meaning, and yet, France's debt amounts to 3,573 billion euros, or 119% of GDP.
Beltway Insider: Trump, Cornell Gang Rape, Renee Good, Flydubai Plane Incident, Pike Execution
Once the shock of the sum has passed, a simple question arises: how could France's financial situation have deteriorated over the years, i.e. since the mid-seventies and the first oil crisis in 1974, which precipitated the debt beyond 50% of GDP. Because, contrary to popular belief, public debt does not date from 1974.
It was in 1967 that the first deficit appeared, which was low at 10% at the time. But with the help of economic growth, the associated tax revenues largely covered the State's overdraft in the middle of a period of unprecedented economic prosperity with no future. The oil shock of 1974, which led to a heavy increase in the price of a barrel of oil for the economies of the time, rising from $2.6 per barrel in 1973 to $12 in 1974.
World News: France Confronts A Divisive Presidential Election Season
World News: Putin’s Bloodthirsty Obsession
Interventionism
Some would smile at these prices compared to those currently in force, but this increase in the price of carbon-based energy has had a deleterious effect on Western economies, also highlighting the obsolescence of industrial tools.
Called to the rescue to heal the wounds of a weakened economy, the State has therefore shown itself to be ever more interventionist, perverting Keynesian theories that were supposed to revive the economy through debt and not to make up for industrial deficiencies that also generate debt.
The State therefore went into debt to save an economy with fragile foundations. To this were added increasing operating costs linked to a population growth that was also led to express exponential needs. The multiplication of recent crises and the intervention of the State to support companies and consumption (Covid, War in Ukraine and Iran) have completed the creation of an unfathomable deficit, which at the same time bears witness to the country's ultra-dependence on carbon-based energies. The austerity cure that is therefore coming and that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is preparing to administer will certainly be difficult to digest but still far from what reality imposes.
World News: French Budget Bill Stymied By Presidential Politics
Savings to be made
To say that the State is badly managed is false, to say that it could be better is relevant. The Court of Auditors recently called for more coherence in the allocation of social assistance (which does not mean abolishing it but targeting it more fairly, which amounts to €888 billion) as well as in aid to companies (€210 billion).
Are there savings to be made? Perhaps. Management efforts within the State and allocation processes? Certainly. However, to focus on these two elements alone would be misguided because other expenditure could be analysed in an economy which, although liberal, is heavily dependent on the State.
The Prime Minister's Finance Bill only touches on the question of a total and complete overhaul of State spending and revenues, provided that the debt does not increase further. "The hunt for waste", to use a famous slogan of the last few decades, has never been so topical, except that as it stands, it is no longer a simple waste but a hemorrhage from which the country may not recover.
World News: Global Wars Pave Way for Chinese Advancement
Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently a professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist and recognized blogger, editor, and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, was a press and publishing consultant, and was a communications consultant.
