Debt is not the prerogative of recent governments. Since the Middle Ages through the Revolution, the French State has had to manage this slate and its consequences on the country. With Jean-Marc Daniel, specialist in the history of economic thought, we retrace the epic story of the French debt. In this second episode, we explain to you how France sometimes has to sell its most surprising goods…
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The team: Charlotte Baris (presentation and writing), Jules Krot (production)
Credits: INA, Public Senate, France Info, Boursorama, Studio Canal, Warner Bros Pictures, Brut, France 2, France 24, Europe 1
Music and dressing: Emmanuel Herschon/Studio Torrent
Logo: Jérémy Cambour
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Charlotte Baris: New taxes, elimination of expenses… We have heard it for months: all means are good to replenish the state coffers.
But France has another solution. Like a household, it can simply give away what it owns. And last year, the French state decided to sell certain high-value goods. For example, a 19th century castle overlooking Lake Geneva for 4 million euros. A private mansion in Rennes, sold for 3 million. In total, 645 buildings were sold in 2023 for a value of 280 million euros.
But the method is not new! Already in the 14th century, the State sold some of its possessions, these much more surprising.
To go further
Slippage in public finances: all guilty!, by Nicolas Bouzou
Budget 2025: the battle of figures reminiscent of the stormy retirement soap opera
Budget 2025: these strange forecast errors from Bercy