This quarterly increase in public debt is the highest since the national statistics institute INSEE published this index.

A first in 25 years

The French public debt increased by 114.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of June, according to the figure published by the national statistics institute INSEE on Friday, September 25th. This means an increase of 12.7 points compared with the end of March for 2,638.3 billion euros, the largest quarterly increase since the publication of this indicator in 1995. “Part of the increase in debt (…) is fuelling a sharp rise in government cash flow,” especially to meet “future financing requirements linked to the health crisis,” the press release from the national statistics institute, relayed by the newspaper Le Figaro, states.

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Details of the State’s debt

According to INSEE, the State debt has increased by €113.4 billion. This sum made it possible to finance furlough measures and the postponement of charges. It was also used to compensate for the drop in tax revenues due to the fall in economic activity. In detail, the debt of the social security administrations rose sharply by €84.9 billion due to furlough measures and the postponement and cancellation of social security contributions. Local authorities’ debt also increased (+2.7 billion).