France's public debt soars to a record 119% of GDP

France's public debt reached 3,595.5 billion euros at the end of June, Insee said, a record high that is set to keep rising as the outlook worsens.

French public debt rose again in the second quarter, reaching the unprecedented level of 3,595.5 billion euros at the end of June, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) announced on Tuesday 29 September.

Measured against overall economic activity, France’s debt also hit a historic high, at 119% of gross domestic product (GDP). You have to go back to 1946 to find a public debt ratio that high. France was then tending to the wounds of the Second World War.

Between the end of the first quarter of 2026 and the end of the second, the debt increased by 59.6 billion euros, after already rising by 75.8 billion in the first quarter, when it stood at 117.5% of GDP.

More specifically, central government debt and that of the social security system rose in the second quarter, while the debt of local authorities fell.

Earlier this month, the government warned that public debt would reach 121.7% of GDP in 2027, more than double the European ceiling set at 60%, a level not seen since Insee began compiling this statistic in 1978.

When interest rates were low, or even negative as during the Covid-19 period in 2020 and 2021, taking on debt could seem like a good deal.

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