Overview
- The Cour des comptes warned on Thursday that France's public finances are "alarmante" and called for strong, credible and rapid measures to restore budgetary balance.
- Official data from INSEE show public debt at €3,460.5 billion at end‑2025, equal to about 115.7% of GDP, with the debt ratio rising sharply since 2019.
- Debt interest has become the state's largest budget item, with the economy minister saying debt service should reach roughly €64 billion in 2026 and could rise further toward €100 billion in coming years.
- The government has set a path to cut the deficit to 5% in 2026 and below 3% by 2029 with debt stabilised near 118% of GDP, but the Cour des comptes judged the near‑term target not credible and an i‑MIP study gives a 55% chance these goals will be missed.
- With the 2027 budget under preparation, the prime minister has ordered ministers to find savings and convened a Committee d'alerte, leaving politically difficult choices on spending cuts rather than large tax hikes and risking reduced public services and less room to respond to shocks.