France’s national debt is mounting and is set to reach its highest level since 1978 this year, driven by a persistent deficit, the <a the persistence of a deficit that remains high."
France currently ranks as the third most indebted nation in the eurozone, trailing only Greece and Italy. In contrast, Spain saw its debt fall below 100 percent of GDP in July, while Portugal managed to reduce its debt to under 90 percent of GDP in 2025.
Under European Union regulations, the public deficit—the annual gap between government revenue and spending—is intended to remain at or below three percent of GDP.
However, the deficit reached 5.1 percent of GDP last year, and the government anticipates it will climb to 5.4 percent by the end of this year.
France, which has been under special EU monitoring for the past two years due to these elevated figures, expects the deficit to narrow to five percent next year, a period that will include elections for the next president and government.
The government has submitted its draft 2027 budget proposals to the High Council of Public <a The crisis is neither certain nor <a said Amelie de Montchalin.
“France is not doomed, provided the choices made are swift and responsible,” she argued.
The growth forecast for 2026 was recently revised downward, as the French economy faces pressure from sluggish consumer spending and, more recently, the spike in energy prices resulting from the US-Israeli war against Iran.
