France’s government debt is expected to climb to a record 119.3% of the economy in 2026, highlighting the growing strain on the country’s finances as it struggles to rein in spending and deficits.
The French finance ministry expects the debt-to-GDP ratio, a measure of a government’s debt relative to the size of its economy, to rise further to 121.7% in 2027.
That would mark a sharp deterioration from before the pandemic. France’s debt stood at 115.7% of GDP in 2025 and was below 100% in 2019.
The government also expects to end 2026 with a budget deficit equivalent to 5.4% of GDP, meaning it continues to spend substantially more than it collects in revenue.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is planning €54 billion ($62 billion) in savings in the 2027 budget in an effort to bring the deficit under control.
But pushing through spending cuts could prove difficult in France’s divided parliament, particularly as households remain concerned about the cost of living.
Investors are also demanding a higher return to lend money to France.
The gap between French and German government borrowing costs rose above one percentage point on Friday for the first time since the euro zone debt crisis, a sign of increasing investor concern about France’s finances ahead of elections next year. Source: REUTERS
